Friday 30th November 2012

Bargains – Monsoon 20% off & Thorntons Free chocs & Debenhams Big Gift event up to 30% off & BHS up to 30% off everything.

Mal and I were up and out for a walk around the grounds. There was rather a thick frost but at least that meant that it wasn’t so muddy! Back again and we had breakfast, Mal of course opted for the “fry up” and I had fresh haddock and poached egg. There is one thing, the Orangery Restaurant here at Powdermills can not be faulted.

The lady who owns Powdermills walked through the restaurant to the kitchen and we had to laugh as her two dogs are so well trained that they just sat by the restaurant door, not moving even a paw inside!

Wel, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay but then time to head back. So, we drove across country going through all the pretty Kent villages with the sun shining through the trees as we went.

As soon as we arrived back we decided to go and take a look at the caravan we are to move into and how we are going to do it! One of the fitted bedside cabinets will have to be removed or we won’t be able to get our king size bed in! We will also have to arrange to get the washing machine plumbed in and I guess have a good clear out of “stuff” we have accumulated here. I can’t say I am really looking forward to moving everything but the caravan is in a much quieter place on the site.

 

 

Thought for the day – “As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.” ~ Ben Hogan

Thursday 29th November 2012

Bargains – Bon Marche 20% off and free delivery & OralB Electric Toothbrush £17.50 &  Debenhams 10% Christmas Wine Gifts

£5 off £35 spend at Aldi…buy the newspaper today!

Boots this weeks star gift an extra £4 off today only!! What a bargain!

Mal and I have previously mentioned to the owners of the caravan park that the club house is getting extremely noisy and our van is right next to it. Well, today Darren, one of the owners asked if we would like to swap caravans! Seeing as ours is one of the oldest on the site, we know why they are doing this. It is the first one people see when they enter the site! So, he took us to a much quieter part of the park and said we could just swap vans. We looked in the alternative and the lounge seems much bigger, maybe because it is not fitted furniture but a suite. BUT it was so quiet there and a nice little garden. We know it is to their advantage but it is also to ours, so that was very kind of them to consider us. We can move any time but will have to involve some “muscle” to help us move things like the king size bed, washing machine etc! Mal and I are so pleased.

So we left the caravan park and made our way to Battle to stay at one of our favourite hotels. It was a Travelzoo offer and as we love the hotel, booked up! Mal’s excuse, not that we needed one, was it was a belated anniversary present.

We intended going to Ye Olde Cafe for some brunch only to discover it is closed on Thursdays in the winter! We were also going to have a look around Battle Abbey again…that was closed too. In the end we ate in The Lounge, had a walk around town and then checked into the hotel. Lucky us they gave us a suite (!) which had both a bathroom and a shower room!  We unpacked and then went for a long walk in the woods that belong to the hotel.

In the evening we went into the bar and then on to the restaurant, which had a very impressive menu including duck, rabbit, guinea fowl, pigeon and venison. I have to say I stuck to fish for both starter and main. Mal had pigeon and venison. The food was excellent and Mal’s cheese board was rather large. This was followed by coffee in the library. A really enjoyable evening.

Thought for the Day – “The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” ~ Kalu Ndukwe Kalu

Wednesday 28th November 2012

Bargains – Debenhams 10% off Christmas Hampers & Inerflora free wine with floral gifts & Eurostar Breaks from £99

Molton Brown £10 off £20 – get offer on Saturday!

For anyone like myself who has a Kindle, there is a Kindle Users forum, where you can join FREE, select which genre you are interested in and every day they will email you a list of FREE books. It is really good and I have downloaded a lot already. Give it a try!

I went to buy some more Christmas presents. Mal stayed home and played with his ipad! Shopping is not his favourite occupation.

In the evening we watched Last Tango in Halifax which is quite amusing but you get the feeling you know where it is all heading.

 

Thought for the Day – “To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” ~ W. Somerset Maugham

Tuesday 27th November 2012

Bargains – Christmas Light up Tree £5.99 & Thornton’s Hamper now £22 & Car Vacuum £8.99

TODAY ONLY Dorothy Perkins 20% off shoes, boots and dresses

We left Torins quite early to drive down to the caravan before the office shut (midday) as they are then closed until Thursday morning. We had forgotten the M25 and sat on there behind an accident for goodness knows how long. We made it by 12.15 and as Darren was outside puting lights on the enormous Christmas tree, he gave us our post.

Then a quick Tesco shop but as I am still not organised, I forgot my Tesco card! I think I should leave all these things until another day.

I forgot to say that Mal bought a Samsung Tab 2 yesterday, which we are now using for a sat nav as our old one is not working properly. Well, it gives him something to play with!

 

Thought for the Day – “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ~ John Lennon

Monday 26th November 2012

Bargains – 40% off Hilton Hotels & £5 off £40 Fragrance spend at Boots & £10 Champagne & Table Top Football Game only £15

This is the case I mentioned on Friday. HOW have these contracts been “deregistered”?!

Mal and I travelled to Gloucester to visit Steve, his brother, in hospital. Not the best of weather in the Cotswolds, they have had a lot of rain!

We did take a break and have a wander around Cheltenham, had some lunch there and a look at their Chrsitmas market.

It wasn’t an easy journey and we were glad to get back to Torin’s.

 

Floods in the Cotswolds

Thought for the Day – “Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost.”  ~ Robert H Schuller

Sunday 25th November 2012

Bargains – North Cyprus Holiday & Men’s Trekking Bike £100 & Reduced 2013 Calendars

Up early and Chris ran us to the airport. At least we arrived in the Uk and there was no rain! We went to Torin’s and then had a short play with Scarlet and Jack. I cooked a roast for Torin as he was working until quite late. We stayed the  night with Torin.

Thought for the Day – “The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.” ~ Alice Morse Earle

Saturday 24th November 2012

Bargains – Boots Half Price Champneys Gift set & Buyagift £10 off £75 spend & MandM Direct free postage over £10 spend

We popped out in the morning to buy  Cyprus Today.

The rest of the day we tidied up and started packing as we were leaving for the UK the following day.

We have left two boxes under the terrace for the kittens if the weather is bad again in our absence. They don’t really come up for food but like a bit of shelter from the rain! Well, if nothing else they enjoy jumping in and out of them.

Early to bed as an early morning flight.

Thought for the Day – “Live life fully while you’re here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You’re going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” ~ Anthony Robbins