Pirate Tom

Apologies for the long delay since the last post. We've both been flat out with work and haven't really had the time.

Anyway, last weekend my friend Michael came to visit us from London and, given the nice weather, we picked him up from the station and headed straight to the Green Wood Centre in Coalbrookdale for an alfresco lunch, and then took Tom for a good long walk along the front at Ironbridge, across the bridge itself, and down the bank on the far side to a pub, where we stopped for a restorative pint. Tom walked very nicely, and didn't have to be carried very much at all, although every dog that we came across meant a two-minute delay while he watched it all the way until it disappeared from view.

After river cobbler and risotto (one of our current favourites) for dinner, Tom had his usual bath and story, after which Nik got to work icing a cake and Michael and I headed out to try and find a nice local pub (we've only been here seven years after all). As luck would have it, we found an old inn in Oakengates that has been running since 1830, and still has all its original interior decor and most of the original frosted windows. Add to that a wide range of local ales and it was an excellent evening. We are now planning to go there for lunch one day.

On Sunday morning, Nik and Tom had an appointment at a local play barn for a birthday party, so Michael and I dropped them off and filled in the ensuing two hours with a good stiff climb up the Wrekin and down the other side. The weather was fantastic again and, despite a lot of heat haze, the views across Shropshire were wonderful. We then picked up the party-goers and headed to the golf club for lunch, where we all had a good nosh. Michael and I then walked back home through the Granville nature reserve, before I took him back to the station to get his train back to London.

As is often the case, a nice weekend past far too quickly, and before I knew it it was time to get back to work on Monday morning.