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Showing posts from May, 2015

The Mousetrap - Theatr Clwyd

I've resurrected my love of the theatre. OK so I can't pop down to London to watch all the big plays, but my local theatre puts on great shows and I've decided that I'm going to go to the theatre. I don't care if no-one wants to go with me, if I can holiday alone, I can theatre alone! Tonight I am going to see Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. I've always wanted to see this. Back in April I watched "And Then There Were None" with Paul Nicholas and Susan Penhaligon which was brilliant, so I'm really looking forward to watching The Mousetrap, and it doesn't matter that's it's not on in the West End or there are any big names to watch out for! I'm pleased to say that I really enjoyed it, it was a very clever murder mystery. For those of you who don't know the premise of the story, a group of people meet in a country house in the middle of nowhere. It snows and so they are cut off from everything when they discover that there

Back in Blighty

Well it's been a good week and now it's back to reality, whatever that maybe! Washing, food shopping, generally getting back on track before going back to work! Seriously, this wasn't supposed to be happening, I'm supposed to be a lady of leisure now, oh well I have the weekend before bracing myself for a week of hell! Whilst I might not like my job, I still cannot believe they chose to close my office down and keep the other one open. The staff are on the phone continuously because they have no idea what they are doing. I do feel sorry for them really. My branch had really complex Trust funds to administer, whereas the other office only dealt with standard Trusts. To have all of this dumped on them can not be good, and I can't see this area operating long before it gets closed down either. Such a shame as it was should a great service and profitable part of the business. Still them in their ivory towers know best!!!

Last Day Blues in Prague

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Feeling a bit depressed actually. I've actually enjoyed my week here in Prague despite being on my own. I truly didn't know if I had it in me to spend a whole week in my own company in a foreign land, but I've done it and really enjoyed myself. I mean there have been a few times I've got a bit lonely, but I soon shook that off. If I'm honest the only thing that I have found difficult is eating on my own. Somehow having lunch out was fine, but when it came to eating at night I felt really self-conscious asking for a table for one! Stupid I know, and to be fair I was still given nice tables with a view rather than being shepherded into a corner, but it still felt strange! So today it's Convent of St Agnes day 2 and a great art exhibition downstairs. Whilst there are a lot of screens set up to display the paintings, you can still see the actual building, and more importantly where some of the filming has taken place! Whilst I was going round the exhibition I took

In Search of a Musketeer - Chateau Dobříš

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Woohoo!!!! Today I am taking a trip out of town and getting the bus to Chateau Dobříš, a rococo styled mansion which has been used in both series of the BBC production of The Musketeers. I've never been obsessed with a TV show before. Not sure what is going on here, but my favourite books have been turned into a TV series, not an adaptation, new storylines, but the essence of the characters has been kept very much alive and I just can't get enough of it! I suppose casting my favourite actor (Tom Burke) as my favourite literary character (Athos) has got nothing to do with my obsession!!! So I met up with Marie and we got a bus out of town to Dobříš and located the chateau, and the first thing I noticed was that the colour of the building is different to the one on screen. We had a guided tour around the building, and had to wear these huge slippers over our shoes so that we didn't ruin the wooden floors! Our tour was in Czech, but that didn't matter, I had some not

Girl About Town - Prague

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After the past couple of days I've decided that maybe I should take it a bit easier, so heading into the centre of town to Klementinum for a guided tour. I believe that there is an amazing library there, and if there's something that goes well with a cup of tea, it's a book! First stop on the tour was the Mirror Chapel, a gorgeous chapel lined with mirrors which is used for classical concerts. We then moved onto the Baroque library. A stunningly decorated room with frescoed ceiling depicting education and saintly motifs. A number of globes are also housed in the library showing both geographical locations, and astronomical ones. A number of books are currently missing as they have been removed to be digitally copied, so the library looked rather stark and no photographs were allowed to be taken! As we climb up to the second floor, we enter the Meridian Hall which was used to determine noon, by the light of the sun hitting a string held taught across the floor. Many vari

TV Tower - Prague

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Last year when I visited the city, I noticed a strange tower in the distance dominating the skyline. Neither travel partner wanted to "walk all that way", so I never go to see what it was. This time, I had no-one to say no to me, so today is the day to head off to Zizkov and Prague's tallest (and possibly ugliest) landmark! As I head off, I suddenly realise my map does not stretch this far out of town. Well it's the tallest landmark, so how hard could it be to find? Very, when you're as navigationally challenged as me.  Every time I turned a corner the thing would disappear from view. Eventually though, it stood still and I caught up with it. TV Tower, the landmark I tracked down, is actually quite stunning when you get close to it. It is an amazing piece of modern architecture, made even more futuristic and disturbing by the ten sculptures of crawling babies that are exploring the various parts of the tower, created by the Czech artist David Cerny. Next to

Back to Prague to meet a Burketeer!

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I love Prague. I first visited in June 2014 because I saw the Strahov Monastery on The Musketeers (BBC TV show!) and I had to see the ornate beauty of those rooms for myself. I went back again in September, little did I know I was about to become a Prague addict! Having been told that the office I worked in was closing down, my immediate thought was to go to Prague, on my own, and figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The plane was booked for May, just after I finished work. Well the best laid plans and all that... things were not going well with the closure, so I was asked if I could I stay for a little bit longer? Oh well, I thought, I'll just have to take the week as a normal holiday then! Normal? I hate flying and I'm about to embark on a holiday abroad on my own. This was complete and utter madness but too late to change my mind now, so the next few posts will be all about Prague! 1st May 2014 Arrived in Prague 10 am. A dry and bright day and a trip