Tag Archives: Marlow

The Gift Of Food and Fun

July 23, 2022 Neil

Simply because everybody has been talking about it this week I have to start by mentioning the weather. Summer is my favourite season of the year, I like the sunshine and I do like it to be warm. Personally I feel happier and more relaxed with the sun on by back even though that means I have to wear a hat more nowadays due to the way that I have my hair, which is virtually non-existent. However even I must say that last Monday and Tuesday were getting to the point where even I was thinking it might be a bit warm. I am a fan of the high twenties or low thirties, but mid-thirties to around forty degrees is possibly a bit too much.

Last Christmas as part of her present I got my girlfriend a voucher for dinner for two at one of the restaurants’ owned by a Michelin starred Chef who she likes. I knew she was a fan of his as she was raving about his food and wanted to see him do a live demonstration when we were at Pub in The Park in Chiswick last September. The gift was for a lunchtime three course meal for two with a cocktail included. Luckily for me she decided to take me with her to enjoy the experience.

The place we were going was in Marlow so I booked us a lovely little guest house about a ten minute walk from the High Street for us to stay at for the night. The table was booked for quarter to two but we could not check in until gone three. However I managed to arrange for us to park there before dinner. It was a lovely warm sunny day and as we arrived near to where we were dining a little bit early we stopped to enjoy a drink at a pub on the way. I had a bottle of gluten free Peroni that was the very first beer I tried when I was diagnosed as being coeliac and I was not that impressed. This time round and it may have been the sun or because I was looking forward to where we were going but it tasted much nicer.

The restaurant was called Sindhu. It is run by Atul Kochhar. He has a few restaurants in Buckinghamshire and London. This one is actually at The Compleat Angler Hotel which is right on the River Thames, so you have great views of the water through the window while you are dining. We arrived at the correct time and were shown to our table. It had a great atmosphere, vibe and smell. The menu choices were amazing, everything sounded delicious so choosing what to have was actually a bit of a mission, even for me as it turned out lots of the dishes were either already naturally gluten free or they could tweak them to make them so.

While we were still deciding what to eat they bought us the drink included in our deal which was a Kir Royale cocktail, it was very nice, made with the Chef’s personal choice of Prosecco. As it turned out and this is so rare I do not think it had ever happened before Lynda and I ordered the same options for our starter and main. We both had the prawns which were unbelievable you could taste about a million different flavours and yet still taste the prawns to. The man is clearly some sort of magician.

To accompany to meal we both ordered some wine I had a glass of the Reserva Malbec from their wine list, it was exceptional. For our mains we both had Biryani which was simply stunning, it tasted so good and went perfectly with my choice of drink. Lynda is not really much of a dessert person but as it was part of the meal I had selected she had some ice-cream, while I of course went for the chocolate mousse, well if you are drinking red wine you should finish the meal with some chocolate.

Once again you could not fault this final course. It was a wonderful dining experience, relaxing, fun and fulfilling from a food point of view. I was so pleased I bought it for her and even more pleased that she took me along to enjoy it with her. We will definitely be going back there to eat again at some point I feel.

As it was such a nice day we had a drink outside in the hotel garden on the bank of the river. It is a lovely place to stay I have been lucky enough to have had a couple of work parties there and it was always a good do. You cannot beat being near water on a warm summer’s day as far as I am concerned. It was then time to walk back and check in to our accommodation. That was simple and straightforward. It had a huge bedroom as well as a decent sized lounge area so plenty of room for the two of us for one night.

We then went for a nice walk along the river out towards Bisham and back before finding ourselves in another pub. It was perfect beer garden weather so we visited a couple more of them before we got an evening snack and called it a night retiring to the guest house for a night cap before bed. I have always liked Marlow and spent a bit of time there over the years, it had been a while since I had been but I plan not to leave it as long next time.

The next morning we strolled into town to again enjoy the park and river in the sun before grabbing a fantastic breakfast in The Ivy Garden. On the way back we stopped in to see our friends and their children. It was brilliant to see all of them and have a nice catch up over a few cups of tea in the sun. Their daughter who is six going on sixteen accidentally told us she had a new boyfriend, she was telling her mum not to say anything and in doing so she told us all about him.

They have also got a new dog who I met for the first time he seems like a fun little chap. He was very friendly and excited to see us which is a reaction I like from any animal or human for that matter, when I turn up anywhere. I had a nice chat with their son who is now on at least his third or fourth choice of football team to support, although it does seem he is sticking with this one. I only ever remember being a fan of one team and that is of course Tottenham Hotspur. I blame my parents. It was a lovely few hours chatting to each other without a care in the world, perfect.

Around a month or so ago now Lynda’s mum invited us to join her and her friend at their church’s quiz night. We figured it would be fun and it would also be nice to have a night out with her. You might think this would be a quiet laid back evening out but from the minute we decided to go along we also decided that we had to win. Now I am not saying Lynda and I are competitive but we currently have a Scrabble series going on and I honestly think it could last for years.

Anyway the quiz was designed for teams of eight and I think the plan was for all the church members and guests to turn up on the night and randomly join together as one team. Well we obviously could not risk that so we assembled a crack group of eight people including Lynda’s aunty and cousin plus their other halves. The big night was last Saturday. It was due to start at seven, so we got there in good time to grab a table. There were soft drinks only supplied that is how serious everybody was taking it.

Round one started and then half way through there was a little bit of tension on our table after I accidentally knocked my glass of water over myself and Lynda. She was not overly happy, but refrained from hitting me. Think I was lucky that it was a warm evening. There was a break for food half way though and at this point we were winning by two points, it was so far so good but we were only half way there to achieving our goal. I did not have any food preferring to remain fully focussed and not risk any gluten in the take away they had ordered. I did have some more water all of which this time I did manage to drink.

The next round after the interval was a film based music one, which we did really well in. Lynda’s cousin is like the Rain Woman of movie themes. Going into the final round we were three points in the lead, by this point we were getting some odd looks as I think our team may have been the only one that included non-church folk. We did not care we still needed to win but at the end of the last round we felt that we might have blown it.

The quiz master announced the winners and it was us we had done it, mission accomplished. The vicar handed us a voucher each as a prize, Lynda and I gave ours to her mum and her friend. We did not need any reward winning was enough for us. It was a fun event and joking aside everyone was lovely and welcoming, although I am not sure we will be invited back for the next one!

I found what I thought might be a lump on one of my testicles recently. It felt a bit odd and different so I thought I better get it checked out. I managed to get a phone appointment with the doctor at first but he decided it might be easier to assess it in person and invited me to go and see him at the surgery straight away. He took a look for me and although he did not think it was anything serious he did give me a course of tablets and booked a hospital scan for me as a precaution.

Exactly a week after seeing the GP, I was in the hospital waiting area waiting to be called for what I had now found out was an ultra sound scan. I had been given some ultra sound previously on my knee and ankle for injuries but certainly never in this particular area before. It was a very simple and straight forward procedure. The person doing it even showed me what was on the screen which let us face it will be the nearest I get to having a baby scan.

It was all fine and nothing to worry about, I just have some excess fluid in there, insert your own joke here I guess. The reason I mention this is firstly the NHS are amazing and secondly if you discover something odd on your body get it looked at, they will not mind in fact that is what they are there for.

The players are all back in pre-season training for my team Tottenham Hotspur. We have already played a few friendlies and signed by our standards quite a lot of players. There is a new fitness couch at the club nicknamed the Marine. I have been through some tough pre-season training sessions in the past but the stuff they have been doing looks brutal, however if it pays off and gives us a bit of an edge it will all be worth it.

The Premier League season kicks off in two weeks and I am looking forward to being back in my normal seat cheering the lads on. It does feel like we can be at least a bit optimistic that we could have a good year. The mid-winter break for the World Cup at the end of the year is going to be odd, hard to say if that will be a distraction or a bonus. It has been far too long since we won anything and it would be great to get our hands on some silverware for a change. I like Antonio Conte he is a proven winner but making us successful could be his greatest ever achievement.

A quick reminder that you can listen to me every Saturday afternoon between 2pm – 4pm on Radio Ninesprings https://www.radioninesprings.co.uk/

We are away with friends this weekend and then straight off for our own relaxing holiday at a mystery location somewhere in England. I will tell you where we went and what it was like next time we speak. Have fun and we will catch up again soon. Stay safe! Cheers Neil.

Fools and Horses

April 9, 2015 Neil

Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a good couple of weeks. Mine have been great with quite a bit going on. I managed a celebrity spot on the train in to London the other day. Now to be fair I already knew that this particular person lived in this certain location, so I was always keeping an eye out for them every time I stopped at their station. So statistically it was bound to happen eventually and it did on that morning. I was just sat in my seat minding my own business when the unmistakable figure of Robert Lindsay walked past and took a seat slightly further down the carriage and facing me.

I was close enough to hear the full conversation he was having with his friend, with that wonderful and very distinctive voice that he has. So I am well up to date on his latest projects and immediate plans. He is a truly great all round performer. He can do it all act, sing, dance the lot. Most recently he has been starring in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in the West End. In the eighties he was starring in the musical Me and My Girl. When it was in London and then he went with it when it transferred to Broadway. In that show he does an amazing version of the Lambeth Walk. He seemed like a really nice friendly and approachable gentleman. So hopefully it will not be long before he is back on our television screens again.

A few Saturday’s ago I went and saw my mate Andy Holmes perform in the Harold Pinter play Betrayal at the Queens Park Arts Centre in Aylesbury. If you are already familiar with it. You will know that it has three main roles. One of which, he was playing. It is always slightly odd I find seeing a friend performing on stage. You want to enjoy the show but you are also just rooting for it to go well for them at the same time. I have seen him in a couple of things before but this was possibly the most dramatic piece that I have personally witnessed him in. I really enjoyed it. I thought the whole cast were great. And I know from speaking to Andy the time and effort that they had all put in to it, to make it work. Which I think showed in the performance.

He did have a couple of kissing scenes in it. In the fairly busy bar afterwards he made the mistake of asking me what I had thought of his love scenes, to which I replied well that is the most action you have had in ages. He did tell me later that the actress who he had to kiss actually had her husband in watching that night. Now I am no actor but that has to be a little bit awkward surely. It was a lovely fun way to spend the evening and congratulations to everyone involved with the production.

After seeing the play I then went to a pub in Aylesbury for a quick fortieth birthday drink with someone I have known for about twenty years now. His name is Colin Morton. We met when I joined Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio. This is how and why I decided to join. It was while I was in my final year of a Leisure and Tourism course at Aylesbury College that I really developed an interest in radio. Mix 96 had recently launched in Aylesbury, so I wrote to them and managed to get a week’s work experience there. It was while I was there during that week that someone suggested that I joined the local Hospital Radio, so I did.

Neil Quigley back at Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio with Martin Kinch

Colin was already there and had his own show. You start out as a producer gathering requests from the wards. Then you get trained on the equipment and hopefully get your own show. All of which I did. Colin then got a job at Mix 96 hosting the evening show and the Saturday Sports Show. I have to thank him really for getting me involved in the Sports Show. As I think he suggested me, when they needed someone to come in and ring up all the local football clubs to get the scores. And then to read out the half time and full time scores from these games. Which I then did. And the rest as they say is history. That is what really gave me my break in radio, if you like. So it was great to see Colin and Andrew Duthie, who was also there for a nice catch up and to talk about old times.

I am still doing quite a bit of work at Wembley Stadium. I was there taking some people around on behalf of the Football Association before the FA Trophy Final between North Ferriby United and Wrexham. I was taking a select group of North Ferriby fans round. It is always great to be there on a match day. Walking through the Mixed Zone, being in the players tunnel and then going pitch side. You can really feel the excitement of the occasion building up. It was a cracking game as well with the underdogs winning five-four on penalties after a three all draw in extra time.

So well done North Ferriby United. I like to think my tour was a lucky charm for them. I think some special praise needs to go to the Wembley ground staff to. On the Friday Night England played Lithuania there. Then on the Saturday a Rugby Union game between Saracens and Harlequins took place. And then the FA Trophy Final was there on the Sunday. The pitch looked perfect and there was not even any trace of the rugby pitch markings from the day before.

It is always good to do new things in life and experience things for the first time. So last week I went for my first ever crown fitting at the Dentists. This was required because I have had a root canal treatment. And apparently to protect the tooth you need a crown on it. So to make sure that the finished crown fits they have to take impressions of your teeth. I have to confess I didn’t find that process much fun and it does not leave a very pleasant taste in your mouth at the end. It seemed like she took an impression of all my teeth not just the one required. So I am now slightly concerned she may be worried that all my teeth may be falling apart, and that she will need to replace them all. I have a temporary one on at the minute with the proper one due to be fitted in a week or so. Wish me luck.

On Good Friday I went with my mum to see Wycombe Wanderers play Oxford United in League Two. Now as a teenager I was for a couple of years a season ticket holder at Wycombe. I also briefly played for their under sixteen side and I did have a trial game for their youth team. However I did not get selected. I instead went and played for two years in the Aylesbury United Youth Team. Funnily enough my first game for them was in a one-nil win against the Wycombe Wanderers Youth Team in Beaconsfield. The Wycombe/Oxford game was pretty poor for the home side specially in the first half but they did battle back and make a fight of it in the second half. Although ultimately it was in the end a very disappointing result for the team who are currently chasing promotion. Plus let’s face it no one likes losing to their local rivals.

Before the game I managed to catch up with a couple of people I know. Firstly Daniel Freeman, who was there to report on the game for Sky Sports and my good friend Nathan Cooper, who was there covering the match for BBC Radio Oxford. Strangely the three of us have all previously worked on a game together before. When I was working at Ivel Fm in Somerset, Yeovil Town then managed by Russell Slade got to the League One Play Off Final at the then newly built Wembley Stadium in 2007 against Blackpool.

We managed to get full commentary rights to broadcast the whole game live on the radio. To do that we needed two excellent commentators to help us. I already knew Daniel and Nathan and luckily they were up for getting involved. So the three of us produced a full show from the National Stadium with Daniel and Nathan as the two commentators and me operating as the co-commentator for both of them. While presenting the show before and after the game. It was a busy but fun day out and I thought we did a brilliant job covering the occasion. It was great to see them both at Wycombe and good to see them still doing at excellent job reporting on football matches and bringing them to life on the radio and television.

Last Saturday it was the final show in the current series of the brilliant Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. Once again there was nothing missing from the programme or the series. In my opinion it has taken all the best bits from about twenty different big Saturday night television shows from the past and put them all into one show. In handy bite size sections. But it all works so well and is great family entertainment. This weekend we will still be able to see the Geordie boys on our screens. As the new series of Britain’s Got Talent starts on Saturday. And if the first instalment is anything like the London audition show I went to see. We will be in for a crazy time.

There will be acts that will take your breath away and leave you feeling like that is the best thing you have ever seen. And then on the other side of the scale there will performances that will make you cringe and even cause you to cover your eyes and ears, so you do not have to witness it. I don’t know if it was just the session I was at but Simon Cowell seemed a lot nicer and more compassionate in his critique. So I am not totally sure if he was just in a really good mood that day or if becoming a father has seen him mellow a bit. I reckon we will know for sure if this the case or not by the final at least. The audition shows are always bonkers and give Ant & Dec plenty of comical moments to enjoy. Good luck to all involved with it and let us hope for a worthy winner this year.

I had a really nice Easter weekend which did involve eating quite a bit of chocolate. But life is all about balance and give and take, so I did actually go for a morning run on Good Friday and Easter Monday. To be fair that was not only to work off the sweets I had consumed. I did manage to have a few drinks with mates to, so these calories had to be dealt with and burned off. I met one of my friends in Marlow. Which is always a place I enjoy going to, specially in the summer. Normally for a nice walk along the river there. It really is a nice and relaxed place to meet people and have a good chat and a catch up. And it does boast The Hand and Flowers Pub, which has two Michelin Stars and is run by top chef Tom Kerridge.

I am up in Liverpool this weekend enjoying being there for the Grand National Race meeting weekend. I love the city and always really enjoy spending time there. I came up for this festival about five years ago and had a brilliant day out at Aintree for Ladies Day. It is an amazing experience everybody really dresses up and has a top time. This time I am just up there and enjoying the partying after racing rather than being at the track itself. The place is packed out in the evenings, with either people celebrating wins or drowning their sorrows, if they have lost. For sheer atmosphere alone watching the Grand National in a packed pub in the centre of Liverpool is only second to actually being stood there on the course at Aintree itself. I will tell you more about my time in Liverpool next time we speak.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.

Neil Quigley Presenter