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Tim JacobsTim Jacobs
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traveled in 6 countries Read more Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
  • TravelerWestward - hohoho
    Day 7

    Handy Hints, #563

    October 4, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    If you want to give your garden snails a real treat, use an empty dolmades tin as an ashtray.

    Which I have done all week, and wondered why there always seemed to be snails crawling on it. Just realised that they have eaten about 90% of the paper label and glue. Yum! Obviously a delicacy.

    Yesterday we didnt want to drive too much what with today's impending homeward journey, so we went a few miles to the National Trust's Trelissick. And had a pleasant stroll through the woods and along bits of beach. With Pendennis Castle on the skyline.

    Then into Falmouth for lunch and the offer to Bonce of a final beach walk, which he declined on the grounds that he is old, arthritic, had just walked on a beach and when balanced against the probability of CHIPS there was really no contest was there?

    So chips it was!

    Also had disturbing news from ATP (our refurbishing plumber) who had had his van broken into overnight so had to get police crime reference numbers, get the smashed window fixed etc. He was already on a tight schedule to get finished before our return, which now became even tighter. He THINKS we should have a working toilet. Fingers crossed eh, especially as the alternative is legs crossed...😖    Read more

  • TravelerWestward - hohoho
    Day 6

    The End of the World

    October 3, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Soooo, off to Land's End. Amazing scenery, we were literally blown away. Mostly because of the gales, the remnants of an Atlantic hurricane. But we got the requisite sites seen before the rain joined in.

    We then decamped to Praa Sands again for pizza, then home for a snooze.    Read more

  • TravelerWestward - hohoho
    Day 5

    Sunshine at last!!

    October 2, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We had an interesting, if sobering, chat with the guy who owns our cottage (and the big house, and the whole valley, and a pack of shire horses, and ...) while he was replacing the broken kettle. Apparently he worked as a tin miner most of his life, 12 hour shifts underground, but got £300 a week at a time when the average manual worker in Cornwall got only £20. Talk about deserving every penny...

    Gorgeous day, so we went to Tintagel. Which is named after a tagel, made of tin. English Heritage, of which observant readers will recall we are long-time members, have spent £2m building a smart new bridge to connect the 2 parts of the castle, replacing the natural land bridge which collapsed in the 15th century. I assume the delay was due to stringent planning laws. Anyway, it only opened in August and is spectacular and avoids hundreds of steep steps down and up. EH have really improved the place since we last visited about 10 years ago.

    Then we went to Padstow, which was very disappointing. The museum was shut, but I expect the only info in it would say that there was nothing there until Rick Stein bought EVERYTHING, rebranded every shop with his name and hiked all prices by 400%.

    So we came home, to catch up on the cunning Brexit plan Johnson and Cummings (well, Cummings...) have concocted. 😱    Read more

  • TravelerWestward - hohoho
    Day 4

    Better weather! Well, less rain at least

    October 1, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Sooooooo, we went to Falmouth which is only about 5 miles away. Up to Pendennis Castle, which has guarded this part of the coastline for hundreds of years, and which has guns of all ages and sizes. We finally bit the bullet (see what I did there 🤣🤣) and joined English Heritage which not only got us in free (after they'd taken £93 from my account) but meant that I got another car park sticker for my windscreen so I cant see out to drive to all the exciting places listed in the EH handbook.

    Interesting info in the castle, I hadn't realised that in the 1540s the bloody Spaniards had raided so often. They actually burnt Brighton in 1545.

    Then, as it was 1st October and officially winter, dogs were allowed on all Cornish beaches so Bonce explored rockpools which Di and I collected every available grain of sand. In our shoes.

    Nice beachside fish n chips and then as the drizzle returned we forewent the possibility of further perambulation and returned to our cottage for a wholesome dinner of one giant Bourbon biscuit and a cup of coffee.    Read more

  • TravelerWestward - hohoho
    Day 3

    Wet wet wet

    September 30, 2019 in England ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We decided to go and visit the Henry VIII twin castles at Pendennis and St Mawes. So off we went, in only mild drizzle. The King Harry Ferry, one of only a few chain ferries left in the UK, saves a 30 mile detour by taking vehicles across about 200 yards of water. Its website rightly boasts of the millions of gallons of fuel it thusly saves, and also the tens of thousands of driving hours, congestion in local towns etc. So what do many reviews of the ferry say..? They moan about the £6 price (£8 for day return) Cheapskates.

    Anyway, on the out journey we were the only vehicle on it! Too wet to get out to take pics, so see my artist's impression, aided by satnav.

    St Mawes was a nice town, and would have been even nicer if it hadn't been tipping it down. We drove past the castle, then mutually decided to write the day off, so drive home (back in time to see the end of the Scotland game) and spent the rest of the day watching TV and reading    Read more

  • TravelerWestward - hohoho
    Day 2

    Sunday. Also Rainday

    September 29, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    The day started off drizzly, so after watching all available rugby matches, we pootled around the locality. St Ives promised much, but the nearest available parking space was in St Ives. Unfortunately, the St Ives in Cambridgeshire...

    We tried to do a dog walk along the beach near St Michael's Mount but the car park man said 1. the causeway was shut due to high tide and 2. dogs weren't allowed on the beach. We had been pootling for a while and Bonce was getting desperate so in frustration I called the cark park man a Bad Name. Twice. He still wouldn't let us walk on the beach and now we cant go back there again in case he recognises me.

    But, just as the sun came out, we discovered Praa Sands where dogs were allowed into the beachside pub and they served the largest portions of onion rings we have ever encountered, as well as superb spicy beanburgers, so we'll be going back there!

    And then we came home and didn't need any dinner and fell asleep in the rather pleasant electric reclining chairs.    Read more

  • TravelerWestward - hohoho
    Day 2

    Aaaah, 9 hours' sleep works wonders!

    September 29, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Arrived about 4pm, nice modern bungalow with good fixtures and fittings. First holiday place we've ever taken that had no condiments lurking in a kitchen cupboard and so, despite having brought nigh on the entire contents of our kitchen - except of course salt and pepper - we had to have our homegrown tomatoes on toast WITHOUT SEASONING. 😱

    Bright sunshine, cloudless skies!

    ...are just two things we would prefer to the current heavy clouds and drizzle. It's supposed to improve a bit. By Wednesday.

    Still, Bonce has settled in, Di is still asleep and there's rugby on TV so mustn't grumble.

    ATP sent pics, do you reckon he'd be annoyed if we changed our minds and asked him to leave the bathroom as he found it?    Read more

  • TravelerWestward - hohoho
    Day 1

    Getting going

    September 28, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Up early to finish packing. We have to leave by 8 as Albert The Plumber (hereafter referred to as ATP) will be arriving then to refurbished the bathroom while we're away.

    So, with time constraints, OBVIOUSLY the most important thing is to start this Penguins journal...Read more

  • TravelerDi & Tim's Colossal Vacation
    Day 9

    Home, eventually

    May 5, 2019 in England ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C

    The guys in Archipelagos offered to look after our cases, so, after breakfast there we simply wandered around town again stopping frequently for coffee, beer, coke, vanilla milkshakes etc. Then back to A for a late lunch/early dinner and Vangelis the owner said his cousin was s taxi driver and called him and Stavros carried our bags to his car and drove us to the airport. A bit early (7ish for a 23:30 flight) but what the heck. That heck manifested itself in the form of a text from EasyJet saying the plane was delayed 2 hours. So we settled in. Other than lateness, no great problems with the trip. Now at home having had a few moments dozing in the last 24 hours. Di has gone to bed, but I cannot sleep without watching last week's Game of Thrones. I know I shall slumber as soon as the title music starts, but I've got to try. And then collect Baileybonce.

    Hope you've enjoyed these Penguins, which I hope reasonably accurately reflect a rather smashing week!    Read more

  • TravelerDi & Tim's Colossal Vacation
    Day 7

    The day before the day we come home

    May 3, 2019 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    We wandered along to the restaurant where we have had breakfast several days and dinner at least twice. Every eaterie one walks past elicits cries of come in, coffee, beer, souvlaki etc, no matter what time of day. But at "our" place, we are greeted with handshakes, enquiries after our health, given huge portions of yummy yoghurt with honey and walnuts, and also a shot of "is wine made by the monks". I cannot imagine a long life for any of the brothers if they regularly imbibe their own produce. But they would die happy, shame about the liver.

    More wandering, beering, philosophising in the sun and sea breeze. Had the compulsory paddle. Bought the compulsory owl. Made the mistake of asking for a large beer, hoping for a pint, got another sodding 2 litre glass boot. Which costs more than dinner does 😱

    Probably returning to "our" place (I'm sure it has a name but meh who cares) for dinner as their feta-stuffed calamari is to die for.

    But tonight I shall not try to rekindle memories of Greek holidays 40 years ago, when Metaxa 5 brandy tasted pleasant. After last night's slug, I shall stick to drinking Nitromors paint stripper as it's slightly less caustic.    Read more

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