Monmouth

In keeping with the 'staycation' idea that is becoming increasingly popular in these frugal times, I have rarely ventured far from my own corner of the world in recent times.

Our latest family trip was to Monmouth a border town between England and Wales - one of those like Chepstow that has been Welsh and English at various times, it is currently Welsh (and as far as I know intends to stay that way!). We were lucky with the weather, and Monmouth has some lovely outdoor spaces. From the river to the parks, the church and a good selection of shops..

Monmouth is small, but can take it's fair share of visitors with ample car-parking, and plenty of choice places to grab a bite to eat. Once you have ambled around the town, and sampled some of the delights, you could treat yourself to the 'pretty way' home as we did, and take in the beautiful countryside which surrounds this historic town.
[Pictured: the historic Monnow Tower Bridge, and the High Street]

2012 in the UK

Despite European monetary difficulties, there is  generally positive mood throughout the UK at the moment - this picture shows bunting in the street a week after the special Bank Holiday to commemorate 60 years of Queen Elizabeth's reign.
This year not only celebrates UK monarchy, but also the coming of the Summer Olympics. The UK is arguably fortunate to be cushioned a little from the Euro crisis by being outside the Euro currency, but the consequences of the Euro-crisis will not entirely pass us by.
The interesting fact about this positive photo is that it was not taken in what might be regarded as royalist heartland of the home counties of England, but in the Welsh Capital Cardiff (Caerdydd in the native tongue). The truth is that the celebrations have reverberated around the commonwealth and touched the rest of the world too. Now is a good time to visit the UK, London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast and see what this kingdom has to offer.

Jimmy Spices

If I may be allowed to extend travel to include eating experiences (I may because it is my blog..!), I wanted to just report what a great night was had by friends and Family at Jimmy Spices in Sutton Coldfield a few weeks back.
On offer was a £15 all you can eat buffet of Chinese, Indian and Italian food - This alone sounds like pure heaven for a foodie, but you wonder if the Chinese and Indian in particular will be authentic (At least that was what I was thinking), by which I mean would the Chinese be as good as if it were in a Chinese restaurant? etc..
I am very keen on all these cooking styles, so was a little sceptical.
On arrival, I was staggered by the floor-space of the upstairs rooms of this restaurant - it was huge.. tables wre in rows seating between about 20 to 30 per table - which was ideal for large family parties. If you weren't with a party, maybe you would meet some new people - but I wasn't intending to write a review so I didn't pay a lot of attention to the seating arrangements. After sitting and chatting for a while, I went to check out the food. Each style of cooking had it's own open kitchen section in the centre of the room where specialist chefs were openly preparing and cooking food, one for Indian food, one for Chinese and one for Italian. I began with Chinese - it was really superb, some of the best Chinese cooking I have ever tasted. Just to check that this wasn't a fluke, I then moved on to Indian, and yes, this was as good as the Chinese - really expertly done. Sadly I didn't have chance to try the Italian as I was persuaded by my daughter to get some ice-cream after which I did not really feel like eating more savoury dishes. (Still a bit gutted that I didn't have a go at the Italian - although most people seemed to be going for pizzas which quite frankly are NOT my idea of fine dining... I would hope that there were also pasta dishes, maybe some seafood?? I'll have to wait 'til next time to find out - I would certainly without a doubt visit again, it's a great place to take a crowd because there truly is something for everyone.
You don't have to travel to The Midlands to get the same experience however, as well as restaurants in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and Stratford on Avon, they also have places in Staines, Epsom and Bath.