WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!

I had intended going to Bath yesterday but the weather wasn’t good so that didn’t happen. 

Mr HCB and I often discuss just before we go to bed what we will do the next day - today we had decided, as the weatherman predicted rain, that we would do some grocery shopping so I didn’t dash to get up. 

When I eventually got downstairs at 9.15 the sun was shining and it looked as if it was going to be a nice day - so Mr HCB said he would probably do some work in the garden.   He then suggested, as I had some business to do in Bath, that he would be happy to drop me at the station and then I could have a wander round and do some retail therapy - not that he didn’t want to come, of course, but he does hate shopping in any form, he would like to get his work in the garden done - given that we will be away soon. 

I bit his hand off told him that was very kind and before I knew it I was at the station and on the train.   I did what needed to be done - calling in to see my old colleagues at Omnialegal - it was great to see them and if I was ten years younger, I would be back working there - and then started on the retail therapy, which was very successful. 

The top photograph is Jan, the lovely lady who works at the ticket office at the station. Before I retired, when I worked in Bath and travelled down on the train,  I used to see her most mornings so we got to know each other well. It’s great that she still recognises me and I always wait to see her, even if anyone else is free! 

The rest of the collage shows various views around Bath, including Bath Abbey, the Roman Baths, a Jane Austen window in a souvenir shop, a red telephone box, now filled with plants, a yellow one containing a defibrillator and a violinist performing in front of the Abbey.

My friend, Marylou, from Pakistan, loves Jane Austen, so after I had taken a photograph of some Japanese tourists outside the Jane Austen Centre, they asked if I would like them to take one of me. Like most photographers, I wasn’t that keen but it would have seemed rude to refuse, so the collage includes one of me standing next to Jane. 

The two ladies with blonde hair, Ellie and Jules, helped me when I went into a shop called French Grey - what a delight it was to be served by them - and I got some real bargains!  They were very excited when I took their photograph and said they might even have 15 minutes of fame on Blip!  As we chatted, Jules, on the right, said that she didn’t have a Grandma - so I told her I would love her as a granddaughter, so now I’m Grandma Mo to her! 

All in all, a successful and lovely day, with coffee and cake stops on the way round - and service with a smile everywhere I went. 

I know that Mr. HCB doesn’t understand that I love just looking round the shops in Bath, but today it was more than just looking and I might even Blip my new shoes one day!

This quote is in for Mr. HCB - I wonder if Jane was referring to retail therapy?

“One half of the world
     cannot understand
          the pleasures
               of the other.”
Jane Austen : 1775-1817