Ajai's Holidays with Vesey Probus.
This is a long document so I have split it in to days
Monday 16 September – Day 1
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Paul our Coach driver is never late so I got myself ready early. I didn’t want to be late for the second pick-up point at Royal Sutton Club on Jockey Road. I made it. Four other members were already there. Just then a call came through on my mobile, it was Tom Allen informing me that the coach will be about 20 minutes late as one of the members had not arrived at the first pick-up point, The Crown Public House. There was disappointment at the delay and a few mutterings, good humored though, for just then it had started to rain and it was cold- rather be in the coach than standing in the rain!
We kept craning our necks to sight the coach and then it was spotted. Jubilation all round. We boarded the coach, exchanging cheery greeting with members already on the coach, while Paul loaded our cases, and then we were off, better late than never they say.
According to our itinerary our first visit will be to Bath but there was a need for a comfort stop first so, Paul took us to the relatively new Gloucester Services off the M5 before heading for Bath. We were at the Services for about 20 minutes with request that we buy take-away coffee and snacks to part-take on the coach as we were running late. No time to relax at this unique Services. This was not the usual motorway services with assortment of familiar outlets like M & S, W H Smith, Costa etc but instead had farm-based produce in modern but not jarring outlets, quite welcoming but we didn’t have time to linger. Onto Bath.
At Bath our coach was met by two cheerful ladies who were to give us a guided tour of Bath. We drove with the guides for a short while arriving at the well-known sight in Bath of the Royal Crescent with its stunning honey-coloured architecture. We all disembarked and were told all about the Royal Crescent. The symmetry and the curving elegance of the crescent was quite a sight. The snippets of information from our guides about the history of the Crescent enhanced the viewing. One little anecdote mentioned by the lady guide sticks in my head about the Crescent. It was pointed out to us that the front doors of all the apartments gracing the Crescent were painted white except for one door, almost in the middle of the Crescent was painted yellow. The story goes that apparently, this lady wanted her front door to be painted yellow and refused to conform to the requirement by the authority that all doors have to be white. The lady in question was taken to court, she won and door was allowed to be painted yellow. But there was a catch (pun not intended). From then on, the door was to remain painted yellow always, not white not any other colour would be allowed and so it is today – yellow.
It is at this stage we were split into two groups. One group was to stay on the coach and be driven through Bath with one of the guides. The second group was to be taken through Bath on foot with the other lady. We had the choice of joining either group whichever was our preference. I opted to stay with the coach group. After the tour both groups were to meet at the pre-assigned central place in town. For both the groups there was overlap of some sights but inevitably the experience for the groups was different. The guide on the coach was very knowledgeable interspersing her talk with historical facts and interesting anecdotes. I had been to Bath a couple of times before but never saw it in so much detail including the house, only from the coach, where Jane Austin lived and wrote her famous novels. There was of course Roman legacy to see in some of architecture and The Bath/Spa itself. We didn’t visit The Abbey as there was serious restoration work going on. It was quite noticeable the large number of tourists in front of the Abbey and The Baths. It was obviously a popular day for visiting Bath. The guides went their way after receiving our cheerful thanks and we all went for lunch in different direction sniffing out our favourite joints. After lunch our rendezvous was in the shadows of The Abbey by a bicycle prop (Street Art?) being ridden by a skeleton, which displayed the words “I died laughing”!! From there it was a bit of a trek to find our coach. Apparently, it was not practical to park the coach close to the centre. We all navigated through many streets at varying pace depending upon the extent of protests from the knees. The leading members were armed with maps of Bath and we were all following them. We reached the coach inevitably in groups of twos and threes. The inward groans were turned into smiles when the coach was spotted and we got there on time. Happily, tired we were ready to get to our hotel near Taunton. Paul took us through pretty villages and it amazes me how keen the British are to keep their gardens looking attractive. It was indeed a pleasing sight to be driven through pretty villages. Finally, on the M5 and to Holiday Inn, our residence for the
5 days. We picked up our room keys at the reception desk found our respective rooms – I don’t think anyone encountered any difficulties. After having wrestled with the TV remote and getting the TV to respond, relaxing for a bit, a wash and a change we all met-up at the dining room each person gravitating towards a table with welcoming co-travellers. Dinner will not be brought to the table instead we were to queue at the counter where we would be served with whatever dish we fancied. I went for fish and chips and liked it. Puddings and coffee were served at the table. After a drink or two plenty of conversation, we made our way back to our rooms looking forward to tomorrow.
Tuesday 17 September – Day 2
On the second day after breakfast we were on the coach soon after 9:00 am. We were, this morning going to visit Coldharbour Mill in North Devon. This is one of the oldest woollen mills in the UK having been in production since 1797.It was a crisp morning with cloudless blue sky but the temperature had dropped and it was cold. I feel the cold. I don’t know what route Paul was taking to North Devon whichever it was, it was a scenic one. Travelling in a coach does give an advantage of getting wonderful view of the English countryside above the hedgerows with patchwork of green fields punctuated with a few harvested ones. There were distant forests nestling on hills. Was I looking at The Mendips and the edge of Exmoor? I wasn’t sure. My geographical orientation is questionable so apologies to the more knowledgeable members. It was a feast for the eyes certain to gladden the heart. I enjoyed the drive.
Disembarking from the coach we were greeted by a peaceful scene and sound of a gently moving water in the canal with attractive foliage on its banks. Only a few steps away we were to cross the canal over a small bridge – not quite Monet – to meet our guide who would give us the tour of this working mill situated alongside the canal. The gentleman guide looking no different from our ages arrived and after a short introduction led us to the Mill. It was an amazing to look at these enormous machine(s) covering the entire length of the long room, so intricate, so well laid out with pulleys and belts of varying sizes. Our guide sorry, I cannot remember his name, (was it Peter?) explained the process of transforming fleece into yarn, cloth and textile all done on the machines with some human intervention at various stages. In Victorian times apparently the children of 10, 11 years were employed to keep an eye on the yarn. They needed children for they were small and could retrieve the yarn from under the machines. These children were here for 12 hours and were not paid just to there, they had to work. Please forgive me if my facts are inaccurate – I must confess I was distracted and was inattentive at times. We moved along the gangway and Mr Guide started the machine(s) to demonstrate the workings. The clatter and the noise stopped all conversation and some of us who were further away from our Guide couldn’t hear him at all. We moved along and more machines were switched on and the Guide persevered with explaining the processes. I couldn’t take it all in but it surely came home how involved the process is and the sheer complexity of producing woollen textile. I am just amazed at the engineers who have designed and produced such complex machinery to automate (what was for years done by hand) and speedup the production of woollen textile. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. It was fascinating.
I had heard the term worsted and thought it was a trade-mark but now I found out that it is a sturdier but fine smooth-surfaced woollen yarn also produced at the mill. Coldharbour mill was owned by Fox Brothers and today it is a renowned working wool museum. There are a few other buildings within the area, so after the tour of the mill we were left to explore these and of course the Café. One small hut-like building caught my eye which announced at the top of the low door- “WWII Workers Air Raid Shelter”. Had to go in and it was like being transported to a bunker in WWII movie with all the items from wash basin, radio – playing Glenn Miller tunes -, posters, instructions, notice board etc which might be needed by any personnel in the shelter. It was so nostalgic I am sure, for some of our members and fascinating too. What a treat! After a visit to the café and the inevitable “shop” we leisurely walked back to the coach and ready for our afternoon visit to Arlington Hall - a National Trust house and gardens which has we were told, a large collection of horse-driven carriages. Looking forward to that.
We set off for Arlington Hall at 2:00pm and I personally enjoyed the drive there. The route taken went through narrow roads hugging the side of hills where the forest on the slopes was so close to the road, leaning and almost touching our coach as we sped by. A gap in the forest gave a glimpse of the cloudless blue sky, distant green fields and Exmoor perhaps? The scenic drive was a treat. I loved it. Paul’s dexterity in driving on the narrow roads was displayed when he had to squeeze past on coming vehicles. There was some reversing involved too. But we got to Arlington Hall. An austere façade of the Hall was presented to us but the sun was shining, the lawns spread out in front of us and the well laid out path were beaconing to be explored, all felt good. Some of us went to the House first others decided to go to the Coach Museum, which is housed in a separate building in the grounds itself.
The Coach Museum was a complete surprise to me. I didn’t realise that there are so many different types of coaches, of different sizes, of different designs, used for different purposes by the wealthy owners. There was even a sporty one for the young dashing men. It shouldn’t have been a surprise for after all we in this day & age, do have cars of different shapes and models catering for different tastes and needs so why not horse-driven coaches! Unfortunately, there was no information brochure available for all the coaches displayed. The super icing on the cake in this Coach Museum was the large Golden Coach kept in its own climate-controlled enclosure. The sight was awesome & jaw-dropping with its gilding and the elaborate golden exterior of the coach. This Golden Coach, we were told, was exclusively for the use by Speaker of The House of Commons. The museum had gone to great pains to get the Golden Coach here. It was in 1981 that the Golden Coach was used for the last time to carry The Speaker. The Coach was built in Holland. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to photograph the Golden Coach.
The Arlington Hall displayed lots of paintings and all the rooms were tastefully done as one comes to expect from the National Trust. There was definitely a nautical theme running through the Hall for there were many models of tall-ships and a vast collection of shells from all over the world. After having visited all the room and admired the furnishings and paintings we were guided to exit through specific rooms on the ground floor. As we passed through these ground floor rooms some of us were accosted by the NT ladies and expertly persuaded to buy raffle tickets to help National Trust with the upkeep of the Hall. Will we win anything?
By about 4:00 pm we were back on the coach and driven back to our Hotel. It was a good and enjoyable day. Dinner at 7:00pm so after a visit to our rooms we got together in the dining room. Being a vegetarian, I always have to wait with bated breath what vegetarian culinary delight will I get tonight? The vegetarian dish of the day was not on the counter. I needed to enquire from the staff about what vegetarian dishes were on offer and then decide. The chosen dish would be brought to me. If I remember correctly it was Mushroom Risotto. It didn’t look inviting, but it was tasty. Glad my dinner was sorted.
Wednesday 18 September – Day 3
I was looking forward to today for I like trains especially the ones running on steam. After breakfast we were all on the coach well on time and didn’t have to travel far. This morning we were going on a trip with the West Somerset Railway from Bishops Lydiard to Minehead, where we will have a short time to look around in Minehead before our afternoon visit. We stayed on the coach until the tickets were sorted and our carriage was identified for our exclusive use. Admin done we were shown to our carriage by Tom Allen and Tony Aspinall. Everyone soon settled down and our carriage was filled up quickly so much so that some of the members had to find seats in another carriage, which wasn’t straight forward for the train appeared to be quite full. We waited for the green flag to be waved and the whistle to be blown by the guard. Then we were off.
The journey was “20 miles of heritage railway through stunning Somerset countryside and coast” so the booklet about The Railway mentioned. The ‘Norton Fitzwarren’ line as it is called, is flanked on either side by Quantock and Brenden hills (I picked that information from the booklet) adding to the beauty of the scenic journey. Between Bishops Lydiard and Minehead the train passes through 7 stations each presenting its own picture from the past. It was like being in a Pinewood Studio movie. I thought the journey shouldn’t take us more than an hour but then for no apparent reason the train came to a halt before reaching a station; quizzical glances were exchanged and some passengers, not from our carriage, went to the door-window and leant out to see if the reason could be assessed, but nothing was obvious. Then a railway official came and announced that we will be delayed as there are cows on the track, lot of them. There was merriment in our carriage. We chugged along at a walking pace or should I say cow-pace, now moving then stopping again and so it went on for a while. There was more amusement among our members when someone spotted a mini cattle stampede- obviously got spooked - in the field alongside the stationary train. However, the train soon gathered its normal pace passing through beautiful countryside, quaint and picturesque stations on the way. We saw distant hills, a river, green fields with cows and sheep basking in the sunshine oblivious of the delay they caused for our train and then someone shouted ‘look the sea’ and nearly everyone sat up to get a glimpse. Watchet, closest to the coast gave us a good view of the seaside and all the yachts and boats moored there. Soon we reached Minehead. All passengers stepped off the train, some eagerly, some gingerly. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and nobody seemed in a hurry. In groups and individually members did their own thing. Some went to explore Minehead, some went to the seaside, some went in search of some well needed cuppa. After a stroll by the sea – the tide was out- we returned, having passed it earlier, to the Turntable Café situated just outside of the Minehead station in view of the Turntable itself. It was a pity we didn’t get to see the engine using the Turntable, still you can’t win them all.
We met up with some other members at the café and enjoyed our cups of tea and chit-chat.
Fed and rested we ambled across to the coach- parked not far from the station, to be taken to our afternoon visit to Dunster Castle, also cared for by National Trust. Dunster Castle was just down the road from Minehead so it didn’t take us long to get there. We had about two and a half hours to spend at the Castle before we get to the coach for our return journey to the hotel.
Paul manoeuvred the coach through the gate of Dunster Castle to bring into view expansive lawns surrounded by trees and a car park. Paul took our coach as close to the reception as possible. We were greeted by the NT staff who checked our passes and gave us a compact folded map of the grounds with information about the Castle and what to see and do. Just looking at the layout of the vast grounds it was obvious that we could spend all day here and not see it all. A steep tarmacked road was the way to the Castle. We had the choice of taking a mini-bus to the castle or walk the steep road. Glances were exchanged and some of the braver ones decided to walk while others took to the mini-bus. It was hard walking up the hill to the castle and some of us had to slow down a little but we got there. It was an impressive sight the Castle with a wide esplanade leading to the entrance. On entering the Castle, we were greeted by NT staff who handed over a booklet telling us about the layout of various rooms. We viewed the rooms which were all well-furnished and decorated with walls displaying paintings and portraits, remembering that this fortress became a family home. The dining room was impressive. There was a long dining table carefully laid out and little information cards told us about the famous guests who have enjoyed sumptuous meals at this table. One guest in particular of interest was the Maharaja of Jaipur who was a keen polo player and liked hot curry, which was provided for him at every visit.
Afterwards some members went to explore the grounds and discover The Mills while some of us joined a guided tour of the Loft – I was one of them and realised as we started to climb the 80 odd steps of spiral stone staircase that this was not a good idea as far as the knees and ankles were concerned but amazingly we all managed it. The tour itself was not elating but we learnt about the living conditions of the staff serving the gentry and the guests living in the fortress. What surprised me that in Dunster Castle the domestic staff had their accommodation in the Loft while the family and guests lived downstairs – the reverse of the usual concept of “Upstairs & Downstairs”. The guide pointed out the various rooms for the female staff – they all had to share beds, quite acceptable for the ladies - and the rooms for men. Of course, the Butler’s room was the best with heating, a good bed, table, chairs etc. National Trust had not tried to make the loft attractive and the Loft had a sense of disrepair about it. The rooms were sparsely furnished and decorated. Our guide was knowledgeable and gave us a good picture of what life was like for the servants in the early days.
We the ‘lofters’ were a bit tired at the end of the tour so didn’t venture into further exploration of the grounds and the mills. We in fact soaked the sun on comfortable benches in the esplanade until the little mini bus arrived to take us down to the conveniences and the inevitable shop. Our coach arrived soon after 4:00pm and slowly but surely members drifted towards the coach from different directions. Passenger count was done and we set off at about 4:30 pm for the return journey to our hotel. We didn’t get to the hotel until close to 6:00 pm so a little rest, a wash, a change and to dinner by 7:00 pm. Each person gravitating to their favourite table then exchanging notes about the day, a drink until the food was announced. Everyone went to queue at the counter while I stayed at the table for vegetarian food would be served to me at the table. Today the chef had had a good day for I had a very nice vegetarian Lasagne, which was tasty and so satisfying. I was happy. Conversation continued and everyone was looking quite relaxed and eager for tomorrow’s visit to Barrington Court, another National Trust enterprise. We were just contemplating to go back to the rooms when Tom Allen appeared at our table to let us know that we will not be going to Barrington Court tomorrow as the place has been taken over by a filming unit and National Trust cannot accommodate us as well. Instead Tom mentioned, we will be going to Montacute House another NT establishment. Armed with this change of plan we headed to our rooms until tomorrow morning. Since Montacute House was not far we won’t be leaving as early so no need for an early breakfast, could even have a lie-in, but we have to be on the coach by 9:45am.
Thursday 19 September – Day 4
Breakfast done everyone was on the coach well on time. It was a sunny though somewhat chilly morning. We had been so lucky with the weather every day. It has been sunny throughout except when we were in Bath – it drizzled then. Paul, our driver then announced, as he always did at the start each trip, that we were going to Barrington Court. I almost felt like shouting – ‘oh no we are not’ but I didn’t. A slight communication breakdown here which was quickly resolved and Paul was informed that we are going to Montacute House instead. 10:00 am saw us on the road and we were there in half an hour. We passed through picturesque villages with roads barely wide enough for the coach, which Paul managed with ease. His skill came into the fore when we reached the gate of the grounds leading to the House. The gate was narrow with a couple of centimetres to spare on either side but our expert driver drove through without losing any paint on the coach. It drew a spontaneous applause from the members. Anyway, we were in. The name Montacute for the Hall was taken from the Village of the same name lying in the vicinity. This hall was built by Edward Phelips, so says the leaflet handed to us by NT staff. He was a wealthy, ambitious lawyer and member of Elizabeth I’s Parliament. He wanted to tell the country about his lofty position, success and prosperity. The house was built 400 years ago, which is quite amazing when you see it today. It still looks good.
After a little wait we were met by our guide who was to take us around the exterior of the House. He painted a picture of Elizabethan era for us with careful, well-practised patter in relation to the Montacute House. The guide told us, 400 years ago, there was a frequent flow of wealthy and powerful guests arriving in horse-driven carriages at the House to be wined and dined with the finest culinary delights, spacious rooms to sleep in, and retinue of servants at the guest’s beck & call. Horses tucked away in the stables, carefully out of sight, groomed and cared for like royalty too. Lavish gardens to stroll in in the morning, soaking the sunshine and taking-in the fresh countryside air. The guide really did transport us to the world of rich and famous hundreds of years ago. He also pointed out the features of the architecture of the House once again done to accentuate Edward Phelips desire to show-off his taste and wealth. The finest honey coloured stones were used for the exterior. The exterior of the House over the years has been weathered but it still looked impressive. It was a good informative tour of the exterior of the House after which we were left to visit and admire the interior.
The décor and furnishings in the rooms were very impressive but for me and I am sure other members as well was the display of national collection of 16th and 17th century portraits in the Long Gallery. The Elizabethan portraits of Sir Thomas Moore, Henry the VIII, Walter Raleigh with his 8-year-old son and many more were quite something to behold. There were 5 separate rooms displaying the portraits and were on loan, as far as I understood from The National Portrait Gallery in London.
The other highlight for me was the video being displayed in one of the rooms about the making of famous Wallace & Gromit animated film, “Curse of the Were-Rabbit”. This was an unexpected bonus. And in another room, there was the appropriate scaled-down prop of the Montacute House used in the film. Apparently, it was Nick Park’s favourite house so he chose to use it in the film. Watch out for it next time the film is shown on the TV.
The grounds with plush trees and well laid out lawns was quite expansive and then there was the long hedge made of clustered Yew trees. These didn’t look like trees more like very large green cauliflowers if you can imagine that. We had some refreshments in the café and then onto the coach at 2:00 pm for our afternoon visit to The Fleet Air Arm Museum. I like aeroplanes so I was looking forward to the visit.
We didn’t have to travel far. It was not surprising to see that the Museum is situated inside a well-guarded and fenced site for the items on display are valuable and irreplaceable. We disembarked and were greeted by two smartly dressed (ties & jackets!) - obviously ex-retired-naval-personnel, who took in the sight of a coach-load of OAPs, paused and went into a huddled discussion between themselves. This was happening next to the coach in the grounds beside a helicopter with all its business parts (engine etc) exposed for all to see. Decision taken we were ushered through spacious hangars going past aircrafts parked in every available space into what appeared to be a lecture room. Here one of the gentlemen - I think he was called John and I cannot recall the other gentleman’s name, explained that we are to be split into two groups. Those hard of hearing and using wheel chairs are to stay with John for he will be using a portable microphone-sound system while the rest go with the other gentleman. I stayed with John’s group.
John took us through various Halls, not rooms for the aircrafts on display need space. We stopped at each display under guidance of John who told us all about the aircraft. There was a huge number of aircrafts and some of them had actually been in combat and were now retired to this museum. There was the full-size Wright brother’s first aeroplane on display and apparently this was produced in France. I was agog with the sight of so many naval planes that I didn’t know where to look. There were one or two small light planes suspended from the ceiling. I just couldn’t stop myself taking pictures. There were helicopters, one familiar name was Sea King and there was one whose name I wish I had noted was enormous like a double decker bus with two rotors and was obviously a troop or machinery carrier. It looked formidable and mean. I tried photographing it but couldn’t get all of it! There was so much to see that we could spend many days and not see it all. However, after hours of moving from aeroplane to aeroplane and keeping an eye on the time, John bypassed some displays and took us for a real treat, which was a surprise.
The treat was an almost ‘live’ experience of being on the deck of an aircraft carrier cleverly done through film on very large screen, sounds and physical shaking of the darkened platform we were standing on. We witnessed nay felt planes taking off from the deck, we saw planes coming into land on the deck and how these planes were grabbed and stop them dead; we saw birds coming in the path of an aircraft coming into land on the Carrier and how pilot took evasive action and try again to land. And all this was accompanied with full large screen showing the film of aircraft carrier in action, real ear-shattering sounds and the vibration of ‘our-deck’. It was scary and uplifting to see the risk pilots and personnel on the deck take. It filled me with admiration for them all. Then it was all over. Grinning we left the ‘experience-deck’ and into the hall where we had started our tour. The last thing we did was to climb aboard Concorde 002, the first British prototype to fly. We walked the entire length of the fuselage, had a peep at the wide bank of dials and buttons confronting the pilot in the cock-pit. I wonder if it is still termed ‘cockpit’ for the Concorde. In the nearly three hours we were in the museum, we saw an assortment of aeroplanes of all shapes and sizes and wonderful it was too. We were ushered out, said our thanks, a count was done, doors locked behind us and we boarded our coach for the journey back to the hotel. A satisfactory day indeed.
We met again at the dining room in the evening suitably refreshed and looking forward to our dinner. So much to talk about the fabulous day we have had and the expectation of tomorrow. Today was our last dinner at the hotel for tomorrow we head back home. We were informed that we must have our cases packed and left outside our room before we go for breakfast.
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Friday 20 September – Day 5
Last day today and everyone was on time. The cases were stored in the belly of the coach everyone was on board, count was done and we were off. We were this morning, going to Clarks Outlet Village where we will have two and half hours to do shopping, have a bite to eat and then leave for city of Wells in the afternoon. The Village is well spread out with over 90 stores and we all ambled in the Village moving from one favourite outlet to another. Soon it was time to return to the coach for our onward journey to City of Wells. Enroute to Wells looking out of the coach window, I noticed signs to Glastonbury and thought that this was the nearest I have come and will ever come to the famous Glastonbury. Paul, like he does, mentioned that we should be able to see the Glastonbury Tor. I didn’t, perhaps some members did. It is believed that this place was central to the legends of King Arthur.
I was looking forward to going to Wells for I had had a glimpse of the city at the tail end of a TV programme, which had me quite curious to visit Wells. Probus had given me the opportunity. Wells main street and the Cathedral were not too far to walk from the Coach park. My co-travellers and I went straight for the Cathedral first. And what a treat it was to lay our eyes on the interior of the Cathedral. The eye is drawn towards the Nave to the unique ‘scissor’ arches. It is stunning and could be thought as modern but it is not for this architectural concept and solution was medieval – (1338 to 48). I again couldn’t stop taking photographs from every angle. The front of the Cathedral was equally amazing for every inch of the façade was a display of sculpted biblical scenes, angels and important kings and clerics. The sun was shining and the front looked at its golden best. Quite awesome. When we got to the Cathedral, we saw a few school children (still in their uniforms) gathering on the lawns with placards displaying messages about ‘Climate Change’. Of course, this Friday was ‘The World Strike for Climate Change’. The evening news on TV covered the scenes from world over about the Climate Change strike.
I hope everyone saw the Wells clock in the Cathedral. It is one of the oldest medieval clock faces. We were told that on the quarter hour a bell chimes and then you see the jousting knights go around many times and then one of them (the same one apparently) dies! We stayed on to await the quarter hour bell. It was worth waiting for and it was fascinating to watch. We then proceeded to locate a quaint medieval street which had houses on both sides of the street with tall chimneys and so symmetrical. There was an open drain with water flowing in it coming from wells, hence the name Wells? I am not sure whether this is true. The leaflet about Wells Cathedral states that this the only Medieval street called Vicar’s Close designed as lodgings for the men of the choir.
We then went towards Bishop’s Palace. On the front lawns there were people dressed in white, playing croquet, a match in progress perhaps? Time was running out, we had to get to the coach so turned around without visiting Bishop’s palace and on the way, we grabbed sandwiches and tea to take-away and savour them on the coach. We left City of Wells round about 4:30 pm and headed for Sutton Coldfield. We reached our pick up points close to 7pm; there was a lot of traffic on the journey back.
Another good Probus holiday ended. I certainly enjoyed it and I am sure everyone else did too. Thanks to Graham and Pam for planning the itinerary. It’s a shame that they couldn’t join in the holiday due to unexpected and untimely medical problem faced by Graham. Other senior members took charge in Graham & Pam’s absence and ensured that the holiday went smoothly, which it did.
Ajai Kapur 10 November 2019
