Well we stayed in Lincoln for one night and went to see the Lincoln Cathedral. I had been before, but Kearie had not seen it previously. It is an amazing building. We then visited Sue and Jim in Metheringham, we had a lovely visit, and it was wonderful to see them again. After lunch we went to Rotherham to visit with Mary and Malcolm, it was so good to spend the day catching up with old friends. We stayed with Mary and Malcolm and I had a lovely tea of English fish and chips, Kearie had a pie.... We talked until after midnight, we had a lot of catching up to do. The next day we did laundry in the morning (about time too) and Mary cooked us the traditional Yorkshire pudding and a lovely roast. It was delicious, sadly we had to say goodbye and continue on our journey, but we will catch up with Mary and Malcolm again in October, when they visit Australia. We gave them a couple of Aussie slang books to help them on their way.
We then headed north to York and then Lanchester, where we spent the night. Driving in England is a real guessing game, thank God for the Navman. The English never tell you what the speed limit is, they put small signs of 30 or 40 miles an hour in the towns and then when you leave the village there is a sign with a strike through it, meaning you don't go that speed any more, but they do not have a sign telling you want you can go. It is ridiculous. They have 50, 60 and 70 mile an hour roads, but you never know which one you are on, or even if there are other speed limits. Luckily the Navman tells you the speed limit, but as our Navman tells us in Kilometres and the car speedometer is in miles, it is challenging. I say to Kearie, "What is the speed limit?". She says "95 kilometres", I say "Okay, that is about 60 miles an hour" and I hope for the best. It will be a miracle if I do not get a speeding ticket. I guess 110 kilometers is about 70, I have no idea what 50 is, so guess, guess, guess.... It is quite challenging, but never mind, the care company does not have my address this time. We gave them the address of an hotel we stayed in in Bournemouth, so good luck with sending on fines this time.. he he he.
Today we went to Hadrians wall and it was very interesting, we both stood on the thing, just to say we had. It has been looted over the last 1800 years and lots of castles, cathedrals and village houses have been made using the stones, easy stone work, without quarrying I guess, but it is a pity... Our ancestors had no respect for the past, but then again, survival was probably paramount in their minds.
Me near the wall, it is a pretty nice fence, don't you think. It was built in 7 years and has lasted almost 2000, it would have lasted in better condition if our ancestors weren't so light fingered....
We also went to Holy Island, but the tide was in and there were no boats, so we didn’t visit it. We stopped at Bramburgh and viewed the castle and then travelled to Roslin, so Kearie could see the church from the Da Vinci Code. I have seen it before, but it still amazes me, what a marvellous piece of architecture. We are now in Edinburgh and will visit the city tomorrow and then travel to Forfar to visit with my dear friends Ally and She. I am really looking forward to it, a few days to relax and wind down.
Kearie in front of Bramburgh Castle.
Kearie at Roslyn Church.
As some of you know, Kearie talked to me before I left Australia and told me that one of her favourite customers, the Duchess of St Albans, had invited us to her home, as she wished to meet me. I was quite excited by the prospect, as I have never met a duchess before, but alas, it has not been possible. We were only in London for 3 days and only really had Sunday free, and the Duchess had to leave to attend a funeral. When Kearie and I returned to Britain, we did not stay in London, so although Kearie and the Duchess will keep in touch, with letters and cards, I will not be meeting her in person. So that is a disappointment, The only royal I have ever spoken to is the Queen herself, and I was 11 at the time, so I felt I was definatly overdue for another royal chat, never mind, maybe one day.
That's all for now
Cheers Lones
Great blog mum. xo
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