Next few days.
I decided to catch the bus into Wells as it’s market day and parking is not easy. I did think that it would be cheaper than parking but it was £2.50 each way, rather a lot I thought for such a short distance! Anyway I had a stroll up the high street, looking in charity shops, up to the market. I had a chat with Mary, Steve’s next door neighbour, who has a stall on the market, accompanied as aways by Betty her dog. Steve had said that he and the children may come in and meet up with me but I had not heard anything from him by 12.15 so I decided to catch the bus back. Well timed as it was just starting to rain when I got to the bus station. Steve texted to say that he had arrived in town but by then I had just boarded the bus.
So they called in here on their way back home, so nice to be somewhere where they can just drop in.
We went round to their place later in the afternoon. Josh and Lauren had just got some roller skates and I helped them get used to them, it may be a while before they get the hang of them!
We then left and went round to pick up Kris’ parents, Keith and Ginny. We were all going out for a meal at the Westbury Inn at Westbury sub Mendip. The pub has been taken over by the chap who was chef at the golf club and he seems to be making a great success of it. It’s open all day and we were booked in for 4 pm when it was relatively quiet. The food was indeed good, I had slow roast lamb shank , and the vegetables were plentiful. On Keith’s recommendation I finished off with sticky toffee pudding. Very acceptable but in retrospect quite an unnecessary addition to the meal as I had to let N finish it off.
We dropped Keith and Ginny back home and returned here for a quiet end to the day.
Sunday 2nd September.
Steve picked me up just turned 9am. A day out for me and him along with Lauren and Josh at Longleat safari park. N has opted to stay home as we think, quite rightly as it turned out, that there would be far too much walking for him. It’s only a half hours drive from here and Steve has a family pass, a good place to have on the doorstep as there is so much for them to do there.
It was relatively quiet when we arrived and we were able to park close to the entrance. First stop was at the cafe for a welcome coffee before tackling the entertainment on offer. First stop was the rocky ride. Models of rhinos and lions go round a track for people to ride. Lauren is now old enough to ride one on her own and Steve accompanied Josh. Next we queued a while for the train ride around the grounds and lake. We went past a large gorilla enclosure but they all seemed to be having a lie in this morning. We saw the 2 river boats, that were to be our next stop, cruising round the lake. By now it was getting pretty busy and we were queuing again for a cruise round the lake. It was well worth it though as we were treated to what is, apparently, the unusual sight of the 2 hippos running through the water at the edge of the lake. Huge, magnificent creatures! Then as we turned round at the head of the lake for the ride back we were joined by several sea lions waiting for the fish that they are used to getting from the passengers on each boat. Back on dry land we went to the cafe and got some sandwiches for lunch. It was pleasant sitting outside admiring the gardens and the magnificent structure of Longleat house until we were joined by several wasps. We finished our snack indoors and admired the photos, hanging on the wall, of Longleat and its inhabitants in times gone by. I explained to Lauren, as best I could, about the army of servants that would have been needed to ,eep the house running and to care for the family. It was difficult for her to comprehend, I think.
There is a small enclosure with several small animals, armadillos, meerkats, koalas that we strolled around before going to watch an exhibition of break dancing which was part of the Australian summer exhibition. It was very good but I’m not sure that it is a particularly Australian thing!
Last on the list, before going on the safari, was another ride on the rocky road and this time it was granny Dee who rode with Josh!
As we set off on the drive through the safari park I was amazed to see how many more cars had arrived and how much overflow parking there is. I was very grateful that we had arrived before the main influx of people. Steve says that most people tend to do the drive round first which is why he had left our drive till after lunch.
I had been there once before, many years ago when the boys were small and only have a vague recollection of the park. It is certainly extremely well organised and there are many rangers throughout the park keeping an eye on the animals. The first part is of the less dangerous animals and we saw giraffes, wildebeest, zebras, camels, Oryx and deer. Probably others I can’t recollect. Camels stick in my mind I think they are such beautiful creatures and always make me remember my ride on one of them when we were in Morocco.
Next stop was the monkey enclosure famous for the monkeys that like to jump on cars and have been known to cause quite a bit of damage especially to car aerials! The monkeys are pretty small and very fast and fortunately our car was untouched.
Now it was time to go into the more dangerous bit of the park. As we entered the tiger enclosure Steve said that if we should see one or more of the rangers distinctively marked vehicles it usually meant there was an animal nearby although they were often sleeping. Not so here as we soon saw two of their vehicles and then a tiger moving through the undergrowth. He was moving quite quickly in the direction of the road where we and several other cars were stopped. The 2 rangers were trying to move him away but suddenly he burst out of the undergrowth and leapt across the road in front of us. What a sight, what a magnificent beast. For a moment we didn’t know where he had gone but then Steve saw him, through his wing mirror, pass behind our car and back into the undergrowth! Wow, what an exciting experience that was!
After that the rest of the drive seemed quite tame! Most of the lions were indeed sleeping some in the sun and some in the shade quite undeterred by the passing cars. We opted to watch one group, a magnificent male with his harem of ladies. The male decided it was time for a bit of action and proceeded to inspect one of the females before having his way with her. Daddy, what are they doing? Just playing my love!
Finally it was time to leave and make our way back home. We went straight to Steve’s and then after a while he dropped me back here, weary but happy after an enjoyable day. We didn’t have any food in, well not enough to make a meal so N and I went into Wells and had a meal at the Thai restaurant. I slept exceedingly well after a long day!
Monday 2nd September.
A free day today so what to do? We didn’t want to go too far and we didn’t want to go somewhere with lots of walking. Weather is a bit iffy so eventually we decided to visit Montacute house. An Elizabethan property in the Somerset village of Montacute run by the National Trust. We had a short walk around the gardens and the. We spent a couple of hours exploring the 2 floors of the house that are open to visitors before having a snack in the adjoining cafe.
Tuesday 3rd September.
An exciting day dawned! We were due to go to Gillingham to meet up with my dear friend Vicky. We were close friends for a fair few years when we lived in Devon before she and her family moved to Hampshire. We visited them in Hampshire before we moved to France and then, gradually, over the years we lost touch. I heard, on the grapevine, that her husband John had died a couple of years ago. I wrote to her before we went to NZ and was thrilled to find a long letter from her when we returned home in April this year. At last we had arranged to meet up again and catch up with each others news. We drove to the Orchard garden centre in Gillingham and spent 3 hours chatting and having lunch before we had to say our goodbyes. It was just as if we had been together just a few days before. The icing on the cake was that I found and bought 3 new tops in the sale!
Steve called in on his way home from work and spent an hour or so with us.
Wednesday 4th September.
Another get together day with Carole who lives in nearby Wedmore. We have been friends since we were teenagers and usually meet up when I am over here. N and I went in to Wells and had quite a problem parking as it was market day. Eventually after trying all the car parks we were able to park in the Waitrose long stay car park which is a bit further from the town centre than the other car parks. We had lunch at the Italian restaurant , with Carole. A lot more talking and catching up! We said our goodbyes and as it was 2pm I needed to move the car as we were planning on staying in town to go to the cinema at 3pm. No point us both walking back so I suggested that N have a coffee in cafe Nero whilst I went back to the car. Best laid plans! I couldn’t find my way back to the car park! After making a bit of a detour I asked passers by how to get there. As is usual in these circumstances most people were tourists but I eventually found a local who gave me directions. Car was du,y moved and ticketed and I arrived back at cafe Nero hot and flustered!
We got to the cinema just turned 3pm and settled in to watch Mrs Lowry and son. An excellent film about the artist and his mother played by Timothy Spell and Vanessa Redgrave.
Back home for 5 and I left N here whilst I went round to Steve’s. He had been working from home today. I stayed with Lauren and Joshua whilst he first walked the dog and secondly went to pick up some things from Keith and Ginny’s. Nice to be useful!
Thursday 5th September.
Steve has the day off today and came round about 10.30. A quick call at Tesco’s for us and then we went to the Sheppy Inn on the Somerset levels for lunch. Good beer and good food in very pleasant surroundings. Steve had to be back home for 3pm to pick up Josh and await a visit from his teacher, Josh’s not Steve’s! He dropped us here. We both went round to his a bit later via Killins auctioneers. The silver plate cutlery that I wanted to show them is of no value I didn’t think it was but I just wanted to be sure. I did though leave the 4 silver napkin rings with him to go into the sale next month. After children got ready for bed, I played a bit with Josh whilst Lauren had her bath and then I read a story to her. Once Josh was asleep Lauren was allowed downstairs for a while whilst the 4 of us had supper. I then took Lauren back upstairs and read to her from a book that I had sent them that is illustrated by my cousin before we returned home.
Friday 6th September.
A damp day. We went to the Clarks shopping visit in Street. Main reason was to visit the Sketchers outlet store which was our first stop. So many shoes to choose from but a very successful mission as I bought a pair and N bought 2 pairs. It had started to rain so N went for a coffee and I went to the M&S outlet store. Another very successful mission as I bought 3 warm tops for just over £30. We then walked up to the High Street and had lunch, a very good all day breakfast, in a small cafe before going back to the car and returning home. We had a visit late afternoon from a chap who works for a second hand vinyl record company. He had come to see N’s collection of mainly 80’s records but none were what he was looking for. He did though give us some idea of prices and where we could dispose of them.
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