Up early again this morning and after packing the kids off to school, Sara and I set off, just after 9 a.m. for the long trip up to Worcestershire together with a car packed full of old journals, magazines and timetables to be delivered to the Kithead Trust at Hampton Lovett, Droitwich. We stopped briefly to refuel at Tidworth and made a short diversion into Swindon to drop off some old copies of Trolleybus Magazine for the British Trolleybus Society archivist. I was sorry to see these go but realise that we must make way for the house extension and that they are probably of more use properly cared for in archives than in the garage. I will also have to cull many of my books too so that I will have room for another generation of theology books which I will need if I start my ministry training in September. We arrived at Wychbold, just north of Droitwich at 11.25 a.m. where Sara met up with her niece, Natasha, and two of her four children - Kenny and Tye in MacDonalds. We moved over to the Wych Way Inn Harvester where we had coffee whilst Sara and Natasha started the process of getting to know each other again- after 24 years! Just before 12 noon I left them to have lunch together and drove the three miles or so to Hampton Lovett to deliver the boxes of journals etc. and was given an escorted tour around the Kithead archive by Peter. I had helped set up the archive trust many years ago when I was a solicitor with my own practice in Brighton and it was very interesting to see how the collection had grown. As transport companies had closed down or merged so all their records had come to Kithead and there was a myriad of wonderful documents and books. I was even offered a job there (voluntary of course) a couple of days per week. Commuting to Droitwich doesn't really appeal to me especially as it would be unpaid! Peter and I had a light sandwich lunch at a lovely hotel in Droitwich town centre - St. Andrew's Town Hotel - which is akin to a country club in the centre of a town. Very good food at reasonable prices. I return to the Wych Way Inn after lunch and spent another half an hour with Sara and Natasha (and kids) before we set off back for Wiltshire at around 3 p.m. Sara's meeting had gone well and I was quite struck by their physical similarities. I know that Sara's mother would have been delighted at this meeting as I am too. Back in Salisbury, we picked up Mary from her friend Allie's's house in Old Sarum. Leanne made us a cup of tea and I was struck by the unselfish kindness which Leanne obviously has for the elderly in her care. I dashed into Andover quickly to get weighed at Fat Fighters and was delighted to have lost another pound despite all the ice cream I seem to have eaten this week! Tonight we had a good house group with Mary J joining us. A really lovely day today - seeing an old friend and, in Sara's case, a long lost niece. It was also fun to joke about Sara being a Great Aunt who should really smell of lavender and wee!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Meeting Friends and Relations in Droitwich Spa
Up early again this morning and after packing the kids off to school, Sara and I set off, just after 9 a.m. for the long trip up to Worcestershire together with a car packed full of old journals, magazines and timetables to be delivered to the Kithead Trust at Hampton Lovett, Droitwich. We stopped briefly to refuel at Tidworth and made a short diversion into Swindon to drop off some old copies of Trolleybus Magazine for the British Trolleybus Society archivist. I was sorry to see these go but realise that we must make way for the house extension and that they are probably of more use properly cared for in archives than in the garage. I will also have to cull many of my books too so that I will have room for another generation of theology books which I will need if I start my ministry training in September. We arrived at Wychbold, just north of Droitwich at 11.25 a.m. where Sara met up with her niece, Natasha, and two of her four children - Kenny and Tye in MacDonalds. We moved over to the Wych Way Inn Harvester where we had coffee whilst Sara and Natasha started the process of getting to know each other again- after 24 years! Just before 12 noon I left them to have lunch together and drove the three miles or so to Hampton Lovett to deliver the boxes of journals etc. and was given an escorted tour around the Kithead archive by Peter. I had helped set up the archive trust many years ago when I was a solicitor with my own practice in Brighton and it was very interesting to see how the collection had grown. As transport companies had closed down or merged so all their records had come to Kithead and there was a myriad of wonderful documents and books. I was even offered a job there (voluntary of course) a couple of days per week. Commuting to Droitwich doesn't really appeal to me especially as it would be unpaid! Peter and I had a light sandwich lunch at a lovely hotel in Droitwich town centre - St. Andrew's Town Hotel - which is akin to a country club in the centre of a town. Very good food at reasonable prices. I return to the Wych Way Inn after lunch and spent another half an hour with Sara and Natasha (and kids) before we set off back for Wiltshire at around 3 p.m. Sara's meeting had gone well and I was quite struck by their physical similarities. I know that Sara's mother would have been delighted at this meeting as I am too. Back in Salisbury, we picked up Mary from her friend Allie's's house in Old Sarum. Leanne made us a cup of tea and I was struck by the unselfish kindness which Leanne obviously has for the elderly in her care. I dashed into Andover quickly to get weighed at Fat Fighters and was delighted to have lost another pound despite all the ice cream I seem to have eaten this week! Tonight we had a good house group with Mary J joining us. A really lovely day today - seeing an old friend and, in Sara's case, a long lost niece. It was also fun to joke about Sara being a Great Aunt who should really smell of lavender and wee!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment