Saturday, June 26 I brought several thematic music programs with me. To express our gratitude to our new Brailes friends for their warm hospitality, we treated them to the ever-popular Jungle Jive party on our last night in the village. Lina drew and individually colored the invitations, which were then hand-delivered. Costumes were encouraged. We decorated Lou’s garden shed with vines, …

Friday, June 25 – only six more shopping months till Xmas After a day of blog catch-up and domesticity, we headed to Tackley, about half an hour east. Here, on the village green, performed the Giffords Circus, a regional-only troupe based in the Cotswolds. He ultimately did five! Just fabulous. A pint afterwards at the …

Thursday, June 24 A relaxing time, excellent for blogging and rest. We headed out in the evening to attend a herb walk some distance into the Cotswolds. On the way, we stopped at a megalithic stone circle. This alignmnent of rocks dates from 2500 BC. The other two groupings are of different ages. The water-eroded chunks reminded …

Wednesday, June 23 This day saw us reunited and heading south together. I got on the iron horse in E-burgh and marveled at the sights my route afforded through the Lowlands of south Scotland. With an emotional farewell to fair Caledonia, I watched the hedgerows reappear as England welcomed me again. By 11:30 a.m., I was off …

While Howie is in Scotland, Linda visited the Lake District in North England with Louisa. Sunday, June 20 Louisa and I arrived in the famous Lake District of Cumbria about 1:00. We enjoyed tea and scones near Dove Cottage, former home of William Wordsworth. It’s no wonder that such romantic poetry was created here. The landscapes are so …

Tuesday, June 22 I got back from Glenshee yester-evening with just enough time to down a half-pint at the Conan Doyle pub before hoofing it over to Waverley Bridge. There I paid 14 Scottish pounds for 24-hours’ worth of hop-on, hop-off touring on four open-top vehicles on four routes through the city. No, I didn’t sign …