Not far from High Green

We had another day out in the countryside with Linda today. It was overcast and the sun was coming and going, unfortunately ‘going’ whenever I got my camera out 🙁.
We went to Yummy Yorkshire, which was located on a farm - they had everything, for different times of day - ice cream parlour, coffee, snacks and meals, and a bar and gin tasting in the evening. It was before 11 a.m. so we decided to try the coffee this visit!
We continued on to a large garden centre located in the village of Shelley, where you can see for miles. The countryside is beautiful. We shopped a while, had lunch, and mum bought a few plants.
We took a different route on the way back, through Penistone, and popped in another lovely garden centre for a cold drink. There were some swans there with six cute and fluffy little ones.
They really should have cafe’s in the garden centre’s back in Canada, I would visit them more often.

Day out from Sheffield

We travelled back up north from Ipswich to Mums at Sheffield yesterday.

Jon and Michele came for us about 10 this morning. We headed out to the High Peak District via Rivelin Valley to Ladybower Dam. It was a perfect day for visiting Derbyshire, sunny and 17C, and stayed that way all day. We had coffee in a Ladybower pub then went further up the Derwent Valley to see the dam where they practiced for the Dambuster raids during WWII. From there we moved on to Castleton and walked around some of the little shops. We then went in for a pub lunch - I had sausage and cheesy mash, Mum had fish and chips, and Jon and Michele had a Derbyshire Ploughmans lunch (pork pie, cheese, bread and salad) - all very English. After that Mum and Michele continued looking in the shops and Jon and I climbed up to Peveril Castle, where we could see the countryside for miles around. Just a forty minute drive and we were back at Mums for a cuppa.

Family reunion day 3

Most of us went to Woodbridge today, where Steve’s sailing club is located. It is about 10 miles from Ipswich. Mum went to Simon and Zoe’s to spend the day with them and Lydia.

Some chose to go sailing and some of us watched from the clubhouse. The club is located on the Deben River, which is tidal, so we had to time it correctly. The guys had to help get the boat out of the lot and put up the sail, then pull it to the dock, before launching. They went out as two separate parties, one at a time. The first group had some wind so it was ‘plain sailing’ but the wind had dropped by the time the second group went out. Everyone had a good time, it was something different for a lot of us. After that we were getting hungry so we went for lunch to an old English pub. Lots of good food and drinks to wash it down. Dave and his family then headed home, Jon’s group went to Felixstone to visit the seaside, and Steve and I went back to his place to put our feet up.

Family reunion day 2

We all met at Steve and Sue’s for a lovely lunch today. The weather was fine and we managed to spread out onto the deck. Lots of food, drink and chatting again. An extra guest today - Mums great grand daughter Lydia, who is now four years old.

Family reunion day 1

Our family reunion finally arrived and we started a busy three days.

On the Friday morning we sat around at Steve’s, having a lazy morning, and Mum still had no idea what we’d planned. Jon and his family (wife Michele, son Josh and soon to be daughter in law Nicole) were the first to arrive about 11 a.m. Mum was both surprised and moved to tears. They had traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina and Hamilton, Ontario. Lots of hugs. We sat around and chatted, and had a bite to eat. 

Dave and his family (wife Anne, and kids Andy and Charlie) arrived about 3:30. Mum was very pleased to see them too - though not as surprised as the North American gang! 

We all went out for dinner at 7, at The Swan, Westerfield. Also meeting us there were Simon (Steve’s son) and Zoe, and Kay (cousin) and Jim. We were now 16 and the restaurant had us seated in the conservatory, separated a little from other diners. 

It was a long day, lots of talking, and laughter, but everyone had a good time.

Arrived in Jolly old England

I arrived in England for my annual visit, it was a bit cool and raining!
Easy journey on the train and then a taxi and I was at Mums. Second day I went out for a pub lunch with Jean and Martin, some old friends, and we had a good catchup. Saturday was spent with my cousin Kay, we lunched and shopped . . . first visit to Marks and Spencer under my belt already. Sunday was a quieter day, I watched my team play their last game of the premier league season . . . we won . . . yeah! And also had a nice visit from cousin Linda.
Monday already. Had another great day. It was lovely and sunny and Linda took us for a drive to Castleton in Derbyshire. The scenery was gorgeous, little lambs in the fields, dry stone walls, small villages and the Ladybower reservoir. We had some great fish and chips in the Rose Cottage restaurant and we stopped for coffee at a garden centre on the way back. We all had a lovely day and attempted to catch up.