GIG: Cyferdyne (Nottingham)

Our first visit to 'The Maze' in Nottingham, followed a slightly torturous journey through some horrendous roadworks. But still, on arriving we were instantly cheered by the sight of a man in a top hat. We found the venue, which was essentially a very small pub and sat in the bar for an hour waiting to be allowed into the back room. We tried to name all the people in the photos on the walls as we heard Cyferdyne soundchecking. 

It soon became clear that we were hideously underdressed, as people arrived wearing all sorts of crazy gear, including the usual New Rock boots right up to a full on geisha outfit. Cyferdyne were very enjoyable, but as Keep Your Silence was only just coming out they concentrated on songs from the first album, which was a bit of a shame. The singer had a shirt on that looked like it came from Asda, which was a bit poor considering the effort the crowd had gone to!

Cirque de Soleil (NEC Birmingham)

Oddly staged at one (rather small) end of the NEC, and extremely warm, this was an event like nothing else we had ever seen. For me the clowns stole the show (and it gives me no pleasure to praise clowns), but there was plenty of amazing sights to be seen, especially the trampolinists. Whether it was worth the ticket price is debatable, but I suppose there's lots of performers to pay, the staging costs must be quite high and keeping the audience size down did afford a better view than might have otherwise been the case. Not something I would rush to do again, but certainly an interesting experience.

MEAL OUT: Grey Goose (Gilmorton)

A somewhat disappointing trip to the Goose, very busy (well it was Friday night) and seemed a bit understaffed. Sat in the bar area, but the food was disappointing... especially the Strawberry Cheesecake.

THEATRE: Albert Nobbs (Market Harborough)

Northern comedy about a deceased wife and the husband she left behind. Quite good, but rather too much swearing for it's own good.

Formula One Simulator Experience (Hampshire)

Very enjoyable F1 simulator experience which Rose bought me for Valentine's Day. Very hard to get the hang of, especially when they switched us up to F1 cars (the first two races were in Formula Fords), seemed to spin at the slightest provocation, but I did manage to win one race. Came about 10th overall out of 20, so not too bad really.

MEAL OUT: The Vine (Winchester)

Booked via email and arrived to find a very busy restaurant. After some unwelcome 'not on the list' kind of noises, we produced our email confirmation and were shown to a nice table. Food was magnificent, we both had burgers and then we 50/50'd the puddings. White chocolate cheesecake with raspberry coulis and chocolate and caramel mousse. Both were exceptional, would definitely visit again.

HOLIDAY: Winchester Royal Hotel (Winchester)

Our first visit to Winchester, which is a very nice small town to walk around, decent shopping. Hotel was a bit overpriced, but pleasant enough in an old fashioned way. Parking obviously a bit of an issue in Winchester. After our meal at The Vine we returned to sit in the bar, which was okay but there was a wedding on and there was a distinct lack of glasses (and atmosphere since it was just us most of the time).

We also visited the cathedral, rather fortuitously missing a heavy downpour! Inside we sat and watched rehearsals for a concert that were taking place, it was a very pleasant and unexpected surprise.

HORSES: Rockingham Horse Trials (Corby)

A mixed bag this one, watching showjumping without proper commentary or tiered seating is a bit hopeless after a while, and cross country isn't really that much better. On the other hand, we were entertained by a good display of falconry and wols, a sheep shearing enthusiast and a mad bloke with dogs endlessly chasing after a bit of fur on a rope.