Moving On

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I was just reviewing my last entry and I certainly used "the next day" a lot didn't I.

The train trip to Darlington was interesting and made in a shorter time than I was told. I got in at 2.20pm. The expected time of arrival was 2.40pm. Pat and Kendra arrived at the station to pick me up and we made the trip back to Hutton-Rudby. That was a nice drive through some typical Yorkshire villages. Over the course of the time I was there I met the whole family and was made to feel very welcome. Ken, Pat's husband, was at home looking after their three year old grandson Loui who is a bundle of energy and loves playing with his grandad. His mum, Clair is a chartered accountant who works for a big industrial firm and Pat and Ken have Loui to stay on a Wednesday night and look after him on a Thursday. The rest of the time he goes to a child minder while Clair is at work. Clair's husband, Nick, works on the oil rigs in the North Sea and he had just gone back. As there had been the helicopter crash just a few days earlier Claire was a bit worried until she got a phone call from Nick.

Kendra originally trained as a hairdresser and then later on went on and did her teacher training. Teaching in England from everything I have heard is very difficult and many people don't stay in it long. Kendra decided she did not like the stress and she now has her own mobile hairdressing business. This keeps her very busy but also gives her some flexible hours.

Michael, the youngest is now 25 and has just finished university where he studied law. He is now in his first job with a group of lawyers and seems to be enjoying it very much. Pat showed me a photo of her dad, my Uncle Arthur, at about the same age that Michael is now and they are like two peas in a pod. Michael does not look a lot like Pat or Ken but when you see the photo of Arthur you definitely know which family he belongs to.

I had a great time with the family and Pat took me over to Helmsley one day. We had a good look around and had lunch in an old pub. I had sausages and Yorkshire pudding in Yorkshire. The town is a real mixture of very old and not so old and it was great. I bought a birthday present for Roger's mum there and they arranged to post it home to her as it was the weekend and the post office was shut. I won't say what it was as it may not be there yet.

On the Saturday night Pat and Ken were booked to go out to a Freemasons dinner and they got a ticket for me. It was a great night and their friends were very welcoming. Towards the end of the evening they had a quiz about old money, you know £ s & d with cryptic clues. Our table was one of three that got everything right and the prize was a bottle of wine for each table. As it was getting near the end of the evening no-one wanted to open the wine at that stage. I saw the others all in a huddle having a discussion and then they said that I should take the wine home, which I though was very nice.

On the Monday Ken and Pat went to do their grocery shopping and dropped me off at Marks and Spencer's. Their sale was still on wasn't it, so what's a girl supposed to do?

A couple of days later I caught the train to Bolton, Manchester. From the station I got a taxi to my Aunty Joan's. We did not go sight seeing there as Joan does not have a car and all the girls with cars were working. However, on the Wednesday we caught the bus into Bury (pronounced Berry up there) and went to the Indoor Markets. These indoor markets are permanent market stalls in a big indoor area very much like Victoria Market in Melbourne. I picked up some real bargains there, 4 summer tops for £1.99d each which I hope to wear when I get home, if the weather has improved. I also got some things for some of the people back home.

While I was in Bolton I met a cousin and a number of 2nd and 3rd cousins I did not know I had. Only on of Aunty Joan's grandaughter's wasn't able to get over to see us but I met all the rest not to mention several of her neighbours who think the world of her. That was a slight change of pace to doing sightseeing and shopping but was still busy with all the people who called in. Many of them remember meeting David (my brother) when he was there last year.

From Bolton I caught a train (2 actually) to Gloucestershire where I am currently staying with Roger's cousin Mary and her husband. I met her son Andy today and we are going to lunch with Susan and her children tomorrow. We went to Gloucester and did the shops and also the cathedral. While not as big as Canterbury it was very impressive and again the ability of the builders and artisans to produce something that old was impressive and amazing. I am off to Weymouth on Monday to see cousin Geoff and his mum and dad and will then head back to London on the last leg of the trip.

Everything I have done so far has been amazing and the trip of a lifetime. It has been fantastic meeting so many family members. For someone that only had an immediate family of mum, dad, me and my three brothers as kids in New Zealand it is great to meet and be a part of such a big family and to be made to feel so welcome. The sightseeing while not a large part of the trip has been amazing and I have seen quite a bit of the history of the country, things that I had read about or seen on tv were now a reality and again has been an amazing experience. As a lover of history from early childhood to be surrounded by so much of it has been fantastic.

I don't think I am going to be able to update from Weymouth so the next entry may be after I get home. If I use the work amazing too often I apologise but this trip has so far been everything I hoped it would be and then some.

Keep well and have a great 2007 and I will let you know how the rest of the trip goes as soon as I can.

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