It's been a bit of a novelty to spend August in Britain. When Stella was teaching that was always the month of the long school holidays, so even though Britain was often at its best it was also the best opportunity for a long distance adventure.
A very quick round up of some of the notable events:
- After Pembrokeshire we scuttled back to Swansea to join Richard's parents celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on 3rd August. They had arranged a small lunch time gathering at Maes yr Hâf in Parkmill. It was a lovely afternoon and a treat for Richard to meet up with some old faces, some of whom he hadn't seen for decades, and for Stella to be introduced to these people.
- Back in Cardiff we collected Scooby's ashes from the vet and scattered them in his favourite swimming hole in the River Rumney. We wanted to say thank you to the vets who had been so good to him, and to us, throughout his life, so we bought them a robust outdoor bench where the nervous dogs can wait in the courtyard outside the surgery. The whole surgery team seemed to be delighted with it, and we were delighted that they were delighted!
- We made a quick visit to Chester to see Jane and Tony, and had a great dinner at the Sticky Walnut bistro in Hoole. For once we also managed to walk around Chester and see some of the sights.
- After Chester we popped across the border into North Wales, an area we've rarely visited. North Wales always seemed a long way away from home, but our perspectives have changed a bit during this year! We spent a wild stormy night on a campsite high up in Snowdonia snuggled up to the base of Tryfan and clambered up to Cwm Idwal. On the way home we made long planned visits to Portmeirion and to the Centre for Alternative Technology. We've wanted to see both of those for years but neither is much fun for a dog.
- Then a quick trip to London in the aftermath of the riots to visit Richard, Sharon and the girls. Our return to Cardiff in the Megabus coincided with the rehearsals for the Olympic cycling races. Incoming coaches were typically delayed 2 hours, but fortunately ours wasn't, due to the local knowledge of our driver. Hooray for the Megabus! We'll make a point of not being anywhere near London 2012.
- We spent a few days in Fairsky doing repairs to the van, washing all our clothes and relaxing. Returning to Cardiff we had a couple of lunches with some of Stella's former colleagues. It was lovely to see them, but she's not tempted to go back!
- Back indoors, we spent a week living in Jane and John's house in Caerphilly, looking after their dogs, plants and chickens while they went on holiday. It was strange to have so much space, and nice to be around dogs again.
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| Bella |
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| Archie (top) and Frankie, retired racers |
- Our first wedding anniversary fell during that week. We took the train into Cardiff with a thousand amiable rugby fans to have a celebratory lunch in Café Rouge in Cardiff Bay. It's been an exciting first year, we both agreed we'd press on with it...
- Richard borrowed Jane's car for a dash to Leamington Spa to look at laser engraving machines, looking for a way to make a living when we stop travelling. Magical machines, everyone should have one! Unfortunately he found out why their web site keeps quiet about the prices. On the way back, he realised he was driving right past Nigel Ford's place near Alcester, so called in for a coffee. Another good friend not seen for ten years.
- In the meantime, Stella took the train into Cardiff to do some shopping, got stranded by a broken down train and drenched by a violent thunderstorm. During the evening we met up with our fellow flat owners at Richard House to catch up and discuss management and improvements to the building. Met Nanuk the dog, a lovely lively young Pomeranian, for whom everything in life is still impossibly exciting! We miss our Scooby. We must remember not to accidentally acquire a dog in Morocco.
- On Friday we handed the chickens and hounds back to their owners, and drove to Brighton for Janet and Billy's annual boozy barbecue. We were away last year when they got married so it was lovely to catch up with them.
Which brings us to today, to a campsite in Kent, and our last opportunity to post a blog before we cross the channel and get out of range of the British mobile internet system.
