Old friends.

(BACKBLIP)

Drove to Kendal via Biggar. It's the slow road but worth it for the views. Notably you pass the River Clyde in it's infancy. You can almost walk across it! Strange to think how big it is by the time it reaches Glasgow or Helensburgh,

Stopped off at Kendal to stay with L and J and their family. L and I met at a British Steel residential course in the 1980s where we shared a love of Billy Joel, Gin and Bitter Lemon, Jamaica Yellow Vauxhall cars, and Beethoven piano concertos.

The year we met was also very snowy and we only had one pair of wellies to share amongst twenty course attendees! We stayed in converted stable buildings and played practical jokes on everyone when we discovered that they keys fitted more than one room. Drawers were put back upside down, beds unscrewed and left in the snow or the bath and that year I found out that if you put cling film on a toilet it's really messy (but the results are beautifully wrapped!).

Over the years we have shared love stories, weddings, births, redundancy, and many laughs. Seeing them again is like putting on a One-sie---hugs you like an old friend no matter your faults and gives you a warm glow.

Here we are gathered around the table to enjoy L's delicious Lancashire Hotpot!

Your turn to come here L !!