The biggest catch up.

Hello from the Valley of St John's of the Vale..... we have at last found internet, and I will catch you all up on our goings on in the past few days. Wednesday we flew from Florence to Zurich, and then Zurich to London, picking up a rental car at Heathrow, and drove to Shrewsbury. We stayed at a little hotel, which was tucked in the back streets and nice and quiet. That evening we wandered the streets and had a little look at the town, there are some very old parts, and we enjoyed the old pub which was called the Post Office which had been a pub since the 1600's. Next morning, we left the hotel, and after a bit, of shopping we drove out of town to a place called Battle. Now this was where Bob Hotspur* and Henry the 4th had a bit of a to-do and it was a very famous battle which neither neil or I had heard of. A little further on (from the hillock we stood on to view the battle ground reputedly planted in peas at the time of the battle) we found a visitors centre and the most amazing farm shop, fresh meat, veg,goodies, and cheese as well as a cafe, where we had lunch. The centre was full of things like chain mail which was the first time I had actually picked it up (its heavy) arrows, and lots of info, 2,000 people were killed and buried under the abby church at battle. The church was amazing, with tiled floors, and beautiful carvings, and an old gentleman who showed us all the treasures. He was at least 80 and was so passionate about his church, it was a real find. We then arrived at Andy and Nicks about 4.30 and got to know Andy a little, he is a train driver in Wales on the narrow gaged steam rail, and we met sam and James, their sons. Nick cooked us a delicious tea, and the next morning, we set off in the Van. ..... Bertha.
We drove to Godalming, and picked up Pilla and Mike and headed to the new forest, a beautiful drive
* tottnam hotspurs fooot ball team are named after him, and white heart was his emblem, which is why the ground is named this.,and we arrived at the camp ground after dark. It was like fort know with  barriers and the need to swipe cards etc. anyway we sorted our selves out then drove off for a pub tea. The next day Mike who was in charge of places to go, set us off in the direction of Salisbury Cathedral, via lymington which is a seaside town of real beauty, where the ferry sets off for the Isle of Wright. we enjoyed the sunny weather, and then drove to Salisbury where we wandered around the cathedral, which is stunning. We then drove back to the camp ground which was on the edge of a pond, where hundreds of canadian geese landed early in the morning, making a noise like the second coming. Sunday we wandered back via Winchester where we feasted on cornish pasties, and just enjoyed talking, of which a lot was done over the weekend. After a quick bath at Pilla's and some washing it was off to Kirdford to rekindle our friendship with Ian and Jan. We had an awesome time with them as well, its amazing that after so many years we can begin again where we left off. Yesterday (Monday) we went to a roman villa, which had a number of wonderful moasiac and lots of information. Underfloor heating, summer dining rooms with fountains and a outside dip pool. Then it was off to Bosham, another seaside village, which is on the edge of an esturgy, full of swans, the village sits bang on the edge of the estury, and at high tide, the water floods the road in front of them. Each day at least one car has to be towed out of the water, and as we ate lunch we watched a young Man rescue his. After that we cruised to Chichester and wandered around the cathedral, then back to Kirdford and time to chill out.This morning we had breakfast then set off up the motorway to Cumbera. Here we are in the rain, eating tea, Arthur  is fixing a curtain I was a little over enthusastic with, and we are going to sit and read, its all rather cosy. Tomorrow we are off to Edinbrough, so will blog when we can.....beginning to get a little homesick, especially as there are lots of cows etc around here and strong smell of cow shit....love you all Lady Fotheringgayephipps.