Home again, home again...

Bye by, Poods!

Jiggety-jig!
Breakfast in Amsterdam. Afternoon coffee in Horseshoe Bay, BC. Is this not a wondrous age we live in!
The fact that my body has no idea where it is at this moment  (I've been up since 5 a.m.) is irrelevant. It will all sort itself in a day or two.

Wondrous mouth-watering cheeses

I'd never been to Holland before, so even if my visit there was literally a flying one (16 hours, I think), I got to experience a cheese shop where I ordered whatever cheese I wanted on whichever bread I liked with the usual add-ons. Like a pared down Subway, if you will, but no sauces to meddle with the flavour of the cheese. And the cheeses...shelves of them stacked to the ceiling and everywhere little dishes of samplers. I really didn't need to buy anything. Like the old woman in purple I could have "gobbled up the samples in shops". Gotta say, the coffee didn't do it for me...too small a cup, too strong.
 9 hours and 50 minutes is a long time to be a sardine and my observation is that the days of lucking into an adjacent empty seat are long gone. Packed to the ceiling, literally, considering what now gets put in those overhead bins. I do hope those locks are super-strong! KLM did a fine job of seeing that we were constantly fed and watered and afternoon ice cream snack was a first for me. Do I ever stop talking about food?
I have busted up my lower back. (it's temporary) so an anonymous thank you is in order  to all my heroes yesterday who hefted my suitcase. I couldn't have made it without you!

Ahhh...

A Starbucks treat while waiting for the delayed ferry, the warm welcome my family greeted me with, my own bed and the thoughtful gift of my morning starter fluid, orange juice, underlines for me that there really is no place like HOME!
My wings are folded, gypsy skirts and tinkling bells tucked away for now, but just for now.
I'll let you know when I'm on the move again.

Poised for take-off...

An English walk

Today's the day...
 I leave early afternoon for an overnight in Amsterdam and home tomorrow.
 I will be very happy to get home although, that said, I have had the most amazing month here in this lovely village with its friendly people, my 100 Acre Wood, and the company of my new friend, Ian.
 People have been amazing. I don't think I told you that a policeman, (I think he is a policeman), in Derby gave me a ride from the bus station to the train station on Friday. Yesterday, I ended up in a lengthy one-sided conversation with yet another old codger who relived his time in Canada during World War 2. (Should I feel flattered that the old codgers are attracted to me or am I in denial of my own age!!!)
 Having spent my coin on a sandwich at the previous transfer point, I had only a £20. note with which to pay a £1. fare. Old codger quickly whips out a handful of coin and pays my fare, refusing my proffered coin in return. Such a lovely gesture! I must have nodded at all the right places in his monologue but to tell the truth, his dialect was so strong I probably only got one word in twenty!
Santu, my host here in Rolleston, cooked a fabulous authentic curry for dinner and together with Ian, we were a congenial company at dinner last evening.
I am a very fortunate and grateful woman!

Definitely worth the trip!

I didn't see the Sheriff!

 Foot, bus, train & car...yesterday's story. At the end of the train ride, the marvellous Marlow met me in Norwich and we (she ) drove madly off to Saffron Walden where after a quick cuppa at one of the local tea shops, I went off to have a psychic reading with her friend, Alison.  It was a most agreeable reading. I could even go so far as to say inspirational and uplifting.

Jaimie Oliver buys his meat here.

Marlow pointed out the pretty villages we drove through in the dark.
 Although she & I knew one another on the Coast, we realized we really didn't 'know' one another so the conversation of discovery lasted until way past my bedtime! We laughed, we chatted, we agreed, I learned. It was a great evening!
A 'lie-in' was in order this morning... no dogs to let out, no bus to catch.
Eventually, we mustered  the oomph to walk along the river into town. The highlight of the market was the game seller with the still-feathered partridge and pigeons hanging on his stall.

Birds in a feather

Lavenham was to have been the next stop but fatigue won the day and a much-needed nap has partially restored my energy. It will be a low key and early-to-bed evening for me while Marlow goes to celebrate Embolc with her circle.Transportation in reverse order tomorrow when I return to Rolleston for the last supper.
I leave for home on Monday.
    

Puppy, People & Fish

Juke & Me

Finally, a picture of a puppy and me! This is Juke. You've already heard about him. He belongs to Leny's grand-daughter, Lucie and they came to visit yesterday. He's a lot of dog for a 12 year old but she's doing her best to train him with limited resources and scanty support. I'm hoping what she lacks in training no-how, she'll make up for with love.  She's got loads of that!

Welcome home!

The travellers return was celebrated with fish and chips (Why not? It was Thursday!) and a bottle of bubbly left by my friend Jeremy. Yeah, I know... no one drinks bubbly with fish & chips. Well, we did... so there!

"No chip vans in Canada?"

I wanted a picture of the fish van and one of the lads commented, "Don't you have fish & chip vans in Canada?" I assured him we did, but I wanted to preserve the memory of where this excellent English fish & chips came from! A couple of brothers, I'm guessing, good-looking lads, too, making a go of it from village to village. Right behind us in the line was Patricia, my Belgian chocolate friend from the day before. This was her first trip to the van and I'm taking the credit for the new business to the lads!
I'm off this morning by bus & train to Norwich, where I'll be picked up by friend, Marlow. It will be lovely to see her.  Any of you who know her from the Coast, can be sure your ears will be burning later today!
New landscape and a favourite person.
The butterfly moves on.

A full night's sleep...

The view from the Burton Library steps

That's what I'll be having tonight as the folks come home today and they'll be dealing with the night time piddle requirements!
 You know the feeling: "It seems only yesterday and by the same token, it feels like forever."
That's the way my time here has been. It's four weeks tomorrow that I arrived and to tell the truth, I feel pretty settled in.
 But, let's not rush ahead...yesterday was another great day!

The High Street, Burton on Trent

I had met a woman and her Westie, Woody, in my 100 Acre Wood last week and it turns out she swims regularly in Burton. I brought my 'cozzie' ( there's a new one for you), so was able to accept her offer to join her. Ultimately, I turned down the swimming but accepted the offer of a lift to Burton to run an errand (Would you believe, go to the bank for cash?) and suggested lunch after her swim. On our way back to Rolleston she suggested a coffee in Tutbury.
 I'm one who likes the charm of ancient-looking old pubs so would probably never have ventured into this small, glass-fronted cafe. I was feeling self-indulgent and considering a mocha, when Isobel said, "Oooh, what about hot chocolate?"
"Sure," I replied, always one to succumb readily to chocolate temptation.
My, oh my, oh my... the picture doesn't begin to do it justice! See that chocolate cube on a stick that Isobel is holding? That gets stirred into the mug of hot milk until dissolved and then you add either the tiny marshmallows or the whipped cream... or both.

Sinful pleasures...

Rich, not too sweet and such a warm comforting afterglow in the tummy...worth every illegal calorie!
Our little jaunt to Tutbury cost me.  When I opened the door to here, knowing I had been gone more than the three hours that Charlie can hold his bladder, I saw immediately the puddle. I no sooner get started cleaning that up when two feet away from me, poor old Charley retches up a puddle of foamy water. D'ya think the carpet cleaning burned off the hot chocolate calories?
 After a wee nap I was off to the pub with Ian for dinner and another evening of convivial conversation and laughter.
Life is good!

The fish van

Waiting for the fish van

There's something very charming and quaint about waiting for a van full of fresh fish to pull up on the side of the road, having a chat with one's fellow fish fanciers and then getting humorous, one-on-one attention from the fish man.
 I think at some level I knew that this slowed-down life of an English village would suit me well. I haven't driven a vehicle in nearly a month now and have only taken the bus twice. Everything else has required me to walk... a hop across the street to the grocery store with its limited choices, a pleasant walk to the butcher's where you can hear someone say, "I'll need enough to feed four," and watch the butcher cut the required portions, a stroll by the river to 'The Spread' (I'm a local now. Its proper name is The Spread Eagle) where the service is friendly, the food is good and the ales are on tap. What else? Oh yes, the lovely spinney, (my 100 Acre Wood) and all the surrounding fields and just the intertwined roads of the village. I never know where I'm going to end up but I never fear getting lost. I can actually say now, after nearly a month, that I am able to make some sense of what leads to what. That's quite an accomplishment for directionally-challenged me!

Not much left, he said.

The fish. Oh yes, the fish...since Ian had told me he's a fisherman and liked trout, I thought I'd get trout. I wasn't too enthusiastic about that idea as I have never been proud of my trout frying efforts... usually burnt on the outside and still raw on the inside. No worries! These were trout filets. ( and here we do say, fill-ays). Beautiful, boneless pink filets, each one at least 15" long.
"I'll have no problem with these beauties," I thought. And I didn't. They were pronounced delicious! The very personable fish man (with family in Calgary) convinced me to buy the third filet. That really was too much so it's filet for breakfast for me today.
I had learned that the yellow-gold fish I had seen elsewhere is smoked mackerel. When I asked Mr. Fish Man about it, he broke one and offered me a taste. Yummy! That was yesterday's lunch.
"Why is the butter on the bread in lumps?" you ask. Well, my dears, even at room temperature, the butter does not get soft enough to spread easily!

Yummy smoked mackerel.

Just so you know...

Can you see the snowdrops?

Not all cash machines or shops offering 'cash back' are able to do so with a foreign credit or debit card.
When I was a young teenager I would frequently fly from Montreal to Stephenville, NL, by myself, often with only a quarter in my wallet. No credit cards in those days, remember! Furthermore, if the flights were delayed for any reason, (no direct flights either), the airline fed and housed you on their nickel. Why did I need more than 25¢?
 My father didn't agree and I bowed to his wish to always have $25.00.
 All this by way of saying, I was not at all perturbed when I realized on Saturday that I had only £ .90 in cash. Well, it all got a bit trickier when, yesterday, I went to the cash machine at The Spread. Cash machine said 'no' to both credit & debit cards.
"The Post Office in the News Agent's will be able to help you," the nice you woman said.
Jane, at the Post Office, said, "No, you can't do cash back on your Visa except in a bank."
 There's a bank in Burton. Getting there requires £1.40 bus fare.
"The Co-op will give me cash back," I thought. "I've seen them do it for other people."
 Not only did the machine at the Co-op refuse cash back, it refused my debit card entirely and wouldn't accept my credit card to pay for the groceries either.

Where do YOU buy house coal?

 Time to call the bank in Canada.
 "No problem here with your cards. It's the equipment at the Co-op," I was told.
 Back I go to get the groceries.  The machine required some fiddling but it worked.
The dilemma is that today, Tuesday, the fish van comes with fresh fish from Grimsby. I'm pretty certain this fellow will not take cards so cash is essential since I've invited Ian to come and eat fresh fish.
Bless the one-person business owner who does her book keeping and banking from home! I called daughter, Kerry,who directed me to a box of coin in the house where I would  likely find £10.00
Bring on the fish man!
What's life without a bit of drama!

Flood warnings have ended.