The Blog...

We had people photographing the snow, posting on Facebook - all just because we rarely see snow settling around these parts in Bournemouth and Dorset. Oo-ar.

After two days of having snow on the road and turning into ice it virtually all disappeared overnight. Mostly a non-event.

Hopefully the rest of the country will thw out a bit as I am driving up to Sunderland on Friday.

De Vere New Place was doing bookings for £49 per room, but actually if you said that there would be two people then the price went up to £59 strangely and annoyingly. Anyway that was a bargain anyway.

Matthew and Hannah live in Wickham just around the corner, so we met up with them for a few cheeky drinks down in the Square. Two bottles of wine later we had a another glass or two at their home. We were starving after this afternoon drinking so we went back to the square to the Wickham Wine Bar.

After spending a fair few pounds in the place on our scallops that we both had and then on a steak and roast partridge, I had a huge salt craving. Really bad. The fish and chip shop was closed so I had a duck and prawn noodles from the Chinese takeaway!

Sitting on the hotel bed, watching X-Factor (not my idea) eating from the carton on top of the sheets was quite funny.

We had a laugh with friends and that is what life is about.

Wow, that was an expensive trip, not helped by the crappy exchange rate.

Still a great city to walk around, all that lovely ancient architecture. Pity more of it is fenced off or you have to pay to enter. At least the Colloseum wasn't surrounded by scaffolding.

We found the secret place with the keyhole that you can look through and see the dome of St. Peters, through a cultivated arch of some monastery. Supposedly it is all secretive freemasonary type stuff there.

Photos from Rome on the Fong Gallery

I really like this tea, as well as Twinnings Chai.

After I got this I forgot where I bought it from. It was from Tesco but not on the normal Tea/Coffee shelving area, which then took me on a merry-go-round to Sainsbury and Waitrose thinking it might have been from there instead.

It is in the 'ethnic' section of Tesco Extra right at the back.

It tok me through getting a load of different exotic teas and chai until I found this one I liked. Masala Chai is the phrase.

Palanquin Ltd