Gammon

Hurrah! We were finally permitted to go and visit S’s mum today. And it was Mother’s Day as well. I hadn’t seen her since Christmas, and S’s last visit was ten days ago. We were pleasantly surprised to find her quite alert and mobile. She was having her hair done when we arrived, so we waited for her and then had tea in the “café” — the home is organised around a courtyard with a café, pub, even a post office. Once S had replaced her hearing aid batteries we managed to have a conversation. Not sure she really grasped that it is mother's day, but she liked the tulips.

Once her lunch was ready, we said goodbye and set out to the airport. The weather was appalling — rain and fog — and the M62 clogged with queues, a far cry from my arrival. We’d planned to stop at an off-motorway pub for lunch, but ended up in desperation at a service area Starbucks. The supposedly two-hour journey stretched to four. But we’re in the Premier Inn now and have had quite a decent meal. Gammon and chips with pineapple and fried egg for S! Up well before the crack of dawn tomorrow.