Jean in her garden

As HH slept for an unprecedented ten hours, Jean and I sat in her kitchen and caught up with each other’s news. There can be nothing better than meeting up with old friends and finding the bond is as strong as ever, however many years have passed. I’m sure we must have seriously interfered with her plans for the day, because we were slow to get on our way even after HH had emerged and partaken of a late breakfast, but she was the essence of patience. Hard to know which photo to post – the views through her windows, with her fascinating objets d’art in the foreground – the butterflies on the flowers in the garden – but of course, it has to be Jean herself, a reminder of a delightful night and day in a beautiful part of the country.

Eventually, we reluctantly started on the journey back to the Wirral - but the warm welcome when we arrived made it all worth-while.