It's April, which means the clocks have gone forwards, my skiing kit has been packed away until next winter (boo), and I can slowly drag myself out of semi-hibernation.

This year I've set myself the challenge of getting the Strava 10k run badge each month. So far so good - four down, eight to go! April's was also my first race of the year - the Kymin Dash.

Having grown up in Monmouth, I know the Kymin pretty well.  We used to walk up it quite often with Scouts, including in the dark, and I still look out for the white tower... continue reading »

For our final ski trip of the season, we booked a package deal to Passo Tonale in Italy.  It's been a while since we went for a package, and the 0630 flight did remind me one of the reasons why...  But hey, it was a good price.

Early on in the week we received bad news from back home, which put a dampener on things somewhat.  This led to more subdued evenings than normal, with not as much alcohol and probably better sleep because of it...

We stayed at Grand Hotel Paradiso, which is a little bit out of the main town,... continue reading »

Painswick Rococo Gardens is only a few miles from where I've been living for the last 9 years, but I'd never thought about visiting.  Thanks to the Cotswold Bloggers group, that has now changed.

As part of English Tourism Week 2018, Visit England organised a series of Instameets to showcase certain venues/parts of the country.  This seemed like an excellent opportunity to take lots of pictures, meet some new people, and generally fail at networking.
I will add a disclaimer now: we were provided with free entry to the gardens, and also tea and cake in the café afterwards.  Thanks also... continue reading »