WONDERFUL Day!

Finally, I'm together enough to blip this photo - or, rather, together enough to attempt to do justice to such a wonderful day with my write-up!

As it had been at least two days since I'd had a tweetup, I decided it was about time I had another one! I've been friends with Mar (@MarDixon) on twitter and facebook for quite some time and it was really wonderful to meet her at long last! She's also one of my blip friends (called Mar on here), and turns out to be utterly fabulous in real life!

In 5 hours the conversation never stopped flowing. We must have walked round Bridgnorth about three times - and it became obvious what a wonderfully social person Mar is - people saying hello all the time. We stopped by a lovely church (where I admired the organ and wondered what had happened to a piano that had a panel missing) and saw some fabulous views of the town.

We also called in to browse at a local antiques centre where I fell in love with a silvery trombone. I didn't buy it in the end, but the slidey instrument continued to occupy my thoughts despite me buying a copper tea caddy! Mar practically had to drag me away from it - she said that @flumpophone might get jealous anyway!

Then we went to collect her daughter Charlotte and friend from school. It was quite surreal - so unlike my life now, but so similar to the life I remember from childhood. School was followed by going to watch Charlotte's swimming lesson, where I made a new, very small friend (the daughter of one of Mar's friends). We bonded over multicoloured fingernails and a game of "putting each other's hands onto the railing"! I often play such games with the cats and it was great to play with someone of my own species who doesn't have claws!

Following swimming we went for supper (steak & chips - yummy) and Charlotte & I did colouring in while waiting for the food to arrive! Mar took a surreptitious photo of me colouring, which you can see here! I'm young enough to colour in, but old enough to need to take my specs off to see close up!!!

And then a trip on the Cliff Railway, which is a sort of funicular that saves a lot of walking up hill, and a visit to the station, which has loads of steam engines, water pumps and so on, just like being in Thomas the Tank Engine - fabulous!

I've decided to be blip twins with Mar and blip the picture I took of her in front of the spectacularly leaning part of the castle ruins. She took a similar picture of me, which you can see here!

It sums up what was a fabulous brilliant day! Another day where, instead of sitting at home watching the TV, I was out, enjoying myself, with lovely people, all as a result of the internet. Incidentally, it was also the first time since being diagnosed infertile, that I've been out and mixed with small children and been happy and relaxed!

Thank you so so much Mar! You're a total star!

And yes, I'll be back soon - looking forward very much to Blists Hill!

Brilliant!


There's a postscript! There would be, wouldn't there?

I woke up three times during the night, thinking about the trombone. So, this morning, I googled Bridgnorth Antique, and got a phone number, and spoke to a very nice lady and explained, and put a cheque in the post, and am about to send an e-mail to Mar asking if she might collect it when she's passing and I'll pick it up next time I come to visit!

Oh, and I cleared it with Flumpophone - he's happy to be friends with a slidey instrument as long as he still gets to play the Gavotte we're working on together!