I can't remember if I've told you of this before, but today's blog concerns our annual get-together with Barbara and her husband Alan. Barbara and Ann were (and are) great friends. As children they were next-door neighbours . As their fathers had neighbouring farms in the Norfolk fens, this meant they lived half a mile apart - I lived about a mile North of them. Ann and Barbara also shared a birthday, the twenty fifth of March, which appropriately is Lady Day.
In the seventies a lot of people used to talk of eventually retiring, and then doing adventurous things -buying a Range Rover, and driving overland to India, or buying a mobile home and driving round the world...............
Barbara and Alan were the only ones of our acquaintance who actually kept to their plans for adventure. They saved hard, then when Alan eventually retired (I think about sixteen years ago) they purchased a good mobile home, the predecessor of the one above; and every October since then they have packed the mobile home and headed South for the winter. I think the furthest South they've been has been Morocco, but ever since they retired they've wintered in or around the Mediteranian area. They usually come back around April time, and spend spring, summer, and early Autumn at home; and during this period we've always managed, every year, to get together and catch up on all the family news.
This morning we motored over to Ely, met up at the Fire Engine House, had lunch together, then pottered around Ely, teaing at a tea shop next door to the Riverside Antique Centre (they let me explore the place before tea - I was able to purchase a rather nice piece of pewter). We finally said our cheerios, and "see you next year!"s at a bit after five, having driven them out to where they'd parked their mobile home. Got home just before seven.
Been a lovely, restful day - it's always easy to pick up the threads with old friends.
Good night everyone.
4 comments:
I think they have the right idea. I know a number of people who retired abroad, selling up here, then found, when they reached the age they wanted to come home, that prices in England had soared far higher than those on the Continent and that readjustment was hard in a number of ways.
What a contented post, so glad you had a good day.
Thank you Z; and you're quite right - a good and very relaxed time was had by all.
Ian celebrates his birthday on 25th March too, there needs to be a virtual party on that date.
Hello Madelein. We must try and remember that next year.
Regards to you both - Mike and Ann.
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