6 - 8 May - Moving day and explorations

Always a bit sad to leave London, but we're on our way to Barrington, Cambridgeshire to sit for a chicken! Bruce's cousin hasn't had a holiday for a while because no one had been able to care for her chicken, Blanche. We are certainly not chicken experts but we were told that it's simple and I handed over total responsibility to Bruce. I do cats. You do everything else. The only slight hiccup was that there are planned rail strikes across the country and we had to cross our fingers that we could make it. Happily, Bruce's cousin told us to travel to Royston and she would pick us up. We had a pretty dodgey Uber ride to King's Cross station but made it to the train with time to spare. We were met by Tracy, Bruce's cousin and drove to the lovely cottage where we'd be staying.

I don't know the age of the cottage, but it was clearly built a very long time ago. It's a grade 2 sited building. This means that they are subject to regulations which protect their historical and architectural significance. That can be trying because you can't add double glazed windows or modern doors and any changes you want to make have to be approved by the relevant authorities. This house is just lovely, and the sort of house you might picture when you think of a traditional British cottage. Anyway, I unpacked, we got settled in, spent some time in the lovely garden, and we spent a quiet evening in.

7 May

Up the next morning to enjoy some of Blanche's gifts for breakfast. I took the bus into Cambridge to get more fabric markers for my coat project. Lovely scenery on the way.

It was quite a long walk to the Hobbycraft store and I got to see quite a lot of Cambridge. I passed the street where we stayed last year when we visited Cambridge. Got my markers and made my way back toward the station. Along the way I found this guy

who is part of a fundraising effort. I guess this started with Cow Parade in Switzerland (then New York) then I saw pigs in Seattle, and sheep in Brighton last year. so this year it's giraffes. Having found the first one in the park, I had to go looking for more.

As I was walking back to the bus station I passed this sign:

I think whenever I'm upset or excited, that will be my new expression. you know, like: "Christ's Pieces, that was a good meal!" No? Anyway, I made it back on a bus driven by a driver who has aspirations for a career in Formula one (an amazing driver, really, racing along the narrow streets and making it home safely.)

8 May

Woke up to a lovely sunny, though chilly, morning. I got started with painting my coat could probably have done so for the whole day, but it was such a lovely sunny day that I decided to venture out on a walk. Bruce had already started out for the town of Orwell to visit the pub. I walked passed the village green which is purported to be the longest green in the UK. I passed the local parish church with its lovely old graveyard.

I thought I'd walk toward Foxton. Oops, the Foxton Road is closed, so I took the other option at the fork in the road. That didn't work out so well, as I ended up at sort of a dead end road. Technically the road continued but the sign said residents only. So back down the road I went.

As I headed back toward home, I stopped at the village shop where I found some lovely strawberries. A bit further down the road I saw Bruce walking toward me (headed for the village store) so since we were passing it, we stopped at the pub for lunch.

Back at home, I continued working on my coat, then went outside to sit in the greenhouse and watch the birds. Had another quiet night at home watching telly and writing this post.