Catching up with Friends

I'm taking some time off to visit my daughter and go with her to school open days. Next year she has to choose one for Eryn to move on to and she wants to get the possibilities in her head now.

This morning she went off to exercise her friend's horse and I intended to take Jade for a walk while she was out. Then it started raining cats and dogs, so I've put that off for a bit.

On the way here yesterday we took a small detour to meet up with a friend I haven't seen for a while. She suggested we meet at the Eastleigh Steam Railway, which was a brilliant idea. It is located in Lakeside Country Park which has trails and fishing lakes, so we walked around one of those and Jade has a good run around while we caught up with what's been going on in each other's lives. Then we had coffee sitting outside the railway cafe and watched the little trains coming and goin from the station. Jade was fascinated too.

This month I'm catching up with a good many friends. Last Wednesday I had a wonderful day out on the River Dart with someone I went to Primary School with. We took the riverboat from Totnes to Dartmouth and back, something that's been on my to do list for years. The weather was cloudy and showery but it didn't spoil our enjoyment. We saw lots of wildlife, incuding buzzards, herons and even seals. I've drafted most of a series of haiku about it, but it's not ready to share yet.

 

This lovely pic of  the riverside at Dartmouth is by Paul Buckingham.

Friday saw me at Bournemouth for a stroll and lunch with another couple I've known for years but haven't seen for a while. The next date I have is with soemone who will come upfrom Kent to meet in London for a couple of hours on Wednesday. This is a veritable feast of friends after a long famine.

Of course it has meant fitting in work by putting in long hours on other days, but it's well worth it. And now I'm having a good rest.