A perfect Autumn day.

Today has been lovely, mainly because the weather has been gorgeous, which was a bonus! We were able to sit outside in the garden in the afternoon!

We had a very relaxed start to the day and Sophie and I decided to go out after taking Mike to work. I've always wanted to visit The Yards in Kettering, so after finding out where it was in the town we drove over and parked in a large car park a few minutes walk away. This is a lovely part of Kettering, with a beautiful church nearby and a museum in the grounds. We also saw signs for the The Blitz Cafe, which looked very interesting!

When we first arrived at The Yards it looked mainly closed, so that was disappointing. Two women were having a chat outside their shops, which sold clothing, scarves, bags and hats. We had a brief look around and noticed that there was no cafe... I spoke to the two women who said that a lot of the shops had closed as they'd had a busy week and that normally things were a lot more lively.

We found another building which housed lots of different small shops on three levels. There was an area selling American sweets and foods, a toyshop and different places selling gifts, candles and vintage clothing. Sophie spotted a beautiful blue tee-shirt for £10 which she promptly bought and she had a good rummage around for other clothes. We both agreed that Mike would love it here as well.

As the cafe in The Yards was closed we decided to head for the Blitz cafe, only to find this closed as well. However, on the way we had spotted a lovely looking place called The Retro Union bar and as they were serving sandwiches and cups of tea we went in.

I was so glad we did as we have discovered a true little gem! We enjoyed a delicious pot of tea (real tea leaves) and sandwiches of square sausage and cheese and salad, accompanied by a bowl of yummy chips. The staff were very friendly and it was like stepping back in time! We were the only ones in there which was surprising as the place is very friendly and the food was extremely good value - our bill came to just £9 for a large pot of tea, two rounds of sandwiches and a bowl of chips. Elsewhere, this would have been almost twice as much.

We strolled back to the car and the weather was truly beautiful - warm sun and blue skies with some very interesting clouds. The trees were just about to turn - it was a perfect day!

Back home we sat in the garden with Monty and read the Sunday newspapers. I'm trying my hardest to cling onto summer for a few more days!