Hey, Harry!

Ja?

Why don’t you send Lucy a postcard or two?

Lady Lucy? Why should I do that?

Well, she might be lonely – you know what it’s like.

But she never talks to me; what language should I use?

Well, she is French, but I guess she’ll cope with English. Just add a few comments to some recent photos.

Na, gut.

Hallo, Lucy. This is me parked outside Chrys and Jan’s at Potter’s Bar, just after THEY paid for me to have a complete handwash on the car park at Tesco’s in Welwyn. Don’t I look white?

While staying at Potters Bar, I took THEM to Baldock to visit Hilde, who had also invited Kathy to lunch. THEY gave me a fill up, too!

Monday 10th March: We moved on to Surbiton to stay with HIS brother and Sister-In-Law, though THEY sleep in (Niece) Carol’s flat, which is just across the corridor.

Next day, Brother Philip lent THEM his BRAND NEW car to go to Peckham to visit Vik, Scout and Rosie! He hadn’t even driven it himself except back from the dealer’s!

Many thanks to GPT for that, and a big plus to LV who added us both to the insurance with no fuss and a very modest fee. We had a lovely few hours with Vik, who, along with Scout and Rosie, enjoyed looking at photos of previous encounters:

The stay at Surbiton finished with a meal at the Café Rouge with Philip and Carol Junior:

Thursday 13th March: We moved down to Bransgore, near Christchurch. It was fine and warm when we arrived and THEY enjoyed a cup of tea and an Eccles Cake (you don’t know what that is, Lucy, eh?) in the sunshine:

That evening THEY went down to Mudeford to have Abendessen (tea / dinner / supper – evening meal; what you call it varies not only with how big a meal it is, but also where you are. Here in Yorkshire it’s always ‘tea’) with Martyn and Jasmine at the pub on the quay.

THEY’ve both been coughing too much since Huddersfield, and with sore throat and eyes as well HE got the bike off my back on Friday morning and went to see a doctor. HE came back with a prescription for antibiotics, and instructions to have steam inhalations first. It was a pity to be unwell because the weather was fine and I could have taken them somewhere nice if THEY’d felt like going out. THEY also changed the plans for next week so as not to get to Wakefield while still possibly infectious – baby, you know!

Saturday 15th March: This afternoon THEY went to see how the work was progressing at Martyn & Jasmine’s new house in Mudeford. …. It’s progressing, in spite of ongoing problems with planning permission. There was quite a nice sunset that evening – though you get better ones in Sonnac, occasionally.

Sunday 16th March: We moved north again and parked up at Poynton, but straight away went on to Stockport to have dinner (Cheshire!) with Daniel. Back at Poynton, the night was quiet till the geese started cackling!

The final choice, after debate, for the next two nights, was to visit Wharfedale and stay on the Club site near Grassington. That was a fairly easy move, and the location is beautiful. But the rain started overnight and this was the ‘view’ through my front window on Tuesday morning:

Not much better through the side:

But I took them down to Skipton to visit Malcolm and Barbara Jones. HE and Malcolm go back many years as fellow Esperanto speakers (and actors). That evening they all went to a concert by a really international chamber orchestra. I sat in the car park and people seemed very happy as they came out afterwards. 

Wednesday 19th March:Much better weather today:

Some people in a nearby caravan had set up a bird feeding station, which had attracted a big male pheasant in his ‘come-and-get-me’ colours and his lady friend, not to mention a pigeon:

We went down into Grassington and paid for two hours parking. In the village HE was playing the Grumpy Old Man:

That is, until after visiting the nearby retail outlet:

THEY had lunch before leaving the car park – good views – then we shopped at Morrison’s in Skipton and set off for what should have been just over an hour’s drive to Sharlston – it took nearly two hours! An absolutely dreadful stop-start route round Bradford. Really hard work for HIM and me. Never again, we hope!

But we got there just in time for Carol to prepare a nice fish pie for TEA, while I entertained Shannon – or was it the other way round? Anyway here she is after breakfast this morning: