Bits and pieces, news, views, reviews and stuff
I first visited Belfast back in the early 2000s as part of a JISC programmes meeting. The last time I was there was in 2017 running a leadership programme for Jisc.
I was back in Belfast last week for a conference. I didn’t get a chance to explore much of Belfast, but I did see quite a bit of the area around the hotel and the university. Part of the conference was a gala dinner at Titanic Belfast, a new(ish) attraction about the construction of the infamous Titanic.
I have visited Belgium quite a few times over the years, we went to Ostend a lot when I was a child. When I did some college trips to Amsterdam in the 1990s we obviously travelled by coach through Belgium, we also stopped at Bruges, which I am planning to visit again in the future. Last year on the way back from Germany we stopped for a flying visit to Ghent. We had thought about visiting Brussels, but time was against us.
I was in Brussels for a couple of in-person meetings. I had caught the Eurostar from St Pancras, having travelled up to London from Weston to Paddington. I find it quite amazing that the train from London to Brussels takes just two hours. In between my meetings, I did have some free time for exploring and taking some photographs.
Brussels is a beautiful city with some amazing buildings and parks.
This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. The first of the posts in this series was of a council building in Manchester. I always thought I should give then and now photographs a go. However what I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart. Now this has come to my attention I have started to intentionally take photographs of the same place.
I visited Killerton back in June 2023 and recently made a return visit in May 2025.
In the grounds is a chapel, when I visited in 2023 it was covered in scaffolding. I took this photograph with an iPhone 13.
So when I made my return visit in May 2025 I took a photograph of the chapel without the scaffolding. This was taken with a Canon EOS R100.
After enjoying my National Trust membership in 2023, I decided I would rejoin the Trust for 2025.
Killerton
A family home and a great estate. Glorious landscape garden surrounded by parkland with fine 18th-century house.
Current saving £142.10
One adult £17.00
Parking £4.80
Total saving £21.80
Cumulative saving £255.10
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £163.90
I visited Killerton back in June 2023. Having just visited Knighthayes down the road, it was a short drive to Killerton for a return visit.
I was pleased to see they had EV chargers in the car park, so I put the Funky Cat on charge.
They had dressed the house as a 1920s summer party with music and “dancing”. It was a lovely house and lots of rooms to explore. The first floor is more of a museum to a collection of dresses and clothes that were left to the National Trust.
The grounds and gardens are really nice as well.
After enjoying my National Trust membership in 2023, I decided I would rejoin the Trust for 2025.
Knightshayes Court
A great post-war garden,19th-century parkland and grand Gothic Revival architecture by Victorian visionary William Burges.
Current saving £120.30
One adult £17.00
Parking £4.80
Total saving £21.80
Cumulative saving £233.30
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £142.10
I visited Knightshayes Court back in January 2023 and enjoyed the visit. We rushed the house back then, so on my return visit in May I took a lot more time exploring the house. This was very much a gothic mansion and some really interesting painted ceilings.
There are some beautiful gardens and grounds to explore as well.
In 2025 I have planned to visit a minimum of fifty places. Each time I visit a place I will post a blog post and some photographs.
Of the many places across the UK, I actually visit London quite a lot. I have made a trip to London at least ten times this year already. However, all those trips have been for work, either meetings in out London office, or events and conference. However in May we travelled to London for a show in the West End. We went to see Mischief Comedy’s production The Comedy About Spies.
When a rogue British agent pilfers plans for a top-secret weapon, CIA and KGB spies converge on London’s Piccadilly Hotel in pursuit of the elusive file. Add to the mix a clueless young couple, a hapless actor angling for the role of James Bond, and enough double agents to confuse even the sharpest operative, and you’ve got a mission that’s hilariously out of control.
In the past we have enjoyed their productions of The Play that Goes Wrong, and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. However in both those productions there was none of the original cast. This time The Comedy About Spies had just opened and had the original founded members of Mischief cast in the various roles.
It was an excellent production and I did laugh all the way through the play.
Afterwards we went for a bite to eat before walking along the banks of the Thames.
We then headed back to the station for the journey home.
After enjoying my National Trust membership in 2023, I decided I would rejoin the Trust for 2025.
I visited Hanbury Hall in 2023 in a flying visit and had always intended to return. Something I didn’t do with my last membership.
Hanbury Hall
A country retreat in the heart of Worcestershire. The William and Mary-style country house and garden, originally a stage-set for summer parties, offer a glimpse into life at the turn of the 18th century.
Current saving £103.30
One adult £17.00
Parking free
Total saving £17.00
Cumulative saving £211.50
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £120.30
So with time to spare I made a return trip to Hanbury Hall. The sat nav sent me down narrow lanes, but I arrived and parked the car. Despite it been a quieter day, the car park was very busy.
Having had my membership card scanned I made my way to the house.
I really love the walk up to the house, the impressive entrance and front lawns.
I really enjoyed exploring the house and the murals are a real highlight of the entrance hall and staircase. I also liked the concept of the green room, where you are able to sit and read for a while.
After exploring the house, I stopped for a coffee in the Stables Cafe, and it was warm enough to sit outside.
When we went on holiday to East Dorset in 2018 we did make a visit to Southampton. Since then I made a fleeting visit there for a work meeting last year.
I was back there this week for another meeting, this time I had some time before my train to explore more of Southampton.
This year I have planned to visit fifty places.
Went for a lovely walk in Weston Woods. This is a regular haunt for walking, though less mud in the late spring and summer months. It’s nice to look over Weston from the woods.
Thatchers Cider is a local business to me and are based in the village of Sandford in North Somerset.
They are the second largest cider company in the UK, yet all their cider is still made at the same “farm” where it all started
They do a tour and I was lucky enough to participate.
We’ll take you around the mill, where you will be shown how we make our cider from start to finish, with over 115 years of cider making expertise. The tour introduces you to our working mill and packaging hall, and whilst we always want to show you as much as we can, we can’t guarantee that every line will be operating during every tour. At the end of the tour, you’ll get the chance to sample some of our Somerset Ciders, from the well-known brands, to our limited edition range. A fantastic way to spend a couple hours in the heart of Somerset, the cider-making county.
It was a really interesting tour, from both a cider making perspective, but also if you are interested in the role of technology in packaging and logistics.
The cider tasting was a nice end to the tour.