Author: TrickyAndNIcky
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New year, new leaf
5th January 2026 Ha, I know you will all be thinking that this is a post about New Year’s resolutions, but you are wrong. Whilst in my youth I was not adverse to resolving to lose weight, or be kind, or give up alcohol for January, some resolutions more successful than other; I have long…
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A Caribbean Christmas…
4th January 2026 …and Bajan New Year. Unlike my lovely wife, who lived in the Caribbean till she was 14, 2025 was only my third tropical Christmas – after Sydney 1990 and Barbados 2014. Nonetheless I think I’m acclimatising to this slightly strange double life – for instance, this didn’t seem out of place: And…
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Bim’s Got Talent
21st December 2025 For the uninitiated, ‘Bim’ is a widely used nickname for Barbados. It is an island of many talents. In the (sadly distant) past it has produced some of the world’s greatest cricketers, three of whom are commemorated together at Kensington Oval: Fast forward to 2025. In the past week we have been…
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Dyno-Rod
20th December 2025 Ok this happened on Thursday but I was motivated to tell you about finishing the ensuite yesterday and not want to overload you with excitement 😜 Thursday was gardening day. Our gardener has been hiding his light under a bushel and we found out his hidden talents, (apart from the garden) this…
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The wash up
19th December 2025 It’s been a long time coming and no, we have not been keeping our progress hidden. Finally we are on the homestretch to finish the ensuite. We are at the final wash up stage. The new cupboard doors and the refurbished drawers have highlighted the off white paint work and so a…
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Festive Spirit
16th December 2025 I know that I will divide opinions but I had a severe case of BAH HUMBUG descend on me when wandering around Stratford Upon Avon on the 13th November. The full Christmas bling, blinking in every corner every shop and even shock horror in the Theatre, home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.…
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Bola mawr
14th December 2025 It’s my birthday! Penblwydd hapus i fi (that’s ‘happy birthday to me’ in the language of heaven 🏴). Welcome back to the blog after a few weeks of radio silence back in Blighty. We returned to Pollards Mill a few days ago and have been settling back in. No rest for the…
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Blowing a gasket
7th November 2025 The ‘?’ at the end of my last blog title (‘And…relax?’) was prophetic. On Wednesday we received our usual weekly email report from the pool maintenance team. Usually I give this a cursory glance, look for any mention of bat shit, and smile at the nice photo. This time? No nice photo.…
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And…relax?
3rd November 2025 I cast my mind back just over a week. The day after the nuptials dawns bright and sunny. I must rise promptly as last night I agreed to let Omar, the lighting guy, in at 8am. We went to bed after 1am and had a very disturbed sleep, but I can’t be…
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Wedding bells part 3 – the final cut
31st October 2025 I know, you’ve heard about this wedding from two different perspectives already, but indulge me in a third: just a snapshot of what we ourselves had to do to make it all go without a hitch. Here goes. Thursday 23 October. It’s two days before the wedding. The tents and tables are…