Dr Martin James

We’ve all heard the music from the Nutcracker countless times, myself included. I’ve never got around to seeing the ballet though, at least until now. I cannot pretend I am cultured enough to know what was going on but it was a sight worth seeing. It’s only my second ballet, the other was Swan Lake…

I got lucky with the weather (at least one day out of two), so the walk portion of the weekend was perfect – cold and crisp but at the same time spectacular. The best thing about Shrewsbury is its natural geography, I’d love to get my kayak over there for a few circuits of the…

Unfortunately I was struck down by a mysterious illness over the weekend, but it was still nice to get across to the best of the ancient university cities. With Christmas not too far away I swung by Bicester Village too. The lighting was very atmospheric. The crowds however undermined my will to live.

I don’t get out much to do novelty activities, in part because I’m not really the type. My home city (well, nearest big city) has much to offer though and I’m trying to get out and about to learn more. I also went to see the new Exorcist movie. It was excellent…

I have only lived in this part of the world for 7 year so you can’t expect me to get around to everything. Or anything in fact – it’s been busy! This place is beautiful though and it’s half way between home and work so I might be able to pop here for the odd…

I took a friend on a disorganised tour of this beautiful part of middle England. We crammed in Bibury (too many tourists), Bourton on the Water (same but more able to absorb them), Stow, Morton on the Marsh, Chipping Campden and Broadway. We had Sunday dinner at the Ebrington Arms. Very nice.