Tuesday started warm and dry, but concluded at Gatwick with quite heavy rain. We finished packing and after checking in online and FaceTiming briefly with David – plus texted advice from Oliver – I filled up with petrol, and after lunch we left Norwich with Dot driving. Took the A140/A12 route. Went reasonably well: swapped drivers somewhere near Chelmsford and arrived at the hotel at around 4.20pm. Queue to book in, but ok. Had meal at 6.15pm – I had fish and chips and Dot chilli con carne. Sat next to really nice couple from South-West Wales who were going to Corfu really early next day. Returned to room. I was going to spy out the land, but it was too wet. Watched a bit of TV, including Queen’s coffin being flown from Edinburgh to London and being driven to Buckingham Palace. Big plane.
It was still raining in the morning. Dreadful night – hardly any sleep. Drove to Purple Parking – attempted to follow directions but got completely lost, then happened on it almost by chance. Straightforward after that. Shuttle bus was waiting and dropped us at North Terminal in good time. Bit of search for Air Transat baggage drop, but when we found it, all went very smoothly. Security almost did, but one of my trays failed to scan; so it had to go through again. Almost forgot it. Lost belt loop, temporarily.
Dot bought some perfume, and we had croissants at Starbucks. Then after a wait, down to Gate 50, and eventually priority boarding (Option Plus). Had a spare seat next to us! Free wine and Pringles. Watched Dune. Tireder and tireder as journey went on – all in masks. Some confusion at Toronto when using machines etc but got through easily in the end. Bit of a wait for baggage, then through to be met by Chrissy and David. Sunny and warm, but loads of traffic on the road; so took a bit of time to get to Waterloo. Then had nice buffet and wine, were shown bedroom in basement and went to bed at 21.30 – which would have been 02.30 in England. Unsurprisingly I was totally shagged out.
Thursday was chilly to start with, becoming pleasantly warm. Woke very early of course, got Dot tea, then after breakfast (fruit, pancakes and maple syrup, then sausages) went for walk with David and Chrissy round Anndale Park and into a neighbouring road (Sugarbush) that reminded me a bit of Palmer Circle, but more compact. After a snack Dot and I did another walk round neighbouring roads and through park again. Lunch was soup, and in evening we had sole, chips and salad. Took it easy during the afternoon. Dot took lots of pictures of inside of house. After supper we saw some pictures of Oliver and Amy’s visit, plus the beginning of Licorice Pizza film. Dot let cat out by mistake but she came back. Oliver FaceTimed very late (for him).
Friday was sunny and quite warm. Very good sleep. Wrote piece for George Kelly, and took picture of us drinking wine (apparently) in driveway to send to Des. Quite cold and wet in Aspland Road, it seems. Later went for walk with D&C on a slightly longer route, followed by lunch, followed by sleep. Then to Antiques Market – fascinating stuff. Bought wine and salad. Jackson came home feeling a bit down. Watched baseball in the evening – Blue Jays 6 Baltimore Orioles 3. Accompanying hot dogs.
Saturday was warm again. Got up early to visit the Farmers Market. Had a croissant there for breakfast and a jam doughnut that I ate later. David had French toast with maple syrup and bought me a Roger Zelazny book. Dot had muffin. Huge place, indoor and out. Some good stuff. Bumped into M’wanda, who used to work with David and Chrissy. Lovely woman. Bought some plums.
Later went to beautiful new library and then Farm Boy for food, but not before we’d watched Spurs beat Leicester 6-3, with a hat-trick from Son, who only came on for the last half an hour. After returning home and unloading groceries, walked down to Fromagerie and bought some cheese (surprise!) and one or two other things, including too much gelato. Then had a rest while D & C went to Zehrs for a couple of things. Lovely meal with cheese board to follow! Jackson explained what a mechanical engineer does, as opposed to a metallurgist.
Today saw the first rain of our visit, but most of the day was warm and dry. Sophie arrived before we got up and seemed well recovered from her cold. Happily we got up before Barb and Roger arrived. Had a delicious breakfast with them centring on fruit, pancakes and turkey bacon, with maple syrup. Afterwards we all (except Jackson) went for a walk in the park. I felt very tired, and my stomach was a bit queasy, but it was very pleasant. The rain – quite heavy – came after we returned. Had a long chat with Barb and Roger while David and Chrissy went for another walk. The Murrays left after they returned. We did some reading while D&C had a rest.