Up North

It was a relaxed start to the day. The overnight rain had ceased, and it was brightening up. We would be going out later, but to start the day, there was a Zoom call with the cousins. This followed the usual structure... Helen was having trouble with her PC and the Internet; Sarah was looking after her grandchildren; Chris was talking about his recent travels to the UK; Maggie was talking about quiz night; Tim was talking about another quiz night; and Sam was doing her ironing!

Di and I set off soon after 10:00. The first stop was Chichester to collect Kim, and then we hit the King's Highways. We were heading to "The Craven Arms" at Enborne, where, in what is becoming a Christmas tradition, we were meeting up with Denise and the family. We had a surprisingly clear run despite various roadworks, and soon settled into the pub for a review of their plumbing facilities and a refreshing tincture. We took our place in the large tipi (wigwam). The weather was beginning to deteriorate, and it was very blustery. Inside the tipi, it was cosy and warm, and we sat and chatted while waiting for Denise and the family to arrive.

We didn't wait long. They wandered in, and we all exchanged hugs and kisses before sitting down for a general catch-up over a lovely lunch. We traded news about all our various comings and goings, work, school, holidays, health, and Christmas plans. All the while, we were served lunch. Some of us had pre-selected a "Christmas Lunch," which was turkey with all the trimmings. The others chose directly from the menu. Looking around the table as we finished, I noticed several hadn't managed to finish the huge portions that we had been given. It really was an excellent few hours.

It was gone 4 o'clock before we exchanged gifts and said our goodbyes. We slotted back onto the highway. By now, it was raining fairly steadily and was quite unpleasant for the first 20 miles. Again, it was a good run; we were home in about 90 minutes, having dropped Kim off on the way.

It had been a lovely day.