The trip to the old sod was uneventful but a bit uncomfortable in some ways. A city bus to the intercity bus and some wonderful views from the top of the double decker Megabus on the way to Toronto. It’s amazing what you can see along the 401 when you have the height.
Security and check-in at Pearson was easy but I had a bit of a wait as I arrived several hours before the flight. It was enough time to grab a bite and a pint and read a couple of chapters. I highly recommend “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks. An enjoyable and fascinating mix of pre-US civil war slavery, horse racing, art, horology and osteology.
The flight itself was quite uncomfortable. I had hoped to doze a bit but I couldn’t seem to settle in. The young lady beside me had her earphones on with wave lapping sounds, she put on an eye shade and that was it…she woke up in London/Gatwick. I didn’t watch any movies as nothing appealed but I read a bit and played solitaire….oh I also made googly eyes at a 6 month old across the aisle. I got him laughing a couple of times before he too took the hint and fell asleep. Not sure whether I hastened that or not.
Some of you know about “what3words” so here’s where I am while in Dorking., ///limp.strong.holds.
Thursday was a wipe out as I was tired and for some reason got chilled. Cat and Neil decided to celebrate my birthday so after a wee afternoon snooze on the couch, we walked around the corner to the “Queen’s Head”. I enjoyed a traditional fish and chip dinner and a pint of Fuller’s London Pride. That just about did me in and when we got back to The Highlands it wasn’t long before I headed to bed and had a very fine sleep.
I got up at 07:00 on Friday to a lovely view of the back garden. Since Cat and Neil are re-doing the guest rooms I got the luxury of using their room. The room has double windows facing the back yard and the sun was shining and it looked gorgeous out. That didn’t stop me from snuggling under the duvet for another few minutes.
In the afternoon I went walkabout in Dorking. I stopped at the model shop and had a nice chat with Andrew about model making and stuff. He asked why I was interested in the 25 pdr gun with quad tractor and limber so I told him about Dad and Italy. He replied that his Dad had also been in Italy with a British armoured unit. As it turned out he was captured near the Gothic Line when his tank lost a track in front of 2 Panthers. I gave him my blog address and he said he would enjoy the reminiscence.
I then ambled along the High Street to “Arto” a nice little café that I discovered on my last trip. Pancakes, with bacon and bananas and cappuccino for lunch. It rained a bit but I had on all my clothes so I wasn’t worried about getting wet. I also ventured into the local butcher and managed to find a scotch egg which I intended to have for lunch on Saturday.
Later in the day Cat and Neil took me to Leith Hill. It’s not far away and they both often run there or take their bikes. There are lots of trails for bikers, hikers and horseback riders, although we only saw the former two. From the car park we climbed up to the tower. Leith Hill is the highest “peak” in southern England and if it wasn’t for the hills to the south, you would be able to see the English Channel. Neil called me over to the north facing side and I was stunned to see London in the distance. It seemed a bit fogged in but the Shard and other buildings were clearly there. Neil said that was about the clearest it was going to get so I had to settle for the foggy view.
Another treat was in store as we drove back thru Coldharbour and visited “The Plough”, a lovely little pub with some very fine food. This time I had a Dorking Brewery Best Bitter and I hate to say it but it was better than the London Pride. It’s a good thing Cat agreed to drive home as the second pint put Neil and I in a deliciously warm frame of mind.
Saturday, April 20th, has been quite relaxing although the temperature has taken awhile to get up to 10 C. At 07:00 it was 3 C but sunny. Cat ran over to the Denbigh Winery to participate in the Saturday Park Run, while Neil and I drove over with Millie to cheer her on. It’s a 5 km run around the vineyards, quite hilly and there were tons of people out as this was the first dry day in quite a while. Cat was 3 seconds slower than her best time which is not bad given how cold and windy it was.
In the afternoon Neil and I had the option of going to the Dorking Wanderers football game or staying home by the fire and watching York play Solihull. York is Neil’s team and was facing relegation so it was an important game for them….also….it was still cool and windy out so we opted to stay home. The game was a bit of a bore as, according to the standings, a draw would have satisfied both teams. In the end Solihull scored with 4 minutes to go…after which York just passed the ball back and forth until the game ended.
The good news is that I got to eat my scotch egg for lunch.
The three of us are sitting in the living room with the fire blazing and we are not expecting to go anywhere else today. Cat is talking to her sister on the phone and Neil is getting ready to leave for a long bike ride. I plan on going to bed early as we will have to get up at 05:00 to travel to Heathrow for my early flight to Dublin.
Feel free to stand down.