Visit of Leo, Chrystele and their Children

I was really looking forward to Leo’s arrival on Wednesday 24th April. Having visited them twice in Paris in 2001 it was their first visit to me. Leo is from Costa Rica and plays charango with a band of French musicians playing Andean music called ‘Los Quirquinchos’. He brought his family - Chrystele who is French, the two older children Charlotte and Camille aged 14 and 11 and the latest addition - Claire - born in January and just three months old.

The day of their arrival in the UK was really hot and sunny so once they arrived at Folkstone they decided to drive to a nearby beach for a couple of hours before motoring on down to Bath. This gave me enough time to get to Colin’s house before them and take over the cooking of the traditional English roast dinner we had decided on for their first evening. All of us including me would be staying at Colin’s house for the duration of their visit.

They arrived about 8 pm just as I was laying the table in readiness for their arrival. It was fantastic to see them all again and they gave lovely gifts to us - from Leo and Crystele we received 6 bottles of wine, several different saucissons and chorizos, 16 more CDs from Leo and a pack of 40 empty CD cases (as I never have enough of them) and from the children a gaily painted jug and glasses set and a useful gadget with nail clippers, bottle opener, can opener etc with a picture of Paris on the front.

We spent a really leisurely evening at the table enjoying the meal and had a couple of bottles of Argentinian rose wine with it, listening to music and chatting. I felt so happy that they were there with us. Colin was meeting them then for the very first time and he liked them as much as I do. I knew it was going to be a fantastic few days spent with them.

The next morning I had to wake up at 4.45 to phone Tristan and wake him up for work. It took half an hour before he finally answered, then I went back to sleep and awoke at 6.45 to take a shower and at 8 o clock Colin drove me to the supermarket to get the rest of the items needed for the weekend. He had to take me because all three cars were parked on his drive and mine was the first one in. At the supermarket Adam was annoyed with me because I woke him up with the phone. I had even tried his mobile phone which he promptly switched off! Both of them were annoyed that the phone kept ringing for half an hour but were both too lazy to get out of bed and answer it!

Back home, Leo and family were just getting up so I got busy and cooked them a traditional English breakfast, supplemented with fresh croissants, baguettes and buttered hot cross buns. It was the first time Leo had eaten traditional English breakfast and he liked it very much. Afterwards we got ourselves ready, drove to the nearby park and ride, left the cars there and took the double-decker bus into town, all of them opting to sit upstairs so that they could enjoy a good view, Leo busy with his camcorder recording what he was seeing on the way.

We spent a pleasant few hours in town, walking and seeing the most interesting sights, taking photos etc until about three hours later we decided to get the bus back, returned to the house for about 10 minutes and then set off again this time for the ancient city of Wells where we spent another couple of hours visiting the main sights. We also went to mystical Glastonbury, but by this time the shops were closed unfortunately. We drove to the tor, but unfortunately could not park, which is a pity because Leo was all set to climb to the top which is a pretty steep climb.

We drove home - all day had been nice and sunny and they loved the English countryside. We stopped briefly at my house so that I could pick up my charango but didn’t go in (because I knew it would be horrendously untidy and it was!). Back home I got busy and made Adobo de Chancho (Peruvian spicy pork stew) with rice for tea which we enjoyed with more Argentinian rose wine and music, with accompaniment on the charango by Leo, and made our plans for the next day. Whilst cooking tea that night I also prepared the Thai soup for the following day so that upon our return from Dorset we would have that plus an Italian spicy pasta dish which was quick and easy to prepare.

The next day I had to phone to wake up Tristan again and when I had no joy with the phone I got in the car and drove home to wake them up - which was a wasted effort because Tristan had made arrangements to go to Bristol for the day with his girlfriend and had not thought to let me know this!!! However, it gave me time to gather up more CDs and other things I needed and I had my shower there as well before taking Adam to work - and I bought more freshly baked croissants and baguettes in the supermarket, arriving back at Colin's even before anyone had got up, but they started to get up about then and I had time to make breakfast before everyone made an appearance. Having woken up to grey skies and rain we did not hurry ourselves getting ready to go out but still decided to go to the seaside as planned because the forecast for Saturday was even worse. I was so enjoying having them with us and so was Colin. Their baby is beautiful and I enjoyed having a cuddle and it was great to see all of them. They really are a special family.

We all enjoyed another enormous breakfast to keep us going all day and finally set off about 10.30 towards Weymouth but stopping at other places on the way. Our first stop was Stourhead House and Gardens. We parked and walked down the road because we had noticed a lovely old church with the door open.

Leo is particularly interested in churches so we decided to visit that one (the first of three that we would visit that day). As we walked into the churchyard we were greeted by the custodians - two very tame ducks and two peacocks, all looking for 'payment' in food! They were adorable and came up really close so that you could touch them. I wished beyond anything that I had a loaf of bread with me!

Then we walked around the church which was beautiful and contained fantastic monuments to the forebears of the main family in the village. We took photos and would have visited the lake as well but it cost five pounds each to visit the gardens and lake and we did not think it worth it as we had so much else to do. We then drove on to Sherbourne, parked there and went to visit Sherbourne Abbey which is really beautiful and very old - it goes back to the thirteenth century when it was a monastery. After that we walked around the town a little bit, looking at the shops and ended up in a nice coffee shop where we all enjoyed drinks and chocolate brownie cakes.

We then went back to the cars and we drove the last 20 miles to Weymouth, parked up for 3 hours and went straight to the sea-front so that they could see it. By this time the weather had improved tremendously and was full of continuous sunshine but very windy as well. They loved the beach and the children went to buy a kite to play on the beach with later. Leo said he loves flying kites, which was always a favourite pastime with his children, even when they were much younger.

We walked down to the harbour-side and had fish and chips there (a typical English take-away meal), and then walked through to the complex where the Peruvian shop is but it had closed early at 4 pm and we didn't get there until 5, so we just looked in the window, admiring a beautiful charango which was a bargain at 100 pounds - Leo said the same would cost 200 or 300 pounds in France.

We then walked back via the harbour taking photos until we got to the dock area where the Condor was moored - this is the enormous catamaran on which Colin and I went to Jersey for Easter 2001. Then we went onto the beach where Leo and his children had a lot of fun with the kite for about half an hour and we would have stayed longer had we not been concerned about getting home before it got dark. At this time it was still very sunny and it was lovely enjoying the beach despite the windy weather. I had to hold tight to my skirt so that it would not blow over my head!

Our last stop was to Colin's daughter's house for a visit. Elizabeth was still in the church doing choir practice but her husband, the vicar, was trying to rock the baby to sleep (6 months old Lucy), and I took over that duty whilst he made tea and coffee for us all.

When Liz returned, her husband took us around the beautiful church so that Leo and Chrystele could see it and they enjoyed that very much. Finally it was time to go home and we started our homeward journey at 7.30 pm, and got home at 9 pm, just as the sun was finally disappearing on the horizon.

Back home it did not take long to prepare our meal as I only had to reheat the Thai chicken and chilli soup prepared the night before whilst waiting for the Peruvian stew to cook, and I quickly made a spicy pasta dish with smoked sausage to accompany the soup. When I called everyone to the table, the children were joyful to be having that soup again - I had made it for them on my last visit to Paris and they loved it! We had another couple of bottles of Argentinian wine with it and a lovely few hours with music and chatting. To complete the meal I made Turkish coffees for us - Chrystele enjoyed hers and I enjoyed mine so much that I had two cups but it was too much for Leo! Maybe I made it too strong for him! For about an hour he was entertaining us on the charango which was lovely - accompanying whatever was playing on CD. He is a brilliant charanguista. We finally all went to bed about midnight.

It was great on Saturday morning because I did not have to get up to wake the boys. I didn't get up until 8.30 which was pretty late for me. I prepared breakfast which was keeping warm in the oven, and prepared everything for that night's evening meal as well and it was still silent upstairs! So I spent some time on the computer, catching up on email replies, until I could hear them getting ready. Although the forecast for that day was bad, at 10.30 am it was sunny and warm outside so after another leisurely breakfast we decided to visit Cheddar and Weston Super Mare.

We had a very enjoyable day. Although we knew that rain was forecast for later, we drove first to Chew Valley Lake so that they could see it, but on the way I decided to do a quick detour up to the university college where I work. I had to check it was okay with the security guards and we drove down and parked near the Castle and lake and took one or two pictures. They were amazed at what a beautiful setting our campus is in.

We then continued to Weston-Super-Mare, via Chew Valley lake, visiting the large indoor market first and then onto the pier where we all enjoyed enormous ice-creams. Then we decided to drive to Cheddar, coming in at the village end, parking and visiting all the little gift shops throughout the village. I bought a glass and diamante guitar ornament in one shop and gave it to Leo to put somewhere on top of his computer, and for Chrystele I found a lovely fridge magnet ornament featuring Cheddar Cheese and a cute little mouse. They bought some of the cheeses to take home as well.

By the time we reached Cheddar the sunshine had disappeared and it was raining quite heavily and we were all wrapped up well in waterproofs as we explored throughout the village and then ended up in a cafe and all had hot chocolate drinks and two huge scones with jam and cream each. The spectacular part of Cheddar was leaving it behind us at the other end because it was very like being in the Andes for a couple of miles with a very high gorge either side, nimble goats grazing on the slopes, full of huge rocks etc, the heights petering out as we reached the Mendip Hills, and then continued on our way home.

We finally got home about 7 pm, where I got busy cooking a Brazilian dish with chicken and prawns called XinXim, and we had another lovely evening at table enjoying the meal and a couple of bottles of wine, one of which was a bottle from the vineyards of Chrystele's grandfather - a Muscadet wine which was excellent. We had the Andean music playing continuously and after eating, Leo accompanied the music on the charango. We didn't go to bed until well past midnight. All throughout the weekend Leo was filming here and there, and there was about half an hour of video footage from the weekend which Leo copied onto a video tape and sent to me within days of his return home.

We were all awake early on the Sunday morning and I did another huge breakfast to keep them going for ages and there was time for them to see Colin's birds before packing up the car for the journey home. There was a bit of a panic before they left because they couldn't find the car papers and Chrystele's identity card, but luckily they were found in the end. Colin led them up to the road leading to the motorway and they had about 4 hours until their crossing on Le Shuttle at 2 o clock that afternoon. Colin was as sad as I was to be saying our goodbyes. He told them they could come any time for as long as they wished that he really enjoyed having them here. They made him promise to come to Paris as well next time, and we have made tentative plans to go around the last week of October/beginning of November - they will confirm to us which week it is the school holidays - so that we can book our flights early at a good price. That way we can all be together, the children included and go sightseeing in France - Versailles being first on our agenda as well as to my favourite places around Sacre Coeur and Montmartre etc.

Dennis’s Visit.

When Colin and I got back from our Easter holiday it was to find out that Dennis was coming to visit before his return to Peru. I realised that after being away from home those few days there probably wouldn’t be much food in the house so before going home I decided to pop down to the supermarket where Adam works and do a bit of shopping. I regretted that later because when I bent to pick up some milk I felt a pain in my back that was so bad I could hardly walk even leaning heavily on the shopping trolley, even having to ask other shoppers to put items in the trolley that were not at arm level. When picking up a supply of food for the dog I dropped half of it and was really embarassed being unable to bend and pick up the cans rolling in all directions! I was worried that I would be unable to get into my car and drive home but luckily was able to. Back home I managed to get my sons to unload everything from the car and I went straight to bed and what a relief to be able to lie down and be free from that awful pain!

Next day I could not even get out of bed and was really worried. The house needed a good clean before Dennis’s arrival, my boys being really untidy and never washing up or cleaning up when I am not there. I tried several times throughout the morning to get out of bed, finally succeeding after taking several pain killers, and spent the next 3 hours getting the house back shipshape again. Surprisingly, that activity improved matters and the pain was quite diminished. I felt hopeful that I would be in a better position by the time Dennis arrived and that maybe I could still be able to visit London at the weekend as per reserved train tickets, concert tickets etc.

Colin arrived in the evening at 7.15 and we took my car which is bigger to drive into Bath. We met Dennis at the station and then went to Batys, our favourite theme bar in Bath where we would be meeting my son Justin and his wife Ceri. We couldn’t see them when we went in so I sat at a table big enough for all of us while Colin and Dennis went to get the drinks and next moment I heard someone calling Mum and it was Justin peering over the top of the next alcove. So I went to sit with them and it was lovely to see them both again. I had been very worried about Justin because he had suffered stomach pains in previous days and I was worried in case it was his appendix. We had lots to talk about and then I looked through their wedding album and all the other photos and wrote a list of the ones I wanted to order copies of. After that Justin and Ceri swopped places so that I could chat to her as well, and I placed my hand on her tummy and could feel the baby kicking. There are only four more weeks to wait until Jasmine, my first grand-daughter arrives in the world and I am really looking forward to it.

After several drinks in Batys we were all quite hungry so drove around to Marmaris restaurant which also has a kebab take-away shop and ordered lamb kebabs to take home. The owners were delighted to see us and the next moment seats were provided for Ceri and me to sit down whilst waiting for the food to be cooked and he also produced a glass of wine for me and coca cola for Ceri - all without charge - just as a demonstration of their delight to see us. Colin and I are regular visitors in their restaurant and the wonderful welcome we receive every time is unfailingly fantastic. We then drove Ceri and Justin home and then went back to my house and all enjoyed the food before it was time for bed. Dennis would be sleeping on the long settee at the far end of my lounge and after making up his bed for him we said our goodnights until the following morning.

When I awoke next morning it was to one of the best sunshine days possible and I decided I would cook breakfast so that we could have it in the garden. While Dennis was in the shower I was outside washing the garden furniture and found a tablecloth to throw over it and laid up the table in full sunshine. By the time he came from his shower the breakfast and a big pot of Peruvian coffee was made and we carried it outside and really enjoyed eating in the garden with the birds singing etc, and I had the dining room window open so that we could hear the Andean music playing. Whilst eating I put forward several suggestions of things we could do that day and we eventually decided to go to Weston Super Mare which is the nearest seaside resort to Bath. We were on our way by 10 o clock and it was a beautiful drive through glorious countryside villages - with magnolia trees in full bloom (one of my favourite flowers), blossom on the trees, the lovely lush green of the fields in springtime, and Dennis really enjoyed the drive which took about an hour and a quarter. The first stop was at the lakes near Chew Magna so that he could see them and later when we went through some exceptionally beautiful countryside Dennis asked if we could go back there for a picnic during his stay with us and I said yes.

When we arrived at Weston Super Mare I luckily managed to find my way to the seafront and I decided to park in the car-park of the Royal Hotel, knowing we could find a space there for sure as it is not generally known that non residents of the hotel can park there as well. We began our most enjoyable day there with a pint of lager in the hotel bar and then decided to go on the beach first and walked on the sand for about a quarter of a mile until we came to the pier and decided to walk along the long pier and visit the amusement arcade at the other end. This was fun - we walked along one side to enjoy that view and took some photos - then had a bit of fun in the amusement arcade and walked back on the other side to enjoy a different view. The sun was so hot that we decided to sit on one of the many benches and just enjoy the warm sunshine for a while and rested there about twenty minutes.

We then decided to visit a little in the town, both of us wanting to find an internet cafe to check our messages, and after visiting a lot of shops on the way we found one and spent an hour reading and replying to our messages. Whilst looking for the cafe we passed an excellent restaurant - we passed several actually but one especially appealed to us. Unfortunately by the time we had finished at the internet cafe it was closed until the evening so we had to look for somewhere else. We found a nice one on the seafront and enjoyed a nice meal - a typical English one - and then walking along the esplanade afterwards I treated us both to two enormous ice-creams complete with chocolate. Back at the hotel car-park we decided to have one last drink in the hotel bar before driving home, me opting for a pint of lager shandy made mostly with lemonade, in view of the driving to be done.

In the past leaving Weston Super Mare I have usually lost my way and taken the wrong road out of town. This time amazingly I found the right road and did not anticipate further problems. On the way down, the road was closed and we had to take a different diversion route through lanes. I was expecting to be diverted the same way on the route home but the diversion route was different and I got lost. After a while we discovered on arriving at a crossroads that I was driving back in the direction from which we had come (towards Weston Super Mare). We tried another route, but there were no signposts, and I was getting worried by this time as we were low on petrol and there were not many garages on those countryside roads. Eventually we came to a garage with one-way entry so I was pointing the opposite way when I arrived at the petrol pumps. When I paid for the petrol I told the man I was pointing the wrong way but asked that if I continued on the same road would I eventually find a signpost leading to Bath. He laughed and said No I wouldn’t - yet again I was going in completely the opposite direction!!! He gave me concise directions and after that there were no more problems - and at least we had petrol in the tank which was the biggest worry when we kept going wrong.

Back at Timsbury we decided to go and buy some wine in the village shop and that I would teach him how to play the word game ‘Scrabble’ which would help him with his English. I bought the wine in the shop and then remembered that in the pub at the next village was a Pool table infrequently used and we decided to go there. On arrival we bought pints of lager and played six games of Pool and really enjoyed ourselves. After four games we had won two games each, but then he was the winner because he won games 5 and 6! After six games another couple of people arrived wanting to play so we decided to go home and play scrabble instead. Back home I put the music on and we played Scrabble three times and enjoyed the wine. Dennis was really enthusiastic once he knew how to play the game and whereas I had only expected to play one game he wanted to play more. After three games it was 1 o clock in the morning and time for sleeping and I promised we would find time to play Scrabble again the next day.

The next day, Friday, Colin was coming over and taking us to Bristol. It wasn’t such a warm day as Thursday and no sunshine was evident that early in the morning, so we had breakfast indoors and listened to a couple of CDs over a pot of coffee until Colin’s arrival at 10.30. Our first stop in Bristol was the Bristol Suspension Bridge, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel over the Avon Gorge 166 years earlier. Dennis was amazed at such a wonderful feat of engineering so long ago. We went into the observatory nearby and then descended a very long and steep tunnel of stone steps, eventually culminating in a very steel and long set of metal stairs - the tunnel very low in places so that we had to bend to avoid hitting our heads - fortunately by this time my back was much improved and I was able to do this without any problem. Eventually we ended up on a viewing platform balcony in the rock-face. After enjoying the views and taking some photos there we climbed back up again (a lot harder than coming down, laughingly agreeing it would make good practice for walking the Inca Trail). Back at the top of the gorge again we decided to walk across the bridge and took some photographs and walked back on the other side to enjoy a different view. Dennis is really interested in bridges and was really impressed with this one. We then went to the little museum nearby, telling the whole story of how the bridge came to be built, and spent a pleasant half an hour in there, before walking back to the car and driving to an Italian restaurant that Colin and I used to visit when I lived in Bristol. We had a really enjoyable lunch there and then decided to visit the Cabot Tower nearby. This tower was built in commemoration of someone who sailed the world and who discovered North America about the same time as Christopher Colombus. To get to the tower it meant climbing a steep hillside. The pathways were zig-zagging and we decided to climb the grassy banks instead to save time. This was all very well until we came to quite a steep one. They reached the top before me and I was almost at the top when my shoes slipped on the grass and I fell flat on my face! I tried again and fell flat on my face again! Then two hands of Dennis and Colin reached down and hauled me up the last bit to the path, all of us dying of laughter. Luckily I had no ill affects with my back and all three of us climbed the steep circular stairway inside the tower right to the top where we enjoyed fantastic views over all of Bristol and took more photos there as well.

After that we didn’t really have time to visit the Docks as well (promising Dennis we would visit them on a later visit). We planned to go out again in the evening and Colin needed to do something at home first so he drove us back to Timsbury and said he would return to pick us up at 7.30 in the evening.The sun was shining so when I suggested Scrabble to Dennis we was very enthusiastic and we took everything out into the garden, including a pot of coffee, biscuits etc and stayed out there playing about four games until nearly 7 o clock in the evening. I love the game of Scrabble and don’t very often find anyone willing to play it with me, so to have someone as enthusiastic as Dennis as an opponent, with the additional fun of us both learning new words in the process, was excellent. He played the game really well, especially considering his disadvantage that we were playing in English rather than Spanish. He had his electronic translation machine on the table and we both learned the new words as we went along. After four excellent games we cleared everything away and just about had time to get ready for Colin’s arrival.

We drove to Chew Valley Lake, our first planned stop being to the bar next to the restaurant at Woodford Lodge, situated right on the lakeside with a view clear to the other side. I really wanted Dennis to see this incredibly beautiful place and he really enjoyed the beauty of it. Luckily we were able to enjoy the view for half an hour before it got too dark to see more. Whilst there I asked them which Sunday we were booked for lunch (having booked it so long ago we had forgotten the date of the reservation - in order to get a table with the best view one has to reserve the table many weeks in advance). We then drove to our usual place where we go on Friday nights - the Pelican Inn at Chew Magna village - and we spent a very enjoyable time there. First of all talking to our friends Richard and Kerry who are the pub owners, whilst awaiting our turn at the pool table which was busy with other players at that time. After an hour one of the people at the pool table suggested a game of doubles, two of them against two of us and Dennis and I finally got to play, only imagining we would play one game, but we both played really well (me wearing contact lenses instead of my glasses for better viewability at the table!), and with the pub pool practice being Ôwinner stays playing’ we played doubles games four more times until eventually one of the other couples was the winner. Colin didn’t mind us playing as he was enjoying chatting to Richard. Dennis proved very popular in the pub, everyone clamouring to speak to him - some of them practising long disused Spanish - and it was lovely to see him enjoying himself with so many people. We finally left the pub near midnight (quite late in view of my early departure next day) but none of us wanted to go home while we were having such a lovely time!!! Then believe it or not, when we got home Dennis and I decided to listen to one CD and play just one game of scrabble, even though it was already late and I still had to get my things organised for the weekend in London. I had already decided to travel light and in no time at all my things were organised in one small bag and we had our game of scrabble. My son thought we were crazy playing Scrabble at that time of night!!
Another Trip to London.

Next morning I was awake first as I wanted to shower and wash my hair to be fresh for the whole weekend. Dennis woke a little later and we left in good time and I took Adam to work and then drove us to Colin’s house where I would be leaving my car whilst away. After a coffee there, Dennis got busy on the internet whilst Colin drove me to the station. Dennis would be staying with Colin in my absence until the following evening. Down at the station the train arrived on time, we said our goodbyes and soon I was happily ensconced in my window seat with a table facing in the direction the train was travelling with a good book to read, some andean music to listen to on the journey and an enormous lamb kebab baguette purchased at the station before getting on the train. The sun was shining and the 1.5 hour journey to London was pleasant as it always is and we arrived at Paddington at 11 o clock. Fortunately arriving at a moment when there was not a big queue for underground tickets. I purchased a travel-card which would be valid for the whole weekend and was soon on my way to Notting Hill Gate station, this being the nearest station to Portabello Road. When I arrived at their usual spot in the market they were already playing and I enjoyed listening until they took their next break.

When we were relaxed nearby whilst another performer took a turn in that spot, I gave Aquiles his frog and he was overjoyed with it. They both liked it so much that I regretted not getting them one each. Aquiles said it would be their lucky mascot and the new logo for their band, and when they started playing again the frog was strategically placed in Claire’s violin case along with the CDs for sale, positioned so that it was peering over the edge at people, looking really cute!

Although sunny, it was a very windy day and I soon regretted wearing the flared summer skirt of such light material that I spent all my time holding it down! Luckily my petticoat went below my knees to protect my modesty whenever the skirt went out of control!!! I listened to them play their next set and then went off to buy coca colas for the three of us to enjoy when they took their next break. After drinking them Aquiles and I left Claire guarding the equipment whilst we took a look around the market. After looking at a few stalls, with me buying two blouses on the Indian stall - one for me and one for one of my friends - and Aquiles looking for another Nike Che Ghevara hat to replace the one he recently lost - we purchased three lots of Thai soup to take back and enjoy with Claire, deciding we would return later and have some of the Thai curry. After the soup I left them playing and went into the pub across the road which has computers actually in the bar and spent the next hour and a half reading and replying to emails. Aquiles joined me at one point and I typed an email to his Dad in Spanish with him telling me what to say. We both knew this would give his Dad a wonderful surprise because he never sends emails home, preferring to buy phone cards and have long telephone conversations with his parents instead. We also sent an email to Eloy of Kantaro who lives in Edinburgh, asking him to find us an appartment to rent for two weeks during the forthcoming August festival at Edinburgh, the intention being that Colin and I will share the cost with Claire and Aquiles. We hope that by looking this early and paying deposits we can secure some good accommodation right in the centre of things, only a short bus ride by day or a taxi ride at night because we won’t be going to Edinburgh by car this time. It is just too far to drive! We will all travel there by bus and train and meet up in Edinburgh. All being well, all four of us can look forward to a fantastic fortnight together in a really exciting place.

At 3.30 when they finished playing, Aquiles and I went down to buy the curry and on the way passed Victor who was running his jewellry store that day. I was so delighted to see him and we gave each other a fierce hug and exchanged news. I had a look at the jewellry and chose some lovely earrings once Victor assured me he could alter the fittings through the ear to a more comfortable shape for me. He also said he would exchange the nickel fittings for silver ones and he gave me a big discount on the price as well. It really was lovely to see him again - the last time being New Years Eve at Tito’s restaurant at London Bridge and the time before that when we met at the Quimantu concert in Oxford. Victor is another Peruvian musician befriended in the same way as Claire and Aquiles, although the two other musicians he formerly played with - Edgar and Santiago (two brothers, one of them married and based in France) - are presently playing with other musicians in Paris at the moment. Victor and his Majorcan girlfriend Catalina are making and selling jewellry instead. Unfortunately Catalina wasn’t with him on Saturday so I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing her as well.

Aquiles and I then had our curries, standing in the street beside the Thai stall to eat them. I chose the goat curry and it was one of the hottest ever eaten. I tried to cool it down with some chutney but realised too late that it was a chilli chutney which made it even hotter. Aquiles Thai red chicken curry was equally as hot and both of us had streaming eyes and had to keep blowing our noses. It was nice but I think I will just have the soup in future which isn’t quite so hot. We bought a noodle and chicken spring roll to take back for Claire and wandered back, stopped to pick up the earrings and chat a bit more to Victor on the way back. I was chatting so much with him that Aquiles left me there and I said I would join him soon.

By the time I got back to them, they had packed up all the equipment and we made our way to the underground station, stopping first to buy three bottles of Fetzer Californian Chardonnay which we would be taking out with us that evening. Back at Claire’s flat we had time to get ready. I had about 20 minutes on the internet whilst Aquiles had a quick half an hour of sleep - it is amazing how he can sleep instantly anywhere. I put on a CD I wanted him to hear and before the end of the first song we could hear him snoring!

During that hour in the flat we chilled the wine in the freezer, hiding two bottles in plastic drawstring sleeves and placing them at the bottom of a bag which I would be carrying like a handbag when we entered the concert hall that night. We opened one bottle of wine and took 3 plastic glasses with us and enjoyed the first bottle between us on the underground train journey between Bethnal Green and the South Bank. On arrival there we had to walk across a big bridge over the Thames and soon we were in the Royal Festival hall and in the lift going up - our seats being quite high up in the balcony. We only missed the first five minutes of the first part of the concert - Sergent Garcia - a very lively Cuban band of 13 musicians - so lively that everyone was standing instead of sitting in their seats, either jumping up and down or dancing and all the salsa dancers were in the space between seats and stage downstairs. The atmosphere was incredible and we really enjoyed that band tremendously. I could not imagine that I would like the next - the main - band any more than that - but amazingly I did. After an interval while the stage was prepared, by which time we had almost finished both of the other two bottles of wine - the second half began, starting with Cachaito Lopez coming onto the stage on his own and playing a double bass guitar solo which was beautiful.After the first song the eight members of his band joined him on the stage and there followed one of the most beautiful concerts imaginable. Until now I have not been wooed by Cuban music, even though I did enjoy the first CD and the film of Buena Vista Social Club. Cachaito Lopez was formerly the double bass guitarist of Buena Vista Social Club and now has his own band and his style is absolutely wonderful. There were three drummers - one playing bongos, the next playing a set of congas and the third playing timbales and with the flutist, the piano, the 3 players of brass instruments and the man on keyboard adding dub, the resultant sound was electrifyingly fantastic. This was a band for sitting and listening to and everyone did and at the end of each song went crazy with the applause. We all enjoyed it tremendously. Aquiles and I paid half each for a fourth bottle of wine and we enjoyed that as well.

Afterwards, remembering how easy it was to get backstage from when I was there in 2000 with Colin for the Inti Illimani concert, we decided to make our way downstairs. But there were too many people and it took too long and I knew we had probably lost the chance of getting backstage by the time we got to ground floor level, so decided to console myself with buying a CD instead. There were two available by Cachaito Lopez and I chose their debut 2001 album.

By the time we got outside it was pretty late and by the time we walked across the bridge and got to the nearest underground station, we arrived just moments after it was closed for the night! It was then a long walk to the nearest point where we could get a bus instead and quite late by the time we got on a bus home, so many other concert goers also waiting for the same reason. On the bus we were sitting on the second level upstairs and were surrounded by South Americans - from Peru, Brazil, Venezuela as well as Portuguese and Spanish - all of whom had really enjoyed the concert as well. All three of us went back to Claire’s flat, having decided that Aquiles would sleep there as well so that we would all be together next day. Claire knew that Aquiles would want to sleep a long time next morning, so my plans to visit my ex husband next morning would not spoil any plans we had of spending the remainder of the day together.

I woke up at 8 o clock and by 8.30 started walking across the park (Weavers Fields) between Bethnal Green and Whitechapel. I wasn’t too sure of the direction but knew it was near the famous Brick Lane Sunday market so could ask the way. After 15 minutes I found the outskirts of the market - arrival in Whitechapel is like arriving in Bangladesh as it is completely renamed ÔBangla Town’ with all the road signs in Bengali etc, every person living there being from Bangladesh, except for English people like me visiting the market of course. I didn’t actually reach the heart of Brick Lane market, only walking around the outskirts, asking for directions along the way, delighting in the pure cockney accents of those who helped me along my way to Hanbury Street. Some narrow streets were deserted and I felt a bit uneasy being in such a foreign place alone, but luckily came to no harm. All told it was about half an hour before I arrived at Labu and Rekah’s home. I had written to Rekah the previous week to tell her I would be visiting, but only discovering on Friday night that I forgot to post the letter. I also forgot to phone them on arrival in London on Saturday, so my visit ended up being a complete surprise as usual. I knocked on the door and he answered the door in his pyjamas, rubbing his eyes with tiredness, exclaiming that no one wakes up in Bangla Town before 11 o clock! He was delighted to see me though and I ended up staying there for three hours. We had so much to talk about and Rekah joined us and made breakfast for everyone. I told Labu about my unease in some of the streets and he said it was safe enough in the daytime but very dangerous there at night - and the park I crossed was especially dangerous at night. He said to just smile at people as you passed and they would think you were one of them and this did seem to work.

It really was nice to see them both again. He wrote down directions to help me find my way back and I was okay about half the way and then got lost again. I really am hopeless on sense of direction because when I finally reached Bethnal Green road about 40 minutes later I realized I had done a wide detour to arrive at Bethnal Green underground station which is a 10 minute walk in completely the opposite direction - Whitechapel being on the opposite side! Back at the house Aquiles was just getting up and Claire busy in the kitchen and in no time we were all enjoying a seafood and vegetable medley with rice on the patio outside before getting organised and going out. Claire loaned me a rucksack to put my things in (this having been augmented since arrival the previous day with two blouses, plus other items purchased at Portabello market stalls on the way to Labu’s house, and it was indeed much easier to carry it on my back instead of in a shoulder bag.

By 1 o clock we were in the underground station and making our way to the Southbank area again. Having discussed what to do, the favourite for all of us was having a ride on the London Eye - an enormous wheel beside the Royal Festival Hall and London Aquarium - with each car on the wheel holding 12 people. We could see a long queue as we approached - although realised after a while that the people in the queue were looking in the opposite direction. These people were in a queue that was continuously moving and several miles long. We had heard in the underground station the announcements that the queueing time to pay last respects to the Queen’s Mother was 12 hours. When we arrived at the London Eye though, we were disappointed to find the queuing time there was 3 hours as well - and I did not want to waste my last few hours on that trip to London waiting in a queue - so we decided to leave it for another day and just wander around London instead. I wanted to go back into the festival hall and pick up leaflets about the previous night’s concert and forthcoming ones. Unfortunately we were too late for the free concert in the foyer which finished at 2 o clock. Every day during that week of the Latin festival was free concerts at lunchtime - on Easter Monday it was Apu from Peru. Aquiles said there were other good Latin festivals of music coming up and he was going to find out the dates of all of them so that I could travel to London and be there for them. For the remainder of that day we did a lot of walking, miles and miles. After leaving the festival hall we walked back across the bridge and then continued on foot until we reached Covent Garden - a very long walk, stopping and looking at various shops along the way. We arrived in Covent Garden just in time to see that Mashicuna, an Ecuadorian band, were just in process of packing up their instruments - to my dismay - but not for long because Carlos who mostly plays with Johnny Rodrigues of Kausary was playing with two members of Waykis in another part of the plaza and we stopped to listen for a while. We looked in more shops, Claire and I buying gadget compasses to fit on our watchstraps - hers in orange and mine in purple - and then by this time Aquiles was hungry again. It was our plan to go to the Caribbean cafe above the Jubilee market in Covent Garden but unfortunately it was closed. I was quite tempted by the food on offer at the Italian one instead but Aquiles fancied Indian food and we ended up ordering an enormous chicken curry each which we thoroughly enjoyed. Claire wasn’t hungry, having opted for an ice-cream instead, and we met up again after eating and listened a bit more to the andean music before continuing on to Leicester Square (to see if Johnny, Julio and Jorge Rodrigues might be playing there - unfortunately they were not there, nor any other andean music - so they took me to a place called Funland which was amazing - about 12 floors - each floor warehouse size - full of arcade machines, simulators and all kinds of fairground rides. There was even a bowling alley which we promised ourselves we would get there in time for on a future occasion. After visiting there we walked to Liverpool Street from where I could easily get an underground train direct to Paddington, with them coming on the train with me until the next stop from where they could both go in their different directions home. I told them how much I had enjoyed myself there in London with them and we worked out that it would be lovely if they could come to Bath two weeks later and that we would all stay at Colin’s house again. I said we would have a barbeque whilst they were with us as well as Aquiles adores barbeques. Back at Paddington I had about 25 minutes until the departure of my train, and soon it was leaving and I phoned Colin to say it would arrive at the correct time. I enjoyed listening to Cachaito Lopez and my new Antara CD on the journey home, the Antara CD being one I found on the shelf in Claire’s room - completely new and still in its sellophane wrapping which they offered to sell me. (They often swop their CDs with CDs of other Andean bands and this was one of them). I bought it for the low price of £5 instead of the usual £10 charged by Andean musicians. Also during that afternoon I had bought a 1972 album of Santana called Caravanserai, to replace my worn out vinyl purchased back in the 1970s.

The train actually arrived back at Bath a few minutes early where Colin awaited me and took me back to his house, where Dennis seemed really pleased to see me again. Colin had looked after him really well in my absence, including taking him out to lunch at Chew Magna Pelican Inn with his sister that day. Colin produced his tree loppers and some heavy duty gardening gloves for Dennis - who had previously offered to completely cut back the wildly out of control hedge which separates the end of my garden from the garden of the house on the other side. This is a massive task which is impossible for a woman to do, and it will be hard work even for a man and is such a big challenge that it could take him all the week to do it. I am really grateful to him for his very kind offer to do this.

We all had coffee and then Dennis and I were saying our goodbyes to Colin and driving home. I did not want to go to bed too late because it was my first day back at work next day. After chatting to Adam and cuddling the dog I went up to see Tristan who was already in bed, who told me the bad news that he had a puncture in the back wheel of his scooter and needed a lift to work next morning. I said okay but was dismayed when he said he had to be at work by quarter to six! This meant getting up at 4.30 instead of my usual 5.30 to 6 o clock wake up time.

I got him to work okay and when I got home again I still had an hour before leaving for work, so for once had time for some breakfast before leaving. It was Adam’s day off from work so I could leave later than usual. I wouldn’t be seeing Dennis until about 8 o clock as I had Spanish class that evening. After the class I planned to cook Adobo de Chancho to a Puno recipe for all of us as a practice run for Thursday when my friends Debbie and David would be coming over for a meal. The menu planned then was Rocoto Relleno for starters and Adobo de Chancho afterwards, having promised my colleagues at work another lot of Rocoto Relleno for lunch that friday.

Dennis would be on his own while we were all at work that week but we had a few nice plans in store. On Wednesday we would be going ice-skating which would be the first time for him and promised to be a lot of fun. I sent an email to Oswaldo, a Peruvian friend who lives in Bath, asking if he would like to join us - this is the guy who fell down at least 100 times last time!!! He wanted to have another try though and the three of us would be going. I usually go to see my sister Kathryn on Tuesdays after work and planned to take Dennis with me that week but I would have to phone first and check that her husband would be okay about it as he caught Kathryn and Dennis kissing in Colin’s conservatory at the Peruvian party 2 weeks previously!!!!

I really enjoyed having Dennis in the house. He loved that word game Scrabble and we kept playing it all the time. He was really good at it too and has really impressed me with his command of the English language. He was such fun as well - we were laughing continuously. When I got home from Spanish class it was to discover that he had been busy in the garden for hours cutting back the hedge that separates the end of my garden to the one on the other side. My garden is now a couple of metres longer than it was before and he was planning to cut down the height as well to half, as well as other unwanted foliage that completely obliterated one of my patios. He was amazed at all the ceramic pots he found buried inside the hedge including a stone bird table etc - all of which I had forgotten I had it was so long since I last saw them!!! It took him about a week to do everything and I was delighted and quite enchanted that he wanted to help me. After all he was on holiday and I wasn’t expecting him to work. I was grumbling one morning at the mess the boys had made in the lounge and he said he would clear that up for me as well. I jokingly said he could do the whole house if he wanted to and he said he would if I wished!

He really loved the Peruvian meal I cooked him one night - a typical meal from Puno of pork in a spicy sauce with potatoes which we had with rice - a deceptively easy recipe to follow but the resultant taste is delicious and essentially Peruvian. With supplies of my Peruvian spices getting low I had to track down Chef Enrique in the United States and order new supplies - which unfortunately is really expensive, 21 dollars for 4 jars plus 35 dollars in postage. I’ve yet to find a source where I can buy aji amarillo and rocoto pastes in the UK, and it is impossible to substitute anything that will produce those unique flavours either. We both enjoyed listening to music whenever I cooked, with him helping me, and then afterwards playing Scrabble until we both struggled to keep our eyes open.

In between working on the garden, he had days out to explore. The first time, I dropped him in Bath on my way to work and he was going to get a bus to Bristol because of the 21 gun salute from the SS Great Britain boat moored at Bristol Docks and I told him it was something he should not miss. He made it there okay and said there were crowds of people and it was phenomenal to hear the 21-gun salute from the S S Great Britain just before the Queen Mother’s funeral. He enjoyed some time in Bristol but hurried back to Bath. He had really fallen in love with Bath and loved walking everywhere and seeing as much of it as he could. He went on a boat trip as well. As well as helping me with the food preparations he always insisted on washing up afterwards - something I really appreciated as no one else in my house ever does! After picking up Dennis in Bath at 6 pm we went to do the shopping which couldn’t wait until the weekend because Debbie and David were coming in a couple of days. On the way home we stopped at the pub and played six games of pool. Then by the time we got home I had to first cook something for Tristan who was going to bed early and then cook for the rest of us - and by the time that was ready it was gone 10 pm. After the meal Dennis and I just had the one game of Scrabble and a large glass each of an Argentinian red wine that I had bought because it was on offer in the supermarket and it was fantastic. I was hoping the offer would still on when I went shopping again on Saturday - it was a Malbec Tempranillo from Mendoza and superb. Argentinian wines are my favourite, with Australian coming a close second.

Tristan started a new job at this time and I had to get up at 4.30 am on his first morning to take him to work in Bristol for a 5.45 start because his scooter had a puncture in one wheel! But Colin met him after work and took him home, pumped up the tyre so that he could drive it to Bath and get it fixed. But even though I did not have to take him thereafter I still had to wake him up with a cup of coffee at quarter to five and then stay awake to make sure he got up, but at least it meant there was time to have breakfast with Dennis before leaving for work myself at 7 am. He would be with us for another couple of weeks, with me really enjoying having him there and realising I would quite miss him when he went (for the Spanish conversation, all the laughs and the multiple games of Scrabble).

By this time my back was completely better. It was amazing how quickly it resolved itself - because the pain at the time it happened was unbelievable. I spoke to my sister on the phone and she had the same problem but even worse. She missed her footing on the top stair and bounced down the stairs which are quite steep in her house, hurting her back, her arm, even banging her head quite hard, and was in a worse state than I was. We were all hoping she would improve quickly because she was due to go on holiday to Lanzarote again for a week, departing a week after her fall.

The next couple of days Dennis got really busy in my garden. In addition to more cutting back of bushes and hedges and even small trees he had the mountain of foliage from Monday to cut up small enough to go into several strong large green plastic garden bags which we would then seal and take to the tip. He promised that by the time I got home from work I would have a lovely surprise in the garden! In addition he had two stories to correct from their automatic translations and the Easter one was a pretty large one to undertake. I was really lucky that he was so keen to help me. I never would have asked him to do anything and seeing the garden slowly transform and grow in size was brilliant. He said that once the garden was finished he would also do some work in the house. I knew that Aquiles would be be amazed at the transformation everywhere on his forthcoming visit! That next night I arrived home, thought Dennis had gone out - I went into the garden and was amazed at all the work he had done. The extra space in the garden was unbelievable and the whole lawn area was a mountain of cut foliage and branches. The only thing remaining to be done apart from cutting everything up and putting it into bags was to cut a bit more height off the hedge but he couldn’t reach - he tried standing on a chair and still couldn’t reach, but Colin would be arriving next day with a stepladder for him to complete that task.

We had a fun time that night. We listened to Techno Kjarkas whilst cooking the tea and Dennis selected Alberto Arteaga and Romulo Meza to listen to in the car when we went out. I even took the camera because it is small enough to wear around my neck and wedge under my bra at the front so that it is hardly noticeable. By the time we arrived at Bristol we had heard the whole Alberto Arteaga CD which is really beautiful charango. We arrived at the rink for 8.30, the start of the session, just us because Oswaldo could not make it in the end. Dennis looked distinctly nervous but did not hesitate to get on the ice, holding the barrier and going round slowly to each exit point (there are 8 in the complete oval) and I left him to find his balance until he felt a little more confident, just doing single laps myself and stopping each time to see how he was getting on. We were laughing continuously - I knew I was really going to miss that always smiling and happy face when the time came for him to leave on 20th April! We both had to take care at the ice rink because wednesdays is disco night and it was full of young teenagers who gave no care to beginners - in fact went out of their way to scare people, speed skating right across their way only inches away, even putting their boot out to trip people up when they thought they could get away with it. You needed ten pairs of eyes and with only one pair it was inevitable that I would fall eventually - the first time onto my knees when one skidded so close I thought he would collide with me. Then not long afterwards I fell completely on my backside, luckily not coming to any harm. The worst part of falling down is trying to get back up again - not an easy process on slippery ice!

Halfway through the session we stopped for a coffee in the rinkside cafe. Then by this time he felt more confident and I supported his arm whilst skating alongside him, enabling him to let go of the barrier and he soon grew in confidence so that he could skate on his own even without my support. Of all the Peruvians who have tried ice-skating so far he definitely picked it up the quickest. We used up all 10 shots left in my camera - I took most of him but there are 2 or 3 of me on the ice. Unfortunately I used up the film before he reached the point where he could skate unaided in the middle of the rink but maybe I will take the camera again as we hoped to go again the next week. After the session he said he had really enjoyed it, that it was fantastic fun, and he was as keen as me to go back next week. He said there is a club in Arequipa which is members only which has an ice-rink and he is going to join that club when he goes home and tell all his friends too. On the way home we listened to Romulo Meza, which is Peruvian dance music with mandolin etc - really beautiful. I was so tired from a hectic week that I was almost falling asleep driving home, with Dennis having to keep talking to keep my eyes open. We got home okay and I went to bed almost immediately, but forgot to set the alarm (I turn it off each day because I don’t like the chart music that plays) and woke up one and a half hours too late for Tristan, with him asking why I didn’t wake him up! He said he was reprimanded for being late the day before and decided to stay home instead and pretend he was ill which was only the third day of his first week at a new company. I hoped they would accept that excuse.

Around this time I had been invited for a holiday in Dallas at Jacco’s home which was a really enticing and exciting thought to be visiting the United States for the first time in my life, and then the disappointment of finding out that the cost of flights was even more expensive than going to Peru! At work there was an email from Jacco saying how he could hardly believe how expensive they were and was working out the best way for us to still see each other in between his commitments. Luckily Vision Andina are not playing in July or August except at a festival at Austin, 4 hours from Dallas in July at which Fernando Jiminez and Clarcken Orosco will also be playing. Jacco’s wife Vilma and daughter Anjelica depart in August for 3 weeks to France and Spain, continuing on to Colombia which is Vilma’s homeland. Jacco said that once they depart to Europe he would come to England as he loves the idea of going to Edinburgh again. I will still also be able to meet Vilma and Anjelica because after a week in Edinburgh we could travel to Spain and see them there. This is definitely possible because a single way flight from London to Barcelona is only £55, so I’ve suggested flying to Barcelona and then making our way back to England by train through France. We would probably be able to see Leo in Paris at that time as well. I was really happy at the prospect of seeing Jacco again, having resigned myself to forgetting about the trip to Dallas because of the high cost of the flights. What with Dennis at home at the moment, Aquiles and Claire arriving in about a week, then Leo and his family on 24th April and other things coming up until Edinburgh with Claire, Aquiles, Colin and Jacco in August, the summer ahead looks really exciting. Also that day I had an email from Rosita, member of an Andean band called Los Ninos de Los Andes who hope to be in Bath at the end of April. I don’t know how she found out about me - it must be by word of mouth via one of the other Andean friends, but I will pop into Bath that Sunday morning in order to meet her and hear her play and probably buy one of their CDs.

The following night was another incredibly enjoyable evening. That morning Dennis had offered to vacuum clean right through the house so that I would have more time for the cooking of three different Peruvian dishes for Debbie and David. He also managed to complete the translation of the Peru Party story. He was in the dining room finishing it off when I got home - I thought he had gone out, the house was so silent. When I got home I saw that he had been very busy cleaning the house - in fact he gave all the downstairs the most thorough clean it has had for ages. It was great just being able to concentrate on the cooking - it took 3 hours to prepare the three Peruvian dishes, playing the new music just received from various friends whilst I worked. Dennis helped me with that too, getting the table ready etc. He was looking forward to seeing Debbie and David again having met them at their house the day he arrived before the Peruvian party. We had a lovely evening - everyone enjoyed the food and we shared 3 bottles of wine, and we had music playing continuously as well. They were enchanted with Dennis and when Debbie exclaimed how lucky I was that he is doing my garden Dennis said he will be coming back to England in 2 years and next time he would do their garden as well!!! Dennis really liked them and after they had gone he asked for their address as he wants to send them a postcard when he gets back to Peru (which I know will delight them).

Dennis said he would wash the dishes in the morning and we were both enjoying the music so shared a 4th bottle of wine and listened to selections on the CDs in his carrying case so that I could decide if I wanted to copy them and I picked out six which I wanted to get copied. There was a third Raza Inka which actually had the song titles printed on the CD - but it was all English songs with only about two andean ones - including a couple of Dolly Parton and music of that genre - country and western music done on andean instruments - no I don’t think so! That genre of music is my least favourite, in fact I cannot stand it! I only copied the other two because Dennis confirmed the songs on them were Andean. We also discussed my forthcoming trip to Peru in February.

I will probably get Aquiles to meet us off the plane at Lima (which could be Colin and me and Claire, or just Colin and me or only me, if Colin decides he is only going for 2 or 3 weeks - if I cannot persuade him to stay longer he will come for the Cusco part of the holiday. Claire can only go if she can get the time off and again, if she cannot get more than a couple of weeks she will only go for the Cusco part of the holiday, possibly Colin and Claire travelling together. So it will be Aquiles and me travelling from Lima to Arequipa the day after my arrival in Peru. We can probably stay overnight either with Elva’s sister or one of her nieces or with friends of Aquiles before travelling onward to Arequipa the next day. On arrival there we will be staying in Dennis’s house and then getting up really early to leave Arequipa at 4 am, in a hired 4-wheel drive vehicle, as it is a five hour drive to the Colca Canyons. We will then have all day in the canyons and he suggested we stay in a hotel 2 nights, so that we get three whole days of exploring in the canyons. He said he will research it thoroughly when he gets back to Arequipa, about cheap hotels to stay in, good places to eat etc. Then when we leave the canyons our next stop will be Ilo for a few days with Elva and Hugo before travelling on to Puno - on the shores of Lake Titicaca - in time for the Candelaria festival which is about 3 days for the best of it - then on to the carnaval in Oruro, Bolivia for another 2 or 3 days. We will probably stay in hotels in Puno and Oruro and hopefully I will be able to sort out such accommodation via the internet nearer the time when I know the dates of each festival. If there is time between Candelaria and Oruro I hope to visit the Isla del-Sol as well, which is about a 2-hour boat ride from Puno I think. After all that Dennis will drive back to his home in Arequipa and Aquiles and I and the others if with us will head for Cusco if it is possible direct from Oruro or if not we will visit a couple of days and then travel from La Paz. It would be great if we could manage a quick trip to La Paz as well to see both Adrian and Jorge. I know the part that Colin is looking forward to is staying in Aquiles family home and meeting his family, walking the Inca Trail and the Sacred Valley etc, so I will definitely aim to be there for at least 2 weeks during the 5 - fitting all the previous things into a 3 weeks or less span of time. Then the following year Dennis will come to England again. He has really fallen in love with Bath and knows he is welcome in my house anytime for as long as he wants to stay.

It is great that he is willing to drive us everywhere when we get to Peru - Aquiles said in London that if for any reason when the time comes Dennis isn’t able to, he has a friend who would willingly be our driver and he would join our travelling group instead. So either way we can travel as the mood takes us without having to rely on public transport. Such travel will be inexpensive as well with all of us sharing the costs and Aquiles would know the best places to stay, eat etc, at really low Peruvian prices rather than touristic prices. I think that second South American trip could end up being even more exciting than the first one.

Dennis has assured me though that he should be able to get enough holiday to go with us to Colca/Ilo/Puno/Oruro. He has also told me how to get my flight to Lima much cheaper - it is only about £350 to £400 to fly from Spain and easyjet flights to Spain are really cheap at about £55 each way, so the whole return flight could only cost about £500. I shall more than likely travel that way, making sure there is at least 8 hours between the EasyJet flight and the next airline flight in case of delays.

On Friday Colin, Dennis and I went to the Pelican and that was a lovely evening, especially chatting to Kerry and Richard whenever they could. Because they were busy at the beginning with all the young farmers drinking there before going off to yet another ball, he placed my bottle of rose wine in a wine bucket on the bar and told me to help myself if Kerry or he were too busy. Not many landlords would do that would they!!! Although Dennis and I only got to play Pool once we all just enjoyed having a chat. The lady helping them out behind the bar could speak a little Spanish and was busy trying it out on Dennis whenever she could. I asked Kerry if she and Richard were planning another trip to North Devon soon but she said not until later in the year as they are trying to book a proper holiday of 10 days abroad hopefully in May or June. Colin then said we could go down to Lynton and Lynmouth just for the day this week if I could get a day off work and we made tentative plans for Wednesday. I was so pleased that Dennis would get to see it too - we planned to sleep at Colin’s house on Tuesday to enable an early start wednesday as it was about 90 miles journey. Colin loves those two little coastal towns as much as I do and I was dying to see Dennis’s fascination with the little cliff railway between the two places. We got back from the Pelican that Friday about 11.30 pm and both felt like a game of Scrabble. We enjoyed one game with a pot of coffee and then about halfway through the second game we could both hardly keep our eyes open and we decided to give up on that game and get some sleep!

Next morning I had to take Adam to work so it meant getting ready and calling Dennis to get up at 7 am in order for us to leave by 7.30. He was still pretty tired and was tempted to stay longer in bed and meet me in Bath later but I must have had an expression of disappointment on my face because he rapidly changed his mind, leapt out of bed and said a quick shower would work wonders to wake him up, which it did and we were all out of the house by 7.30. We got Adam to work just in time as the supermarket opens at 8 as well and we went in so that I could do some food shopping, including a pack of 6 just-baked croissants which we enjoyed in the car for our breakfast. I also chucked in a couple more bottles of that Argentinian Malbec Tempranillo red wine to accompany other scrabble games this week. From there we drove out to the park and ride on the Bristol side of town, parked the car and got the bus back into Bath, Dennis opting to sit on the upstairs level for an excellent view as we went along. We reached Bath a few minutes after 9 am which of course was a bit too early for much of what we wanted to do. The first stop was to the shop to see and try out the new Apple iMac and iBook - only to discover it did not open until 10.30! So we continued on to the bank, which didn’t open until 9.30 so we killed 20 minutes in a kitchen shop where I ended up buying some much needed useful small utensils.

After the bank we walked along to the internet cafe only to find that didn’t open until 10.30 either so we had 45 minutes to kill there as well. First in the charity shop I found a vinyl of Ariel Ramirez with Los Fronterizos and a choir which is the Misa Criolla on one side and Navidad Nuestra on the other. Then I saw a good book in an open air market specialising in antiques but they wanted £2 for a shabby paperback. I said to the man that I was used to paying 50p for books at boot sales and he said it wasn’t a boot sale and I said neither was the book an antique! He couldn’t come up with an answer to that one!!!!! He looked very annoyed at Dennis and me falling about laughing! At the internet cafe the guy wouldn’t agree to us having 2 hours each on the 4 hours for £5 deal, offering us half an hour each for £1.50 each, which of course wasn’t long enough. In the end we got 1.25 hours each for £2 each which was fair enough. I found trying to correct text in a Microsoft word processing file the most tedious task imaginable - it is nowhere near as user-friendly as Appleworks. In the end I gave up, deciding to finish it at work on Monday and entered the details of the new music in the online database instead. We walked back into town, passing the open air market on the way. Just out of devilment I said to Dennis I would try offering £1 for the book and see what his reaction would be. The guy was so adamant in the way he said NO! That we were both hysterical all over again. We then thought it wise to disappear fast.

By just after midday we reached the Italian restaurant we had decided on for lunch and that was really excellent. Normally I lunch at Las Iguanas but this particular Italian restaurant had a special lunch deal which was half the Iguanas price and the food was excellent as well. We both opted for pasta dishes and shared Brushchetta which is his favourite as well as mine.

Our next stop was the Apple Mac shop and I went in and sat down to try out the iBook first - but could not get on with a laptop keyboard at all! Then onto the iMac and Wow it was instant love at first sight and then some! It was so easy to use - and fast - even though the only programmes supplied with it are Appleworks and Internet Explorer. After that laborious business in the internet cafe with Microsoft, the smoothness of Appleworks was wonderful (and much faster than my version at work). They even let me try out the internet by sending an email and I sent one to Jose in reply to his that arrived since leaving the internet cafe earlier. Unfortunately they don’t do any finance plan there and the total cost with tax for the mid range one is just over £1400. Then we had to run to catch the bus just leaving for the park and ride and were soon back at the car and on our way to the hospital to visit my sister Kathryn in hospital. Since her fall down the stairs her back got worse and worse until in the end she could not move and John had to call an ambulance and she was taken to hospital, for her back to be X-rayed etc. In addition she had caught cellulitis which she gets from time to time. The slightest infection in her leg always flares up into cellulitis which is quite serious unless treated immediately with strong antibiotics. With only six days until her flight to Lanzarote for a week of holiday with her old school friend we were all hoping against hope that she would be fit enough to still be able to go.

Walking up the road to the entrance her son passed in the car beeping his horn and then we stopped and watched a helicopter landing on the cricket field next to the hospital bringing an emergency arrival to the hospital. Kathryn was delighted to see us both. Her bad leg was resting on a pillow and looked terrible - swollen to three times its usual size and causing great pain. Fortunately her back was much improved - the main problem being the cellulitis in her leg which after 3 days of very strong antibiotics being injected into her veins still showed virtually no improvement. She was quite tearful because there was no chance of her being well enough to still go on her holiday to Lanzarote. She could not even stand on that leg and had to be wheeled about everywhere in the hospital. She said she had not got round to filling out the insurance forms so had lost all the money paid as well. Her friend Anne was trying to find someone to go in her place which would mean she would get some or all of the money back, but it wasn’t easy for anyone to find £400 plus spending money at the drop of a hat at short notice. She looked at me hopefully but there was no way I could afford that - especially as cheap flights to the Canary Islands are available on the internet at the moment and if I was going to the Canary Islands I would be going to Tenerife rather than Lanzarote in order to meet Jose!!! Just while we were there in the hospital with Dennis glancing through the newspaper on her bed he found return flights to Tenerife from £64 (incredibly cheap) but low cost flights to Latin America as well which I will be checking into on their websites at the first chance. We stayed with her for two hours until near the time when next visitors were expected (and she persuaded a nurse to wheel her down to the smoking room so that she could have a quick cigarette before they arrived).

We walked back to the car, and after a quick trip to the Thai shop for ingredients needed and then driving towards home which meant passing Bath Spa Univeristy College where I work I decided to show him the campus. He exclaimed in sheer delight as we were driving up the two mile drive at the wonderful scenery. We drove past the building where I work now and continued on and parked a bit further on and I showed him the little castle where my office was once on the top floor until it was taken over as classrooms. We took photos and then decided to walk around the lake. He was really overcome at the sheer beauty of the setting and we took photos around the lake - of us both - and you will get a few of these eventually. We spent about an hour walking there, came back up, climbed over a wall to take another picture which involved climbing up a small grassy bank. You can guess what happened then - I was wearing the same shoes - I got up the grassy bank okay but went straight down on my backside on the way back down! - fortunately with no harm and Dennis gave me a hand back up and over the little wall to get back to the path. We then drove towards home and stopped once more and took photos in a field next to a pub which was a field completely bright yellow with the flowers of the rape-seed crop growing there. We parked in the pub car-park and after taking photos went in for a drink before continuing on home.

Once back there, out came the scrabble board and the coffee pot went on and we played about four games until Colin was due to arrive - Dennis this time opting to stay at home because he was so tired. It turned out that Adam was having friends over and they would be playing loud music in the lounge (where Dennis sleeps) so I lent him my bedroom while I was out, so that he could sit on the bed in comfort and watch on my wide-screen TV, Adam even letting him choose one of his videos to watch, if he couldn’t find anything of interest. I gave him coca cola and snacks to eat and left him to have a quiet peaceful evening there on his own.

Colin and I went to a lovely old country pub where we used to go a lot and had a super evening, meeting one or two people in there we knew and chatting with them. At one point when I was up at the bar getting the drinks because Colin was so busy chatting about rugby to someone, I was chatted up at the bar! I wondered why the guy sitting there had kept staring at me, as I definitely did not know him. He didn’t want to take no for an answer either until I adamantly told him I was with someone already and had been for a very long time! Colin was a bit tired as well so we didn’t stay long at the pub and I was home again by just after 10 pm, arriving there just as Adam and his friends were off to the pub for pool and drinks before it closed. Adam said he had asked Dennis to go but he was still feeling too tired. Dennis was surprised to see me back so early when I got in. He looked really comfortable, and was enjoying a football match on the TV so I told him to carry on watching until the end and that I would make coffee.

I don’t normally watch sport on TV but didn’t mind for once and then when the game was over we said our good-nights until the morning. By this time I knew he would not be coming with us to the restaurant by the lake next day. He said he was feeling embarrassed that his money was getting low and if he could not contribute he would not come there. All my attempts to persuade him failed. I think he knew from our quick visit last week that it was an expensive place. He said he had enjoyed himself in Bath two weeks previously with Aquiles and that he would go there instead and see who was about, there having been quite a few South American people there last time.

By 10 am, Justin - Adam’s friend who had stayed overnight - went up to the bus stop to check bus times for himself as well as Dennis, came back with the times and Dennis set off for the 11 am bus, intending to return on the five past five bus in the afternoon. After taking Adam to work, coming back and finding Dennis still asleep I made a start on reorganising my CDs yet again back into alphabetical order (hundreds having come out of their places for the party and ever since with never any time to put them back. Whilst doing this I recorded Misa Criolla onto a cassette and in no time at all it was time to get ready for Colin’s arrival at midday. Whilst doing this, the phone rang and it was Oswaldo who apologised for not joining us last Wednesday and said he had lost my phone number so could not phone and explain but that he had seen Ann in town on Saturday and she gave him all my three numbers. He said he had left a message in my mobile phone and I said I hardly ever carried it or turned it on which is why I didn’t receive it. He asked if we planned to go ice skating again and I said we were planning to go on Thursday. I told him too about the salsa on Wednesday and he said he would try and make it there for that but that he would definitely join us for ice-skating on Thursday. Unfortunately the weather at the weekend was not too brilliant. Although lots of sunshine was forecast for Saturday, it never materialised, which is why we discarded the idea of the canal trip on boats which was our original plan after lunch that day. Sunday the weather was even worse, with no sun, spasmodic rain and very grey skies etc. I took the camera anyway! When we parked at Woodford Lodge car-park our friends Jenny and Colin who we had not seen for ages were just arriving at the same time and it was so lovely to see each other it was hugs and kisses all round as soon as we got out of our cars! We then had a lovely lunch even though the service there that day was incredibly slow. Half an hour after starter to main meal, almost an hour until dessert and after ordering the coffees and waiting about an hour, when I popped over to the waitress who had taken our order to say we had been waiting an hour she asked what we wanted! She couldn’t even remember taking our order! The food was superb though and enjoyed by all. Neither Colin nor I worried about the delay, looking out at such a lovely view.

Afterwards, even though it was raining slightly and the skies really grey, we walked down to the lake-side to take a few photos but couldn’t get past a private point to include the few sail boats that were just returning to base. I think I may have got a couple of passing ducks in the picture though. Back home it was almost 4 pm and I could tell by the handle being up on the front door that Adam wasn’t home from work yet, glanced at his chair on arrival in the lounge and then nearly jumped out my skin when this voice from the corner said Hola! It was Dennis and he laughed his head off when I jumped three clear feet in the air! He had come back on an earlier bus because hardly anyone was in town because of the weather and definitely no one he knew. He was resting on his bed - the long settee by the window so we decided to play scrabble and so that he could remain comfortable in the same place, I washed the outside coffee table and brought it in, placed it beside him, with the music playing and we proceeded to play about ten games of scrabble the rest of the day!!!!

After that lot I said I would cook him something really nice if I could find the cookery book in question and left him looking through the bookcase for it downstairs while I went upstairs to look through all the cookery books up there. Luckily I found it and proceeded to cook my Chicken and Chilli soup which Aquiles raves over even above all Peruvian food, which I had not made for about a year because of the cookery book being missing. When I dished it up later he raved over it too, wanting the recipe and he is going to do his best to find the Thai ingredients when he gets back to Peru. It really is a sensational recipe. After the meal, we had had enough of scrabble and I said I was going to continue organising the CDs and he offered to help, and in no time at all everything except 20 or so of the newest ones had been put away. We listened to music in the process and then had a last coffee before saying our good-nights. He was so easy going and nice that I knew I was really going to miss him when he left on Saturday.

Next day he promised that by the time I got home from work the whole garden would be finished. It was an early start to the day for me. Making coffee and lunchtime sandwiches and calling Tristan at quarter to five, then trying for the next 35 minutes to get him out of bed. Then a big sigh of relief when he went downstairs and I heard his motor scooter start up. Then next minute he was in my bedroom, saying it was another flat tyre and I would have to take him to work. So I had to fall out of bed, get dressed and go immediately to get him there on time, then go back to wake up Adam and get ready myself, but there was still time for a cup of coffee with Dennis before leaving for work at 7 am, with him in his 'bed’ watching breakfast TV!

I managed to pop home for 20 minutes after work and before Spanish class, there not being much to do for once at Job 2. It was a glorious day and when I got home Dennis was hard at work in the garden - just finishing off bagging up the last of the mountain of foliage sitting on the lawn at the weekend. There was a mountain of very full green garden sacks instead which would involve countless trips to the tip when I had time. He had the windows open and the music playing and was really enjoying the warm sunshine. He had cooked Lomo Saltado for us and I had mine whilst unwrapping some CDs from Stasha and then us both having a good laugh at the photos of the Peru party. After the class I got home about 8.15 and we played four games of Scrabble with snacks and soft drinks listening to those new CDs and enjoying them immensely. You wouldn’t believe how good he was at Scrabble - beating me quite often in my own language! He was definitely planning to buy the Spanish version during his 2 day trip to Spain before going home to Peru. He will probably start a Scrabble craze between all his friends and family. I knew I was going to miss having such an enthusiastic opponent because most of my friends get bored with it after one game.

When I got back from Spanish class his work in the garden was finished. The whole garden looked perfect with all the garden furniture washed and as good as new as well. He had promised that morning that when I got home I would find a perfect garden for relaxing in and he was right. I wished I could have seen the expression on my neighbour’s face when he looked out of his bedroom window - he probably literally did a double take!

I so enjoyed his visit but he promised to keep in touch by email and even by post, and of course February will soon come around when he hopes to get as much holiday from work as possible to join up with the rest of us on our adventures. The first thing he is going to do is send me a stack of dried aji amarillo peppers, because of the difficulty I have getting this important spice. All my favourite Peruvian recipes need this and it cannot be substituted with anything else without getting a different flavour altogether. I have supplies coming from America but at a horrendous price - 21 dollars for 4 jars of it, but because it is so heavy to send by airmail the total cost is 56 dollars because of the high postage costs. Dennis is going to send me dried ones regularly so that I can cook my favourite dishes often and not just as rare treats which has been the case up until now. He has really fallen in love with Bath which I am glad about as at least it means that he will head for Bath the next time he visits England - the fact I looked after him so well should guarantee that as well. He thinks he will come back in 2004 and it is probably very possible because his work is very well paid so it will be easier for him than the average Peruvian to afford a trip back to Europe so soon. He is in exploration for mines and the fact I am beaten regularly in my own language at Scrabble attests to his intelligence.

We had a fantastic day out on Wednesday, which I took as holiday from work. I took him to Colin’s house Tuesday evening and then went down to my sister’s house to iron some of her husband and son’s clothes as she was worried about them running out. She was still in hospital and if still there on Saturday I would be going to see her there after taking Dennis to the bus station. After finishing the ironing I had to go and get Adam from work and take him home, getting back to Colin’s house at about 10 pm where we watched a good programme on TV before retiring to bed. I was up at quarter to five and disappeared downstairs and spent the next 45 minutes phoning continuously trying to wake Tristan up for work. Eventually I gave up and switched over to internet instead to see if there were any messages and replied to those that were there. By the time I had a shower and got ready, Colin and Dennis were up and getting ready as well and we enjoyed coffee and cakes before leaving.

We were on the road by 8 am and reached our first destination - Dulverton - about 10 am. Colin decided to stop there first because our next stop would be the White Horse Inn at Exford (in the middle of Exmoor national park) and we would have arrived too early for our planned lunch there, had we not stopped at Dulverton first. This proved a pretty little town. We walked around a little exhibition of the town first and then looked at the shops in the high street and round about, finishing up in a nice tea shop where we enjoyed coffee and buttered scones. Dennis was very taken with the lovely old buildings, typical of England, and I took photos of him with various in the background and Colin took one of us together and he took one of Colin and me as well.

Then we returned to the car and continued our journey - straight up onto Exmoor and a drive across the more wild part of the moor (where one can easily get into trouble if walking on the moors, with bogs, fog etc) and Dennis thoroughly appreciated the wild countryside. We arrived at the White Horse and enjoyed a few drinks there but after a quick look at the menu I decided we would eat at Lynton or Lynmouth instead - the menu was good but items I fancied were not on it). We chatted to the landlord and were disappointed that the Stag hunt which takes place 3 times a week was not on that day. There are only two more in April and then no more until the autumn. We are definitely going to be there to watch a stag hunt in the autumn. The members of the hunt gather at various places for people like us to enjoy before they set off on the hunt at 11 am (which we could easily arrive in good time for driving from Bath, we would aim to arrive about 10 am and see them all assemble etc. The meeting places are listed out for the whole month so it is an easy matter to get hold of a copy of the monthly list and know in advance where and when.

We left the pub and continued over the moors in the direction of Lynton and got there, parked up for 4 or more hours and rushed to catch the little train down the cliff as we had planned to have lunch at The Rising Sun where we enjoyed ourselves with drinks two weeks previously, the 14th century one. On arrival at the cliff railway we discovered one of the trains was being repaired but they hoped to be operational again at 2 pm. It was 1-15 and we were eager to get lunch by now so decided to walk down. The path zigzagged down and was very very steep and quite painful on the knees at times in the steeper places. It seemed to take ages to get down and all the way down I was thinking “thank goodness we won’t have to walk back up!” At the Rising Sun we were lucky to get a table and ordered lunch which proved really excellent. I noticed when she brought our food that the waitress looked Peruvian but didn’t ask her. Dennis agreed when I remarked upon it, and when we went outside later she was standing near the door with a friend and we asked and she was indeed from Peru. She and Dennis gave each other a hug, both not expecting to find a fellow Peruvian in the wilds of Devon. She said there were three of them working at that pub - her and one other in the dining room and another helping in the kitchen. We spent the next couple of hours walking around in Lynton, which Dennis really loved and we took some great photos - including some of Dennis and me with the Indian in the shop and I bought two more frogs, one for Claire and one for me! We finished up in a nice coffee shop where we enjoyed chocolate cake smothered in creamy Devon ice-cream and Mocha coffees (not having had time for pudding in the pub as the kitchen was closing). Then back to the cliff railway only to find the train was still in the process of being repaired and there was an enormous queue waiting. We waited for 20 minutes, with both Dennis and Colin trying to convince me about climbing up the way we had come down and me protesting at the mere thought! In the end I had no choice but to agree as Dennis had gone on ahead so that he would have time to look around Lynton at the top. As he would not be a witness to my huffing and puffing I decided to attempt the stiff climb. All day the forecast rain had held off until this moment. We started that horrendous climb and the heavens opened and the rain poured down. I could not hurry either and needed to stop and catch my breath every 100 meters, with me scolding Colin if he went ahead too quickly and he was getting wet waiting for me to catch up etc. I never thought I would succeed as the climb seemed endless. It probably took about 20 minutes, maybe a bit longer, altogether to reach the top and quite a struggle getting there and we were soaked to the skin, even the rain penetrating our coats to our clothes beneath. At the top Dennis was waiting, and amazingly once I caught my breath again I felt really good after that climb. It just shows that unaccustomed exercise is really beneficial and makes you feel good, with no ill affects from all the effort expended. We were all very wet (except Dennis whose coat was one to allow for all circumstances), so we went into the nearest pub and had drinks and attempted to dry ourselves off a bit. We were certainly ready for that drink too, it being thirsty work climbing so far.

One decision made that day was that we would not be doing the 4 day Inca Trail after all. That 20 minute experience was a little taste of what one could expect for four whole days on the Inca Trail and it put me off somewhat. I think it might prove too gruelling for me and maybe for Colin as well. Dennis was telling us about what a great adventure it is going to the jungle and convinced us to do that instead of the Inca Trail and that he would do his best to get the time off work so that he could come with us because he did it once before and said even for a Peruvian it was the most amazing adventure of his life and one he would love to do again, especially with friends like us. So the new plan on arrival in Cusco (hoping that Aquiles agrees but I am sure the adventure will appeal to him too in our company), will be to book up on an excursion to Manu National Park, which takes 9 days, going to the jungle and travelling on the Amazon, staying in jungle lodges at night etc., probably taking in Iquitos at some point. Although I am slightly afraid about the mosquitos etc, I am going to do it and to hell with any consequences. An adventure like that is just too fantastic to resist!

After our drinks in the pub we walked back to the car, where Colin was delighted to find he had left a spare jacket in the boot of his car. It was still raining and the next thing on the Agenda was to drive to the Valley of Rocks which upon arrival looked wonderful and would have been great to walk there on a fine day but we decided to carry on in the car instead. We went on a private road through a monastery which was in such a beautiful, peaceful and dramatic setting we stopped and took more photos. This road was so narrow and so high (with steep forested drops down to the sea on our right) that we could only hope we would not pass another vehicle and luckily we didn’t, perhaps because being a private road one had to pay a toll. When we exited many miles the other side we had no idea where we were, with no map to help either, and we got lost quite a few times before we picked up the right direction - which was across the moors again to the White Horse Inn, where we decided to finish off a perfect day with a cream tea. We arrived there about 6 pm, and found a table right by the log fire which was burning on such a damp and dismal day. We ordered the cream teas which were delicious and Dennis loved the thick Devon cream that accompanied the jam and scones.

Finally after that we started the journey homeward. The whole day we had listened to new Andean music and thoroughly enjoyed the Nanda Manachi, Americamanta and Nuca Llacta CDs received from Stasha. We finally got back to Colin’s house at 8 pm, gathered our things and drove back to my place, so that Dennis could watch the last of the Argentina versus Germany football match on the television. Whilst he did that, I got ready things needed for the next day back at work, and then we had three games of Scrabble before bedtime.

On Thursday night the plan was to go ice-skating but this never materialised. I had to do my second job in lieu of Wednesday and got home at 5.45, cooked something for tea but Dennis was out and I guessed he had gone to Bath but both Adam and I were hoping that instead he had gone for a long walk with the dog who was missing from the garden, having slipped her chain if not with Dennis (which happens occasionally). At 7.30 with no sign of either dog or Dennis I guessed he might be walking back from Bath as he had mentioned a few days earlier that he wanted to do it to see how long it would take him. Adam and I were laughing at the thought of the dog walking to Bath and back, as she would be exhausted, not being used to more than a 20 minute walk at the best of times! I drove as far as the next village and sure enough, there he was, and was pleased to see me as he was exhausted. I was disappointed that he was on his own - no dog with him - because normally in the past whenever the dog has escaped she came home about the same time as either Adam or I were due home.

We drove back to the house and Dennis had his dinner (he was delighted when I handed it to him still warm from the oven with a large iced coca cola, as he was both starving and thirsty after his long walk!). Even without the dog being missing he was too tired to skate after all that walking but said he would still go but just watch me instead. I said we would wait and see if Oswaldo phoned and that if he didn’t phone we could stay home and play scrabble instead. After his dinner we went out looking for the dog - first on foot in the nearby vicinity calling her and looking for about half an hour. When we got back, Oswaldo had not phoned so we went out with the car and scoured the whole of Timsbury, even stopping in a field where I sometimes take her. It was full of sheep and Dennis went in to have a look and see if she was in there and the whole flock came charging towards him and he came running back out - it was really funny! We realised that they were probably waiting to be fed. The whole crowd were watching us and baaing ‘where is our dinner?’ and I said to Dennis I had the camera in my bag - did he have the nerve to go back in amongst them and have his picture taken! He said yes and the sheep made way for him and I took a nice picture. I hope it comes out because it was getting dark by this time and hopefully the flash worked okay.

Needless to say we did not find the dog and all went to bed feeling really worried. Poor Adam could not sleep without Lucy in his room for company, worrying about her, and even Tristan who normally never had any time for her was worried sick. I would be getting in touch with the RSPCA next morning to see if anyone has handed her in.
I could only think that the reason she didn’t come home was because someone took her into their home. I wish people would not do that because normally an animal can finds it’s way home. Preventing an animal from doing that causes hours of needless anxiety to its owner. I was worried too and hoped she was okay and safe somewhere. I did not realise her address cube on her collar had broken off. Adam only told me that morning. In the past when she has escaped the finders of her have phoned us.

Dennis, Colin and I had a super last evening at the Pelican that night. Even the people in the pub were going to miss Dennis, who is such a lovely person he made friends wherever he went. When he first arrived in London 3 months previously he knew no one, not even Aquiles, so taking him into my home was on trust only (Aquiles told me in London to be careful as he had not known him long) but I am so glad I did. We all liked him so much - me, Colin, the boys - even Adam is missing his presence in the house and every time I look at that scrabble board last left on the dining room table, it reminds me yet again how much we all miss him.

On Saturday morning I gave him an enormous breakfast to last him all day (as well as chocolate bars and cold drinks for the bus trip) and after breakfast we had 2 last games of scrabble before I drove him into Bath. Colin was going to the bus station for 11.45 am as well, also to say goodbye. We stayed until the bus left, waving him into the distance and then Colin went off to rugby and, having parked for 2 hours, I went first to get the new tag made and engraved for the dog, then spent half an hour in an internet cafe, and then drove up to the hospital where I stayed an hour and a half with my sister who was very pleased to see me, especially as I had just bought a book by our favourite authoress which I gave to her to read first. She looked much better than the previous Saturday although still not well enough to go home. She had resigned herself to the fact that the holiday was lost - she said her friend Anne had found someone to take her place but would only pay half the money. I suppose that at least that is better than losing all of it and hopefully later when she is fully recovered, I can help her to find a nice Canary Islands holiday at reasonable cost by searching the internet. She was still unable to walk because her leg was taking so long to heal and it seemed that she would be remaining in hospital for several more days if not another week. After the hospital I went to Safeway to shop for the week (also picking up 50 blank CDs as they were on special offer that week) and then drove to Bristol and collected the dog who was overjoyed to see me and if the kennel owners doubted my identity, her enthusiastic welcome was proof enough that it was indeed my dog! Then I went to visit June for an hour and got home with just over an hour to get ready for the evening.

We had a lovely evening at the wedding evening reception of Jason and Janet, Jason being Colin and Jenny’s son. The band from London which has 2 members of Colin’s family in it - his niece Jo and his nephew Simon - called The Cosmic Sausages were the main entertainment of the evening, 2 sets of music with the food in between, and then the disco was continuing until 2 am but we only stayed until 12.15 because I had to be up by 4.45 to wake Tristan for work. I wore a stunning new dress that cost me 85 pounds and Colin loved it. On Sunday, Colin and Jenny had taken over the whole restaurant at our pub in the village and 30 of us all had a nice lunch together there as well. It was a lovely hot day. I had an hour and a half sunbathing in the morning and a couple hours more in the afternoon, thoroughly appreciating a lovely neat and tidy garden after about a week’s hard work on Dennis’s part. He was justifiably proud of the result of his efforts which I couldn’t thank him enough for!

On Monday I had the day off from work again and Colin and I went to Newport and Cardiff for the day. I arrived at his house about 9 am and read my emails and sent replies whilst he organised the food for all his birds. We were quite hungry on arrival at Newport so went for lunch first at the first pub we came to after leaving the car park! Inside Colin could not get over how cheap the prices were for the food. We both had a three course meal for under £10 for both, which is about half what one would pay in Bath. The food was excellent too. After that we spent a couple of hours in the town so that I could visit my favourite shops. In an excellent hardware shop I bought a new 4 meter length of chain for tethering the dog in the garden, and also some strong bolts to make my garage door more secure, including one of the heaviest padlocks I’ve ever seen. It was very expensive but the man could see I wanted that one and knocked £11 off the price - to my delight. I also bought a new silk jacket in one of my favourite dress shops which is closing down and selling everything at great discounts, and found a vinyl by Julio Iglesias in a charity shop. From there we continued to Cardiff where we still had a few hours exploring in town, having coffee and cakes in one shop and finishing in an Australian bar for more snacks and wine before going to Cardiff International Arena for the Simple Minds concert that night. And the concert was fantastic - we were only 9 rows from the front, central to the stage, the show starting at 7.30 with a support band called The Real People, then an interval and Simple Minds started playing at quarter to nine and continued until 11 o clock, inclusive of three encores. It was fantastic to hear them live, see them so close, and the whole experience was magic. Afterwards we got lost leaving Cardiff, including getting on the motorway and going the wrong way, so it was really late by the time we got back, and then I had to drive to my house, with about 2 hours sleep until it was time to get up. The next excitement would be two days later when Leo, Christele and the children would arrive from France for a 4 night visit with us.