For the reasonably priced sum of £10 a month, giffgaff offers unlimited data, which prices it below even Three’s £15 PAYG offering. As a smartphone user, data is my top priority when it comes to network deals, yet finding data without paying through the nose has becoming increasingly difficult, as most networks have imposed strict 1GB or even 500Mb data caps over recent years.

Now these may sound like plenty of data for a mobile device to use over a month and yes, it’s fair to say that I don’t normally get near to this limit. The thing is, I’ve realised that I’ve learnt to curb my use of apps so I don’t risk breaching the limit, which has meant I’ve been avoiding media-rich content such as audio and video. I have in fact been failing to make full use of my smart phone because of data caps and it was time to put it right.

My phone and usage would be set free, listening to the morning’s news on the commute into work while checking Twitter, buying and updating apps when I’m out and about (regardless of their size), and generally being entertained and informed by whatever content out there takes my fancy. Great fun with no worries. Bonzer.

I’m currently trying out my giffgaff SIM with their £10 goody bag (150mins, 150 texts, unlimited data) and things are looking on track to move over from O2 and halve by monthly bill. Interestingly, giffgaff uses O2′s network, so I’m effectively getting the same service (plus more data) for half the price. Don’t mind if I do.

• Order a giffgaff SIM and receive £5 free credit

The Jolly Cricketers is located in the affluent village of Seer Green, near Beaconsfield and Chalfont St Giles.

It’s a good looking historic pub on the outside, but it’s on the inside that it reveals its secret – serving up some truly fabulous food, and recently voted the best gastro pub in the South East.

I’ve taken this book quiet slowly over quite a number of weeks, dipping into just a few pages each evening, and progressing LMS’s life little by little. By the conclusion of Any Human Heart I found I can scarcely recall the early years, which rather accurately reflect the memories of the man himself, looking back 70 years on from his earliest journal entries. By doing this, I felt I’ve followed LMS on his journey, albeit in microcosm, allowing me some of the same reflection of LMS’s actions over the weeks I read the book as the character applies to himself over the years of his life.

Any Human Heart is probably now best known for its television adaptation, which was shown in the UK at the end of 2010 on Channel 4. Not having heard of the book at the time, I was attracted by the dramatic trailer (see below) with the brilliant musical accompaniment of Ludovico Einaudi’s Nightbook. The adaptation compressed the book into four 90 minute episodes; quite a challenge for the life time covered in the book, but pulls it off rather well in my view. I particular enjoyed Matthew Macfadyen’s portrayal of Logan at his most dynamic best during the prime of life, as well as Gillian Anderson’s truly superb portrayal of Wallis Simpson (who has become the Duchess of York by the time LMS crosses her and her husband’s path).

I’d thoroughly recommend both the book and the TV version, although if you’ve not seen the TV version, go with the book first, to fully appreciate the events without any spoilers.

Related links

• Watch all four episodes of Any Human Heart online (Channel 4 website, possibly restricted to UK viewing only)
• Superb TV trailer for Any Human Heart (Youtube)

These days I’d comfortably pledge my allegiance to 6music. As a station, it speaks to me and where I am now, while indulging in shared culture I can relate to. 6music’s core audience is, I imagine, around mid-20s to mid-40s, and its presenter line-up is full of names the audience grew up with, including the likes of Adam and Joe, Marc Riley, Stuart Marconie, Mark Radcliffe, Cerys Matthews, Craig Charles, and others. The music on 6music evokes delight, surprise and serendipity, all in a way that’s somehow attuned to my musical tastes. It is the farthest cry possible from the dismal repetition of commercial radio, which I choose to avoid at all costs.

Although I struggle to define the demographic, I suspect 6music is expertly speaking to a group that I happen to neatly fit into. It’s perhaps for those who have cast aside self-consciously following the trends of the latest hot indie bands that defined our university years and have moved on to wanting new musical discoveries, but now entirely comfortable in our own musical tastes.

The strange thing is that this progression is often one that’s done unconsciously. I only realised that I’d mentally moved on from listening to Radio 1 while on car journeys where I found myself feeling entirely out of touch with the music and callers on the air. Was I ever in the position of those Radio 1 listeners with the radio on revising for some exam? At one time, yes, but it seems a far cry and thoroughly distant from my life today.

And so, without seeking to be defined, I have, I suspect, made the move from one demographic group to the next; one of several I’ll likely make during my lifetime. Yes, radio may only be background audio, but it’s someone we choose deliberately and it continues to say something about us.

WWII aircraft at RAF Halton's Charity Flying Weekend

The Queen’s official birthday is celebrated by trooping the colour and a flypast by the RAF in central London. If the idea of the tourists crowds don’t appeal, it’s happily possible to watch the flypast from the comfort and attractive surrounds of Buckinghamshire.

RAF Halton holds a Charity Flying Weekend each year to coincide with the trooping the colour flypast, and welcomes visitors to what is normally a military aerodrome.

The 2011 event was held in conjunction with the Chilterns MS Centre, who held their Summer Fete, and the Berkhamsted-based De Havilland Moth Club, who had arranged various flying displays.

We arrived shortly after midday, so in good time for the flypast at around 1pm. We were struck by just how popular it was, given that we’d only heard about it through having come across photos of the previous year’s events and looked up the 2011 dates. The parking area was filling up quickly with hundreds of cars, although still had room enough for us.

Spectactors at RAF Halton watch Battle of Britain Memorial Flight approach

We had no idea what to expect, however there was a good selection of stalls – many in military green tents that were rather in keeping with the event. Arts and crafts, traditional fete games (Tara won a coconut from the coconut shy), and the usual food and drink were all there, so everything you’d need. Many visitors had also come well prepared though with some impressive picnics, table and chairs in evidence. Well prepared to enjoy the day.

Turning towards the aircraft, the inter-war De Havilland Moths were much in evidence, with much to-ing and fro-ing. A nice selection of WWII aircraft were also on the ground. The main event was the flypast – which included most but not all of the formations seen flying down the Mall a few minutes earlier. While the Red Arrows went elsewhere, we saw the fast jets, transporters, hawker jets and the always superb Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which gave us three fabulous passes.

We headed off shortly after the flypast, just as Captain Neville’s Flying Circus was getting underway – clearly there was much going on to provide entertainment for the whole day. Next year we may well bring a picnic and make a full day of it.

Overall it’s a great local event that piggy-backs on a national spectacle. It’s free to get in, raises money for a local charity and provides a good day’s entertainment for anyone who likes to watch magnificent men in their flying machines in action.

View more photos from the RAF Halton Charity Flying Weekend on the Mule’s Flickr channel.

Part of the Queen's Birthday flypast over RAF Halton

We arrived in Wallingford late in the day, too late to visit sights such as the castle gardens that close at 3pm, although we glimpsed some of the castle ruins from the Thames path. The riverside area is quiet and largely undeveloped, unlike in larger towns, and following the path takes you quickly into countryside. The Thames Path also offers fine views of the Wallingford’s bridge. A stroll over the bridge itself gives some idea of the size of the Thames at this point, which while much narrower than in London, remains impressive.

Wallingford's bridge over the Thames

The shopping and entertainment in the town seems reasonably good for a town of Wallingford’s size and includes theatre and cinema in the Old Corn Exchange, some good looking hostelries including the swanky Old Post Office, and a selection of both high street and more boutique shops with a speciality in antiques shops.

There doesn’t seem to be a particularly quick way of reaching Wallingford from the M40, as both routes, one a B road and the other optimistically graded an A road, take around 20 minutes. From the east it’s necessary to cross the Thames, which is possible at Wallingford Bridge. Roadworks hampered our leaving the town by this route, however alternative bridges are available a few miles to the north or south of the town.

All in all Wallingford makes for a good fair weather day-trip destination and several hours can be happily spent pottering around its historic sights, attractive streets and interesting shops, with plenty of option on hand for refreshment.

Wallingford Market Square

By rights I should be heartily in favour of High Speed 2 (HS2), the name given for this new high speed railway line. It would cut the journey time to see family and bring to this country the sort of rail travel I’ve experienced in Germany and Japan. However I find my enthusiasm muted at best and at worst I’m opposed to the plans altogether.

I’m not a NIMBY, the route will not run within sight or earshot of where I live, however it will run through the Chilterns and impact many of our favourite towns, villages, countryside and walks. Furthermore, I question the absolute necessity for the route that is trying to be sold to us. Are there really no alternatives to this massive financial outlay and substantial environment impact?

Losing the peace

As a nation, there’s a good many of us who are intent on finding a peaceful corner to call home. While some are happy in the noisy bustle of the urban jungle, many others are keen for life away from it. While transport is vital, it needs to be measured and balanced with maintaining a healthy national environment; if the land is utterly criss-crossed with noisy trunk routes then there’ll be no respite from the noise. If HS2 were to closely follow existing motorway routes, as the West Coast Mainline does, then I don’t think I’d have such concerns, however much of the route cuts a swathe through some of Britain’s finest countryside. Valleys unspoilt and at peace with the sounds of their natural environment threaten being ruined with the sight of another huge concrete construction, accompanied by the intense noise of high speed trains passing every few minutes. The limited tranquility of this island will be encroached upon further, a development I cannot welcome.

City slickers

Perhaps the building of the HS2 would be more palatable to those living on the route if they benefited from the line, however no intermediate stations are planned between London and Birmingham. The line skirts by the large town of Aylesbury, currently an hour’s commute from London on a slow and overcrowded line. With no intermediate station, we’ll be in the bizarre situation where passengers in Birmingham are able to reach London more quickly than those living much nearer the city. The HS1 line serves communities on its route, but the HS2 has no plans to do so. Of course, capacity can be maximised with a simple non-stopping route, however in its present form only the residents of the two big cities are served. Yet there’s not exactly a shortage of travel options between England’s first and second cities.

Indeed, both Virgin and Chiltern Railways operate regular services between London and Birmingham. Virgin will see longer trains brought into service in the next few years, while Chiltern typically operate 4-car diesel trains on the Birmingham route, leaving ample scope for expanding capacity with longer train sets and electrification. The HS2 is essentially replicating a route that’s already well-served and which has still a number of capacity increase options available on existing lines.

To my mind it’s the route between Scotland and London that would most benefit business by reduced journey times, which are currently around the 5-hour mark by rail. Bringing Glasgow, Edinburgh and London within easy reach of each other could open up Scottish companies as being feasible suppliers for London’s commerce. There would also be a much clearly case here for the reduction of CO2 producing domestic flights between these cities; something speed improvements with Birmingham would not achieve.

Stretching the infrastructure

Indeed, the proposed Birmingham – London route would provide a relatively modest time improvement in the grand scheme of things, offering a journey time of 45 minutes compared to the 62 – 75 minutes available on the West Coast Main Line today. Considering that HS2 journeys would likely come with a higher ticket price attached, the new service would by no means offer an overwhelming case to attract customers.

One thing that the HS2 may do with an sub-hour journey time, however, is attract commuters to London from Birmingham and the surrounding area, and this in turn causes me concern. The London terminus for HS2 is Euston, an already crowded station dealing with a high volume of intercity, inter-regional and suburban trains. From Euston, the Underground station offers the main source of onward journeys around the capital, however the design of this station is old, inefficient, with several bottlenecks for passenger flow. I simply can’t see how the many hundreds of additional passengers brought by each high capacity train can be handled with the existing infrastructure.

There’s potential bad news for existing users of Euston station too, who will see considerable disruption as the station is redeveloped and also possibly lead to reduction in the number of platforms available for the existing services. Adding capacity is something but having to reduce capacity elsewhere as a consequence at such a busy station surely limits and brings into question the benefit. I can’t see that existing Underground lines serving Euston can be significantly upgraded, so the plan is presumably for further overcrowding; a simply unacceptable option.

All-in-all

There is, therefore, much that makes me question the necessity and impact of the HS2 plan. Yet, greatest of all is the huge £14 bn price-tag that underlies the HS2 project; a cost that seems all but ludicrous at a time when core public services are being marked for closure and cuts and taking place the country-over. I of course understand the potential benefit the line may bring, however the dismal failure of HS1 and a trend for overly-optimistic growth in new lines does little to give me confidence that HS2 will in the long-term deliver an economic benefit above and beyond the construction and operational costs. There’s even the additional factor of remote working, which between now and the line’s projected opening in 2025 will likely have a considerable impact on transport trends, but this is something that is yet to be well understand or considered. Taking all this into account, I’d want to see a much more compelling and definitive case for HS2 before I’d be willing to give it my support. I wonder if many others are reaching a similar conclusion?

The Ridgeway through Wendover Woods

My walk is the latest of several forays into the Chilterns to explore the nature and landscape on our doorstep. My last big walk followed the ancient Ridgeway track from Wendover over the hills to Princes Risborough. It was an excellent route for views, taking in Coombe, Pulpit and Whiteleaf Hills, all commanding fine panoramas over the Chilterns, Vale of Aylesbury and beyond.

This latest walk started again began from Wendover Station and initially follows the Ridgeway, albeit in the opposite direction into Wendover Woods. The route I chose takes in Haddington Hill, the highest point in the Chilterns, before continuing to the small village of Halton and returning via the now disused Wendover Arm of the canal. Or at least that was the plan.

Typical for my walks, the glorious sunny weather of the days previous had not held up, necessitating the best to be made of an overcast and slightly damp day. Fortunately it would take more than that to dampen the spirits. Walking down the high street I noticed the market was on, so had a brief walk round the stalls. It was good to see such a healthy selection of stalls, including a great looking fishmonger and bakery. Alas I couldn’t load myself down with produce as many miles lay ahead.

Wendover Market

I came prepared for my walk with the local OS map, however I wanted to get hold of some local maps I knew were available so popped into the tourist information office in the clock town at the bottom of the high street. It’s a great little place and the chap there showed me the main walking route and some view points along the way. We also had a brief chat about the planned High-Speed 2 or ‘HS2′ line that would run close to the village.

The Ridgeway runs down Wendover high street and forks right shortly before the tourist information office. The pleasantly wind winds through the back streets of the village, alongside a stream, park and pond before joining a bridleway into the countryside. Here it climbs gradually and provides occasional views across the landscape.

The path passes the approach to the large house before heading into the extensive woods themselves, where it ascends at a manageable rate. After a time the Ridgeway continues to the north and I leave it to head further into Wendover Woods and to the cafe and facilities there for a lunch break. This sits on the hill top, which on the day of my walk was shrouded by low cloud. This made it pointless to visit the site of the old hill fort as there’d be nothing to see, so I headed through the woods towards Halton.

The excellent Cafe in the Woods, located in the heart of Wendover Woods

Halton is both a small village and a RAF base, across the Icknield Way from the woods. I last encountered the Icknield Way at Princes Risborough during my previous walk, where it was a small path. Here, however it’s a busy A-road. Crossing the road, a footpath crosses into the land of the Halton military base, skirting around presumably sensitive areas and eventually out into the cemetery of Halton’s church. The village clearly has a long RAF connection with a large area given over to those airmen who died in service.

Halton is a pleasant small village, although it didn’t have any particular attractions that I saw. However, the Wendover Arm of the Grand Union canal runs through Halton. I was told this hasn’t been use for a century, and certainly the bridge running over it at Halton would prevent navigation by any boats, although water remains in the canal.

After some minutes along the towpath a footpath sign to the right promises wine, beer and food in alluring symbols. I knew this led to the village Weston Turville and as it was still early enough in the day I decided to try it out. By this point my pace was slowing and the 1.2 mile footpath took some time. Once again the footpath came to an end in a churchyard – seemingly a popular routing in this area.

I walked a lap of Weston Turville, up to the high street, and although there’s a number of fine period properties, and several good looking hostelries, there wasn’t anything to delay my return to Wendover.

The route back to Wendover was along a largely uninteresting A-road, although a highlight is Weston Turville reservoir, home to boating and fishing clubs.

Weston Turville reservoir

In hindsight the detour to Weston Turville wasn’t a great addition – although it’s probably a good place to drive to for a pub lunch. A better walking route would have been to have stuck to my original plan and followed the canal all the way back to Wendover, although you don’t always know what you might be missing.

So that’s another, partial, stretch of the Ridgeway done. On another occasion I might take it the whole way to Ivinghoe Beacon, although the circular route offered by this walk works nicely.

Like most people, we do most of our shopping at supermarkets – principally Sainburys and Waitrose at present – but we’re starting to investigate local, family run and speciality businesses for certain items. This is due in part to being unable to source all of the fresh food we’d like, especially with our weekly delivered shop. We also like to support local businesses in these tricky economic times and you can’t get lower food miles than something that’s produced just up the road.

For meat we’ve been trying a few butchers as an alternative to the supermarket – including the superb M Newitt in Thame, Oxfordshire, although most regularly we frequent our local butcher, Chris Blake, on Rickmansworth High Street.

Fish is a particular favourite of ours, we’ve found the choice of fresh fish to be limited when shopping online. Our local Waitrose offers a good range both at the counter and pre-packaged, however we’re still often frustrated by being unable to find the fish to fit a selected recipe. We decided to look around for a dedicated fishmonger to see if a greater selection was available. Rickmansworth itself doesn’t have a fishmonger – the number of supermarkets perhaps puts pay to that – however just up the road Chorleywood’s boutique high street boasts the excellent Catch of the Day.

Catch of the Day provides brilliantly friendly service, a selection of fresh fish and sea food that’s certainly beyond that of the supermarkets and the type of personalised service we feared we’d lost from the British high street. We came away with two stunningly fresh looking tuna steaks and two mackerel, which the fishmonger duly gutted for us. Here’s the tuna looking splendid in Saturday’s dinner:

It’ll take a while to experimenting and comparing food from different sources, although that’s very much part of the fun. We’ll be sharing details of the food producers and suppliers we like on our new page simply entitled “We like…“

The Fat Aubergine makes much of its shakes and smoothies. There’s a bewildering variety, although Brown Sugar already offers a strong selection. As with Brown Sugar there are several menus around which makes it trickier to make a choice than perhaps it should. We both intended to have dairy free options and went for fruit smoothies and shakes, however missing the small print from each menu ended up with yoghurt and a milk shake respectively! They were tasty enough, but you don’t necessarily want to have to spend a good deal of time reading to make a simple choice.

We were more disappointed by the food, which is already prepared and not made to order as in Cinnamon Square or Brown Sugar. This meant that some of the choices were already sold out, and we felt there were relatively few fresh options available; something the competition does well.

On the whole, although it’s nice to see new businesses on the High Street, we didn’t feel Fat Aubergine offered anything that wasn’t already available from other cafés. It’s not the easiest of markets either, as Cinnamon Square uses its award winning homemade breads and is better than ever in its recently expanded form, while Brown Sugar’s deli format offers a superior selection of fresh food. For the moment at least we’re likely to stay with our current regular favourites for weekend lunches.