Whirlwind weekend

Flopping in the rocking chair snoozing one weekend, and the next trying to go for a world record in activities. Sigh. When will I be of an age to think of balance and moderation? Never, I fear. But it has been a good weekend.

Murder mystery on Friday and zooming all over the place doing the errands I never got around to on Saturday, including having coffee at our monthly Traidcraft morning (and delicious walnut cake).

Then Saturday night was a dinner to celebrate our 150th bookclub meeting. 15 years, 1180 books, and still largely the same group of girls. Some have moved away, but essentially we have stayed together.

We drew up a short list of the books we have enjoyed the most over the years, and we voted on Saturday. There were 2 winners, and perhaps fittingly, one was an old one, and one was a relatively new one. Both are exceptional books for very different reasons.

The old one was Wild Swans - Jung Chang

The new one was Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

So if you haven't read them, this is an excellent reference! And we had a great time, with wonderful food, although the service was close to appalling. The older we get, the more these things are noticed!

Today, David and I set off north, to Briarfield in the hills of North Lancashire to see Geoff's sister, and to meet her son. Briarfield, an old mill town, is north of Manchester, and it took us 2 and a half hours to get there. We all went out to lunch at a local restaurant. Stephen has a form of autism, and was visiting his Mum today with his carers, so it was lovely to be there at the same time. So, after an afternoon catching up, looking at photos and visiting a friend, we drove back south. I am ready to flop again. Adventures, however brief, are exhausting!