Great Break

Ros and I have just returned from a great break touring the North Midlands and South Yorkshire. We started on Sunday by visiting Ros's sister, Diana and her husband Peter in Edgmond, Shropshire. We stayed overnight and caught up their news. Then we took a leisurely drive across Staffordshire into Derbyshire where we toured parts of the Peak District National Park, stopping for a while in Bakewell. Bakewell is most famous for its Bakewell tarts. I was very sad to discover that the tarts in question were baked confections - not the saucily-dressed, over-painted ladies I had hoped to see! Never mind, we had a great time exploring the area and then, by a series of expert navigation from my wife and a little gut-instinct from me we arrived, via a planned look at a local reservoir, in Sheffield to visit Debbie.
Debbie was one of our bridesmaids more than 30 years ago and neither of us have seen her since the day we got married. She was instantly recognisable and it was lovely to see her and her family. We chatted for hours and she produced one of the best home-made lasagnes I have ever tasted! I was really jealous of her daughter Sarah, who has recently been given a Fender guitar on which to learn - not just any old guitar but a brand-new Fender! I harken back to the days when I bought my first guitar. It was a piece of orange box with some strings on which I bought for 10 shillings (that's 50p or about $1 for you youngsters!). I painted it bright scarlet because that was the "in" colour for guitars in those days and it helped both me and my friend Derek to learn the rudiments of the guitar.
On the Tuesday, having stopped in a Travelodge and been pleasantly surprised by the basic but comfortable room there, we travelled to Leeds to see Ros's brother Malcolm. We all went to Roundhay in Leeds and had a superb meal in the Roundhay Fox pub - recommended by all of us for good food at reasonable prices with good service. Across the road from the pub is Tropical World. This is a series of greenhouses joined in expert ways to give you a tour of various tropical scenarios. Plants, birds, butterflies, fish and other animals. A genuine attempt at a small-scale Eden Project which - especially for the modest entry fee of only £3 - was extremely entertaining and educational. Bristol should take a leaf out of their book, especially as their own version - Wildscreen - is due to close. Bristol's trouble was they tried to be too technological. Lots of interactive screens, not enough actual specimens and extortionately high prices.
A walk in Roundhay Park, a beautiful area of green in the middle of Leeds, and back to Malcolm's flat for tea and biscuits rounded off a beautiful day.
Back to the Travelodge for a good sleep and then today another exploratory drive through the Peak District National Park. We stopped in Glossop for breakfast in the Glossop Cafeteria. Reasonable English breakfast for me of sausages, bacon, egg, beans and toast. Ros had sausage and egg in "barm cake" - which turned out to be what I would call a bap and others might just call a round bread roll. Washed down with a good mug of tea, it did the job!
The final destination was Birmingham to visit our son Andi. He has just split with (now ex-fiancee) Steph and was putting on a brave face for us. It seems the split is amicable enough but it can't be easy for either of them when Steph and he have to share the same bed while she looks for somewhere else to live. I imagine it must be fairly strained at the moment. Andi cooked us a good pasta dish which was more than adequate for our needs. He chatted to Ros a lot. I was in a semi-doze because I had done all the driving over the last few days and knew I still had 100 miles to drive home tonight. Andi has serious exams towards his degree in less than a fortnight and is practising his trombone like mad for these at the moment. He seems to be bearing up and I know he will do his absolute best.
All in all a great break. Now back home I have a new toy to play with. I bid on and won a guitar amplifier. I had only bid on it because the seller was in Birmingham and it was a "pick-up only" item. I told Andi I was bidding and he said he'd pick it up for me. As it was I won the amp for a bargain price and the seller even delivered it to Andi's flat for me. Thanks very much Mark - I've sent you glowing feedback! So now I have this monster sitting in my music room waiting for me to try it out tomorrow!
Perhaps I should distribute ear-defenders to my neighbours first . . .