A WONDERFUL DAY IN SALISBURY

It’s amazing how some people weave in and out of your life and although you may not have seen them for a while, you pick up where you left off and it’s as if you have never been apart.

Mary is one of those people for me - we have known one another since our children were very small when our garden almost backed onto Mary’s and our children were at school together.  Then once our children had grown we went our separate ways, but over recent years, we have come back together again and have enjoyed each other’s company.

About a year ago, Mary moved to Salisbury and only today I found out that she and her husband had been to many choir days there and had always said they would like to retire there.  Sadly her husband died 7 years ago, but when she was wondering where to move to, having sold her house in Swindon, a beautiful flat in Cathedral Close seemed to fit the bill and so she moved.  

We have kept in touch over the last year and have seen each other once or twice, but today I caught the bus to Salisbury and have had a lovely day with her.  I couldn’t possibly have chosen one photograph, so decided to make a collage.  The last time I visited the cathedral was on 20 February 2014 with our Swiss friends and as expected, not much had changed, although there was some scaffolding around one of the towers.

Once again, we were invited to stop at 1 p.m. and pray, which was very moving and finished with The Lord’s Prayer, which reminded us that prayers have been prayed in this beautiful Cathedral for thousands of years by many different nationalities.

There were lots of people about, which was very different to the last time and I think when I go again, I will make sure it is in the winter and not during school holidays, as it was quite difficult to get photographs without people “getting in the way”!  I think my favourite is the very large font, especially with the reflection of the stained glass window above.  Apparently, the water is so smooth, that sometime ago a lady actually put her handbag on top of it, but of course, it sank!

We had a lovely lunch in the Refectory, still chatting and then went back to Mary’s flat in Cathedral Close, passing the beautiful garden in the top middle photograph, and then we went to sit looking out over the Harnham Water Meadows for a while.  What a wonderful place to live!

I suddenly realised at 4.45 that I ought to check the times of the buses and found out that the last bus was at 5.25 p.m.  Sadly it was rather late and it was almost 6 p.m. by the time I left Salisbury.  It was great to sit on the top deck and look out over the beautiful Wiltshire countryside, but I decided to go downstairs once we got to Marlborough, so that I was ready to get off when we arrived in Swindon.  However, when I got downstairs and told the lady driver that I wasn’t getting off yet, but had come downstairs in readiness, she looked rather nonplussed and said, “Well if you aren’t getting off, you will have to come back to Pewsey with me, because this bus doesn’t go to Swindon!”  

Because the bus was late, I had missed the 7 o’clock bus to Swindon, so what a good job Mr. HCB was happy to come and collect me, he’s a treasure!  Thank you, Mary, for a lovely day, you were an excellent guide and thanks for posing for one of my Blip photographs - once you get back from your travels, we must do it again!

"I cannot even imagine 
     where I would be today 
          were it not for that handful of friends 
               who have given me a heart full of joy. 
Let's face it, 
     friends make life 
          a lot more fun."
Charles R. Swindoll