Dover (from Calais) to Forest Hill, London chez very old friends, to Bristol for the marriage event to Whitbourne, Hereford chez Bill and Julia to Goginan Mid Wale chez
John and Barbara to Melksham Wilts for canal-side cycling to Poole, Dorset for car service, serious provisioning and ferry to Cherbourg.
Our stay saw "interesting" weather: coldness and rain seen as very unseasonable to start, a few days over the Bank Holiday with record high temperatures and a return to normal May conditions which felt "blooming cold" to us! The cultural climate - of course - also felt alien owing to the chaos of a commitment to Brexit dominating the news, and the need to skate round the subject with strangers in the May/Rudd "hostile environment". Somewhere on the A 44 we saw displayed in a field a poster saying something like:
"Brexit:- and exercise in cultural isolationism and economic self-harm"
In the circumstances Greyrocks is glad to be out - although we had a series of delightful experiences!
The crossing was not delightful - being shared by most of the high school population of Belgium, but it was thankfully short getting on/off and through the hostilities! First stop was Bromley for the collection of various items ordered online. As we wrestled with the new location of Argos it started to rain, and that set the tone for the next week or so! When we reached Forest Hill we were surprised to find the hostess there mid-afternoon. Why was she not in school doing headship things? Over some bubbly we heard the tale of woe: yet another politically motivated OfStEd judgement and yet another premature loss to the teaching profession! We spent a lot of the three days with them wet as we sorted out the boot and made a trip to the old house for loft contents to take to Bristol. A plan to go "up town" was shelved in part because of the weather, and partly as we had a chance to visit another old friend and comrade, Paul, who since last year has moved from home to a nursing home. It was distressing that - unlike last year - he could no longer use his communicator, but he seemed really pleased to see us and share our conversation about the things we all used to discuss over numerous dinners. Later that day his wife came back to Forest Hill for the pescatarian meal we had hurriedly prepared together. There was also news of the sudden death - in her twenties - of the daughter of "friends of friends" and its impact on the family. Indefensible government policies and random terrible twists of fate: - time for some Good News!
Which was on the cards!
We drove down to Bristol with a car full of memorabilia et al that we had taken from the loft. On arrival Chloë declared much of it worthy only of the skip or charity shop, which was a bit annoying- but only she could make that decision! We also off-loaded a range of camping kit that we would never use again at our age - and that was a bit more welcome! We went to check-in at the hotel we had selected and were given the bridal suite. It is an odd place - see Booking.com review - but served us well! That evening we met up with Chloë and had a pleasant evening with Italian meal and a bottle in a pub! It was now not raining and that remained the case through Sunday when we took to buses over to her house for what was billed as a barbecue. As it was so cold but we wanted to be in the garden with its new mural by Helyn (pic to follow!) we ended up sitting round a fire in a bucket that has made clothes smell disgusting ever since! But it didn't actually rain! Monday was a day in the city centre doing last minute things, followed by fish and chips at the hotel and an early night.
On 1st May - whilst we were titivating - we received a desperate message from Chloë. She had left her wedding earrings in the overnight bag delivered to the Hotel du Vin, Would we go there and get them? So that was where the taxi dropped us. The receptionist told us the couple had been upgraded as a surprise. It wasn't raining and it was bearable in light clothing, but Ruth's fascinator was a bit vulnerable in the wind as we walked up to the venue. We killed time at the local Wetherspoons and then met the in-laws' party outside the Register Office to collect buttonholes and corsages. There were beautifully assembled - along with the bride's bouquet -by a florist friend of Janet. They included red roses for 1st May as Workers' Day, lily of the valley for France's Jour du Muguet, and thistle and tartan ribbon for Jack's Scots heritage.
Bob then ambled back down to the pub for a rendezvous with the Bristol Morris Men. Ruth had located them and engaged them to perform a few dances outside the Register Office as part of their traditional May Day celebrations. It was a complete surprise for the couple, and there was frantic liaison between Ruth - inside waiting to be a witness - and Bob outside assuring the men it wouldn't be long! (Much of the delay was due to the previous marriage being a double involving two sisters/ They must have been "fellow travellers" marrying on this special day, as one groom had a red suit! Eventually the deed was done in a tiny room with just Jack, Chloë and the two Mums present.The Registrar said they were a lovely couple!
As we left - bang on cue - the Morris began their dancing , attracted a good crowd of on-lookers, and then posed in group photographs.Rose petals (red, of course) were thrown and the wedding party of ten went to The Rummer nearby for cocktails and then walked to The Centre to take a ferry over to SS Great Britain. As Jack now works there we had free access for a short tour and more photo-opportunities. This included the newly-opened interactive museum dedicated to Brunel. We went back on the ferry and walked to The Glassboat for lunch - a fairly French affair - and Bob made a brief speech of thanks to Jack's parents and proposed a toast. Four people peeled off at the end of this and the rest of us went to Hotel du Vin, encouraging the happy couple to look at their room. They were not disappointed! And that was that! No rain all day and what Greyrocks hopes is their only day as parents of the bride!
We met up with them next evening for early evening drinks, having first collected a couple of large boxes of wedding-party-related things for transport to Crete. It was whilst in Chloë's road loading that we had a strange encounter for our last day in Bristol. Read on!
The Bizarre "Babbers" Incident:
When we first arrived at the house and were unloading we passed the time of day with a man whose elderly father lives opposite. He was intrigued by the way we support the hatch with its bike rack when we need access to the back of the car. Later - in the evening we were in Guisseppe's restaurant and were seated near a large table consisting of fairly young Black folk and one much older White man. It was he of the street and he said hello and remarked on it being a coincidence. As the evening progressed the party became rather anti-social and had to be told to quieten. It was clearly something to do with radio, and C later identified it as DJs from Ujima Radio. Four days later as we re-packed he was there again in the street and we had a long conversation. We asked what he has to do with the radio station and he said he was active in Bristol Ageing Better, which has a weekly show on the station called "Babbers". We told him about our lifestyle and we had a number of overlaps (including Ruth's spell on the defunct Hot FM). He said their next programme would be about the joys of travel in old age! Here it is.
We parted company agreeing on the existence of coincidences, and we told him about this blog. So - if you ever visit - "Hello, David - me luvver!"
Old Friends and New-found Family
We headed up the M5 in unremarkable weather and traffic arriving too early in the environs of Bill and Julia's estate, so we went in search of a pub. We passed three closed ones, and one that was suspiciously posh. It took ages and a lot of diesel, so we turned off and found a gem - a model of the remote rural inn, with excellent real ale. The Live and Let Live in Bringsty. Then we got lost looking for the farmhouse, but arrived to find a family en fete! Just five days previously one of the three daughters had married there with a Humanist ceremony in a bluebell-filled part of the woodland, and a reception in a working cowshed. Members of the New England and Bristol chapters of the family were still around but shortly to go home so that evening was a huge family dinner. Bob was introduced as someone Bill has known for longer than he has his wife, and we spent time trying to remember when we were last there! Thanks to this blog we tracked it down to 2010.
For our only full day we went with Bill on a major walk! We set off - in wellies (borrowed) of course - armed with jackets, scarves and waterproofs. As the day progressed these started to look ridiculous as the afternoon turned out to be glorious! Talk about a celebration of two new knees! This was a serious walk with steep hills, a stile to manoeuvre and a stream to ford. Bill was full of information and we saw evidence of trout, pheasants and muntjac - all of of which would feature at dinner! We also visited the Care Farm on site, which Julia runs and for which she was named BBC Countryfile Farming Hero in 2016.
In the evening we four went to Green Cow Kitchens - a further enterprise in the family - for a tasting menu dinner. Ruth's ravings about this are on Trip Advisor.
Next day after coffee at son Joe's house we left rural England for rural Wales in glorious sunshine. Essentially this was a journey straight down the A 44, but progress was a bit slow and at points "hairy" as it is used by bikers(!) for showing off! The terrain becomes dramatic and beautiful - particularly with the lucky weather. Greyrocks was off to meet Bob's cousin - for the first time at ages of 71 and 67 respectively! Contact had been established in 2017 (see how and why) They now live near Aberystwyth and put us up for the night in their superbly modernised "cottage". We went out together for dinner at their local pub (which we had discovered ourselves for lunch and has some very good ale. There we enjoyed a homemade pie with Welsh lamb and leek. Very nice! The main task for the visit was to share what is known about the family history, We learnt quite a bit more about the mutual grandfather, and a brother who had been a firefighter who died on service during the Birmingham blitz. All we could add was some speculation about how Bob's late parents might have met, leading to the move to Yarmouth after his father's death. We were intrigued to view two of his items now held with the cousin. Mr Google has been helpful in identifying them. What we thought was a banjo is actually a banjolele, as played by George Formby. We knew that Bob's father had been in Burma during the war and he had brought back the weapon we identified as a war-issue Gurkha sword - the kukri. It was our intention to do a couple of tourist things before leaving the area, but we were thwarted - first by a very heavy sea mist which was evident even from our starting point - but made the seaside of Aberystwyth invisible. This was a shame as Ruth was making a sort of pilgrimage there to recognise it as her parents' honeymoon venue back in 1950. There was no point in us parking! Secondly we were thwarted by the wonderful weather when we subsequently went to Devil's Bridge. It was heaving with no parking space, so that was abandoned too! We had a coffee and braved the nutty bikers and vintage cars to leave Wales!
"Alone again or .."
After 11 days focused on friends and family Greyrocks reverted to form and embarked on adventures designed solely round shared passions! We started with Melksham:- an unlikely place, but on the way to the Poole ferry and on the Kennet and Avon Canal.
After a fairly easy journey we arrived with time to explore, so having got lost trying to find the hotel we did find the canal and that it was very close (by foot or bike) to said hotel and we would be well positioned for the next day's adventure. There was a typical canal-side pub at Semington which was very welcome in the late afternoon sun. Later we took notice that this would be the last Sunday in UK for a very long time and had roasts in the pub nearest to the Travelodge - both very new ventures and staffed by jolly people. Next day we set off in glorious sunshine for a bike ride along the canal. Unfortunately so did a lot of others, (Bank Holiday!) and Ruth's timidity about this and the narrowness of the towpath meant she was walking most of the time! Still a good place to be but no prospect of reaching Caen Hill, so she ducked out and found a pub! Bob went on somewhat further and we met up, cycled back by an interesting route and relaxed.
Next day was not so hot, and we were off to Poole. The road south is a bit tedious but pretty, and the road network skirting the town is complex, but we found the hotel, checked in and took our washing to a launderette giving us a better sense of the lie of the land. This new Premier Inn is good for a short stay, large and fairly close to the garage we would need for the car service, but gives few options for eating elsewhere by foot, so we used their restaurant twice:-crowded, impersonal and unremarkable as you would expect, but good enough when one is off soon to France!
There was a very strong and cold wind for the whole time here. Mostly Greyrocks' time was spent on dull, but vital tasks of the shopping, re-packing and car-related variety, but we did manage some strolling and cycling round the Old Town and Quay, and a morning braving the wind on a ride beside the Harbour and much of Upton Country Park with a return over the Twin Sails Bridge.
.
The final UK evening being Thursday we had a chance to strike another item from the Greyrocks UK Nostalgia Meals List by doing a Wetherspoons Curry Night. This we did by taxi to the Lord Wimborne pub, which features on Trip Advisor as "the worst Wetherspoons" - not far off the mark, but it fitted the bill for the exit strategy!
We made our Brexit next morning bright and early.
The crossing was not delightful - being shared by most of the high school population of Belgium, but it was thankfully short getting on/off and through the hostilities! First stop was Bromley for the collection of various items ordered online. As we wrestled with the new location of Argos it started to rain, and that set the tone for the next week or so! When we reached Forest Hill we were surprised to find the hostess there mid-afternoon. Why was she not in school doing headship things? Over some bubbly we heard the tale of woe: yet another politically motivated OfStEd judgement and yet another premature loss to the teaching profession! We spent a lot of the three days with them wet as we sorted out the boot and made a trip to the old house for loft contents to take to Bristol. A plan to go "up town" was shelved in part because of the weather, and partly as we had a chance to visit another old friend and comrade, Paul, who since last year has moved from home to a nursing home. It was distressing that - unlike last year - he could no longer use his communicator, but he seemed really pleased to see us and share our conversation about the things we all used to discuss over numerous dinners. Later that day his wife came back to Forest Hill for the pescatarian meal we had hurriedly prepared together. There was also news of the sudden death - in her twenties - of the daughter of "friends of friends" and its impact on the family. Indefensible government policies and random terrible twists of fate: - time for some Good News!
Which was on the cards!
We drove down to Bristol with a car full of memorabilia et al that we had taken from the loft. On arrival Chloë declared much of it worthy only of the skip or charity shop, which was a bit annoying- but only she could make that decision! We also off-loaded a range of camping kit that we would never use again at our age - and that was a bit more welcome! We went to check-in at the hotel we had selected and were given the bridal suite. It is an odd place - see Booking.com review - but served us well! That evening we met up with Chloë and had a pleasant evening with Italian meal and a bottle in a pub! It was now not raining and that remained the case through Sunday when we took to buses over to her house for what was billed as a barbecue. As it was so cold but we wanted to be in the garden with its new mural by Helyn (pic to follow!) we ended up sitting round a fire in a bucket that has made clothes smell disgusting ever since! But it didn't actually rain! Monday was a day in the city centre doing last minute things, followed by fish and chips at the hotel and an early night.
The Other (May) Wedding of the Year
 |
| Fortunate their kit colours were appropriate for the date! |
As we left - bang on cue - the Morris began their dancing , attracted a good crowd of on-lookers, and then posed in group photographs.Rose petals (red, of course) were thrown and the wedding party of ten went to The Rummer nearby for cocktails and then walked to The Centre to take a ferry over to SS Great Britain. As Jack now works there we had free access for a short tour and more photo-opportunities. This included the newly-opened interactive museum dedicated to Brunel. We went back on the ferry and walked to The Glassboat for lunch - a fairly French affair - and Bob made a brief speech of thanks to Jack's parents and proposed a toast. Four people peeled off at the end of this and the rest of us went to Hotel du Vin, encouraging the happy couple to look at their room. They were not disappointed! And that was that! No rain all day and what Greyrocks hopes is their only day as parents of the bride!We met up with them next evening for early evening drinks, having first collected a couple of large boxes of wedding-party-related things for transport to Crete. It was whilst in Chloë's road loading that we had a strange encounter for our last day in Bristol. Read on!
The Bizarre "Babbers" Incident:
When we first arrived at the house and were unloading we passed the time of day with a man whose elderly father lives opposite. He was intrigued by the way we support the hatch with its bike rack when we need access to the back of the car. Later - in the evening we were in Guisseppe's restaurant and were seated near a large table consisting of fairly young Black folk and one much older White man. It was he of the street and he said hello and remarked on it being a coincidence. As the evening progressed the party became rather anti-social and had to be told to quieten. It was clearly something to do with radio, and C later identified it as DJs from Ujima Radio. Four days later as we re-packed he was there again in the street and we had a long conversation. We asked what he has to do with the radio station and he said he was active in Bristol Ageing Better, which has a weekly show on the station called "Babbers". We told him about our lifestyle and we had a number of overlaps (including Ruth's spell on the defunct Hot FM). He said their next programme would be about the joys of travel in old age! Here it is.
We parted company agreeing on the existence of coincidences, and we told him about this blog. So - if you ever visit - "Hello, David - me luvver!"
Old Friends and New-found Family
 |
| 1991 with Chloe. They still have sheep! |
 |
| Old Codgers ford the stream |
In the evening we four went to Green Cow Kitchens - a further enterprise in the family - for a tasting menu dinner. Ruth's ravings about this are on Trip Advisor.
 |
| Bob's Dad's banjolele |
 |
| ,, and his kukri |
"Alone again or .."
After a fairly easy journey we arrived with time to explore, so having got lost trying to find the hotel we did find the canal and that it was very close (by foot or bike) to said hotel and we would be well positioned for the next day's adventure. There was a typical canal-side pub at Semington which was very welcome in the late afternoon sun. Later we took notice that this would be the last Sunday in UK for a very long time and had roasts in the pub nearest to the Travelodge - both very new ventures and staffed by jolly people. Next day we set off in glorious sunshine for a bike ride along the canal. Unfortunately so did a lot of others, (Bank Holiday!) and Ruth's timidity about this and the narrowness of the towpath meant she was walking most of the time! Still a good place to be but no prospect of reaching Caen Hill, so she ducked out and found a pub! Bob went on somewhat further and we met up, cycled back by an interesting route and relaxed.
Next day was not so hot, and we were off to Poole. The road south is a bit tedious but pretty, and the road network skirting the town is complex, but we found the hotel, checked in and took our washing to a launderette giving us a better sense of the lie of the land. This new Premier Inn is good for a short stay, large and fairly close to the garage we would need for the car service, but gives few options for eating elsewhere by foot, so we used their restaurant twice:-crowded, impersonal and unremarkable as you would expect, but good enough when one is off soon to France! |
| Twin Sails Bridge, Poole Harbour |
.
The final UK evening being Thursday we had a chance to strike another item from the Greyrocks UK Nostalgia Meals List by doing a Wetherspoons Curry Night. This we did by taxi to the Lord Wimborne pub, which features on Trip Advisor as "the worst Wetherspoons" - not far off the mark, but it fitted the bill for the exit strategy!
We made our Brexit next morning bright and early.
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