Over the last six weeks life has begun to seem like my life again, a life Hubby and I are choosing instead of a life ruled by uncontrollable events. The turning point was our holiday to Berwick-upon-Tweed; a change of scene with the reassurance and confidence of better times to follow.
On our way home we detoured inland to visit Chesters Roman Fort the largest Roman settlement along Hadrian's Wall. What an amazing site, it was incredible to see the Romans' clever architectural layout of buildings with underfloor heating and running water. A great first visit with our new English Heritage membership.
Whilst in Berwick I began to increase my walking, made easier with my walking boots. Once home I had hoped to keep up the walking but a slight ankle strain and the hot weather has restricted me. However we did manage a long walk across local fields, along the canal and back into town passing the famous telegraph pole that has no lines!
In May we visited our daughter who lives in South Wales. We hadn't seen her since Christmas with all the various restrictions in both countries. On our way down we had a great visit to White Castle Vineyard where we have an adopted vine.
We also visited Goodrich Castle; a few years ago we stayed nearby but didn't get the chance to visit. It isn't far from our route on the motorway and we were amazed how big it was, although ruins there were still some rooms intacted.
It was so nice to be able to be out and about in Cardiff. We enjoyed breakfast at quiet restaurants, had a lovely meal in the city centre and visited Tiny Rebel brewery. They have a great outdoor terrace with covers and large tables, there were quite a few families with dogs. It was so nice to sit together to enjoy a pulled beer instead of beer from cans or bottles.
Over the last year we have enjoyed wine and beer at home. My drinks were mainly non alcoholic so it's great to be able to start to enjoy beer and wine again. After we'd been home a few days we received a lovely surprised, Cellier des Dauphins sent us a bottle of their red and white wine. They are our favourite French wine producers, we have met many times in the UK and in France. The wine was a gift for their Art of Sharing and as their letter said we hope to be able to share a glass together in person sometime soon, thank you Cellier des Dauphins.
One thing I have really missed is having friends round for dinner; I love the planning, the cooking and the company. As restrictions lifted we invited our friends round for a meal, just the four of us. We had some lovely wines including one from Sicily that I have wanted to open for a while (before it is too old). It was lovely to lay the table and I really enjoyed making the Lemoncello Tiramisus.
We've had a lovely few weeks doing many things we did before. There are still some restrictions, we all have to play our part regarding Covid and I think I will be cautious for a while yet but we have days out and holidays booked so I'll have plenty more to blog about soon.
