friends

A great renewing friendships from the days when we all worked so hard for the British Steel Corporation!!
Back in September Paul came over from Munich to visit and a fun time was had by all.

One of the days saw us visiting Kelham Island

and we found a secret new pub about to open . . .

then spotted the very spot on the Don where Paul had sailed by on a raft in one of the infamous Rag Boat Races back in the early 70s

time for that coffee and rhubarb and custard cake . . .

and a nostalitc wander around Sheffield

 then the evening meet up with the old Cybor gang - first stop the Kelham Island Tav

 final stop fab dinner at the Milestone

and if you're wondering what they all looked like back then - I'll try and do another post on life at Cybor House some time.

For now, I think this song it says it all!  Happy times.
Click below and enjoy:

the hundred

So this was another adventure with our nonagenarian, back in a still sunny September

and another place on the Wirral I'd never been to in my life before!
The priory grounds have been restored recently and you can read more about the history in this great blog - Birkenhead Priory

natually we climbed the tower . . .









and peeked over to Cammel Laird's on this side of the mighty Mersey and the Pier Head on t'other

and in the Priory museum, we remembered about the Wirral Hundred where I was born!

We were just about to leave when one of the curators invited us up some old stone steps to the HMS Conway Chapel - a real gem and just fascinating! 

especially as Mike so vividly remembered as a child when the Conway was grounded, and then in later years caught fire, in the Menai Straits - read the story here

And to our amazement there was a massive link with the once Poet Laureate - John Betjeman - who served on the HMS Conway for serveral years after leaving school.  This is one of his poems, lesser known than 'Sea Fever' but all about the Conway tradition that seagulls are the returning spirits of cadets who have crossed the bar.

Such an interesting day!!

fortified

OK - back again to the day after the last post in sunny August.  Leaving Oxfordshire the next morning it was off, via lunch in Whitney, towards Welsh/English border and Offa's Dyke - skirmish country!!

We'd booked in at the wonderful little farmhouse B&B just outside Montgomery - Caemwgal Farmhouse (and this was my review).  Caemwgal Farmhouse is actually situated on Offa's Dyke so a great pull for hikers.  And the farmhouse is actually on a Civil War battlefield.  The Battle of Montgomery was fought here in 1644 but thankfully we didn't experience any hauntings that night!

So after a great breakfast we went off to explore the magnificenlty sited Montgomery Castle, high on a hill overlooking the town and distant hills of Shropshire.

View from the turrets!  Possibley the Long Mynd?

 and now down to the town of Montgomery . . .

 












. . . and of course, despite a huge breakfast, before exploring this lovely little town, we just had to have a cake and coffee at the lovely Castle Kitchen.

Delicious Carrot Cake for me and Lemon for Mike.

The Church of St Nicholas  is just at the edge of the town.

Had a surprising history too, as in it was the tomb of the Herbert family - parents to the famous poet George Herbert - who has a window dedicated to him

and back in Montgomery itself, a wander round the sleepy Sunday town . . .

and we even found a bit of Offa's Dyke to amble along on the way home!!

another really great part of the country we'd never ventured to before.