Event of the Year 2016

Welcome back Summer Bash

2016 has been another good year for me attending RCCGB trips, starting with the Blackpool Bash in April, during which I had both Saturday and Sunday wristbands for the third year running. Secondly the RCCGB Summer Bash, which last appeared in the Club's trip programme in 2011, made an unexpected comeback in July 2016. The Summer Bash venue was Paultons, largely to ride new coasters Velociraptor and Flight of the Pterosaur, and I attended that one day trip. Thirdly Mega-Glow-Mania, the Club's annual visit to Pembrokeshire in August. During this three-day event I attended the Club visits to Folly Farm on Friday and Oakwood on Saturday, but for various reasons chose not to go to Heatherton World of Activities on Sunday. Finally Loopathon in October during which the Club visits Alton Towers on Saturday and Drayton Manor Park on Sunday. It would have been nice to have attended both Alton Towers and Drayton Manor Park for the first time ever this time, but for various reasons I ended up attending Drayton Manor only again.

Besides RCCGB trips, plenty else happened in 2016. There was no Gromit, Shaun the Sheep or similar sculpture trail around Bristol this summer, but an exhibition of 18 of the original 80 Gromit sculptures from the Gromit Unleashed 2013 trail were displayed in the Gromit Unleashed shop, at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, from Monday 25 July to Sunday 4 September 2016, and I went to that exhibition in early August. As if that wasn't enough, I had several trips to Bristol and beyond this summer in order to photograph the scenery and have pictures taken of me.

Once again there was no short break to Devon in 2016, similar to the ones that happened in 2007 to 2013. Will such a trip ever happen again? Time will tell. Surprisingly there was no summer outing to Weymouth either. Thankfully days out which seem to have become an annual tradition the last few years, including Cardiff International Pool, Sandcastle Water Park (Blackpool), Brean Theme Park and Splashdown Poole still happened, and Funland, Hayling Island made a comeback after me not going there in 2015.

Altogether there are 42 events, which the same as the number of songs which ended up taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 after the late withdrawal of Romania. As usual the 42 events have been split into five categories: Best Mega Trip, Best Thrill Outing, Best Non-Thrill Outing, Best Show and Best Party. The winner of each of these will go through to the Ultimate Winner round to determine the overall winner.

Definitions.
Since this document is about events of 2016, any occurrences herein of "this year" refer to 2016, whereas "last year" refers to 2015 and "next year" refers to 2017.

Multi-lane wavy slides, as found at funfairs and theme parks, are generally known as Astra slides. For this reason the term "Astra slide" has been used throughout this document to refer to this type of slide.

RCCGB Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain
ERS Exclusive Ride Session

To navigate to individual categories, click the links below.

Best Mega Trip
Best Thrill Outing
Best Non-Thrill Outing
Best Show
Best Party

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Best Mega Trip

These are trips that required staying away at guest accommodation for one or more nights. Interestingly this year they all happen to be UK based RCCGB trips: Blackpool Bash, Mega-Glow-Mania and Loopathon. Three excellent events almost as good as each other, it will be extremely difficult to determine which of the three goes through to the Ultimate Winner round.

RCCGB Blackpool Bash - Friday 1 April to Sunday 3 April

Event Outline

"Everybody say Blackpool". The Club's annual trip to Blackpool Pleasure Beach, featuring riding and entertainment. My excitement began Thursday afternoon with a relaxing train journey from Bath Spa to Blackpool North. The Bash officially began Friday evening in the Paradise Room with welcome from Nev. The first "proper" act was comedy magician Mark James, who did various card tricks. a "silent movie" trick, and juggling with pairs of mouse traps attached to batons. Second to perform was RCCGB member Wendy Adams Evans. She sang a series of songs. For the song "Living Next Door to Alice" (with "Alice" changed to "Alan") she asked Alan Chilvers and two others on stage - I was one of them. We had to sing "Who the heck is Alan?" at the relevant parts of the song. After the interval former Britain's Got Talent finalist Paul Burling did numerous impressions, and sang his parodied version of "500 Miles". Saturday began with a meet-up in the Paradise Room followed by the morning ERS on Big One, Skyforce Red Arrows and Blue Flyer. During the ERS I enjoyed three goes on Big One. When the ERS ended members with wristbands dispersed to ride other rides. The rest of the morning I rode Skyforce Red Arrows, all three Steeplechase lanes, Avalanche, Big Dipper (twice) and River Caves. Lunch in the Paradise Room, consisting of beefburger in a bun, spicy chicken burger, and chips, was delicious and filling. Club merchandise was also on sale lunchtime. During the afternoon I rode Flying Machines, Grand National (both lift hills), Nickelodeon Streak, Blue Flyer (twice), a few other Nickelodeon Land rides, Revolution, Infusion, Wallace & Gromit, Wild Mouse and Big One. The rides were originally due to close at 20:00, but due to inclement weather ride closing time was brought forward to 18:00. Just before 18:00 I approached Advance and was among a handful of riders on its last run of the day, but a sudden power failure meant the train couldn't be sent after all. Thankfully that only affected the southern half of the Pleasure Beach, and the Paradise Room wasn't affected. Around 19:30 members returned to the Paradise Room for tonight's evening entertainment. The theme was musicals, and several members including me dressed up for the night. The show began with Alan Chilvers singing a parodied "Radio Ga Ga"!. After Nev's welcome Lorraine Downing sang "No Business Like Show Business". Other songs were "Our House" (Gary Williams) and "Does Your Mother Know" (Liberty Williams). Games were Kids' Gopher and Don't Show. The Gong Show featured nine acts. My performance of "Music Man" was the penultimate act; many in the audience joined in with the actions (piano, trombone, etc.). Oddly enough I was voted second best and second worst! The winner was Alfie Jacks, who danced along to "Gangnam Style", whereas the worst act was Chris Bell, who sang "Dentist!". The finale was "All You Need Is Wood" sung by Alan Chilvers, with performers from the evening also on stage to wave their arms. After Nev's final speech the stage descended, and the disco (which lasted just over an hour) followed. This included a medley of snippets of disco hits, ending with "Lasha Tumbai", "Amarillo", "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and "New York". Finally those who dressed up posed for a group photo. Sunday began with the WOW ERS on Grand National, Big Dipper and Wild Mouse. During that time I enjoyed two goes on Grand National (one per lift hill) and three goes on Big Dipper. After that I queued for Wild Mouse, but by the time it was my turn the ERS had already officially ended, and my one go on it now was thus my first ride using my wristband during normal time. Afterwards I spoke to Nev, Alan Chilvers and other RCCGB members near the fountains for a few minutes. After that I enjoyed riding Nickelodeon Streak and Blue Flyer twice each, followed by Revolution, Steeplechase (red track), Big One, Avalanche, Crazy Daisy, Diego's Rainforest Rescue and The Backyardigan's Pirate Treasure once each. After a much-needed hot dog and coffee at T Café I rode Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-o-Matic, River Caves, Ice Blast and Flying Machines once each. Around 15:20 I queued for Infusion. Unfortunately its 40 minute queue meant that, by the time I had completed my ride on Infusion, it was time for me to leave, collect my luggage and begin my train journey home. Altogether another wonderful Blackpool Bash, including two evenings of entertainment and two days of riding. Many thanks to Nev for organising it and letting me perform in the Gong Show. Thanks also to the ride staff required for the Saturday and Sunday morning ERSs, the caterers for providing food Friday evening, Saturday lunchtime and Saturday evening, the sound technicians Friday and Saturday evening, the professional entertainers who performed Friday evening and all members who performed billed or Gong Show acts Saturday evening. It was great meeting other Club members again and riding the Pleasure Beach rides again. The only let-down was the rain on Saturday which caused ride closing time to be two hours earlier than planned, but the silver lining was that most ride queues were short most of the day. Although Sunday's weather was much better; dry all day and mostly sunny, from around midday several ride queues were considerably longer than on Saturday.

Comment

Wonderful as the Blackpool Bash is, there's no denying that two evenings of entertainment and two full days of riding definitely gives this event the edge over the other two contenders in Best Mega Trip. Once again this is the one that's most likely to proceed to the Ultimate Winner round.

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RCCGB Mega-Glow-Mania Weekend - Friday 12 August to Sunday 14 August

Event Outline

The Club's annual visit to rural Pembrokeshire, primarily to visit Oakwood Theme Park. Just like the preceding two years, the Oakwood visit was on Saturday when the Park was open to the public until 22:00, thereby enabling the Club to intend to end the day with the traditional dark ERS on Megafobia. Add-ons to Oakwood were Folly Farm near Kilgetty on Friday and Heatherton World of Activities on Sunday. For me the weekend began Thursday 6 August with a train journey from Bath Spa to Kilgetty. Once there I stayed three nights in nearby Begelly. My Friday morning began with a full traditional fried breakfast at the normal time. Mid-morning I was the first RCCGB member booked on the trip to arrive at Folly Farm around 10:30. Once admitted my first stop was Follywood to visit Percy's Piggery and enjoy a ride on the land train. Back in the main part, my first sighting of other RCCGB members was Mark Lewis and Margo Lewis Ne Blackmore shortly after drawing a rabbit on the chalkboard. After a much-needed cappuccino at Cwtch Café, I explored the new rhino area of the zoo. After a light snack at Carousel Café, I saw the rest of the zoo, including giraffes, penguins and lions. Late afternoon I met Nev in the Folly Interactive. During the final hour of normal opening I played on Carousel Woods indoor play area, including the slides and towers. The best bit was the EFS after closing time when the Club rode Caterpillar Ride, Royal Coronation Speedway, Jets, Rock 'n' Roll Waltzer, Ghost Train, Dodgem Track, Lakin Skid. After dinner in the Funfair Restaurant, the Club rode a few more rides, finishing with the Cake Walk. The main event, at Oakwood on Saturday, began at 09:00 with the one-hour morning Megafobia ERS, during which I enjoyed 7 goes. Afterwards members dispersed around the Park, I enjoyed many more rides including Bobsleigh, Treetops and Speed twice each, teacups once and a few Neverland rides. At 13:30 members assembled on the front field for baseball, I played for Woodies. The final score was Woodies 396, Steelies 17. After a hot dog and coffee at Neverland I had many more rides, including Waterfall (twice), Drenched, all four Snake River Falls slides, the pedalo boats with Planenut, a few Neverland rides and Speed (twice). Around 20:30 I had a burger and fries at Woody's Burger Bar. Afterwards, in order to avoid getting hit by paint I had a coffee at Oak Tree Restaurant. Around 21:50 the day officially ended with the fireworks, which I saw from outside Oak Tree Restaurant. Once the public had left, the one hour dark ERS on Megafobia began. Many wore something which glowed and/or flashed. Party music and, for the first time ever, disco lights completed the atmosphere. I had 9 goes on Megafobia during this ERS. Sunday morning some members went to Heatherton World of Activities to enjoy go-karting and/or other activities there. For various reasons I gave Heatherton a miss, and instead left Kilgetty late morning on a train to Carmarthen followed by the onward train to Swansea. Having reached Swansea at 13:11 my plan was to go water sliding at the LC. On arrival there, I was admitted without delay to a session starting at 13:50. In just over two and a half hours I enjoyed the Aqua Tube 18 times and Aqua Slide 5 times. Best of all was having 5 goes on the Master Blaster roller coaster water slide times. Altogether a wet and wild way to round off Mega-Glow-Mania weekend. Finally there was time to enjoy a meal at The Bank Statement (Wetherspoons) before resuming my train journey home at 18:51. Altogether a coaster crazy weekend away. It was great meeting several other RCCGB members again Friday and Saturday, and re-riding the rides at Folly Farm and Oakwood again, but it's a pity my enjoyment of Saturday was ruined by my constant fear of being covered in paint during the paint session, and/or dark ERS thereafter. Many thanks to Nev for arranging the event, Folly Farm ride attendants and catering staff for staying late Friday evening, Oakwood ride staff for operating Megafobia before opening and after closing Saturday, and to Mark and Margo Lewis for providing the dark ERS disco lighting and for giving me lifts to and from Oakwood on Saturday

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RCCGB Loopathon Drayton Manor Park - Sunday 2 October

Event Outline

"Are you loopy enough?" The Club's annual two day autumn event to mark the end of the coaster season: Alton Towers on the Saturday and Drayton Manor Park on the Sunday. For various reasons I chose to attend day two (Drayton Manor Park) only, and for that reason travelled by train from Bath to Tamworth Saturday late morning. Saturday afternoon was the golden opportunity to go water sliding at the Snowdome. Although the one water slide there is not particularly thrilling, it was still great fun. In 90 minutes I enjoyed 37 goes on it. That evening I enjoyed a delicious meal at The Penny Black pub. For me Sunday morning began with a cooked breakfast followed by a taxi ride to Drayton Manor Park. Upon arrival there around 8:50 members were in the Tower Suite awaiting entry.
The Club entered the park at 9:30 for the Apocalypse ERS. I enjoyed one go stand up and 4 goes sit down. The rest of the morning I rode Shockwave twice, followed by Stormforce 10, Air Race and Troublesome Trucks once each. The two-course lunch at the Tower Suite was delicious and filling. Park CEO & Owner Colin Bryan also gave a speech during lunch. After lunch I enjoyed riding Drayton Queen Boat, Wild West Shoot Out, Drunken Barrels, Ben 10, Jeremy Jet's Flying Academy, Thomas Engine Tour, Buffalo Coaster, The Bounty Pirate Ship, Maelstrom, Harold's Helicopter Tours, Cranky's Drop Tower and Rocking Bulstrode once each. After the park closed at 17:00 the evening ERS followed. I enjoyed G-Force 6 times and Troublesome Trucks 3 times. The day ended with the usual hokey cokey and group hug. Altogether a great weekend, it's a pity I didn't do Alton Towers Saturday, but I enjoyed sliding Snowdome's water slide Saturday afternoon, and had a mega fun day at Drayton Manor Park Sunday. It was great riding Drayton Queen, Wild West Shoot Out, Drunken Barrels and Thomas Engine Tours for the first time ever, riding all five coasters and several other rides again, and meeting several other RCCGB members again. It's a pity about the rain on Saturday, which must have had an effect on the enjoyment of those who were at Alton Towers. Thankfully Sunday was dry and mostly sunny, and surprisingly warm for early October during the afternoon. Many thanks to Nev for organising this trip, the catering staff for providing the delicious lunch, ride staff for operating Apocalypse before opening and various coasters after closing, and to Emerald Evans and Ben for giving me a lift to Tamworth station after everyone had left the park Sunday evening.

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Best Thrill Outing

This group includes mainly day trips to amusement parks and water parks. This year there are nine events in this group, which is lower than recent years, but the ones that are here were all excellent trips.

Cardiff International Pool - Saturday 9 January

Event Outline

If recent years are anything to go by, it seems to have become a tradition to start the year with a visit to the fun pool and water slides at Cardiff International Pool on the first Saturday after New Year's Day. Unsurprisingly a trip to Cardiff International Pool happened again in early January 2016, albeit the second Saturday after New Year's Day. The first hiccup of the day was when I got to Bath Spa station around 08:40, having just missed one direct train to Cardiff Central by a few minutes. Thankfully I was able to catch the 08:47 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads, followed by the 09:21 train to Cardiff Central. Having finally reached Cardiff Central at 10:16, I had a much needed takeaway regular Americano from Greggs Bakers before catching the bus from Westgate Street to Sports Village. I finally left the bus near Cardiff International Pool at 11:02. When I walked up the path to the entrance, there was a longish queue outside as the leisure pool wasn't due open until 11:00. Being as it was now past 11:00 they must have either been running a few minutes late, or it was taking a few minutes to admit everyone waiting. Having changed I entered the leisure pool around 11:20. Without further ado I took straight to the water slides. Unfortunately the queues for the red, orange and yellow flumes, plus the space bowl were longer than I would have liked. Due to my desire to have as many goes on those as possible, I spent my entire time queuing for, and sliding them, and didn't go in the pool or river run at all. In just over four hours I enjoyed the red flume, orange flume, yellow flume and space bowl in sequence seven times over. I finally left the leisure pool around 15:30, and the building about 15 minutes after that. Having changed I walked to nearby Morrisons, though due to the building work in the immediate vicinity of the new Ice Arena Wales it took me longer than I'd have liked to get there. Around 16:00 I finally reached Morrisons Café where I enjoyed a much needed pack of four Chicken Caesar sandwiches, which included a free packet of ready salted crisps. I also had a cup of coffee. Having left Morrisons, I caught the number 7 bus from the nearby bus stop to the city centre. Back in the city centre I treated myself to a lemon meringue doughnut plus a small Americano coffee at Krispy Kreme in St David's Centre. I also took the opportunity to walk around St David's Centre including some shops. Just after 18:30 I returned to Cardiff Central station and annoyingly the 18:26 Portsmouth Harbour train had gone. I considered catching the 18:55 Taunton train in the hope of getting a connecting train at Bristol, but just before 19:00 it still hadn't left, so I decided not to catch that after all. Instead I left the station and went for a walk around part of the city, including past the Castle. Having returned to Cardiff Central around 19:15 and caught the 19:26 train to Bath Spa. I finally reached Bath at 20:38 and home a few minutes later. Altogether a great day out, my first time of going water sliding anywhere for 2016. It's a pity the queues for the water slides at Cardiff International Pool were longer than I'd have liked, and that I only achieved seven goes on each slide in just over four hours, but I enjoyed each of my goes very much.

Comment

Fair enough, my slide count may have been disappointing, due to the longer-than-desired queues, but my biggest clanger was being so appallingly ill-timed with catching trains. It clearly pays to find out train times in advance and aim to be at the stations in good time to catch them. Missing a train by just a few minutes can cause a considerable delay in reaching one's destination. The combination of a lower-than-desired slide count, and time wasted through bad timing of catching trains means this trip will impair this trip's chances of a high placing in Best Thrill Outing.

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Bath Half Family Fun Run - Sunday 13 March

Event Outline

The annual Bath Half Marathon took place on Sunday 13 March 2016. For those not up to running 13.1 miles, a much shorter 1 mile Family Fun Run also took place that day. Having previously run the Family Fun Run in 2014 and 2015, I was determined to run it again in 2016, with the aim of completing it in my best time yet, and registered late November 2015. For me the excitement began upon receiving my number, timing chip, Race Day Guide and souvenir T-shirt early February. Nearer the time my participation was under threat as, the weekend before Race Day, I was struck down with a chest and throat infection. Thankfully due to adequate treatment I gradually got better through that week. First thing on Race Day, I felt well enough to go ahead with the Fun Run, even if it would be necessary to walk most of it. I arrived at the Runners Village just after 10:00, all ready to go. Fun Run participants were asked to wait in the allocated area well before the Half Marathon started at 11:00. Once all the Half Marathon runners had passed by the time was around 11:20, and Family Fun Run participants were led to the start line. When the start signal was given, Fun Runners ran along the first half mile of the Half Marathon course before doing a U-turn to return to the start. Although I had run the route start to finish without stopping or resorting to walking in 2014 and 2015, I was less confident this time, and expected to more walking than running this time. It took me a while to reach the start line after the horn went, but once past it I began running fairly slowly. The outward leg turned out not as demanding as expected; I overtook several other runners, especially on the downhill section. After the U-turn, the return leg seemed harder, especially as the uphill bit. This is where I expected to slow down to walking pace this time, but somehow I managed to continue running at a pace I felt reasonably comfortable. Eventually I reached the flat bit at the top, and having turned the corner the end was in sight. I speeded up a bit and overtook more runners, until I could get no faster. Thankfully I maintained the speed I'd reached until I crossed the finish line. Hurray, against the odds I managed to run from start to finish without stopping or resorting to walking part of the way! An amazing achievement considering my state of health in the week leading up to race day. As I approached the finish line I saw 0:08:25 on the official gantry clock, and therefore already knew I'd taken longer than the last two years Having crossed the finish line the time on my own stopwatch was 8 minutes 39.36 seconds, which was considerably longer than my stopwatch times in 2014 and 2015. Officially I finished 332nd out of 1010 Fun Runners with a chip time 0:08:07 and gun time 0:08:38; an excellent achievement for someone who had no practice runs around the streets of Bath during January and February. Back in the Runners Village, all Family Fun Runners were given a medal and goody bag for completing the course. Altogether another amazing Fun Run, and beautiful sunny weather for it. Well done to everyone else who participated in the Fun Run. Even more so congratulations to those who completed the Half Marathon, and thus received their medals and Half Marathon Finisher T-shirts; it's amazing how they can run 13.1 miles. How on Earth, in the world, do they do it? Many thanks to the organisers for arranging both races, and for providing the medals and T-shirts. It's a pity the organisers didn't give each Fun Run finisher and Half Marathon finisher a free blue Team Bath hoody, made by Surridge, but perhaps one cannot expect that much.

Comment

I was lucky to be able to attempt the Fun Run at all on Race Day this time, so it was no surprise that my times were considerably longer than in 2014 and 2015. In fact my times were actually better than expected; I was expecting to take at least 10 minutes, especially if it became necessary to walk part of the route. Still it's the taking part that counts. Despite my setbacks on race day, this could still finish in the top five of Best Thrill Outing anyway.

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Sandcastle Water Park Blackpool - Friday 1 April

Event Outline

Having travelled to Blackpool Thursday 31 March for RCCGB Blackpool Bash 2016, I spent Friday daytime at Sandcastle Water Park. Just like previous visits, it was once again worthwhile paying the additional fee for a Hyperzone wristband, in order to be able to enjoy the Master Blaster, Sidewinder, Aztec Falls and Montazooma. Around 11:20, I began with one go on Master Blaster rollercoaster water slide. Next I enjoyed Montazooma and Aztec Falls three times each. Afterwards I tried Sidewinder, but in the aftermath of my accident on it during my April 2014 visit I felt frightened on the first drop, and limited myself to one go. After that I tried some non-Hyperzone slides: the three Treetops Water Chutes twice each, the Duelling Dragons right hand slide (as viewed from the top) eight times (the other Duelling Dragons slide was out of action) and both Thunder Falls Water Slides twice each. Back in the Hyperzone, I enjoyed Master Blaster, Montazooma and Aztec Falls four times each, but was still too scared to try Sidewinder again. Next I enjoyed both Thunder Falls Water Slides four times each. During the final hour of opening, I enjoyed Master Blaster six times, followed by Montazooma and Aztec Falls twice each. Afterwards I tried Sidewinder twice more, but I'm still not sure whether those goes were a pleasure or a punishment. Finally I just had time for three more goes on Master Blaster before the water park closed at 18:00. Wow, a wet and wild day of water sliding in the UK's largest indoor water park. It's a pity I felt nervous again each time I rode Sidewinder, and thus had just three goes on it. That was one of my favourite slides before my April 2014 accident on it. However I had plenty of goes on the other three Hyperzone slides and other slides again.

Comment

A wet and wild standalone add-on to the RCCGB Blackpool Bash 2016. This is certainly one of the better contenders in Best Thrill Outing but is likely to be kept clear of the top by RCCGB Summer Bash and Birthday Outing.

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RCCGB Summer Bash - Saturday 9 July

Event Outline

A one-day mini trip from the RCCGB. Until 2011 the Summer Bash was an annual event each June or July (although in 2011 it took place early September), and normally at a park which had just opened a new coaster or other ride. After the lack of a Summer Bash from 2012 to 2015 inclusive, the Summer Bash was back for 2016. This time it was held at Paultons Park, largely due to two new coasters Velociraptor and Flight of the Pterosaur. For me the day began when I caught the 06:07 train from Bath Spa to Salisbury, followed by the 07:40 bus from Salisbury city centre to the Mortimer Arms. As I began walking up the long driveway to Paultons, another member saw me and gave me a lift up the driveway to the main gate. Several other members were already at the main gate when I got there, and others arrived afterwards. Around 9:30 the Club posed by the welcome screens above the entrance for a group photo. Once inside the day officially began with a 30 minute ERS on the two new Lost Kingdom coasters Velociraptor and Flight of the Pterosaur. During the ERS I rode Velociraptor twice and Flight of the Pterosaur three times. The rest of the morning I rode Flight of the Pterosaur once more, Dino Chase twice, Boulder Dash, Temple Heights, Sky Swinger, Dragon Ride and Edge once each. After lunch at Wild Forest, I explored the gardens and had my picture taken with the dinosaur in Lost Kingdom before returning to riding. Mid-afternoon I rode Cat-O-Pillar, Teacups and Jumping Bean once each. After a refreshing ice cream I rode Rio Grande Train, Grandpa Pig's Boat Trip, Peppa's Big Balloon Ride, Viking Boats, Cat-O-Pillar, River Ride log flume and Sky Swinger once each. With the time now gone 17:20, I hurried back along the driveway to the bus stop in time for the 17:41 bus to Salisbury. Back in Salisbury I enjoyed a delicious Barbecue Meat Feast pizza followed by Ice Cream Factory at Pizza Hut before returning to the station for the 20:57 train to Bath Spa. Altogether another excellent Club trip. Although only a one-day trip, it was still great fun. A nice and straightforward little trip too, just a half hour ERS followed by free time the rest of the day. It was great for me to add Velociraptor and Flight of the Pterosaur to my coaster count, and to re-ride Flying Frog and Stinger under their new guises. Also It was a pleasure to meet several other RCCGB members again. Best of all, the weather was favourable; dry all day with sunny spells. Many thanks to Nev for organising this trip, and to the ride attendants for operating Flight of the Pterosaur and Velociraptor before opening.

Comment

It was great to see the Summer Bash back in the RCCGB trip line-up for 2016, after being absent the last few years. This was my first visit to Paultons since RCCGB Enthusiast Appreciation Day in 2016, and the park had changed considerably since then. This one-day RCCGB trip has all the ingredients to win Best Thrill Outing, its only real competitor being Birthday Outing (Thorpe Park).

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Brean Theme Park - Saturday 23 July

Event Outline

Since the RCCGB Summer Bash at Brean Leisure Park Fun City (as it was then called) in September 2011, it seems to have become a tradition for me to visit Brean Theme Park alone one Saturday during the summer. After an early rise, I caught the 7:35 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station, followed by the 8:45 bus to Weston-super-Mare and then the 10:13 bus to Brean. Having finally reached Brean at 10:48, I enjoyed a much-needed coffee and cookie at Subway before purchasing a wristband for Brean Theme Park. Once fitted with a wristband I began by riding the indoor dark coaster Astro Storm six times, followed by Magic Mouse and Caterpillar Coaster three times each. Afterwards I rode the non-coaster rides Wipeout, Sizzler and Sky Diver once each. Around 13:00 I went back to Subway for a 6 inch turkey and ham Sub meal. In order not to resume riding too soon after eating, I next headed for the beach, and wandered around there for a bit. Having finally returned to Brean Theme Park around 14:10, I rode Xtreme, X-Factory and Bumper Boats once each. After a much-needed coffee at The Tavern, I rode Crazy Loop twice, Wave Swinger once, Astro Storm six times, Crazy Loop once again, Wild Water log flume and Sizzler twice each. My final ride was one go on Sky Diver before leaving around 18:00. After that I caught the 18:09 bus to Weston-super-Mare. Whilst there I just had time to enjoy takeaway cod and large chips followed by a whippy ice cream before catching the 19:25 bus to Bristol city centre, followed by the 21:01 bus to Bath Bus Station. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 21:58 and home about ten minutes later. Altogether another coaster crazy day out at Brean Theme Park, my sixth time of going there to-date. It was great re-riding the four coasters Astro Storm, Magic Mouse, Caterpillar Coaster and Crazy Loop, as well as several non-coaster rides there again; I particularly enjoyed riding Astro Storm 12 times altogether today. Best of all it was dry all day, and mostly sunny from late morning onwards. One final bit of trivia, my trip to Brean Theme Park today happened exactly five years to the very day after the RCCGB Meet at the Park trip to Adventure Island (Southend-on-Sea) on Saturday 23 July 2011.

Comment

Since my first solo trip to Brean in September 2012, my once-a-year trip to Brean Leisure Park has been more or less the same: the three-stage bus journey from Bath to Brean, ride all morning, lunch at Subway, more riding in the afternoon, and have fish and chips followed by an ice cream in Weston-super-Mare between buses on the way home. Admittedly the assortment of rides I've been on and total ride count has varied between trips, and the last couple of years my time in Weston between buses early evening seems to have shrunk a bit. Nonetheless Brean has been among the highest placed contenders in Best Thrill Outing but never won, and this time Brean will be kept of the top by RCCGB Summer Bash 2016 (Paultons) and Birthday Outing.

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Birthday Outing - Friday 30 September

Event Outline

To celebrate my 45th birthday, I went to Thorpe Park for the day. An exceptionally early awakening was necessary to catch the 05:41 train from Bath Spa to Reading, followed by onward trains to Wokingham and Staines. Having reached Staines just before 08:00, there was plenty of time for me to enjoy a much-needed almond croissant and cappuccino at Waitrose Café before catching the 09:13 bus from Staines Bus Station to Thorpe Park. Once admitted just after 10:00 I immediately took to the rides, starting with Rush, Colossus, Saw: The Ride (twice), Mr. Monkey's Banana Ride and Detonator: Bombs Away (twice). Suddenly it started to rain, but nonetheless I rode Flying Fish in the rain. After a much-needed coffee at Fin's Bar and Grill, the rain had stopped, and I rode Vortex and Quantum once each. Feeling peckish, my next stop was The Coffee Shack (The Dome) for a pack of Chicken bacon club sandwiches. After lunch I rode Tidal Wave, Storm Surge, Storm in a Tea Cup, Rumba Rapids, The Swarm, Rush, Zodiac, Colossus, X, and Stealth once each. I rounded off the day with three goes on Nemesis Inferno. Having left Thorpe Park, I caught the 17:46 bus to Staines. Although it took the same route (in reverse) as the bus in the morning, it took considerably longer to reach Staines due to the high volume of traffic. Back in Staines town centre, the birthday fun continued with a celebratory dinner at Harvester. For main course I enjoyed BBQ Chicken Stack with grilled corn, Kapia pepper and fries, plus a fill-it myself salad bowl. Still hungry for a dessert I had Berry Mess Sundae. A little later the waiter unexpectedly also brought me one profiterole with a lit birthday candle in and soft dairy ice cream; he also sang "Happy birthday" to me. He was going to put the birthday candle in my sundae, but he forgot. Back at Staines station, I caught the 20:53 train to Reading. There I just had time for a coffee before catching the 22:13 train to Bath Spa. I reached Bath Spa at 23:15, and home about 10 minutes later. Another excellent birthday outing. Ride queues varied depending on the ride and time of day, but I generally tended to pick rides that which were walk-on or had very short queues, even though that meant leaving Stealth and Nemesis Inferno to the end of the day. My longest wait of the day was for The Swarm mid-afternoon. It was really satisfying to ride all seven coasters again. The weather was quite good; apart from one heavy shower late morning, the rest of the day was dry and sunny, and sufficiently hot for just T-shirt and shorts from mid to late afternoon. The celebratory evening dinner at Harvester in Staines town centre was the grand finale to this special day. Many liked my self-designed birthday T-shirt (made by Gildan), though some were confused by the front, until they saw the back.

Comment

It began with my 40th birthday on Friday 30 September 2011: get a self-designed birthday T-shirt printed in advance, leave Bath on an early morning train, enjoy a day at Thorpe Park riding from opening time to closing time and a celebratory evening dinner in Staines town centre, and get home around 23:30. This formula has now been repeated in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The only subtle differences each time have been my selection of rides and total ride count at Thorpe Park, choice of where to eat in the evening (The George - Wetherspoon in 2011, Harvester in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016), and of course the weather. The question now is, can this winning formula which won Best Thrill Outing four times already, win again in 2016? This time this event has tough competition from RCCGB Summer Bash at Paultons in July.

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Funland Hayling Island - Saturday 15 October

Event Outline

As if RCCGB Loopathon 2016 a fortnight earlier wasn't enough, there was still time for a last-minute bonus coaster trip to Funland, Hayling Island on Saturday 15 October. After an early rise I caught the 07:36 train from Bath Spa to Southampton Central, followed by the 09:13 train from Southampton Central to Havant, and finally the 10:15 bus from Havant Bus Station to Beachlands, Hayling Island. Having finally arrived at 10:38 I enjoyed a much-needed coffee and flapjack at Beachlands Cafeteria before entering Funland. Once fitted with an all-day wristband I began with the new-for 2016 Runaway Mine Train, which has a mouse-like track layout. The rest of the morning I rode Extreme, Samba Balloon and both snake slides once each, Cannibal Pots, Cyclone, Funlandasaurus (Super Dragon) and Woody's Coaster twice each, plus another two goes on Runaway Mine Train. Around 13:20 I had lunch at Beachlands Cafeteria. Afterwards I walked along part of the beach and grassland before returning to Funland around 14:15. I rode Funlandasaurus, Runaway Mine Train and Woody's Coaster once each, Beaver Creek Log Ride four times and Dino Falls (small log flume) twice. After another coffee break it started raining, but nonetheless I rode Cannibal Pots, Extreme, Flying Saucer and Samba Balloon once each, Runaway Mine Train and Dino Falls twice each, and Cyclone three times. After the rides closed at 17:00 I caught the 17:08 bus from Beachlands to Havant Bus Station. Once there I had time to get takeaway cod and chips from Havant Fish Bar before catching the 18:00 train from Havant to Bath Spa. Altogether a coaster crazy day at Funland, Hayling Island, my final send-off to the 2016 coaster season. It was great adding Runaway Mine Train to my coaster count, and riding the other rides again. Thankfully it was sunny most of the day, it's a pity it started raining late afternoon, but nonetheless that didn't deter me from riding during what was left of opening time.

Comment

If recent years are anything to go by, I always seem to visit Funland for an end-of-season coaster fix around mid to late October. By then any sunshine is pleasant but hardly T-shirt and shorts weather. Consequently this event is likely to be cast aside as an inferior trip to RCCGB Summer Bash (Paultons) and Brean in July, or my birthday outing to Thorpe Park at the end of September. The time is overdue to visit Funland on a hot summer-like day, but avoiding the busiest time of year. Early June or mid-September perhaps would be a good time for a future visit.

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Skating at the BIC - Tuesday 27 December

Event Outline

The temporary ice rink which has been a popular attraction at the Bournemouth International Centre over Christmas for several years now was back there for Christmas 2016. Whilst at Dorchester over Christmas, I wanted to go skating at the BIC between Boxing Day and New Year's Day, and for various reasons the bank holiday Tuesday 27 December was my favoured day to go. After an early awakening I caught the 08:33 train from Dorchester South to Bournemouth. Having arrived Bournemouth station at 09:20 I walked to the sea front. When I got to the sea front I went to the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC). The box office was open, so I bought a ticket for the 11:00 skating session. Afterwards I went to Promenade Café for a much needed coffee. Having finished my coffee I returned to the BIC, walked through the building to the foyer outside the Purbeck Hall and waited for the start of the 11:00 session. At 11:00 skaters were allowed into the Purbeck Hall to collect their skates and put them on, and around 11:15 skaters were allowed on to the ice for one hour. My time on the ice went quite well, as soon as I stepped on the ice I skated into open space. There were some times when I had to carefully skate through a narrow gap between other skaters, and some instances of me having to skate towards and reach for the perimeter barrier. About half way through the session, but I quickly picked myself up and resumed skating. As time went on I tried occasional bursts of one-legged skating, but could only manage a few seconds on one leg at a time before having to have both feet on the ice again. Towards the end of the session I had my second fall, but once again I picked myself up and enjoyed a few more laps around the rink during the remaining few minutes. Around 12:15 everyone was asked to leave the ice as the session was over. Thankfully I didn't have long to wait to return my skates and get my trainers and bag back. Having left the BIC for the final time, I bought takeaway cod and large chips from Sea Star Fish and Chips and sat on a seat in the Lower Gardens to eat them. Afterwards I had a regular latte at Hot Rocks. During the afternoon I went on Bournemouth Pier, and walked along Bournemouth seafront eastwards until I was past the Bournemouth / Poole boundary. After a few minutes on Branksome seafront, I walked along the promenade westwards back into Bournemouth, past the chines until I reached West Cliff Zig Zag. At that point I walked up West Cliff Zig Zag, along the cliff top eastwards until I was back at the BIC and pier approach. After that I walked through the Lower Gardens to The Square, and once there I had a cappuccino at Debenhams fourth floor restaurant. Finally I walked back to the Travel Interchange and caught the 18:04 train from Bournemouth to Dorchester South. Altogether a great day out, which included an hour of ice skating and a walk along the promenade. The weather was reasonable for winter; dry all day, with sunshine much of the day and (surprisingly) it wasn't too cold to be eating a takeaway outside lunchtime.

Comment

Another event which has cropped up over Christmas in recent years, following a regular pattern: skate on the temporary ice rink at the BIC in the morning, have fish and chips for lunch, walk along the seafront and cliff top during the afternoon. Sadly this format always seems to lead to a low placing in Best Thrill Outing, and this particular trip is likely to be left out in the cold again.

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Splashdown Poole - Friday 30 December

Event Outline

The final event in the Best Thrill Outing group. My once-a-year visit to Splashdown Water Park, Poole has been an annual occurrence since 2004, and until 2014 happened between July and early October, when the outdoor slides were open. For the second year running, it took me until the days between Christmas and New Year to go there, largely due to my presence at Dorchester over Christmas 2016. The outing began when I caught the 12:13 train from Dorchester South to Poole. Having arrived at 12:46 there was enough time for me to enjoy a large coffee at Shake Away before catching the 13:30 bus from Poole Bus Station to Tower Park. Once admitted to Splashdown I began by sliding Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller and Zambezi Drop in sequence three times over. Next I had three goes on Mississippi Drifter, which during the winter feeds into Black Thunder. After that I enjoyed sliding Baron's Revenge four times followed by Dragon's Lair six times. I was now keen to try the new look Space Bowl. At the start of the 2016 season, it was roofed over, fitted with change-colour LED lights and renamed Infinity. I enjoyed two goes on it. You now get a burst of music on the way through the bowl, which you didn't before. Having now been on everything at least twice each, there was still time for me to enjoy everything again, starting with Mississippi Drifter / Black Thunder four times, followed by Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller, Zambezi Drop in sequence four times over. Next I enjoyed Dragon's Lair six times, Mississippi Drifter / Black Thunder three times and Infinity once. After that I went down Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller, Zambezi Drop once each. It was half dark outside now, and sliding these in the half dark was great fun. After another three goes on Infinity, there was still time for me to slide Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller, Zambezi Drop once each. Now that it was almost fully dark outside, I was sliding these in pitch darkness, which was great fun. Finally, I just had time for two goes on Baron's Revenge before the slides closed at 17:00. Having dressed and left, I went to The Café at Tesco Extra for a much-needed slice of Victoria sponge and small Americano before catching the 17:56 bus to Poole Bus Station followed by the 18:39 train from Poole to Dorchester South. Altogether an afternoon of "flumin' great fun" at "the South's favourite waterpark". So although I didn't go to Splashdown at all summer 2016, at least I nonetheless managed to fit in a visit there on the penultimate day of 2016. It was great to slide Space Bowl, which I'd already ridden on previous visits, under its new name and theming (Infinity) for the first time ever. The place was quiet so I had a high slide count, and I was able to enjoy the added fun of sliding Colorado Coaster, Red River Roller and Zambezi Drop in the dark close to closing time. Obviously though, just like my Christmas 2015 visit, the outdoor flumes were closed and Mississippi Drifter fed into the indoor flume Black Thunder instead of the outdoor river run Grand Canyon.

Comment

This was my second year running of visiting Splashdown during Christmas. The drawback with going that time of year is that one misses out on the outdoor slides. My next visit ought to occur on a hot day during summer 2017 when the outdoor slides are open. Nonetheless this was an afternoon of wet and wild fun, which should achieve a mid-table placing in Best Thrill Outing.

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Best Non-Thrill Outing

Although there was no Gromit, Shaun the Sheep trail around Bristol, I was nonetheless keen to have several trips to different Bristol photographing scenery and having pictures taken of me during the summer months. This, the largest category, has been dominated by trips of this sort to Bristol and the surrounding area. It will be next to impossible to rank such trips into order of preference. This category does, however, include an adult night at At-Bristol Science Centre in June, which could stand out from the crowd. Altogether there are 19 events in this category.

Bristol: Castle Park and St George Park - Saturday 23 April

Event Outline

St George's Day fell on a Saturday in 2016, and I fancied going out for all or part of the day. Unfortunately it took me until late morning to decide to go to Bristol for that. Having got to Bath Bus Station I caught the 12:15 bus to Bristol. The time was 13:22 when I left the bus at Baldwin Street, and without further ado I walked across Castle Park to The Galleries shopping centre. There I enjoyed a delicious Big Breakfast plus a small Americano at Butlers Café Restaurant, The Galleries Food Court. Afterwards I went for a walk around Castle Park for nearly one and a half hours. During that time I photographed The Castle Park Physic Garden and various other areas of the park, and had pictures taken of me. Just after 16:30 I went to Krispy Kreme, Cabot Circus. Initially I asked for a White Chocolate and Raspberry doughnut. However there happened to be a buy one get one free offer on doughnuts, so I also had a Billionaire doughnut. In addition, since this was my third visit to a Krispy Kreme Doughnut and Coffee Shop during April, I had a free coffee of my choice under their rewards scheme; I chose small cappuccino. This was my first ever time of eating two Krispy Kreme doughnuts at once. Of the two I think I liked the Billionaire doughnut most. Afterwards I considered returning to Bath via St George, Hanham and Bitton. The idea behind that was to break my journey at St George and have some pictures taken of me there, as a way to mark St George's Day. Having walked around Broadmead for a bit I eventually caught the 18:00 bus from The Horsefair to St George Blackswarth Road. When I got there at 18:23 I was in a shopping precinct and I initially thought there wouldn't be anywhere worth having my picture taken. Anyway further along the road I discovered St George Park. It was bigger than I first thought, and I knew there wouldn't be time for me to explore it all now, but anyway I walked as far as the lake, and along a tree-lined path. I ended up spending about 25 minutes in that park, during which time I photographed some scenery and had a few more pictures taken of me. I really needed much longer than that to fully enjoy St George Park. Having left St George Park I caught the 19:04 bus from St George Northcote Road to Cadbury Heath Park Crescent. Whilst that bus was on its way through Hanham I saw St George's flags hanging from several buildings along the road. Having arrived Cadbury Heath at 19:21 I didn't have long to wait for the 19:31 bus to Bath Bus Station. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 19:57 and home a few minutes later. Altogether a good afternoon and early evening out, which was dry and mostly sunny. The highlights were my big breakfast and coffee at The Galleries lunchtime, my two doughnuts and cappuccino at Krispy Kreme late afternoon, and having several pictures taken of me proudly wearing my navy St George's flag T-shirt as my way of celebrating St George's Day.

Comment

A good afternoon and early evening out, but it's a pity I didn't set off considerably earlier. I ought to have caught the 10:15 bus via Bitton and Hanham towards Bristol and broken my journey at St George Park on the way. That would have enabled me to spend about 1½ to 2 hours there (and the sun would have been brighter at the time), before catching one of the city buses into Broadmead around 12:45 to 13:00. I could then have had my big breakfast at The Galleries, walked around Castle Park and gone to Krispy Kreme late afternoon, and caught a direct bus via Saltford to Bath around 18:00. Setting off after midday, primarily to visit central Bristol and return home via St George as a last minute afterthought was the recipe for a grossly ill-planned day out. Looking on the bright side, at least my unexpected discovery of St George Park, which I didn't know existed, on the way home was a motivator to revisit it properly late summer.

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At-Bristol Science Centre Adult Night - Thursday 9 June

Event Outline

From time to time At-Bristol Science Centre holds evening adult nights. Having considered going to one for quite some time, I finally made a decision to book for the one planned for Thursday 9 June 2016. Having caught a train from Bath Spa to Bristol I got to At-Bristol Science Centre about ten minutes before the doors opened at 18:30. On entry I showed my booking reference and was issued with a wristband. Once admitted the problem was choosing where to start! I began with the treadmill, which operates the bucket lift in the adjoining water works exhibit. Next I tried some of the other parts of the water works exhibit. Nearby I had a few goes at attaching one of the mini parachutes to a belt, turning a handle to lift it into the air and watching it fall. My next stop was the food area. There I walked through the greenhouse (where various cereal, vegetable and fruit plants were on display), saw a model cow and calf (with information about milk production), ground a small amount of flour by turning a handle and saw various other exhibits connected with food. The best bit here was trying some watercress ice cream in The Kitchen. There was a lot more on the ground floor, but since the adult night was only 3½ hours long, I had to be selective about which exhibits to see, in order to save some time for upstairs. Whilst still on the ground floor I tried arranging a set of mirrors so that a light beam was reflected by them all, saw various illusions, and a few other exhibits. One of my favourite ground floor exhibits was the one where you select a food (e.g. sprout, chip) from the touch screen and have to do step ups for the time needed to burn it off, these ranged from a few seconds to a few minutes. Naturally I stuck to ones which were fairly short. Another exhibit I particularly liked was jumping as high as I could and watching a slow motion replay of it. There was plenty more to see on the first floor, and that's where I spent the rest of the time the place was open. Exhibits which I tried there included blowing giant bubbles, looking at myself in unusual mirrors (as found at some funfairs), reading some information about space exploration, taking a mock space walk in a dedicated room, standing in a mini tornado, and looking at multi-coloured shadows of myself. I quite liked the Leaning Lounge, which had the floor on an angle, and so everything else looked odd when looking outwards; I tried the roll the ball uphill experiment there. The best bit first floor exhibit tonight was Build It. Normally that's only for children under 8 and their parents, but since this was an adult-only night, adults could build things with what look like giant Lego bricks there; I took the opportunity to do a spot of building. One other exhibit on the first floor is Animate It, where you can make short animations, but I didn't have time for that. The adult night ended at 22:00, and without further ado I walked as fast as I could to Temple Meads in time for the 22:23 train to Bath. Altogether a fun night out in a hands-on science centre. The fact that it was an adult-only evening made it extra special. Many liked my "I'm Not An Adult I'm A Big Kid!" T-shirt, some said it was just the thing to wear to an adult night in a kids' science centre.

Comment

In a category dominated by trips around Bristol and the outlying area, to photograph the scenery and have pictures taken of me, this adult night in At-Bristol Science Centre is unique and ought to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately that in itself doesn't necessarily mean this will win Best Non-Thrill Outing. The question remains: which was more fun, playing with hands-on exhibits during the At-Bristol adult night or exploring and The Downs, Blaise Estate, Ashton Court and other areas?

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Bristol: Brandon Hill and Harbourside - Wednesday 6 July

Event Outline

Last year the Shaun in the City trail took place around Bristol during July and August; it was a great pleasure finding them, and being photographed by them, over the course of several trips there. Sadly there was no similar trail this year. Never mind there was still plenty to see around Bristol, so it was my ambition to explore and photograph various parts of Bristol, and have pictures taken of me there this summer. Having caught the 10:03 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads, I walked to Queen Square. After a much needed coffee and cookie at Subway in the city centre, my next stop was College Green. There I took the time to admire a large flower bed. The gardeners who planted that must have put a lot of effort into creating such a beautiful display. Next I spent quite some time walking around most of Brandon Hill, including to the top of Cabot Tower. The views at the top of the tower in all directions were breath-taking. Having left Brandon Hill, I had a Sub Meal at Subway in Queens Road (opposite the City Museum). After lunch I went into the foyer of the University of Bristol Wills Memorial Building. The Gromit sculpture Bark at Ee, from the 2013 Gromit Unleashed trail, was on display there. Having descended Park Street, I walked along Cathedral Walk and into the Millennium Square, outside At-Bristol Science Centre. After that I walked along the north side of the Harbourside Walk as far as The Pump House. When I got to The Pump House, I had a much-needed coffee and cookie there. Afterwards I walked along the south side of the Harbourside Walk, past the SS Great Britain and M Shed. Once past the M Shed, I crossed a temporary footbridge to the Arnolfini. Unexpectedly I spotted the Brigantia ferry, which had a mini Gromit sculpture on its bow. I didn't think that Gromit would still be on Brigantia's bow, and I definitely didn't go in search of the Brigantia, so this really was a case of being in the right place at the right time. Finally I walked back to Bristol Temple Meads station. When I got there I hoped to catch the 18:52 train to Bath, but due to unforeseen circumstances, that had to be cancelled at the last minute and it became necessary for me to travel to Bath on the 19:30 London Paddington train, thereby delaying me getting home a bit. Altogether a grand day out in Bristol. Best of all it was mostly sunny, dry all day, and I managed to spot a couple of Gromit sculptures.

Comment

This is where 2016 is just like 2014 again. In 2014 exploring scenic areas around Bristol was the perfect substitute for Gromit hunting, so this year exploring scenic areas around Bristol was the perfect substitute for Shaun the Sheep hunting. It's a case of history repeating itself. With so many trips of this nature during summer 2016, it will be difficult deciding which one is better than the rest.

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Bristol: Staple Hill and Eastville Park - Thursday 14 July

Event Outline

Another trip to Bristol, primarily to explore and photograph various open spaces, and have pictures taken of me at those locations. The day began when I caught a bus from Bath Bus Station to Staple Hill The Portcullis. Having arrived Staple Hill at 10:36 my first stop was Blue Sky Café, to have a much-needed All Day Special whilst deciding what to do next. Having left the café I explored Page Park, including its Sensory Garden, for about one and a half hours. After a much-needed coffee and cake at another café in Staple Hill, I caught the 13:35 bus to Emersons Green. Having got there at 13:47 I explored Emersons Green Village Park for about half an hour. An unexpected surprise here was the vegetable plot on the south west side of the park. Having left Emersons Green Village Park I caught the Emersons Green to Royate Hill, Eastville. Once there I explored all parts of Eastville Park, including the path around the lake, for over an hour. Having left Eastville Park, I caught the 17:00 bus Eastville to Bond Street. Once there I had a much-needed Berry Pavlova doughnut and bottle of Sprite at Krispy Kreme, Cabot Circus. After that I was in no hurry to head home. The areas I ventured into next were Castle Park, Corn Street, Cascade Steps and Millennium Square Eventually I ended up at the bus stop opposite The Reckless Engineer, and caught a bus to Bath, which reached Bath Bus Station at 20:34. Altogether another grand day out, and best of all it was sunny all day.

Comment

This trip took in a fair amount of ground, but it's a pity it took me until around 11:20 to take the first photograph at the gates to Page Park. It would have been better to have left Bath about an hour earlier, in order to have arrived Staple Hill soon after 9:30 and, even allowing for a cooked breakfast at a café in Staple Hill, to have started exploring Page Park around 10:20. Going into the centre after leaving Eastville Park late afternoon was really sensible either; it might have been better to have visited some other area of the eastern side of Bristol instead.

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Bristol: Clifton and Ashton Court - Tuesday 19 July

Event Outline

The day out began when I caught the 9:00 bus from Bath Bus Station to The Reckless Engineer, Bristol, followed by the 10:00 bus Temple Meads station approach to Clifton Village. Having finally got to Clifton Village at 10:26, I enjoyed a much-needed Americano at Coffee #1. The rest of the morning I explored The Mall Gardens, Clifton followed by the part of Clifton Downs next to Christ Church, Clifton. Lunchtime I bought myself a takeaway filled baguette from a delicatessen in Clifton, and sat in a shady spot within The Mall Gardens to eat it. It was now really hot outside, so shortly afterwards I bought myself a vanilla ice cream from a nearby van. After that I walked around Observatory Hill. From there the views of Clifton Suspension Bridge and Avon Gorge were breath-taking. Next I crossed Clifton Suspension Bridge and walked to the Clifton Lodge entrance to Ashton Court. Once there, I went to the Golf Course Café for an Americano and cake. Having left the café, I walked down the road leading downhill through the estate. I took plenty of photos of the fields and trees on the way down, and also the giant's head sculpture I spotted on the way. Eventually I got to the Mansion Courtyard, and there I had another Americano at Ashton Court Courtyard Café. Still in no hurry to leave. I walked around the gardens near the mansion. Having finally exited Ashton Court via Kennel Lodge Road, I caught the bus to Bristol Bus Station, followed by the bus via Hanham and Bitton to Bath Bus Station. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 19:33, and home about ten minutes later. Altogether another grand day out in Bristol. Best of all it was a dry, bright, hot sunny day; almost too hot for comfort during the hottest part of the afternoon.

Comment

The perfect way to enjoy what was one of the hottest days during summer 2016. That said, it was a little too hot for comfort during the afternoon. One of the more likely events to win Best Non-Thrill Outing.

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Bristol: Canford Park and The Downs - Wednesday 20 July

Event Outline

Another sightseeing trip to Bristol, just one day after the previous one. This time I caught the 9:08 bus from Bath Bus Station to The Reckless Engineer, Bristol, followed by the 10:01 bus to Henley Grove, Henleaze. Having I finally got there at 10:31 I enjoyed a much-needed large Americano at Coffee #1, Henleaze. Afterwards I walked to Westbury-on-Trym to explore Canford Park for just over half an hour. After that I had a takeaway ham and salad baguette and cup of coffee from a sandwich shop in Westbury-on-Trym. As if that wasn't enough, shortly afterwards I treated myself to a cheesecake at Coffee #1 Westbury-on-Trym. After that, I caught the 13:04 bus from Canford Lane Westbury-on-Trym to Henleaze Gardens. I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring The Downs. Firstly I wandered from Henleaze Gardens in a generally southerly direction towards Café Retreat (by the water tower). When I got to Café Retreat I had a large Americano. Next I walked from Café Retreat, along Ladies Mile and around Circular Road. By now the sky had become overcast and it was quite windy as I proceeded around Circular Road. At the bend in Circular Road near Black Rock Quarry, there was an ice cream van. Despite the chilly wind there, I had a whippy ice cream. After that I continued along Rockleaze and Stoke Road, until I was back at Café Retreat. After another large Americano and a slice of lemon sponge, the sun was out again, and it remained sunny the rest of my time in Bristol. I headed along Ladies Mile again to begin with, this time sticking to the south east side of the road. Part way along headed along the footpaths which pass between various bushes, until eventually I was on Clifton Down Road. From there the front of Bristol Zoo was just around the corner. That was the perfect place to call it a day. I caught the 17:58 bus from Bristol Zoo to The Horsefair, followed by the 18:30 bus from Bristol Bus Station to Bath Bus Station. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 19:20, and home a few minutes later. Altogether another grand day out in Bristol; I photographed plenty of scenery and had several pictures taken of me. The weather was a more varied than the previous day, sunny from first thing up until around 14:00, then overcast sky until late afternoon, and sunny again thereafter. It's a pity the sunshine wasn't continuous throughout the day, but at least it was dry all day. It was noticeably cooler, and thus more comfortable for walking, than Tuesday 19 July.

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Clevedon and Portishead - Saturday 30 July

Event Outline

Another outing to take lots of photos of scenery and have pictures taken of me, this time around Clevedon seafront and Portishead. I began by catching the 9:00 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station, followed by the 10:20 bus from to Clevedon. I finally left the bus at Salthouse Road, Clevedon at 11:09. Once there I went to Beach Café intending to have just a coffee, but I noticed they do cooked breakfasts as well, so I decided I'd might as well have a full English breakfast as well as a coffee, so as not to have to look for lunch somewhere else later on. Having finished my coffee and cooked breakfast, I went for a walk along Salthouse Road green, followed by the Poets' Walk. When I got back to the marine lake, I continued walking along the beach and part of the seafront until eventually I got to Clevedon Pier. I went on Clevedon Pier, walked to the far end and back. Before leaving the pier, I treated myself to a cream tea at Tiffin, Clevedon Pier. By the time I left the pier, I retraced my steps along part of the seafront I'd already seen earlier, as the tide had come in considerably and I wanted to see how the beach looked compared to earlier. Eventually I caught the 15:48 bus from Clevedon Little Harp Inn to Portishead Combe Road. Having left the bus at Portishead Combe Road at 16:14, I enjoyed a large cappuccino at Waitrose Café. Still eager to explore more territory, I walked all the way around Portishead Marina, from the back end near Waitrose, to the bridge at the open end and back to Waitrose again. Finally there was just enough time to enjoy a much-needed whippy ice cream from a Mister Softee van before catching the 18:21 bus from Portishead Waitrose to Bristol Bus Station, followed by the 19:20 bus to Bath Bus Station. I finally go to Bath Bus Station at 20:06, and home about ten minutes later. Altogether a grand day out on the North Somerset coast. Best of all, the weather was dry all day, and mostly sunny.

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Bristol: Arno's Court to Greville Smyth Park - Sunday 31 July

Event Outline

My final trip to Bristol for July, on the last day of July. The day began when I caught the 9:00 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol. Having left the bus at Arno's Court, I walked around Arno's Court Park for about an hour, before leaving in the direction of Knowle. After a much-needed coffee and cookie at Subway, Broadwalk Shopping Centre, I explored Redcatch Park for about an hour. Next I headed for Victoria Park (Bedminster). Almost as soon as I got there, I had a bacon bap and Americano at Victoria Park Café. Having finished my lunch, I spent about one and a quarter hours exploring most of Victoria Park. After leaving Victoria Park, I walked to Southville Place (near ASDA), to catch the 15:01 bus to Frayne Road. Having left the bus at Frayne Road (opposite Greville Smyth Park) just eight minutes later, I walked straight through Greville Smyth Park to Riverside Garden Centre, where I enjoyed a much-needed cheesecake slice and large Americano in the café. Once I had finished my afternoon snack, I returned to Greville Smyth Park and took over an hour to explore all parts of that park. Having left Greville Smyth Park, I had a bit of an adventure finding my way around the Cumberland Basin, but eventually I got to Junction Lock Bridge. After walking through Underfall Yard, I stopped at The Cottage Inn, Baltic Wharf for a coffee. Finally I walked along the southern side of the Riverside Walk, past The M Shed, and on towards Temple Gate, where I caught the 19:09 bus to Bath Bus Station. Altogether a grand day out in Bristol, during which I explored four parks, all south of the River Avon (New Cut). Best of all, it was dry all day, and mostly sunny. I took plenty of pictures of the scenery, and had several photos taken of me proudly wearing my Rugby World Cup 2011 and 2015 T-shirts at different times of the day. Just for the record, this was my first ever time of wearing my Rugby World Cup 2015 T-shirt, which I bought in Bristol at the beginning of this year.

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Gromit Unleashed Homecoming Exhibition - Thursday 4 August

Event Outline

Although there was no Gromit or Shaun the Sheep trail around Bristol this summer, 18 of the original 80 Gromit sculptures from the Gromit Unleashed 2013 trail were displayed in the Gromit Unleashed shop, at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, from Monday 25 July to Sunday 4 September 2016. Naturally I was keen to see the exhibition from the moment it was announced, and for various reasons Thursday 4 August was the ideal day for me to go there. I caught the 9:40 bus from Bath Bus Station to Cribbs Causeway Bus Station. Having got there at 11:18, I enjoyed a much-needed cappuccino at Caffe Gusto in The Mall food court. Afterwards it didn't take me long to discover that the Gromit "Fact's The Way We Did It, Lad!", which is normally inside the Gromit shop, was outside the front of The Mall, so I went outside to see and photograph it in the sunshine. This is a legacy Gromit featuring trivia about 2013 Gromit trail, exhibition and auction which wasn't on the 2013 Gromit trail. Back inside the building, it was already lunchtime, so I had a meal deal at Spud-u-Like. Having finished my lunch I went into the Gromit exhibition. The following Gromit sculptures were displayed there: Blossom, Doodles, Gromberry, Butterfly, Poetry in Motion, Hullaballoon, Antique Rose, Gromit Lightyear, Newshound, Sir Gromit of Bristol, "Oops a Daisy!", "Stat's the way to do it, Lad!", Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion, Jack, Gromitasaurus, Collarfull, Paisley and Lancelot. All the Gromit sculptures were behind fences. Presumably the organisers didn't want visitors touching or climbing on them, now that they are all owned by different people or organisations, which had kindly lent their sculptures for the exhibition. Anyway I recognised all the Gromits. Seeing them again brought back memories of seeing them around Bristol and beyond three years ago. Altogether I spent about one and a half hours in the exhibition. Afterwards I went back outside briefly and had a few pictures taken of me beside "Fact's The Way We Did It, Lad!". Back inside The Mall I enjoyed a Lemon Meringue doughnut and small Americano at Krispy Kreme. Late afternoon I caught the 16:26 bus from Cribbs Causeway Bus Station to Queens Road. Having left the bus at 17:04 I walked to the nearby University of Bristol Wills Memorial Building where, in the foyer, I saw and photographed the Gromit sculpture Bark at Ee. Afterwards I had a small Americano at Crepe Affaire.
Having finished my coffee I walked down Park Row and Perry Road until I got to the Children's Hospital. The Shaun the Sheep sculpture Maisy and Friends from last year's trail is still outside the Children's Hospital, in its original position, so I photographed it and had pictures taken of me beside it. Without further ado I headed straight for Bristol Bus Station, where I caught the 18:24 bus bound for Bath. I was going to go straight though to Bath, but I had a vague inkling another Gromit sculpture, Lodekka is at The Lodekka (Hungry Horse) in Tramway Road. So when I got to Tramway Road bus stop, I left the bus and went into The Lodekka (Hungry Horse). Just as I thought, Gromit sculpture Lodekka is still there, so I photographed it and had a few pictures taken of me beside it. However I resisted the temptation to treat myself to a meal there. I returned to Tramway Road bus stop just in time for the 18:52 bus to Bath Bus Station. At 19:24 I finally got back to Bath Bus Station, and home a few minutes later.

Comment

Altogether a grand day out in Bristol. It was great seeing 18 of the original 80 Gromits from the 2013 trail at the exhibition, plus another 2 of them elsewhere (Bark at Ee and Lodekka), plus the legacy Gromit "Fact's The Way We Did It, Lad!" again. In fact this was the greatest number of Gromit sculptures I had seen in a single day since The Greatest Dog Show on Earth Gromit exhibition in September 2013. Of course seeing the sculptures behind fences at the exhibition isn't quite the same as seeing them dotted around Bristol. Whereas in 2013 I was able to be photographed beside each one, at the exhibition I had to make do with having my picture taken between two or three Gromits in front of the fence.

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Bristol: Blaise Estate - Monday 15 August

Event Outline

Having returned home from RCCGB Mega-Glow-Mania Weekend during the evening of Sunday 14 August, I fancied a day out in Bristol, primarily to photograph scenery and have pictures taken of me, on Monday 15 August. This outing began when I caught the 9:05 bus from Bath to Bristol Bus Station. Having arrived there at 9:56 I enjoyed a much-needed coffee and cookie at Subway whilst deciding where to go next. Eventually I decided to visit Blaise Estate, so I caught the 11:00 bus from Union Street to Blaise Castle. The bus reached Blaise Castle bus stop at 11:46. Shortly afterwards I entered Blaise Estate through the entrance next to Blaise Castle Estate Café, so it made sense for me to get an early lunch there before exploring the estate. For lunch I had chicken nuggets and chips, plus an Americano. Having finished my lunch I began by exploring the area in the immediate vicinity of Blaise House. After a much-needed large whippy ice cream from a van I began the Rhododendron Walk. Starting at Mill Bridge, this mapped trail involved walking along Hazel Brook Drive, past Tarn Lake, the bottom of Beech Cathedral and Lily Pond, all the way to the bottom of Jacob's Ladder. Having climbed Jacob's Ladder, the route continued past the top of Beech Cathedral, Goram's Chair, past the Rhododendrons and finally downhill along another driveway past Rustic Lodge and Woodman's Cottage to Mill Bridge. After that I returned to Blaise Castle Estate Café for a much needed Americano. Having finished my coffee there was still plenty of time to do another of the mapped trails, that being the Castle Walk. This trail involved walking past Butcher's Cave, the south bastion viewpoint and Lover's Leap. Eventually I reached Blaise Castle at the top of the hill. After spending about twenty minutes in the vicinity of the castle, it was time to head down the hill via a different path until I was back at Blaise Castle Estate Café, which was now closed. Having finally left the estate, I caught the 18:26 bus from Avonmouth Way to The Haymarket, followed by the next available bus from Bristol Bus Station to Bath. I finally reached Bath at 20:07. Altogether another grand day out; it was a delight to explore several areas of the estate and best of all it was sunny all day.

Comment

Wanting to go for a day out in one's local area the day after returning home from a few days away further afield may be seen as overkill. On this occasion though, it made sense to make the most of the beautiful sunny weather anticipated in the early morning forecast for Monday 15 August. Another of the better contenders in Best Non-Thrill Outing.

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Bristol: Clifton and The Downs - Tuesday 16 August

Event Outline

Another trip to Bristol, to take lots of photos of scenery and have pictures taken of me, just one day after my visit to Blaise Estate. The day began when I caught the 8:56 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Baldwin Street. Having got there at 9:47 I had a cappuccino at Bon Appetit, Broad Quay whilst deciding what to do next. It didn't take me long to want to head towards Clifton, so I caught the 10:18 College Green to Clifton Village. Having got there I had freshly squeezed orange juice at Coffee #1 Clifton. Looking back, it would have been more sensible to have caught the next available bus to Clifton after arriving at Baldwin Street, and then had a coffee at Coffee #1 Clifton. Anyway having finished my orange juice I walked over Observatory Hill and along The Promenade, past Bristol Zoo and into The Downs via the round tower opposite Pembroke Road. From there I proceeded across Clifton Down towards the Water Tower. After a light lunch at Café Retreat, I wanted to walk some of the paths across Durdham Down which I missed on Wednesday 20 July. After walking part way along Ladies Mile, I walked along the footpath Bakers Road across Durdham Down to Ivywell Road. Once there I walked to the Black Rock Quarry viewpoint. An ice cream van happened to be there, so I stopped for a much whippy ice cream. Afterwards I walked across Durdham Down to the Ladies Mile end of the former road to Stoke Bishop. The former road to Stoke Bishop is a tree-lined path; I walked along it towards Downleaze. Having eventually returned to Café Retreat I had a much-needed large Americano and Danish pastry. Keen to explore more territory after that, I walked along Stoke Road, and from its north west end, along the edge of Durdham Down towards Parrys Lane. Having eventually reached White Tree Roundabout, I walked through the part of Durdham Down between Westbury Road and Westbury Park southwards to Clay Pit Road. This area has numerous trees and bushes dotted around. Eventually I got to the area between Westbury Road, Clay Pit Road and Durdham Park, which is where the Gromit sculpture "It's Kraken, Gromit!" was displayed during summer 2013. From there I headed towards the water tower, and onwards to Blackboy Hill. Finally I caught the 18:30 bus from Blackboy Hill to The Horsefair, followed by the 18:47 bus from Bristol Bus Station to Bath Bus Station. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 19:36 and home a few minutes later. Altogether another grand day out, and best of all it was sunny all day.

Comment

This visit to The Downs could all to easily have been very much a carbon copy of my visit there on Wednesday 20 July had I just followed Ladies Mile and Circular Road. Walking along the various footpaths crossing Durdham Down allowed me to see parts I had missed on Wednesday 20 July.

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Bristol: St George Park and Horfield Common - Friday 26 August

Event Outline

Yet another trip to Bristol, to take lots of photos of scenery and have pictures taken of me. The day began when I caught the 8:30 bus from Bath Bus Station to Kingswood. Having left the bus at Kings Chase bus stop, Kingswood at 9:19, I had a much needed regular filter coffee at Boswells Café. Afterwards I walked around Kingswood Park for about half an hour. Having left the park, I had a full English breakfast and a regular filter coffee Boswells Café. Next I wanted to head for St George Park, so I caught the 11:10 bus from Kingswood to Northcote Road St George. Having left the bus at Northcote Road, I entered St George Park next to St George Library. This time I was able to spend considerably longer in St George Park than during my brief visit there early evening on St George's Day earlier in 2016. I took nearly two hours exploring all parts of St George Park this time; I also had an Americano from the café there. When I left the park I momentarily considered heading towards some other parks in that area (whose existence I discovered from a map near St George Park main entrance), and therefore went to two estate agents in the hope of getting a printed map of the area. Unfortunately neither had any maps, so rather than risk getting into difficulty finding my way around an unknown-to-me area, I caught the 13:40 to Bond Street. When I left the bus nine minutes later, I treated myself to a Lemon Cheesecake doughnut and small Americano at Krispy Kreme Cabot Circus. After some thought about where I wanted to go next, I caught the 14:23 from North Street to Muller Road Top, intending to visit Horfield Common. This area consists of several parts. Starting at Horfield Leisure Centre, I explored each piece of Horfield Common, until I reached the Ardagh Pavilion near Golden Hill. The Shaun the Sheep sculpture "Sparkles the Unicorn" was displayed by the Ardagh bowling green last summer. Altogether I took about one and a half hours seeing each part of Horfield Common. After that I had a much-needed coffee and toasted teacake at Costa Coffee Tesco Golden Hill. Having left Tesco, I walked along Kellaway Avenue and Coldharbour Road towards The Downs. I entered The Downs via Clay Pit Road. Once there I had a regular Americano at Café Retreat, The Downs before exploring the corner of The Downs nearest to Blackboy Hill which I missed on recent visits. Having finally left The Downs, I walked downhill along Whiteladies Road to the RWA. Seeing the RWA with the evening sunshine on it was amazing. Still in no hurry to go home, I walked over Brandon Hill, through Millennium Square, over Pero's Bridge and past Queen Square until I got to the bus stops outside Temple Meads. From there I caught the 19:46 Greenmore Road, Knowle, whereupon I enjoyed takeaway sausage and large chips from Mr. Crispins, Knowle. Afterwards I caught the 20:45 from Greenmore Road to Temple Meads followed by the 21:16 bus to Bath Bus Station. Obviously it was dark whilst I was waiting for, and travelling on, that last bus. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 22:01 and home about ten minutes later. Altogether another grand day out in Bristol, and best of all it was dry and sunny from dawn to dusk.

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Weston-super-Mare - Monday 29 August

Event Outline

A day trip to Weston-super-Mare to mark the Summer Bank Holiday 2016. The outing began when I caught the 08:22 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads, followed by the 08:55 train to Weston-super-Mare. Having finally got there at 9:22, I walked straight to Tesco where I had a much-needed Americano whilst deciding which areas of Weston I wanted to explore. I began by exploring the Italian Gardens to the north of the Sovereign Shopping Centre. Whilst there I was concerned it may be difficult getting anything to eat or drink around my usual lunchtime of 12:30 to 13:30 in the areas I intended exploring next. Suddenly I spotted No. 1 The Sandwich Bar near the Italian Gardens, so I went there next and had a jacket potato with Chinese chicken and cup of coffee, even though the time was just after 11:00! Afterwards I walked along Milton Road to Ashcombe Park. Once there I spent about an hour exploring most of Ashcombe Park. Eventually I discovered a café in the north east corner of the park so I had a coffee and Bakewell tart there before leaving the park in that corner. From there I walked up Ashbury Road and Milton Hill, all the way to the high ground by Worlebury golf course. After all my effort of climbing a fairly steep hill, I was soon heading down a steeper hill of 1 in 4 again, until I reached Kewstoke Church. It's hardly surprising I sat in the church yard for about ten minutes when I got there. From there I continued along Crookes Lane to Beach Road, Sand Bay. Once there I walked along part of the beach. Being as it was a clear day, it was possible to see Steepholm, Flatholm and south Wales from that beach. Having left that beach I walked towards Birnbeck Pier. via the footpath at the edge of Weston Wood. Eventually I got to Birnbeck Pier. Although the pier itself is dilapidated and closed off, one can clearly see it from the seafront. Nearby I stopped at Captain's Cabin pub for a much-needed coffee. Next I walked down to Anchor Head beach. Since the tide was in, most of the beach was underwater, and only the rocks and shingle nearest the bottom of the steps was accessible. Afterwards I continued along Birnbeck Road to the Marine Lake, along the footpath atop the wall separating the lake from open sea, all the way to Knightstone Island and around to Knightstone Road. From there I continued southwards along the seafront. At this point I began walking southwards along Weston Beach, passing underneath Grand Pier and onwards until I left the beach near SeaQuarium. The tide was right in at this point and several other people there were bathing in the sea. Just past there I went into the former Tropicana, where during summer 2016, a funfair was being held. The rides there included Wild Mouse (Danter Attractions), so I enjoyed one go on it. I also met, and had my picture taken with, a Dalek there. With the time now after 18:00, I was getting hungry, so I bought takeaway cod and regular chips from Regent Fish Bar, and ate them in the paved area across the road from Grand Pier. Afterwards I had a whippy ice cream from Charlie's Sweet Factory & Ice Cream Bar. Fish and chips and an ice-cream are two must-haves on a day at the seaside. Still in no hurry to leave, I went on Grand Pier for about half an hour. I walked to the end and around the ground and first floors of the building, but for various reasons resisted the temptation to go on any rides. It appeared as the tide was now starting to head out again whilst I was on Grand Pier. Having left the pier, I returned to the railway station, whereupon I caught the 19:51 train to Bristol Temple Meads followed by the 20:30 train to Bath Spa.

Comment

All in all, a grand day out at the seaside, during which I took plenty of photos of the scenery and had several pictures taken of me. Seaside traditions I enjoyed early evening were having a funfair ride, fish and chips and an ice cream. The only seaside traditions I didn't do were build a sandcastle, paddle in the sea or take home a stick of rock, but never mind. Best of all, it was a beautiful sunny day from dawn to dusk.

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Bristol: Oldbury Court and Eastville Park - Tuesday 30 August

Event Outline

Another trip to Bristol, the day after my Summer Bank Holiday trip to Weston-super-Mare. This trip began when I caught the 9:14 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station. Having arrived there at 10:09, I had a coffee at Café Casa whilst deciding which areas to explore today. In the end I decided to visit Oldbury Court Estate, so I caught the 10:51 bus from The Haymarket to Selbrooke Crescent. After leaving the bus at Selbrooke Crescent at 11:27, my next problem was finding my way to Oldbury Court Estate. By heading down a side road, I entered the estate by a back entrance, and from there had further difficulty finding visitor amenities such as a café and toilets. Eventually I found them. Now seemed a good time to get myself something to eat from the café, but the selection was very limited in the week; I ended up just having a coffee for now. I left the park through the main entrance and walked to nearby Fishponds, where I had a jacket potato with cheese at The Kingfisher. Delicious as it was, I had already gone past there on the bus on my way to Selbrooke Crescent earlier. It would have been more sensible for me to have left the bus in Fishponds and had my meal at The Kingfisher before first going to the park. Having finished my lunch I returned to Oldbury Court Estate. With the time now around 13:00 I felt I'd already wasted an awful lot of time. I treated myself to a whippy ice cream from a van, and then began exploring part of the estate in the direction of Frenchay village. After a while I returned to the café area of Oldbury Court. From there I followed another path down towards the River Frome, and walked south westwards along the riverside path until I reached the boundary between Oldbury Court and Snuff Mills Park. From there I continued through Snuff Mills Park, past the point where the Shaun the sheep sculpture "Two Hoots" was displayed last year, until I reached the car park and café at the west end of the park. After a much-needed coffee at the café, I headed back through Snuff Mills Park the way I had just come. Back at the start of Oldbury Court Estate, I hoped to find a different route back to the area near Oldbury Court café, but couldn't find one. Thus I walked alongside the river the opposite direction to earlier. Back at the parkland where Oldbury Court café and toilets are located, it wasn't long before I left the park for the final time. After leaving the park, I had a coffee and cookie at Subway in Fishponds whilst deciding what, if anything else, I wanted to before heading home. I decided to go to Eastville Park next, so I caught the 16:56 bus from New Station Road to Royate Hill. Having got there at 17:05, I walked across Eastville Park to the lake. I walked around part of the lake, and returned to the main part of the park via some steps I'd not seen on previous visits there. Having reached the top of the steps I continued walking around various parts of Eastville Park until I finally left around 18:30. It was now time for me to start heading home. I caught the 18:42 bus from Eastville Park to Bond Street, followed by the 19:10 bus from Bristol Bus Station to Bath Bus Station. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 19:54, and home soon afterwards. Another grand day out in Bristol, taking in another park for the first time ever, and best of all it was sunny all day.

Comment

Looking back, the whole day was grossly ill-thought out from the start. Leaving Bath after 9:00 on a bus to Bristol Bus Station, and going to a nearby café whilst deciding which area to explore was no way to go about it. A much better way of doing this trip would have been to have set off on the 08:30 Bath to Cribbs Causeway bus, and transferred to a bus bound for Bristol city centre at Staple Hill. The journey time from Staple Hill to the shopping precinct in Fishponds where I had my lunch would have been a fraction of the time required to travel the bus from The Haymarket to Selbrooke Crescent. Even if I stopped for a coffee, and perhaps also a cooked breakfast at a café in Staple Hill between buses, I would almost certainly have got to the main entrance to Oldbury Court Estate by 11:00, and thus could have begun exploring the estate much sooner than I actually did. Furthermore after leaving Snuff Mills café, retracing my steps towards Oldbury Court Café and Fishponds was a regretted mistake. It would have been more sensible to have left Snuff Mills Park at Broom Hill, and continued south westwards along the River Frome footpath, all the way to Eastville Park lake.

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Cardiff Bay and Bute Park - Thursday 8 September

Event Outline

A day trip to Cardiff, largely to explore and photograph various areas of the city and to have pictures taken of me there. The day began when I caught the 07:25 train from Bath Spa to Cardiff Central. Having arrived my first stop was Starbucks in the city centre for a small cappuccino. From there I headed in the direction of Cardiff Bay, stopping off at Callaghan Square on the way. After about fifteen minutes in Callaghan Square, I continued to Cardiff Bay. There was plenty to see around the bay including the Pierhead Building, Merchant Seafarers' Memorial, Antarctic 100 Memorial, Norwegian Church Arts Centre and Celtic Ring sculpture. After a much-needed small Americano at Cadwaladers, Mermaid Quay I explored the Landsea Gardens area of Cardiff Bay. However it wasn't long before I went to The Mount Stuart (Wetherspoon), Cardiff Bay for a traditional breakfast, plus an orange juice and lemonade. Afterwards I explored some more of Cardiff Bay, including the gravel area enclosed by Tardis Walk, and the area outside the Doctor Who Experience. Eventually I headed back to the city centre. Once there I spent the bulk of the rest of the afternoon exploring Bute Park. Areas of the park which deserve a mention here include the Stuttgart Garden, the herbaceous borders on the west side of the riverside path and Blackfriars Friary gardens. Late afternoon I had a much-needed Americano at Secret Garden Café in Bute Park. Having eventually left Bute Park, there was still ample time for me to explore Alexandra Gardens and Gorsedd Gardens. When I eventually got back to the St David's Centre I treated myself to a small Americano and Chocolate Firecracker doughnut at Krispy Kreme there. A little later I had king size sausage and large chips at Tony's Fish and Chip Bar before returning to Cardiff Central for the 19:30 train to Bath Spa. I finally reached Bath Spa at 20:34 and home a few minutes later.

Comment

Altogether a grand day out in the capital city of Wales. The weather was varied, it's a pity about the brief shower mid-morning whilst I was at Cardiff Bay, but thankfully it was dry and sunny the rest of the day. It was a bit windy around Cardiff Bay, but thankfully it wasn't so windy whilst walking around Bute Park. Exploring Cardiff made a change from seeing different parts of Bristol, but nonetheless this is unlikely to win Best Non-Thrill Outing.

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Tyntesfield - Wednesday 14 September

Event Outline

"Changing Times" A mid-September visit to Tyntesfield, to see inside the house as well as explore the gardens and wider estate. After an early rise I caught the 8:00 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station, followed by the 9:50 bus to Tyntesfield main gate. I finally reached Tyntesfield main gate at 10:15. Without further ado, I walked up the long driveway to the courtyard. Once there, I had a much needed regular Americano and shortbread biscuit at Cow Barn Kitchen Restaurant. Visitors can access this restaurant without paying to enter the grounds. Having left the restaurant my next stop was the admissions point for the estate. Once admitted I headed towards the house, taking several pictures along the way. My ticket stated that I had to enter the house between 11:00 and 12:00 noon. The time was around 11:35 when I got to the house entrance, so without further ado I entered the house. So far it had been sunny outside, but shortly after I entered the house, the sky became overcast. Naturally I hoped the weather wasn't going to deteriorate further, but for now I got on with exploring the house. Visitors were able to walk around the house at their own pace, but they had to follow the one way system, and do all the ground floor rooms before heading up the grand staircase in the hall to the first floor. The theme was Changing Times, featuring the life of Antony Gibbs at Tyntesfield. The drawing room had several numbered artefacts on display, and visitors could look up each one in a book. Reluctantly I had to limit myself to looking up a few of the objects I was keenest to know more about, otherwise I could probably have spent well over an hour in just that one room alone if I'd looked up everything. There were plenty of other rooms to see on the ground floor including the library, dining room, organ room and billiard room. Having taken the grand staircase to the first floor, there were more rooms to see including the Stuart Room, Charlton Room, Avon Room and Failand room. The last part to see was the chapel before exiting. I finally left the house around 13:20. By now I felt peckish, so I went to the Pavilion Café, where I had a steak pasty and Americano. Whilst I was having my lunch, the sun reappeared, and thereafter it was sunny the rest of the afternoon. Having finished my lunch, I explored the Orangery, Jubilee Garden and Kitchen Garden. From there I walked along a path until I was back at the gardens on the south side of the house. After all that, I returned to the Pavilion Café where I had Orange Madeira sponge and an Americano. There was still plenty more to see late afternoon. I walked up the hill to the north of the chapel, past the Sawmill Learning Centre and Chaplain's House and Lodge, until I was back near where I had gone in. From there I headed back downhill towards the house via the route I took in the morning, in order to see Paradise and the rose garden. After taking a final few photos of the immediate vicinity of the house, I headed back up to the admissions building, and out into the courtyard. The time was now around 17:00, but I still had time to enjoy a cream tea at Cow Barn Kitchen before leaving the estate altogether. Back at the bus stop, I caught the bus to Bristol Bus Station, followed by the 18:11 bus to Bath. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 19:03, and home a few minutes later.

Comment

Altogether another grand day out. It was great seeing the rooms in the house that were open to visitors, and much of the estate. I would have liked to have seen the woodland and plantation walk, but that would have taken a considerable amount of time. Most likely it would have been necessary for me to have explored that area immediately after lunch, and skipped the Orangery, Jubilee Garden and Kitchen Garden altogether. Best of all it was mostly sunny, and exceptionally hot for mid-September. The cloudy interval couldn't possibly have been better timed with my session inside the house. I took numerous photos around the estate and had several pictures taken of me. One of the stronger contenders in Best Non-Thrill Outing

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Chepstow - Friday 16 September

Event Outline

My final visit to Wales for 2016, a day trip to Chepstow. Having awoke at 5:45 I caught the 7:05 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station. Once there I caught the 8:40 Severn Express bus to Chepstow, which ran via the M32, M4 and M48, including over the old Severn Bridge. Having reached Chepstow Bus Station at 9:35, I went into M&S Foodhall, which is immediately adjacent, for a much-needed Americano at the café there. Afterwards I wandered downhill through the town centre, until I eventually found the tourist information centre near the castle and museum. There I obtained a town map there which was useful for finding my way around, but for various reasons I decided not to go into either the castle or museum. I walked back towards the town centre and stood momentarily at the bottom of St Mary Street and looked uphill. Someone told me this street was J.K.Rowling's inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books; however the Diagon Alley scenes in the Harry Potter movies were not filmed here. Feeling peckish, I went to Lime Tree Café Bar in St Mary Street for a much-needed coffee and cake. Afterwards I walked back to the castle entrance, and although I didn't go in, I walked along the path beside the castle, up the hill until I eventually reached Welsh Street. Soon afterwards I was back at the top end of town, so it made sense to get some lunch next. I had a lamb and mint mayo baguette, and an Americano, at Picnic sandwich shop in the town centre. After lunch I followed a trail, which took in part of the town wall, School Hill, the railway station, St Mary's Priory, and The Back. I ended up The Boat Inn beside the River Wye. Whilst there, I went into The Boat Inn for a cappuccino and cake. Afterwards the Riverside Gardens were just around the corner. I walked around those gardens for a few minutes. From those gardens I was able to see the Old Wye Bridge, which links Wales and England. The fun bit came next, walking across the Old Wye Bridge from Wales, into England and back into Wales. A sign at the midpoint says Gloucester / Monmouth. I had my picture taken spanning this point, so it could be said I momentarily had one leg in England and one leg in Wales! After a final walk around the Riverside Gardens, I was back at the castle. From there I headed up the footpath I'd taken earlier, but part way up I climbed some steps and went through a gap in the wall. Going through that gap brought me out by the library in the town centre. Without further ado I returned to the bus station intending to catch the 16:45 Severn Express bus to Bristol. Unfortunately, that bus was severely delayed; it finally turned up at 17:27. Thankfully when it finally reached Bristol Bus Station, I faced only a short wait for the 18:23 bus to Bath. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 19:14 and home a few minutes later.

Comment

Altogether, a grand day out at the extreme edge of Wales. I was surprised to hear St Mary Street was the inspiration for Diagon Alley; therefore it's just as well I wore my black Hogwarts sweatshirt and two Hogwarts T-shirts at different times of the day. It's a pity I didn't think of heading off to a park I spotted on the bus heading out of Chepstow early evening; from the bus windows I spotted what looked like a viewpoint. I would have liked to have seen the views from that point, especially if the Severn Bridge had been visible from there. The weather was reasonable too, dry all day with sunshine much of the time. Unfortunately this is likely to be one of the weaker contenders in Best Non-Thrill Outing.

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Bath to Bristol Walk - Saturday 17 September

Event Outline

After my trip to Tyntesfield three days earlier, and Chepstow the previous day, I was eager to walk the Bristol & Bath Railway Path from Bath to Bristol on Saturday 17 September. Around 10:00 I began my walk at Churchill Bridge, Bath, and walked along the riverside path all the way to The Locksbrook Inn. Certain parts of this path had been closed for building / repair work during the preceding months, but on this day the whole route of this path was open. After passing The Locksbrook Inn, I had to walk alongside a back road for about 500 yards to the official start of the Bristol & Bath Railway Path. From that point I walked along the Railway Path through Saltford to Bitton station. Most of this section of the path passes through open countryside. Along the way I noticed ripe blackberries on several bramble bushes, and ate a few at various points, which slowed me down a bit. When I got to Bitton station around 13:20 I stopped to eat the Sub I bought prior to starting my walk. I also had a coffee at the station buffet there. After lunch I continued along the Railway Path. Most of the rest of the route to Bristol runs through built-up areas. My next stop was Warmley station, where I had lemon drizzle cake and an Americano. After that I continued along the path Mangotsfield station and Staple Hill tunnel until I reached the fish-on-its-nose sculpture at Fishponds just after 17:00. At this point I left the path to have a cappuccino in the café at nearby Morrisons. Having left Morrisons, I re-joined the Railway Path where I left off, to complete my walk to Bristol I still had about three miles to go. From this point I walked along the path through Eastville and Easton to St Phillips, the official end point of the Railway Path (marked by the twisty tree sculpture). Finally I walked through Old Market and Castle Park until I reached The Galleries Shopping Centre around 18:40. That was my official end point of my walk. Although The Galleries Shopping Centre was still open, Burger King in the food court on the middle floor was, unsurprisingly, now closed. Having left The Galleries, I walked to Burger King in The Horsefair, which thankfully was still open. There I treated myself to a much needed bacon double cheeseburger meal, followed by a caramel King Sundae. Having finished my meal, I caught the 19:41 bus from Bristol Bus Station to Bath Bus Station (First West of England 37764). I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 20:32 and home a few minutes later.

Comment

Altogether another grand day out; one in which my journey on foot from Bath to Bristol was really the day out, and the only thing I did having reached my destination was have a meal at Burger King, The Horsefair before catching the bus home. Many people I spoke to along the way were amazed I was walking all the way from Bath to Bristol. Some asked if I was doing the walk for charity, and were surprised I wasn't. Best of all, the weather was ideal; mostly sunny and not too hot.

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Central Bristol - Wednesday 5 October

Event Outline

Although it was now astronomical autumn, I was still keen to go to Bristol to photograph open spaces and have pictures taken of me during the first week in October. This outing began when I caught the 10:30 train from Bath Spa to Bristol Temple Meads. Having arrived I spent the rest of the morning walking around Castle Park, taking numerous photos there. Lunchtime I went to Spud-u-Like, The Galleries Food Court, to have a delicious Coronation Chicken filled potato meal deal. Afterwards I walked around Redcliffe Back, Welsh Back and King Street, all the way to St Stephen's Churchyard. After a much-needed coffee at St Stephen's Café my next stop was Cascade Steps, followed by College Green. The flowers in the large plant bed on College Green were still in good condition for early October. From College Green I walked up Park Street, all the way to the University of Bristol Wills Memorial Building. Once there I couldn't resist having my picture taken beside the Gromit sculpture Bark at Ee in the foyer, even though I had already been photographed beside him a couple of times during the summer. From there I walked down Park Row and Perry Road to the Children's Hospital, where the Shaun the Sheep sculpture "Maisy and Friends" still stands in its original position, in order to be photographed beside it. After that I descended the Christmas steps and proceeded towards Broadmead. At this point I felt like a cake and latte at Butler's Café Restaurant, The Galleries Food Court. After that I went into Castle Park to take a few more photos and have a few more pictures taken of me. Eventually I returned to Temple Meads station to catch the 18:22 train to Bath Spa, which reached Bath Spa at 18:41.

Comment

Altogether another grand day out in the central area of Bristol. Best of all it was sunny all day, and surprisingly for early October, I felt warm enough in just a T-shirt and shorts for a couple of hours during the warmest part of the afternoon. Undeniably this is one of the weakest contenders in Best Non-Thrill Outing.

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Best Show

This group includes cinema films (of which there is only one for 2016), TV shows such as the Eurovision Song Contest, a circus and a firework display. Altogether there are seven events in this category.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Wednesday 10 February

Event Outline

In the aftermath of the original Star Wars trilogy, and its prequel trilogy several years later, who would have thought there would ever be any more Star Wars films? Well in December 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens, aka Star Wars Episode VII, was released, and I was keen to see it at ODEON Bath. Having deliberately waited a few weeks until its peak viewing phase had passed, I eventually saw it late afternoon on Wednesday 10 February. On arrival at ODEON I treated myself to a Ben & Jerry's 2-scoop tub to enjoy whilst the adverts and trailers were on. Once the trailers finished, Star Wars began with a scrolling synopsis. I noticed the bit about aiming to kill the last Jedi. I wasn't sure exactly what they meant, did they mean the Jedi from Return of the Jedi (1983 film which I've never seen)? After the opening, I had no clue whatsoever regarding the plot, and couldn't put names to any of the characters, let alone identify who were goodies and who were baddies. There was plenty of action and fighting at times, but I didn't know who were the evil ones who the goodies wanted to kill, or the other way around. Or to put it another way, I didn't know who needed to be killed and who needed to be saved! Early on one spaceship landed in a desert, sank into the sand and exploded. How could it explode buried in sand? The couple I saw a lot of in the film got into another space ship / flying saucer which they reckoned hadn't been flown for years, but they got it airborne. Somehow it was followed and blocked / picked up by a mother ship (or something) but again I didn't really understand it. Near the end there was a scene in a coniferous forest and the ground started sinking to see the glowing subterranean bit. The people in the forest managed to get on the flying saucer, and it took off. As it flew away from that planet, that whole planet became a glowing ball. Was it a rocky planet with a crust and glowing inner core, and somehow the crust disintegrated into the core? If so how could that happen? The space ship flew to another planet, then to another, landing in the sea. Someone climbed loads of steps on a hilly island. What planet was that? Anyway that was the end. Altogether an action packed film, with loads of shooting and fighting, and space ships flying here, there and everywhere, but I didn't really enjoy it much as the plot was somewhat confusing and incomprehensible to me. One character I particularly liked was BB8 - the little robot with the ball shaped body and half ball head.

Comment

Even since splitting Event of the Year into categories, cinema visits have had varied success in Best Show. Admittedly my enjoyment of a film depends very much on my understanding of the plot. This was my only cinema visit for 2016, and this is certainly one of the better contenders in Best Show.

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Eurovision Song Contest - Tuesday 10 May to Saturday 14 May

Event Outline

"Come Together" The 61st Eurovision Song Contest was held at the Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden, with two semi-finals in the week and the final Saturday night. 42 countries took part. Surprisingly Australia, which was originally a one-off guest country to mark the 60th Contest in 2015, was invited back for 2016, but had to take part in one of the semi-finals this time. However on 22 April 2016 the EBU withdrew member services from Romanian public service broadcaster Televiziunea Română (TVR) following the non-payment of debts, and consequently Romania was unable to take part, even though its entry "Moment of Silence" sung by Ovidiu Anton was already on the official CD album. As usual the Big Five (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy), plus the host country Sweden, qualified directly to the final. All other countries had to participate in a semi-final to win a place in the final. UK coverage of both semi-finals was on BBC Four. The ten semi-final 1 qualifiers were: Azerbaijan, Russia, The Netherlands, Hungary, Croatia, Austria, Armenia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Malta; whereas the ten lucky ones from semi-final 2 were: Latvia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Australia, Ukraine, Serbia, Poland, Israel, Lithuania, Belgium. As usual I had plenty of surprises and disappointments when the ten qualifiers were announced both evenings. Tuesday evening I felt Iceland and Bosnia & Herzegovina deserved the places Hungary and Armenia undeservedly took. Thankfully Montenegro's "The Real Thing" sung by Highway, which was my least-liked entry in semi-final 1, failed to qualify. Well done to Czech Republic qualifying to the final for the first time; its entry "I Stand" sung by Gabriela Gunčíková was a good ballad and well sung. Thursday evening I was appalled and disgusted Georgia made it to the final as I really detested their song. To a lesser degree I was annoyed Serbia went through. On the other hand I was disappointed Ireland and Slovenia failed to qualify. I thought Ireland and Slovenia deserved the places Georgia and Serbia took. Perhaps the biggest shock was Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Norway all failing to qualify for the Grand Final. Hence the only Nordic entry in Saturday's Grand Final was Sweden, which as host nation got there automatically. Of course the highlight was the Grand Final Saturday evening, in which there were 26 finalists. Belgium began the evening with Laura Tesoro singing "What's The Pressure", and the last song in the line-up was Armenia's entry "LoveWave" sung by Iveta Mukuchyan. In between the song styles varied considerably, from ballads to from Israel, Sweden and Poland, to rock songs from Cyprus and Georgia. This time viewers at home had 40 minutes in which to cast their votes, therefore several interval acts were required to fill in time. Two of these deserve a mention here. Early on Justin Timberlake performed two songs live on stage: "Rock Your Body" followed by "Can't Stop the Feeling!". Later hosts Petra Mede and Måns Zelmerlöw sang "Love, Love, Peace, Peace", featuring artists and elements from several past Eurovision songs, including Russian grannies baking bread (Russia 2012). Finally, after the voting lines closed, Måns Zelmerlöw sang "Fire in the Rain" followed by "Heroes". It was then time for the voting, which was in a controversial new format. For the first time ever each country awarded one set of 1 to 12 points for its jury vote, and a separate set of 1 to 12 points for its public vote. Each country's jury vote points was announced in the traditional way, whereby a spokesperson appeared, its 1 to 10 points appeared automatically and the spokesperson announced the 12 jury points. Once all 42 counties had announced their jury points, the public vote points from all the 42 countries were added together behind the scenes to produce one public vote total per finalist. Måns and Petra then announced the public vote totals, starting with the bottom 16 from 26th to 11th in rapid succession, followed by the top ten at a slower pace. This created more shocks and surprises along the way, and meant the winner wasn't confirmed until the last minute. Perhaps the biggest surprise was when Poland's "Color Of Your Life" sung by Michał Szpak, finished 25th with just 7 points in the jury voting, but 3rd with a colossal 222 points in the televoting, and hence 8th with 229 points overall. Australia's "Sound Of Silence" sung by Dami Im won the jury vote with 320 points, but just 4th place and 191 points in the televoting. Hence its combined result ended up being 2nd place with 511 points. Russia's "You Are The Only One" sung by Sergey Lazarev finished just 5th with just 130 points in the jury voting, won the televote with 361 points, and finished 3rd overall with 491 points. The overall winner was Ukraine, whose entry "1944" sung by Jamala. Despite finishing second in the jury vote and second in the public vote, its combined total of 534 points was enough to win outright. "1944" featured an unusual style of singing, to me it seemed ghostly sounding, in a mixture of English and Crimean Tatar language. I particularly liked Jamala's good use of arm movements, and the excellent visual effects, including the impressive patterns on the stage and the tree on the back wall. I was surprised this won, because I didn't think this style of song could possibly win. Although I didn't mind this winning, I'd ideally have preferred Ukraine to have finished 3rd overall, with Russia 2nd and Australia the outright winner. Finally the UK's "You're Not Alone" sung by Joe and Jake as the penultimate act, finished 17th with 54 points in the jury vote, but a disappointing 25th with just 8 points in the televoting, and hence 24th with 62 points overall. Its choruses were quite catchy and memorable, but I thought the verses (particularly the first one) were a bit flat. Part of the problem may have been due to Armenia's "LoveWave" being a much more powerful song immediately afterwards as the last song. Altogether another great contest. Can UA:PBC do as well or better in 2017? Time will tell.

Comment

This has to be one of the best Eurovision Song Contests in recent years. As usual there was a wide variety of song styles, and there were some entries I'd sooner have seen in the final in place of certain ones I didn't want there. The new voting system was disliked by some, but the 2016 Contest clearly demonstrated that winning one voting system (jury or televoting) and finishing fourth or fifth in the other may not be enough to win outright, and that if a country finishes second in the jury voting and second in the televoting, it's nonetheless still possible to win outright. As far as Event of the Year 2016 goes, this could well win Best Show.

More about this event available here: First semi-final Second semi-final Grand Final

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UEFA Euro 2016 Final - Sunday 10 July

Event Outline

The UEFA Euro 2016 Final, Portugal v France, took place on 10 July 2016 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France. Keen see it, I donned my white UEFA Euro 2016 T-shirt and went to The Royal Oak, Widcombe for increased atmosphere. Before the match kicked off at 20:00 BST, I was convinced France would win. After all, France hosted and won the FIFA World Cup 1998, and France hosted and made it all the way to the final in UEFA Euro 2016, I felt hosts France had to win. France came close to scoring a few times during the first half, but each time the ball was over the top, to the side of the net or saved by the Portuguese goalie. Portugal also had a few unsuccessful attempts at scoring. By the end of the first half, neither side had scored, and thus the half-time score was Portugal 0 France 0. It was a similar story in the second half. Both sides had near misses at scoring during the second half. In the 3 minutes of stoppage time, France nearly scored, but the ball hit the post and didn't go in. So close and yet so far! At the end of the second half the score was still Portugal 0 France 0, thereby necessitating extra time. Mid-way through extra time the score was still Portugal 0 France 0. It looked increasingly like the game would end in a penalty shoot-out. Thankfully Eder scored for Portugal in the 19th minute of extra time, taking the score to Portugal 1 France 0. Portugal looked set to win now. I thought UEFA had golden goal rule for extra time in the final, i.e. as soon as one side scores the game terminates immediately, but evidently that wasn't the case. The remainder of extra time still had to be played, but nonetheless Portugal held their lead until the end. The final score was Portugal 1 France 0 AET. So much for me thinking France would win! Anyway congratulations to Portugal for winning UEFA Euro 2016. This is in fact Portugal's first ever time of winning the four-yearly UEFA Euro championships. Well done also to runners-up France, they too did well to reach the final.

Comment

Another good final, though it seems that for most of the game neither side wanted the other side to score, and hence it took until 19th minute of extra time for the first goal to be scored. Thankfully that ended up being the winning goal. Still this is one of the weaker contenders in Best Show

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The Moscow State Circus - Wednesday 21 September

Event Outline

The Moscow State Circus returned to Royal Victoria Park, Bath during September 2016, having previously been there several times since September 2000. Their latest programme which was performed this time, was based around the story of Rainbow Flower or 7 Wishes written by Valentin Kataev. As usual the performance featured several acts, before and after the interval. One of the earliest acts was "Quick Change" whereby two people changed from one outfit to another in rapid succession. It's a wonder it was possible to change between outfits that rapidly. A few acts other acts are worth a mention here. Firstly "Aerial Globes", in which acrobats got into giant globes to be raised high in the air. The globes opened up in the air as the acrobats did the splits between the two halves. Secondly the Barrel Jugglers who together juggled batons whilst on barrels. Thirdly the Wire Dancer who did some amazing moves on a wire high in the air. Fourthly the daredevil on the giant wheel at the end of a long arm. The wheel went high in the air at times. The way in which the cast cut to the interval was odd, a giant box of popcorn suddenly appeared, saying Popcorn on one side, and the box was turned around reveal the word Interval on the other. The show drew to a close with The Final Wish, which led seamlessly to the finale in which the entire cast reappeared.

Comment

Altogether another amazing performance from The Moscow State Circus. The best thing about circus is that all the acts take place in real time, with no camera trickery or make-believe effects used in cinema and television. Therefore all the acts, some seemingly next to impossible, were actually taking place before the audience's eyes. Definitely one of the best contenders in Best Show.

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Bath Firework Display - Saturday 5 November

Event Outline

Remember, remember, the 5th of November! The annual Bath Firework Display at Bath Recreation Ground. I arrived around 18:20 and, as usual, little happened until the fireworks were due to begin at 19:00. Refreshments were available during this waiting time, but I didn't require any as I had just eaten. The display began at 19:00 and, as usual, featured giant rockets and fountains in an assortment of colours. They were accompanied by music, including "Jai ho" and "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" (Bryan Adams). After about twenty minutes the display ended. Altogether a spectacular, well-choreographed colourful firework display with plenty of bangs. Once the fireworks ended, everyone including me seemed to want to leave at once. Many thanks to the organisers for producing such an amazing display.

Comment

Up until a few years ago Bath Firework Display always used to be on the 5 November regardless of what night of the week that was. However the last few years it's been on the Saturday nearest to 5 November for some mysterious reason. Maybe the decision to always hold it on the Saturday nearest to 5 November began when Rotary started running it a few years ago (prior to that the display used to be run by the Round Table). As a traditionalist I personally I feel it's better to have a public firework display on the 5 November (regardless of what night of the week it is) than on the nearest Saturday night. Back when it was always held on the 5 November was (regardless of which day of the week that was), the organisers normally opened the gates around 18:30, started letting off the fireworks around 19:30 and it was usually over by 20:00. In other words, even when 5 November was a weekday evening, it was over plenty early enough for parents with primary school age children to leave the ground and get their children home to bed by a reasonable time; it's not as if the display was finishing around 21:00. Anyway, at least 5 November happen to fall on a Saturday in 2016, so just for once, Bath Firework Display was on the proper night, i.e. 5 November. Nonetheless, in 2017 and beyond, I'd like to see the display returned to the 5 November regardless of what night that happens to be. Anyway regardless of what night of the week Bath Firework Display takes place, it never seems to do well in Event of the Year, and is likely to be one of the weaker Best Show contenders in 2016.

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BBC Children in Need - Friday 18 November

Event Outline

The annual BBC Children In Need 2016 telethon took place on Friday 18 November, and continued into the small hours of Saturday. Once again I watched the show live Friday evening until just after midnight, and the rest on video next morning. Coverage began with a Children In Need special of The One Show from 19:00 to 19:30 on BBC One. Once that finished there was a seamless transition into the main show at 19:30, which continued until 22:00. Between 22:00 and 22:40, Children In Need coverage was on BBC Two whilst the news was on BBC One. At 22:40 Children In Need coverage returned to BBC One and continued until the small hours of the morning. This was the first edition of the appeal show since Terry Wogan's death in January 2016. Nonetheless the presenters, which took turns at various times of the evening, did a good job of the show. Presenters included Tess Daly, Greg James, Graham Norton and Marvin Humes. What an amazing evening of entertainment it was. One of the best bits of Friday evening was when children's choirs around the country simultaneously sang "Lean On Me" at various UK locations. The official Children In Need single, was "All We Needed", performed live during the evening by Craig David. Other music acts included Cast of Motown: The Musical "Motown Medley", Busted "Year 3000" and "Thinking of You" and Aladdin: The Musical "Arabian Nights", "A Whole New World" and "Friend Like Me". As usual the songs and sketches were interspersed with appeal films, some of which were shown more than once. There were also a few regional splits during the early part of the evening. The end-of-night total was £46,624,259, which was the highest to-date. Amazing! Well done to all who helped raise that colossal amount.

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Junior Eurovision Song Contest - Sunday 20 November

Event Outline

The fourteenth annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Valletta, Malta. For the first time since the first ever Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2003 the event was held on a Sunday afternoon, starting at 15:00 GMT, instead of Saturday evening. Presumably this change was to be a more suitable viewing time for children across European time zones. The 17 participating countries, in order of appearance, were Ireland, Armenia, Albania, Russia, Malta, Bulgaria, F.Y.R. Macedonia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Italy, Serbia, Israel, Australia, The Netherlands, Cyprus, Georgia. Sadly the UK was absent for the 11th year running, and hence the Contest was not shown on any British TV channels. However it was possible to watch the live webcast online in the UK. Poland returned for the first time since their previous appearance in 2004. If Poland can return from such a long absence, surely the UK can. Once all 17 songs had been performed, followed by a series of interval acts, it was time for the voting. This was revamped for 2016. Firstly there was no televoting this time. Every country had an adult jury gave one set of 1 to 12 points to its top ten songs, and its own Kids' Jury giving a separate set of 1 to 12 points. Spokespersons from each of the 17 countries announced the adult jury points. Once all 17 countries had announced their adult jury points, three experts Christer Björkman, Mads Grimstad and Jedward at the Mediterranean Conference Centre each gave their own set of 1 to 12 points. Finally the Kids' Jury points from the 17 countries were added together behind the scenes to produce one Kids' Jury total per country, and these were announced in a similar manner to the public vote points in the adult Eurovision Song Contest in May. The hosts announced the bottom 7 Kids' Jury totals from 17th to 11th in rapid succession, followed by the top ten at a slower pace. Georgia, which won the adult jury and was still leading once the three expert juror's points had been added, was just sixth in the Kids' Jury, raising the question of whether or not their final total of 239 points was enough to win. It has to be said the presenters announced the winner of the Kids' Jury badly, they inadvertently revealed the figure 110 before saying the winner of the Kids' Jury was Armenia. It was obvious to me she meant 110 points remaining, thereby spoiling the surprise as to whether or not they had enough to pass Georgia (which was still leading) and win. Since Armenia's total so far was 122 points, I quickly calculated that 110 was not quite enough to overtake Georgia. Anyway Georgia's "Mzeo" sung by Mariam Mamadashvili won with 239 points, and Armenia finished second with 232 points. I wasn't that keen on Georgia's song which won; I much preferred the entries from Ireland, Armenia, Israel and Australia.

Comment

Altogether a good show, well done to all the young artists who took part. Admittedly I still don't think it's as good as the traditional (adult) Eurovision Song Contest in May, but it's the best Junior Eurovision Song Contest I've watched online for a few years, partly helped by the exciting new voting system. It's a pity the announcement of the Kids' Jury totals was less well polished than the public vote totals in the traditional Eurovision Song Contest in May, and that the host inadvertently announced how many Kids' Jury points Armenia had too soon. If this voting system is to remain in 2017 its presentation will need considerable improvement. Naturally I'd enjoy it much more if the UK took part

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Best Party

This group includes a family takeaway, and a Christmas party. There are just four contenders in this category, all of which are somewhat low-key really. Nonetheless under the present rules one of these will have to go through to the Ultimate Winner round at the expense of superior non-winners of other categories.

Birthday Meal - Saturday 24 September

Event Outline

A Chinese takeaway with my aunt and uncle as an advance celebration of my 45th birthday. The meal began with a starter: ¼ Duck, served with pancakes, Hoi-Sin sauce and salad. The pancakes were small and perfectly round. The idea was to place a bit of the duck, along with some Hoi-Sin sauce and salad inside a pancake, and roll it up. There was enough for two pancakes each, and they were really delicious. Having finished the starter, it was time for the main course, consisting of Chicken Chow Mein, Sweet & Sour Chicken in Batter (the sweet and sour sauce was in a separate pot), King Prawns with Cashew Nuts, Shredded Chilli Beef, two lots of Egg Fried Rice, Fried Mixed Vegetables and Prawn Crackers. The dishes were placed along the centre of the table and all three of us each helped ourselves to a little of each dish. Altogether, a delicious, out-of-this-world, selection of Chinese food for main course. A few fortune cookies were also included, but we didn't eat those.

Comment

Altogether an excellent pre-birthday celebration. Sadly I didn't have a birthday cake, but that's probably just as well really, because we were all full up (that's why the fortune cookies supplied with the takeaway were not eaten). There's no way on Earth any of us could have eaten a slice of cake after that lot. It's a pity nothing else was done together afterwards, but never mind.

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Open Opportunities Christmas Party - Monday 12 December

Event Outline

The Open Opportunities Christmas party took place at Manvers Street Baptist Church, Bath from 11:00 to 14:00 on Monday 12 December 2016. It was a buffet party, whereby each member who attended took along an item of food or drink for the buffet. I arrived just after 11:00; my contribution to the buffet table was a Black Forest Gateau which I bought from Sainsbury's, Green Park, Bath first thing that morning. Shortly after I arrived I put one of my Christmas CDs on the CD player so the group could have some Christmas music to add to the atmosphere. During the first hour food and drink were placed on the buffet table. Apart from that, not a lot happened during that first hour, people generally just talked to one another. Just before midday everyone pulled the crackers which had been placed on the tables, and put on the paper hats contained within them (mine was red). At midday everyone began helping themselves to food from the buffet table. The selection of savouries included seafood pasta, crisps, quiche slices, pizza slices, cucumber, celery, dips, cocktail sausages, and bread. I filled my plate with a fair selection of items. A little later, some chicken nuggets were added to the table when fully cooked (they weren't quite ready at midday), so I returned to the table for some chicken nuggets and second helpings of other items. Once everyone had finished their savouries, they returned to the table for sweet things, which were deliberately placed at the far end of the table. As well as the Black Forest Gateau I provided, the selection included mince pies, sliced mini fruit cheesecakes, cookies and watermelon slices. I took a clean plate and helped myself to a slice of Black Forest Gateau, some cheesecake, a cookie and a piece of watermelon. Yummy. After that we cleared two small tables away and arranged some chairs in a circle, so that the group could play Pass The Parcel. Each time the music stopped the person holding the parcel at the time removed a layer of paper, and found a small chocolate bar hidden between the layers. Someone else had the privilege of removing the first layer, but I had the chance to remove an intermediate layer, and hence won a mini chocolate bar. I can't remember how many layers there were, but the person who removed the final layer (that wasn't me) got a box of chocolates / biscuits (I can't remember what it was). Once the game was over spare mini chocolate bars were given to those who hadn't won anything during that game. Next we played "Who Am I?"; subjects to guess included The Queen and Terry Wogan. There was still some food left on the buffet table, so I helped myself to one mince pie and some double cream. After that we gradually cleared things away, as people gradually left. I was the last member to leave, after all the tables had been put away.

Comment

Altogether a festive Christmas party, who could have asked for anything better? The buffet selection of savouries and sweets was excellent, the games added to the fun (it was my first time of playing Pass The Parcel since I was a kid) and the Christmas music on my CDs completed the festive atmosphere. Thanks a million to the staff of Bath Mind and Sirona for organising it and being present, and thanks to everyone who brought food and drink for the buffet table. Strongly tipped to win Best Party.

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Christmas Day - Sunday 25 December

Event Outline

After yet another autumn of me admitting to not looking forward to Christmas, the big day finally arrived. Just like previous years, I spent the festive season with my aunt at Dorchester. Most of the morning was rather low-key really, preparation and cooking of Christmas lunch began mid-morning. Just before midday, my aunt and I opened our presents. My presents included a pair of gloves, a pair of slippers, some socks, a large cup, a puzzle book, a notebook and some toiletries. Sadly I didn't receive a blue Team Bath hoody, made by Surridge for the third Christmas running. Soon after that, it was time for my aunt and I to enjoy the main course of Christmas lunch, that being roast turkey, pigs in blankets, stuffing, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, boiled carrots and boiled Brussels sprouts. To accompany it we had cranberry sauce and gravy. Delicious. My aunt's desire to have a rest afterwards meant over an hour passed before the dessert, but once we were both back at the dining table again the dessert, consisting of Christmas pudding and M&S extra think double cream was well worth the wait. Finally we finished off our Christmas lunch with a cup of coffee and a Ferrero Rocher. Altogether another delicious traditional Christmas lunch. Shortly after lunch ended, it was time for The Queen's Christmas Message on BBC One. Afterwards I watched Carry On Camping on ITV3. The part of the day shortly after the film finished was a convenient moment to present my Christmas speech to my aunt. Just like recent years this included a Microsoft Power Point presentation, but unfortunately although the slide show appeared successfully on my laptop screen, I couldn't get it to appear on the TV. After that, it was time for my aunt and me to enjoy Christmas tea; king prawn cocktail, smoked salmon and salad for main course, followed by a slice of Viennetta Original for dessert. Afterwards I watched Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special at its time of broadcast, followed by my video recording of the Top of the Pops Christmas 2016 Special that had been on BBC One earlier in the day.

Comment

Altogether another festive Christmas Day, and despite my worries in the run-up to Christmas, the day turned out reasonably well in the end. Even so, this is likely to be a cold turkey in Best Party.

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New Year's Eve - Saturday 31 December

Event Outline

Goodbye, Da boch, Au revoir, Auf Wiedersehen, Adiós. Arrivederci 2016! An evening at The Bakers Arms, Dorchester to see out 2016 and welcome in 2017. Not so much a party, more a relaxing evening in the pub. When I arrived there around 21:15 there was quiet music from the radio on in the background. Whilst there I had half a Carlsberg followed by a half pint glass of orange juice and lemonade. Around 23:15 the staff put the projection TV on ready for Jool's Annual Hootenanny which began on BBC Two at 23:20. Around 23:40 I bought my final drink of the evening - half a pint of Thatcher's Cider, and sat in view of the TV. At the stroke of midnight, the TV was turned over to BBC One for the chimes of Big Ben, the final countdown to 2017 and the London fireworks. Once the fireworks were over, everyone present in the pub linked arms to sing Auld Lang Syne along with the London performance. After that I stayed a bit longer to finish my drink, and finally left at 00:39. On the whole, a low-key evening; largely a time for relaxation. The best moments were everyone saying "Happy new year" to one another at midnight, and singing Auld Lang Syne along with televised London performance of Auld Lang Syne immediately after the fireworks.

Comment

It's a pity there is no longer a disco of the kind held on New Year's Eve 2010 and 2011, because that was one of the highlights of an exciting New Year's Eve. Still at least going to The Bakers Arms to have a few drinks on New Year's Eve had a bit more atmosphere, particularly at the stroke of midnight, than watching the BBC coverage on TV at home.

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