Viaje de Enero

Also known as 'The Greg Abroad'. Joyce left Jan 7 to UK to celebrate Auntie Ruth's 90th birthday. She landed the next day in Manchester, met her brother Malcolm, and boarded the train to Settle, UK and was able to see cousins, cousins once and twice removed, brothers Malcolm and Alastair, and of course Dan and Ruth. A great reunion!

I left the following Wednesday evening for an overnight to Manchester where Malcolm met me and assisted me navigating the railways to get on a train bound for Skipton. I was met by Alastair and driven to their mother Mary's cute apartment for a bit of curry before retiring. I greeted Mary who stayed in bed. Then onto Abbey Hotel in Skipton.

We were there to celebrate Alastair's 60th birthday arranged at the downtown church in Bradford by Sharon. An amazing 7 course Chinese meal served up by Anthony, the churche's cook attended by Joyce's brother Charlie, Gilly, their fine young ladies Ana and Eliza (in nursing school) who came down from Glasgow. Also cousin Rob, niece Esther and her wife Lucy, and a number of Alastair and Sharon's good friends some of whom we met at Esther's wedding last May.

I got slaughtered by Joyce and Mary at scrabble. Fascinating the brain: Mary can't remember what we talked about 5 seconds ago but is unbeatable in scrabble!

Joyce and I took walks in famed Saltaire along the canals that to this day carry canal boats through a system of locks all across England. In our May visit, AJ bought a cheap bike at a thrift store and road the bike paths along the canals 50+ miles to Manchester Airport, sleeping in a park one night and at an Airbnb another and gifted the bike to an Airport worker before departure. Cafe's, birds, Englishmen with their dogs, light rain and often sunshine accompanied us. It was good to reconnect with family and to discuss the uncertain future as Mary stays longer in bed each day.

She didn't attend the feast at the church but really enjoyed herself especially with her grandchildren at Alastair's afterward for cake, tea and some fun party games!

Sock was new to us but really fun: 2 long socks are filled with about 20 trinkets (golf tee, dice, wooden cubes of different colors, a monopoly house, a small lens, a lens shaped piece of stone, thin wooden pieces shaped as a pig, a foot, a clover, a marble, and a plectrum. What's that you ask? A guitar pick—a new word to me! This and a few other such bits and bobs. We divide into 2 teams, a spinner to select what the target is and sometimes to select the non-dominant hand, and the race is on the stuff the hand into the sock of goodies and be the first to emerge with the correct item. Greg's team beat Joyce's but we were all winners in the fun being had!

Another new word: hob! I was surprised that after 35 years of marriage to a Scot I didn't recall ever hearing the word, 'hon' until this visit. It means stove or stovetop. Mary's has ben turned off to avoid accidents and she gets a daily meal from the clubhouse. She can make tea and otherwise doesn't eat much.

Hob was heard a second time when I was given a tour of Esther's cool new camper van (which has a sink and a one burner hob!) as well as a pop up top, a fridge, turn around front seats etc. Hoping for many fun adventures for her!

We took the train to Manchester, dinner at the hotel joined by Malcolm, and prepared for our flight to Malaga, Spain the next morning. We leave with some uncertainties not knowing when we'll be back, nor whether we will see Mary again.
Greg

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