A Succession of Friends

30.12.16: More Friends

Another day and more friends made their way down to catch up with me; this time it was Kelvin, Irene and Margaret who live near Melton Mowbray. They came to the village and met Mum and I in the community café. Once we'd dropped Mum off home we headed down to "The Bell" which you'll know from old is a favourite eating place of mine.
We ate well, enjoyed an apéritif of cava and laughed a lot.
Next up, it was a trip into Stratford for a walk around and a cuppa. here they are outside Shakespeare's birthplace
I'm lucky to have such good, kind, caring friends both in France and UK.
Took the bus back to Mum's and had just settled down when her neighbour, Liz came up for a chat. Liz's mother was Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, the Nobel prizewinner for Chemistry and she, herself was recently nominated by the actress Miriam Margolyes as part of the Women's Hour "Chain". We talked about her work in South Sudan and the importance of education for girls and young women. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04p8pbj
  
29.12.16: A Tourist Gem

I went down into the town to meet Jean and John who were driving down from near Warwick. Met in Mrs Brown's Tearoom and after hot chocolate drove off to Stow on the Wold  "where the wind blows cold" or so say the locals. http://www.cotswolds.info/places/stow-on-the-wold.shtml  It's a pretty Cotswold stone market town with interesting shops, plenty of pubs and these old stocks. We settled on the Kings Arms for lunch where we managed to get a table near the fire. Then we had a wander around the town finishing with tea and scones/tea cakes looking out onto the main square. It's easy to understand why places like this draw the tourists; it's so pretty and no problem at all  to while away an afternoon. John and Jean dropped me back at Mum's as night was falling.
This evening the needles got into gear again; this time to knit  a sweater in turquoise. Not really sure about the colour but the woman in the shop convinced me that I needed something bold. What a push over!

28.12.16: Great Food

Jen left this morning to head back home in very cold foggy weather. I caught the bus into Stratford having enough time to whizz into M and S (clothing hasn't improved) before meeting Karen who came down from the other side of Birmingham, for lunch. Went to the theatre rooftop restaurant and this time it was a lunch that didn't disappoint. It looks down on the river, the menu was creative and the service pleasant. Thank goodness it was this way round as Karen would not have been as accepting as Jen and I were yesterday. Took our time without being hassled and caught up with each others news. https://www.rsc.org.uk/rooftop-restaurant
Caught the bus back to Jill and John's and had an action replay of the last two nights! Me, I'm all for consistency!

27.12.16: Poor Food

Made a leisurely start on a bitterly cold morning and went over to Mum's to go out for lunch. Didn't want to have to go as far as Stratford and battle with the sales crowds so settled on the garden centre which we thought might have a few shops open and a nice lunch. Wrong on both counts. Such a disappointment although Jen was too polite to say so,  it was pretty poor both on the service and quality front. Shame as it had always been a pleasant place to eat. Went home for dessert and tea. Then it was back to Jill's to settle in for more of the same as we had last night.

 26.12.16 Angel of the North!

Well, that's it all over for another year! Bah, humbug, says I!
Never mind, Jen arrived from up North this afternoon which was a real treat for both Mum and I. Jen was always a favourite. It's got to be nearly 40 years since she's be in the village though of course I saw in July. Needless to say, there was still plenty to talk about over tea and cake. Early evening we went over to Jill and John's where a warm welcome, good meal, bottle of cava and a comfortable bed awaited us.