Well we're halfway through the year, and it's time to take stock on what's happened over the past six months. The undoubted highlight during this time, was the sixteen night cruise that
Mrs PBT's and I undertook to
Norway. Although our cruise ship embarked on this voyage to northern
Norway at the beginning of
March, travelling as far as we did beyond the
Arctic Circle, was always going to be chancy, especially with regard to the weather, and associated sea conditions. And so it turned out, even though despite careful consideration, I don't think either of us were quite prepared for the strong winds and high seas we experienced.
Despite the adverse weather, and full in the knowledge that such conditions are not exactly unknown, that far north, we still had a good time, even though my good lady wife kept reminding me that all she wanted was a few days spent in somewhere hot and sunny. I kept reminding her that to reach somewhere warm and sunny, by boat, in early spring would still have meant navigating the notoriously rough,
Bay of Biscay, even though, as I privately admitted, both the
North Sea, and the waters off the coast of
Norway, had the potential to be rougher still.
The main thing is we survived, and leaving a few really rough
"sea days" to one side, we enjoyed a really good holiday, experienced some spectacular scenery, and visited several charming towns and cities, that exuded bags full of
Scandinavian charm. Most importantly, we were able to view the spectacular
Northern Lights - twice in my case, but the viewing from the deck of our cruise ship, as we departed the far northern city of
Alta, was every bit as rewarding, and meant that
Mrs PBT's was able to experience this amazing natural light show, for herself.
Turning to matters closer to home, and apart from some important family news, that I shall release next time, there's not that much to report.
Eileen and I have been busying ourselves with an ongoing clear-out. In my instance this tasks also extends to the shed, summerhouse and greenhouse. Certainly in the first two cases, these outbuildings have become dumping grounds for things we're either no longer certain that we need, but also as a
"holding place" for items destined for the local tip. Somewhere in between are items capable of being recycled, and since returning from
Norway, I've taken loads of stuff to one of several charity shops. The process hasn't finished, although I've certainly stolen a march on
Mrs PBT's, who's an itinerant hoarder - especially of clothes. I'm letting her sort that area out, under the auspices of not trying to force things.
All that sorting out, has eaten into valuable pub-going time, although checking back I've ticked off
60 different pubs this year, although I've obviously visited quite a few of these on several occasions. Now three-score isn't that impressive by some ticker's standards, but I'm quite pleased with it, especially when it comes to pubs that I've never visited before.
I shall shortly reveal which of these pubs impressed me the most, but before doing do, it's worth noting that most of them were the result of
"one -off" visits, rather than as part of a concerted group effort. I say that, because what has really been missing, so far this year, are the
"Proper Days Out". That's not to say there hasn't been any, as there has, but they just seemed to clash either with work, of with family matters. Even so, off my own bat I've enjoyed some excellent days out in
Hastings, Lewes, Sevenoaks, Hook Green, Birmingham and
London plus, most recently
Shoreham (Kent). All these days out allowed me to enjoy some excellent pubs, with
Pelham Arms - Lewes, Wellington - Birmingham, Wenlock Arms - London, Crown - Hastings, plus, of course, the
Elephant's Head, at
Hook Green, on the
Kent-Sussex border. There were also a couple of standout bars that I experienced during our cruise to
Norway. Expensive, yes, but atmospheric, welcoming whilst at the same time being ultra laid-back, as only
Scandinavians really know how to. The off-beat,
Puskas Platebar & Pub in
Alta, where I sampled my most northerly beer ever, plus
Trondheim's Habitat Craftbar - offering a wide range of
Norwegian craft beers, alongside some truly excellent pizza.
There's two or possibly three
"Proper Days Out" planned for the second half of the year, where the
Somerset town of
Frome has been set aside for a
"carefully curated pub crawl", plus a month earlier,
Coventry has been earmarked for a similar exercise.
Frome will be a completely new town for me to be visiting/drinking in, and whilst I have made a couple of visits to
Coventry, on both occasions, I was under the age, as far as visiting pubs and drinking alcohol is concerned. That brings us right up to date, and with temperatures having dropped to something more approaching normality, its time for me to sign off and say goodnight.
