Friday 25th May

We are supposed to have visitors today travelling through from Scotland but I am not sure they are coming.... My friend and neighbour from the time we both bought our children up in Calne is also making a visit in June which will be wonderful.  Karen and Lillie will come down for the weekend when she comes.  Though we have four bedrooms, only two are actual bedrooms with beds in them, the other two are workrooms, so it will be sofa surfing for my daughter.

Yesterday was a day and a half, we took Paul's car into the garage for MOT and to diagnose a rattle (no luck there) early on and then a neighbour turned up, did we want the chimney sweep who was cleaning their chimneys.  So yes and he spent a couple of hours here, mostly talking!*  Four jobs he has, a B/B in Lastingham where he lives with his family, chimney sweep, night manager at 'Flamingo land' and then installer of wood burning stoves..

Lastingham church, elegant but so large for a small village

The water was also off, and we found that our road had been closed off with diversion signs.  The works were being done in the next village and cars could just squeeze past through the works when we went to pick up the car from the garage.  It really needs replacing I think, Jev is a Civic Honda and an automatic but whether Paul will get another car is a matter of speculation.

The barbecue will be held in the pub car park was finally agreed on,  P had come down to say why we could not hold it in his garden basically because he is going away on counter-terrorism affairs and won't be able to move the heavy stuff around.  S has just bought herself a new sports BMW car, you can see we are more suburbanite than locals round here.............

And we are off to the Tibetan Monastery in Eskdalemuir later on in June for a couple of days.  Because of Lucy I have booked us into Marilyn's Motel - should be fun, she has two wooden huts that make up the motel...

* Our neighbour also came back in the afternoon for a long chat!

Whilst looking for Lastingham church I came across a cottage we went to see in 2012.  A bit naff but it had its own charm at the time and a lovely garden, the moors were just up the lane as well...
The cottage but not practical with no mains water.