A Walk in the Country

Sunday morning, my sister and I took a long walk out into the country, starting from her house. Another beautiful day. Having started out in the cold with my winter voat, I gradually had to shed and carry as the day warmed up. Here's some of our route:







And on the return from our furthest point out, we took the mile-long avenue leading back into the town:






On our return, we stopped to buy a newspaper at W.H.Smith (I noted that he used to have "& Sons") and enjoy a cop of coffee with one of those Garibaldi cookies we used to call, as children, "squashed flies"--because of the dark raisins squashed inside. Then home for a quiet afternoon, a cup of tea, and time to pack before leftover Indian dinner on trays in front of the TV, to watch the BAFTA Awards show (the British version of the Oscars.)

A rather easy journey home, with a very early (5:55AM) start at the bus stop, and a long coach ride through frosty fields and hillsides with a low mist hugging the ground and the icy pools along the way. Heathrow was busy, but I managed a bit of duty-free shopping (a handful of cigars for my Sunday afternoons, a cashmere scarf from Harrods for Ellie) and a good English breakfast. And finally the long flight over the Atlantic and the frozen tundras of northern Canada, with Ellie to greet me at the airport.

The freeways of Los Angeles, I have to say, seemed a very long way from the Cotswolds!