Golf in the English Countryside.

So we've had a few weeks to explore the local golf facilities and decided to bite the bullet and join a club. Minchinhampton is 20mins away and has an "old course" which was established in 1889, think "bump and run". In the sixties they bought some more land and established two "new courses", so for the price of one membership you get the choice of two courses and a reduction on the "old" course. Sounds like a deal to us. We now get most weekends off so hopefully it will give us the opportunity of playing in few comps and meeting some locals.

Check it out here

It is supposedly THE course in the area and has regularly hosted local qualifying for "The Open" in recent years.

When in Pheasant country....

Nobody had to tell us it was Autumn...

Nobody had to tell us it was Pheasant season...

You just get presented with game on a regular basis...

The freezer is not full yet, but the way it's going it soon will be....

I am now a bona fide pheasant plucker...

But how do you say enough?

Lucky Dip....with a twist.

I have never really been happy about buying my wine at a discount German supermarket, but sometimes time and circumstances prevail.

New Zealand supermarkets are improving their wine selections, and the Frankton New World wine department has to be one of the best in the country.

English supermarkets are miles better than their Irish counterparts when it comes to wine selection, and I always enjoy visiting "bona-fide" wine shops in this part of the world. Neither country is renowned for their wine production so the shelves are filled with selections from all over the world with equal status. Makes for for some interesting searching and occasional bargain.

However I have now discovered a new method of buying wine, albeit unsustainable as it only happens once a year locally!! The Auction house!

The local auction rooms has a fortnightly sale, mainly deceased estates etc, and they keep the wines for a pre-Christmas "knock down".

I ended up buying 5 lots, totalling 20 bottles for just over £300. Some bottles could be stunning, like a '98 Bordeaux and a '94 CA Cab Sav, but some bottles will be unpalatable, but we will have an adventure for a few weeks each time we get the cork screw out. The decanter will get plenty of use!

So the Lucky Dip starts tonight....and not a screw cap in sight!

Happy Birthday P

Patrick came and had a few days in our new home last week. It was great to see him, though we had seen him last in July when we visited New York.

His birthday was in October, but instead of wasting postage, we decided to treat him to something local while he was here. We have an airfield within 5 minutes of us, one of the many WW11 airfields. They have a flight experience company offering various flying options. Patrick was treated to 30 minutes of acrobatic flying where was in control most of the time.

Do you think he looked nervous?
The grin afterwards was worth it!

Happy Birthday P.

Autumn in Ewen...

It's been a couple of month's since my last post, but settling into life in the Cotswold's and coming to grips with my new computer has all taken it's toll. We are enjoying exploring our new surroundings and there is plenty to take in, like here at the aptly named Burton on the Water.

Being in England, the hunt is never far away, and this was the local hunt club prior to the Ewen Hunt.

We have been away from home a couple of times and enjoyed the coast of Devon and Cornwall. This is the Minack Theatre, THE most dramatic arena on the planet, I would suggest.

A full programme of theatre is provided throughout the summer.

It is not far from Land's End, at the tip of Cornwall. Land's End is privately owned and very tacky, similar to a lot of the seaside in England.

The Eden Project was a very interesting stop on our travels. The biggest Conservatory on the planet?
The autumn colours are just about all gone now, but they have been quite stunning. More so than in Ireland where the season goes from Summer straight to Winter, if your lucky!
We had a weekend in Bath before the weather got too cold but did not "take the waters". Stayed in a hotel in the Royal Crescent, a Bath landmark.
The Cotswold villages do really stand up to the accolades they receive.
We have a "local" just over the road, but don't get too involved. One day they'll get the gardeners and cleaners in and tidy the place up!! Pity, because it could be a gem.
The weather has been sensational and hopefully after the past couple of winters here we may be in for "short winter". That's tempting fate though, saying something like that!
We have even been out a few times checking out the local golf courses. This is the local course at Cirencester, but sadly did not tick all the boxes.
More about golf to follow...