New blog: World of Switch

This week, I launched a new blog where I’ll be writing news, reviews, tips and tricks for the Nintendo Switch. Check it out here: World of Switch.

T2 Tea

There’s a tea shop in Richmond called T2. They sell tea.

After a lot of thought (should we buy a tea maker, tea set, and loose tea?) we decided to keep it simple and buy a few teabags.

So far we’ve only tried Melbourne Breakfast, which is very nice: a subtle flavour with a bit of vanilla.

It’s looking pretty likely that we’ll be back for more soon.

More info here: https://www.t2tea.com

Moving house

As I wrote in a previous post, we recently set the wheels in motion to move back to London. Today was the big day!

It started out as a very dark and cloudy day. But by the time the movers got here and started moving things, things brightened up a bit.

Unfortunately, it rained at the other end. Oh well.

There was a minor casualty: our sofa didn’t fit down the narrow hallway into our lounge. We ended up asking the movers to take it away. Not their fault. However, we’ve been wanting to get new furniture anyway – and we have a couple of chairs that will make do for now. I also think it would’ve been a bit cramped with the sofa in here. It’s not so bad.

Speaking of which, here’s how part of our new lounge looks:

The lounge is quite a bit bigger than this. Here’s a pic of the bedroom:

We’re not done with the place yet, but we’ve made good progress on getting unpacked.

I decided to stack up all of the empty boxes:

And after all that, we needed an energy boost!

On Tuesday we’ll be picking up Maisie from the cattery. We thought it would be a lot simpler to finish packing, do the move, and do most of the unpacking without a cat in the house with us. Maisie will come into a brand new home, which will take a bit of getting used to (she’ll do her usual exploration of the place first). We know she’ll settle more quickly if we aren’t unpacking things around her.

Back to work on Wednesday. It’s going to be a long week!

Pizza Express: a good gluten-free lunch

Today we had lunch at Pizza Express. They have good gluten-free options; any pizza can be made on a gluten-free base. There are also starters and desserts. We skipped dessert but had starters.

You can get the Pizza Express dough balls as a gluten-free dish. I had these followed by a Diavolo pizza on the gluten-free base.

Overall, a good lunch, and a menu that clearly indicates what’s gluten-free. Pizza Express are definitely worth a trip.

Packing for the move

As we’re moving house on Monday, several people have asked if we’re packed. Well, not completely, but we don’t have much stuff to pack.

Here’s what we’ve packed so far:

Not much, right? We do have more to pack, but most of what’s left can’t be packed until Sunday night. There’s still furniture, but that obviously won’t fit in boxes.

For a comparison, here’s how things looked for one of our previous moves – not the last one, but the one before that. This was taken in December 2012.

https://instagram.com/p/S7upTaPBS5/
It’s good to see we haven’t accumulated much stuff since then.

Blogging in five sentences

If email takes up too much of your time, you can adopt the model suggested by five.sentenc.es.

Write your email responses in no more than five sentences (and it’s ok to write shorter responses than that).

There’s also variations on this idea, where you could write four, three or even two sentences.

You could also adopt this approach for your blog posts.

If you can say it in five sentences, why say it in more?

 

Gluten-free sandwiches at Marks and Spencer

Gluten-free lunch options can be notoriously difficult to find. Many restaurants are good, but if you want something quick, gluten-free sandwiches can be tricky.

Quick cider reviews

As I’ve been gluten-free since late 2014, I’ve had to stop drinking most types of beer. Instead, I’ve sampled a variety of other drinks. The easiest thing to buy in a bar or pub is cider, as most don’t stock gluten-free beer, which has meant I’ve also had a lot of cider given to me as gifts. I don’t drink at home very often, so today I thought I’d sample everything I’ve got to see what I do and don’t like. I’m blogging about it as otherwise I’ll forget what I thought of the drinks!

Anyway, here goes.

(NOTE: in case any of these aren’t gluten-free, I’ll add a disclaimer here. Check before you drink!)

Happy New Year! – and how to make sensible resolutions

Happy New Year!

The beginning of a fresh new year prompts some of us to consider setting resolutions for the year ahead. Problem is, these resolutions can be unrealistic, and won’t last beyond the first few weeks of the year.

I find that it’s better to set objectives at various points through the year – not just at the start of the year. In the past I’ve had the view that resolutions are a waste of time – but as someone who’s fascinated by numbers and dates (a topic for another day if ever there was one), I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a buzz out of starting something new on January 1st.

Below are a few tips to help with setting decent resolutions that you’ll hopefully stick to.

Visiting Brighton – and moving back to London

Today, we spent a few hours in Brighton. It was a bit foggy, but the fog lifted within an hour or so.

We’ve lived in Haywards Heath for just over 3 years. It’s a 15-20 minute train journey from Brighton. In early January, we’re moving to London.

The ongoing problems with Southern Rail have made commuting a nightmare. It seems that poor service is the norm, but the last eight months have been particularly painful. I can’t see an end in sight. It’s a shame, as we like living here, and we stood a chance of being able to afford to buy a house – the reason we moved here in the first place. I guess it’s just as well that hasn’t happened yet, as it’s a lot easier to move when you’re renting.

While I’m looking forward to the move, not least because my commute will be shorter, it feels like we’ve been forced into it somewhat. I’ve been fortunate to work for companies who are very accepting of the travel issues – but it’s down to me to determine if living here is worth the commuting woes. Sadly, it just doesn’t stack up anymore.

At this stage, I can’t see how any commute into London on a Southern-operated train is reliable. So, we’re moving.

As the house move is imminent, today seemed like a good opportunity to visit Brighton while it’s still practically on our doorstep.

Maybe someday, we’ll be back. For now, it’s farewell to Haywards Heath, and hello to Richmond (again).

Happy 2017!