It's Good to Talk

Today's day out had been in the diary for a few weeks.  At last the bus arrived and I made the hour and a quarter journey to Wells.  Oh the the benefits of having a Senior Citizen's Free Bus Travel pass! - all the way from Yeovil to Wells and back without costing me anything.  We had arranged to meet in Wells as it was some way between where we both live.  I first met Diane a number of years ago and although I am a generation older than her, we got on so well and have been friends ever since.  The last time I saw her was at my 70th birthday get together in January.  It's good to get together with a lot of friends but you can't really talk about some private matters on such occasions.  She used to live a bit nearer (about 50 minutes drive away) but when she remarried a few yearsa ago, she moved to her husband's home nearer to Bath - a lovely small town called Bradford on Avon.  

So today we met ... ... and talked ... ... and drank coffee ... ... and talked ... ... and had lunch ... ... and talked.  You get the idea!

Diane at the gate to the Bishop's Palace in Wells.

  After a coffee and a long chat we wandered around the grounds near the Bishop's Palace.  Historically, Wells has a very important place in the Church and it's struggles through the ages.  We ended up at the cathedral where there is a very nice cafe/restaurant where we had some lunch and chatted some more.  You'd be surprised just how long a sandwich and salad can last when you're engrossed in conversation!

Diane outside Wells cathedral.

We brought each other up to date with family news (can't quite believe her son is now 20!) and exchanged notes on our spiritual journeys, gaining insight into some of the things that are happening in our own lives and in the lives of other mutual friends.  Oh, it's so good to talk, one to one and face to face.  Better still if you can do it in a nice place and enjoying a meal together.

On the bus journey home, that came all too quickly, a couple of things caught my attention and made me smile.  The first one was a street name I noticed as we were going through Glastonbury - it was called Leg of Mutton Road.  I couldn't help wondering who on earth would have, could have suggested such a name or if there was some story behind it.  Who knows?  The second thing was as we stopped at a bus stop in the next town after Glastonbury, called Street, we stopped outside a very nice house with a very nice garden but what really caught my attention was the garden shed.  Well, not exactly the shed.  That was an ordinary shed but on the outside, above the door was a clock.  I must admit, I've never seen a clock hung on the outside of an ordinary garden shed before.  I checked the time on my watch and it was the same.  The clock was going and showing the right time.  I smiled as I thought of someone gardening and looking at the clock to make sure they didn't miss their meal, or favourite TV programme.  It couldn't have been an ordinary clock but one specially made to withstand the weather conditions outside.  So where had it come from? Maybe a closed down train station?  Again, who knows?  It's amazing the things you notice when you're not having to do the driving and concentrate on the road.  I did enjoy my day out.  Here's to the next time, Diane.