Friday 20 April 2007

Catching up with a dear friend

Today was the day I swapped walking companions, and as I waited outside the BP garage for Yvonne to arrive, I was already looking forward to staying in one place for 5 days. This B & B hopping was getting exhausting. Only one more night & I'd be in a home with access to a computer, not having to choose what to eat from a menu, & most importantly, a washing machine ! After the initial hugs & how good to see you...etc, she told me the bad news. The washing machine had broken & the new one wasn't arriving until Wednesday, next week!
Yvonne's Mum was driving us to our starting point & bearing in mind she's 74 (and French) I gripped my seat for the entire journey! She drove like a maniac, but we got there in record time.
We had a coffee in a posh hotel, and ended up leaving a bit later than expected. We talked non stop, a lot of catching up to do, & consequently, got lost quite soon into the walk. We didn't just "get lost" we walked round in a mile & a half circle back to where we started! Feeling very frustrated & annoyed with ourselves, a farmer, with trailer, turned up & offered us a lift. He was a bit vague about where he was taking us (pointing wildly at the field we should have been in) & it was also difficult to understand his dialect,.We declined his offer because we thought it might be cheating, but also, it was a toss up as to who would go in the trailer with the sheep. Deciding to concentrate more carefully on the map, the rest of the day was a pleasant walk through fields, tracks & "The Two Castles Trail."
We had to make up time to get to Bridestowe as we had a dinner date at the pub. We just about had time to drop our bags, have a quick shower & change, before meeting Sheila & Nigel at the "White Hart" or to be P.C. at the "Blanche Hart." When ordering, Nigel enquired, "What is Blanchebait ? " & the young waitress apologetically told us they coudn't call it whitebait anymore ! We had fine wine, good food & lively conversation. (Thank you Nigel & Sheila, if you're reading this, I hope you got back to Padstow in good time.)

3 comments:

Heidi said...

Hi Carol

Great to hear how well the fundraising is going.

Also very interesting reading your diary of the walk.

Keep up the good work. We are proud of you.

Lots of Love

Heidi and Pete

kenny said...

Ah ha! Too much talking and not enough compass, Carol! The compass would also have moved in a circle. KBO ...

hilary said...

Hi Carol

Just found out how to leave a message. Well I never was much of a computer wizz.

Looking forward to joining you in Cam and busy booking places to stay.

As dad would have said "I can't waaaait".

Love Hilary & Maurice