Tuesday - Ledbury

Aimée and Steve got up at what we in the Army called ‘Zero dark thirty’ (real early!) and took off toward the railroad station to catch their 7 o’clock train to London. They’re due back at about 8 tomorrow night. Sue Anne and Bruce slept in! Such a treat it was.

Today we had a ‘petit déjeuner’ rather than a full English breakfast because we slept late. And then a short walk. The town was back to its normal weekday schedule, though traffic was a bit impeded by the carnival equipment that would remain in place for at least another day, and parking was tight. We just left our car alone, out at the edge of town. Bruce found the Internet terminals at the library and did a quick check of e-mail. They weren’t configured with access to the USB ports, nor was there wireless service, so it wasn’t a suitable setup for posting the blog.

Our friends Rosemarie and Peter Shortell arrived from Cheltenham shortly thereafter. A major part of our initial conversation was an update on the activities of our children (two in each family) and grandchildren (three for each of us, including one in each family named Wyatt James!!). Then we walked a few steps over to the Prince of Wales where our guests treated us to lunch. Fish and chips with mushy peas (Yes, that’s what they’re called.) for three of us and sausage for Peter, followed by tasty desserts including the classic Spotted Dick. (Be prepared for a chuckle if you click the link.) Sue Anne had boozy berries with blackberry ice cream. Yes, that’s what it was called on the menu, and that’s what it was. So good.

Despite its proximity to Cheltenham, Ledbury was a new experience for our friends, so we spent a good bit of the afternoon wandering around town, taking in the sights, stopping into shops, and chatting about subjects too numerous to recall in their entirety. Rosemarie and Sue Anne are both artists, and Peter and Bruce have strong professional connections and a keen interest in things scientific and mathematical, so the conversation flowed easily across numerous topics.

We said goodbye with a promise to meet again when we’re in Cheltenham on Friday. We rested, then wandered about town a bit more. Bruce made a fruitless trip to the Internet café and ice cream shop, as it had already closed for the day at 5. A light supper in our kitchen accompanied by a pint of Theakston’s Old Peculiar. Such an odd name. The seal on the label says “The Official of the Peculiar of Masham (a place in North Yorkshire),” so we believe that it refers to an ancient personage of some sort, church or state or perhaps both as they were once largely indistinguishable, but it’s also not an inappropriate description for the brew itself. Strong and a bit quirky.

The bell ringers were at it again tonight, practicing for next Sunday or perhaps for a competition. It was a very different set of changes from what we had heard on Sunday, these with more of a ‘Joy to the World’ descending scale sound to the notes.

Tomorrow we’ll join our friends Bob and Phyll Shewan for lunch at their local pub, the Apple Tree in Woodmancote. Plans for the rest of the day are still loose but will probably entail a bit of reacquainting ourselves with the town where we lived for three wonderful years when our kids were young (and we were younger). We’ll get Aimée and Steve to sit down at the keyboard when they return and tell us all about their trip to London.

Tuesday - October 14
We didn’t go anywhere today!