Birthday celebrations

A non-stop day! When MrM had finished making a final adjustment to J's new fiddle we drove to Leeds, where he dropped me off before he headed north for a walk in the Yorkshire Dales.

I met with my daughter Lucy, who'd managed to take the day off work. Amazing how much you can pack in to a few short hours - coffee, retail therapy (browsing only!), a leisurely pub lunch, short visits to the gallery at the Tetley and to the Royal Armouries, and lots of walking (mostly by the river) and chatting in between. All too soon it was time to meet MrM and say goodbye to Lucy, before we drove to Woodlesford to meet my son Tom. A quick cup of tea at his house, before walking to a nearby pub for a meal. So good to see him, if only for a couple of hours.

Then the main purpose for the trip to Yorkshire - a ceilidh to celebrate the 40th birthday of Wakefield Morris Dancers. I used to dance with them before we left Wakefield, almost 10 years ago, and this evening I got to dance Gisburn with "old" Wakefield, along with a fellow Blipper. It was good to see her again, and to catch up with so many old friends - my Wakefield 'family'. A good evening - dancing, and lots of laughter and chat and catching up. And there was cake!

Very sad to leave Tom and Lucy - as the Coronavirus pandemic worsens, it's unlikely that we'll be able to meet again for quite a while.  (Sometimes it seems hard to live so far away from them...) And sad to leave 'old' Morris friends too - we're all trying to be optimistic, but are aware that many of us are in the 'vulnerable' age range, with underlying health conditions. Hoping that we'll all be around for the 41st birthday celebration...

Photo courtesy MrM. A rare Blip with me in it.