We got caught up on laundry, sorted out what we’re taking to England, and took Mo to her ‘vacation property’ in the village of Chez Renard. I wanted to see where she would be kept but as she’s staying in the owner’s house I couldn’t – she trotted off without a backward glance.

The next morning we had lots of time to get ready, and left for Limoges with time to spare. The flight wasn’t too bad, and we landed on time in Bristol. Young Neil was there to pick us up and we had a fast ride into Worcester.

We’d intended to go to the Bull for fish and chips for dinner, but discovered too late that Neil had one set of keys for the mini and neighbours Lyn and Philip had the other, and they were out. As an alternative we walked up to the Grange Pub, which was ok, but not the Bull.

Saturday morning we went into Droitwich as Colin had a dentist appointment, while I went shopping, then had a decent cappuccino – the best I’ve had since we left Italy.

We stopped at the Bull on the way home and had lunch – it started to just pour with rain right before we left. By the time we headed out to the party the rain had mostly stopped and the sun was trying to come out.

It’s the 25th anniversary of the fencing company Colin co-founded, and the current owner (Colin’s former partner Tim) put on a great event.

It was held at the beautiful venue of Stone Manor near Kidderminster, and he’d gone all out. There were events for the kids in the afternoon including games and a magician, followed by a pig roast, and a band.

All drinks were free, as were very cozy warm blankets – also umbrellas, just in case.

There were a lot of very nice people – many that were with the company when Colin retired 10 years ago were still there and all were very pleased to see him.

I might have had one or two drinks too many, although the zambuca at the end of the night went down very well. I danced quite a bit, and managed to stay on my feet without face-planting and totally embarrassing myself – it was a lot of fun – good company, good food, free drinks – what could be better?

Breakfast the next day was great – I felt much better than might have been expected, and then we headed back to Worcester.

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