A week ago my daughter, her husband and her daughter all arrived from Perth, Western Australia. They are staying for a month and as any visitation from Oz is a significant event it was decided that a visit to the old home grounds and a visit to the other family members still resident in the UK was necessary. So this weekend we are visiting the outlaws on Mersey-side. As there are eight of us making this trek we are staying at “Quarter Cottage” in a place called Puddington on the Wirral Peninsula.
The journey up from Hampshire although uneventful was not particularly pleasant. Mind you, five hours in a car can hardly be described as a pleasant experience at the best of times. In this case it was made worse by the weather conditions. Leaving home just after ten in the morning, most of the journey was shrouded in varying densities of fog, or low-lying cloud, interspersed with rain. The fog varied in colours ranging from dark grey to light grey and visibility from half a mile to just a few feet. The British countryside, which normally adds some interest on this type of journey, was largely invisible.
The eight of us drove up in three vehicles and although not traveling in convoy managed to arrive within minutes of each other despite having separate starting points and times. The cars were unpacked and after a brief debate about who was sleeping where we were suitably ensconced in a our new, temporary, home.
After a cup of tea and some discussion about our respective journeys we set out to a local hostelry for a meal. The venue chosen to benefit from our custom was the “Tudor Rose“, a Brewers Fayre “formula pub” attached to a Premier Inn. This pub provided us with some hot, straight forward grub and, given the size of our party and that we hadn’t booked, they were very helpful and organised a table. Having us seated in just a few minutes. Most of us chose from their Chip Shop buffet and although not haute cuisine it was adequate.
It was then back to the cottage for some sleep ready for a fresh start on Saturday morning.
So why am I typing this at 04:03 on Saturday morning. Because I woke up with a coughing fit two hours ago and had to get up as each time I lay down the coughing started again. So I am posting this as is, hoping to get back to my pit for a couple of hours worth of z’s.
Enjoy your respective weekends.
WrAnTz 