Updates....
It has been some time since I updated this thing, so without further ado, here it is. This blog represents the reason for my temporary absence. I have been having.... wait for it.... fun. There, I said it.
Thursday afternoon, evening and Friday morning were spent with my in-laws. Normally, when we see my wife's parents, a certain amount of trepidation is experienced. They are both absolutely lovely and adorable people, but can be rather too critical of even the most trivial of things, especially my mother-in-law. This is never taken personally, as I accept that this is just in her nature, however, it can leave Wifeage™ somewhat jaded after such a visit. This time around, the visit was most pleasant, which I attribute to the fact that we have not seen them since we relocated to Bath in Spetember 2005, coupled with the fact that they had driven from one side of the country to the other, and were clearly exhausted. I am not complaining, of course, as it was so nice to simply see them again after so long, and with them both in high spirits and pleased to see their only daughter and her husband.
Thursday afternoon was spent catching up in the garden at the rear of our apartment. Gifts were exchanged, also, as this lovely photograph shows:
Thurday evening was spent over a meal at a local gastropub thing called The Litten Tree in Milsom Street. The food was passable, the noise was almost unbearable (my hearing aids tend to amplify just about everything indiscriminately in noisy environments), however, the company was superb. After returning our guests to their hotel, we returned to our apartment and retired to bed, exhausted.
On Friday morning, we met our visitors again prior to their return home via a family relative in Birmingham. I managed to get some more great photographs, shown here:
The rest of our day was spent pootling around our delightful and beautiful home town. As residents of Bath, we are entitled to certain free concessions to many of the visitor attractions here, which we took advantage of. We enjoyed a ride on one of the many open-top buses, which was surreal considering we actually live here. The audio guide was very funny and entertaining, and highly informative, too. Following this, we walked up to the Assembly Rooms and Museum of Costume, which was simply stunning. The current Rudolf Nureyev displays were nothing short of outstanding. Rather than take the liberty of deriving so much pleasure for no outlay whatsoever, I purchased a copy of the Authorised Guide to the Museum, which made me feel much better. Those who know me well will testify that I have no time for one-way traffic in either direction. The Assembly Rooms are but a few minutes walk from where we live, and as we had been on our feet for the best part of four hours, it was decided that we head home and recharge.
After a much-needed rest and copious amounts of green tea, we sat and worked out what to do with the rest of our weekend, opting to spend it as leisurely as possible, and on our own where convenient. As we have both have travel passes that entitle us to free travel in the BaNES area, we decided to head out of Bath for the day, and we did precisely that.
This morning, Saturday, we awoke bright and early to a glorious day, and as soon as we were ready, headed to the station. One hour later, we arrived at Salisbury. Another 30 minutes later, and we were at one of our favourite and most-treasured destinations, Stonehenge. On our honeymoon, we spent a week in the town of Glastonbury, and took a day trip to Stonehenge then, and it was the first time we had visited this wonderful World Heritage Site since then in May 2003, so it was great to be back, as it were.
As a life member of English Heritage, and because I possess impeccable manners, coupled with the fact that Wifeage™ is registered as blind and carries a white stick with her whenever she is out alone or we are together, we were fortunate to be able to once again repeat our visit to the centre of the circle, just as we did on our honeymoon, humbly assisted by one of the guides, a delightful and friendly girl called Hannah.
This really perked up our day, particularly when, at precisely 12:30pm, the date being Midsummer's Day, a party of Cotswold Order of Druids arrived, just as I knew they would. A few of the party remembered and recognised me, smiling as they went by, which meant a great deal to me. I have been keen to re-establish contact with my old friends and druids for some time, and the time feels more and more right to do this as each day passes, and today helped to confirm that it feels the right time to do this. I am much stronger now than I was at the time I chose to break contact with my old friends and allies for personal reasons.
Wifeage™ and I then caught our bus back to Salisbury where we pootled around for another hour or so, grabbing a quick snack as we did so.
So, all in all, a great few days has been enjoyed, and the rest and change of environments has been of great benefit to us both, I am happy to report. I managed to finish the reading of Torn Apart about the life of Ian Curtis of Joy Division, a sad yet candid and wonderful book about one of my favourite singers and performers. I have now started reading Enchantment about the life of Audrey Hepburn, the great humanitarian one of my favourite actresses, too.
May the remainder of your weekend be as successful as ours has been.
Peace to you all, dear readers.
Rachael.... ♥
Thursday afternoon, evening and Friday morning were spent with my in-laws. Normally, when we see my wife's parents, a certain amount of trepidation is experienced. They are both absolutely lovely and adorable people, but can be rather too critical of even the most trivial of things, especially my mother-in-law. This is never taken personally, as I accept that this is just in her nature, however, it can leave Wifeage™ somewhat jaded after such a visit. This time around, the visit was most pleasant, which I attribute to the fact that we have not seen them since we relocated to Bath in Spetember 2005, coupled with the fact that they had driven from one side of the country to the other, and were clearly exhausted. I am not complaining, of course, as it was so nice to simply see them again after so long, and with them both in high spirits and pleased to see their only daughter and her husband.
Thursday afternoon was spent catching up in the garden at the rear of our apartment. Gifts were exchanged, also, as this lovely photograph shows:
Thurday evening was spent over a meal at a local gastropub thing called The Litten Tree in Milsom Street. The food was passable, the noise was almost unbearable (my hearing aids tend to amplify just about everything indiscriminately in noisy environments), however, the company was superb. After returning our guests to their hotel, we returned to our apartment and retired to bed, exhausted.
On Friday morning, we met our visitors again prior to their return home via a family relative in Birmingham. I managed to get some more great photographs, shown here:
Bill, Wifeage™ and Norma
Me and Wifeage™
The rest of our day was spent pootling around our delightful and beautiful home town. As residents of Bath, we are entitled to certain free concessions to many of the visitor attractions here, which we took advantage of. We enjoyed a ride on one of the many open-top buses, which was surreal considering we actually live here. The audio guide was very funny and entertaining, and highly informative, too. Following this, we walked up to the Assembly Rooms and Museum of Costume, which was simply stunning. The current Rudolf Nureyev displays were nothing short of outstanding. Rather than take the liberty of deriving so much pleasure for no outlay whatsoever, I purchased a copy of the Authorised Guide to the Museum, which made me feel much better. Those who know me well will testify that I have no time for one-way traffic in either direction. The Assembly Rooms are but a few minutes walk from where we live, and as we had been on our feet for the best part of four hours, it was decided that we head home and recharge.
After a much-needed rest and copious amounts of green tea, we sat and worked out what to do with the rest of our weekend, opting to spend it as leisurely as possible, and on our own where convenient. As we have both have travel passes that entitle us to free travel in the BaNES area, we decided to head out of Bath for the day, and we did precisely that.
This morning, Saturday, we awoke bright and early to a glorious day, and as soon as we were ready, headed to the station. One hour later, we arrived at Salisbury. Another 30 minutes later, and we were at one of our favourite and most-treasured destinations, Stonehenge. On our honeymoon, we spent a week in the town of Glastonbury, and took a day trip to Stonehenge then, and it was the first time we had visited this wonderful World Heritage Site since then in May 2003, so it was great to be back, as it were.
As a life member of English Heritage, and because I possess impeccable manners, coupled with the fact that Wifeage™ is registered as blind and carries a white stick with her whenever she is out alone or we are together, we were fortunate to be able to once again repeat our visit to the centre of the circle, just as we did on our honeymoon, humbly assisted by one of the guides, a delightful and friendly girl called Hannah.
Wifeage™ and I in the circle in front of one of the three surviving trilithons
This really perked up our day, particularly when, at precisely 12:30pm, the date being Midsummer's Day, a party of Cotswold Order of Druids arrived, just as I knew they would. A few of the party remembered and recognised me, smiling as they went by, which meant a great deal to me. I have been keen to re-establish contact with my old friends and druids for some time, and the time feels more and more right to do this as each day passes, and today helped to confirm that it feels the right time to do this. I am much stronger now than I was at the time I chose to break contact with my old friends and allies for personal reasons.
Wifeage™ and I then caught our bus back to Salisbury where we pootled around for another hour or so, grabbing a quick snack as we did so.
Wifeage™ and onyx lunar disc outside Salisbury Cathedral
So, all in all, a great few days has been enjoyed, and the rest and change of environments has been of great benefit to us both, I am happy to report. I managed to finish the reading of Torn Apart about the life of Ian Curtis of Joy Division, a sad yet candid and wonderful book about one of my favourite singers and performers. I have now started reading Enchantment about the life of Audrey Hepburn, the great humanitarian one of my favourite actresses, too.
May the remainder of your weekend be as successful as ours has been.
Peace to you all, dear readers.
Rachael.... ♥
