under another sun

Off to Edgware today. The sky blue and cheery. Morning trying together Lorraine's iPhone fixed, to no avail. Fond farewells to Pat and Maureen, who are going to stay overnight and feed the cats. We had to stop off at Bolney on the way north, to pick up Lorraine's old phone. Then had a fast journey to the M25 where traffic crawled. Eventually we arrived cups of tea and pistachio nuts and slices of the very lemony lemon tart Beth had made, which was extremely nice. Good chats with Mum and Mas, and we swapped a few presents. Mas pleased with the padded shirt I had bought him. Mum bought Lorraine a nice scarf and earrings. Mas telling Lorraine about Hugo Hamlin, his dad and we found one of the songs he had composed on the internet called I'm Going Back To Chattanooga Tennessee . We made off in the car up to Bushey, where I had booked a table at the Horse and Chains, to have a little festive celebration and also celebrate Mum's birthday too. Food not as good as I rem...

So the start of another great northward journey, packing the car full of all kinds of clothes, some for another wedding and bidding farewell to Betty. Most drives from Brighton are Northwards of course, a southward drive would get rapidly a bit too briny. Lorraine and I began listening to a bit of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner on audiobook in preparation for visiting Alderley Edge. We had both read it as children. I have read it since then too.  First stop, Edgware. Where we spent some time with Mum and Mason. At tea time Lorraine drove us off to Bushey where we celebrated Mason’s birthday in The Horse and Chains, a pleasant gastropub with good food. We had a big mixed starter, and then our own courses. Mas had a big piece of lamb, so big that we had to take some of it home in silver paper, a lamb grenade shape. Home and we drank some bubbly and chatted till the call of bed grew strong. Mum gave me a box file full containing stories and a play written by Al...