With me back from the exploits of the weekend and ready to tell you all about it, caretakers Graham Stannard, Nick Field and James Potten handed the keys of Phoenix FM Drive back to my good self this afternoon. Big thanks to them for babysitting the show while I was away.
My third anniversary took me to London for the day on Friday. Breakfast on the 32nd floor of one of the city’s tallest buildings was a great way to start the day, followed by an exciting floatation tank experience which leaves me still feeling very relaxed and like I’m walking on clouds some five days later. You lie in a giant egg-shaped bath tub for an hour with 800 pounds of Epsom salts making you buoyant much as the Dead Sea would. The theraputic music and atmospheric lights literally wash your troubles away.
That was followed by afternoon tea, and I opted for somewhere that had more modern sweets such as cheesecake and carrot cake – proven to be a good choice when regular ladies who lunch lurched over our table jealous at the selection we had before us. My one faux pas of the day was to book dinner for straight afterwards but the Covent Garden restaurant’s offerings were lovely all the same, including a very nice steak and interesting Russian sauce which I think was thousand island dressing complete with vodka and chilli – yum!
After dinner entertainment came in the form of Thriller Live – more of a tribute concert than musical with the storyline basically being the story of Michael’s life told through his music. It was fantastic all the same and the five vocalist it took to mimic the King Of Pop’s back catalogue were each very talented. Then a midnight show at a London comedy club saw me almost spit my drink over the woman sitting in front of me a number of times with their hilarious put-downs as soon as somebody chose to try and heckle.
Then a surprise trip to Amsterdam introduced me to the world of the mini-cruise. It has been said that I’m partial to a short break so the discovery that I can do this abroad in a rather affordable manner and travel far more comfortably than on a bargain-basement flight was quite the revelation. The weather when we arrived was sunny and pleasant – imagine my dismay when I came back to grey windy and wet Britain this morning. The city has so many unique things to offer as well – I enjoyed sampling their pancakes again and some of the interesting museums, and the myriad of canals are breathtaking.
On today’s Drive, Terry Hunt from the Basildon Rotary Club joined me live at five to promote the upcoming charity bike ride on Sunday 15th May. This year gives riders plenty of options depending on their ability and the time they have to train, with a fun ride, 20 mile and 40 mile courses to choose from. More details can be found online at www.rotarybikeride.co.uk.
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Mike Jones was also on hand with his weekly round up of what’s been happening with the county’s sports groups in our Sports Report.
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