Dinner at the Saxon Mill

Our friend Jens is going back to Switzerland and we decided to have some drink with him before he leaves. Luiz suggested The Saxon Mill in Warwick. It is actually an old mill over the river that has been converted into a pub / restaurant.

Some really nice views over the river. We took our kids along and they enjoyed it even though it got a bit bit chilly later in the evening. Later on we went in to order the food. It was really nice and comfy inside and the food was not bad either. However, my son was not happy at all and I had to take him out. He was fascinated by the water rushing away.

Here are some pics:

France trip update

In my last post "Preparing for trip to France" I had written that we were planning to drive my old Ford car to La Rochelle in France. However, the fact that I am not fully confident with my car, made us change our plans. We will now be flying to La Rochelle directly.

I would have gone ahead had it been only the two of us but we will have two small kids in tow and I simply don't want to risk it. Just imagine being stranded on a highway in France with two kids in the back seat.

Of course it's much more convenient now. We reach our destination in a few hours. However, that also means that we won't be able to take as much stuff along with us. We will be there in France for nearly two weeks and we hope to see some of the surrounding sights and we definitely would have to rent a car. It would be interesting because it would be the first time in my life to drive a left hand drive vehicle. In fact it would be my first time to drive on the wrong side of the road (the right side, according to some of you).

In the meantime I am practising some of the common French phrases. I had never known that French was so tough. The problem is that the words are pronounced totally different from how they are written. It's good that I have some French speaking friends to correct me. Hopefully the few phrases would be good enough to get by.

White Lilies

These are white lilies in my garden - my wife's favourite flowers. I bought them at a car boot sale and they only started flowering yesterday.





This is my Green Thumb Sunday post for this week.


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Datuk Nicol David

A few years back I wrote a blog post "Datuk Nicol", calling for reigning world woman's squash champion Nicol David to be awarded a Datukship. However, I never thought that it would become a reality considering her age, etc. etc.

Well today, I learnt that she was awarded the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri (DSPN) award which carries the title Datuk, by the Penang state government. Only 25 years old, she is the state's youngest Datuk.


Photo from "Nicol David Online".

Congratulations Nicol. You deserve it.

Trip to London

Some pics of our recent trip to London:


Harrods at Knightsbridge

There was a Harrods sale going on and the crowd was unbelievable - mostly ladies and a lot of tourists. There were some people outside protesting against fur being sold in the store. Forgot to take pics.



Walking towards Knightsbridge


Natural history museum

Saw some dinosaur skeletons. Didn't have enough time to go round.



Leicester square. My son fell asleep. The Odeon theatre is in the background.


Statue of Shakespeare at Leicester square.

"There is no darkness but ignorance"
Quote from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.


Crowds near Piccadilly Circus.

Strawberry season

It's strawberry season again. The fruits are 100% organic and they taste delicious. However, it's not the first time I am tasting the 'Fruits of my labour'.





My Green Thumb Sunday post this week.
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Recycling unwanted stuff

This morning a guy knocked on the door asking for scrap metal. I suddenly remembered that we had loads of junk in our backyard, most of it left over by the previous tenant including rusted pipes and a sheet of metal weighing more than a ton. I had been planning to take them to the tip in London road and I fortunate that someone took care of that for me.

Looking around the house, I suddenly realise that in less than two years, we have accumulated quite a bit of unused and unwanted stuff. These include old clothing that my children have outgrown and loads of other stuff. The problem is that they are taking up precious space in our small house. I am sure a lot of you face the same problem as well.

Listed below are some way of getting rid of unwanted stuff:

1. Online auctions sites.

The first one that usually comes to mind is eBay, the largest online auction site in the World. A great way of making money while getting rid of unwanted items. So far, I have sold baby clothes, books, toys and even furniture on eBay.

Recently got to know about another popular online auction site called eBid. The great thing about this site is that unlike eBay, you are not charged listing fees

2. Car boot and Garage sales.

Never tried selling stuff at a car boot sale though I would like to try it out at least once before I leave the UK. One man's junk can be another man's treasure. Someone who has tried it before told me that it was a fun but tiring experience. The British weather is the unpredictable factor here. Would hate to get caught in a chilly shower.

3. Classifieds.

You can also list up items on the local newspaper classifieds or online. Gum tree is a very popular free online classifieds service here in the UK. It was acquired by eBay in May 2005. You might want to put up your items under the category, "Stuff for Sale".

4. Charities.

If you can't be bothered with all the hassle of listing items for sale, posting, and so on, you can donate your unwanted items (in good condition) to various charities like the PDSA, Help the Aged, Age Concern England, Barnardo's, etc. Some of them will even pick up the items from your house. Contributing for a good cause does feel good. Not everything is nor should be, about money.

5. Others.

You might also want to consider joining the Freecycle Network. With the noble goal of keeping "usable items out of landfills." You join the discussion group for your area, (in my case it is the Coventryfreecycle under Yahoo! groups). Do note that everything posted must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages.

I had a huge hifi system I bought from a car boot sale for £3/. It was working great for sometime until the CD player suddenly stopped working one day. The tape and radio still worked but it was taking up too much space. I was about to drop it off at the tip when I remembered the Freecycle group. I was surprised to receive 2 emails only after an hour of posting up the "offer" message. It was taken by a lady studying in the University of Warwick.

Can you suggest any other ways of recycling unwanted stuff?