Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Directionally Challenged

by admin - 17:15 on 20 November 2010

The fog last night was thicker than I thought. Our search for accommodation took us from the southbound to the northbound services, as we discovered when we rejoined the M1 after breakfast and found ourselves heading towards Chesterfield. Fortunately the next junction wasn't too far away and we were soon able to head back in the general direction of south.

Traffic was light (for a motorway) and the journey pleasant (for a motorway) but advance warning of roadworks prompted us to turn off near Northampton and travel the rest of the way to Oxford cross-country, which had been the plan anyway.

Matchgirl, who's of the North American persuasion, has never ventured into this part of the UK and despite more occasional fog was most impressed by stone-built villages and surprisingly quiet roads, especially when I told her the correct pronunciation of Towcester. We even saw a kestrel, a buzzard and two red kites. But no mountains.

Our unexpected (to her) proximity to London inspired (in her) a desire for an afternoon in the big city. I was able to talk her out of it.

So we arrived at Hawkwell House Hotel in Iffley on the outskirts of Oxfod with plenty of time to relax before the bunfight that will be Dianne's 60th celebrations – an occasion that the birthday girl's been looking forward to with much more enthusiasm that Matchgirl did her 50th.

I have friends who are 60; I must be getting on.

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