Another appointment at the surgery, this time for a Doppler test – to test my circulation. Luckily, it was not a problem. In the afternoon, I sat outside but my stomach began to feel peculiar. Annabel drove to the pharmacy in Appleby to buy some Gaviscon. I didn’t feel too well and didn’t drink a beer. I didn’t eat anything more.

Cooper enjoyed his first day at Appleby Grammar – it’s actually a comprehensive. In seven years, it’s likely he’ll be off to university. We now have a new cleaner, who is doing a very thorough job. A local builder came to have a look at how we might improve the kitchen. Annabel reckons that we could rent a cottage in the village while the kitchen is being reorganised.

Very early in the month, the U3A photography group went to an air museum, next to Carlisle Airport. The forecast was for rain and strong winds, but it held off for morning.

I chose to book a visit to the inside of this Vulcan bomber, which would have carried nuclear weapons. The Avro Vulcan was a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. In the 1960s I had seen Vulcans, Valiants and Victors flying at RAF Gaydon open days. My dad had been an RAF pilot, and we watched the display every year, possibly until I headed to Labrador for a year in 1969.

Annabel went out to pick up Laura, our next-door neighbour, from Penrith station. She’d been visiting one of her daughters in Italy who’d had a new baby.

On an outing with the photography group, I spent the morning in Workington on the Cumbria coast. The photo above shows a memorial to the importance in the past of the coal mining industry to the town.
I woke up with a swollen tongue and cheek (sorry, no photos!) We visited the village surgery and were sent to Carlisle Hospital, where we spent quite a long time. Luckily the swelling went down somewhat – a possible allergy.

While I was at the gym, Annabel swam 16 lengths – butterfly legs only, breaststroke arms only and, finally, butterfly. Most impressive but no photographic evidence!

We drove to Brough Castle near Kirkby Stephen and walked around – it was quite substantial and interesting. We were rewarded for our exertions with coffee and cake.

Afterwards, we walked down into the village and were impressed with the church.

Sam and Zoe had given us a present of afternoon tea at Augill Castle near Kirkby Steven, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We’d decided to push the boat out by staying overnight. Our large room had a four-poster bed, but without drapes. The wallpaper was very good – leaves with mostly shades of green and brown. That evening we had a drink in the bar but only a very small dinner.

Back at home, we visited the hospital in Penrith for a blood sample, but I realised that my left arm was swollen and rather itchy. Later in the day Val, who gives me lifts into Penrith for the photographic group, called in during the afternoon. She’d brought a professional, heavy Canon camera and I helped her understand the relation between apertures, shutter speeds, depth of field and ISOs.

Annabel was very tired and was taking it easy as best she could. I visited the gym again. Ian hadn’t sorted out my gym routine, so I was helped by another staff member to try a variety of relevant machines and regimes.

Sam and Zoe phoned; they’ve now moved into a new house.

A visit to Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall with the U3A photography group. This was a good exhibition. Unfortunately, it was raining, so we spent most of the morning inside. The exhibition provided insights into life and times in a Roman fort during the occupation. I hadn’t remembered that the Romans had invaded way north of the wall, south into Africa and eastwards into the Middle East and Asia. That evening we went to the Village Hall for a film night which included one of Janet’s superb meals. Isobel, one of the ladies in the village, regularly gives me some jam.

We visited Jenny as she was displaying a lot of her paintings – they were very good. Visiting Tom and Tara, Cooper seems to be settling in reasonably well into his new school in Appleby where April is now in Year 9.
Grant came to sort out the problem we had with the kitchen sink ; it wasn’t draining properly. He reckoned that the drain pipe had been fitted incorrectly and needed refitting at a greater angle. At pretty much the same time the kitchen tap started annoyingly playing silly buggers but was fixed in fairly quick time.
I went for a walk with Culgaith Ramblers. I was given a lift to the start of the walk by one of the members. When we got back, there was tea/coffee and cake and the usual chat. I’m getting to know more people there and enjoying their company. Unfortunately, I find it very difficult to remember their names.

Another photo in the C&W Herald, this time a herd of cows feeding with their backs to the camera. Tom and Tara invited us to Sunday lunch which was most welcome. I chatted to Cooper about his new school, which he seems to be enjoying.

And now, the MMUmblers. These are friends from Cheshire and Shropshire, who visited again this month. This was their second visit I used to work with most of them at MMU (Manchester Metropolitan University).

It was great to see them all. After a cup of tea and cake at home, we went for a short walk to Acorn Bank (which was closed) and we were lucky the rain held off.

That first evening, we had booked a tapas restaurant in Penrith and met them all there. The evening went very well, and we spent a long-time reminiscing.

The next day, we all (except Annabel) set off for a walk on Askam Fell, which was scenic but not too challenging. It was as if we had only last seen them the previous week. We walked into Pooley Bridge and had lunch at Granny Dowbiggins. The lack of fell ponies was disappointing, though.

That evening we ate at the Kings Arms, the village pub and this went down very well (and was certainly an improvement since the current landlord and landlady had taken it over).

On the final day, we spent the morning at Shap Wells looking for red squirrels. Initially, it seemed as if the squirrels were going to let us down, but after a short walk they started to appear. They’ve never failed us before. Our friends were delighted.