Month: October 2019

I was awake early, a sad day, the day Torin left us two years ago. We are meeting up with Rhys , Lou and the kids on Sunday, to visit the grave and go out to have lunch in his memory.

I had some very nice personal messages from people, Torin will not be forgotten.

Our half day trip was to Knaresborough. Annette and I used to take the kids here when they were little so I know it well. It always seems cold there. We also saw the lady with her two talking ravens.

One thing we had promised ourselves we would do, to tick off our “list” was to go to Betty’s tea rooms in Harrogate. We didn’t have time on our last visit . BUT we knew we could not do justice to their £34.95 menu so just had afternoon cream tea! Anyway, Annette worked there for 20 years and said she had far better afternoon teas elsewhere!!

After that we had a walk around Harrogate then back to the hotel for dinner and packing for our return home the following day.

No trip today, so first thing in the morning we went to the Mercer Art Gallery. It was about as good as the Turner contemporary in Margate, which isn’t saying much. We didn’t stay long.

We had arranged for my very dear friend Annette to meet us. Our friendship began when our kids were babies and we both lived in Boroughbridge and we have kept in touch ever since. She really is lovely and a good friend. She came to the hotel and then we took her out for lunch. We had lots of catching up to do. It was so nice to see her again. Her father in law was very ill but she still made time to see us.

After Annette went home we had a wander around the shops in Harrogate. I bought a scarf as my face was getting cold and making my mouth hurt even though I am permanently on Ibuprofen at the moment.
We heard from Rhys and Tariq has passed his latest task in Marines with flying colours. Well, he came 4th out of 22, mainly because he damaged his ankle the last week or he would have done better! Rhys sent his report…all excellent. He will soon be off to Norway. We are all very proud of him and the work he puts in.
We had dinner in the hotel and then walked to Spoons again to taste more real ales and gins. It is nice for me to taste different gins. I am usually driving so it’s rare I drink out.

Following a smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast, the coach was waiting to take us all to York. The last time we were here, we had a far better driver and so this one was rather disappointing, giving us little local information. Even worse, when we arrived in York we were told we only had three hours. I don’t call that ‘a day in York’. We found a walking guide but had to leave him half way through the tour which was a real shame. Mind you I was getting a little bogged down with all the Kings and who had taken control of York through the centuries. We had a quick lunch and then it was back on the coach again. We really wanted much more time there.

We also noticed last time we had half day in Skipton and another full day to Ilkley Moor and Knaresborough. This visit it has narrowed down to a half a day in Knaresborough. Oh well, perhaps we shouldn’t return to the same places. The hotel is still as good and so is the food! We had a lovely dinner and then walked to Harrogate Theatre. We always look to see if there are any live performances on. They had a comedy festival on and on this night it was Paul Sinha, chaser/doctor and stand up comedian. He is England’s top quizzer and is also a very funny comedian. It is very sad that he has Parkinsons. A very entertaining evening but when we saw him after the show he appears very quiet and humble, a lovely man.

He didn’t have his white suit on, just said “get used to it”!

We drove to Lou, left Ellie for her holiday and the car and Lou drove us to Herne Bay pier where we met our coach for our Shearings holiday. We were going to stay at the same hotel as we did in February as it was so good. A long journey in the rain but a lovely room and we went straight in to dinner, which again was so good.

From there we walked up to Spoons, only a couple of doors along the road. They had their beer festival on and Mal wanted to sample some beers. I stuck to the gin seeing as they had so many on the menu!

We took Ellie out and stopped in the cemetery to clean Torin’s headstone and left some roses and chrysanths. The rose bush I planted next to it is thriving and the perfume is really lovely.

We then went to Howletts and met Lou, Ollie, Oscar and Josie there. We never grow tired of the place. We also bumped into Lauren (Demelza manager) and her husband and baby. We managed to miss the rain and even had a picnic.

In the evening we packed ready for a break in Harrogate.

Thought for the Day – “I am learning to love the sound of my feet walking away from things not meant for me!”

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Mal took Ellie out in the rain and I went to Westwood. I wanted to buy some Clarks trainers I had seen but they didn’t have my size, so I ended up driving to Deal to get them there. Well worth it as they were reduced by £29. I have to say it is very rare I pay full price for anything. In the present climate I know what shops will have “sales” and roughly how often! That’s why I add bargains to my diary, companies inform me of up and coming sales.

After Ellie dried off she was just happy playing with her teddies!

Has anyone else noticed the quality/size of a lot of goods is not as it once was and they are getting smaller? Today it was Cushelle original toilet rolls which used to be thick and are no longer. A lot of companies are being “bought out” and changing the goods under the same trade name. I guess most people don’t take the time to notice.

I also had a problem buying Ibuprofen in the supermarkets. Sainsbury’s the shelf was empty but I bought some in Boots. So this is part of the “difficulty getting medicines” is it?

Thought for the Day – “Everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.” ~ Elizabeth Lawrence

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We set off to Minnis Bay early, before the rain and high tide. There weren’t many people at the beach , Ellie had a lot of fun.

We even saw a Little Egret on the beach.

On the way back I collected my free £10 worth of meat from the butchers in Birchington. They stamp a card for every £15 you buy and when you have eight stamps you receive £10 off your bill.

Ellie slept most of the afternoon, I think we exhausted her!

Thought for the Day – “We can’t stop bad things from happening, but we can stop our relentless focus on how things were or how we want them to be, and develop a deeper appreciation for what we have now.” ~ Harriet Lerner

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