Hotel Riviera, Bournemouth; 19-22 Sep 09 October 10, 2009
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A couple of years ago I’d never been to Bournemouth, now I’ve been 3 times and it’s a resort to be recommended. This time I stayed at the Hotel Riviera on West Cliff.
We didn’t have much of a summer this year but September was a bonus and there were people on the beach and in the sea when I arrived. And my room was on the top floor with an uninterupted view out over the bay and clear sight in both directions. It was splendid.
But the Hotel Riviera is no boring, clone of a modern hotel. Neither is it to be confused with the Riviera Hotel also in Bournemouth which looks nice but isn’t on the front. It reminded me of the hotels I used to stay in when I went on summer hols with my parents some years ago.
In those days it was usually Llandudno which still seems to me to set the standard for a resort. At Llandudno there’s still a pier and there’s a string of hotels along the front. And when I used to stay there there was a tramway which ran open-top trams to the neighbouring resort of Colwyn Bay. There was then and there still is a cable car going up the local peak, the Great Orme, where the destination used to be Randy’s Bar.
But back to the Hotel Riviera. It is not expensive, great value at £50 for dinner, B&B. But the mealtimes are from a different age. No breakfast before 0830 and last orders for dinner at a quarter to seven! I don’t mind tradition but that’s a bit limiting. I didn’t make dinner but I enjoyed the breakfast, despite having to conform with pre-arranged seating.
The hotel has one of those splendid lifts with concertina doors. And of course if someone had left the door open, it was not automatic, someone else had to go and find the lift. No problem for me but there was a disabled lady on the top floor in the room next to mine. She needed the lift but unfortunately it was not big enough to take her wheelchair; she had to stand and her partner folded it up to take it in the lift with them.
The bedroom was a compromise. The traditional sink in the bedroom but also a shower and toilet shoe-horned into a cubicle by the door. No room for the cat to be swung. But the view was exceptional.
It was a good stay. I had lunch in the garden on the day we arrived and enjoyed breakfast every morning. I would change time for dinner but otherwise it was fine; I’d happily return.
Jersey Boys, 12 Sep 09 September 13, 2009
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Yesterday we went to London. Birthday treat to see the Jersey Boys. Being a child of the 60s the Four Seasons are of my era and being of a contrary nature I was always inclined to favour them over the Beatles. Which is not so say that I didn’t like them as well. (more…)
Deja vu but disappointed; 3-6 Aug 09 August 9, 2009
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I’m not what you’d call a petrol-head. I don’t watch Top Gear but that’s mainly because it’s become too overtly an anti climate change concern program instead of one which highlights engineering excellence and promotes the thrills and pleasures of driving without the excesses. But then perhaps it’s the excesses which turn the petrol-heads on. (more…)
LGA conference Harrogate; 30 Jun to 2 Jul 09 July 5, 2009
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It was 12 months ago that I started this blog. It was meant to complement my political web-site which thanks to the kind electorate of Cottenham, Histon and Impington is required to continue. And thanks to my fellow Lib Dem councillors on Cambridgeshire County Council I am starting my 3rd year as group leader and so I was able to attend the LGA conference. Which is where this blog started 12 months ago. (more…)
I didn’t watch the cup final; 30 May 09 June 1, 2009
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Every month I write a monthly report. I do it because I’m a county councillor and it keeps the parish councils in my division up to date with what I do. I finish every report with a personal item. I thought you might like to read the one I wrote yesterday. You can read the full monthly report (not recommended) at www.davidjenkins.org.uk. (more…)
The Beehive, Horringer; 24 Apr 09 April 25, 2009
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The Guardian yesterday ran an article about Suffolk for the benefit of Roy Keane who’s just taken over the manger’s role at Ipswich. It talked of sheep and tractors and contrasted the pace of Suffolk life with that of Manchester and that part of Cheshire beloved of its footballers. (more…)
The Pheasant at Keyston; 30 Mar 09 March 30, 2009
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For collectors of meaningless trivia: if you want to find a restaurant midway between Histon and Market Harborough go to Keyston. Keystonis just oof the A14 west of Huntingdon and it strikes me as a rather affluent village. The blue bins mark it out as being in Huntingdonshire and it boasts a fine church, a manor house and a fine restaurant at the Pheasant. (more…)
Drum and Monkey, Harrogate; 8 Mar 09 March 9, 2009
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Yesterday was a good day for food. I started off with a cardiac breakfast at my hotel, the Crown, in Harrogate. And after a 4 train journey back to Cambridge I enjoyed my weekly steak which is the one meal that I’m allowed and expected to cook. In between was lunch at the Drum and Monkey, small but perfectly formed. (more…)
FUSE, Impington Village College; 27 Feb 09 February 27, 2009
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This evening I enjoyed yet another breathtaking experience at Impington Village College. Dancers from Wayne McGregor | Random Dance have been in residency at the school working with students and creating original dance material. This evening they performed. (more…)
Little Tokyo, Leeds; 17 Feb 09 February 22, 2009
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Tuesday evening we fancied Japanese food and instead of going south to Teri Aki in Cambridge which is very good we headed north instead and ended up in Leeds at Little Tokyo. Actually that’s not true. It was number one daughter’s birthday and we went up to surprise her. The wife hatched a plot with Clare’s number 1 man, Alex, and we headed north. (more…)
