Managed to get my bag down the 9 flights of stairs without injuring myself. I would definitely stay at the Luna Simone Hotel, Belgrave Road again as, apart from the stairs, it was in a really great location.
Got to Victoria station for the car hire only to find that the credit card I’d used for the booking was in Oz. After some discussion - Me “I can’t very well go to Sydney to get the card" - the guy relented mumbling about all the fraud in England ...... & I was soon ready for off. I had been dreading get out of London but it was surprisingly easy.
The roads were quite clear & I was soon onto the M1 north. The weather forecast was strong winds & it was certainly scary going past some of the trucks. The journey took me 2 1/2 hours. Al’s family were waiting for me and after a quick catch up we went to the pub for lunch. Other members of the family came around in the afternoon to see me & I caught up on a couple of years of family gossip. Amazed that Gladys is 87! By 9pm I was ready for bed.
Day 7 - Wed 14th December
As I got into the car for a drive flurries of snow started with the temperature reading 3.5C! Drove past our old house & down to the Red,White & Blue. It was strange going in their after so long. Met the owner & found that many of the ‘bad boys’ of the early 90‘s were related to her.
Drove to Wolverhampton for a wander & ended up in Sainsbury’s. They even sell TV’s & the price of wine was far cheaper than home & it comes from Oz & NZ!Wolverhampton hadn’t changed but it was too cold to stay out.
Afternoon was lazy, Gladys was out at a Christmas party, in the warm. Walked up the road for fish & chips - it was very cold & the paths were slippery as they were covered in frost.
Day 8 - Thurs 15th December
Drove to Frank F Harrison school - I had been the Special Needs Coordinator there before leaving in 1997. I spent nearly 3 hours talking to the Special Needs team & catching up with some of the staff I knew from ‘97.
Drove over to Jake’s & was immediately given the job of decorating the tree because -in her words- “You haven’t decorated a tree for years!" I can tell you I was under pressure but did my best! The house is full of Christmas decorations & looks lovely.
Rushed through the frosty air outside, in our swimsuits, to plunge into the ‘hot tub’. It was brilliant sitting in the dark with me praying that the forecast snow would reach us. Champagne, dinner & much conversation ended another day.
Day 9 - Fri 16th December
Disappointment greeted me today ( I’m probably the only person in the UK to feel this way!) as there was no snow! You don’t lie in bed long here as you get up to walk across the fields to get the paper. We set off wrapped in thick jackets, gloves, scarves and hats down the lane to the paper shop. We had to cross a stile into the field and I was warned that the wooden step was slippery. I placed my foot on the wood & whoosh I was on my back with feet in the air! Jake was trying to help me up but she was laughing rather a lot!! John tried to pull me from the front with Jake lifting from the back when my trousers caught on barbed wire - more laughter from my family! I also got my glove caught on the barbed wire but eventually I was standing in the field & we were on our way and that was all before breakfast. As you can imagine I was very cautious on the way back!
After breakfast we drove to Worcester I had been wearing a podometer & my sister was determined that I would walk more than 10,000 steps so we parked well away from the centr
We did our evening run in the freezing cold to the ‘hot tub’, this time with mugs of mulled wine in hand. The stars were spectacular in the clear sky & so ended another day. Pictured with my little sis!
e! It was a very bracing walk! I bought a couple of items - I hope they fit in my bag!
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