Hazel and I drove up to Syresham in the heat of the day, on the hottest day of the year to-date. And yes, the MGB did overheat again, this time due to stop start traffic on the M25 just before the M40 turn off. We sat it out on the hard shoulder for 20 mins or so, and were lucky that the traffic started flowing again so that we didn’t have to coax the car through more stop-start jams. And I did swear that I’d never get into H’s MG ever again. But I reserve the right to change my mind….
We had a lovely afternoon with Charlie, Helen and Lizzie, who’d come up from Bath earlier in the day. It’s always lovely to see Lizzie, she’s just so chilled. After a sit in the sun, and dashing off to catch the ice cream van man, we started preparing food for the BBQ, while Charlie watered the garden and set up the table and chairs for tomorrow. We dined on pizza al fresco before retiring indoors to watch Notting Hill on video. All very convivial and relaxing.
After breakfasting outside on coffee and croissants, we spent Sunday morning preparing salads, kebabs and dips, as Charlie got the BBQ up and running. People started arriving around 1pm ish, and we ignored the passing drops of rain enjoying BBQ grub in the flower-filled gardens of The White Cottage.
And I got to meet Hamish Aitken and William Ritchie for the first time! And the drive back to CJ was a breeze. I do miss having a car. But I don’t miss having to hunt out parking spaces….
Photos here. (09 Feb 2014: now on Flickr)