Journey to the East: Day 18 Hong Kong

The final day of the holiday, we went to the bank for some errands then Kowloon Park and saw more birds and an exhibition.

My cousin had to cancel lunch, so we had lunch freedom, we grazed along, ticked off as many things as we can for lunch.  Met up with my sister and we went to the Flower market and the bird market. 

The cousin finally caught up with us, we had a coffee before we went for dinner with my other cousins.  We had an Alaskan king crab!

We went back to the guesthouse and went onto the fast bus into the airport. 

Journey to the East: Day 17 Lamma

We went to Lamma Island for a day.  It was a fairly warm day for hiking.  We had young coconuts by the beach.

We left Lamma viewing the Sunset and we went to Aberdeen seafood for dinner and got the fast bus home.

We planned to do some snappy shopping, but it turned out to be less snappy than our liking.  We went back to the guesthouse to finalise our packing.

Journey to the East: Day 16 Hong Kong

We went to see one of my friends at Sung Wong Toi.  We had some snacks for lunch before our late lunch.  We checked out 618 Shanghai Street before our lunch.

After lunch, I suggested to go to Langham Place to show off the long escalators.  After that, we went to walk around the Harbour to see the Christmas lights.  

Journey to the East: Day 15 Macau

We went to get a ferry to Macau.  I didn't want any time pressure, so I didn't prebook, so we ended up waiting much longer at the terminal for the crossing.  When we got there, the immigration queue was very long.  The bus I wanted to take also took its time to turn up.  By the time we got to Coloane, it was time for lunch.

My sister gravitated towards to a bakery for a Pastel de Nata.  We walked around Coloane, had some lunch, saw the ship yard museum.

We went to Taipa on a taxi, we saw the old Portuguese houses, fireworks factory and more museum, then we took the new light rail to Macau.

We saw the museum in Barra, and walked to the Mandarin House and finally to the ruin of St Paul's.  My to my sister's distress, we did not go to any casinos.

I was determined we would have Macanese food, so we walked to the dinner location.  We finished dinner and walked to catch the bus to immigration and onto the coach back to Hong Kong.  The immigration queue was also long in Hong Kong.  At last, we got on the fast bus back to the guest house.

Journey to the East: Day 14 Hong Kong

I woke up early, so I went and found a pineapple bun.

We met up with some family friends for clay pot rice for lunch.  We went to hang out with at the flat and has a black forest Christmas cake.  We went to see Western Market, except it was closed for refurbishment.

We then took the tram to to meet up with my friends to go to Zoological and Botanical Gardens.  We came back and had a bubble tea before we went to dinner, modern Vietnamese.

We also managed to swap room to a nicer room. 

Journey to the East: Day 13 Hong Kong

I thought we were going to have a rest day, my mom told us we need to be out by 8:20 in the morning.

After breakfast with some relative, we went to Mei Ho House for their exhibition, then we went back to the guesthouse for a little rest.  We dug into the Australian fruits from my sister.

Once we mustered some energy, we walked around a Chinese department store, then met up with my mom and sister.  We burnt some incense for my dad. We walked home via Temple Street.

On Christmas day, we had roast goose for dinner.

Journey to the East: Day 12 Travels

We both opted for toasties for breakfast.  We packed everything and left Kokura.  We went back to Hakata to do some shopping. We took the opportunity to do the Shinkansen again to Kumamoto and went back to the same conveyor belt sushi.  We took the Shinkansen back to Hakata, bought some dinner picnic and went back to the airport.

At the airport, I tried to spend down the change so I bought some hand cream and some snacks.

After we landed in Hong Kong, I went to my friend's to pick up my luggage before we went to the guesthouse, it was very late and we were very tired, and the room was awful, we were just too tired to complain.

Journey to the East: Day 11 Kokura

The hotel came with breakfast.  The rice burger was a little weird and a bit rich.  

We went to the train station hoping to go to another town, but due to "passenger incident", we stayed in Kokura.  We took two stops on the monorail to a local market, which was interesting.  We went to two craft shops, did some shopping.

We got some lunch from the department store and picnic at the park, before going to Kokura Castle and Gardens.  We slowly walked home and had a little rest before going to do more shopping and have a DIY okonomiyaki dinner.

Journey to the East: Day 10 Beppu

We had a good night rest in the tatami room.  Breakfast was included, so we had some Japanese breakfast, fish, rice and miso for the breakfast.

We left everything in the locker and took a train to Kamegawa to start out hot spring walk.  We were distracted by the sea, so we first walked to the beach, then to their new fish market.  We made a mistake on the direction, so it took us a long time before we get back to the right side of town.

We walked up to see the Tatsumaki Jigoku, which was quite impressive.  Followed by Chinoike Jigoku, which I took the opportunity of the foot bath.

We walked up and over the hill, stopped for some local dried citrus workshop for a sample.  We hiked up the hill for a castle.  Kifune Castle has a nice view and a lucky money snake, the entry fee included a money blessing service, so let see if it works.

We continue to walk to find food, and we gave in and ate at a 7-Eleven.  We continue, we decided I would not be able to have my mud bath.  We had a spring steamed egg and a pork bun at Umi's cafe.  We decided against the Umi Jigoku and Kamado Jigoku as they were both full of visitors, and went to Oniishi Bozu Jigoku instead.  I once again took the advantage of the foot bath.

We took a bus back to Beppu, had a coffee and chestnut cake and got on the next train to Kokura.

It as a night hotel, and we were in early, so we did more the laundry for the rest of the trip.  We went to a local chained restaurant and ticked off a lot of the food.  We ordered a botamochi, which is an inside out mochi, it was a little weird.

Journey to the East: Day 9 Aso

We took a themed train Aso Boy! to Aso. It was a cute little train with child friendly facilities and all female attendances.  The mountain journey was scenic.

Only when get got there, we know the volcano crater is shut for visitor due to heavy fog.  We went to have some lunch ramen at a little shop, shopped at their farm shop for snacks, snacked at their tatami room and got on the next train to Beppu.

The train to Oita is also scenic.  Oita and Beppu were both very busy, we wasn't sure why.  We check into the hotel, the receptionist explained to us that there was a firework exhibition tonight.  I went to their Onsen, hot spring. I was the second person using the hot spring and left before the next mother and toddler in. We went out to look for food, we found a supermarket, so we bought an array of food, including Hokke mackerel, sushi platter, mochi, etc.  We warmed them up and ate them in our room.

We then walk around town to check out the locker provision, did some shopping, and settled in for some fireworks.  It was quite impressive, we had a good view from our room and it went on for 45 minutes. Bonus!

Journey to the East: Day 8 Kumamoto

Our rail passes started today.  We took the Shinkansen, bullet train, to Kumamoto.  It was fast, so fast that when we get on the train, before we sit down, it was already moving.

Our hotel is directly next to the station, so we walked through the Christmas market and dropped off our luggage.  We found some lunch at the train station mall before we went to the castle.  

We took the tram to the castle.  It is a nice big castle, damages from 2016 earthquake are still being repaired.  We walked back via additional temples and a bonus botanical garden.

We made a mistake in resting in the hotel and did some shopping at the electronic store before going to dinner.  The conveyor belt sushi restaurant queue was very long when we got there.  We did a lot of shopping whilst we wait.  We were starving by the time we were seated.  The food was very good though.

Journey to the East: Day 7 Fukuoka

We got some marked down instant congee from the convenience store the night before, so that was my breakfast.  Sarah had opted from a melon bun, slightly reassemble pineapple bun.

We took a coach to Dazaifu, the coach and the bus station was full of people!  When we got there, Dazaifu is also full of people!  I found a little soba restaurant for our lunch.

We explored Dazaifu and the Kyushu museum.  We made sure we had one of those fresh made plum mochi before we left.  We went back for some yakisoba, fried noodle dinner.  We did a little bit of shopping before going home.  One of the shops we went to as a 100-yen store, except I didn't know, so I asked how much things are, and they told me 100-yen...  We also found some granola for Sarah.

We got everything dried up and ready for Kumamoto the next day!

Journey to the East: Day 6 Fukuoka

We went to Gion area of Hakata, aka old Hakata, which is only around the corner from our hotel.  It is fully of temples,  We spent all morning there, along the way, we came across fishball workshop, with free sample, a kimono workshop, etc.

Royal Steamed Breadroll Place!

Before we crashed out, we went into this little one-chef restaurant and had some lunch.  Not a single English word in sight. 

We wandered to the pier for some ice-cream and roasted sweet potato.  Wandered through a Christmas market and found the yatai, food trucks, for some dinner. Yatai was an experience, one that we would unlikely repeat.

We went home on the subway, we didn't know the machine send the tickets out stacked.  I had to bother the station working, who said no to English, I spoke in English anyway...

So much for a "shorter" day, we did some laundry in preparation for the next leg of the holiday.

Journey to the East: Day 5 Fukuoka

We got up early for an early flight to Fukuoka.  We were exhausted.  The taxi driver was chatty. We had time to have some McDonald's breakfast before boarding the plane.  

Before noon, we landed in Fukuoka.  I had to use my Japanese right the way.  It is always polite to ask if they speak English before speaking English to them anyway.  It took us a few minutes to get all the SIMs working, we validated our rail pass and went into town.  The Fukuoka tourist board keeps trying to sell us chive offal hot pots...

We were early to the hotel, so we just went to the hotel and dropped of the luggage then found some food. With limited brain power, I went to the chain beef bowl place, somewhere with little thinking required.

We found enough energy to take a local train to go to the Buddha, which was nice.  We came back the long way and went to another chain restaurant, more Japanese required.

Journey to the East: Day 4 Hong Kong

My friend told me about the Jiao Festival, so we went. This one happens once in ten years!  It was interesting.  Similar celebration happens yearly in other villages/islands.

We went to get some lunch then we changed our plan from BBQ to JL and we finally settled to go see General Che in the other side of the NT.  Then we went to have adolescent pigeons.

We walked a lot on the day, but we got home in good time to pack for Japan.

Journey to the East: Day 3 Hong Kong

We dropped the luggage off at my friend's.  Little do we know, it would turn out be a long day.

We went to a bank to get some Yen, the we had some lunch and bought some mochi.  We went onto two museums, get an additional Japanese SIM card, bought some Octopus and try to sort out my old card. It has been a long and productive day.  Except it is not yet over.

We caught up with another friend for some dinner.  I thought it was be a Korean BBQ, but it turned out to be a Taiwanese BBQ.  It was a buffet roast meat dinner, which was fun.  I have bumped some Japanese changes from my friend, hoping to ease the cash issue. Then we even went to Nina Tower for the view before going home. 

Journey to the East: Day 2 Hong Kong

It was not the most comfortable flight.  Both of use barely slept.  On the other hand, I watched the whole of Series 5 of Astrid.

We landed, the eSIM works, however my Octopus has decided to fail and the airport customer service does not sell normal Octopus, we took a bus with cash, shock horror.  We found our way to our hotel, a long awaited hot shower and a cup of tea.  We found some dinner in the shopping mall underneath the hotel.  By the time we went to Cafe De Coral, the top favourites have already been sold out.

We have to unpack everything and repack everything before we can settle in, because we were handing over our luggage to my friend's until Christmas eve when we get back from Japan.

Journey to the East: Day 1 Airports

We did the final departure checks and we got into our pre-booked taxi, he only took cash, luckily we were prepared.  Followed by pre-booked coach.  We got into Heathrow in good time for a M&S lunch.  It is very confusing when they put the Christmas specials next to the meal deals that isn't in the meal deal.

The flight to Frankfurt is delayed, so we had extra time in Heathrow.  When we got to Frankfurt, we had hours to kill, and we were lucky to find a light supper before boarding. I was hoping to get TGTG, but they were all available much later.

We got on the plane and got our slippers and set for the night.

Journey to the East: Day 0

We have packed everything ready for the journey.  We even printed out my plan, with all the barcodes, reference number, addresses in case technology fails us.  We double checked our different cash.

eSIM Experiment II

I found another eSIM, and it seems to be working better. It is strange to have to rely on something intangible.

Manual Splitting

I only just remember that the app takes a cut on a split ticket.  When it is my own money, maybe I should have manually split it to save on their commission...

Spirit of Christmas Markets

I think I finally understand the spirit of Christmas Markets: day time drinking...

Missing Baby Jesus Figurines

I mentioned about the missing baby jesus figurine, and someone implied that Jesus wasn't stolen, just not been born yet... If that is the case, all Nativity play will not have a Jesus either...

Knife Sharpening

I have been meaning to sharpen my knives.  There are only so many times you can hone it.  Luckily a new guy at the Repair Cafe has offered sharpening service, and everyone brought their gear in.  They are now much better. 

Swimming Gala

I was going to do a bit of swimming, but the local swimming gala meant I went home dry. I cannot possibly ring up every time before I go... Such inconvenience in life.

Seven Necesssities

I am surprised to learn water isn't on the list.  But I suppose if you don't have water, you cannot make tea. 

eSIM Experiment

Part of the preparation, I am sorting out some eSIMs.  It is a learning experience.  Luckily my tuition hasn't been too expensive...

Wendy's

I took the opportunity to try to Wendy's in England.  It is very boring, it was nothing to write home about. I won't bother again.

Shoes Shopping Spree

When you see something you like, you snap it.  As it happens, I bought three pairs of shoes in two weeks. I think I can finally permanently retire the old shoes.

Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate shopping is not as simple one may think.  As it turns out, almost all the hot chocolate is made with milk.  Especially the posh expensive stuff.

You have to get the "instant" stuff that has milk powder if you don't want to mess with milk.  

Free Food Samples

We were surprised by the number of free samples available on our weekend trip.  There were some new, weird food products.  I am not sure about the savoury stuffed mochi.

Leeds Christmas Market 2025

We went to the Christmas Market on a cold wet day, which makes it quieter, much to our delight.  It was a good day out.

New Tubular Heater

I have landed a new tubular heater. It works a bit differently to the old heater, so I will have observe its operation and decide how to operate it.  All for a 120W appliance.

Unthank Hibernation

With some help, I finally put Unthank on the stand.  I got additional support, although I am not sure they are my best buys.

Christmas Nuts

My local Tesco is not very big, they have a small Christmas nuts section.  I walked around it a few times, and ended up asking for someone to find it with me.  They look good.

Freegle Standards

I got a bag from Freegle. It is originally from a good make, but it has been heavily abused.  I think most people would have thrown it in the bin.  The freeglers such as myself would still give it a go...  I am slightly regretting it, on the other hand, it is a good bag, on its very last leg... Let see how much longer I can make it work...

Windows 10 The End

It looks like it is really the end to Windows 10.  I wonder how much longer I can keep the old computer going.  Considering that is the only laptop with a CD-rom now, it would be good to keep it going...

Smart TV

So the old TV is meant to be smart.  However, it doesn't really have the facilities to install apps not already on their platform. Smart enough.

The What Now

I think "the" is even more useless than an Oxford comma... It adds to the word count, I guess.

Oxford Comma

I just explained to someone what an Oxford comma is and why they are important, in law.

Hand Me Down TV

I was not keen on a potential faulty TV.  On closer inspection, apart from two dead lines, I am not sure there was any fault to it, so I adopted it! It is a 40" TV, biggest I have had!

Microwave Dimsum

I had a lot of microwaved dimsum growing up.  We took it for granted that they are always there at the 7-Elevens.  I microwaved some frozen dimsum.  They were not designed to be microwaves, so they did not turn out particularly well.  We need to appreciate the food scientists more.

Hokke Mackerel

We had a grilled fish lunch at a Japanese restaurant.  It was very nice.  It was called Atka Mackerel, so I asked the boss a naive question, is that British?  Then I was swiftly told that fish came all the way from Japan, they definitely were not the typical British mackerel.  We looked it up, it is also known as Hokke. Shame that we would not have access to a kitchen, we would have to rely on people cooking it for us!

Head Bulb

It is the time of the year when we start to notice our head lamp has failed.  I changed one bulb, the bulb looked fine, surely that is the fuse...

I checked all the fuse, they were all right.  Let see the busted bulb again.  I changed the wrong bulb at the first instance...  Measure twice, cut once, must remember.

Frost Bitten Tomatoes

The tomatoes have been harvested and they area clearly not happy.  I suspect the discoluoration is actually slight frost bite.  I will keep a mental note for next year.

Charging Lead Mystery

I have a charging lead with an intermittent issue.  It is so bad that I decided to splash out for some new leads!  We rely on the phone too much, it is even making me nervous when my phone dies.

Parking Costs

A lot of councils are putting up their parking charge prices, and I ended up using a nice private car park, works out perfectly for me.

On the other hand, some operators would increase theirs, as they expect theirs are better than councils, and they are raking it in!

Shoe Integrity

Rain does not just stress test the roof, gutters and drains, they also stress test shoes...  I may have to retire these old shoes, until next summer...

Late Season Tomatoes

The forecast is finally turning, so I brought down all the tomatoes, they looked okay, but I am not sure they will ripe, at all.  Let see.

Designer Shopping

It is always a shock to see how the other half lives.  I was helping my friends to get something from the outlet.  How can one knitware be £60, and that is after all the discounts.  Sarah and I spend that much for all our clothing in a year.

Coop Reopens

Coop has finally reopened after the fire.  It needs some airing out, the only way is to open the doors.  I was playing spot the difference.  They have got some new freezers and moves some baskets around.  I wonder if there will be more changes.

Sizzling Saturday

We went by many farm shops, and I concluded the Sizzling Saturday deal would give me a cheaper steak.  The steak and pork chop were quite nice from Waitrose!

Flash Seaside Break II

The accommodation's breakfast was also very good.  We watched some fishing league in Hornsea for a bit, then we went to Beverley on the way back, hoping to check out a windmill.  The windmill doesn't have its cap and sails on, which was quite disappointing.

Flash Seaside Break

I am not too far from the coast, and when I am on a bike, we just go to the coast on a day trip.  I spotted somewhere nice and at a very good price, so we went for a one day break!  We had sit down fish and chips, crab salad and scallops!  Such luxury.

Coarse Tofu

More supermarkets are putting out more tofu.  I don't know how to describe them except coarse.  They are not smooth like how they are supposed to be.  They are very strange indeed.  On the other hand, don't think of them as tofu, they are just protein...

Budgens Challenge II

We wanted a TGTG from Budgens, then it got cancelled, possibly because the increase custom from the Coop incident.  

Then we finally got one!

This time we got it! This time has a lot of fresh food, a lot of fruit and cheese.  We are very happy with this haul.

Bird Feeder Relocation

I moved the bird feeder pole to a new location and temporary connected to the top half of the bird feeder.  It didn't take long for the robins to came back.

Gentle Shock

I got a gentle shock, electricity, from a repair.  It reminds me why I hate electricity.

Eggs Sorting

We bought more eggs from the farm shop.  And I weight them and further separate them by size.  It is only normal!  It is good to confirm they are all large as advertised.

Season End Bike Washing

The water butt has been refilled, and I took the opportunity to use the soft water for bike washing.  I managed to put the bike before the rain!

Coop Fire

My local Coop had a fire.  A freezer caught fire  It doesn't look to bad. I guess I won't have yellow labels for a little while.

Halloween Decorations

There are some elaborate Halloween decorations.  They are quite impressive.  On the other hand, mostly plastic.

Tubular Heater Shopping

After some thought, I decided I would consider adding another one, or even two tubular heaters. But instead of new, I am now keeping an eye on eBay.  

Slow Services

I am getting used to how slow the services can be here.  I may have to enquire about some of these to get some progress...

Bird Feeder Removal

The old bird feeder snapped in the wind, so eventually we need a new one.  Meanwhile, I investigated how the old one fast fixed into the ground.  It is just a long spike into the soil.  I left it where it is, if the new one goes into the same place, we have less bashing to do.  On the other hand, I just remember that we would be shifting it left.

Tawa Pan

We were shopping for a tawa pan.  When I look at one, it reminds me of Welsh cakes. 

Dexter Binged

I only just noticed Channel 4 has the whole of Dexter.  I have watched all of it.  Ticked.  Ending is a little sad.

Chocolate Cronut

I ot a free treat from Lidl.  Instead of the usual breakfast item, I got a Cronut.  It turned out quite nice!

Heating Calculation

One thing to do heat loss calculation, heat gain seems to be harder.  You can do air temperature gain, but all fabric and everything within the space is likely to be a heat sink.  And that heating needs to overcome heat loss before the heat gain can take place.

Small Phone Plan

When the Vodafone outage happened two weeks ago, I lost both work phone and home internet.  I bought a little phone plan to tide me over.  And it has already run out!  Vodafone better not plays up again.

Sago

After having a closer look, what we had looks awfully like sago

So some 10 years later, we cooked up the rest!

Sago is supposedly from palm, tapioca is from cassava. But it appears a lot of sago is not made with sagu anymore.

AWS Outage

There was an AWS outage, which normally does not affect me not do I care, but it affected Duolingo, and I thought I would lose my streak.  Not really, I have streak freeze.  

Anyway, it did come back before days' end and all is well.

Autumn Rides

The forecast was bad for Sunday but the forecast was fine for the morning.  I took the opportunity to do another ride before the opportunity deminished further!

Tubular Heater Season

It is tubular heater season.  I have to explain to people that insulation is great to slow down heat loss, and if the loss is not made up, it will cool down the rest of the house.  I am even thinking about buying a second one!

Gated Road

I was up at Malhamdale, it had so many 4' road and my first time through a gated road!  Neither Apple and Android mentioned the gate!

Brymor at Helmsley

I think Brymor is tastiest at the farm parlour.  I just feel a massive sting when I get mine at Helmsley!!!

External Mechanical Impact II

I have stopped my fellow repairer making the same mistakes that I made, taking something apart that cannot be reassembled.  I shared this and a few other stories at the repair cafe event.  

Flooring Saga

The flooring saga has finally concluded, for now.  The bullet proof LVT is not as bullet proof as it turns out, after much messing around, it is fractionally better.  I now understand why people like carpet.

University of Leeds Repair Cafe

We went to an event at the university.  We are quite impressed by the University of Leeds Repair Cafe's setup.  We also chatted with other areas' repair cafe.  It has been an educational evening.

Monkey Bike

I met someone with a monkey, it is quite cute.  It performs similar to what I expected, a Honda 125 motor, good little machine.

Giant Halloween Decoration

I keep seeing giant halloween decoration in my neighbourhood.  I am even tempted to stop and take a picture.  It is a lot of plastic, but whatever makes them happy I guess.

Miso Mania

Since I got a couple bag of dried shitake mushrooms, I need to find ways to use it, and I thought of miso.  So I bought a 1kg bag of miso.  It will probably be a lot miso soup!

Garage Coffee

I went to put some new tyres on Danby, the garage is quite shiny, and has a coffee machine, so I though I would try.  Awful is a compliment.  I had a small sip, and then I rejected it.  I should not have bothered.

Online Banking Pain

One of the banks has stupidly split my account, so my new account has a new login.  I had to go to a branch to try to get it sorted, but it maybe a long wait.

Crumpet Taste Test

I got some marked down Irresistible crumpets and some standard Warburton crumpet.  I thought they would be "the same", in fact, they were very difference.  I had the Irresistible ones first, as they were short dated, they were very nice.  Then when I get to the Warburton ones, I felt short changed.  I swear they used to be more substantial now they are a bit too holey?!

Pointless Hotel Points

I managed to get some coffee from my IHG points last year.  This year, they sent me a reminder that I haven't been staying with them so my points are expiring, so after browsing around, I donated them.  The best things for these points.

Off Grid Solar Review

Walt was going to do a little presentation on our little off grid system.  I have checked on the numbers for him.  They only used 42kWh of electricity, most of the time it as idle.  On the other hand, that was some 800 cups of tea in 4 months, so they had a good use out of it.

Electric Cooking Without Induction

The free electricity session made use of the excess wind power, and I had to be more creative on how to use the electric when there isn't an induction hobs.  The solution is to cook food in slow cooker and in the oven.  It does seems inefficient to roast down the vegetables compared to contact cooking on the pan, but it got done electrically, that was the brief.

Planet Money Game

I would be interested in playing the Planet Money game.  Except I am not sure who would play with me.  And that the work printer is playing up, so I cannot play the prototype.  Let see if I can get a copy when it is finalised.

Ikea Food

Ikea is going cheap breakfasts, but I wasn't early enough.  And the kiosk no longer sells meatballs, which is a shame.  I am still not sure why their hot drinks are so bad and their kiosk food so tasteless.  I think I am pretty much done with Ikea now, as in, I am really not bothered with eating there.

Garden Storm Damages

Autumn is here, a few storm has saved me the trouble to decide which plants to cut down first.  Too bad that the storm also took down the bird feeder!

Buckeyes

I just found out, buckeyes are just conkers!

Siumai

I have never made siumai, but since I got some spare pork mince from making the wonton, and I got spare wonton wrappers, so I made some siumai.  They turned out quite nice also.

Waitrose Seeded Malted Bread Flour

I looked around the internet, I found that Waitrose also does the "malted seeded" flour, I have a suspecion that they are actually Marriage's, so we got some.  They were very nice indeed!

Wonton

I probably have not made any wonton for 30 years.  Since I got the shrimps, I made some, they turned out quite nicely, and I am very happy with them.

App Size

The old gadgets batteries are getting very unreliable, I ended up having to add an app to the phone.  The phone app is quite bad due to the size, each page is turned into a few clicks. Very annoying indeed.

The Middle-Class ABC

We came across this book from a charity shop, it wasn't particularly cheap, but we bought it, knowing that it should be good entertainment.  It was originally published in 2012, but still very relevant.  It has been quite funny indeed.

Prawn Toast II

A nearby oriental supermarket was shutting down, so I went to browse for goodies.  They have this frozen prawn paste.  So I made more prawn toasts, except this time, I didn't have to bash up the shrimp, much easier.  They were quite nice!  They are not really cheaper than buying the shrimp whole, but definitely easier.

Bircham Windmill

We went by Bircham Windmill for some lunch.  It has a windmill but it be being used as a bakery.  They stock and sell Marriage's, so we assume they bake with Marriage's, we were so impressed with their malted roll, we wanted to buy some flour, except they sold out the malted seeded flour, so the hunt begin.

Storm Aftermath

I finally surveyed the damages from the store.  The sweetpea collasped with the bird feeder.  A lot of the tall tomatoes were leaning over, or worse. a few pots rolled around the garden.  It could be worse.  I am not sure I can repair the bird feeder pole.

In Search of Cromer Crab III

There were two fish shops in Holt, so surely there were going to be some Cromer crabs.

We popped into the first one, as expected, they have some crabs, dressed in their own shell, so we bought it.  The owner was too busy chatting to regulars, we didn't get a chance to ask for its family tree.  It tastes nice.  Cromer crab, ticked.

In Search of Cromer Crab II

Another town along, Salthouse, there was a sign for dressed crab, but we saw the sign too late, and we could not pop in.

We went to Cley next the Sea as planned.  They had dressed crab, but strangely they were in a scallop shell.  We were very confused, so we passed up on them also.

In Search of Cromer Crab

We did not go to Cromer this time.  The next town along, Sheringham has a fish shop.  They have crab sandwiches but no dressed crab, very suspicious indeed.  The gentleman before me also came in for real seafood, he enquired about brown shrimps as well as crab.  It was very disappointing.

Chess Puzzles

Chess.com wants me to subscribe for more puzzles, but Chess has not popped up on Duolingo, so I am having as much Chess puzzles as I like, free.

Sweet Chestnuts

I finally had some English sweet chestnuts.  My previous experience with English chestnuts are that they are all tiny.  This lot is less tiny, but definitely much smaller than the French and Italian chestnuts.  Most important of all, they are not sweet.. Even with an exceptional year of sunshine, they were still tiny and tasteless.  I won't bother picking through the spikes!

Cobnuts

I finally tried some English cobnuts.  They are very nice indeed.  They were nice raw, and even nicer warmed.  Shame they are not more widely available.

Twycross Zoo

We went to Twycross Zoo with the encouragement from Octopus. It was a nice little zoo.  We were lucky with the weather and the crowd.  As a result, we now have an annual ticket to revisit anytime.

Coop is not Coop

My coop discount does not work in the midlands, I am not happy about it.

Cucumber Results

Cucumber result is also dismal.  I did ended up with a few decent cucumber and I have a few seeds left for next year, not sure I can be bothered after that...

Edamame Result

We have finished off all the edamame I have grown, which was very easy, as there were hardly any...  It was very much waste of effort.

Autumn Yorkshire Business Fair

I went to see the Yorkshire Business Fair again.  This time I got zero freebies!  So abstemious!

Tomatoes 2025

Tomatoes harvest is underway, they are pretty good, they are coming in slightly staggered.  They are ripening nicely this year, thanks to the Sun, compare to last year's green lot.

Floor Prep

I am emptying out the kitchen in preparation for the floor guy.  Eufy did a good job cleaning under the units, I am very happy about that.  I haven't decided if I should or could move the washing machine, maybe I should try another day.

Apple Comparison

I got some pink lady apple.  I had them side by side with the neighbourhood apple.  Although the neighbourhood apple is a bit tart, the pink lady was overall quite tasteless.

Emergency Alerts

The emergency alert testing came when we were at the Repair Cafe.  It was interesting to see other people's reaction.  It is sad that some people think preparedness is a joke.

National Three Peaks - Day 3

The team came back down unscathed.  The road out from Wasdale was still full of sheep, I also encountered a frog and a mouse.  I drove us back to M6, then Jason took over.  From the motorway to Wales, were all motorway, so we all managed to have a little sleep.  We picked up James and went to park up at Yr Wyddfa, aka Snowdon.

Matt has recovered, so leaving Jason and me at the van.  We witness how many buses and coaches dropping off hundreds of walkers and there was a fell running event.

Jason and I managed to dose off for a bit ready for more driving later.  The team took longer than expected to come back down due to human congestion on the hill.  And Jason drove to drop himself off, James and Simon hopped off also.  Then we dropped off Steph and Chris in Chester.

Finally, I drove Matt back home, all motorway from Chester, so back on cruise control, absolutely godsend.  He picked up the car and I did more unloading and tidying of the van.  Driving challenge completed!

Drive distance ~180 miles, Lake district rural roads and motorway.

National Three Peaks - Day 2

We all had breakfast at 7:30am, we all ate them quite quickly.  I had some potato scones, they were quite fried.  Somehow nobody did porridge.

It was a short drive to Ben Nevis and off they went.  There was some internet at the bottom of Ben Nevis, so that gave me hours to entertain myself with Japanese and chess.  An hour and a half later, Jason turned up, his knee was playing up, so he came back down.  He really wanted to do Ben Nevis, which was a shame.  However, that meant we now have two dedicated drivers, which was a blessing.

As the day goes on, the car park was filling up, Ben Nevis is also popular with Europeans.

A few hour later, Matt turned up, his thigh was playing up.  He was so close to the top.  Then everyone else came back.  We went to the supermarket for lunch.  Jason drove us to Carlisle.  From Carlisle, we got some dinner and I drove the Wasdale Head.  Typical Lake District rural roads, which was not fun, even less fun when in a van.  There were a lot of sheep and an owl.

Jason and Matt stayed at the car with me, we tried to have a little sleep.  We succeeded in varying degree.

I drove ~80 miles, short shuttle to Ben Nevis plus Lake District rural road.

National Three Peaks - Day 1

Matt came to my house to hop on the van.  We also picked Steph up as her train was delayed.  Only when we joined the motorway, we realised the van was speed limited!  I do love the cruise control.

We stopped at Penrith for lunch and went to Glasgow to pick everyone else up.  By then, I have already driven for 5 hours, so I passed the key to Chris for the last leg to Fort William.  On the way to Fort William, I told Hayley about this, and she correctly called this a driving challenge.

Once we checked into the hotel, I did my Japanese learning then we had a dinner together.

Everyone was resting early for the long days ahead.

I drove ~222 miles mostly motorway.

National Three Peaks - Day 0

I don't think I have the fitness to do the three peaks, so I volunteered to be a driver.  The van was delivered, so I loaded up my driver's essentials and took pictured of all the existing dents.

I also brough a stove for making hot water in the hills in the middle of the night.

Maud Foster Windmill

We had Maud Foster windmill's flour before, but we only got them from the farm shop.  I finally got to see Maud Foster Windmill.  It is a five sails windmill very centrally located in Boston.  I tried to ring the shop to see if they would open up for me to buy some flour, but noone was answering the phone, shame.

As it turns out, Maud Foster was named after the Maud Foster Drain, and Maud Foster Drain name origin is not known.

Heckington Windmill

I stopped by Heckington to look at the eight sails windmill.  The site is well established, with different business and tempting flours.  It is quite pretty too.

Golden Kiwi

I was made to try some Golden Kiwi.  It tastes a bit like a soft ripen pear.  Either way, I will take a good apple or a good orange anytime, and for the price of that, I don't see why I would ever buy them, they are very much not a treat for me.

Leicester Pride 2025

This is the first time I went to Leicester Pride at Abbey Pride since they moved it a couple years ago.  We watched the parade, then we joined the parade, then we walked to the park.  Nice venue, nice management.

Lidgett Tomatoes

I got some tomatoes from the Lidgett bed.  They have not been staked up like ours, so they are a bit pest damaged, but nonetheless good produces, for the special someone.

Allergy Declaration

When I am asked, I felt I am obliged to answer.  Then there is a whole bunch of hassle to choose what is void of said allergens.  So much hassle!  I must remember not to answer that question next time.

Autumn Garden Tidy Up

A lot of the plants are going into flower, and we are not really getting food from them anymore, they might as well go into the brown bin.  It is only a few brown bins left to discard all these old useless plants.

Allium Dumplings

I put the two flowering spring onion to soil and turned out the be thick like a leek.  We made them into dumplings, they are pretty good.

Tie Dye

The first time tie dying, turned out quite well, if I say so myself.

North Leverton Windmill

We went to North Leverton Windmill to have a look.  They were very talkative.  We bought total of three bags of assorted flours and oats.  Let's see if they are any good.

Scunthorpe Pride 2025

I went back to Scunthorpe this year.  This year the parade is slightly smaller but the event is slightly bigger.  Free parking is always good and the art gallery is a very nice addition.

Leeds Festival Traffic

Leeds Festival Traffic is always bad.  The congestion started on Wednesday, road works does not work.

On Friday, all the locals were using the back roads, so they are also busy.  I was glad to make it home before it got even worse.

Rice Handling

We often wonder what is actually the guidance on cooked rice handling, thanks Catherine.

Prawn Toast

I made some home made prawn toasts.  They were good, but a lot of prawns and a lot of work went into that few bites.

Dutch Windmill Flour

So we finally started using the flour from my recent trip, this windmill flour is much finer than the ones we get from Holgate, they taste quite nice too.

Mall Freebies

After coming back from Halifax mildly disappointed with the freebies, we went to the White Rose for some shopping.  Much to our delight, Specsaver was doing some freebies, aiming at the Back to School crowd, especially they were packing up, they were encouraging us to help them with their giveaways, so we got some glasses cloth and cleaner and some candy!  Always nice to have some unscheduled perks.

Calderdale Pride 2025

We went to this pride third year in a row.  This year we were joined by another couple, we did some Halifax walk around, and ate at the market before Pride.  When everyone else got "normal food", I could not resist a ham hock!

They changed the location this year, so it was a little trek to Dean Clough Mill.  There were significantly fewer stalls, it was quite an enclosed space, and most importantly, McVities was not there!  It was good to check out the Mill, but I hope they move it back to the centre...

Tennis Elbow II

So resting my elbow hurts less, but it got frozen.  Exercising does make it sore, which is also not good.  Someone we know had to rest and exercise for a year to get better.  Aging, not fun!

When the Pool Doesn't Work II

On a hot summer day, I went to the pool again.  This time the pool was relatively cool, but there were a lot of people, a lot of children, I could barely swim in a straight lane, and I gave up after 20 minutes.

Corny Fish

I rarely put an egg in my corny fish, but after watching a cooking video, I have now adopted into adding egg into this kind of sauces.  It turned out quite well.

Tennis Elbow

My left arm started hurting, it bothered me enough to look it up.  I think it is a tennis elbow, except, I don't play tennis with my left hand!  I have no idea what caused it.  Let's hope resting would help.

Nutty Praline

I am digging into some of these Praline chocolates, they are very nutty, barely chocolate.  Something to keep in mind.

Curly Beans

I have been enjoying the beans, but the second waves of beans are all a bit curly, I am not sure if it because something has been biting them of they just don't hang down straight.

Salad Flavoured Fruit

The other night, my strawberry tastes of garlic.  Today, my apple tasted of cucumber.  That was disconcerting.

Shokupan

We finally got a chance to try Shokupan after so many people raved about it.  It is okay, I don't think it is something to write home about.

Free Electricity

On some Sunny Windy days, we get free electricity, but it is very hard for us to take advantage of it, because I have to first use down all my own solar generation before I can start using grid electricity.  We do try to lighten the surplus electricity off the grid.

Slow Bus

It has been a few months since I took a bus, this one was very slow.  I had to tell myself how much carbon footprints I saved by taking the bus.  It could have been much worse if it has been hot ..

Dancing Caterpillars

A bunch of caterpillar hatched, we saw them and started talking next to them, and it appears they response to sound! 

Summer Harvest

The vegetables are coming through full swing.  The beans are doing well.  The cucumber is a little disappointing.  Basil is enjoying the warmth and the tomatoes are ripening.

Library Hot Desking

I was working at the library as Danby went in for her service.  I still haven't signed up for their free wifi, but it was okay with my own hot spot.  They have a lot of summer events, which is good to see. On the other hand, I still don't know why they don't have toilets.

Skipton Pride

I don't think I have been to Skipton Pride before. Emma wanted to go, so we went, and another couple people turned up.  It was basically a party on the High Street.  I researched a lot on where to park, when Craven wants to charge for all motorcycle spaces in the car parks.  Then I realised, on-street parking is free on Sundays, and on-street parling is free for motorcycle.  Except it is cobbles, and we could usually find a gap near the tree to not take up car parking space, it worked well.

Skipton Pride was very small.  We also checked out the canal basin art market.  We tried a few nice cafes.  It was a nice day out.

Cops & Cars 2025

Mark was supposed to join me at Cops and Cars, but he injured himself.  I went there on my own, on Unthank.  It was a nice gig.

Bicycle Trolley

A parcel was delivered late, so I had to make a special trip to collect it from town.  Instead of getting the trolley to bring it back, I used the bicycle again, which I cycled to town, and use it as a trolley on the way back.  It works well, but I made the same mistake of lowering the seat too low, so the pole caught on the hump, I shall remember next time.

Greggs Hot Food

I was having some lunch at Greggs, we branched out from the pasty department.  He had a salad and I had mac and cheese.  They were not cheap.  I am probably going to stick with their cord pasty offerings.

Japanese-Language Proficiency Test

The lowest level is N5, and I am no where near it...  I have resigned to only know tourist Japanese.

Left Hand Training

I am using Duolingo for my left hand writing training!  Always find way to maximise returns.

Dubai Chocolate

We finally tried the Lidl version of the Dubai Chocolate.  Way to sweet for my taste.  

Then I saw the other more expensive brands, but I think they are all way to sweet anyway, let's not bother, again.

Language Exchange

I practiced my basic Japanese phrases on Sara.  It was well received. 

Hebden Bridge Odyssey

This year we went to Happy Valley Pride together, but separately.  I took Unthank, and Sarah took the train.

We spent a couple hours in Hebden Bridge then we made our separate ways home.  I came across some road works.  Sarah was faced with signaling problem, ended up taking some buses home.

Woodland Creation - Potting 2025

The potting season has returned.  We got to see some seed trays we potted last year, they are growing!

Bike Spinning

There is supposedly this trick to turn the motorbike around on its side stand.  I tried, I don't think I am tall enough or strong enough for it...

Sunnies - Sunflower Shoots

I got lots of sunflower seeds from my sunflowers last year, but I cannot possibly grow them all into sunflowers.  Then I remember trying sunflower shoots at GarFeast another year, so I planned them for microgreen.  They are going well.

Parasitic Load

Just about everything has a parasitic load.  I have a tiny battery charger, as it appears, it doesn't even have enough to address the parasitic load, let alone charging.  Maybe I need to retire it altogether... 

Unthank's Work Outing

My client jokingly asked, if my car was playing up, don't you have a bike?  So I did go on the bike.  I need to remember Unthank is a realistic option.

Mouse Pad

As you would expect, sometimes little buttons doesn't last long.  The intermittent fault on the track pad is really disruptive, so I have asked for it to be disconnected.  Let see how it goes with a real mouse.

999 and 112: the UK's national emergency numbers

I don't know why nobody knows about 112, its even on gov.uk website.  

Late Night Snacking

We rarely eat much after dinner. When my friends came, they ate a whole bag of crisps, after dinner, each night!  Impressive.

Sunflower Compatibility

I left the sunflower out for the birds to pick on the seeds, but none were coming.  If you look on the internet, there are actually only few birds eat sunflower seeds from the sunflowers..  If I am having to process it, I am keeping them for human consumption.

Full Monty

I took the car for a major car wash in anticipation of some visitors.  I think, it will always be disappointing, they are never as magical as they promise.

Cosmetic Peak

Some of the bikers wear a full face helmet with a peak, aka visor.  I remember seeing them that many years in the factory.  I still don't know what is the point.  All it does it catching wind and increasing drag and stress on the neck.

Soba that isn't Soba

Just when you thought you know a word, soba.  Buckwheat in Japanese, also noodles made with mostly buckwheat flour.  Except...  you can also use soba to describe some normal wheat noodles that had never met a grain of soba.  Why!  It is not like they don't have a word for noodles!

Trip Planning

I normally go the trip planning on excel, but I was asked to present it in Powerpoint... Am I some kind of travel agent?

Cool Seeking

I took Unthank out on a very hot day.  Most motorcycle parking are not guarantee in shade, so she became very hot...

Along the way, I did get a few cold drinks, and hid in shopping mall.  I suppose a few hours outside of the hot house, on the bike, I cannot complain.

When the Pool Doesn't Work

So I thought it would be a good idea to go to the pool to cool down, but it didn't go as planned.  There were a few boys making a lot of splashes, and the swimmers are not separated in lanes, so it was chaos...  After some 30 minutes of swimming and dipping, I walked out, dripping again...

Instant Anglicisation

I know a person that anything she touches, instantly turns English...  Considering she is well travelled, why she has no sympathy towards those cuisine, no idea.

On the other hand, abomination doesn't just happen by Anglicisation or Sinosisation, even Japanisation.  So don't be shock anywhere you go...

The Ducky Fine Print

When you thought Gressingham raises duck, you would assume all the ducks came from England...  Even the same product that looks similar can be different...  Always read the fine print...

Japanese Practice

It is not just practicing basic phrases in Japanese.  I am also practicing using Google Translate with image.  It is not as smooth as people suggest.  Practice practice practice.

Fresh Beans

The peas are very unhappy about the hot weather, on the other hand, beans are just coming up.  They looks good, they just need to produce now!

Electronic Line Calling

I am not sure it is good or bad that the ELC also make mistakes and that now instead of shouting at the linesman, they have nobody to shout at.

Just remember, computer is equally dumb.

Sub Premium Bond

So I have reviewed the performance of the Premium Bond, it is suboptimal... 

Child Size Bike

I got volunteered to take a bike to school.  Although the bike has a 26" wheels, it has a very small frame.  I managed, but it was not fun.

Rye Bread

We had the rye bread from our haul the other day.  It is quite medicinal...

First Early Potato

The new potatoes was ready to be harvest, so we lifted them up.  I am happy with them, two little seed potato yielded over 1kg.  The main crop potatoes have a lot to live up to!

Japanese Exchange

Sarah was chatting with her Japanese friend, so I got a chance to clarify some peculiarity, such as why はis pronounce as a wa?

Old language with multiple influence over hundred of years.  

I have explained the whole Katsu situation to her.  How a loaned word taking on new meaning, again.

Drovers' Bready Bounty

Whilst we were in Wetherby, I saw that Baltzersen has a TGTG sticker on the door, so I check, and they were selling surprise bag, so I reserved one.  

When we got it, it was massive, total of 10 items!   I haven't yet cleared my last glut!

Wetherby Drovers Day

I thought we would go to the Band stand for some music, I was surprised to find it was the Drovers day, so we were treated with many more bands and matching performance.

Allotment Mess

We had a tour of an allotment, they can be really different from one and other, but they most of they are not very tidy...  I could have been armed with a machete for all the raspberry and brambles.

Banana Pancakes

One of the TGTG box has some of these banana pancakes.  The verdict is, not again.

Eufy Mop

I don't use the mop function on the robot very often.  It does feel much better after mopping, maybe I need to mop more.

Stop Remember Me II

I did it again!  Made another mistake on my train ticket!

I change the outbound but forgot the inbound.  Now that I know, I cannot knowingly risk being fined...  I will just take the bus home and save that ticket for later...

Partially Unfolded

After the recent reshuffle, one of the folding bike is now stored partially unfolded, it works perfectly in the cupboard!

Summer Insulation

I partially insulated the garage back door. I am very happy it has kept the garage cool over the hot spell.

Giant Sunflowers

This year's sunflower is mostly from the seeds I gathered last year.  They have turned out beautifully and they have grown into very impressive height!

New Grill

I went to a BBQ, I cannot believe the grill was brand new....

Wet Tee Shirts

At the height of the heat snap, I have to keep my tershirt wet and keep moving.   Or you can always get an expensive leaking vest for the same effect.

Stop Remembering Me

I made a mistake on some train tickets because the app remember what I last searched... I was so grateful they let me off, still! It should always revert to today!

Sunny Problem

So the problem with the Sun is that my sugar snap peas are a bit tough this year!

Camp Bed

I got myself a camp bed a few years ago on a clearance sale for Christmas.  It was very cheap, but Sarah was not convinced.  Now, we have discovered its true purpose, imitation hammock!  What a great buy!

Free Pick Your Own

After some Pick Your Own experience, I swore not to bother.

Then we went to a local community Incredible Edible garden, they have a load of strawberries ready and noone was picking them.  So I went for it.  They were okay, I am glad I did not pay!

Fingertip Search

I have misplaced so many things recently, so I have decided to have a major sort out!  In the process, I am throwing away a few things and using up a few things!  This should be done more often to be honest, at least I am making a start!

Off-grid Solar Install

Eco-Friendly Garforth has delivered a little off-grid solar system for a local allotment community space.  I am quite proud of it.

Rain Coat Shopping

The reason bike trips have highlights my old rain coat solutions was not a solution, and I need an overcoat that fits, and that I don't want to pay over the odds for something I wear 3 times a year.

As it appears, raincoat does not go on sale in the middle of a heatwave.  But my search was over when an old style rain coat was on sale at Trespass!  Sorted!  Mariam seems to think we ought to carry it as a talisman...

Bread Overload

I got a Too Good to Go bakery surprise bag, and it was not in a bag, it was a massive tray of baked goods, some 12 items in it!  I had to make room in the freezer for them all!

Farm Shop Eggs

I stopped by a supermarket to buy some eggs, and I could not bring myself to it, as it would have been cheaper nearer home.  We really shouldn't complain, the American eggs are crazy at the minute.  So when I got nearer home, I thought I would pop by a local farm shop to see what they have got.  And theirs are bigger eggs for the same price!  I need to shop there more often.

Tape Transfers

My tape collections all went when my mom sold her flat, I don't think I missed them.  Sarah wants to digitalise them.  But so far, not much success...

Kaasbolletje

We broke open the Kaasbolletje I got from Albert Heijn.  The waffle with cheese filling was savoury as a bit weird as you would expect it.  When you look it up on the internet, apparently they have a fried version of this.  Either way, tried it, done.

York Pride 2025

We made a quick stop at York Pride this year on our way back from the coast.  We were going to park at our usual place, but they have jacked the price up!  So we sorted alternative parking location, which worked out well.

They have a lot more fairground rides this year, I think.  There were some good freebies!  No chocolates tho!

Puffin Festival 2025

This year we went back to the Puffin Festival, this time with my scope.

We saw some shags too.

Asparagus 2025

We picked up our first lot of asparagus this year. The Dutch stuff were cheaper, but I could only get so much back on one trip.

Silent Migraine

Migraine aura without headache, also known as silent migraine – where an aura or other migraine symptoms are experienced, without a headache.

My eye was not seeing right, so I went to see an optician, the cheapest and fastest way to get some answers to my symptoms.  I was reassured.

Online Seeds Progress

Although some of the online seeds have sprouted, but they are currently not doing so well.  The cucumbers have way too many male flowers, the beans not bushy as described.  I better keep my expectation low.

Much Deserved Bike Wash

I should really be washing Unthank more often.  After collecting all the dirt from Northumberland, Forrest of Bowland, Lake District, the Dales, the Netherlands and Belgium, she had a much deserved wash.

Belgian Produces

In the morning, I cycled to the local clogs maker, they were open but nobody was around.  Then I cycled to the bakery, got a waffle and some bread.  When I got back, I had some bread and waffle with the Belgian vending machine strawberry, so Belgian.

I rode to Antwerp for a walk around, got some chocolate.  When I set off, it started raining.  I stopped at a cafe, still in Belgium, a ham and cheese sandwich and a coffee.

I went to a farm shop for some asparagus, Dutch!  I got a few green and a few white, all for 2 euro.

I stopped and had a quick snaps of Breda, then onto Rotterdam, specifically, the Markethall.  I had two croquettes with the bread I already got.  I went into AH for yet more chocolate.

Finally, I went to to ferry terminal, and got on the ferry.  Where I was working hard to use up the roaming data I bought for this trip.  I ate my bread and the rice cakes for dinner.

GLME Soesterberg 2025 - Day 4

On the check out day, everyone was just loading the bike, having breakfast and saying goodbyes.  It has been fun.

I took the motorway route to get to the Hague to see Karen.  We caught up and have some lunch.  Sample of two Canadians also have the general misunderstanding of the word dike.

Then I went Southbound to Baarle-Nassau and outskirt Antwerp.  On the way, I took a detour to a farm shop, which was shut.  Then I came by a strawberry vending machine!

I parked up, changed mode of transport.  I borrowed a bike to go to the shop to look for dinner.  I went to a Belgium chip shop, it makes British chip shop look healthy...

The place also have a washing machine, so I used it!  Always good to come home with mostly clean clothes!

GLME Soesterberg 2025 - Day 3

More nice breakfast to start the day.  The ride are earlier and earlier, today we set off at 8:30!

We had a mixed routes, nice pace, and went onto see a few traditional windmills.  The first stop was a flour mill, and I was able to get some flour.  After asking if Noam, has luggage space for my flour , he wanted some too, then someone else also bought some. We also saw a sew mill, which was interesting.

As the final night, so I got the packing done.  It was BBQ night, I was looking forward to it, it took a long time, we ended up having dinner late and slept late.

GLME Soesterberg 2025 - Day 2

Breakfast was very nice.  They had a few hot things for the British, then the typical German, French and of course Dutch selection.  

My gear were still wet from yesterday, but since the forecast was good, I was sure it would dry up shortly.

I went onto the scenic ride to Amsterdam for the boat trip.  The scenic ride involved riding on a lot of dikes.  Only now I know the dikes mean the bank, not the ditch!

It was good to see Amsterdam from the boat.  I did do a lot of walking around the canals when I was there, but it was a different prospective.

Before dinner, I was chasing down the ride leader for tomorrow, to ask if we can buy flour.  The Dutch think I was crazy...

Dinner was equally nice and equally messed with.  I checked with Sarah, she also had the misunderstanding of the word dike.

GLME Soesterberg 2025 - Day 1

I was still stuffed from dinner, so I only had a modest breakfast.  The immigration officer actually asked everyone where they were going, so the queue was long.

It was only some 50 miles to the venue, so I thought I would check out the other bit of the Netherlands before getting to Soesterberg.  Where I went, Friesland, was actually quite far, and the weather was pretty bad.

I did make it to Leeuwarden, used some Dutch, had a coffee, took a few pictures.  Then I went onto Amersfoort, then onto Soesterberg.  I was drenched...

It was a very nice hotel, coffee and cookies were flowing.  I got into the room, got the wet gear off me, then I did a little socialising before dinner.  The dinner was too nice, too messed with...

GLME Soesterberg 2025 - Day 0

I took non-motorway route to Hull, fuel up and boarded the ferry.  I went for the dinner buffet, which was fine.  I have not been this stuffed for so long.  The free wifi is only for one hour, so a lot of offline chess for me.

Summer Skiing

It has been 7 years since I last skiied.  We took advantage of the summer discount, and went to do a bit of skiing.  I tried a big hump, it was quite scary.  I did that 3 times. And I did the small hump once.  Good fun.

Contaminated Plants

There are reasons why I like to keep my indoor plants indoors, and outdoors / contaminated plants out.  Some green flies had flew in when we had the windows open, and now some plants have to live outside.  We should keep the windows shut too...

Windermere Ferry

I have not been on the Windermere Ferry for some 16 years!  Great fun, good experience.

Barber Trainee II

As usual, I went to my hair cut.  This time the trainee needed to take off scissor cut element, so I let them, basically they cut my hair once with scissors, and clipper and blend in again, it took a while!

When the Patch Don't Work

I have tried different patched on this flat tyre. I tried newer glue and patch, just when I thought it was working, it has not held.  It is time to get a new tube...

Refrigerator Temperature Study

So we used my datalogger in the different areas of the refrigerator.  It is less dire and initially thought.  The refrigerator seal is more squashed than the freezer's, which is understandable.  Temperature map does help us to understand where is the best place for what.  Also we just remember not to overload them.

Diamond League II

I had not finish top three in my first week of diamond league, but I stayed on.  On the second week, I finish 1st, so as far as I am concerned, I have won it.  On the third week, I finished 4th or 5th.  This week, I am leading ahead, the occasion Super Duolingo preview has helped.  Let hope I have built a big lead for this cohort to catch up.  Only 1 more week before I will will speak Dutch to a Dutch person!

Leggings

I have grown up with a concept of cycling shorts, ie lycra-type short, and actual cycling shorts (the one with pads).  I almost always cycling in warm weather, so it did not occurred to me to have to get cycling trousers, but since I picked up some leggings from the charity shop, I gave them a try.  They worked well, and we totally see why cycling pants have pads!  We were also grateful we wore trousers because of the nettles!  

Car Noises II

Without missing a beat, the car went to see the mechanic, and he did find the water pump leaking.  It was an aftermarket water pump from the timing belt replacement only 3 years ago.  Let's hope it resolved it.  If we let the water pump deteriorate, the engine could overheat, even if you keep topping the coolant up, it could still catastrophically fail and the result could be bad.  So it is good to have found it early.

Folding Bikes Advantures - Leicester

We have been meaning to cycle around Watermead, but last time we went, I just put a wrong chain on the Brompton, and had failed on our expedition. 

We parked up with a picnic, I checked the map, and it was showing how tiny it also is.  So we had a little loop for a warm up, a quick snack, then proceeded into cycle all the way around.  We came back to have lunch on a picnic bench in good time.  I think we did shy of 10 miles...  We managed not to get too lost.  They have painted some areas to indicate tree roots, I wonder if they are actually going to do something about that....

Folding Bikes Advantures - Leicestershire

We went to Glenfield to pick up Ivanhoe Trail, I had no idea how really short it was.  So we tagged in a Kirby Muxloe and back.  I don't think we have done more than 8 miles...  It was a fun day out tho.

Car Noises

I am more decerning with motorcycle noises than a car noise.  Sarah managed to hear a tiny noise from the car.  I usually just wait for the warning light to come on, and staying on...

Sundew

We got given a sundew plant.  We only just learnt that it is actually native.  And it is actually flowering.

It is catching some flies, but it is not catching fast enough!

Puncture Saga III

As promised, Bike Tyres Leeds called in the morning and I picked up the tyre and drove straight to the station.  By midmorning, there was not a single space left in the station!  I parked a little way away, walked to the station, up and over the stairs with a tyre.  My hands by were covered with the black wax!

I took the bus, then walked some more to Gary's.  And they put the tyre on.  It was cooler today than yesterday, I wore the same airflow jacket, and it was very cool!  I rode home and continue with my day.

Puncture Saga II

I thought I would need a new tyre, but I thought no harm asking Gary to see if he thinks it is patchable.  So I emailed Gary the picture and he said they could probably patch it.

So I got there, they pulled the plug out, and found an allen key inside the tyre.  They were not happy how big the hole was, ie not patchable, so I was stuck in York!  Shouldn't have bothered thinking about patching it...  We rang around and I booked to get a tyre from Bike Tyres Leeds.  So got a lift to York station and I went home on a train.

To be continued...

Bicycle Tyre Patch

After trying Rachel's very old patch kit and failed to fix this puncture, I was planning for the worst, to having to get a new tube.  My gave a shout to the fellow fixers to see if they have fresher patch kit, and it seemed to have held up!  Fingers crossed.  

Puncture Saga I

I picked up a puncture in the Peak District.  When I pulled up to check, it was conveniently around the corner from a pub.  And it only took RAC 30 minutes to show up.  He patched me up and I started rolling.  I took the long slow way home and I got home shiny side up.

Fresh Rainbow Trouts II

I was driving home from work and drive past Farnley Fish Farm.  I gave them a call to see if they were in and they were. 

I picked up two trouts again, they were still jumping when I got them.  They were very nice and fresh.

Octopus Home Mini

I have been signing up for the Octopus Home Mini since it came out, twice.  Nothing happened.  When we saw the Octopus stand at Meadowhall, I asked and they said I should just call.  

So I emailed.  After a few days, they finally came back to say they fixed something on the back end and one Home Mini should be on its way, and it has landed!

The live data is pretty good, it is like 10s late, but it is pretty good. Totally don't need to get a inverter dongle.

Belgian Waffles

I bought some marked down Warburton Belgian waffles.  They are actually quite nice, but I would most definitely not buy them at full price.

Three Cornered Leeks II

Sarah decided she no longer want to eat any of the three cornered leeks, so as they are coming through again, I keep pulling out for the compost bin.  They do smell very nice.

First Lettuce Harvesting

We got a lot of free lettuce seeds this year and after a few weeks, it is finally time to harvest.  They wilted into nothing.

One of them was invested by green flies, so I kicked it out to live outside. The chard and bak choi are all coming along!  The chives and basils are disappointingly slow!

GBMCC in Northumberland - Day 4

Breakfast has the added bonus of the mushrooms from the pizza.

Final day of the trip, I never understand why people leave earlier than check out time...  I waved everyone goodbye, did my Duolingo.  By the time I left, it was only me and Iain and Don left.  

It was a fresh morning and rained overnight, so I put all my clothes on. Unthank started right the way, and I rode straight home.  It was a nice trip.  Now I have to buy a new starter motor relay.

GBMCC in Northumberland - Day 3

I walked over to pick up the Bonneville T100, fueled her up and went on a ride.  We rode to Jedburgh, went into the Mary Queen of Scots museum, which was a right laugh. Then we rode onto Craster for lunch.  Lastly we rode home via Otterburn Mill, they had a closing down sale, which I resisted buying more things I already have.

I fueled the bike up again before returning it as a thank you.  Some people already shot off.

We sat in a committee meeting for a bit.  Dinner was pizza, which was fine.  Some people were complaining about the temperature, being fooled by the heatwave, and forgetting Northumberland is practically Scotland, they were not very prepared.

GBMCC in Northumberland - Day 2

The bed was very nice.  I hid away to do the Duolingo. The breakfast was also a little disappointing.  

We went on a ride via Corbridge, which has a posh bakery, everything looks very pretty, but they are prettier than they taste.

When we stopped at Alston, Unthank's intermittent fault was not self remedied in a few minutes, so I decided to ask RAC to earn their keep.  Whilst I wait, I looked up what to do in Alston, and their repair cafe was on, so I had a noisy.

After 4 hours, the rescue was finally here.  The fault was still ongoing, but we have narrowed it down being starter motor relay, and it was a easy jump to get me started.  Once she was started, she started on her own steam again.  The most annoying fault, intermittent...

I went home catching most of the AGM.  Then we walked down for a dinner at a pub clearly not used to catering large group.  Gwilim and I caught a lift back to base.

Just when I thought I was going to rest because Unthank was being temperamental, I thought there was no harm asking if I can borrow Tony's bike, which he said yes!

GBMCC in Northumberland - Day 1

So I rode up to Bellingham via Harrogate.  It was the back end of the heat wave, so it was nice riding temperature.

The dinner was not very exciting.

Slow Puncture

I only just noticed the front tyre on the folding bike is flat.  I already think it would b a puncture.  I pumped it up hoping for the best, but it definitely has a flow puncture.

So I took the tyre off and found a small nip in the inner side of the tube.  Now I have to wait for a patch...  Let see if I can patch it first.

Free Oregano

We got a free Oregano from the garden centre.  It doesn't smell like Oregano when fresh, so we have to wait and see.

Then it has a growth spurt in the warm weather, so I am looking forward in harvesting.

Diamond League

After reaching Legends' league in Chess, I reached Diamond in Duolingo.  Let see how it goes.