TUESDAY : THORPE - LRI - THEVILLAGE - KIBWORTH

What a busy day!

I had a spare morning and instead of sitting around drinking tea at Grandmas, I thought I would pop to AuntyMiaows who lives around the corner.  We walked to the park with the boys, grabbed a takeaway coffee and flapjack and sat on too small seats watching the kids play on the park.  As I don’t have too much time, it was rush rush rush and I had done over 12,000 steps by the time I got back to Grandmas.

Grandad took me back to the hospital.  MrsElderflowerMeadow was not too good.  She was really
struggling and I felt like I was not helping her by being there.  It’s tough because I obviously want to spend as much time as possible with her while I’m here but also she needs to recover.  So I called the nurse and left them to it.

LizzieDotDot collected me from the hospital and we went and picked up her boys with LittleN in the car.  Chatting on the way I learned that there were Orange Smarties now available.  Being Small’s favourite (when he was very small I told him he had to give all his orange ones to me and he never realised they tasted of orange.  Obviously later on, he knows and I’m lucky if I get one out of a whole tube) LizzieDotDot stopped at a local shop and bought him about six packets.  Lucky boy.

When we had collected all of the five children, we went back to her house in TheVillage.  Her and MrDotDot made a lovely tea and we sat and ate before Yahoo turned up and took me back to her house.  What an absolutely lovely family and I made all the kids hug me.  Ha ha!

Lizzie.dot.dot made this.  Crocheted all by herself.  She says it’s because I taught her so well.  I am very proud of her.  Love it!

We had a glass of wine, Facetimed Huffle and the boys andwent to bed.   

MONDAY : HINCKLEY - THORPE - LRI - THEVILLAGE

Moo and I had a nice slow start to the day.  She drove me to Grandma and Grandads late morning and we stayed for lunch.  Grandad then drove me to the hospital to see MrsElderflowerMeadow.  On the way he showed me a few sights of Leicester.

I stayed with MrsElderflowerMeadow for four hours.  It was extremely emotional but we had a really good chat.  She is really poorly and has had such a major operation and is still quite uncomfortable but we had some good quality time together before Grandad picked me up, gave me ten minutes to get ready and took me to TheVillage for a night out with my ChurchPlaygroup mums from when the kids were very little.  It was a good night, plenty of chat, good food and lots of giggles.

The Barman, when he found out where I used to live in TheVillage, asked if we rented our house to ‘that couple with the nice garden who moved abroad’. That was funny.  We are THAT couple.

Em drove me back to Thorpe and laughed a lot on the way home.   Aww miss these ladies.  In the morning she said hello to her girls from me and asked if they remembered me.  The eldest one said “yes she has dark hair and is really good at funny voices”. That’s hilarious.

SUNDAY : HINCKLEY - DERBYSHIRE - FOSSE PARK - HINCKLEY

After breakfast, Moo drove us to Derbyshire for a visit with the ‘Lettuces’.  It was about an hour’s drive and traffic and roads were quite bad.  We got there a little after we said we would but we were welcomed by Superwoman making a cheesecake.

Superdad was cutting the grass and we watched him from the conservatory while we ate our homemade cake.

The kids (Boywonder and CatGirl) were practising for their singing exams and hair was being crimped (scarecrow style) while we chatted and had a good catch up.  Superwoman made us a lovely lunch of everything plus the cheesecake.  It was very scrummy.   We had a lovely morning.  They are a really nice family and it felt like we had just popped around the corner like always.

On the way home, Moo drove and I fell asleep.

We spent some time at FossePark which was interesting and pretty much as I remembered.

It rained on and off and finally we decided to go for a walk.  Moo took me to see her allotment and then we walked to the Marina and had a wander.  We had a really good walk.

When we got back we were hungry and we had homemade homegrown carrot soup with cheese on toast and apple crumble.  Yum yum.

SATURDAY : WIGSTON - HINCKLEY - LEICESTER

Debore dropped me off at Moo’s in the morning where I left my bags and Moo dropped me off at the train station.  I then travelled with a carriage full of Tigers (Rugby fans) into the City of Leicester.  Bearing in mind this is where I was born and a city I knew really well (up until I left 6.5 years ago) I really did struggle with getting my bearings.  To start with I just followed the crowd of noisy Tigers, but as I got further into the city, I panicked that I couldn’t get to where I wanted to.    Luckily Aunty Miaow rescued me via text and directed me to a lovely coffee place (after we sorted our left from our rights).  I had a second breakfast and a coffee and waited for AuntyA to join me.

Today we decided to do the DickTour.  We visited the RichardIII visitor centre.  It was a very informative tour.  Lots of reading to do.  I think we learned a lot of new information but there was an awful lot to take in.  Some of it was very interesting and some was downright idiotic, for example the woman who had a ‘feeling that Richard was buried somewhere else’ and th fact that that same woman had hers wellies on display with the digger bucket that dug him out!!!    Honestly!   Our most favourite bit was the dressing up clothes at the end where we brought out our inner child.

After we finished we went and visited the Cathedral which I can’t remeber ever going to.  It was beautiful.  We were very happy in there until the LadyVicar asked us to be silent and pray and it all
got a bit too religious and we escaped.

We wandered a few shops and then went for lunch at MrsMiggins Pie Shop (not really called that but we have always known it as that).  We had a long slow chatty lunch, a wander through some shops and a beer in local bar.  We both got on different trains and went on our way.  AA back to London and me back to Hinckley where Moo was waiting to walk me home.  Moo had done all my chocolate shopping for me and bought some blackout material for my room so I could sleep. Awwww.

She took me for a drink in a bar and while we were there we bumped into Huffle’s cousins who live in a village nearby.  I had only just said to Moo “I look around and wonder if I know anyone, and there they were”.  Funny.

Cheers 

FRIDAY : HINCKLEY - FOXTON - WISTOW - WIGSTON

Debore picked me up from Moo’s house and we drove to Foxton Locks chatting all the way.  I worked with Debore a long time ago and we have stayed friends ever since.

Foxton was a little wet but wasn’t actually raining all the time we were there.   We walked along the canal, eating Murray Mints, being bitten by ducks, whistling the sheep and watching the boats go through the locks.

At the pub we stopped for a coffee and settled down for an hour of Jazz with a live band.  It was loud but we still managed to talk (and listened).  We had lunch and a drink while the band played on and then walked back up the canal to the car.

We decided to stop at a Garden Centre with shops and meandered around, finally stopping for tea and cake in the cafe.  Lots more chatting and we finally went back to Debore’s house.

She has had significant entnsions built since we have left so I had a quick tour round before we then Walked 1.5miles to a microbrewery to meet Bears for beers.   While we drank and chatted on more, we played Mastermind.  Beard cycled home and we walked back.

Back at their house we chatted more, ate curries, drank more beer and did some Facetiming.  I have actually managed to FaceTime Home every night so far.

THURSDAY : FAMILY - CHIPPY

on Thursday Moo picked me up from HB’s and we went to a local Garden Centre for breakfast.  We also met up with two of my aunties that I haven’t seen for twelve years.

It wasn’t awkward at all.  We talked and talked and talked.  One of them had to leave but we ended up staying there from 10am until 3pm.  Sitting in the place, talking.  We had breakfast, a drink midway and a cake and drink later.  I can’t believe how easy it was and I have now connected with both of them on various social media and two of my cousins.  Amazing!

Moo and her sister

Moo took me back to her house (haven’t seen it before).  Very nice.  We sat and looked at old photos before going out in the evening to meet up with MrsChappo for a Fish and Chips while she waited for her son to finish at AirCadets.  It was a very foggy evening and we have no idea how we found it.

It was lovely seeing MrsChappo.  Dinner was good and we had a good chat whilst eating.   Moo and I came home and went to bed.  I didn’t sleep well again, up until 3am this time texting Huffle, blogging and wondering why the street lamp outside the window was shining so bright!!

TUESDAY - WEDNESDAY : THORPE TO LEICESTER - BLABY

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY

I travelled on the train from London with a Hot Water and SamSmith in my ears.  I fell asleep briefly and after only an hour I arrived at Leicester.  AuntyMiaow and her entourage of little helpers were there to help me off wth my bags, into the lift, in her car and back to her house for the day.

I havent seen LittleT for four years since he was first born and his brother Hen I have never seen.  They showed me around the house (also new to me). We played and made cakes and played and went to the park and ate cakes.  We had a lovely time.  What a gorgeous lovely family.

Grandad came and collected me (LittleT came out to see the plane, bless him) at bath time (the boys, not mine) and took me back to his house where Grandma had made me dinner.   Grandad wanted AuntyM and I to go to the pub quiz with him but we were too tired.  We should have because the three points they lost by we could have easily got!!!

Grandma and I stayed at home and eventually went to bed.  I slept really well and was fully better by the morning.  I had breakfast of thick white toast, lemon curd and Italian coffee.  Today we were off to Leicester Centre.  AuntPear, HB and Moo all turned up.  We drove to the park and ride and got the bus into town.

We stopped at some of the murals before going off to JohnLewis (well why not?). There we perused for ages and then went for tea and a little something.

The sights we then looked at were the Clock Tower, the market where I captured some video of the local traders shouting “pounda bananas bob”. Well I’ve obviously been away from my mother tongue too long because I have no idea what he was saying about a bob!  Still I sent it to Huffle and the boys and they liked it.  Good old Lestah!  We checked out the new FishMarket and the statue of ‘Leicester Emily Pankhurst’ which I am ashamed to say I don’t know her name’.

Town Hall Square, a walk up High Street (I think) and finally a rest in TheCosyClub.  This is somewhere we have heard a lot about from the female members of the family who seem to frequent it quite often.  We had a nice lunch, a long sit down and several drinks.

HB took me back to her house and the rest went back to Grandmas.  HB and I had a tour of her new house, a meet of her StinkyCat and a long sit and chat for the rest of the evening.  She made me a lovely Hommity Pie which we ate whilst looking at old photos of a party before we left for the ColdPlace.  We had a lovely evening and a very big catch up.

I couldn’t sleep because I was wide awake and ended up staying awake until 4am when I finally dozed off in a very comfy bed.