under another sun

Lorraine and I woke up in Bromyard. Getting dressed looking out the window over the fields and wooded hills, and what looked like a big red kite poised above it all in the completely blue sky. Down for coffee and croissants with Sue and John.  Whiskey the dog being frisky and spooked by something, and barking at vapour trails from planes.  A very relaxing day. Went for a short walk into town, past the now closed down Dr Who museum, Bromyard now Dalek free, and saw an art exhibition a room of one's own at the Chapel Gallery. I was very impressed by the quality of work there -- and we had a long chat with the curator. Then we meandered back home via a couple of shops. Home, and took the opportunity for forty winks. Lorraine and Sue happily chatting all afternoon.   In the evening John drove us to a restaurant called The Baiting House which served gourmet pub grub. Very tasty food -- we all had meltingly good pork belly main -- with cheery service. I would have liked sligh...

Set off to Sue and John's around midday, after a good deal of faffing around and packing a month's worth of clothes etc for our few day trip. The drive there requiring lots of focus, loads of rain and surface water.  On the M25 at one point a small car sprayed our windscreen so much we could not see out of it at all for a couple of seconds. The further west we went, however, the weather improved. Lorraine, as ever, a trusty driver and got us to Bromyard in Herefordshire safely.  Happy to see Sue and John. They had just got back from a vacation that day, but even so Sue had rustled up a veggie Lasagna for us all to eat. John saying he was pleased that Chelsea had beaten Spurs the other day -- and that the poem I had written for Sue about her dad had gone down well. A very cheery evening catching up on all the news John slipping me a couple of bottles of the excellent Butty Bach  to enjoy. Told Sue that we refer to her as Benchmark Sue, as she is so organised and clean and ...

Bromyard a bit cooler this morning, after yesterday's record high. Up and after breakfast of mushrooms and bacon with Sue and John, Sue Lorraine and I walked out to a nearby farm to buy some eggs, multicoloured beauties they were, to bring home with us. Lovely that Sue and John can just saunter out into the country a hundred yards from where they live.   After staying with Sue and John we returned feeling decidedly more relaxed than when we arrived. They really are perfect hosts and do everything they can to make us feel relaxed. Despite a few pinchpoints of traffic, and enthusiastic downpours, the journey fairly easy. Arrived home at around five. Sam and Jade had spoilt the cats. Sam collected a curry from around the corner. Jade's last evening before she goes back to Scotland. We watched a movie called Cruella being the backstory of the villain from 1001 Dalmatians, which was cheery enough, and featured Emma Stone and Emma Thomson being entertainingly evil to one other. A che...

Setting off with a song on our lips westward ho to Bromyard, where Sue and John have moved. Long car journey, with delays on every motorway we used. The M25 particularly evil. However it was fun to be on the road, with my wifey. We listened to an audiobook chapter of a book recommended to us called From What Is to What If by a bloke called Rob Hopkins, talking about greening initiatives and doing business differently by unleashing the power of positive imagination.   As the journey lengthened, and we got off the major motorways, the landscape became gorgeous with high hills and lots of trees. About five and a half hours on the road, we were delighted To arrive at Sue and John's new home, Oaklands, to a warm welcome and just in time for dinner, that Sue had pulled out of the AGA. They showed us around the new house, which is stunning. The house was once the location of a local school, but has been rebuilt with oak beams, using traditional methods with flagstone floors and oak beams...