Having enjoyed a wonderful Turkish coffee in a Turkish restaurant in London I decided to make some myself. I bought the fine ground coffee and a cezve I made what turned out to be an unappetising mud! What's the secret of making Turkish Coffee?

Cragside in wet grey weather has a special kind of beauty.

!Natural looking stone archway over footpath

!Looking out from the stone archway

I took a different route to usual up to The Carriageway above Rothbury, Northumberland in the UK. The area of Rothbury below is called Pondicherry though I don't know how it came to be named after the Indian city.

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I had to go to a supermarket in Alnwick, but the weather was so nice I decided to go for a walk first. As I only had trainers on I decided walk in Hulne park, as most of the tracks are paved.

The walk starts out with some fine views across the valley.

!Hulne Park, a view over a valley to distant trees with a ruin building in the background

The paved tracks make this an easy walk, and most of it is easily accessible, though further on there are gravel covered roads and some potholes, meaning it would be difficult for wheel chair users to go the whole distance.

I had a car insurance renewal quote that had a 110% increase since last year. That's more than doubled with no claims, accidents, or points.

I went to a comparison site and found one that was 'only' a 50% increase on last year. Insurance prices are ridiculous!

Trying a post with images from thunder client

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I'm from Northumberland in the UK and I like hiking. Here are some pictures from a short walk in the grounds of Cragside

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