Knotts Of Newtownards And The MoT Test

I gave the car a quick wash this morning before driving to Newtownards, County Down, where I had an MoT appointment. When I go for the MoT I always have that needless, anxious feeling like going to the dentist: chances are there'll be a clean bill of health or pass, however you never take it for granted.

The Z4 passed. I've merely 18,500 miles on the clock anyway. She is due a service soon too.

From the test centre I drove into the town and treated myself to lunch at the excellent restaurant in Knott's bakery. Even at midday there were up to sixteen customers in the queue. Knott's is evocative of Fulton's restaurant, on a par; and that is praise indeed.

Today I had honey roast ham and pineapple pizza with Florida salad and coleslaw, which was very good indeed. It was an unconventional pizza: stuffed about an inch thick with tasty ham and covered. It was delicious. The coleslaw and salad were all home-made too. I also had a soft drink.

My bill came to £8.05.

This self-service restaurant is deservedly popular and this is reflected in the continual queue.

Highly commended.

Caveat Emptor

I booked a flight with Easyjet the other day. I fly in early March. I'm still amazed at how they can sell you a return ticket for £32 even though there'll be people paying five times as much. Amazing.

There was no problem booking my flight, although I encountered a series of options along the way. For instance, a few items seem to be included in bookings now by default: hold baggage is included, at a cost, unless you delete this. Travel insurance is included, at a cost, unless this is deleted too.

Consequently, you really do need to be aware of this or your plastic card will be debited for items you either don't require nor wish for. I noticed the hold baggage and insurance fees, and deleted the hold luggage as I only take hand baggage. I thought the insurance was not included and was an option instead, so I did nothing. I finished the transaction and paid £42, which I was pleased with.

The next morning I got an email from Mondial Insurance, thanking me for taking out insurance with them. Eh? I realized immediately that I'd been charged for something I did not need, since I already have annual trip insurance.

I visited the airline's website again and navigated around it till I discovered that I could go to Change My Booking and amend or cancel items. I was able to cancel the insurance, thank goodness. I'd only done the original transaction twelve hours previously.

My flight is now costing £32. My question is: is this a touch of sharp practice? As an experienced web user who has booked many flights and holidays via the web, this is the first time something like this has occurred; it wasn't like this last year certainly.

Caveat Emptor: buyer beware.

Minnowburn Woodland

I've spent a good part of the day at Minnowburn with five other NT volunteers thinning a small wood close to the river. We were lopping off the lower branches from small trees.

After a few hours' work, we returned to the office in the middle of the woods for lunch and a chat.

I'd brought two sacks with me in the hope of getting some logs and, sure enough, the old barn had a pile of small logs; so I got the sacks filled. Thanks Gary.

Culture Vulture

I'm just back from a little dose of Culture: a BBC Invitation Concert at the Spires Centre in Belfast.

The Ulster Orchestra performed admirably as usual. The Spires Centre is a comfortable enough venue, although I'll be glad when the Ulster Hall reopens next year. There was almost a full house tonight.

Sir Edmund Hillary KG KBE

I am saddened to learn of the death of Sir Edmund Hillary. We were introduced to each other at the Queen's University of Belfast about twenty-five years ago. Sir Edmund lectured widely at the time.

Robinson Centre Review

I've finally taken the plunge and joined the Robinson Centre at Castlereagh. It takes a bit longer to drive there than the others, about 12-15 minutes depending on traffic ( and the kindness of the traffic lights!); but you can park fairly close to the entrance itself.

I was "signed up" immediately. There were two members of staff at the counter; a very pretty and amiable girl whom I chatted with and she must be athletic because she trains at the Mary Peters track in Belfast. I noticed she had a great figure; I'm doubtless old enough to be her dad, dear oh dear. I must get her name.

I filled in a direct debit mandate for the Silver Membership, which is £23 per month with an initial £10 administration fee. The gym, spa and sauna are all included and I can go whenever I like. I was issued with a plastic membership card.

So I ambled into the changing-room; the lockers take tokens which you retain. As I expected, the locker room is modest in size compared with private clubs like David Lloyd. Metal lockers and open-plan showers. It's more utilitarian, but fine for the money.

I went upstairs to the gym: again it's much smaller than the private clubs; however, the equipment is excellent and there's every conceivable type of apparatus. There must be upwards of two dozen apparatus. Lots of running, rowing and step machines too. I think it's as well equipped as the private clubs, possibly better equipped than, say, Esporta. The place was quiet on Friday morning, there being about ten or twelve people.

I went back to the changing-room and on into the spa/sauna: it's OK, roomy enough though the bubbles were off at the time. Another user told me that the bubbles were normally on.

The showers are fine: hot with a strong spray.

I haven't tried the swimming-pool or the cafeteria yet; must have a snack there some time.

I think I'll be happy here; I particularly like the gym equipment which is excellent. I'll be like a mini version of Arnie The Gov in no time!

Country Kitchen

We had a really enjoyable meal tonight: Margherita pizza with a tossed salad of little gem lettuce, baby plum tomatoes, cornichons and beetroot with a honey & mustard dressing.

Pudding was Scottish raspberry crème brulee cheesecake with crème fraiche.

We had coleslaw too; and I'll stick my neck out here a touch: the finest, manufactured coleslaw available in Northern Ireland and, possibly, the Realm as a whole is from a brand called Country Kitchen. It's the Select version. I sometimes make my own and, as it is said, home-made is usually best; but I'd happily settle for the Country Kitchen variety.