East, west, home is best.

I feel guilty that with so much to do, I haven't blogged over a period of 4 weeks. My thoughts , like my garden , have grown until I can not really remember everything we have done.

While we do travel, I refuse to become a slave to visiting parts of the world. Looking at the sources on this blog, I fear I am going to get some readers backs up as they probably think I should want to visit their nations, but I am as well travelled as I want to be and I have satisfied my curiosity over certain places I want to go to; as a geographer I taught about cultures I wanted to taste and in R.E. there were faiths I wanted to witness; those  questions are now satisfied: however if I travel it has been/is/will be mainly to visit people I like and want to catch up on- that is what enduces me to undertake hours by car/plane/boat. I dreaded retirement and the ' we must travel' obligation that seems to go with the pension. There seems to be a need to 'go everywhere' and feverishly fill in our golden years till we drop off the end of this mortal coil; for me this does not contribute to the future- I guess I need a purpose in life and aimless drifting is not my idea of contributing to our world.

Antigua, Bali, Cancun, Dubai - you can keep them all - they are not for me- I will certainly go if H1 wants to go; there is nowhere I feel a need to go back to (not even the beautiful Taj Mahal)- I am as happy as a sandboy here.
I would not have missed the thrill of this summer's activities in the UK for anything- even if I watched the Olympics on television not in person (well I did get to 2 smashing football matches at St James' Park!) Even Sorrento was a ' what did I miss?' and 'Isn't it hot?' week -the best bit was being with the best company in the world. I am not a person of extremes- in temperament or temperature- so hot and freezing weather both leave me uncomfortable. I love Britain and its seasons; I love coast and countryside- even some of its urban settings eg the architecture of buildings and our pageantry and traditions.

So it is that I liked the Quechua people of Peru, the Russian barmaid on our cruise round the Baltic, the herb selecting chef in the Oberoi Maidens Hotel in Delhi, the stall holder in Helsinki, the two friends we cruised the South China Sea with, our friends (and their dog!) in Menorca; it will be friends from long ago that entice me to cross the Pond....

But then I don't have to travel far to meet people I like; I enjoy the company of the gardener at Belsay, the housekeepers at Wallington, the couple selling ice cream in the gardens of Delaval Hall, the laugh with guys in hard hats (digging up our whole road to install new electricity cables?) the man at the allotment gates- no gossip -merely chat about the weather or to pass the time of day with ......and when I choose I can retire to the solitude of my garden which may fill my day; therein is no heartache, no personal interrogation, no interference-just  me and my successes and failures and a cup of tea sitting on my bench. Joy!