Wiltshire and the Cotswolds

I have just worked out what is wrong with my brain. The right side is not right and the left side has nothing left. Finally, I have made progress.

Remembrance Sunday

All those who lost their lives in the last century would make a line 3 abreast from London to Edinburgh. Wars are inevitable, we as a race have to have a good war every now and again, it seems so pointless and the old expression is so true, we never really learn from our mistakes until it is too late.

We had dinner with the Middle Smiths and between Gary and Claudia (Diva), they cooked a perfect Lasagne, although the Diva did have something to add. Not enough sauce, you can never have enough sauce? Gary did follow with the caveat, that a gallon of sauce would not have been enough.

The Diva did make a Carrot and Walnut cake, two eggs, carrots, self-raising flour and brown sugar, and margarine - let it rise. The secret is not to add nuts and definitely only two eggs and also never use cake flour and bicarbonate of soda and baking powder- just not done, the Italians do have some strange cooking tricks but are renowned for their tasty food, the Diva is no exception, when she gets around to cooking, you better not miss it. The Diva will have something to say, but then she does have  Italian genes flowing through her veins.

Alex turns 10 today, 17th November, we have been invited to a pizza party, which should be fun. He is a mini Gary, that is a worry. I do believe the Mafia are coming over from Weymouth, Mafia headquarters, to have lunch with the wee man, I am sure he cannot wait for all the presents he will be getting. An interesting fact, Alex is second in line to be the next Don (Godfather).

Snow comes to Town

Thursday 21st November we woke to the start of a morning it snowed, quite unexpectedly, but snow, nonetheless. By 10 am it was settling and the road was almost covered, the grass took a while but it never really got there. There are reports of heavy snow in the midlands, Robert and Lauren’s area, will they make it to Malmesbury?

Trip to Malmesbury - Wiltshire 

Friday 22nd November 2024

We went for an early swim before setting off to Malmesbury in Wiltshire, Michael and Matilda joined us for a catchup with Lauren and Robert.  The water at Sandbanks is getting colder, we measure 9 degrees C, and winter is starting to show its muscle.

Sunshine the whole way up and after a mere two and a half hours we arrived, at the car park for the Abbey, not the Airbnb as they only allow you to book in at 4 pm. I always think it strange as you pay for staying for 2 days but in reality, you lose a quarter of a day. 4 pm check-in, 10 am checkout. 

Back to the abbey. Still a working abbey or place of worship dating back to the 7th Century. Malmesbury is the oldest borough in England, The town, one of the oldest in England, developed around the abbey, which originated as St. Maeldiub’s hermitage (c. 635) and was rebuilt and endowed by the Saxon King Athelstan (895–939), who is buried there.

The weather forecast was not that encouraging, Storm Berti was on its way and we were in its path of gale-force wind and heavy rain, possible flooding. We made the most of the sunny weather and walked around the town centre after stopping for a fine coffee at the ’Summers Coffee Shop’. Summers is a friendly coffee shop at the top of the high street and allows dogs, Jenson was grateful for the treats on offer. Malmesbury is more of a large village than a town, the High Street takes 5 minutes to walk from end to end. Interesting mix of ancient pubs, arts and craft shops and the absence of any of the known high street brands such as Burger King or Starbucks. As it was getting close to 4 pm we made our way back to the car and off to move into the Airbnb, minutes count when they take a quarter of a day off your stay.

The Airbnb is on the edge of Malmesbury. Interesting cottage with multiple levels, actually a converted mill but very thoughtfully built. Big lounge with a beautiful log fire and comfortable couches. Kitchen, dining room and another smaller relaxing area. Not too expensive, I will give the place a good review, if I remember. The house had two double rooms and a twin room, Michael and Matilda opted for the twin, as I thought and to test my theory that Matilda is not really a princess, only likes us to think she is, I put a pea under both mattress as I did not know who was sleeping in which bed. Apparently Matilda had a good night's sleep but Michael on the other hand did not, maybe there is a prince in him?

Being Friday night, it was the traditional burger night with baked camembert and warm baguette. We did enjoy the odd glass of our favourite tipple. Robert bought a rather excellent bottle of whiskey, Nikka Days, a Japanese whiskey, very smooth, in fact, a little too smooth which left me wanting to pour another and I did.

Our Girl Guide, Lauren Bell-Brown took command of the wood fire burner. Seems she was highly rated as a Girl Guide and her firemaking left us in awe. We spent the rest of the evening playing poker, Roberts rules, and there were winners, just not sure who but I do believe the Girl Guides did not have poker as part of their guidance for the girls. Great fire Lauren. Getting on to other matters worth noting, Matilda is a rubbish poker player, she just cannot keep a straight face, her eyes betray her, too excited when she has a good hand.

While on the subject of our Matilda, she wants to go back to Australia. You might not have known but she was born in Australia and her family still lives there, not sure if they have completed their sentence yet. Anyway, Michael is starting to throw some dates around, I believe 2028 is being considered. Susan has up the game and suggested 2030, it is a nice round number, was her reason for 2030, also the government has announced, that no more diesel cars can be sold in the UK. not sure what that means as Matilda drives a petrol engine VW Polo. Let us wait and see.

We woke on Saturday to the full force of the storm, heavy rain and a rather gusty wind greeted us. This was not just your normal rain, it had come unobtrusively in the night. Falling through the oak trees, filling the steam, that ran under the old mill, dripping from leaf to leaf and soaking every corner of the small garden. The autumn foliage was thick but the rain saturated the ground. I stood and watched the rain while enjoying an early morning coffee, it was relentless and forecast to continue for the next 36 hours. We would get wet today.

After much deliberating we set off to Cirencester, a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire. Stopped at the medieval coffee factory called ‘Rave’. Robert was interested in their coffee so we decided it would be a good stop with our final destination for the day being Bourton on the Water. Busy little coffee shop with very expensive coffee on sale. I had my normal expresso, with a little hot water and a hint of milk. Cappuccinos, flat white and VB60 were also tried, I am not a fan of ‘Rave’ coffee but Robert did buy two packets to take home with them. All the while the rain and wind continued without a break.

Onwards we travelled to Bourton on the Water. A village in the rural Cotswolds area of south-central England. Straddling the River Windrush, it’s known for its low bridges and traditional stone houses. The Cotswold Motoring Museum features vintage cars, a toy collection and more importantly the Home of Brum, much to Lauren's delight, the smile on her face, tells it all, certainly cannot take the little girl out of her joy at seeing the sign. (See image). What is Brum you well might ask? It was a TV series about a car. A small, intelligent car named Brum lives in a motor museum and heads off into the big city in search of adventures. Brum meets new people and helps them as he explores the world.

I must admit the Dry Robes we all wore, kept us reasonably dry, except for Lauren, who had a Gabardine Jacket with a hood that was functional and waterproof. For those who do not know what a Gabardine coat is, well, Gabardine is a durable twill worsted wool. It is a tightly woven waterproof fabric and is used to make outerwear. That girl has such style, it must be her creative genes.

Bourton on the Water was as it says on the tin, on the water. Rain and the river that flows through the centre of the town combined to make it a very wet visit. Lunch was what we all needed and Smith’s burger bar was the obvious place to get it. Burgers for some and side dishes of chips and Tats for those not so hungry. Being a burger joint you would imagine they would come out pretty fast, a burger is just a burger, not so, 35 minutes before the first burger arrived. Everyone agreed the food was very tasty and with 3 burgers and three sides, the bill was not that over the top, £ 92.50. In comparison, 3 x Burger King Whoppers, 3 x Chips and 3 x Soft Drinks would have set us back £ 13.99. Talking of Burger King, Susan bought us each a Cheese and Bacon burger from the said establishment in Chippenham on our way to Malmesbury, they were tasty and took all of 4 minutes to be served. Just a thought, in all our travels around Malmesbury, I never saw a Burger King. 

Latest news, I have gone to the dark side, vegetarian, yep, you all said it would happen but I have discovered the joy of vegetarian delights.