Today was
pretty much the wildest weather we have had on the whole trip! It was raining a
little bit this morning when Roni toddled off down the road to do our washing
at the laundromat and while we ate brekkie the wind came up and rain kept
falling.
Today we
were on a mission to Harpendon. Roni has a family friend out thataways who has
been part of their family’s life as long as Roni can remember so we definitely
wouldn’t miss a chance to see her at home! Tube and train was our mode of
transport through the wild weather and at one point the greyness of rain
totally enveloped the train while wind gusted wildly and we couldn’t see anything! Glad not to be out walking in
it.
Eventually
we made it to Harpendon and scampered around the station until we found Pamela
awaiting us in her little blue car. She had been insistent on picking us up and
now we were truly grateful as the rain was still falling mightily.
Once safely
at her place we ensconced ourselves in the lounge with a cuppa and talked over
the last 20+ years while watching the rain clear and a beautiful view over fields
emerge. The sun even came out and while we heated soup for lunch in the kitchen
it got quite toasty in the sun – yay!
Tasty lunch
of soup with bread, cheese and some oat cakes before more chats (while Bray
sneakily did the dishes in the kitchen) until we had to tear ourselves away.
Pamela kindly returned us to the train station...only to do the same trip a
second time when Brayden realised he had left his watch by the sink while doing
dishes!
Eventually
we really did leave with hugs for and from Pamela plus greetings etc to pass on
at home from her. After another hour or so on the train/tube we were ready for
a brief breather at home in Maida Vale before heading out again.
Now we were
on our way to Angel for a catch up with Andy Te Huna, a mate from back at
Kapiti College. Tube services co-operated and we met him and his girlfriend
Cecilia before wandering down the road for a beverage or two in a cute pub.
Hunger drove us on after an hour or so and they took us to Gallipoli – a favourite Turkish restaurant down the road in
Islington. Bray had a sizeable pile of assorted meat for dinner and Roni’s
chicken and hummus dish was delicious! We all left full and happy, feeling
like we could easily curl up a beanbag and fall asleep! Final farewells at the
tube station before getting home to crash out in Maida Vale.
