13th August

Didn’t sleep that long or that well last night after turning in around midnight. During the night I was quite restless and it wasn’t helped by hearing Dad snoring like a trooper. I thought to myself,  “This is gonna be a fun two weeks if Dad is snoring like this all the way up the Loire valley.”

Julia was awake and up at 5.45am with me not far behind at 6am. Answered some messages and checked the blog from last night, before putting some air in the bike tyres and since Dad was up, headed off on our trusty steeds, toward Chester. Once again the sky was threatening over North Wales, but it didn’t amount to anything. Part way into our excursion, Julia handed Dad her bike as he was struggling with his feet slipping on the pedals. He really enjoyed Ju’s  bike and looked a lot more confident for the remainder of the trip.

Jim and Ju swap bikes

Along with some berry picking and sampling, we also took some photos and 21kms later we were pleased to have given Dad a good length ride on a very nice morning. Back at the house we got stuck into breakfast and prepared to go into Liverpool. Primarily to see Terry, as this may be the last time we get to catch up with him. We won’t be back in England for a while after this trip and even if Terry’s illness wasn’t serious, age or some other factor could mean that this is the final get together for us. That is the major disadvantage of living so far away, but unfortunately is a fact of life and one which none of us will avoid. The older we get, the more we realise that we must do the things we want, as time waits for no one. Caught the 10.50am bus from around the corner, eight pounds odd for a return trip and made the hour long journey through the Wirral and under the Mersey.  

Pete and Jimmy on the ride this morning

Terry was with cousin Deb, who is doing a fantastic job of looking after her Dad. She makes sure that he has everything he needs and Terry is doing as well as can be expected.  Deb had showed us her new BMW 3Series, High Performance car (very nice and convertible), then Ju and I walked into the city centre to look around the shops for last minute items and to grab a bite to eat.

Costa provided us with lunch and a decent coffee although we did have to eat outside as it was full. The rest of the afternoon prior to our arranged meeting with Alexis and Laura at 3,30pm, was spent wandering around Liverpool, looking for a bike helmet for Julia. The Giant store on Parliament Street came closest to a purchase, however we felt their prices were a little over the top, so decided against it. A rapid walk back to Bold Street, very quirky I must say, is where we discovered “The Leaf”, an upmarket bar, with upmarket prices. The girls arrived and we enjoyed the next hour and a half chatting about old times and since I hadn’t seen Laura for 37 years, there was a fair bit to catch up on, although we have been talking on Facebook. Once again it was another person for Julia to meet and after this week, she’s all personed out.

At 5.15pm, we said our goodbyes and made our way to the bus stop, to find that we’d missed the bus by 5minutes and had to wait another 25 minutes for the next one. The journey took an hour and we were tired upon arrival. Ian [my other cousin} had been at the house for the afternoon and for dinner with his wife Rachael and two kids, Oliver and Emily. Spent time with them before they left for Chester. They are talking about coming out to NZ as well, so here’s hoping. Once again, the rest of the tribe went to Mariners Park and left the remainder of us behind. Some quiet conversation and then to bed.