Happy Equinox - we are there already!

 Dear Marmite

I have been really busy. I have been away on holiday. It wasn't a "Grand Tour of Europe" type of holiday, more a mini tour of the UK and I travelled with a very old friend from Stevenage. We had planned to do this trip in January but illness got in the way so everything was postponed until this week and I have only just got home - car is clean and sparkly after grubby motorway driving and the washing is drying in the garden. I really am back to normality. Oh how quickly we get back to our routines.

The main point of the trip was to visit Sammi in Scotland. That is a terrifically long drive so we planned a couple of nights in Newcastle en route. I had never been there before as I think I mentioned in my last letter. Looking back, I think the biggest take-away from my trip there was learning the link with Earl Grey - a Nelson-type monument stands in the city centre to commemorate his work against slavery. I knew about him from history but not that he was linked to Newcastle, gave his name to tea, or that he had such a big monument.

From the museum.. hello

We moved onto Edinburgh to meet up with some other old friends. We stayed on the waterfront in Leith and used public transport. What a wonderful place the whole of Edinburgh is. The Chambers Museum is amazing. I want to return just to see more and do Arthur's Seat. My friends were against the idea of walking up a hill as it was a bit miserable - the guide says it is about 2 hours walking which is nothing really. So that, Marms, is on my bucket list. 

The big dampener in Edinburgh was the hotel I booked. As it had to be re-booked the person on the front desk, who had little command of English and no grasp of the computer system either, refused to accept that I had booked even though I had emails showing I had paid. My first booking was £50 for B&B, then I had to top up for the re-booking. I had to pay 50p more just to get into the bedroom. She refused to read the emails from the hotel and got nasty with us. Customer Service Score minus 5. I personally was affronted by having to pay another 50p. Bloody cheek!

It was late. We gave up arguing and decided we would talk to the person on the desk in the morning. At least we had a bed to sleep on, which is more than I thought we were going to have at one point. Meanwhile the silly woman had cancelled our booking the night we arrived so the evidence was lost on their system. However, the hotel redeemed themselves and gave us a "complementary" breakfast which I had proof I had already paid for... errrrrrr. 

So onwards and upwards! St Andrews is a short hop from Edinburgh. Three nights on the road made it seem an easy trip. It was made even easier as we stopped at Anstruther for coffee. At this point Ann refused to embrace the joys of the Scottish weather said she wanted to have lunch in a cafe and not on the waterfront. I, on the other hand, rather wanted to take in the ozone and have my cobwebs blasted - C'est la vie.

I showed Ann around and to be honest there isn't too much of St Andrews. Three main streets, a couple of beaches, a uni and a golf course sums it up. What there is, is lovely. I was quite interested in the castle this time round as I had just read The Castillians - a novel set around the burning of George Wishart and the siege of the castle. The weather was mostly glorious - considering how far north we were. So many people were walking around with very few clothes on. I imagine they too had come from Newcastle where a lack of insulation is the norm. I felt we rather stood out with scarves and winter coats on!

If only you could have been there with us, Marms. You and Lucky are so much alike in so many ways. Lucky trails along; never too excited about anything. He seems to get looked after by everyone in turn. Even though he is younger than you, he keeps to your pace. To sum up all that happened in our whistle-stop tour to St Andrews - I saw my grandsons, watched a documentary about whale Communication, played and lost at table tennis, ate and drank with gay abandon; so now I am home I am going to have a few "good" days.. No wine, no eating out.

I always feel a little sad saying good bye but we still had Liverpool to explore. The city was bathed in sunshine and buzzing. I love the place even all these years later it has a special place in my heart. People talk across tables to each other and are so naturally friendly. Now it definitely looks loved and upmarket. 

My big downer on the holiday was a slow puncture which I didn't realise I had. The tyre pressure light came on when we left Ann's in Stevenage. I topped up the pressure in Newcastle and then again in St Andrews and then in Liverpool had a waking dream that my tyre was completely flat. It was. That was spooky and not the first time I had seen things in my head either. 

The latex repair stuff leaked out on the carpark floor. I cursed. Then the AA man came in less than 30 minutes. I am in love! He - John - was wonderful. He put a bung in the hole, phoned ahead to Kwik Fit and we were on our way. Kwik Fit didn't quite live up to it's name. It took two hours to get the wheel sorted. In that time we strolled up Lark Lane and round Sefton Park - another worthwhile excursion! Nonetheless, despite a long wait, we were on the road again and onwards to Stevenage. 

So now I am back and I can promise I have waved at everyone I know en route. They don't know that of course but I realise I know people spread far and wide around the British Isles. If they were reading this along with you, Marms, they would know who they are.

It leaves me to give you a big wave too, and hugs of course.

Love you

XXX