The poshest afternoon tea in London

The Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in Mayfair is one of London’s most iconic hotels. Featured in the film ‘The Golden Compass’ and the host of many an award ceremony, this five star hotel is just steeped in luxury.

We found all this out the other day when we booked ourselves in for an afternoon tea. High tea at the Park Lane Hotel is taken in the Palm Court, which is a delightful art deco style restaurant in the heart of the hotel.

The Art Deco styling has been religiously preserved by the owners, something that I’m sure property mogul and former Arsenal director Bracewell Smith, who built the hotel in 1920, would approve of.

Indeed, you just sink satisfyingly into the gold velour armchairs, with coffee tables at just the right height so you can eat your afternoon tea goodies in comfort. Most impressive is the original art deco bar. It’s bright, highly styled and very eye-catching.

Even if you’re not really a fan of all things art deco we can still recommend afternoon tea here as the tea, pastries, scones and finger sandwiches were delicious!

Stratford Butterfly Farm

Had a nice day out with granny and the kids today to Stratford Butterfly Farm.

It was the first time T had been and although he was initialy ay about the butterflyies flying around him in the buttefly flight area, he soon became more confident and started enjoying himself.

We spent about 10 minutes strolling through the flight area and then walked through the caterpillar room where there were loads of different caterpillars and an emerging cage where all the chrysalis from abroad are hanging with the butterflies waiting to emerge.

Next was insect city and arachnoland where we saw some nice big stick insects and some even bigger spiders, including  a Mexican Red Knee Tarantula  and a Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula which can have  leg span of 25cm.

Day out at Stratford Butterfly Farm – Stratford-upon-Avon

Where can I Learn how to drive a steam train

One of our stand out memories as a child was going on a family day out to the steam railway in Leicestershire where we grew up and when the engine coupled up to the carriages I’ll never forget my Dad commenting: “That’s a damn sight smoother than British Rail!”

I’ve got no idea why that sticks in my mind so many years (30 in fact!) later. Maybe it’s the idea that the age of steam trains was a real golden age that people who remember it look back on with nostalgia. Maybe my Dad was actually right and that modern trains aren’t as comfortable?

Either way, it was a pleasure to then be able to invite my Dad (still not keen on taking ‘modern’ trains to this day), back to the Great Central railway in Leicester for his 70^th birthday. This time it wasn’t just a ride in a railway carriage, but a whole day out learning how to drive a steam train.

As you can imagine, he was beside himself with shock and delight at the present and the train driving day was everything we had expected and more. Not only did Dad get to drive the train on the full 30 mile round trip, he was also shown around the workshops and had plenty of time to reminisce and pose questions about the golden age of steam.

And of course, we had a great time too as we bought tickets on the day to ride on the actual train he was driving, making for a truly superb day out for all the family. A word of advice though, drive a steam train days are really, really popular on activity gift voucher websites, so make sure you book up well ahead (up to six months) if you want a specific date.

Zorbing – it’s in the Oxford English Dictionary you know!

Whilst looking for something on the internet the other day, we came across a little titbit of trivia which made us raise our eyebrows. Did you know the word zorbing is in the Oxford English Dictionary? Am I being a language puritan when I say I was quite surprised at this? After all, it’s just another extreme sports short-lived craze isn’t it?

Well I’ve been proved wrong. It seems zorbing has been officially ‘a sport in which a participant is secured inside an inner capsule in a large, transparent ball which is then rolled along the ground or down hills’ since 2001, when it first appeared in the dictionary.

Still doesn’t detract from the fact that you’d have to be mad to let anyone roll you down a hill in what is effectively a hamster ball, even if it is given the fancy name of a zorb.

Thinking zorbing was just for mad Aussies and Kiwis only, a closer inspection on the internet appears to show there are now zorbing centres the length and breadth of the UK, so it looks like this latest craze called zorbing is here to stay, seeing as it’s in the dictionary and all!

Zapcat Racing I Feel the need, the need for speed

That’s a classic line from that cheese-fest of a film, Top Gun. Yes, we hold our hands up and admit we watched the Tom Cruise classic again the other evening (not our choice, you understand, but the girlfriend insisted).

Anyway, it got us thinking about silly high adrenaline extreme sports type things we could try and having driven sports cars, flown in an aerobatics plane and done a bungee jump, we reckon our next ‘need for speed’ outing might just have to be a Zapcat experience.

Zapcats are a pretty new phenomenon, being first seen on the water sports scene during the 1980s in South Africa, where the prototypes were being raced by fearless locals. Since then, Zapcats have been re-designed and re-developed to be the nifty little inflatable catamarans they are today with a 50hp engine that is capable of a maximum speed of 50mph on the water.

Not for the fainthearted then these Zapcats, but if, like us, you love the feeling of power and speed, we suggest you book yourself onto a Zapcat experience to see for yourself – you can actually have a go at driving these mini wave munching Zapcats when you book through this zapcat experience website we found.

Be careful which experience you go for though, as some are Zapcat rides, whilst on others you actually get to have a go at driving the boat yourself, so depending on how brave you’ll think you’ll be, you can choose accordingly!

Safety on an Intotheblue clay shoot

Safety article prepared for Intotheblue customers who wish to participate in clay pigeon shooting at one of the many shooting venues around the UK.

Ensuring safety on a clay shoot should be one of the very first considerations, and should be given the maximum importance. By it’s very nature this sport involves guns, so safe handling of the gun and the use of protective equipment are the two most important elements to consider with respect to participants safety.

Here are a few key safety considerations:

All guns must be licensed in the UK. The police control the issue of a firearms certificate, to monitor who has access to weapons and to ensure only those considered fit to hold a license are issued one.

Drinking and using guns don’t mix, so you are advised not to have even one drink if you are shooting as it may impair your reactions.

To ensure safety on a clay shoot, never point a gun at anyone! You should always treat a gun as if it were loaded and this rule should be applied even if you believe the gun not loaded.

Don’t start to move your finger to the trigger until you are preparing to shoot.

Keeping ammunition separate from the gun will also increase the safety on a clay shoot. You should also be sure to never load the gun until you’re ready to use it.

An “exclusion zone” of at least 275 metres should be set up in front of the shooting stands and you should make sure this area that is free from any obstacles or people. The exclusion zone should be restricted from the general public and cannot be placed where there are public footpaths, right of ways, bridleways and in the vicinity of overhead power or telecommunication cables.

To further ensure safety on a clay shoot, you should also always wear appropriate safety clothing and use the correct safety equipment. Firstly, you need to use ear protectors or plugs to protect yourself from the noise of the guns while on the shoot (whether shooting or a bystander).

Secondly, you should use appropriate safety glasses. These will not only help you with shooting accurately by reducing glare, they will also protect your eyes from field debris, such as twigs or sticks; as well as offering protection from stray pieces of broken clay and even gun malfunctions.

Following a few simple guidelines and being careful with your gun protects everyone, and safety on a clay shoot is not difficult if you take care to adhere to these rules.

For more information on this or any other IntotheBlue experience please visit www.intotheblue.co.uk