Leaving Lancaster

Checking out of The Sun Hotel this morning, I discovered that one of the young girls working there comes from Brisbane. We got chatting and it turned out that she lives at Brackenridge, a suburb almost next door to Taigumville. A small world.

Language is a funny thing. While in Hong Kong we naturally expected the locals would have difficulty understanding us. So we spoke clearly and carefully and tried to keep everything simple. But it seems that everyone involved in the retail and hospitality sector speaks excellent English and we had no trouble communicating whatsoever.

Arrive in England and start chatting to folks with whom we share a common language and we are rewarded with a blank stare. It seems these Lancastrians are having a very difficult time understanding us. So we have begun speaking to them in the same way we spoke to the Chinese. Who would have thought it?

Discovered it was Market Day in Lancaster and as John wanted to visit the museum I decided to wander around the markets and compare them to what I would find in Brisbane. Found a lady who bakes her own pork pies and had a wonderful selection. Bought a couple for later. Just had one to tide me over. Yum!!!

Got sick and tired of Johnny complaining about what to do with his wallet, new phone, camera etc. etc. and guided him into a bag shop. Asked the lady to show him some "man bags" and joy of joy he

decided that it would actually be convenient to have something to carry all his bits and pieces. However, he is hiding it under his jacket at the moment. Not game enough to wear it proudly just yet.

Nice dive up to Kendall this afternoon. Traffic moves beautifully on the motorway. Still in mph here. I just travelled along with the slowest vehicles which were moving at 70mph!!! All the heavy vehicles stay in the left hand lane and seem to travel at the same speed. No lane hopping and overtaking. Easy peasy and surprisingly relaxing.

Kendall is quite a lot bigger than I imagined from Google Maps. A lot of people in town - visitors to the Lake District and plenty of locals too I imagine. We found a car park at a Marks & Spencer store which also had a cafe. Popped in for a pot of tea and got chatting to an elderly couple beside us. After a while they asked us what we were doing so I gave them the full itinerary and the lady told us she was born in Castlederg. Again - what a small world.

After our refreshing tea at M&S we asked the delightful Julie who speaks Australian English on the new phone, to direct us to our Kendall lodgings. She guided us to the front door of the Premier Inn in a few minutes without any problems at all. Checked in, unloaded our luggage, and discovered that our lovely room is at least twice the size of the last one. Fabulous bed. Could be hard to get out of in the morning. Will have to remind myself that there is the beautiful Lake District right outside the town to explore. Can't go sleeping through Beatrix Potter country.

After settling into our digs for the next 3 nights we went out to explore this fabulous little town. Actually, it is much bigger than I expected and everything seems to be very old. Loads of narrow little laneways leading to interesting destinations. We are quite enchanted with Kendal.

Returned to our accommodation for an afternoon refresh and later set off again to find somewhere for our dinner. John said that he wanted a good feed of potatoes so that influenced our choice of menu. Found a pub called the Ye Olde Fleece Inn that had shepherds pie on the menu. Also had broccoli and blue cheese soup which appealed to me, so that is where we ate last night. We were very happy with our dinner.

Ye Olde Fleece Inn and Town Hall.