So… Monday 5th June! Do you know, 13 years ago (I think) on the 5th of June, I was in a hospital helping to deliver my cousin with my mum… the nurses all buggered off after my Aunt had been in labour for 24 hours and mum had to deliver him, a nurse ran in for the final bit to cut the cord but at 11 years old, that was more than enough to put me off ever giving birth…. Anyway, what was I doing 13 years on?
Well I had a nice lie in until 10:30am… then got up to be greeted by the glorious sunshine, I knew I wanted to drive somewhere, why would I want to miss a day like this? Funnily enough the weeks go really fast when you have time off work! So, mum and I thought we were going to Gloucester… the scenic route, through Moreton in marsh, and Stow… but getting past there along the Fosseway I was faltering and suggested we stop of at Bourton on the Water. A quaint little Cotswold village that I haven’t visited before… We never got to Gloucester!
Let me explain a little about
Bourton on the water It’s so lovely, it is basically one long road, on one side there are shops, lovely shops like a boutique called Lollipop, I want to own a boutique like that one day, along the other side is the river Windrush and more shops and cafes along it’s bank. The river is about 2ft deep and crystal clear with tiny little foot bridges crossing at frequent intervals. There are ducks in the water, fish and usually some people too when it is as hot as it was on the 5th! It is so picture postcard perfect, with it’s yellow Cotswold stone buildings, that after 2 hours there, we decided we would do Gloucester another day and only returned to the car to put another 2 hours on the parking ticket! We graced the shops (where in one of the handbag shops I noticed the shop assistant admiring/coveting/envying my Louis Vuitton cruise collection handbag), I bought Peter a little gift from a little gift shop, and went over the river to the perfumery where someone had the most gorgeous little shih tzu… he was a fuss pot, so eager to get fussed that he even fell over… again I was brooding for my Lhasa Apso :o( … there was also this fab little shop for buying mined rocks, ie: quartz, agate etc… all the ingredients for perfect crystal healing, so I got a nice little bag of those. I sat in the heat with my feet dangling into the cool clear water of the river before eating a lovely meal at a riverside restaurant! What a fabulous way to spend the day. Mum was amazed, and was having the perfect start to her birthday week! We finally dragged ourselves away, but only to the equally beautiful Cotswold villages of Upper and Lower slaughter. It’s hard to believe that anywhere could be even more picturesque than Bourton on the water, but the
Slaughters have it… a tiny little village where the Windrush continues to wind to a beautiful mill… oh if only I were a painter, this would be amazing… and if only I had the foresight to bring my camera with me, as the evening sun was still glowing the village looked so so wonderful! There isn’t much there, so off we went to Upper slaughter… where there is even less, but just as much beauty (can you tell I am missing 1. The nice weather and 2. The Cotswolds?) Oh cruel fate that has me working in a dull office on a dull day overlooking a dull road, when places so beautiful exist!!!
Soon the day was waning and it was time to go home, the hour and half drive seemed to fly by and I was back in Coventry waiting for Peter to pick me up… A wonderful day, followed by a lovely cuddly night watching DVDs and eating choccy while snuggling up on the sofa with the dog… could the day get any better? :o) I think we were in agreement about Closer… what a load of crap! But Layer Cake, now if you are into the lock stock and two smoking barrels type film… that one is well worth the viewing!
