Tuesday 21 May - 24 June.

We’ve had a lovely time catching up with family including Tina & Brigg, Becky & Craig, John with George, Jess & Declan, Lynne & Bruce, Barb, Felicity & Bob, Charlotte, Simon, Sienna, Casper & Woody, Dad & Dilys.

I had lovely days out with:
Lynne, we visited the angel of the north, Northumberlandia & a farm shop for lunch. We had a wander round Corbridge & had a cup of tea & piece of cake. We had lovely meals at a pub in Hexham & then caught a cab back from Corbridge after a lovely meal & a few bottles of wine.
Richard, we visited Lindisfarne (Holy Island), across a causeway, we had to arrive & depart at low tide, we visited the castle, a coffee roastery for lunch & then the priory & church.
Also with Richard, we visited Hawick in Scotland, it was a public holiday for common riding which we didn’t know, luckily the Borders Textile Towerhouse was open, I really enjoyed Helen Cowans bounding & moon grazing, hares in contemporary textiles exhibition.

The other tower house exhibits were really interesting, the tweed museum unfortunately closed. We had Cullen Skink (smoked haddock & potato soup), which was delicious.
With Barb, we visited Castleton & had a wander around & a scone with jam & cream with a nice latte. We then headed to Speedwell Cavern, we’d wanted to go to see Blue John but ended up in an old tin mine, on a boat, the trip was a 1 hour although we were in a small “lay-by” for approximately 10 mins, we had on hard hats as the roof was quite low & rounded like a tunnel. We got off the boat at the cavern but there really wasn’t much to see, Barb was really disappointed I just thought it was funny. We had a lovely day & a lovely natter. We had lovely meals with Barb, she took us to a real beer pub & then for an Indian & then for a lovely roast at the Cricketers Inn.
Richard had a day out in Lincoln with Tina & Brigg, we also went to Belchford for a walk but struggled to find the correct pathway & ended up in the Bluebell for lunch!
We enjoyed walking Blue each morning in a large square past the fields & the nesting swan. We also had lovely walks along the beach in Saltfleetby.
We enjoyed Fathers Day with Felicity, Bob, Charlotte & Simon & family, going to Hastings to see some Supercars (not much different to Swan Street really) Felicity then cooked us a beautiful gammon for dinner.
We also enjoyed a beer festival with Felicity & Bob, held at the Tenterden steam railway station, we’d driven the car but Bob was enjoying the beers so we decided to catch the steam train home, luckily Richard & I asked the last trains time and we nearly missed it. We were able to get a drink on the train, I was drinking cider, Richard had found a few stouts & darker ales. The steam train was great, well worth the 2 1/2 mile walk back from Northiam station.


Also with Felicity & Bob, we took the Saab with the roof down into Rye, Felicity & I were in the back & rather wind swept but we didn’t spill our coffee!! We had a lovely walk, although not the walk we intended. We’d also been a previous day to Rye Harbour for a walk & lunch at the Queens Head pub.
Richard & I stayed in Windsor & went back to Englefield Green where we 1st met. The Hotel is now called Savill Court Hotel & Spa but it was closed for quite extensive renovations, lots of scaffolding & large gates that were locked so unfortunately we couldn’t get close.
We did spot the Queen, Camilla & Prince Charles on our way back to Windsor, they were on their way to Royal Ascot in an open topped carriage.
I had a lovely day in London, I caught the train from Windsor, went to Liberty’s & purchased some material & also met Di who was across for Ascot, we had afternoon tea & a glass of champagne at the Ritz, what a great treat.
We met Dad & Dilys for lunch at the hotel next to Clifton Suspension Bridge. It was lovely exploring Clifton & we watched 8 balloons on a night trip & also spotted a fox in the garden.
We have also been assisting Mum with shopping & driving to appointments as well as tip & charity shop runs & dropping various bits & pieces off at peoples houses.