Month: January 2015

Bargains – Marks and Spencer Discount Code | 50% off | marksandspencer.com & Select Fashion Voucher Code | 60% off | selectfashion.co.uk & Warner Leisure Hotels Special Offers 2015 | 50% Discount & MandMDirect Discount Code | 85% off | mandmdirect.com & Hobbycraft Discount Code | 50% off | hobbycraft.co.uk & Airport Transfers | Resorthoppa Discount Code | resorthoppa.com

It may have been 0 degrees when we left home but Botany Bay was much warmer and sunny. More digging from Ellie and trying to bury her ball!

Lou, Ollie, Oscar and Josie came and had lunch with us. Grandad had downloaded a film for them to watch. The children also brought me a lovely bouquet of flowers, very sweet.

Thought for the Day – “If you truly love life, don’t waste time; because time is what life is made of.” ~ Bruce Lee

Bargains – Marks and Spencer Discount Code | 50% off | marksandspencer.com & Monarch Cheap Flights | £29.99 | monarch.co.uk & Presents for Men Discount Code | 20% off | presentsformen.co.uk & Hertz Discount Code | 20% off & The Hut Discount Code | 70% off | thehut.com & Hungry House Discount | 20% off | hungryhouse.co.uk

Botany Bay this morning and the sun even came out. We stopped at Lidl on the way back as they have a lot of car accessories this week, ice scrapers, boot tidy and a lot of other things. Their crayfish is also very good and a lot cheaper than other supermarkets.

We now have all the wild bird seed refills from Wilko. We love watching the birds through the window.

In the afternoon we went into Ramsgate to get more for Mal’s allotment. I also bought Ellie a new rope toy which she destroyed within about half an hour. I had believed it was a strong one!

Thought for the Day –  “Learn to smile at every situation. See it as an opportunity to prove your strength and ability.” ~ Joe Brown

Bargains – Thorntons Voucher Codes | 50% off | thorntons.co.uk & Maplin Voucher | 60% off | maplin.co.uk & Millet Sports Discount | 50% off | milletsports.co.uk & The Hut Discount Code | 70% off | thehut.com & Designer Bags Sale | mybag.com & Screwfix Promo Code | 95% off in Sale | screwfix.com

It was raining and so we waited for a window of opportunity before taking Ellie. The weather forecast did say that it would stop mid morning, which it did. Lou came round to deliver our vegetables as she had been to Sturry Farm shop. This included a sack of potatoes, a very cheap way to buy them.

Later we took Ellie to Minnis Bay when the rain stopped. I just can’t believe how now she has to go in the sea every day. She also loves blowing bubbles in the rock pools.

 

We waited in for the plumber in the afternoon, the third time he has been to try and sort out the upstairs WC. We also had our Wilko delivery, unfortunately one of the large storage chests was broken on arrival!
Thought for the Day – “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” ~ Judy Garland

Bargains – Boots Discount Codes | 50% off | boots.com & Sainsburys Deals | £15 off Code For First Order & Argos Kitchen Electrical Sale | 50% off | argos.co.uk & Amazon Local Deals and Amazon Local Vouchers & Cheap Carp Fishing Tackle | dragoncarpdirect.com & I Want One Of Those Discount Code | Daily Deals 80% off

It was VERY cold down at Minnis Bay! Ellie never wanted to go into the sea in Cyprus but here she runs into it every day and it must be a lot colder than the Med!

I guess the big news is the fall in petrol prices. There are three garages in the Midlands selling petrol for 99.7p a litre, that is the first time it has been under £1 for 6 years.

Rhys and Lou asked us to meet them at Quex Barn as they said they wanted to treat us to breakfast. They had been before and Rhys recommended the full English which comes in Standard , Large or Mega! Of course Rhys and Mal went for the Mega. I chose the Haddock with poached egg which was more than enough for me. Lou then decided she would have the haddock too. It was very good. I can’t believe Mal he ate all of his and then asked Rhys why he had left some of his…what a pig! It was good value with their home made sausages and everything else that was local.

 

I don’t think we will be eating for the rest of the day!

Well, I think I would vote for him……………his Masters Degree is in Politics! I do have a vote in Thanet!

Thought for the Day – “Only when the last tree has died, and the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish has been caught, will we realise that we cannot eat money.” ~Greenpeace

Bargains – Wilko.com Discount Code | Free Delivery | 50% off & Sports Direct Discount Code | 90% off | sportsdirect.com& Europcar Discount Code | 50% off Sale & Kwik Fit Tyres | Mobile Fitting | kwik-fit.com & Wallis Discount Code | 65% off | wallis.co.uk & Blacks Discount Code | 15% off | Free Delivery | blacks.co.uk

We had a wet early morning walk along Minnis Bay. It was raining but not too heavy. Our wellies are always in the car. We always find interesting things on the beach. Today we found this stranded jelly fish. It was huge. When I find things I always look them up when I get home. Today’s interesting fact….”Jellyfish have roamed the seas for at least 500 million years”!!

I read this article about Cyprus Airways. We were lucky to have travelled with them at the end of last year before this happened! (Nod nod, wink, wink!)

I made quite a big order from Wilko. There were some storage boxes we wanted and some photo frames and also I discovered it is the cheapest place to buy wild bird food for our feeder. For example Niger seeds are only £2  a kilo. Elsewhere I have found them for 3 times the price. Once you start looking at Wilko it is surprising how easily you reach £50 for free postage!   A watering can/ bucket/ garden things for the allotment and it goes on!

Lou and I went for afternoon tea at The Crescent Victoria Hotel in October and it was a shambles to say the least. I wrote exactly what happened on Trip Advisor. The Manager apologised after my review and said they were opening a sister hotel in Whitstable on that day and that was why it was all a mess!  Well, at least he made a comment. A few days later someone phoned me from the hotel to apologise and asked if we would return and they would try and do better and this time it would be free. I told them that I was going back to Cyprus so it probably wouldn’t be for a couple of months. They assured me it was fine. I had almost forgotten about it until last week and so we booked if for today. As expected they couldn’t do enough for us, a fresh pot of tea, anything else you would like etc etc. The Manager even came out to speak to us. Much more impressed and as a new business they did the correct thing to ask us back.  I will do another TA review reporting the excellent service BUT for a hotel of this stature (or should I say trying to be) and £12.95 per person, I think they could have done better than three tiny finger sandwiches, one with egg and cress, one cream cheese and cucumber and the last ham and tomato. At other afternoon teas we have had crab, smoked salmon and much more adventurous fillings. This time I couldn’t complain as I wasn’t paying and they did try very hard even though the restaurant has no sea view as it is in the basement! Our meals out seem to go a little awry at times!!

 

Thought for the Day – “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched… but are felt in the heart.” ~ Helen Keller

Bargains – Bhs Lighting | FREE Delivery | bhs.co.uk & Warner Leisure Hotels Special Offers 2015 | 50% Discount &MandMDirect Discount Code | 85% off | mandmdirect.com & Easyjet Promotional Code | £200 off | easyjet.com& Wallis Discount Code | 65% off | wallis.co.uk & Thomas Cook Discount Code | 40% off | thomascook.com

It is surprisingly mild at the moment so we had a lovely long walk along Botany Bay.

We had booked to go for lunch at The Pearsons Arms in Whitstable.  Rhys knows the chef there and said that the food is very good, so we thought we would give it a go. We had high expectations. Well, sadly, it was more like Fawlty Towers. It doesn’t have a car park but we managed to find a public one quite close by. The restaurant overlooks the sea, so a nice position. Mal had a pint of Doom Bar. He pulled a bit of a face and looking at it, it was very cloudy, being a publicans daughter I suggested that Mal mention to the waitress that it was a bit rough. Anyway, he told her and fair enough she replaced it with a pint of IPA. We ordered from the a la carte menu. The starters were OK, nothing marvellous for the price. I then ordered lamb and Mal the venison. We then discovered the couple behind us who arrived after us were being served before us.   While we were sitting waiting, on another table two people had ordered cod with samphire and the waitress said that they had run out of samphire so they had been given watercress. I wouldn’t have been impressed with that but it wasn’t my meal.

We were still waiting and then the waiter came out and said he had just dropped Mal’s venison and that was the last portion. Mal said OK, accidents happen, he would have Kentish lamb instead. As the waiter left our table the guy behind called him over and asked what meat he had been given. “Venison” the waiter replied. The man told him it was very tasty but he had ordered pork!!! So, the waiter hadn’t dropped the venison he had given it to the wrong customer. So we then had to wait for Mal’s new main course to be cooked.

They brought our meals out eventually, mine was not hot and tasteless. I think Mal’s was a bit warmer but also tasteless. The waiter then brought out a raspberry cheesecake as an apology!! OK, he tried. Then coffee, there was only americano as their coffee machine had broken. We asked for the bill, left the cash and waited for someone to ask us how our meal was. What a surprise no one was around not even downstairs behind the bar. We believed they were all hiding from us! We didn’t have any time to hang around as our two and a half hour car park ticket had just run out!! I don’t think we will be making a return visit but then that is exactly what Trip Advisor is for!!

Thought for the Day – “You deserve a day where worries don’t get in the way of anything. A day where…..even if some people are insensitive or unkind, you’re not going to mind because the blessings you received are far greater than the burdens you experience. Remember stay positive!”

Bargains – Designer Shoe Sale | Free Delivery | allsole.com & Love Theatre London | Let It Be Theatre Tickets &Hobbycraft Discount Code | 50% off | hobbycraft.co.uk & Look Fantastic Promo Code | 15% off | lookfantastic.com & Debenhams Flowers Discount Code | Bunch of Flowers | £5 off & Currys Voucher Codes | 50% off | currys.co.uk

The first thing we did as soon as it was light enough was to look through the shed window to see if our little bird had survived the night. Sadly he hadn’t. We tried our best. Mal buried him in the garden.

Breakfast and then Mal was ready to go and start work on his allotment. I dropped him off with all his tools and then went on to Minnis Bay with Ellie. The wind certainly hasn’t dropped down there. I managed to lose the contents of one of my pockets in the wind.

Well, Mal did well for his first morning at the allotment and he was glad I made him a flask of coffee to take with him! There’s still a lot more digging to do, before he can even start.

There seems to b very little on the TV but we do enjoy Last Tango in Halifax.
Thought for the Day – “So often we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to enjoy the journey.” ~ Dieter F Uchtdorf