A Great Week

We're back in Framlingham with another 1,000 miles on the car but plenty of memories of a great week away. I've already written about Dave Haworth's super private lunch at 60 Hope St in Liverpool but this weekend it was the turn of another very dear friend Dave Wareing to celebrate his 60th.

It was very much a flying visit to St Andrews but we crammed plenty in. We love the opportunity that the caravan has brought to see the grandchildren growing up. Rose is now following in her mum's footsteps as a dancer and has already mastered some simple moves. We spent plenty of time with the family and enjoyed a couple of meals in St Andrews at The Grill House and Zizzis (you're never short of anywhere to eat out in St Andrews).

From St Andrews we headed to the Lake District to meet up with Dave and his family. The weather was kind to us and the rain eased off just enough for us to enjoy a walk around Tarn Hows which holds some special memories for me. We stayed in a cottage there when I was about ten and I had another memorable visit with Marion when we were teenagers. 

Dave and Janet's daughter Lizzie and son William with his fiancee Sophie joined us on the walk before we headed to the celebrated Drunken Duck for an excellent pub snack.

Dave had booked a night at the famous Holbeck Ghyll above Ambleside. We were staying in the self-catering house Lowtherwood which is in the hotel grounds. It's a super house with four excellent bedrooms with luxurious bathrooms and an outdoor hot tub which we took full advantage of. In the evening Lizzie prepared nibbles and champagne and we presented Dave with his presents before heading off to the hotel for a fabulous meal in the Michelin starred restaurant. 

We had another fabulous meal on Sunday when we headed down to Ribchester to see our friends Mark and Nita who run the brilliant marketing company Workhouse Marketing. Nita cooked a sumptuous roast chicken dinner accompanied by some very fine wines from their son Tom's Whalley Wine Shop. We miss seeing friends Mark and Nita, Dave and Jane and Dave and Janet now we're in Suffolk but hopefully they will be visiting us in the not too distant future.

Mark has become a keen eBayer so I'm putting the following song on the blog for his benefit. I've put it on here before but he's not familiar with it and it's well worth another airing.