Cousins

We were up early for Ellie. She, however, was barely conscious when she arrived and went straight upstairs to snuggle into bed with Nana, and that's where she stayed, even when Nana came down. I had to go and wake her at 7:30 so she could have breakfast and get ready for school. It was a bitterly cold morning and we had experienced the first frost of the season overnight. I told Di to stay at home and I took Ellie to school.

There was no walk this morning. We had a day out planned. Cousin Ellen, from Canada, was over in the UK having spoken at a conference over the weekend. She was heading back to Canada tonight, but we had arranged to meet up with her for lunch. Jane and Trevor had organised everything, and would collect her from the railway station. We would meet up with her at Hare Hatch (between Maidenhead and Reading).

It was a long drive, even though it doesn't really seem that far away. The worst part of the drive was the last section from Bracknell onwards. We seemed to weave through the countryside, going through places and villages I had never heard of, before finally pulling into the car park at "The Horse and Groom". We hadn't been there for too long before Jane, Trevor, and Ellen arrived, and we settled down at a table for a long chat over a leisurely lunch. 

We obviously worked our way through the family news from all sides. We heard about Paul's new house near Montreal, and the plan for its use as a hub for family gatherings (and potentially a bolt hole in case the US becomes untenable). We also heard about the conference Ellen had been attending, and Ellen asked if Di might be willing to be interviewed at a future conference. 

We had a lovely meal but it was all over too soon. Trevor had to get Ellen to the airport for her return flight. We asked Google for a route home and it kindly suggested a much better route than the morning's wanderings. It was a fairly clear drive until we approached Chichester and the last 5 miles took about 30 minutes. Oh Joy!