Read this blog: The one where we hit the Berlin Christmas markets Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd December 2024 Although the festive spirit sometimes eludes Robert, when Matilda suggested a city break in Berlin to take in some culture and visit the Christmas markets, Robert enthusiastically embraced what he saw primarily as an opportunity to drink beer al fresco in the afternoon. To maximise our time in Berlin, rather than travel by train, we flew from Heathrow. Over the past few years it has been Robert who has experienced the odd inconvenience when travelling by plane: we think he may share his name with a known criminal. Whatever the reason, his old passport did not usually work in the automated gates and he was invariably referred to Border Control. Surprisingly his passport did work in Iceland. But it was at Reykjavik Airport that he was held back and interviewed by American officials as he had sulphur residue on his clothing from the caves we had visited. This trip it was Matilda who became quite embarrassed and flustered when one of the flight attendants made a request over the tannoy for her (and one other passenger) to make themselves known to […]
Monthly Archives: January 2025
Read this blog: The one where we devise BOBs Pub Crawl Wednesday 27th November 2024 The Mystery Guides’ Birmingham City Centre adventure, The Mystery of the Fake Cheque Fiasco took us to several places that Robert (erstwhile Brummie that he is) had never been [see previous post] and we passed several banking halls which had been renovated and re-imagined as public houses with grand interiors. The conclusion of The Mystery of the Fake Cheque Fiasco is happily located inside The Old Joint Stock, one of our favourite Birmingham hostelries. Presentation of the booklet for the adventure at the bar secures a 10% discount on your first order [see Selfie of the Day]. Quietly sat sipping our drinks we brainstormed the concept of a pub crawl taking in the old banks of Birmingham which have been converted into pubs and coined the phrase [Birmingham’s Old Banks] BOBs Pub Crawl, starting where we sat in The Old Joint Stock [see Selfie of the day]. Erected in 1862 the building was originally the library for St Philip’s church opposite but was swiftly acquired by the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank. In 1889 Queen Victoria granted Birmingham ‘city status’ and in the same year the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank merged with Lloyds Bank. Shortly […]
Read this blog: The one where we solve The Fake Cheque Fiasco Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th November 2024 We left the York Tap behind and caught a train down to Birmingham, fully aware that we could have travelled all the way back to London in the time it took us to get to New Street Station. We were very taken with the mechanical bull on the station concourse. This was originally the centrepiece of the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games held here in the city. It moves at regular intervals, shaking its head and snorting [see Video of the day]. As Robert had had a full day’s meeting before we left York, it was later than we would usually plan to arrive somewhere when we finally reached Birmingham. We checked in to our hotel and walked to Victoria Square. Here “Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market” was already spreading the festive spirit [see Selfie of the day]. We went to find Chris Moose, the joke-telling, singing reindeer which has become a regular feature and focal point of the Christmas market here in Birmingham. The following morning, Matilda had invested in some entertainment: the Mystery Guides’ Birmingham City Centre adventure, The […]
Read this blog: The one where Robert queues for ghosts and Matilda fails to get her passport stamped Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th November 2024 Robert had a Great Rail Journeys [GRJ] Tour Managers’ Comms Group meeting scheduled in York and Matilda decided that since there was one side of a fully paid up double bed available she could travel up with Robert and spend the day of his meeting visiting the Christmas market and walking round beautiful historic York to start getting her in the festive spirit. The day before the meeting, we travelled up by train – naturally – and arrived in time to stroll through the market in daylight. The York Ghost Merchants had recently released a special edition Christmas tree decoration ghost and so Matilda also persuaded Robert to visit The York Ghost Merchants shop at The Dispensary in St Anthony’s Garden. Special edition ghosts are limited to one purchase per person so Matilda needed Robert with her to allow her to purchase two. Under duress, he agreed to accompany her. The queue at The Dispensary was indeed much shorter than the one for the shop in The Shambles but otherwise the experience is very similar. […]