When I went to the station to meet Peter it was sunny – so sunny in fact, that when we went to have lunch at Stubbing Wharf we chose to sit in the shade. I hadn’t seen my brother-in-law for five years, when Rachel and I met him and Karen in Heptonstall. Now, he’s newly married to Karen, having tied the knot at long last, in Gretna Green in April of this year. They bought a house on the outskirts of Rotherham, two storey detached, brand new, and are busy trying to fit two sets of life-time belongings into one house.
We had tea and toasted tea cake at the Town Hall cafe and we chatted about this and that, and then walked along the canal, passing my mill, and had lunch at the pub on the canal. He’s also been doing ancestry diggings, as well as still going to obscure football grounds, especially of new teams. He’s been traveling quite a bit and has been on some cruises.
Try to fall into the Rochdale canal!
Just as I was walking back from the station it started to rain and for the rest of the day the rain came down in earnest. It just doesn’t do that in California – it’s either wet or dry, not a few minutes, or even a few hours, of each. I thought about this being July 4th and all the celebrations going on in the US, as it celebrates its freedom from good ol’ England. Rachel and Anna are both staying at my house with friends. I chatted to both of them.Wonder what Sarah’s up to? I firmed up some plans with Judith. I can go and stay with her from next Saturday until I leave for Edinburgh on Tuesday morning and then return to her place after the St Kilda trip. There were some interesting snails on the trail.
Chris and I watched the first of a new TV series called Brief Encounters. It was very good – rather like an inversion of The Full Monty: man gets layed off so his wife starts works selling exotic lingerie and marital aids without his knowledge, resulting in lots of comedic scenarios. It’s set in 1982 Sheffield, Peter’s long-time residence. There was also a program pulling ex Prime Minister Tony Blair apart – The Blair Rich Project.
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