All Good Things Come to An End....

Sadly, our home visit part of the journey has come to an end, a last evening with Mum and Sophie.... A nice meal and a sad farewell....

Chester Zoo.... Our Day Out.....

So our trip to the zoo wasn't even half as eventful as the Willy Russell play "Our Day Out" [if you haven't seen it, Google it for lots of laughs] but it was a fun day anyway....

Temps rocketed to at least 10C/50F today, damn near toastie!! Only three layers of clothing and one pair of thermals so a little less like a Michelin Man... So off to Chester Zoo with Mum and Sophie.... Lots of baby animals and the Zoo has come a long way since my last visit around 1980!

Shall let the pics speak for themselves.... Spot the two headed giraffe! Oh! Be thankful I didn't take a nap of the chimp who was lunching on his own ... Well lets just leave it at "his own"! .... I am sure you can figure it out....






I will mention we especially enjoyed the mini boat trip, so many delightful small people with very healthy lungs.... The scenery wasn't all bad though according to Sophie.....

Time is flying by... I can't believe we are already well into week two :(

Llangollen......

So Monday dawned a bit wet with sunny intervals...

Headed Off to very pretty photogenic Llangollen today....

..... We knew it was a few years since we left when we got to Mold and couldn't get out again....

.....Eventually we found the right road thanks to help from at least four total strangers, 2 iPhones spouting directions and the purchase of a road map....Then disaster struck again, somehow, somewhere we took the wrong turn and you guessed it...









..... Ended up back in Mold! Of course by this time we all laughed and had a little joke about it.... You believe that? No... Well let's just say it was more than a little stressful.... So, after much 'laughter' and high jinx, we eventually found our way to the right road....

The weather started wet and did manage to brighten and warm to a fantastic 8C/46F!! Was nice to see the little lambs in the fields, no doubt destined for somebody's Sunday roast but honestly, they looked too cute to eat.....

Dinner for Ten.....

.... And so to Sunday night and a special dinner party for my Mum's 70th birthday, which isn't until July but hey, if it's good enough for the Queen to have two, it's good enough for my Mum! Besides, I won't be here in July!

A huge hit and lots of fun. Organizing wasn't easy but those in attendance and a few more besides managed to maintain the secret..... We were to collect Mum with the aim of arriving just after everybody else and surprising her.... So under instructions from niece Sophie, I was under orders to "go slow".... So quick txt to Mum... "don't come out when we arrive, I need a pit stop....", seconds later, another txt from Sophie... "We are all here, just Cath 5 mins away..."

Oh good... No need to stall... Text to Mum, "cancel the pit stop, I can wait"...

No hang on... Cath's got lost..... Yikes.... Ok ... Usher Mum back into house... Changed my mind... Need to go after all! By this time, she thinks I have a problem! So fake visit, real flush, real hand wash.... And off we go.... All clear....

Unfortunately, Macca's wouldn't take our reservation so a different venue was needed! Mum was genuinely shocked when we arrived.... I thought somebody was bound to tell her but apparently not! It was a really great evening... Champagne flowed, dinner was great, the wait staff were fabulous.... couldn't have been better..... I would honestly recommend Brook Meadow (Ledsham,Wirral) if you are looking for a local venue! Six stars from me! Great setting too....

It's always great to get old friends together, but when Cath and Margaret started talking about my Dad and busom's in the same sentence, I knew they had the wrong man!!! Still... I am not here to shatter fantasies.....

.....So I can hear a few voices in my head... No, not early onset madness..... "J... How are we supposed to know who is who?" so once only, so listen carefully.... At the dinner table, starting with me and moving clockwise until you get to K....

J... Mum.... Sophie (niece)... Gail (sister).... Ian (brother in law) .....long time friends....Cath, Joe, Francis, Margaret and finally.... K!!

And so ends another day.... Llangollen on Monday!

Day 5.... Friday.....

Sorry! Still not a huge amount to report, more rain, still cold..... Collected Mum and her friend Sue to head to the local garden centre for a very nice light lunch, followed by a trip to the shops for a 70th birthday present for Mum. The win for the day was a new TV, complete with a new corner unit.

Met Milly, Mum's dog, for the first time, she is a cutie! King Charles Spaniel... Very quiet and not a lot to say for herself..... But cute.....




So one slightly amusing moment of the day was:

M: where did you go with K's sisters?

J: to The Boathouse at Parkgate

M: oh, was the tide in?

J: no, it only comes in twice a year.....?

M: [confusion] so how did you do that?

J: [double confusion] ermmmmm.... From down the front....

M: but how, if the tide was out?

J: well we just drove down to the front and went in.....

M:[totally confused]

J: It's a nice pub/restaurant..... You know, The Boathouse?

M: ohhhhhhh I thought you said you took the boat out.......

OK, OK .... Weak but I am still working on renewing my SOH as well as my accent..... And be fair, today was a relatively quiet day.....

Looking forward to tonight, meeting up with good friends Ken and Rhona who we haven't seen in 6 years.... We stay in touch sporadically but always try to have dinner when we come for a home visit.... always good for intelligent conversation so expecting all the latest on British culture, politics, the education system, the health system, the state of the BBC.... And so on... One evening isn't really enough but unfortunately, our schedule is pretty tight..... Last time we met we got thrown out of the restaurant! Nope, not for swearing or drunken behavior but because we we so caught up in our catch-up conversation we didn't notice the place empty and the staff trying to lock up and go home!!!

Off to Liverpool tomorrow with Keith's sisters, haven't been in about 30 years so expecting an experience.....

At least the weather looks a bit brighter this evening....The rain has finally stopped!

Day 4..... Thursday.....

So where were we? Oh yep a walk in the foothills versus the local tea shops... Wrapping up warm and ignoring the weather.... Off to Conway, North Wales.... A nice run but I have to say it again....

Aaaarrrrrgggghhhhh it's cold.... And wet! Not even any good photos to share, it was just rainy and wet and did I mention? Cold!. On the plus side, it "forced" us to visit one of those great British institutions.... The Pub! The sacrifice.... Sighhhhh

Later in the day, back to Ellesmere Port on The Wirral and my Mum back from Scotland. Haven't seen her in three years so a high spot of the holiday....

K wants to head out this morning so just a short update.... Maybe more later.... Cya....