Holiday Inn, Stratford Upon Avon

The hotel is a short walking distance from the centre of town. And it's about a 10-15 minute walk from the train station.

The breakfast was a better than average buffet and the service was pretty good.

The room had an uninteresting view of a roof. But there were plenty of power points.

The room/hotel was clean but the corridors could do with a bit of decoration.

Social Exclusion

My presentation from the Foundations Conference this week has been put on slideshare. I spoke about social exclusion and older people.

Multiple issues, multiple solutions from ILC- UK

Writing quiz questions

One thing which @shellsinclair does is write quiz questions for TV. Amongst others, she has written them for The Weakest Link, Wogan's Perfect Recall, Postcode Challenge, Shafted (yes the one which features every now and then on Have I Got News For You) and of course, Only Connect.

She rarely takes my wise counsel and accepts my fantastic quiz ideas but she does occasionally get a mention.

Nantcol Waterfalls Campsite

In April 2011 we went camping. We haven't been as a family since then but I still hold high hopes that I will convince Michelle back under canvas.

We stayed for the long Royal Wedding weekend at Nantcol Waterfalls Campsite. It's probably the nicest campsite I've ever been to. You could have a fire, there was a pretty stream and waterfall. There were lots of kids to play with George. And the facilities were clean and modern.

It started so well.

But then, at around 3 in the morning. The tent completely collapsed. It was very windy. Two solid poles actually snapped. We had to drag George (asleep) out of the tent whilst trying to grab things which were blowing away and anchor down the tent with a gas bottle. We sat in the car for a couple of hours in the dark before first light which allowed us to literally throw everything in the boot before heading on the 5 hour journey back.

Two days at the abbey

During the summer, we had a week's holiday in London. We stayed at the Premier Inn in Islington (which is pretty good).

While we were there, Westminster Abbey were hosting a couple of activity sessions for kids. One was Medieval Olympics. I forget what they called the other session.

But George enjoyed them both.

Chichester Half Marathon

Despite coming in the last 20 finishers I was very pleased with my time for the Chischester half.

Yes, it was my slowest competitve half mile run this year but (here come the excuses):
1) It was my first off road run
2) Most of the runners were club runners (I am not)
3) I've been struggling with two injuries since mid July.
4) Because of my injuries, I've only been out for a couple of runs since the Great North Run.
5) The first half was pretty tough, particularly the 2 mile (steep) uphill just before the halfway point.

But it was a good event. It was well organised and the route attractive. I hope I can do it again next year.

Prezzo Chichester

I visited in October 2012 after doing the hilly Chichester 1/2 marathon.

I had Calamari to start and a large (VIPizza) as a main. The Calamari was hot but nothing special. I'm not sure the VIPizza is any bigger than the classic - and I thought it was slightly bland.

The kids activity sheet was enjoyed by our five year old. The staff were good and the decor nice.

This was my first visit to a Prezzo. And I enjoyed it. But given a future choice between Pezzo and Pizza Express, I think I'd choose the latter.

Why I had the flu jab

Today I popped into Superdrug and had a seasonal flu vaccination.

These are my four reasons why:

1) It only cost £9.99. A bargain if it saves me from 2 weeks missed work, should I get the flu.
2) It will reduce the likelihood that I will get the flu. The vaccine is normally 50-60% effective.
3) It will reduce the chances that I will pass the flu to others. Others who may be much more vulnerable to the flu than I. The more people vaccinated, the more difficult it will be to spread quickly.
4) I do some work on adult immunisation and wanted to see how easy it was. Very.

Location:Bognor Regis,United Kingdom

A day at the barracks

We were lucky enough to get some tickets for the Royal Artillary Barracks (RAB) during the Paralympics. Our tickets allowed us to see the shooting and archery. I'd spent a few days at RAB during the Olympics so I was glad to be back to see it as a punter.

I loved the buildings.

We got to see a bit of shooting, some practicing and a final in the finals hall. Shooting is not really a spectator sport.

And we got to see some Archery. Including a British Paralympian.

Archery at the Paralympics

In the summer we spent a day at the Royal Artillary Barracks watching the Paralympic Shooting and Archery.

We got to have a go at the Archery. It was fun.