Last week my better half, my parents and I found ourselves at Thornham Marina (Boat Yard), which is on-route to Thorney Island which isn’t too far from Emsworth. We were not in the area to visit the marina, it just happened to be a stopping point on a walk along the waterfront.

At a couple of points along the walk there were blackberries asking to be picked, and views waiting to be devoured as well. The narrow footpath led us to Thornham Marina, which we admired. Past the boat yard the landscape opened up and the quietness was only interrupted by our occasional talking or a hello to a dog and its owner.

On-route back to the car we detoured into the boat yard in search of a drink, but their small café was alas closed. Lined up were many a fine boat to admire and even though it was quiet, it is an active boat yard, such as people working on boats and new facilities being built.

We probably only spent an hour and a half or so walking along the waterfront, plus admiring the boats docked, but it was a pleasant location to visit.

Once you get serious about decluttering your home, there are tough decisions to make. Though often a while after, you realise some of those decision really were not so tough after all. As was the case of sorting through our DVD collection, both games and movies.

Many years ago I gave my sister most my old VHS video collection. Last week we gave her over eighty DVDs. Including ‘How I met your mother’ box sets, Disney and Blade Runner amongst others. An conservative estimate would value the DVDs at roughly £240 GBP.

The fact of the matter is we don’t watch many of our old DVDs. We’ve kept many movies, but why have a collection you rarely watch? So reducing it was right for us, providing us with even more shelf space. The DVDs my sister does not want she can give away. We could of sold these eighty or more dvds on ebay, but sometimes giving items to family or friends is better.

I’m nuts about history, so a trip to Arundel Castle in West Sussex was the perfect fix for my history cravings. Little research was done before the visit, so when we arrived at the town itself I was bowled over by the history seeping out of every nook and cranny.

The Castle itself and the castle grounds are pure historic pleasure to wrap yourself up in for half a day. Built up over hundreds of years and if you like beautiful grounds, gardens, historic buildings and a rich associated history, then Arundel Castle is a must visit when in West Sussex.

We started by taking a walk around the gardens, then enjoyed a packed lunch in the grounds, which they are not really geared up for it seems (else we ate lunch in the wrong place). Though inside their small café does a great hot chocolate!

Inside the main Castle building itself you are not allowed to take photographs, which is a shame. It blew us all away, it is impressive. There are sections which are many hundreds of years old, which you find yourself walking narrow steps up through towers to visit. Else newer sections built in Victorian times lined with paintings of the Dukes and Duchesses of the Castle.

The Castle is still lived in today and some of the beautiful bedrooms we saw are still used. Beautiful fittings, fire places, ancient beds and beautiful views. Jealous? I was and still am.

It seems most my life I’ve been following in Queen Victoria’s shadow across the UK. Now it appears I’m also taking a tour of her toilets, for I have seen yet another toilet which the Queen has um…er… oh I’ve lowered the tone somewhat here.

Being a book geek, the library was a treat to venture into. Sunlight filtering in and rows of old books travelling through history in dignified surroundings.

It wouldn’t be a Castle without a decent dollop of armoury. German swords, English suits of armour etc. A necessary and welcomed part of any castle experience. I think the icing on the visit was the sheer scale of the Castle and grounds, plus the fact it appears in these tough times, the castle has good foot traffic visiting and is well maintained.

Below is a gallery of Arundel Castle and grounds:

I remember back in the day being aged 15 or 16 years old (young I know) on a Wednesday night at the Bridges in Camberley (now the Dolphin), drinking a Jack Daniel’s and Coke, else a pint brought with my meagre youth training wage.

The years have since flown by and I still have an affinity with the Tennessee whiskey, though I rarely drink alcohol these days, which if some of my old friends from back in the day are reading this, whilst eating at the same time, they probably will require someone to perform the heimlich maneuver in the next few moments.

Anyhow the reason why I bring up that old memory is good olde Jack Daniel’s has been sending me gifts for the last couple of years. The latest is the best by far, probably second only to me wanting a pair of the JD cuff-links.

Yes of course I’m talking about coasters. So whilst I’m sorry to have disappointed anyone who thought this post was leading to something somewhat more, coasters are a welcomed gift. These are the type of coasters that I’m more than happy to have underneath my drink of choice, be it a JD (neat these days), else another tipple.

Cheers Jack, much appreciated.

So readers, what were your favourite drinks from times gone by?