A Tricker Tale

I like good shoes. Shoes that are supremely comfortable and provide years of use. Particularly shoes for long walks. Shoes that fit any occasion. Shoes fit for a Prince. And that is what you get with a pair of Tricker shoes, by appointment to HRH The Prince of Wales. He wears them and so do I.

I walked around 5 kms a day in Copenhagen wearing my Tricker brogues. No foot fatigue at all. They are heavy and totally fit for purpose. This is the best pair of shoes that I have ever owned and I have worn this pair on and off for four years now. They will probably see me out!

Tricker Brogues on my feet!

At £400 (circa $675) they are not cheap although I know folk who pay more than that for bespoke shoes. This pair is rugged and can be worn over pretty much any terrain (well, within reason - you don't go rock climbing in these!) and look good with any attire from jeans to more formal wear. But the key consideration is the tireless comfort that these shoes provide for day-long wear. Take a look at http://www.trickers.com/ 

These shoes are made for walking.....

Copenhagen Collective

I managed to take 134 photographs on our enjoyable holiday to Copenhagen. We returned on Monday flying Norwegian Air from CPH to London Gatwick (an airline that I can thoroughly recommend for its modern fleet of Boeing 737-800s, leather seating throughout and delightful cabin crew).

We stayed at the Hotel Alexandra on H.C. Andersen's Boulevard, just two blocks from Rådhus-pladsen and Tivoli, Denmark's most-visited attraction.

Hotel Alexandra, a delightful boutique hotel in the best possible city centre location

The splendid archway entrance to Tivoli

Tivoli was opened in 1843, the creation of architect George Carstensen and commissioned by King Christian VIII. Apart from the beautiful gardens and numerous restaurants Tivoli contains thirty-odd rides, which include one of the world's oldest still-functioning wooden roller coasters and the hair-raising Spinning Top, which lifts up and twirls thrill-seekers around, some 80 metres above ground. No, I didn't!

The Spinning Top

 During our visit to Tivoli we enjoyed lunch at Groeften, a historic restaurant, popular with celebs of a certain vintage, so it suited me!

Restaurant Groeften

This magnificent Peacock put on a display for us.

Peacock in Tivoli Gardens

On Saturday we met up with friends Kaare and Charlotte for lunch at Restaurant Heering on picturesque Nyhavn, a very popular hangout for locals and tourists alike. The 'new harbour' was created in 1671 to link Kongens Nytorv to the sea. The earliest of the townhouses, No.9, dates from this period. Hans Christian Andersen lived for a while at No.67.

Nyhavn

On Sunday we took a canal trip from Nyhavn that enters Copenhagen harbour and then negotiates the numerous canals connected to it. The Danish 78 metre royal yacht HDMY Dannebrog was moored in the harbour, a vessel of beauty and elegance. The vessel was commissioned on 26th May 1932 and is the oldest royal yacht in service.

HDMY Dannebrog

Just a short walk from our hotel is located the Latin Quarter, one of the city's most historic areas. The buildings around Fiolstraede date back to the foundation of Scandinavia's earliest university in 1475.

The Rundetårn (Round Tower) in the Latin Quarter was built by Christian IV in the mid 17th Century and functioned both as church tower and observatory. The observatory is still operational.

For our last dinner in Copenhagen we splashed out at A Hereford Beefstouw located at Tivoli http://beefstouw.com/tivoli/ . The food was amazing - and so was the bill! But it is a fabulous location. I certainly enjoyed it...

and so did my wife Rosalind...

And all to soon our magical visit to wonderful Copenhagen was over. Until the next time.....

  

Shed Down

That's it then. Phase 1 completed. My good friend Graeme joined me today to dismantle my existing, ramshackle shed. We both wore wide-brimmed hats, just as well. As the roof came off we were showered with hundreds of woodlice! And as for the size of some of the spiders that were lurking amongst the woodwork. Oh boy! They were rather displeased at their home being demolished....

Tomorrow morning a local tradesman will bring his van to load up the shed wood and on Friday a builder friend of ours is coming to lay a solid concrete base over the slab base that I originally laid 25 years ago!

All that remains then is for Skinner's Sheds to deliver and erect the new shed on 27th June. Meanwhile all the contents of the original shed are stored under a tarpaulin on the patio.

The anticipation of having a new, bespoke built garden shed is rather exciting. It's a bloke thing....

Time to Catch Up

It has been a while since I last posted to my blog. Ros and I are now back home from our wonderful five day trip to wonderful Copenhagen. And it is wonderful. I will be posting photographs for those of you who are interested, but not until Wednesday...

Tomorrow, come rain or shine, I have to dismantle our existing garden shed to make place for the new shed to be delivered on the 27th. Before then, my builder has to set a new concrete base for the new, heavier built unit. So, it's back to the usual with a vengeance.

In the meantime, here is a pic of the Danes favourite transport...

Countdown to Copenhagen

It is now 11:17pm in the UK and my wife has been busy packing this evening for our holiday in Copenhagen. My last visit to this capital of Denmark was in 2012 on a business trip. I wonder how I might feel now as a 'tourist' travelling to this Scandinavian city....

Retirement has its rewards. The stress of the commercial aspects of travel is a distant memory as I have been retired for 16 months now but I do sometimes miss the buzz of visiting customers and meeting up with old business acquaintances. I still maintain a keen interest in the success of the company that I ran as MD before my retirement and am happy to report that it continues to prosper. But, there is no going back....

Travel now, for me and my wife, has to contain all the elements of history, culture, comfortable accommodation, good food and wine and of course - good weather. Here's hoping...

 

Swale Villages Through Time

In my quest for books about the county and area of my birth I came across this gem - Swale Villages Through Time by John Clancy.

Many parts of Britain are renowned for the 'chocolate box' quality of their pretty villages, but rarely do people include Swale in North Kent, a delightful rural area known as the "Garden of England". Swale extends from Rainham in the west to Faversham in the east, Maidstone in the south to the Isle of Sheppey in the north, covering an area of some 280 square miles. It takes its name from the waterway that separates the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent. The village where I was born, Teynham, is featured in this delightful book.

The fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Swale's villages have changed and developed over the last century. A taste of how country life used to be is captured in old postcards and pictures and provides me with a journey of pure nostalgia. It reminds me of carefree summer days when I worked on my uncle's farm during the school holidays in the 50s, picking apples, plums and cherries from trees that could reach 40 or 50 feet in those days, unlike the dwarf trees seen today. I remember my uncle effortlessly carrying and positioning 60 rung ladders up these trees, that we would climb up carrying baskets to place the harvested fruit in. We had not heard of Health and Safety in those days!

It was a simple life and very rewarding. To sit beneath a tree and open a flask of tea, unwrap some 'doorstop' sandwiches, enjoy lunch followed by a 'roll-up' cigarette was untold enjoyment. It was hard work for poor pecuniary reward but satisfying none-the-less.

This book about the Swale area of Kent provides me with a journey back in time when I was young, naive and above all content with my life. My youth is a distant memory but I am still content.....  

The Little Mermaid

My wife and I will be flying on Thursday to Copenhagen. Flying Norwegian Air to Denmark. Norwegian Air from London Gatwick airport. To Denmark. I rather like that. I have flown Norwegian Air before and find its service exemplary. They have one of the newest fleets of Boeing 737-800s in Europe and use LGW as their hub in the UK. Perfect for us as we live in Brighton, just 35 miles (56km) away.

We will be staying at The Hilton Hotel on Wednesday evening at LGW South Terminal. A good night's sleep before our flight at 8:45am on Thursday. The Hilton has a walk through from reception to the South Terminal concourse. Easy.

I have visited Copenhagen many times. It will be the first visit for my wife, Ros. More than anything she wants to see The Little Mermaid, based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen.

A visit to Tivoli Gardens, the famous amusement park, will certainly be on the cards as well as a stroll along Strøget, the longest pedestrian shopping area in Europe. Just hope there aren't too many shoe shops!

And we will be having lunch on Saturday with old friends, probably at a restaurant in Nyhavn.

All we need to make our trip perfect is some good weather....