Dear Diary...

This is my diary. How things are. Or something. Please note that the diary is archived month by month, so feel free to click the links for the archives (which now will go back five years maximum):

2024
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019


Friday 19th July - Crowdstrike Chaos

I headed up this morning and had noted on the news that there were some supposed outages with computers due to what was being claimed at the time to be Microsoft related. Now I knew they had some Azure issues with Office 365, but that wouldn't blue screen machines entirely, so you would think. However, once I got a screen shot of the error online, I noted one tell tale file - csagent.sys - which was the Crowdstrike security agent main Windows Kernel level driver. Hmm.. if they send an update out and corrupted that, borked machine I reckon!

As the day progressed, and the more research I did, it all seemed that this was indeed the case, and it was notable how some news outlets such as BBC realised that actually it was this was the issue. Granted, it was crashing machines running Windows, but still, it showed that someone hadn't tested out their code properly, and the more worrying thing was that it wasn't even tested before despatch to machines. Surely you'd do that first right and not just get everything on a takedown because of this. I do think there will be some reputational damage and lawsuits in the US following, I think.

Thankfully at the place I work at, no Crowdstrike, so that was good, but we did check periodically through the day to make sure no one else had any effects to be on the safe side, or if they had customers who had their own businesses use it, that they were aware of that cause too. Sensible move really. Ironically one of our friends told me their workplace had moved to Crowdstrike a few weeks ago and had hit all their servers (ouch) so that was a fun job for them sorting it out, and that he ended up having cake and coffee for most of the day, unable to do anything because of the outage.

In fact it went to show that how much of business is tied into one security product, especially airlines who had a bad day, and train companies who fell over a litle. I have to say though full marks to Seatfrog who managed to get my Avanti Superfare ticket sorted for tomorrow with no issues, despite them being in recovery mode due to the outage, and their service was excellent. So at least I know what train I am on tomorrow which is something to say the least.

The weather was really hot today too so lots of cold drinks to keep me cool as well as having the fan on as well to get some air around. Oh how I miss the aircon of the hotel room but also the cooler conditions in the arches in our other office, which being under railway arches too. Tune of the day is the excellent Chaos and Mayhem by Pop Will Eat Itself, somehow that made sense for today for a lot of places, and definitely it felt like some of the press were into overdrive on this one.

Wednesday 17th July - Heading Homewards

We did feel sad this morning that we were up at around 0430 to ensure we had a good shower and got ourselves changed and ready for today. We had a flight at 0855 so needed to leave around 6am in order to get the first metro out to the airport and allow time for check in. What surprised us both was that when we got to Bolhão to get the tram, that the station had other people there, some of which looked like they were doing the same journey as us, so noted that when we got to Trindade to change trams to make sure we knew what platform it was.

Once at the airport, it was smooth and seamless - the terminal isn't massive to be fair, and check in and security were all done, albeit with me being placed in 16D instead of 15B so not sat together, meh. However, as we discovered, the plane was nowhere near full and no one was sat in 15B so I moved over to sit with The Love after someone else had also asked to move to an empty space, so all was good. The flight was fine and we'd got some cold bottles of water at the airport, so didn't need to get anything. We landed at Gatwick on time and so that was good.

Once through passport controls and the baggage reclaim, we headed through the arrivals hall (lots of ramps here) and then to the station. We managed to get down to the platform and get on the first Thameslink train toSt Pancras, and a fast one at that, so that was good. Top top folks: do not get the Gatwick Express unless you want to pay around £20, whereas a Thameslink to London Bridge, Farringdon or St Pancras costs around half of that and with plenty of luggage space throughout.

We had some lunch at a place in St Pancras with outside seating, as it was getting warm, and so managed to have a good little bit of rest, and plenty of time before The Love's train back to Manchester. We also went to the Signal Box pub at the top of Euston and had a drink there, and later on The Love and I went down so I could say farewell for her to board the train home. I had managed to get her booked on Standard Premium so she was able to relax and enjoy the journey with a bit more class - made a lot of sense really and she loved it.

I headed home and felt sad a little bit that I was home, but at the same time had had a wonderful time too and it was good to reflect that it had been so lovely to enjoy the scenery, the beaches and the vineyards. I won't be missing all those hills so much, but it's a part of the city and you do have to note that really. Tune of the day is the excellent Magic by Cabaret Voltaire, which really does give you that vibe of everything feeling so right, that is is indeed magic. Tune!

Tuesday 16th July - Vintage Trams and English Beaches

It was nice to have a little bit of a lie in and some breakfast, and The Love In My Heart and I planned our day a little. We would head to Clérgios and take the vintage tram 18 down to Passeio Alegre, then from there walk along the coast up to the Praia dos Ingleses (English beach) at Foz, and spend the day there, and maybe take in some crazy golf in the gardens at Passeio Alegre if it wasn't busy. We walked over via a route we'd found to avoid some hills over to Clérgios, and as fate would have it, the 1045 tram had arrived, and although there was a small queue, we both got a seat and so were able to enjoy the journey and head down the river front to Passeio Alegre.

That vintage tram was lovely, proper nice little seats and a real sense of vintage in the design and layout, and from that to modern with the crazy golf (aka mini golf) course, which was full of children with their schools playing, so maybe it was some form of end of year fun for them. We knew it'd take ages so we left it for the day, and the courses (two of them) did look decent, so definitely need to head back at some point and give that a go I reckon. We walked along first of all to the river estuary and then right up the coast and off to the beaches at Foz.

We found a nice spot on the Praia dos Ingleses and sat down to relax, with The Love all good and chilled out. We had spotted a Pingo Doce supermarket earlier close by and had got some cold drinks for the beach, and could head there to get some lunch stuff. We did notice one bloke who was sunbathing near us that seemed to take exception to a lot of teenagers who were just playing with a beach volleyball, having someone in the centre who needed to try and intercept the ball being passed between friends. They were innocent and harmless and I thought they were just having some beach fun as friends together, nothing more than that.

I later headed to Pingo Doce to get some lunch bits, so ham, cheese, fresh bread rolls (fresh and warmed in fact), crisps and soft drinks and beer, as well as these little breads with cheese and bacon in which looked intriguing. While I had been gone, The Love had told me that it had all kicked off with the bloke - he had ranted at the children and then as he left in a huff, had found some rocks from the beach and from the promenade was throwing them down to the beach where they were in an attempt to harm them! A bit much that, and thankfully we were fine. The Love had found a more sheltered spot from some morning wind and mist, and we were all good to relax and enjoy the beach with our nice lunch (which for fresh meats, breads, crisps, Coca Cola and a can of Super Bock each, was good value.)

After a while we walked up the promenade to Praia de Luz, and its beach bar there. This was very nice indeed and we had a drink there whilst enjoying the view of the beach and the ocean. In fact, if we weren't heading out for a nice meal later, we'd have stayed here longer, so something else to note for reference I reckon. We then walked back around to Passeio Alegre, where it felt like we had missed a number 18 tram, as two number 1s to Infante came and went (and were rammed with people getting on) so the half hour wait was around right.

When the tram did turn up, we noted some had arrived from Clérgios and were looking to stay on for the journey back. The driver was having none of it and told them they all had to get off and queue with everyone else to allow for fairness for people waiting. I loved that as The Love and I got seats by the open windows facing out to the River Douro and its views, so epic win there. In fact as the tram headed along the river bank and made stops, it was soon standing room only on the tram (some locals even held on to the steps and rails at the back outside the tram!) and the views were magnificent.

We did feel sad back at the hotel as we packed most of our things ready for an early departure tomorrow, but had one final night out in us which we wanted to do. The Love had spotted a nice Italian restaurant in a place close to Clérgios, so we went to Nosolo. As I got the menu and noted its locations, it seemed familiar, and soon spotted we had been in the nice one in Lisbon close to the beer museum! In fact checking back, I had had the salmon tagliatelle then, and had it now, and it was fab. The Love had the beef ragu tagliatelle which was excellent, and then even had the tiramisu which was big and gorgeous, and proper. The Love had a few spoons herself and confirmed it was ace.

We then walked back towards the hotel but carried on and then to Letraria. We had started our holiday here with drinks and The Love thought it'd be good to end here too - and having got a nice table in the beer garden, we had some nice drinks. I had their oatmeal stout first, and then later on a nice sour gose which tasted a bit of peach and was amazing. I had The Icicles song Crazy playing when on the beach earlier and I thought of the words about being crazy about you, and with The Love looking gorgeous in her dress tonight, I felt so lucky and happy, so tune of the day for me.

Monday 15th July - Aveiro

One place that we did want to go and check out was Aveiro, primarily because it had been recommended to us by a couple of people who said that we would like it, and they dubbed it as the Venice of Portugal due to the canals and so on. I thought it might be disappointing, but as The Love In My Heart really fancied it, today was the day. We had our breakfast (the yoighurt and granola combo was a good move) and headed back down to São Bento station. In this instance we used the ticket machine, and Combios de Portugal (CP) have a local urban ticket card called Siga, which you add journeys to and you buy at the station machine. As the Andante one doesn't go as far, made sense to get one now and use it on the way back, especially as it was €3.80 for the journey instead of around €11 for the Alfa Pendular fast service from Camphanhã station!

The Love had got us a coffee and all was good as we headed on the train - it went to Campanhã and then reversed back out but over the new railway bridge, so was able to then head down the Atllantic Coast, past the likes of Espinho, where lots got on and off for the beach, and then onwards to Aveiro. It looked a good sized station, and then heading along the main road towards the centre, I did hope it'd be a good place. I did spot a canal to the left and followed a road down, and sure enough, there it was. With ribbons on all the bridges too, which gave it a splash of colour and much better than those tacky love locks.

We followed the canal close to a shopping centre and then this led us to where most of the boats are moored up, with its Art Nouveau buildings really making the place look pretty. We did see one boat that looked good and it was €13 for the canal boat tour. It proved well worth it as we had a guide called Dora (she called herself The Explorer obviously!) and gave us a good history into the place and showed us some good landmarks along the way too, such as the flood barrier, the bridges, the former ceramics factory which is now a congress centre, and the urban art under some of the road bridges that head over the canal system. That worked out well.

We walked around the centre, with its painted buildings that looked very pretty, and ended up close to the market and the small part of the canal that leads you to that market. We did find a café and bar close by and had lunch - I had the steak sandwich and The Love had a nice hot dog on a panini, which worked well - and some Super Bock Stout for me was also in order too. It was a good vibe and there was even some good tunes such as Can't Stop by Red Hot Chilli Peppers, so tune of the day for me there. It was nice too to walk up to one of the bridges with its looping metal over the top, and cross to the other side of the canal to walk back to the market with its pavement tiles depicting the likes of anchors, seahorses, shells and fish.

It was then through more of the centre, with some lovely buildings, public art, and all sorts, and I even spotted a new sculpture that had been put in the centre of a roundabout low down (so I did see it from the boat earlier) - made for the fact Aveiro is the 2024 Portugese capital of culture, so yes, that is a thing there too. We also walked through the Forum Aveiro shopping centre, primarily to see the many balls of colour that were across the open roof of the place, and that looked lovely, as did the little olive tree garden on top which is a good place to relax from the busy day.

We continued to follow the canal and crossed the Ponte Nova bridge over to a little bar there which had a great view of the old ceramic factory, and you could get a drink and relax there. We did that with the beer and the wine costing €6 in total (yes really!) and coudln't argue with that at all. In fact, the sun came back out even more and the nice warm day was just the thing to see what I have to say was way better than expected, a beautiful place and one I'd definitely come back to and explore some more. A walk to the station later and a boarding of the train back to Porto was all good.

After a quick change and shower we were back out and decided to stay local, so went back to Nortada for an evening meal and some drinks (because it was nice!) - and they had this very nice brown porter ale which was good, so definitely had some of that. The Love had some wine and she had two starters for a main instead, the chicken poppers which were good, and the chips with cheese and bacon which were plentiful too! I ended up having the ham and mushroom pizza again after it being so good last time out, and was not disappointed in the slightest. It was lovely, and a good way to end a rather good day.

Sunday 14th July - Finding Crystal Palace

After a lovely breakfast in the hotel, which The Love In My Heart and I both appreciated more because we didn't have it yesterday, we headed off down through Batalha and on the back way towards Sé do Porto. In fact going this way meant less hills going up and one down, and then passing that and crossing over the Ponte Dom Luís I bridge, The Love relaxed in the Jardim do Morro in Vila Nova de Gaia whilst I headed up to the monastery that was higher up above, the long named Igreja do Mosteiro de Santo Agostinho da Serra do Pilar (church and monastery no less). Unfortunately, due to renovation work, it was closed (boo) but I did manage to get a nice view of the bridge and the city from up top which was good.

We walked back over the bridge and then along to São Bento and left up to the Igreja e Torre dos Clérigos - the church and tower. Visits to the tower were timed for obvious reasons, so I went around the church, which was lovely, and then I went into the upper levels of the church and museum on the way up to the tower. I have to say this was rather good all round primarily because of the fact that the view from the top was stunning, but you really did need to take note of the narrow tower stairs on the way up. The Love decided against the tower and found a nice spot in a park opposite to chill out and sunbathe!

Once the tower was done, and we noted the vintage tram route 18 starting from here, we headed across a square to a fountain with four lions, then followed a road down to one place I did want to go - the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal - the Crystal Palace Gardens. Apparently there was a palace here similar to the old Crystal Palace as built in London for an exhibition here in Porto. It doesn't exist now but you do have the Rosa Mota Pavilion (athletics fans will know why which is also called the Super Bock Arena. Talking of which, that was the beer of choice in Porto - Sagres hardly got a look in!

The gardens were lovely to walk around, with peacocks showing off their lovely feathers all fanned out, cockerels wandering around by a church, and the tower with views over the River Douro and city. It was a chilled out place to be, and we both liked it there a lot - even having a late afternoon drink outside the Rosa Mota Pavilion later (Super Bock and the stout, of course) and seeing more along the way including some lovely fountain gardens and a lake with a little bridge to a central island. The whole place seemed very popular with the locals too it has to be said.

We walked back and got showered and changed, and tonight was the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain. One of the local places near me did at least have it on, Kapadokya, and the staff were super nice to get a table sorted for us which was under one of the gazebos outside - which proved to be a very useful thing. The beer was cheap too, and the food was very good. I had the burger - spot on, and The Love had the lasagne - which was piping hot and also spot on too.

The rain lashed it down at half time and although we mainly stayed dry, I did move the table back a little to try and keep the rain off The Love also, to be sure. England were 0-0 at half time but Nico Williams scored early on to dent the soul a bit, and despite a Cole Palmer equaliser, when the Spanish sub Mikel Oyarzabal scored well and the crowds behind us erupted. I suspect a lot of Spanish fans were at the bar. I was gutted but we had had a nice evening anyway and the bill with the food and two drinks each was €36, you can't really argue with that whatsoever! Tune of the day is We Are the Champions by Queen, playing as Spain lifted the trophy and to be fair, that might have been us, but the better side won, so fair dos.

Saturday 13th July - Pinhão and the Douro Valley Train

It was an early rise for myself and The Love In My Heart as we were off on a vineyard tour in the Douro Valley, and in PInhão to be precise. We were going to get the 0820 train from São Bento station and this gives us time in case of any delays to relax and be ready for our 1200 tour. We walked down to the station, went to the ticket office, and got the day return ticket sorted, it was actually a little cheaper to do that way, as was €21.50 instead of €11.95 each way, and we could return on whatever train we wanted, although the last direct one was around 6pm!

We spotted a couple of cafés opposite which were open and so inevitably there were queues. We did manage to get some croissants and coffee and head back over to the station, get a nice window seat on one of the carriages together, and on the right hand side too, which is for a good reason. The train left Porto on time and sped through the suburbs before then making a diversion through countryside and down towards the Douro Valley and its iconic stretch.

And wow. Just wow. From the viaduct at Pala, with the lovely platforms and views from Mosteirô and Aregos, with the vineyards clinging on to the hills, it was just so wonderful. Becuase the train carriages were built in the 1940s and 1950s, aircon wasn't a thing, so you could open the windows as much as they would let you to allow in fresh air but also get some pictures without a window in the way, and some of the carriage doors didn't even shut between stops (so be careful folks!) allowing for more dramatic opportunities if you wanted. We were happy with our seats and views, and it was superb, words cannot do this bit justice!

We arrived a little late into Pinhão and found our way down to the riverfront and nice little café bar, which sold drinks, so we had some cold drinks for now and admired the boats on the river and the various cruises on offer. That allowed us some chilled out time before we headed back up to the level crossing and over to the Quinta do Bomfim, a vineyard owned by Symington Estates where the likes of Dow's, Cockburns and Graham's port wines are all made. We checked in and all was good for the booking and the port tasting, so we waited around - and noted that people turning up on the day were not getting a tour! So glad we booked in advance for this.

The tour guide for us was André and he was really good and knowledgable, guiding us around the vineyard and the process of making port, and indeed how one vineyard still does the grape crushing the old fashioned way (yes, with human feet squashing the grapes no less) but they have a posh machine to do the same. We looked at the barrel store and the vineyard itself and tried out some ports, which were all lovely and to be savoured over time. The Love even got some nice wine in the shop to take back, and the tour was really good and well worth doing, albeit a little pricey at €25 each.

We headed to a local deli - Cardanho dos Presuntos - that I'd heard rave reviews about for a light lunch, and this was everything that we wanted - a nice sandwich each, and a nice tiny Super Bock for me and a wine for The Love. It felt intimate and lovely in there and we really did enjoy the atmosphere, with the chorizo for my sandwich being cut there and then on the premises, which was proper good. It definitely was a good move and the fact it was busy showed that all the reviews can't be wrong!

After that we walked back down the river front and explored the pedestrian bridge over the River Pinhão and spotted the cruise ships and another vineyard and shop, and then went back to the bar we had found earlier today and had a couple of drinks there by the river. We did note there were locals setting up for a local festival tonight but that'd be too late for us to get a train back, or else we would have been tempted to stay for that to be honest. But when a pint of Super Bock and a pint of Super Bock Stout costs a mere €7.70 in total (that's around £6.50 at current exchange rate) that's a good bargain, so relaxing here and enjoying was a good thing.

We headed back on the 1624 train, another classic carriage and this time did the old first class carriage seats at the front. They were nice but we did have someone sat opposite taking the leg room so when a horde of passengers got off at one stop, we swapped seats for two facing forward with lots of legroom and that was much better. It was a lovely train journey all told and I can't help but have The Tim Traveller's version (as Abandoned Rugs) of the All The Stations theme in my head - tune of the day without question.

Once back at São Bento, we headed down the Rua dos Flores and to the Cais de Ribeira waterfront, and had a nice meal close to the Ponte Dom Luís I bridge at a restaurant there. The food was good and I had a very nice Francesinha (couldn't resist it again of course) and The Love had some chicken with mushrooms which was good. We did walk back up the Rua dos Flores later back to the hotel but we did at least have some energy from the food so that was all good.

Friday 12th July - Matosinhos

It was a beach day today as The Love In My Heart did say to me that she wanted a couple of days on the beach to chill out and top her tan up. I didn't mind that so much as I had the iPod handy as needed to listen to tunes and of course could always go for a walk if I fancied down the seafront. We had noted that in fact it was a direct trip on the Porto Metro, so we topped up the prepay Andante cards with the 2 journeys needed for zone 3, and then set off from Bolhão through the suburbs of Porto and off to Matosinhos Sul station.

We did note on the way to the seafront that there was a Lidl, so we went in to peruse, our original plan being we'd get lunch later from here and have lunch on the beach. We did get some cold drinks including a can of Sagres for much cheaper than the plane, and then headed off to the beach itself. The beach does have some nice wooden walkways to get you to a nice spot instead of trudging through lots of sand, which was nice, and we soon found a nice spot to relax in for a while. I had the iPod on, so the likes of So Sublime by Beth Rowley was on (make that tune of the day) and it was good to chill out for a while.

After a couple of hours we thought about lunch and The Love thought it'd be nice to see if there was a beach bar on the front instead, and as it was a little windy on the beach it may be sensible to not to have lunch with stuff from Lidl, so change of plan. This worked in our favour massively as we headed off to the Lais de Guia instead, which was a lovely beach bar. They had a good selection of drinks and the food we had was spot on - I had the steak sandwich with fries, and The Love's meal also being good too. It was money well spent and we even stayed for an extra drink because the vibe was so nice.

We walked down to the Southern end of the beach, and did see the iconic She Changes sculpture which dominates one of the roundabouts too. It was on the beach for a good while later on, and found some shelter from the wind, so we could relax some more there. The time passed quickly and instead of getting the tram back we decided to head on the number 500 bus back to São Bento. This was all well and good seeing the coast from the bus window, but heading towards Porto city centre we were stuck in traffic on a bus with no aircon, a bit meh really, but we made it back eventually.

After a change and shower, and knowing we were on an early start tomorrow (and no breakfast in the hotel due to this) we instead then headed over to Letraria, where we had food and drinks. I had their Oatmeal Stout which was fab, and The Love had the Mexican lager which was decent, although I think it didn't match Fierce Beer's superb Cerveza. I had a steak sandwich in there and The Love had a burger, both of which had wedges with them and they were all lovely, and as the sun set with the lights on, the vibe here was wonderful and I loved it so much. We headed back and was ready for tomorrow's epic adventure.

Thursday 11th July - Around Porto

We thought it'd make sense to base ourselves around Porto today and get some bearings a bit more, and wanted to take in some of the sights. So after breakfast, The Love In My Heart and I headed off down the hill to the historic São Bento station. To be honest, I could have spent all day in there happily just admiring all the blue tiling (azulejo) and the grandness of the place. It's a shame that the work on the new pink line Metro is spoiling the front so much, but we did do a reccy also on trains for our trip Saturday so with that sorted, it was good to head onwards.

We first went to the Sé do Porto (the cathedral) which was undergoing some restoration work on the outside. This was magnificent still though, from the cloisters in the centre to the tower to climb up to the top to get some excellent views, the history and heritage really did tell its own story, and I was able to see so much of the city and get my bearings slightly, so that was good. The Love did like the church itself and they still do have services at noon, so was good to be able to see people still attend for prayer - naturally that part was closed off later to allow people to contemplate and have their moment, quite right too.

We descended down the other side of the Sé and past another church, this time the Igreja de São Lourenço, before following the narrow streets down towards the Palácio da Bolsa. We got our tickets for a timed entry with an English guide (they have four languages available, so you can get a ticket for the timeslot and language and then head back later) and we noted a bar close by with a nice view and balcony, so went in there for a drink. The bar played lots of Arctic Monkeys so it felt like being in Sheffield, with the excellent Fluorescent Adolescent being tune of the day for that reason.

It was back to the Palácio da Bolsa, and that was gorgeous building to explore, with its floor files in the hall of nations, the noble staircase and the upstairs rooms and halls including the Golden Room, the writing desk that used to belong to Gustave Eiffel, and culminating in the Arabian Room which was adorned with gold and looked stunning in the early afternoon. It was notable that you could hire the place for a wedding, but for a massive jaw dropping deposit amount to say the least - which would be out of most people's price range! I loved it in there and it was definitely good to explore that one.

We went down to the river front at Cais da Ribeira, and found a nice restaurant to have lunch at, the Farol da Boa Nova, where I had a nice variation on bachalau with potatoes and the fish all cooked in like a bake, with cheese, andf it was lovely. We walked down the waterfront and admired the boats and of course the impressive site of the Ponte Dom Luís I bridge, which we may see a lot of during the week. We did cross its lower deck and headed along the front at Vila Nova de Gaia which was lovely, and even saw the mad Sardine place on the other side which is wacky and well worth a look in, and even the House of Sandeman which you can stay at with several cheeky ports.

We crossed back over the bridge later on and decided to head up the funicular railway back towards Batalha, the Funicular dos Guindais, which was quick and speedy and did save us time walking all the way back up. We'd had a good day and after a shower and change to head out later, we went to the Mercado do Bolhão to explore the market there, and the restaurants. There was nothing we fancied there, but salvation was at hand - round the corner was Nortada - another craft beer place and a different vibe entirely from Letraria, with the tanks of beer inside and the brewing process on display. I had the ham and mushroom pizza and The Love had a steak sandwich with fries, both were lovely, as were the beer. We would be back here for definite!

We did then head over on a quick tram trip from Aliados over the bridge to Jardim do Morro and had a good night seeing a local rock band turn up and play at the bottom of the hill in the garden, with us getting a nice slot on the rocks on the hill to sit down and admire the view and the band, which was nice. Shame that the sunset wasn't as visible as we would like, but we did at least manage well to enjoy some tunes and see a nice view over the city, so was still well worth it anyway.

Wednesday 10th July - Porto Here We Come

The Love In My Heart had come down to London on the train last night, and I met her at Euston and we had tea close to the station before heading back to mine for some well earned drinks and time to chill out before today. We had our flights from Gatwick off to Porto airport, and at a reasonable time too, so we headed off, on the bus to East Croydon station (yes we would normally walk it but heavy suitcases etc) and then virtually straight on a Thameslink train straight to Gatwick, which was non-stop too so we both appreciated that a lot.

I'd never used the South Terminal at Gatwick before (it was the North one when I went to Milan in 2019) and so it was a breeze to pretty much come out of the station, find the empty check in desk, drop the luggage off, and be all lighter and ready to go. We got through security easy enough and indeed that and Duty Free were all quick, so got ourselves a little late breakfast airside as well as some soft drinks to take on board, primarily as TAP Portugal, even though they are Star Alliance, don't do complimentary food and drink anymore (boo) so that'd help, plus we could always get beer on board if we fancied, albeit €7.50 for two cans of Sagres!

The incoming flight had been delayed due to mist in the morning in Porto, so we left around 30 minutes late out of Gatwick, but the flight itself was all good and we had a relaxing time onboard. The plane was totally full so we were glad we had reserved seats next to each other, and that meant we could have a chatter and be all excited about being there. The plane landed, we went through passport control and had them stamped (meh, Brexit!) and then off to the arrivals hall to collect the cases, and then onwards out of the airport.

We had planned to take the Metro, basically their new light rail tram system, which does go underground in the city centre. Some of the airport trams go further than Trindade and all the way to Estadio Dragão, which meant it was a direct line to our stop of Bolhão for our hotel, yaay. It was efficient and air conditioned too which was good, and we soon made our to way Bolhão and walked down the Rua Santa Catarina where our hotel was, and checked in with the staff being super lovely and carrying up The Love's case all the way to our room - as he hotel is in an older building, there are no lifts (which we knew beforehand incidentally.)

So, what did we make of our room in the Feels Like Home Santa Catarina Suites? We loved it. I did go for the biggest room which had a nice big soft bench to sit at at the end of the bed, a reclining chair, television, aircon, and a nice bathroom suite with sink in the middle, toilet left and shower right - and all lovely and clean. We had coffee on the landing close to the room and it was the same Nespresso Pro machine we have at a work office, so all good. Obviously being top floor did mean lots of stairs, but the view of the Clérgios Tower from the window was worth that alone to be honest.

We did our breakfast order and filled that out - you get a sheet to fill in what you'd like and what time you would like it (between 0800 and 1030) and they deliver it to your room, which is a very nice touch, and saved us having to head out for breakfast too. Once done and dropped off, we headed out for the evening and I knew just the place to go for a drink - a few minutes walk away. Letraria is a number of tap rooms run by Letra, based north of Braga, and they have a hidden beer garden in this tap room. You get handed a plastic card on entry and you use that to order food and drinks, then at the end you hand it back and pay on exit. It works well and I liked that, and their beer was decent too!

After having a little snack starter and a drink we headed to Batalha where there were two outside restaurants. We went to the Java Cafe and they had the football on too, so as England were playing the semi final, I could see that. I went for the Francesinha, full hog, and it was a dish of meat, meat and more meat with cheese, bread and sauce. It was fine but The Love's meal was a little bit on the less hot side. The wine and beer were inexpensive at least though and seeing that last minute winner for England at least ended the day on a high. Not getting too over excited yet of course, but all good. Tune of the day was what I heard in Letraria, namely Sunshine of Your Love by Cream. Good choice that!

Sunday 7th July - Get In There Lewis!

I had planned to watch the British Grand Prix later today, especially as it's the only race on proper free to air telly, being shown on Channel 4 with all the practice and qualifying live too. Qualifying had already been exciting as well with a British 1-2-3 for the grid, with George Russell on pole, Sir Lewis Hamilton second and Lando Norris third. It was ace and the crowd loved it. I'd love it more later too I am sure, and after some breakfast and doing a shed load of ironing, it was time to head out for a bit, as I had planned a cycle ride to keep up the exercise.

So the plan was to head over to Battersea Park, and cycle around the main exterior road that was wide enough for all like walkers and joggers as well as cyclists to head safely around (and indeed cycles are prohibited from cycling the central paths) - and with docking stations for Santander Cycles nearby it made a lot of sense. It was rain and sun on the way, and that continued as I entered the park and undocked the first of two bikes. I wanted to do a lap first and re-dock to see how that'd work, and I would go in a clockwise direction (which was the opposite way to how Formula E went when they held their event there.)

It was nice to head past the likes of the adventure playgrounds and the crazy golf, the Oriental temple and the lake with the café as well as the athletics track as I made my way round - and it was around 1.9 miles in all. Docking the bike back in shows it had taken 13 minutes, so I reckoned I could do two laps and then re-dock the bike, which is what I ended up doing. In fact I took a call from The Love In My Heart on the way round the third one (I stopped of course) and spoke with The Cute Little One too who wanted to ask me if I had Monsters University so she could watch it, having seen Monsters Inc this weekend!

Anyway, with the three laps all done, it was time to head back home, and got off at West Croydon to stop off and get a birthday card and present on the way home, and then I could settle in and watch the British Grand Prix. All the excitement before the race was heightened by the trailer for the Brad Pitt F1 film complete with Queen's We Will Rock You playing (apt because Sir Brian May was doing the chequered flag honours too and so tune of the day right there.) With the time counting down and Hannah Waddingham no less singing the national anthem, all was good.

The race was exciting and far too many things happened to list here, but effectively the cut down version was that the two Mercedes stayed in front, Max Verstappen passed Lando Norris for third. Then the first bit of rain came down but wasn't enough to change tyres, and Norris passed Verstappen to retake third. This later became first as both Hamilton and Russell went wide at turn one allowing Norris to close and pass them both, with Oscar Piastri following suit. The rain relented for a bit and those who had switched to intermediates had made a massive error.

Then the rain came down properly and was time to switch, but Piastri was too close to Norris and maybe should have held back a bit to allow a double stack, so had to do another lap on slicks as the rain got worse. Mercedes got the double stack spot on, and were in better shape for it, with them now chasing Norris. Piastri ended up behind Carlos Sainz and wasn't happy, although later as the track dried and it was time to switch back tyres, he got the call spot on to go to mediums and would possibly have been much closer to winning the race had Mclaren not screwed up the pit stops.

In fact, at second stop time, Hamilton and Verstappen got the crossover right, going to soft and hard respectively, but best tyres for their setups. Norris came in a lap too late and his softs were not right: should have gone to mediums a la Piastri. Due to George Russell having to retire the car due to mechanical issues, it was Hamilton, Norris and Verstappen, with Piastri now taking fourth. However it was clear the softs were bobbins for Norris, and Verstappen passed him for second, and Piastri did close quite a bit.

In the end, Sir Lewis Hamilton won his ninth British Grand Prix, and after not winning a race since late 2021, he was emotional and rightly so. I had called it to The Love In My Heart last night that Lewis would win, and so was mega pleased he did it. I was pleased for Lando Norris to get third, but I suspect he will look at this as a race he could have won with better tactics and discipline. The crowd went mental for Lewis and it was great to see them giving him ultimate respect and showing just how still loved he is by the British crowd, and rightly so.

Saturday 6th July - Vanguard Way, Section 2

It was a case of mixed weather today, possibly being sunny, and possibly some rain too, but wanted to do the next section of the Vanguard Way, which was from Chelsham Common to Limpsfield Chart. It would be around eight miles in all and there would be some hilly sections, but the rain during the week might make some of the sections a little muddy. I did also work out it'd be better to get the bus from Warlingham to Chelsham Common as I could start earlier and give myself more time to arrive at Limpsfield Chart, where the buses are once every two hours (and only four during the day) and didn't fancy a long wait (although Plan B would be to get the bus the other way to Oxted and head home from there.)

So with the rain coming down, I headed on the 403 to Warlingham and waited for the 409 to Chelsham Common. All was good there, and so started the walk, past The Bull Inn and on to a path that would take me past what used to be a maize maze. Parts of this were muddy and once having crossed the B269 road (ironically the road that goes to Warlingham too) it was then on through woodland and then up Nore Hill, with the view from the top being majestic, and what goes up must come down, and a steepish slope at that with a bench half way down to admire said view.

Once at the bottom, it was another up and down hill to what was the end of the Graham Butler Mile, a section dedicated to one of the volunteers for the Vanguard Way who had passed away a few years back, and the kissing gates on this section were as a tribute. It was then up a pretty steep hill along to Greenhill Shaw, which was the highest point, and walking along the top ridges and then down slightly to Flint House was a relatively good feeling. It was then taking a path down to another steep hill, very steep indeed in fact.

This was Whistlers Steep and they weren't joking - anyone taking on this walk heading North would really not like this part at all! At the bottom it was left to follow the North Downs Way for a while alongside the Titsey Plantation and fields. Later there was supposed to be a plaque that markes the Greenwich Meridian but this was hidden away I think behind the bushes. After a right turn and down through a farm after a clay walk down, and crossing the River Eden, through the next field saw a path right alongside the M25 motorway, where traffic was at a standstill.

The guide (and its excellent app with photos depicting where you are and what to look out for - highly recommended) did mention the hawthorn tunnel, and they weren't joking. Lots of scratchy thorns to avoid here and not much room, and a quite muddy path in parts too before you clamber some steps to a bridge over the M25. From here with some woodlands on the left, you ascend to an old quarry workings, which looks majestic but one to keep well away on, and then crossing the A25, which means I'd be close to the final mile and a half or so, thankfully.

It was down a nice descent with some fields, and then up through Loampit Wood, and as I wound my way through I could see a marker post in the distance and also some National Trust signage which meant I was almost at Limpsfield Chart. I walked along the road and found the church at the end, and then could go back on myself a bit and turn right and head to the Carpenters Arms, which was a more than welcome sight as I was feeling a little bit tired after all those hills - but I had done it!

I had a well earned pint of the Titsey Brewery's Gresham Hopper (and excellent value too at £4.80 for the pint) and sat outside in their beer garden, taking a bench that had a tree overhanging. This was sensible as it was dry for a while and then it rained, but I kept reasonably dry under there. The beer was excellent too and well worth me having a visit there, and had a drink in honour of my good friend who passed away this day last year. I know he would have been watching the England game with me later if he was still around, of course, so was a good way to raise a glass.

I crossed over the road and noted that the side with the shelter wasn't the side the bus stopped at, it'd stop opposite, and managed to get the 594 bus back to Westerham (the £2 fare cap really helps in moments like this to be honest, long may it continue) and from Westerham I got the 246 bus back to Coney Hall, swapping for the 119 bus straight home, with the Hopper Fare kicking in. It had been a good long walk with the scenery I was able to see, a nice way to have some me time and think about my friend too, which was important for me to do today.

As for the football? Well it wouldn't be England unless there was some drama, with them going a goal behind only for Bukayo Saka to equalise with a superb finish. Extra time came and went, and superb from the German stadium PA, they whacked on Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie (tune of the day definitely there) to heighten the tension. England actually scored all of their penalties this time around, with Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney and Trent Alexander-Arnold all doing the business, and an earlier miss by Man City's Manuel Akanji had put the Swiss on the back foot, which they couldn't recover from..

Thursday 4th July - I Wanna Be Elected

As Alice Cooper once sang, "I Wanna Be Elected!" - and of course with it being the General Election here in the UK today, it was important for me to get out there and vote. Thankfully for me the local polling station isn't that far away, and the good thing is that I can be in and out of there within minutes. I had my photo ID with me (as you need it to vote these days) and so it was a nice, calm, stress-free visit to the polling station, put my X where I wanted it to go,and then put it into the ballot box ready for later. I did note that the roads near where that polling station is will close later, that's I think because the building is being used for various counts and so the council want to ensure safe arrival of all the ballots, fair dos.

I did have another mission of sorts today as I had got myself a new suitcase, and wanted to recycle or bin the ld one but do it responsibly. The nearest recycling centre that allows pedestrians and is reachable by public transport is the one at Fields Farm in New Addington, so from mine the easy way would be to get the 466 to Addington Village and change there for the tram, meaning less time to wheel the case around. That did work nicely and thankfully from the tram terminus at New Addington, it wasn't that far to walk to. In fact when I got there the member of staff said "that still looks okay to use, we can put it into our recycling shop if you want" - and that was fine. Simple, and responsible all round.

I got the tram back all the way to George Street and back home in good time for work, so all was well there to crack on with the working day. At lunch time, I did have a notification that I had a parcel to collect from Next, which was a Joules t-shirt that I had ordered. I picked it up later and it did look the part, and definitely well worth me getting that. I wasn't quite finished in Next though as I did note also a nice pair of jeans in my size, so was able to get those at the same time and save some potential hassles there later on. Win win situation of course, and definitely well worth the visit.

As I worked through the afternoon I did note that one of my favourite foriegn language artists, MC Solaar, has a new extended play mini album out tomorrow - his second of this year in fact. The lead off track, which is a duet with Marie-Flore, called Okay, is simply lovely - it's good such a good vibe to the sound and the video with a couple around Paris is seminal, starting at the Guy Moquet metro station as mentioned in the song lyrics - nice touch that. Because generally his albums are mainly available in France, finding a UK stockist is doable but not cheap. Shame I'm not heading to Nice soon so I could pop into FNAC and purchase both...

But as it's the day of the election, I definitely have had some more songs in the head, including Stuff The Tories by Kunt and the Gang, but most of all She Makes War's excellent I Want My Country Back (which is tune of the day) - with brilliant barbs at the Government for 2017 when it was released, and that people get their fake news from the Daily Hate at the same time. It's a real sounding call to arms, and I can recall singing that with gusto at one gig in Dalston a few years back. We'll see what happens overnight, but as I always say - no vote, no voice, so made mine count.

Tuesday 2nd July - Underneath the Arches

It was back off to the office in Hoxton today and under the railway arches. For health and safety reasons we have to have three people in there during the day, to ensure we're all good, and as our facilities head was there, whom I get on famously with, then it was a good time to head over, and also check any equipment and stock that we needed to. Ideally the plan was to effectively ensure that anything that needed a write off and ready for collection was done today and all annotated and noted, with the hard disks suitably wiped beforehand to be absolutely sure.

In fact, it proved a useful exercise anyway, as it turned out one of the laptops had a bad screen but did display okay when hooked up to a monitor via HDMI, so at least I was able to get that all sorted. The nice thing too is that I could also do some admin tasks at the same time, including a removal of some data from some systems that didn't need to be there, along with some documentation updates too. These are the sort of things where being able to concentrate and have fast networking really does work wonders to be honest.

I did head out at lunch and walked along Kingsland Road to a nifty little place that has a small outbuilding, where lunch is served and cooked to order. I did the lamb burger meal, which was awesome - properly nice meat, really good burger bun and some cheese and sauce too. The fries were good with paprika on and you got a nice cold Coke too, so what more could I want? Good value all round that and well worth the walk up the road for a change. It was a little drizzly so was good to get back to the arches and enjoy lunch before cracking on with the afternoon's work.

Afterwards it was time to go cycling again and this time around it was off from Hoxton, along Hackney Road and then turning right, following the B108 road through Whitechapel and down past Shadwell to Wapping. It's a good little cycle and a lot of the lights were on green too, so managed to beat my best time overall to get there. I defiinitely do feel the benefits of that and it's been nice to be able to get a good few miles in. I'll definitely be doing more at the weekend I reckon.

Later on I settled in for more of the football from the Euros and a dramatic game in the end between Tütkiye and Austria, with the Turks winning 2-1 with all three goals coming from set pieces and a superb save late on to prevent an equaliser. Surprisingly open too, and for me one of the most intriguing games of the tournament. I do think also that the Netherlands will have their work cut out come Saturday in that quarter final, so well worth a watch depending on what happens with England earlier. In the meantime, and as a tribute to Austria, Rock Me Amadeus by Falco is tune of the day - still an 80s classic that.