Saturday, June 25, 2022

Time flew by with new friends -



I do like being at home again. . . . . . but getting away and flying across
 the pond was so enjoyable after such a long time.

Seeing family and old friends, and meeting new friends or making
 acquaintances was fun.
Our new friends included a sweet elderly blind man, Monty, from Wales, 
whom we breakfasted with at the hotel on several mornings, and two
 amazing ladiesMyra and Pat who are gorgeous, funny cousins in their
 eighties. They were on holiday from Newcastle. They kept us in stitches
 even when we couldn't quite understand their Geordie accents. 

There was also Wendy whom we met on a bus ride and discovered
 we were at the same school together. We talked about the teachers we
 had and the silly things we did as teenagers. Such as sit in the classroom
 seats next to the French doors and stick our legs out sideways to get a
 tan on those few and far between sunny days of early English
 summer. . . . before the school holidays started and we were
released from uniforms, Panama hats, ankle socks, and uptight
 rules and regulations of an all girls' Grammar
 School back in the 1950's!!!

An evening visit, one of several, to our favorite pub, and luckily
 just a hop and skip away from our hotel, was interesting. We ordered
 drinks and food and settled in to listen to some awesome live music. 
We sat at a table next to two men, one a surgeon, both part of a 
Trauma Team who go to Africa to help provide free surgical care for
 patients with broken bones and traumatic injuries in rural Kenya
Very interesting conversation for us as we have visited there and have
 seen how botched, or often no surgery, leave men, women and children
 unable to walk properly, or to use their arms to work and provide for
 their families.
If interested in reading more about, or supporting this worthwhile charity,
go here:  https://www.futurehealthafrica.org/traumateam


Bob outside the Hole In The Wall, favorite Torquay pub.
Bend your head though, the beams are very low!

Torquay's Oldest Pub – Circa 1540

With its cobbled floors and low-beamed ceilings, the Hole in the Wall has been a regular for smugglers and business people alike. Providing a traditional pub atmosphere with great food and quality beer, the Hole in the Wall aims to provide first class service with a great social experience for all. Good selection of ales to include Doom Bar,  Butcombe Bitter, Otter Bitter and with as many as four changing guest beers and traditional real cider too, you will not be short of choice!

I'm busy catching up here at home. Unpacking and laundry, lots of garden chores as lack of rain and very high temperatures - it was 99F when we disembarked our flight in Raleigh - have wreaked havoc on plants and shrubs, and the grass is browning out. However the figs are plumping, daylilies blooming, and some hydrangeas survived and welcomed us back with paler shades of blue.
 Have a great weekend - I'll be around to catch up with you soon, and hope to add more stories from our really fun trip.

16 comments:

  1. What fun to meet such an interesting array of new friends.Your description of tanning is amusing. Wonder what your teacher thought.

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  2. Sounds a lovely memory-jogger holiday Mary - glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. Dearest Mary,
    Oh, so happy to read you here and knowing that your and Bob's trip went so well!
    Yes, it is oh so weird after three years for being 'back' with friends in familiar surroundings.
    Knowing too well how that is and talking about medieval buildings; so common on the other side of the Atlantic and here, most cannot even imagine what it is like.
    Welcome back home and hope things in the yard work out well. It was very hot here!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  4. Lovley to see you back after what must have been a super holiday.

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  5. Your trip sounds wonderful and it sounds like you met some amazing people! Welcome home!

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  6. What a wonderful trip! Seems the heat has not had a favorable impact on plants here, either. We could really benefit from some rain! Hopefully your garden will recover from your TLC.

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  7. Kudos to you for making a successful trip to Torquay and back! Many of us (me among them) lack the courage to get on a plane these days. Messy times, with overloaded planes and airports everywhere.

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  8. Wow - the new friends sound interesting, and to meet an old school fellow is a big coincidence!

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  9. Sounds like a wonderful holiday spending time with old friends and family, as well as meeting some very interesting new friends. Enjoy being home again. How fun to run into someone who went to the same school as you back in the day!

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  10. Well done on your trip. So pleased to hear how enjoyable it was especially meeting new friends and acquaintances. As Duta says getting on a plane these days takes courage and I don't have it at present. It is a lot further from here and I wonder whether I will ever get brave enough.

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  11. Dear Mary - really happy to know that your trip back home was filled with lots of fun, family and new friends.
    I am coping here alone and having to water the garden regularly due to the weather. I now appreciate so much more what he does. He is in the far north of Scotland with eldest son - been away for nearly two weeks and wont be back for two more - really miss him.

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  12. Welcome home Mary. And what a beautiful home to come home to.

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  13. Meeting people the way you did is something I enjoy when travelling, too.
    In York, there is also a Hole in the Wall pub - really hardly more than that!

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  14. Mary, so glad you got to go back across the pond! Looks like you had an amazng trip! 😄❤️

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  15. It sounds like a most delightful trip. Connecting with people is always what makes travel extra special. Glad some hydrangeas survived. Welcome Home. Here's to new adventures.

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