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Private Guided Tours UK

Private Guided Tours of the English countryside. Market towns, historic villages, cathedrals, abbey ruins, manor houses, castles, gardens and so much more.

14/02/2020

Spring is in the air...but they say another storm is coming. 🙄 As if we weren't battered enough last week-end.

29/01/2020

Last week I embarked on a long journey of ...sorting out thousands of my pictures going back 7 years. 😬🤪😁 For years I've been saving them to different hard drives creating many duplicates in the process 🙈. You know how it goes - you save a big load, your hard drive runs out of space, you grab another one and create a duplicate folder....thinking you'll get back to sort it later. Only you never do. 😁 It's a nightmare. So I thought it's now or never. Sink or swim. 😁

How about you? Are you well organised with your files or pictures? 😉

24/01/2020

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you dont have; remember that what you have now was once among the things you only hoped for." Epicurus

A bridge across the Test river, one of the finest chalk streams in the world. Hampshire, England.

14/01/2020

It's been rather stormy here last couple of days. Storm Brandan
has brought us rain and gusts of 80mph wind in some parts of the country. My village (no, I don't own it 😁) is currently experiencing a power cut. It reminds me of my childhood days in the South of Russia. We often had power cuts and as a result enjoyed long candle lit family dinners. I would be allowed to miss school the next day. 🙈🤭 Small print: I finished school with the equivalent of A+ on all the subjects. 😅

31/12/2019

A new year is like a blank book. The pen is in your hands. It is your chance to write a beautiful story. Happy New Year guys! May all your dreams come true and all your hopes be fulfilled! Onwards and upwards! Chin chin! 🥂

26/12/2019

Once upon a time, there was a thing called a Christmas box. It had a small cut through which coins could be dropped. It was kept in a church and like a piggy bank it could not be opened, only smashed. The smashing was done at Christmas, hence the name: Christmas box. The money was spread equally between poor parishioners.

By the 17th century other places followed suit and soon every manor house in the country had a Christmas box for the servants. But what about those who served the house but were not regular staff? Every tradesman now wanted their annual Christmas tip. 🙂 They came to collect it every year on the first weekday after Christmas. And thus the first day after Christmas became known as Boxing Day. Though by then nobody cared for the box, they just wanted money. 🤭

24/12/2019

My dear friends, as 2019 is quickly drawing to a close, I'd like to wish you a wonderful holiday season! May it sparkle with joy and laughter and here's to an eventful new decade ahead!

In 2020 - what a number - I hope to bring you more views and stories from the good old English countryside and beyond.

I wish you and your loved ones health, happiness, peace and prosperity!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! 🥂

21/12/2019

In preparation for the festive season, I was going to put some extra miles into my walking boots this week-end. But this never-ending rain means hours of Father Brown and never-ending fizz instead. 😉😁

19/12/2019

Six sleeps till Christmas. 🙂 Doesn't look like we'll have a white one this year. It's been raining cats & dogs all day today. 😩

Isn't London just gorgeous at Xmas?

17/12/2019

Yesterday I spent almost an hour queuing at the local post office. Everyone in the long line of people had Christmas cards in their hands. Big bundles of cards to be posted all around the world. 🙂 I find it to be such a lovely tradition. When I just moved to the UK eight years ago it really took me by surprise as hardly anyone posted cards in Russia those days. But now it enjoys some sort of revival. So there was I, in the queue, sending cards to my family & friends in Russia. 🙂

Do you exchange Christmas cards, guys? If so, what do you do with them afterwards? Do you have a big box where you keep them? Or do you just throw them away? 😉

14/12/2019

Wouldn't it be pure magic to have a white Christmas this year?

13/12/2019

Wi******er Cathedral Ice Rink a few years ago before they started enclosing it. To be honest, I am not a great fan of the new structure. It blocks this stunning view and isolates the skaters, but admittedly it serves the purpose in the rainy English weather. 🙂

12/12/2019

Christmas is not just a time for festivity and merry making. But also a time to stop and remember those who are no longer with us. Light a candle and pause in quiet contemplation.

11/12/2019

"Happy, happy Christmas that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!" Charles Dickens "The Pickwick Papers".

I love re-reading Dickens' novels over Christmas. When I was growing up in Russia, my parents had a full collection of his works. In 30 volumes. 🙈 It was called "The Complete Works of Charles Dickens". Back then it was difficult and rather expensive to acquire something like that. It took the pride of place in their bookcase. I read all 30 volumes. From cover to cover. 🙈 It later prompted me to study Literature & Linguistics at the Moscow Linguistic University.

09/12/2019

What is the best Xmas present for you guys? Personally, I am a massive fan of good quality paper books. I do read mostly on my Kindle but every now & then I come across a book that's worth buying in print. So I treat myself. 😉 The feel, the smell, the sound of turning real physical pages. 😁

For me walking into a bookstore feels exactly like walking into a candy shop as a kid. The excitement, the overall feeling of happiness. The endorohines flooding my brain at that moment. 🙈

Sometimes I buy books I haven't got a chance to read. 🙈 Sometimes I forget I have already bought a certain book and buy it again.

I know, with today's concerns for the environment it sounds awfully irresponsible but.....it's one indulgence that I would let go last if I had to.

08/12/2019

As we all know the word Christmas comes from the combination of ‘Christ’ and ‘mass.’ I have been recently advised to avoid spelling it as Xmas. So it got me thinking. Where does the X in Xmas come from? And when did we start spelling it this way? Is it a modern day abbreviation?

My short linguistic research has revealed that Xmas is in fact a very old spelling.

In Greek Christ is spelt Χριστός and can just be abbreviated to X. In Medieval English it was apparently very common to write Xtians and Xtianity.

Here, mystery solved. If ever there was one. 😉 .

******ercathedral ******er ******ercathedralchristmasmarket @ Wi******er Cathedral

07/12/2019

Spread Christmas cheer far and wide...

06/12/2019

Wi******er Cathedral Christmas Market has been shortlisted as one of Europe’s Top-20 Christmas Markets by European Best Destinations and is now in the running to be crowned the best Christmas Market in Europe 2020. With over 100 chalets to explore, a historic backdrop and a great ice rink to visit it tempts visitors with a festive atmosphere and seasonal treats. 😉 It stays open until December 22nd. Come and visit!

******ercathedral ******er ******ercathedralchristmasmarket

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