Saturday, June 21, 2003

 

Day 58. Sunday, 22 June 2003. Peter and Joan.
 
We had an overdue invitation to have dinner with Peter and Joan stretching back before Vicky and Ian's wedding and Gillian and Anthony returned to the UK. We never seem to be able to fit the visit in due to other things but now at last we were able to do so.

We left late afternoon for a 6 p.m. arrival and with Vicky driving we travelled across to the Stroud area via the small country lanes. Our destination was the Slad Valley to the north of Stroud and Peter and Joan's home was high up on the Cotswold slopes.

The day was overcast and we came over the Cotswold tops it started to rain lightly and as we dropped down we came to Peter and Joan's driveway. The lane was so narrow and the driveway angling backward, Vicky had to do a 3-point manoeuvre to enter.

Peter and Joan met us on the steps, the rain had increased and they ushered us in quickly. During pre-dinner drinks the rain eased and our hosts took the opportunity to show us round their hillside garden. I quickly noted the thin chalky limestone soil and thought that to put a garden in here originally would have been quite an effort. Backing on to the house were woods and Peter told us that they had been having trouble with badgers coming down and digging up the lawns. Badgers not so long ago were becoming endangered species but now with conservation were breeding rapidly and in some localities were becoming a nuisance.

The vegetable garden was terraced and in part was in concrete sided beds about 600 millimetres high and 900 millimetres across. This allowed a good depth of topsoil to grow root vegetables successfully.

We returned back indoors and Peter told us on a clear day from up here they could see the River Severn Bridge looking past Stroud in the distance. Even on this dull rainy evening the view from up here was magnificent.

Soon we were called to dinner, which was indeed a pleasant meal we retired into the sun lounge, once a patio Peter told us and once more enjoyed the view. We chatted, at least the others chatted, I was feeling fatigued and tired so enjoyed listening mostly. I must have seemed a dull visitor, which I suppose I was.

We left about 10.00 p.m. and made our way back to Cricklade. I enjoyed our visit and I liked Peter and Joan, I found them interesting.
 

posted by OldEric 4:29 pm