Keith suggested a walk today but as it had been raining heavily this morning, I didn't fancy going over the fields in all the mud and wet grass. I suggested we drop the kids off at work (they were both working for us today!) and then walk to the shopping centre that we have to visit on a daily basis, passing by my old house on the way (and three of my old schools).
We left the car in the car park and set off. By now the rain had gone and there was lots of blue sky and sunshine, although the wind was cold. We walked down to a busy roundabout and I was dismayed to see so much rubbish strewn along the path. There were food wrappers thrown away but most of it was drinks cans, including lager and energy drinks. It was horrible to see.
My old middle school has been demolished but I wanted to try and find the path that I used to use to walk there every morning. We cut through a new housing estate and found the path which looked a lot shorter than I remembered!
Very soon, we'd reached the estate where I used to live and we walked behind it where there were still open areas of grass and a little spinney. I was very surprised it was still left intact as I thought that by now the whole area would have been built on!
My upper school (we had three tiers - lower, middle and upper) had also been demolished and a much bigger, more modern school built in its place to accommodate the extra children as it now took ages 11-18. In my day it was just 13-18 year olds who went to the school and I was amazed to see how big it now was.
From my old house it was about a ten minute walk to the centre and we saw even more rubbish on the way. We had to go under the busy dual carriageway by an underpass and there was lots of graffiti on the walls which was a shame.
Once at the centre I treated Keith to a cup of tea and a toasted sandwich and we saw Mum and Dad who'd just done all their shopping. We read the newspaper and then set off back, this time going through the estate so I could show Keith where all our friends lived!
It was great to get back to the car and get warm because although the sun was out, the wind was bitterly cold. Keith suggested we drive to Arthingworth to check out The Bull pub as we were thinking of going tonight for a drink. I was definitely game for that as there was no reason for us to go home and it was lovely to be out on a Saturday! Normally it's Keith sport watching day!
Unfortunately The Bull was a disappointment. I can remember going there a very long time ago with my parents and grandparents and it being a lovely welcoming pub. However, it was clear from the Landlady's attitude that she certainly didn't enjoy running a pub! She quibbled with Keith over his choice of beer and then interrogated a young couple who came in with a baby in a pushchair as to whether the wheels were clean! We'd noticed signs in the entrance asking walkers to remove muddy boots but any self-respecting rambler would anyway!
As we were sitting with our drinks a young couple came in who'd obviously been cycling as they had mud splattered up their backs. She made them both sit side by side on a towel! We had one drink and left, mentally crossing this particular pub off our list of places to go!
Back home, we enjoyed a cup of tea and a slice of cake and then it was into the bath for me to get warm. Both children were at work until the bitter end so that put paid to any plans we had of going out for a drink before dinner!
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