For the
past couple of weeks I have felt that my social life has returned to
pre-pandemic levels. Both WI’s are now meeting indoors and the Craft groups and
Book club are back to meeting face to face rather than over Zoom. It is so much
nicer to be able to meet in person as it is easier to hold a proper
conversation with a person rather than it being dominated by a couple of people
as happens on Zoom. Also creating something with other people is much more
satisfying. There is still an element of social distancing for these groups and
the number of people attending is lower than before so I don’t mind going
along.
I have also
gone to the cinema with family members. We have gone to the cinema before but
only the one household. This time it was with my 3 brother in laws and niece.
It was something we used to do on a regular basis especially if it was a Marvel
or DC film. This time it was Suicide Squad. ( A bit violent and gory for my
liking).
On Wednesday
we went to the Lowry theatre to see ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’. It was only the 5 of us but it always was
beforehand anyway. The play was so funny, we laughed from beginning to end and
would definitely recommend it to everyone. Masks were encouraged to be worn at
all times and the theatre was only half full.
I am not
one to go the pub or clubs where there seems to be little in the way of precautions
taken. The people I tend to socialise with are not that way inclined either. As
far as I am aware they have all been double vaccinated and are sensible when it
comes to dealing with the Coronavirus so I have not been worried about mixing
with people outside of my household.
Although I
freely admit I am a homebody and am quite happy in my own company and that of Craig
and the kids, I have enjoyed seeing the ladies from the WI and chatting and
making things in the same room. It is also good to have other things to talk
about rather than the virus which seems to have dominated conversations for far
too long.
Have you
been able to socialise again and what have you been doing or looking forward to
doing?
On Thursday
we decided to make the most of our National Trust memberships and go to the
house which caused us to take out the membership many years ago- Waddesdon
Manor. This was the furthest we had travelled on our break being an hour away just
in Buckinghamshire.
Waddesdon
Manor was built by the Rothschild family and given to the National Trust in
1957. It is built in the style of a French Chateau and is our favourite
National Trust property.
Tickets had
to be pre-booked and because Penny was not allowed in the house we had to do
two separate tours of the house. Unfortunately social distancing restrictions
meant that we were unable to see all the rooms that are normally available but
we did see lots of things we hadn’t seen on previous visits. My favourite was
the broken plate chandelier that was in the dining room. It is modern yet it does fit in
with the rest of the room. The jewellery was also something I would have liked
to have worn.
When Emma
and Sam went on their tour, Craig and I went to The Stables to grab a quick
lunch. In that area there is space for different exhibitions to be held. I
admit I have not normally bothered in the past but this time it was a display
by a photographer called Nick Knight and it was called Roses from my Garden. We
weren’t able to take photos inside the room so this is from the sign outside.
All of the photos were taken on an iphone and using natural daylight. The
photos are amazing. You cannot buy prints but you were able to buy them as a
set of greeting cards which I did and will frame them to display on my living room
wall.
I wish the
weather had been better for the photos of the house but the whole day was
showery and overcast.
We went to
Bicester after to meet some old friends whom we haven’t been able to see. The
road that we used to come into Bicester on was unrecognizable with all new
developments and layout catering for Bicester Village. We did have a walk
around Bicester Village but as I am not into the high end designer labels that are
located there then there was not really a lot appealed to me, except the Emma
Bridgewater outlet. Bicester Town had
changed as well, there were more bars and eateries then when we had lived
there. There were relatively few empty shops which was good and some of the
shops were still there when we lived there were still in business.
We had a
good time with our friends and they gave Craig an idea of a project that meant
we would not need to buy a new tent. Our friends go walking and camping
regularly but what they have done is bought a car which they have put in a
removable camping box to convert the car into a micro camper.
Friday was
a relatively early start as we needed to pack everything up. It was still a bit
showery but at least we did not have to worry about the tent being put away wet
as the owner kindly let us put the tent in a skip that was on site. We had
originally asked where the nearest recycling site was but he then said we could
use his skip which was very nice of him.
As Emma and
Sam were getting the train into London from Oxford at 6.30pm rather than leave
them with their suitcases for the day in Oxford we decided to spend the day with
them. The first stop was Woodstock and Blenheim Palace. This was a quick stop
just to have a walk around the grounds of Blenheim. There was a gate that
allowed public access to most of the grounds for free which was useful as dogs
are not allowed in some areas.
When we
lived in Bicester, Oxford was not really a place I visited that often, probably
only once or twice a year. It was good to visit again and actually walk around
as a tourist. Emma wanted to see the Bodleian Library as it is the library in
Harry Potter and also in Discovery of Witches. Unfortunately having Penny with
us stopped us going into a lot of places (taking a dog into the centre of any
town or city is not a good idea) but luckily the weather had brightened up so
walking around was fine. I found the Story Museum which I would have loved to
have gone into but it was closing. If I had been living in Bicester when the
kids were younger I would have definitely taken them there. I loved what they
had done with the phonebox outside.
The drive
home was a bit of a drag and I was infuriated with the constant changing of the
speed limits on the M6 which seemed totally unnecessary as the traffic was not
overly heavy, but it was constantly 40 to 60 mph all the way so it added extra
time onto the journey. Luckily we had a Harry Potter audio book to listen to
which kept Matthew entertained and Penny just chilled out on the back seat all
the way home, except when we stopped to see if she needed to toilet.
When we
finally got home we just had a cup of tea and unloaded the cars putting
everything into the front room. I was so happy to be go to bed and know that I
was going to be comfortable and get a good nights sleep.
The Cotswolds
is not quite Colorado which is where we should have been, but it is a beautiful
place to visit and there is plenty to do (though not with a computer mad
teenage boy in tow). We did not see half of what is on offer in the area but I
do think we saw some of the best bits.
Penny’s
stomach issues seemed to be getting worse so we made the decision to take her
to the vets just to get checked out. The nearest one that was able to see us was
in Chipping Norton, about 5 miles away from the campsite so that was good. The
surgery building looked amazing compared to the one we normally go to. We had
to still stay in the waiting room whilst the vet examined her. It was just an
upset stomach, Penny does have a habit of drinking from puddles and eating
greenery, so it was just an injection to ease the pain and solidify things then
some paste to also help with the solidity but also with restoring the good gut
bacteria. We had to feed her plain chicken and boiled rice so another trip to
the supermarket was required to get chicken and rice.
By the time
we got back it was a bit late to go with the original plan so we went to
Broadway Tower which is the 2nd highest point in the Cotswolds and you are
supposed to be able to see 16 counties from the top. The view was pretty
impressive, it’s just a pity it was hazy so the photos do not do it justice. I
didn’t go into the tower as you had to pay £12 each and it wasn’t even that
big. If it had been £5 or less I would have had a look.
There was a
walk around the grounds you could do but dogs had to be kept on the lead as
there were deer around.
Craig
decided to do the longer walk with Emma but Matthew, Sam and I decided to go
and get a drink instead. Matthew wanted some food so he ordered beans on toast
which was technically on the children’s menu but the portion was so generous
and adult would have been satisfied. I liked the look of it, very thickly
sliced crusty bread with loads of butter melted onto it and then the beans in a
pot. I think that was Matthews favourite meal of the holiday so far.
We then
went into Broadway village. It had been about 30 years since we had last been
there. We had been camping then, but with friends. Craig couldn’t remember the
village but I could clearly.
I had to seriously resist temptation when I
went into the Cotswold Trading shop, I could have quite easily spent a fortune
in there. Emma and Sam bought ice cream of a street vendor who was prettily
dressed in candy pink and white stripes. They certainly stood out amongst all
the more natural colours of the grass and brick.
We awoke to
sunshine on the Wednesday and the first day of no incidents. Today we were
visiting my favourite village in the Cotswolds – Bourton on the Water.
On the way
we did a slight detour to drive past Diddly Squat Farm Shop, the only place
Matthew had wanted to go to. To our surprise it was open. The website says it
is only open Thursday to Sunday. Of course we called in as it was very quiet
and no queues. Matthew almost ran to the shop so he could have a look. I loved
the Cow Juice machine. It was a vending machine that was on the outside of the
shop so if you ran out of milk you could go along with your bottle and just
fill up. I wish more places would do that as it would save tonnes of plastic
being wasted and encourage recycling.
I think
Matthew spent most of my money in there buying a baseball cap, some Bee Juice
as well as an empty Cow Juice bottle. It was the happiest he had looked all
holiday. The only thing that would have made him happier would have been if
Jeremy Clarkson had been there.
By the time
we got to Bourton on the Water the clouds had disappeared and the temperature
had increased. Bourton was extremely busy as visitors made the most of the sun
and the shallow water to sunbathe, picnic and paddle. Penny was extremely glad
of the cool water and I was the only one who didn’t go for a paddle in the
water.
Bourton is
a very pretty village and there is plenty to do as well as paddle in the river.
There is the Cotswold Motoring museum which is the home of ‘Brum’ and Birdland.
There is also a model village which is Bourton in miniature. Although Penny
could have gone into the museum and Birdland she could not go into the model
village. We just enjoyed being by the river.
Emma and I
had gone to the cinema to see the latest version of ‘Emma’ and I knew that some
of it had been filmed in Lower Slaughter, just a few minutes down the road so
that was our next stop. It was very
quiet compared to Bourton and there really isn’t anything there except the Mill
which we walked up to.
It was then
back to the tent via a quick stop in Stow on the Wold as most places were
getting ready to close by the time we go there. I did notice that like Moreton
in the Marsh there was a distinct lack if normal high street retailers and they
were independent shops or local ‘chains’.
After a
quick dash to buy some groundsheets to cover the rather leaky tent we headed
off to the Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford. The tickets had been pre-booked
but luckily there was no allocated time. Dogs are allowed in the park but not
indoors. It is only a small park but there is still plenty to see. It was
originally a manor house and private gardens but became the Wildlife Park and
gardens in 1969.
My
favourite animal is the Red Panda, so I was very happy to find that the park
had one and that it was out and about. I practically ran to the enclosure which
caused great merriment to the others. I could have quite happily spent hours
watching it groom itself and move around the trees, but the others wanted to
move on.
The
Wildlife Park is near a small town called Burford which attracts lots of
visitors. We went there after visiting the park to get something to eat as
there were a few dog friendly places to choose from. Unfortunately, the one we
chose wasn’t particularly very good despite the reviews. We were not overly
hungry so when they said it would be an hour before we could order food then
then we didn’t have a problem. We ordered drinks and sat in the beer garden
playing Headz on the phone. Once the food was ordered it was then another hour
and twenty minutes before it arrived. The excuse being was that they were busy
with pre-bookings but unless they did take away the place was not busy at all. The
food was only average in terms of taste and quality and we thought it was
overpriced for what it was. It is a place I would not go back to or recommend.
Monday
brought about a change of plan. An old
injury of Craigs’ had flared up and required a visit to a walk in centre to get
some anti-inflammatories/pain killers. As we had ended up going in two cars I
took the kids and Penny to Cotswold Lavender so Emma could practice her
photography skills with Penny as her model (as usual). The smell was wonderful
and you could purchase all kinds of things using lavender. I became a little
peckish whilst I was there so bought a cream tea with a lavender scone. The
lavender taste was there but only delicately and wasn’t overpowering in any
way.
Craig had
let us know how long he would be and we knew that we would be finished by the
time he got to us so we met him in the car park and then drove to
Moreton-in-the-Marsh which is one of the bigger towns in the area. Like most
towns the high street is the main place to see. There were lots of independent
shops and a few tea rooms so we grabbed a late lunch after walking around then
drove to the nearby Aldi as this was the first chance we had had to really buy
food for meals.
As most
places were closing we headed back to the campsite where we played with Penny
and then watched a film that Craig had put onto his tablet which has a built in
projector.
Penny was
rather unsettled overnight and even managed to get out of the tent as Craig had
not fully closed the bedroom area. I heard her go out and we spent about 10
frantic minutes trying to find her before she came back to the tent of her own
accord. We think she just needed to toilet as she woke us up a few more times
needing to go out. She had a bit of an upset stomach.
