Friday, 25th June, 2021

[Day 466]

Having seen Meg’s Uncle Ken yesterday, today was a day when Meg and I thought we allocate to ourselves having a pleasant little toddle around Conwy. We both had a very good’s sleep last night and so didn’t get down to breakfast until just after 9.00am. As we were breakfasting, we got into conversation with the owner’s mother who was charged with looking after things whilst her daughter was at work. We had quite an extended chat with one thing leading to another – it transpired towards the end of the conversation that our host’s mother had engaged in some missionary work so we swapped quite a lot of stories particularly as Meg’s cousin had engaged in very similar activity in Sierra Leone. It is amazing how many points of contact one can find when you get into a deep conversation and as we had nothing pressing to dash into town for, we were happy to swop some life stories. When we eventually got as far as the car for our journey into Conwy, the heavens opened and we made our journey in pouring rain and a very blustery wind. Yesterday, as we made our way into our favourite tearooms, we noticed in the Mountain Warehouse shop so thought we would call in there today as we noticed that they seemed to be running some excellent reductions.We saw one particular form of outerware that seemed as though it would be fine for Meg but the very helpful owner directed us towards something that was more Meg’s size and colour and as it was raining so hard we were glad to wear it straightaway. Then we progressed along the street looking for a coffee shop and as it was raining so hard, the places were evidently at a premium. We had the frustrating experience of seeing the last available table go in our coffee house of choice as were beaten to it by a few seconds by another couple. So we wandered up and down for a few minutes more and when we returned to the coffee shop, we were now lucky to be squeezed in and enjoyed a very nice toasted teacake and coffee. By the time we had finished this, it was time for us to visit our favourite restaurant and we delighted to order one of their wonderful home made dishes of chicken, leek and bacon. As were waiting for our meal, Meg twisted somewhat on her chair and finished off sliding quite gracefully onto the floor. One of the young waitresses was quite alarmed to see a guest of theirs on the floor but I assured her this was quite normal for Meg and the fact she was now on the floor might have been the result of the gin that Meg had been ingesting all morning. How else does explain that one’s wife is on the floor but this is nothing especially unusual as I have scraped Meg off the floor in more establishments than I have had hot dinners. I had taken along a bottle of our our own Damson Gin to give to the proprietor as I seem to remember that the last time we visited, we had promised her a bottle of the same. Rather unfortunately, both the actual owner and the contact we have made over the years were not on duty at the time we were due to leave but I explained the reason for the little ‘gift’ to the bar staff who were on duty and asked them to pass the messages on which is not quite the same)

Meg and I returned to our B&B room and our intention was to have rest and then do the packing. Instead we got rather diverted by writing various emails and watching old comedy programs such as ‘Fawlty Towers‘, ‘The Good Life‘ and ‘BlackAdder‘ and thought that we would leave the packing until the morning. On the way back to the B&B from Conwy, we just happened to pass an Asda store so on a whim I decided to have a quick dive inside to see if they were selling household utensils such as a kettle. I must say I could not believe my eyes when I found they were selling an absolutely serviceable, 2KW kettle for the princely sum of …£5.50, complete with a two-year warranty. I must say that having previously bought a container of milk and now with the facility to have hot cups of tea, then it made our last evening’s stay in the B&B so much more enjoyable. Tomorrow morning, we should be able to pack up fairly quickly, get away soon after breakfast and then be at home well in time to watch the Wales v. Denmark match which is being very heavily anticipated here in Wales, as you can imagine. The weather may be somewhat better tomorrow which might make the trip down the motorway a little less tedious.