There was much talk of Hurricane (or Tropical Storm) Bertha yesterday on the television (especially the sport channels) and whether we would get the forecast high winds and rain that she would bring. This morning when I woke at about 6am the sky was grey but it was very calm so I thought that it was all a bit of a storm (!) in a teacup...
However, after going back to sleep and waking again at 8.30am a very different sort of day presented itself to me! Stair-rods of rain and a dark and stormy sky were the picture from my window and for most of the day, on and off, we've had wet weather and brisk winds. It hasn't been as bad as I expected but the warm and sunny weather we have been experiencing was notably absent today!
We took Sophie to work at 11am and then drove around for a little while (I wanted to see if a certain shop was still open in town...it wasn't) before dropping Mikey off at 12pm. I felt a wee bit emotional as he is away for ten days, but we have been invited to an Open Day before he comes home so at least we'll get to see him then, looking very smart in his uniform, we hope!
Keith wanted to walk around Pitsford - yes, he is a certified lunatic! - so I dropped him off at Brixworth Country Park before heading home to a very quiet house indeed...just me and Archie the cat! I felt as if my little family had been dispersed and it wasn't the most enjoyable of feelings at all!
Just before I went to pick Keith up, I heard a loud rumble of thunder so I got into the car without delay. As I entered the car park I saw my husband walking along looking like a drowned rat and he virtually stripped off before getting into the car! It had rained constantly while he was walking and as soon as we were home I sent him upstairs for a hot bath while I made him a big mug of tea and a sandwich!
Luckily Sophie called me at 3pm as she was ready to come home so I drove to get her, marvelling at the scudding clouds and stormy sky. We'd had a window of sunshine but looking at the weather I don't think the storm had finished with us yet!
In the evening the three of us set off on a "mooch" near Corby. A mooch is when we pick a small area and explore the pubs we find along the way. We had talked about having a meal at The Queen's Arms in Bulwick so we decided to drive to Lyddington first and then work our way to Bulwick to see if it had changed at all since we were last there.
The Old White Hart at Lyddington is in Rutland and it's a pub we've been to several times before, most notably when I was heavily pregnant with Sophie! There was a Hog Roast going on but as we had a curry waiting for us at home, we just had a drink. The pub was pretty and very cosy with a welcoming Landlady and a nice atmosphere. As we sat with our drinks more people turned up and tucked into the hearty hog roasts which looked very good. There was also a "petanque" area which looked interesting!
From Lyddington we drove, via Gretton, to Harringworth and saw the Welland Viaduct which carries trains across the valley. Apparently it's the longest masonry viaduct across a valley in Britain and was completed in 1878. It's very impressive, all the more so as you wouldn't think there would be such a magnificent piece of architecture tucked away in rural England!
The pub at Harringworth is the The White Swan and this had certainly changed since we were last there a good while ago. Again, the pub was quiet and the Landlord was sitting at one of the tables doing paperwork so we had no choice but to sit at the bar. There was some sort of beer festival going on and Keith was almost coerced into having one of the beers out of the barrel in the garden, something he's never keen on as they're always flat!
We'd eaten here before but it was obvious they weren't doing food on Sunday night as the restaurant was empty. We had one drink at this funny little pub and went off to Bulwick via Laxton. It was a gorgeous evening with big billowy clouds in the blue sky and everything looked fresh and green after the recent heavy rains.
We had a major disappointment at Bulwick as the pub had closed at 7pm and we arrived at 7.20pm...I do wonder whether the demise of the British pub has something to do with the hit and miss opening times! Now, I can see a pub just opening at lunchtime on a Sunday, but to close at 7pm? Huh?? Perhaps we should have checked the opening times before we left (and maybe started with this one!) but it can be annoying when there are so many vagaries of trading hours!
Feeling a bit despondent, we headed back towards Corby with the intention of trying a pub in Aldwincle but we ended up on the wrong road and decided to head for our local before going home. But even this was a mistake as our pub was closed! See what I mean about pubs!
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