Hi there everyone 😀
If you’ve followed my blog for a while you will know that once a year we get together with old work friends for a few days away.
We’ve been doing it for a fair old while and have been all over the place. This year we were having our get together in Durham … somewhere Martin and I have never been … and we were really looking forward to catching up and exploring somewhere new.
Our time away happened to drop in the midst of a June heatwave … but Durham was predicted to be a few degrees cooler than home … so we were ready to make the most of the good weather.
The car was loaded to the gills … with lots of essentials and plenty of ‘just in case’ stuff. As we were hosting one night … the camping fridge was bought out of hibernation and, instead of stopping off on the way as we normally do, we were making a beeline for our accommodation …’
Luckily we had a really nice easy journey and were able to check in early so, once the food was all transferred to the fridge, we headed straight out for a bit of exploring before meeting up with the others later on.
We were heading for Crooks Hall … a National Trust garden … pretty much on the edge of the city. Our short drive took us over the river, with some fabulous views of the cathedral in the bright sunshine …
We were already very much thinking Durham had been a good choice for this year’s catch up.
Crooks Hall really was a treat. Loads of colourful borders, lots of small gardens within the garden, a beautiful walled garden, views of the cathedral and the old hall itself. I took so many photographs that it is most definitely worthy of a post on its own so I will tell you more about that later …
Once back at The Mayoress, which was definitely going to be a very comfortable little bolt hole for a few days, it was time to get ready to meet up with the rest of ‘The Gang’ …
We were walking to a local pub, renowned for its lovely beer garden, and it was literally five minutes from where we were staying. I couldn’t resist taking a few photos of these glorious wildflowers on the way …
We were soon settled in the garden … with the others on the way …
They weren’t long and, after lots of hellos and hugs all round, we settled in for a good old catch up and the first of the holiday selfies … which has become a bit of a tradition …
It was soon time to move on to Zen, the Thai restaurant where we were having dinner. It was a bit pricy, but the food was fabulous and it was a lovely way to end the first day of our break …
After a very nice meal we walked back to The Mayoress in the warm sunshine … which sounds just lovely, but did end up making for a bit of a fairly strenuous activity and … there may just have been a bit of a sit on a garden wall at some point for a very much needed breather 🙈🙈🙈
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Lovely time had by all. Xx
ReplyDeleteI think it might just be one of our favourite trips together 💜
DeleteI'm impressed that you make the effort to meet old work colleagues (I'd love to know more about the work!) and Durham looks like a good choice. Amazing accommodation!
ReplyDeleteDurham was absolutely stunning and somewhere we will definitely want to visit again as we were only there for a short time. As for the work Phil, Jude and I all worked for Nationwide. Phil was my old boss for a good few years and Jude and I were both managers in the same area before both going on and becoming risk consultants. I worked for Nationwide for 30 years, starting as a clerk/cashier/typist in my local branch in Tamworth before moving around a number of different branches and then ending up working in risk, with plenty of audit, Health & Safety and training along the way. I finished work in 2014 when I was 49 and have been lucky enough to be able to ease into retirement early. I manage to keep in touch with two or three groups of old colleagues, meeting up two or three times a year. It is nice to keep in touch with what’s going on … though it is now getting to the point where most have retired too. 😀
DeleteFascinating to hear about your work, especially as I've been with Nationwide for nearly 50 years and used to be a big fan - not so keen on the way it's going now though. x
ReplyDeleteThinks certainly ain’t like they used to be 😜. Although I am still a supporter 😘
DeleteSorry - that last comment came from me!
ReplyDelete