A Simple Life of Luxury | Weblog

New Year's Dinner 2

Jetlagged into 2026

Happy New Year everyone — let’s hope 2026 is a good one. Anna and I were still a little jet-lagged from our journey home from the Philippines, and our digestive systems hadn’t quite recovered either. However, before going on holiday we’d booked a table at Libanus 1877 in Borth for a New Year’s Eve meal,...

The Hotel Pool 1

Island Hopping in the Philippines – Day 2: Manila to Port Barton

Day two of our island-hopping trip in the Philippines ended up feeling more like another travel day than a proper day of adventure. After breakfast at the Henry Hotel, we piled into minibuses with our luggage and headed once more into Intramuros — literally meaning “within the walls.” This was the same area of the...

A Dip in Dubai 1

Island Hopping in the Philippines – Getting There

Borth to Dubai Often, the journey to a destination is as much of an adventure as the destination itself. Even short trips to places such as the Isle of Man sometimes warrant a full blog post. When the destination is halfway across the world, crossing several time zones and taking a couple of days to...

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Finding My Way in the Dark (Again)

I’ve been heading out on MTB night rides again lately. It’s something I used to do religiously every week, but it fell by the wayside while I was triathlon training and then dropped off the radar completely after my heart attack. Recently, though, I’ve decided it’s a good way to ease myself back into some...

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Seeking Clarity: My Contact Lens Journey Begins

Yes, I’m getting older, and I’ve been wearing glasses for a while now. I need varifocal lenses as I can’t be bothered to carry more than one pair around or keep swapping between them. My distance vision isn’t too bad but does need a little help, while my near vision needs quite a boost these...

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Because Why Wouldn’t You Add Off-Road Mods to a Robot Mower?

Our robot lawn mowers might be in winter hibernation mode, but the off-season is the perfect time for… upgrades. On a recent trip to Bristol, my Dad deployed his 3D printer (aka the family’s unofficial R&D department) to produce a pair of traction rings for the wheels on our Mammotion Yuka Mini. Now, the stock...

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Maximising Solar and Off-Peak Tariffs: More Storage, More Savings

Having had our solar panels and home battery storage system for four years now, we’ve grown used to its capabilities and the money it saves us. It’s also given us time to evaluate it and decide where best to upgrade next. The obvious choice was to add more battery capacity — so that’s exactly what...

The Lake 0

Bands, Fayres, and Festive Cheer

I think we’re beginning to slip properly into the Christmas spirit now. Anna probably has been for a while thanks to the various Christmas concerts and carolling she’s been doing with the band, but I joined her for the festive fun at the weekend too. After a gentle run around Borth on Sunday morning, we...

Xmas inflatables 1

An Early Start to Christmas

It’s December, just, but we kicked off the Christmas events slightly early this year with a pre-Christmas trip to family in Bristol. Logistics meant going a week or so earlier than usual, so we weren’t quite in full festive flow yet, but it turned out to be a good way to get things started. It...

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Old Men Windsurfing

With a decent forecast for wind, Steve and I planned a windsurf session on Sunday once again. I therefore didn’t go for my usual Sunday morning run — I didn’t think my joints were quite up to that before a windsurf session. I had at least managed a nice mountain bike ride on Saturday afternoon,...