Summer Holidays (Part 1)
Twelve days ago I returned to England to collect my daughters for our holiday together in Spain. I flew into Stansted airport and spent roughly a day and a half in Rowhedge, which was a real pleasure! My mate Richard collected me from the airport and put me up at his for two nights. I popped into North Primary School for what I'd imagined would be a very brief visit to say hello but was greeted by surprised throngs of children at every turn, all of them asking about Spain and wondering if I was returning to take my old job back! It was lovely to see them and all the friends I used to work with and I felt a bit emotional when leaving. However, I felt not the slightest pang of regret for having given up my job there.
After visiting the school, I returned to Rowhedge quickly as Richard was expecting me to go for a sail. When I passed the Anchor, friends Clare and Fabian were just leaving and when I told Fabian what Richard and I had planned his eyes lit up so Clare and I convinced him to join us on the boat. We had a great sail and I realised how much I'd missed it! It was a perfect afternoon.
Richard and I went for a quick pint and chat in the Albion then a meal at the Anchor. It was nice to run into a few old friends there including Mike, who sadly couldn't stay because he had a date. No change there! After our meal, we went back to the Albion. I'd been in touch with friends to let them know I'd be in the village and was pleased to see several people turn up, including Baz and Niki, Nick and Loraine and Christian. By an amazing coincidence, a group of folk musicians sailed up the Colne the same day and gathered in the Albion for a singsong. Simon, the publican, said we should have a reunion of the Stowboaters, our old sea shanty group, so Richard went home to collect some music and we sang a couple sets! My visit to Rowhedge, though brief, was remarkably packed!
On the Thursday, I had to travel to East Midlands Airport to meet my daughters, Ellie and Imogen, for our trip to Spain. It involved taking a train to London Liverpool Street, traveling across town on the Tube and taking another train from St Pancras to Loughborough before catching a bus to the airport. I was tired when I woke up after only 5 hours sleep but excited about seeing my daughters and taking them to Spain. The train journey went smoothly and I got to the airport in good time.
It had been three months since I'd seen my daughters and I was amazed at how much they'd grown! Ellie is getting so tall and has shed almost all of her baby fat. They are both such gorgeous girls! It was lovely flying to Spain during daylight so the girls could enjoy looking out the window. They were both fascinated by the towns, land features and clouds as we flew along.
When we landed in Granada my friend Helen was there to collect us. I'd booked her taxi service for ourselves and our friends Clare, Anny, Frank and Richard who were due on the next flight from England so she had to drop us at home and return quickly to the airport to collect the others. Fortunately, the timing was just about perfect and all arrived without a hitch. It was nice that Ellie and Imogen got to see the house first. By the time the others arrived, they were familiar enough with the house to give them a tour!
- Posted by bobinspain on 29/07/2007.
- bobinspain's site
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