England 2
Martin was waiting for us with a huge welcoming hug at Gatswick Airport. We were ushered into his car and driven down into the countryside of Surrey to his family home. The lovely Beech Cottagewas an original cottage that he and Barbara have worked on and turned into the most comfortable and beautiful retreat. It's bay windows provided lots of sunny nooks and crannies that looked out to the south and at one end a music room with a soaring roof and stained glass windows completed the idylic home. Barbara had an English Roast waiting for us and the smell hit our hungry stomachs the moment we opened the door. Soon we were ensconced with champagne glasses in hand and old tales from our original meeting in Nepal being rehashed. Barbara had us seated in the lounge chatting with Martin while she made some last minute preparations when we heard a huge crash from the kitchen. Barbara asked for Martin's help for a moment and with a grand apology told us the fridge door had just fallen off! Needless to say, Martin soon had it working again and the dinner was magical. We had our first true yorkshire pudding which was sensational and it was all topped off with rhubarb pie.
We woke to a lazy morning and late breakfast with all the trimmings. Martin took us for a walk up onto the common behind Beech Cottage. On a good day there were views to London and to the Southern Coast, but this day was a little hazy. Sometimes Martin found flint arrowheads from earlier times. Of course we spent the rest of our walk with our heads glued to the ground on the off chance of discovering one ourselves. We were struck by the politeness of passing cyclists who called out thanks when we stepped aside for them - there was no pushing or sending us off the path here. After a spaghetti bolognese lunch, Martin drove us down to some chalk cliffs west of Brighton. With a stunningly deep blue sky presenting a contrast to the white chalk we dragged in deep breaths of clean ocean air and explored the flinty beach. Later we walked along the cliff tops - a grassy green field that ended dramatically without notice. Further along you could see a red and white striped light house. We had a true English beer in the local pub which was clearly quite old, but not as old as our next stop - The Star. The Star, originally The Bethlehem Star shortened in Cromwellian times, was opened in 1303. A moulding of George Slaying the Dragon dates back to the time that George actually did slay the Dragon. It was all quite surreal, but very lovely to drink the warm cellared beer in such an environment, below low hung roof beams on antique tables.
We picked Barbara up from Beech Cottage and went down to the local town for Chinese. The restaurant we were taken too was superb and I am sure I gained another couple of kgs from that meal alone. The drive home again took us along lanes that had ancient trees knot their branches overhead, forming tunnels. It felt like being whisked along a fantasy land setting.
Our final morning arrived much too fast. Martin drove us out to Heathrow and saw us off to Dubai - the final stop before home. We are hoping to have him and Barbara to stay when they embark on their next world trip.
