THANKFUL THURSDAY!

I haven’t stuck with the Abstract Thursday challenge today, but have instead decided that this will be a Thankful Thursday blip as I’ve had a lovely day in Bath with my friend, Chris, and am so thankful that she is my friend.  I am also very grateful that she was willing to drive up to Bath from Exeter, which took over two hours, so that we could spend some time together - this is a collage of our day.  Some of you may know that I put up random Post-it Notes every day and the pink one at the bottom left is one I put on the train.  You can find others on my Flickr page here.

About 32 years ago, Chris was a new young teacher and taught J, Son Number 2.  He was a stroppy normal 9 year old and needed firm discipline, which she administered, and we have often laughed about this over the years.  

We met outside Bath Abbey and after going for a “coffee and cake” interlude - when we caught up with each other’s lives - we headed back to the Abbey and had a walk round.  You can see that it was a very dull day and we did have a little rain, hence the red umbrellas!  Chris had never been in the Abbey, but having worked in Bath for some years before I retired, I often used to go in there.  We sat and marvelled at the workmanship and then we quietly prayed for each other - well if you can’t do that in such an illustrious place as an Abbey, where can you?  

In 2008, when I was working in Bath, there was a display of King Bladud’s Pigs and we were fortunate to find one just outside the back of the Abbey - he was quite beautiful!

Then it was out for lunch, where we met a lovely American couple who sat at the next table - we spent some time chatting with them and then discussed Chris’s new teaching job, which she starts at the beginning of September.  I put one of my Post-it Notes on the menu and it ties in well with the little boy in bright yellow wellies, holding a balloon who was walking up the street with his Grandma in front of us later.

Another little walk took us to Paperchase at the top of Milsom Street, so that I could buy some pens for the Post-it Notes I write out and put in random places every day;  of course, having told Kayleigh, the lovely young lady who served us about them, I just had to put one up there - and she was delighted to know "It’s OK to be happy with a calm life!"

It was almost time for us to take our leave of each other, but before we did, we had a look round the Kitchen Shop in Quiet Street - when we both treated ourselves to some new knives - I think it’s a good job we didn’t spend more time together, or our flexible friends might have felt the strain - but I was happy to let the train do that on the way home.  

All in all, a wonderful day - thank you, Chris - I really value our friendship.  Chris and I bought each other a fridge magnet - mine from her says:

Some days our friendship is the glue
     that holds me together.

The feeling is mutual!

Mine to her says:

Children are born with wings,
     teachers help them to fly.

Knowing Chris as I do, many children are already flying because of her and I know many more will soon be doing so.