The Murus at Stratford-upon-Avon

We left Cornwall on Saturday. We packed up in a jiffy, and drove slowly to Worcester to drop Jon, Tome and Georgie off at the railway station to go back to Manchester. Lots of holiday-makers, all leaving Cornwall. We then went to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown. We passed White Ladies Aston, Upton Snodsbury, North Piddle and Shottery. Shakespeare wasn’t on our minds, however. Catching up with the Murus was. They are friends from Ohope who have been living in the UK and are three quarters the way through their year here. They drove an hour and a half to have a meal with us.

We met them in a park by the Avon, a canal full of narrowboats running through the town. Grant, Sharon, Liam, Paraone and Ngahuia. A kiwi reunion.

The kids didn’t miss a beat and the grown-ups didn’t stop talking for the whole time we had together.

Lovely pic of Clare and Harry

We had a fish and chip meal together. Leo ordered a big traditional meal which was a big battered fish fillet, chips and horrors, mushy peas. Leo and Liam eyed the peas.

“That looks wrong”, said Leo.

“It looks contagious”, said Liam.

What can I say about the evening? I had tears in my eyes greeting them and had to have a little cry when we said good-bye, much to the amusement of my unsympathetic sons. Happiness, sadness, temporariness, homesickness.