Harry Clasper, Whickham

Tuesday 2nd February 2016

Another return visit to the Harry Clasper in Whickham, Gateshead, for lunch. This is a Wetherspoon outlet, so the prices are cheap but the food is fine. Worth a visit.

Sorella Sorella

Monday 1st February 2016

Sorella Sorella is an Italian restaurant in what used to be the Rose, Shamrock and Thistle pub in Streetgate, down the road from my home village of Sunniside in Gateshead. The friend who was staying with me took me for lunch there. I've been a handful of times in the past. Not the cheapest of food but quality is good. There were plenty of customers, always a useful sign of popularity.

The Durham Viaduct

Monday 1st February 2016

There are a number of impressive buildings in Durham which can be seen from the railway, notably the Castle and Cathedral. But it is easy to miss the equally impressive Railway Viaduct which carries the East Coast Line to Durham Station, when passing through on the train. Take a journey down to ground level and this area of the city is dominated by the Viaduct. Well worth a visit. I was passing recently having been to Durham County Hall for a meeting. I snapped the above photo while walking to the Station.

Potter's Wheel, Sunniside

Sunday 31st January 2016

The Potter's Wheel is one of the pubs in our village of Sunniside. We used to have Sunday lunch there regularly but lost the habit. With a friend staying with us, we decided to eat out. The pub was relatively quiet for a Sunday lunchtime but the helpings were large and competitively priced. Quality was reasonable.

Garden House Inn, Durham

Saturday 30th January 2016

A friend had his 65th birthday party at the Garden House Inn, near County Hall in Durham, and we had an invite to attend. It had been at least a decade, possibly much longer, since I was last in this pub. The place was packed. It seems to be a popular location for parties. There was a much bigger party in the room at the back though there were plenty of other punters there who weren't attending any functions. Expect a reasonable wait at the bar.

Pack Horse, Burnopfield

Friday 29th January 2016

Burnopfield is about 3km up the road from where we live but we visited the village to have dinner at the Pack Horse. Food is relatively cheap and on the whole mass produced. But it's not bad and for a competitively-priced night out, it is worth a visit.

La Vera Italia

Thursday 28th January 2016

In my home village of Sunniside in Gateshead we have a new Italian restaurant, called La Vera Italia. It used to be the Rising Sun pub which lost its struggle to remain open some time ago. We decided to pay it a visit for the first time and were pleased with what we found. A good meal, not too expensive and friendly staff.

Marquis of Granby

Thursday 28th January 2016

We visited the Marquis of Granby pub near Streetgate after visiting the nearby Washingwell Woods where I am part of a project to study the history of the area. It is just down the road from where I live so we have been a number of times before. The visit was for food. Reasonable prices, good service and food and not crowded.

Bay Horse, Whickham

Wednesday 27th January 2016

It has been some time since I last visited the Bay Horse pub in Whickham. SInce then it has undergone a major renovation. The separate bar and lounge have gone.



We stopped here for lunch. Good service and competitively priced food.

Memorial to the Airmen

Sunday 24th January 2016

We crossed the road from the Park Lane Hotel to make one last visit of the day, this time to the Memorial to the Airmen on the corner of Green Park. It was dark when we got there so we may well return at some point in the future in day time to get a better view. The memorial is to the tens of thousands of Allied airmen who were lost in combat in the Second World War, though it was unveiled only in 2012.

Smith and Whistle

Sunday 24th January 2016

As we walked past the Park Lane Hotel, we decided to call into the Smith and Whistle pub. Though the cost of the drinks was a bit of a shock to the system, we then realised on one of the bottled beers we bought they were doing a two-for-one offer. Be careful when going to the toilet. The return journey is done only by getting staff help to guide you through a maze of corridors and barely noticeable doors.

An evening walk through Hyde Park

Sunday 24th January 2015

From the Natural History Museum we decided to walk back to Victoria Station, via Hyde Park. It was beginning to get dark when we got to the Serpentine, the long lake in the park. Nevertheless, there were plenty of people there feeding the swans, geese and ducks.

Natural History Museum

Sunday 24th January 2016

After lunch at the Brompton Food Market we headed to the Natural History Museum, one of a number of nationally acclaimed establishments in South Kensington.



It's a busy place and we joined a long queue to enter. Fortunately, the queue moved quickly. We saw only a small part of the museum but I was especially interested in the sections dealing with prehistoric animals, though we saw other sections as well.

Brompton Food Market

Sunday 24th January 2016

We decided to go to the Natural History Museum and after an irritatingly long rail and tube journey, we arrived in South Kensington. We decided to have lunch first and found the Brompton Food Market on Thurloe Place. Don't get carried away into thinking it is a big food market. It isn't. It is a cafe and food shop. We sat at a table on the patio out the back. Food was reasonable but not only were London prices applicable, so too were Kensington prices.

Marlins Hotel in Bournemouth

This is another video from last year I've just got round to editing. In September I was in Bournemouth for a conference for 4 days and I stayed at the Marlins Hotel. This is the video I filmed about it.

Hotel Mercure, Paris

Last August we went to Paris for a weekend and stayed in the Hotel Mercure, near the Gare du Nord. I've just got round to editing the video about the hotel so here it is.

Blanca Bar

Saturday 23rd January 2016

From Trafalgar Square, we headed up to Leicester Square and found Blanca Bar nearby. We called in for lunch. It was very quiet when we went in.



We selected a meal from the menu and I went to the bar to put in the order and pay. And then I found what we were charged was a great deal more than what the menu said it should have been. "That's the service fee," I was told. I paid and then checked through every detail on the menu. There was no mention of any service fee, never mind a fee being automatically added. A tip is something to be left at the end of a meal when a customer can make a judgement as to how good the service was. It should not be an automatic charge that is quietly added to the bill.



The food was okay but given their policy on service charges, I can't recommend anyone eats there.

St James's Park and Trafalgar Square

Saturday 23rd January 2016

I was in London again on 22nd - 25th January and on Saturday 23rd we headed into town and took a walk through St James's Park, in the neighbourhood of Buckingham Palace. There are lots of geese and ducks on the lake and plenty of squirrels that will take any food you care to give them.











From St James's Park we headed over to Trafalgar Square. This meant navigating the traffic. Fortunately there are plenty of pedestrian crossings.