Holiday

I usually do hours of research before booking a holiday, checking that our needs – more stringent these days – are met, before presenting the idea to MTL in such a way that he has be acquiescent – if not wild with enthusiasm.  We usually go in May – after the school rush and before the prices rocket and a quick glance at the relevant web page indicated I’d better get on with it.  In a way it was helpful that the choice was limited and I managed to fix it yesterday morning before going for a late birthday lunch with the girls.

We have booked a cottage – they call it an apartment – at Cricket St

Thomas Estate.  Do you remember that great series ‘To the Manor Born’ with Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles?  It was filmed there and the hotel was ‘Grantleigh Manor.

The estate is spread over 1000 acres of lakes and gardens with a little chugging train to take you round.  The hotel, a beautiful 19th century mansion – nestled in rolling Somerset countryside – was designed by famous architect Sir John Soane.

The lunch was quite jolly but one of the girls managed to let slip it was for my birthday and my trifle was delivered with candle and two singing waitresses.  I felt a cheat as customers wished me a Happy Birthday on their way out.  I mean it was ages ago!  Joy was bearing up well after her recent loss and was thrilled that her son-in-law had set up a scholarship for boys interested in sailing studies in Mike’s name.

Outside the restaurant we bumped into J - an active Townswomen’s Guild member.  I had – some time ago - been given a large volume of memoirs written by a former Guild Member and felt it should be kept in a more official place.  She suggested it should be returned to her daughter and said M was a friend and would know how to get in touch.  I hadn’t seen M for years so she gave me her telephone number.  By now I was beginning to regret ever mentioning it.

We all went our separate ways and walking up the narrow road that leads to the bottom of our hill – who do you think I bumped into?  M and her retired husband - who used to be our doctor.  She is a very nice lady and suggested I put the book in a plastic bag at the bottom of our steps and she would collect it later on in the day and would give it to the memoir writer's daughter who she was meeting tomorrow. And this we did.  Wasn’t that great?

Before I went out I dropped the gold butterfly from my pearl earrings and – with glasses and on my hands and knees I could not find it but mentioned – half joking - to MTL he might like to have a look.  Would you believe he found it whilst I was out?

Whilst down in the town I decided that this was the day to use my Block Buster card and get a film.  It seemed to be full of vampire films, monsters and robots but I found ’The Help’ and took that.  Later in the day I watched it and was glad I had read the book first.  I felt a great surge of emotion in the scene when Emeline – having witnessed one of the maids being manhandled and beaten by the police entered her house to find it full of silent supportive maids.   Such strong stuff - really deserves to be seen.