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Bucharest Trip – Day 1 : British Airways Flight to Bucharest

I mentioned in a previous post for my two loyal blog readers that I was on razor thin timing for my flight, having left the hotel just 2 hours 30 minutes before take-off. I considered the reality that it might take over an hour to walk to the bus stop, get on the bus and then arrive into Heathrow Central bus station. In reality, it was 11 minutes. But, that meant one thing, I was safely at Heathrow Terminal 3 ready for my British Airways flight to Bucharest. For all of its faults, I’m still keen to use British Airways and I opted for them to get me to Bucharest. Steve had used BA the previous evening, whilst Bev, Susanna and Thim had decided that Ryanair was for them. Bev would use a cattle truck to get there if she could, but I’m surprised that Susanna and Thim weren’t a little more decadent. But, naturally, I didn’t say anything about the matter.

Back to the flight though. The boarding gate process was handled well, there was no wait and there was a seat whilst they called the groups forwards. All very organised and calm, this felt well managed. It’s always pleasant when the boarding process feels calm, sometimes it all feels a little chaotic and stressful.

Here we are on board. I say we, but I primarily mean me and the other passengers. It was an Airbus A320 aircraft, registration G-EUUF (although I need to check this, as two sites have different aircraft registration codes for this flight which I haven’t seen before). Assuming it was G-EUUF, BA have had this plane since new when they purchased it in 2002 and I don’t think it’s one that I’ve been on before (but my records are quite patchy, I didn’t know I was going to become interested in recording this for some time). Once again, I should really get out more…

One of the vestiges of my status with British Airways is that I can still book these for free, so I got an emergency exit row seat. I’ll be back to silver status early next year (the lowest status I can get which gives me lounge access), required given that I do like visiting the airport lounges as I get excited by free cans of Fanta. Also for my comfort, there was no-one on else this row which was quite handy. Especially given that Thim was reporting he had a somewhat less comfortable experience on the Ryanair flight he was on. The seating area was clean and everything worked as it should,

Satisfactory leg room and the cabin crew were pro-active and friendly. There were also working power points on the service which proved handy. The pilots were the usual middle to upper class sounding British Airways flight crew, sounding reassuring and competent. Not that other pilots aren’t competent, it’s just that the announcements made by British Airways crew seem to be so quintessentially British that it fits their brand well.

There were no delays on departing and the passengers all seemed sensible and efficient which meant no issues with people trying to shove large bags in awkwardly to the overhead lockers.

The free snack and water, which I still think is a positive touch rather than the previous effort they had which involved giving passengers absolutely nothing.

And safely into Bucharest, twenty minutes earlier than expected. There was little to report from the flight, which is a positive thing as too much drama on board is often sub-optimal. I had mentioned to Bev that I didn’t want her, Susanna and Thim waiting for me as they got in 90 minutes earlier, but that was good since they didn’t bother anyway. Once again, I didn’t comment negatively on that situation. On the matter of the weather, it looked just a little bleak, but the temperature was fine for my needs and the rain wasn’t too bad.

I won’t go on about the European Union as my thoughts on this are well known to my two loyal blog readers (and for anyone else, #iameuropean) and EU citizens were able to breeze through passport control. Those from the UK had a much longer wait which was sub-optimal. Anyway, I was again impressed with British Airways, everything worked as it should, everything was clean, the crew were friendly and the service was efficient. The flight cost £42 each way, which I think is very reasonable, especially as I used Avios from previous flights to reduce that to £24 each way. All rather lovely.

November 12, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 1 : Superloop Bus to Heathrow Airport

I admit to being slightly, but just slightly, geeky about London transport. Buses, trains, trams, underground services all hold some excitement and I’ve been following the introduction of TFL’s Superloop services. I decided to wait for a short while to get service SL9 which is the orbital route from Harrow to Heathrow Airport.

And here it is, the SL9. Admittedly, this isn’t really that exciting, it’s a standard bus that until recently was just branded the X140. For anyone further interested there’s more on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Superloop, with the new system being a little complex if I’m being honest. Or, at least, it seems complex to me which might be a different thing.

For the purposes of the trip to Bucharest, it took five minutes to get into Heathrow’s central bus terminal and the service wasn’t too crowded.

November 12, 2023
Bucharest Trip – Day 0 : Ibis Heathrow

As mentioned in my previous post, I had walked to the Heathrow Ibis and this is one of my favourite of the hotels on the Bath Road and I’ve stayed there numerous times before. There was a friendly welcome from the team member at reception and the atmosphere felt suitably warm and inviting. I was told that I had been given a room upgrade, which was very kind, and I guessed that this wouldn’t actually be a better room, but just a better located room. That’s realistically the best that a hotel can do when every room is the same design. Although I suppose that they could have put a little mountain of crisps in the room for me by way of an upgrade, but perhaps that’s not for everyone. The team member also asked if I’d like a free late checkout, but given my morning flight that wasn’t needed although it’s kind to ask.

I went for a pint of Goose Island Midway as my welcome drink. I might have mentioned that I have something of a passion for Goose Island, including visiting their Chicago brewery last year. I accept that Midway isn’t exactly the Bourbon County Stout that they brew, but there we go.

I approve that they local the musical instruments up to prevent unnecessary noise from musically untalented guests.

I’ve never actually eaten at this hotel, other than when the breakfast was included as part of the deal, but I merrily take photos of the food options that are on offer.

As I don’t get out much, I was surprised and delighted to get exactly the same room as when I stayed in the hotel for three days earlier on in the year. I like patterns in life and there seems something reassuring in repetition, especially with the never ending change that travel brings. I should definitely get out more as I suspect that I might have overthought that. Anyway, it was a peaceful night’s stay, not least as I was on the top floor in the corner, something I’d agree is an upgrade.

Also, I forgot to take a photo of the room, so I’ve used the one from earlier in the year. I’ve just found some more missing posts from this blog, something else I’ll have to fix along with the missing images. Bloody thing.

At this moment I heard from Susanna, Bev and Thim. They were all safely at Stansted Airport, and I was reassured that Thim was there with them since last time Susanna and Bev were left along at Stansted Airport they got drunk and missed their flight in some sort of drunken stupor. I’m pleased to report that this incident didn’t happen again. Their flight, two hours before mine, left without any issues other than Thim wasn’t thrilled and delighted with the leg room situation which he was encountering.

I decided to cut it very fine in terms of leaving for the airport, which meant that I departed the hotel just 2 hours 30 minutes before the flight. Razor thin I tell, razor thin timing. I’m not sure I’ve ever risked it quite that much before, although I accept that I am very risk averse with travel arrangements.

November 11, 2023
Bucharest Trip Day 0 : Getting to the Airport

The journey to Bucharest started with a Greggs, a policy that I have with road trips that it feels appropriate to extend to plane trips. This was a thrifty option as well given that it was a free chicken bake from the Greggs loyalty scheme. What a time to be alive and all that.

Then it was time to meander to Norwich bus station and look at how they’ve been getting on with the recent renovations which saw it closed for a couple of weeks. I’m not sure what has happened here at the bus stop, but it’s a bit sub-optimal if you ask me as a non transport expert.

The National Express coach, which started its journey to London from Great Yarmouth, was on time and there was a friendly driver. I was pleased to board first and be able to get the emergency exit row seat. It’s a bit more space for the journey, although it wasn’t a particularly busy service. I pretended not to be annoyed at the person nearby who had their phone on without headphones, just to show how tolerant and laidback I am. As I’m well behaved, I was the only passenger in sight who was wearing a seat-belt but I decided against asking the driver for a little badge or similar for following all the rules.

The journey was smooth and trouble free, although high levels of traffic in London meant that we got in around twenty minutes later than expected. I had got the coach as it cost just over £10, which was cheaper than the railways, even though it’s not really my desired form of travel. But, the power worked, the coach was clean and everything went as expected. No cause for complaint. Well, apart from that passenger with the loud phone, but of course, I didn’t let that annoy me.

After a quick burger, which was conveniently free of charge so another thrifty option. London seemed relatively quiet and everything seemed at peace, I had a brief walk around near St. Paul’s but decided against going to a pub as I had a long journey without access to toilets ahead. I’m very good at this forward planning……

Onto the underground and a quick change at the packed South Kensington underground station.

My bag, still in a nearly new state.

I got off at Hatton Cross underground station, which was a slightly cheaper option. I’ve written about the quirky situation with pricing at Hatton Cross before (although can’t find where, so I’ll link this in later), although I needed to get off here anyway.

I’ve never done this walk before along the Perimeter Road. It’s two miles and quite an intriguing walk given that it is around the boundary of Heathrow Airport and its maintenance facilities. There is actually a bus service who goes along this route, but I’m all for saving money and a bit of fresh air (I accept perhaps polluted just slightly by the airport) is good for the soul.

After 40 minutes of walking, the delights of the Ibis Heathrow came into view (apologies, yet again for the poor quality photo). I had only booked this hotel earlier on in the day as it was cheap, it’s one that I’ve stayed at before on numerous occasions and a reliable option. During my 40 minute walk, Steve updated us that he had arrived in Bucharest as he likes to get there earlier to ready himself for coping with Bev.

November 11, 2023
Bucharest Trip Day 0 : Introduction

And, here we go, I’m safely in a hotel at Heathrow Airport ready for the Bucharest trip that I decided to put on. I have the genuine delight of Bev, Susanna, Steve and Thim for a few days as I make my second visit to the city. The photo above is of the beer that I’ve got whilst at the airport hotel and I’ll do my best to keep up with posting during the week. It’s all very exciting!

November 10, 2023
Beccles – 2023 Beer Festival

Emma, from the formidable Boudicca Brewery, kindly invited Alex, Julian, Gareth and myself to the trade session of Beccles Beer Festival where she had donated a barrel of beer. We were confronted by quite large crowds at Norwich bus station which transpired to be because the bus before hadn’t turned up, which was acceptable since it was caught up in a bomb incident outside Lowestoft Aldi. Sub-optimal for all concerned.

The bus appeared and Emma and I managed to get seats. Unfortunately for Alex, the bus soared past him at his bus stop as it was so busy, but Emma made sure he knew we were on it by jumping up and down whilst waving out of the bus window. I didn’t say anything.

Safely in Beccles, we thought we’d get some food. I got a battered sausage and chips from Beccles Fish Bar and I have to say, this was really rather lovely for just over £4. The sausage was a proper butcher’s one rather than some plastic arrangement which is all too common in chips shops, whilst the portion of chips was generous and I only just finished them. I was also impressed at the way they were wrapped, but I’m easily pleased. The service was friendly and I was pleased to be able to explain that they were surprisingly busy with unwrapped orders because the beer festival was taking place a couple of doors down.

The beer glasses which took me back to being on glasses and tokens at Norwich Beer Festival a couple of weeks ago.

The glass was £3 and I later decided to keep it, even though I’ve evidently got enough glasses. And paying £3 in total didn’t seem bad value to me. There’s a free programme that comes with it, although I accidentally left that behind which I didn’t mean to.

Hmmm, a blurry photo of the bar area. Anyway, the set-up was that the beers were all free as they were donated by the brewers. The event is independently organised and takes place at Beccles Public Hall and Theatre. It got quite busy later on and everything felt well organised.

The green ones were free, whilst the yellow ones were only being put on for the main part of the festival this weekend.

Gareth turned up with sweets, he’s very reliable at that. Julian also drove due to some earlier car purchase issues, which had the advantage of meaning we could get a lift back and stay at the festival a little longer.

Cheers! As for the beers I tried, they’re listed on my Untappd account for anyone interested. Form an orderly queue and all that. The best beer was of course Emma’s Golden Torc, but I was also quite impressed at the Beccles Best, a very sessionable beer with a pleasant toffee finish.

Julian decided he’d treat himself to a sausage roll, freshly microwaved.

And back in Norwich, I was frogmarched into the King’s Head by Emma and Julian, just in time to wish Oli a happy birthday and watch Oscar acquire himself a bottle of wine. Emma and I quickly played two games of bar billiards, with the final score being 1-1, so that seemed fair. As I wrote about the other day, my own bar billiards league career is over for the year. Then there was much gossip and crisps to take me into the early hours of the morning.

All told, a lovely evening at the beer festival and many thanks to Emma for the invite! That’s three things she’s taken me to this year, Cambridge Beer Festival, Peterborough Beer Festival and Beccles Festival and I’ve loved them all.

November 10, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – The End and the Final Results

Over the last few months, I’ve visited all 29 of the food stalls at Norwich market, initially with my friend Nathan and then my long time market food eating friend James took over to assist. This was all a marvellous idea, the variety, quality and value of the stalls has really surprised me and made me feel just a little guilty for having gone to same chip stall for the best part of twenty years. There are dessert stalls, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, cafes, chips shops and plenty more besides. I fully recommend a visit to Norwich market for any visitor, or indeed resident, of Norwich to see just how much variety is here.

Honourable mentions first. There were many friendly figures at the market, but the one that stands out for me is back in week three when our social butterfly Nathan got chatting to the really lovely owner of Chimneys. Given that he had just picked me up from Luton Airport (Nathan, not the guy running the market stall) I was impressed at his socialising skills. Unfortunately, Chimneys is the only stall that has closed during this process, I do hope the lovely guy running it thinks about another similar project in the future. Back to Nathan and his socialising, when we went to the Taste of Shanghai he already knew the owner as he had had a chat with him in the street or something. Who chats to people in the street? Also honourable mention to Deb’s for making a bacon sandwich just I like it, namely not what I consider to be raw as some places serve it. And, to the venue that might have surged into first place if they had offered us hot pies with gravy, Walsingham Farm Shop. The theatre of the Go Crepes stall was also a delight to watch.

After much ruminating, this means that the results are in and I’ve decided to name my favourite three outlets as my two loyal readers have been waiting for this. I haven’t consulted Nathan or James on this as I’ve decided it’ll all be about me 🙂 For anyone who wants to see all the photos from every visit, they’re at https://www.flickr.com/photos/julianwhite-uk/albums/72177720305738387. I’m also conscious that some new stalls have opened recently, we’ll visit them in 2024.

Now, after much wittering, my top three!

3RD PLACE: COCINA MIA

I had to think about this for a while given that there were so many positive moments. I liked the friendliness, the variety of the menu and also the depth of flavour of the food. There were positive little touches here, including the free water for customers and the comfortable seating area. The empanada I ordered was generously filled with pieces of chorizo and chicken, all very tender.

2ND PLACE : LUCY’S FISH AND CHIPS

In second place is a stall which means quite a lot to me since I’ve visited so much, Lucy’s Fish and Chips. Their customer service is on point, they manage to deal with their queues in an efficient manner which is a challenge given how busy they are. The food is of a consistently high standard and it’s always a delight to come here. Their prices are some of the lowest on the market, there’s a seating area and they have scraps to put on top of the chips.

And that means, in first place is…..

1ST PLACE : BODEGA

Just look at that, a packed pastrami sandwich which tasted as good as it looks. The service is friendly, efficient and it feels all very on-trend and customer focused. It’s not necessarily the cheapest option at the market, but the quality is so high that it justifies its price. For extra excitement, Toby’s Beer is located just one market row away to enjoy this decadent sandwich with a craft beer. So very lovely.

Many thanks to Nathan for his help, always merrily chatting to stall holders and selflessly going for a different option to broaden out the reviews, whilst although James has often been inspired to have the same food as me, his photos have added a huge amount to the blog posts. Thanks also to everyone on the market, I’ve very much enjoyed this project.

November 9, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 29 and Go Crepes

Here we are with the final instalment (for now) of my plan to eat at every food stall at Norwich Market, this time it’s Go Crepes.

There was a friendly welcome from the smartly dressed team member, who added some theatre to the whole proceedings with his style, not just in terms of his appearance but also in how he was preparing the food. There’s a choice between sweet and savoury crepes, with plenty of choice in terms of the ingredients. They accept cards and cash here, with everything looking spotlessly clean.

I went for sweet and here’s the start of preparing my Nutella, banana and coconut crepe.

Flipped over.

Here we go, neatly presented and generously filled with ingredients including lots of Nutella, a whole banana and plenty of coconut.

James went savoury with cheese, pepperoni and egg. This is his photo, as the better quality of the image perhaps makes obvious. That’s his hand too.

James was suitably impressed, with the fillings being of a generous amount with his, plenty of cheese, four large slices of pepperoni and an egg. If I’m being honest, this isn’t necessarily my go to type of food as I find it a bit stodgy, but it was one of the best crepes that I’ve had. I felt that they represented very reasonable value for money, they tasted of a good quality and I liked the engagement and theatre from the team member. This was a marvellous visit to end of this project and there will shortly be a final results post 🙂 Oh the anticipation for my two loyal blog readers.

November 9, 2023
200 Years Ago in Norwich : Creation of a Lifeboat Service in Norfolk

Another post in my series of what was happening in Norwich 200 years ago this week.

In November 1823, the Norwich Mercury published this letter:

“Sir – We beg to request your attendance at a Meeting to be held at the Shirehall, at Norwich, at Two o’clock, on Saturday, the 22nd November, for the purpose of forming an Association for saving the Lives of Shipwrecked Mariners on the whole line of the Coast of Norfolk.

The object of this Association will be raise Funds sufficient to place Life Boats and the Apparatus for saving Life, invented by Captain Manby and others, on different points where they may appear to be likely to be serviceable, and sufficient to give due recompense to persons as shall assist in cases of Shipwreck. Should you be unable to attend, may we beg that you will signify whether you are disposed to support such an Association by letter addressed to JJ Gurney, Esq, Norwich.

Signed by John Wodehouse, Thomas William Cook, Edmond Wodehouse, Suffield.”

The Norfolk Association for Saving the Lives of Shipwrecked Mariners was successfully founded and it became part of the RNLI in December 1857. The first lifeboat had been designed by Lionel Lukin in 1785 who patented what he called the world’s first unsinkable boat. There were some forward thinkers in Norfolk, as the RNLI wasn’t created until 4 March 1824. The readers of this letter to the newspaper in 1823 helped to create an institution which has saved hundreds of lives along the Norfolk coastline over the last 200 years.

November 9, 2023
Bar Billiards Update – My Final Game of the Season…..

I have no idea how I got 3,600 people visiting my last bar billiards update about playing the Manes and getting through to the Plate Final. I assume that my two loyal readers were so excited by it that they kept visiting it on different computers. Actually, how on earth have that many people read it? Anyway, this bar billiarding week started for me on Tuesday when I turned up at the White Lion on Tuesday evening for my weekly training session with Zak and others. I’ve learned a lot of new shots from him and maybe one day I might actually be able to consistently play (or at least play it once) his signature break off shot.

The omens were good, I was undefeated on Tuesday evening playing four different players which included two in the top tier of the Norwich Bar Billiards league. If I was humble I wouldn’t have gone on and on about that. But I’m not and so I have. I was particularly impressed when Zak commented to me after a successful 200 shot that “that was the bravest shot I’ve ever seen you play”. It’s like a civil servant telling a Minister that he’s being brave, I thought that I’d better not be that reckless in an actual league game. It was my last Tuesday of playing for a while and I’ll miss it a lot, it was one of my favourite regular events. Playing in the league is good, but training nights are not far behind (they just don’t have the food).

Anyway, the game last night was against Cottagecore and we’re doing very well in the league and so a victory should have meant promotion, although not guaranteed it just yet. They’re one of the friendliest teams in the league I think, but I was horrified to be drawn third in the singles. This is a dreadful draw position as it’s when the food comes out. I’m delighted that Chay, who did very well to recover after our football on Monday evening, timed it perfectly. The Cottagecore kindly allowed us to have a break for food just before I played, meaning I was well nourished before the food came out. I couldn’t possibly play knowing that the food had just come out and I couldn’t have any.

Butter chicken and rice, very delicious! Thanks to Chay for preparing it and Oscar for paying for it.

My gameplay in the singles match was acceptable, but my specialist Zak trained shots didn’t come off and so I resorted to grinding some points in as my usual strategy. I will admit an element of luck here as it went to the end game and I managed to miss the final shot. Fortunately for me, their player knocked over the 200 pin and so I stormed to a victory that wasn’t entirely deserved if I’m being honest. But, a win is a win and I drank to that.

I was playing with the iron nerved Guy in doubles and if we won then that would be enough for us to win the entire game. Guy and I both lost points by knocking pins over, which is rare for us (very rare for him), and the quality of the other team was high so we were once again forced into an end game. Fortunately for us, the 200 pin was knocked over again on the final shot and so we got a victory. But they all count!

Here’s Roy in the above photo celebrating after the team’s victory. Incidentally, the brilliantly talented Guy nearly threw away a 1,600 lead and I’ve never seen him look so stressed. But only briefly, his man of steel look appeared back again nearly immediately. Emma did some shouting as well to add to the excitement, it can all get quite exciting this bar billiards thing.

Roy has excitedly (I may be exaggerating with that word) signed me up for next season, or at least the bit of it that I might be about. I’m going to attend whatever games I can, not least as there’s food available. And, I’m very grateful for having played this season as I’ve been travelling in previous years so haven’t been able to commit to joining a team. It meant a huge amount for Emma to invite me into the team and for Roy to find a space for me, that was so very kind as I was so very much looking forward to playing. I’ve surprised myself with my win rate (which I’ve rarely mentioned), but that’s the joy of having the cool and calm captaincy of Roy.

“You’ve brought us to the brink of greatness this season @Julian. Now we have to finish the job alone.”

Andrew posted this on our group WhatsApp this morning and I mentioned that it would appear on the blog. Last year the Serengeti came last in the league, won one match and got kicked out of the cup, whereas this year we’re heading for promotion and maybe even victory in the Plate final which is being held in December. If the team now lose their last two league matches and Plate final without me, then I’m going to decide that I was a critical factor in the transformation. If they win without me, I’ll accept it might not have been me 🙂

Or as Wes posted this morning:

“”He joined. He played. He won some frames. He left.” Not all heroes wear capes, etc.”

I like the direct line. And David, who has been trying hard all year to be less irritating, added:

“Don’t forget “he ate some food.””

🙂

Anyway, that’s the end of that for the year for me and I’m very excited to hear how the team gets on and delighted to have been part of things this year. And Roy will be delighted that I’ve decided to stick with the Serengeti next year, although that’s inevitable since no-one else will have me. Back to matters of relevance, I’ve met lots of new people, eaten a lot of food, played brilliantly and aspire to be as a good as Zak by the end of next year. If anyone is interesting in joining a team then they should definitely consider it, there’s a Facebook group for the league and I’m sure if someone posted they were interested that some team might pick them up. And thanks to everyone in the Serengeti for putting up with me and for Roy making clear that I was good enough!

November 9, 2023