One of the items I found in my parents' attic last month was my old College photograph. Can you spot me?
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The Badminton Estate is owned by the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort. On one day of the year, they open their gardens to the public, with proceeds going to charity. We bought our tickets a few months ago and had a lovely visit in the sunshine yesterday. We had a picnic in the grounds and later met up with our friends Krista and Stuart
JD spotted an "Oliver" bat wing typewriter for sale on e-bay the other day, put in bids for it and was successful! It's his rarest typewriter so far, and the inspiration for him naming his hamster, "Oliver".  JD's typewriter collection now numbers thirteen, with his interest in the machines showing no sign of abating (as yet).
 We had a lovely Easter trip to our friends Jo and Rob (plus sons Ben and Aled - with girlfriend Grace). Also visiting on Saturday were Krista and Stuart. We had some great meals, a walk in the nearby woods, lots of silly chats and a quiz. Great to catch up with them all.  Car boot sales started up again last weekend and I made one of my best ever purchases. This "Vampire Kyle" from the South Park TV series cost me £1 but turns out to be a limited edition, with others currently selling on E-bay for over £100. Score!
JiaJIa, JD and I had a lovely day in Oxford yesterday. First stop was the Pitt Rivers Museum [top left] - a treasure trove of "random" objects collected from around the world. Last time I was there was some 40 years ago! Then, after a picnic, we explored the Colleges and their "gleaming spires" - something JiaJia has dreamed about doing since she was at University in China.  Finally, after a bit of retail therapy, we visited my old College. It's looking semi-abandoned these days, and apparently due to be demolished soon. Sad to see, but it brought back many happy memories. On the way home JiaJia asked me if I had learned a lot during my four years there. "Not so much", I admitted, and yet I had the best time whilst there. I made lot of good friends, and it gave me passions and skills which are still very much a part of who I am.
We still use the app "Too Good to Go" now and again to get heavily discounted food that supermarkets would otherwise throw away.  Morrisons recently joined the growing number of stores taking part in the scheme and we gave them a try last week. To our shock, the £2 we spent on their bakery goods left us with over 35 donuts and cakes! We donated some, and then found on the internet that freezing donuts was quite OK. So we have been drip-feeding ourselves sugary treats ever since!
We spent a lovely afternoon and evening at our friend Claire's today. Some of the time was spent putting together some mini-jigsaws - a fun challenge that that was new to JD and JiaJia.
All that, plus a lovely tea and a board game to finish. Thanks Claire!  
JD and I had a day trip to London yesterday. JD was keen to see the Globe theatre (having learned about it in school) and we walked over the Millennium Bridge to check out St. Pauls. Then, despite the DLT being closed, we made it to the Olympic Stadium Park for a picnic.  Finally, the main reason of our trip - seeing the ABBA Voyage show. As many have said before, it was stunning and we both really enjoyed it. We left the venue at the same time as thousands of West Ham fans left the nearby stadium, so we had rather packed streets and trains to cope with until we got back to my parents'. Then a 3-hour drive home. 
Then tomorrow, JD and I are off to London to see "Abba Voyager".  I shipped this motorcycle Lego model over from China unbuilt and eight months later I've finally unboxed it to have a go. It's one of the most complex models I've built, not helped by the tiny instruction sheets (or is it my failing eyes?). Some eight hours in and I'm only halfway, and still finding the odd tiny little mistake made earlier which hopefully won't be critical or visible!  |
 AuthorPaul Hider started this blog to share his rather odd life living in China for over 20 years. Since returning to the UK in 2024, the blog now records his more "normal" lifestyle! Past blog entries
August 2025
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