MEAL OUT: Dingley Lodge Hotel (Dingley)

Nicely set overlooking the Welland Valley, this place provided an ideal location for the great meeting of the Australians and the Canadians. All in all a good place to take photos.

GIG: Ayria (Sheffield)

Another trip to Sheffield for Rich and I, this time to see Canadian solo artist Ayria. She was very good and she and her band put on a very good show, especially considering the unbelievable sauna like conditions in the small room. Inertia were up and down like a yoyo, but largely poor, while unannounced Scottish opening act Advance proved to be a revelation.

MEAL OUT: The Reservoir Inn (Thornton)

This newly refurbished and renamed pub/restaurant in Thornton exceeded expectations and would make for an ideal return visit (not least because it's near Lee and Su's house).

HOLIDAY: Hestercombe Gardens (Somerset)

On our way home from 'The Mount' Hotel we stopped off at Hestercombe Gardens. These were pretty extensive and would have been even nicer if it hadn't been so bloody hot. Fortunately the opportunity for ice cream was available, and we had a very nice mint choc chip each. 

Also, there was a modern art exhibition, which was completely hilarious. I particularly enjoyed the 'installation' piece, a spoken word nonsense about the relationship between different flowers in a garden or something, I remember not the finer details.

MEAL OUT: Harry's Grill (Exeter)

A bit of a nightmare to find, but a very nicely presented grill. Food was good, unfortunately the service was a bit poor. Afterwards we walked down to the Cathedral and stopped off for a cocktail at the Royal Clarence Hotel.

HOLIDAY: The Mount Hotel (Somerset)

Having spent the first of two nights away in a rather strange hotel, it was nice to arrive somewhere altogether plusher. The staircase up to our room had a lovely chandelier and the room itself was spacious and luxurious. It reminded a little of Swinton Park, although not in quite the same league. 

Upon returning from Harry's Grill, we sat on the luxurious sofa and watched the appalling 'I Wanna Marry Harry'. For shame.

MEAL OUT: Wine and Sausage (Taunton)

Massive roadworks around the town meant that we decided to walk to the restaurant (which was a mistake). Though nicely presented, there was a slight air of disorganisation with no one about to seat us. Once seated we figured everything would be okay, and indeed when the food arrived it looked very nice. However on closer inspection it was clear that my burger was almost raw in the middle. A replacement was provided, but I never felt the same about it after that and I think we decided not to bother with a pudding. To add insult to injury when I came to pay the bill they tried to charge me someone else's bill, which was twice as much.

HOLIDAY: Taunton (Devon)

Taunton was a very nice town that I wouldn't mind going back to at all. Some nice olde buildings in the centre and upmarket bars (which we didn't go in). Hotel Chocolat provided me with a very nice caramel egg too, which is always a bonus. We stayed in a rather odd hotel outside the town, actually in the middle of nowhere which turned out to be a bit of a rep's pad I think, and definitely not worth expending the energy to find out what it was called as we certainly won't be going back there!

CINEMA: Godzilla

Our yearly visit to the cinema saw us watching the latest incarnation of Godzilla, unfortunately I am writing this about 9 months after the fact so the details are a little sketchy... I remember it being a 3.5-4 out of 5 kind of film, not amazing, but entertaining enough.