O perfil de debsdown

I have used Raisons for years - as a fishing tackle shop - buying rods and bait there, and also for fireworks. This year though it made my son's birthday as they had the old fashioned style indoor fireworks :)

what a cool place! I spent many happy evenings here drinking coffee on a visit to Pittsburgh. There was always music playing and the most interesting people to people watch!
Oh and the coffee is great too - and not overpriced like more commercial coffee shops.

The Aviator is a gorgeous modern hotel.
I live right over the road from it and to be honest when we heard there was a hotel to be built we were nervous.
How wrong were we?!?
It looks stunning - from above it is the shape of an aircraft propellor. To fill in, it is built on the site of Farnborough Airfield...
It is never too noisy (well apart from their amazing firework display!)
There is a function room on the 2nd floor with a bar that you can hire. You pay a package for food and then you get the room for free. (the price per head is expensive, but then it is a 5* hotel)
On the next floor down is the Sky Bar which is open to non-residents (where we often pop over for a drink :)) which again is a bit more for a drink than a pub - £5 for a Magners, £4 for a beer.
The waiters and bar staff are lovely. Aaron the barman makes cocktails to die for :) although at £9 a go you need to savour them!

On the ground floor is the bistro restaurant which has another bar. The food is amazing and sunday lunch set us back £80 for 2 adults and 2 children, including a bottle of wine and 2 courses.

Finally is the deli as you go in the the building. It is open until 2pm and serves amazing coffee, paninis, cakes, breakfast items and soup. Very reasonably priced.

I really love this place. It is worth a visit just to see the fab design of the place. When you go in you have a huge circular centre to the building where you can look up to the top floor. The stair go up through the middle. Fresh flowers are everywhere.
I only wish I could afford a room for a night!

I love this pub!
I have been going there for about 12 years (in fact I met my husband in there!)
It has changed a few times and become more geared towards food than just drinking, although to be honest we rarley eat there, just drink :)
The landlord Derek and his wife Andrea are real gems. They have been there for just over 20 years and are loved by all the locals.
The food is sort of 'posh pub' food. Nothing too fancy, nor too expensive, but higher quality than some chain pubs.
The beer garden is beautiful, right by the Basingstoke Canal.
Car park is a bit too small but they have an arrangement with the St John's Ambulance place over the road where you can park there - just be considerate that you park not blocking their entrances.

Well worth a visit.

Brilliant Karate!
Dean is patient and enthusiastic with my two young boys and has helped them to progress through their first couple of belts so far. I have now joined to try and get fit and learn some self-defense.
The class is a good size, not too big so you get individual help when needed.
Always looking for new members though. Drop me a message on Qype and I can let you know a contact phone number.

Edit:
It has closed down - shock sadness!

Ok, so pizza huts are all the same I hear you mutter…. Or are they?
Well, Aldershot Pizza Hut is different in my opinion. The staff genuinely seem to care that you are having a good time as well as enjoying the food. It is not my nearest hut, however when we go out for a pizza with the kids it is the one we choose.
My four year old loves black olives. He always gets an extra little bowl just to himself.
They forgot part of our order last time we were there - the conversation between the staff 'backstage’ over whose fault it was was entertainment for the whole evening! (not sure their bosses would have thought so though!)
Well in general, yes, they do serve the same food as other branches, and yes they all taste pretty similar whereever you go, but for a really fun and pleasant meal, I highly recommend this one.

Odel is a great clothing, bags and accessories shop in Colombo.
It is lovely, modern clothing, but priced at great (low) Sri Lankan prices.
My favourite items are the t-shirts - they have regular everyday t-shirts and then souvenir ones - mostly with elephants on them. Gorgeous.
As with other popular tourist places, prices have gone up in recent years, but the quality is excellent so still worth a visit.

The Galle Face Hotel is a beautiful old colonial Hotel on the sea front in Colombo 3.
It was set up and was originally like a sister hotel to Raffles in Singapore. Inside is a car that was Prince Philip’s first car and on the wall carved in marble is a vast list of all the famous people that have been there - Richard Nixon, Indira Ghandhi, Emperor Hirohito and many more.
I used to go there weekly to rehearse for the National Orchestra which I played in and part of the charm after 3 hours of rehearsing was a cold beer on the beautiful veranda overlooking the Indian Ocean.
It is not one of the ultra modern 5 star hotels that are also in Sri Lanka, but it’s charm far outweighs all the modern stuff in the others.
There is a huge outdoor saltwater swimming pool and a fairly new spa suite indoors.
Even to go just for a drink if you’re not staying there is well worth a visit.

Marwell zoo is set in a beautiful location just outside Winchester near Colden Common.
The animals are mostly all kept in huge enclosures, and are always exceptionally clean.
It is great for young children and adults alike - we often meet there for family get togethers.
If you walk all the way aroudn you may get complaints of tired legs, but there are land trains which will take you on certain routes.
One of my favourite areas is the penguin house - I could sit and watch them for hours.