www part 2

Oh ladies, thank you so much for all the comments.  They did make me smile.  I stand corrected and want to put the record straight:  I did not buy my first born child - he was bRought home to that lovely little flat way back when in 1986.  No, I didn't make it to Chandler's Ford or Eastleigh (although I did pass through the latter on the train to Southampton) as I only had a short time there.  Lynne, I did shave my legs but only because I thought I might go bare legged - then I decided this wasn't quite proper for church and it was a good job as I ended up sitting next to the priest throughout the reception dinner.  Minded my P&Qs fairly well but could see the look of disdain flicker over his face as I, first, told him I was divorced and second, told him I was the bride's godmother, of whom he had never heard and he'd been her priest for over 15 years.  Yikes, reckon it would be a lifetime of hail Marys for me and I wasn't sure what to think when he asked me if I had ever considered going on a retreat!  The thought crossed my mind that the present would be a good time .....

So, for Winchester fans here's a little bit more nostalgia - the first house we brought Ben home to :)  It is an end of terrace Victorian house which had been rented by an old lady for over 40 years so it was in an almost original state when we bought it.  Bakelite 3 pin sockets, picture rails, dad rails, slate and marble fireplaces downstairs, cast iron ones in the bedrooms.  Lovely tiles in the porch and on the pathway.  It was a labour of love to renovate it, stripping back all the stair spindles and doors to their original pine, honeyed and reddened over time. It broke my heart to leave this house and move to Camberley.  Life all went a bit pear shaped after that.

The Medieval Pentice in the High Street

the Butter Cross

The Museum

One of our old drinking haunts, the Eclipse Inn dates back to 1540 though not as nice as the Wykeham Arms

the Gate, part of the old wall which I used to walk under every day on my way to work or to town

the bank where I had my first 'proper' job, appropriately enough located on Jewry Street

and a little glimpse of Alresford - such a pretty, tranquil little town, full of pastel coloured houses and lovely little shops

one of my favourite's being Susie Watson Designs.  Here's my friend, Gill partaking of an imaginary cup of tea at an exquisitely set kitchen table (almost an ex-friend as she had lost loads of weight and not told me!  My friends seem to have a habit of doing this - I wish I had their willpower).  In the background lots of lovely, lovely, gorgeous, lovely china

and for any cat lovers out there, here's one of Gill's cats having a drink the yobby way - straight from the tap!

We've been internet-less the past couple of days - thought Will was going to have a stroke but all has been restored today with the help of a new cable for the router and resetting the Airport - phew, we almost had to 'enjoy' each other's conversation and company for a while there!

Later I'll show you how much shopping I managed to squeeze in to my very expensive parking time in Winchester - I amaze myself sometimes (and my bank manager a lot of the time).

Happy Wednesday (over the hump day as we call it in our office).

Jules

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