A Day With Friends, Old and New

Daniel here again :)


Despite intending to wake up early, Kamaljot and I managed to sleep in... a lot. I suppose the 48 hours with no solid period of sleep had something to do with that. Anyway, we both ended up getting a full twelve hours of sleep each. I don't think either of us particularly regret it, as here in Stourport will probably be our last chance to get any proper amount of sleep before we get back to Canada. We had a bit of a lazy morning showering, getting dressed, checking emails, and eating breakfast. 


At around 12, Emma (the daughter of Karen's sister Lisa) stopped by with her boyfriend Ste to show us around town. We hopped into his car and stopped by the caravan (trailer) park where mom lived for a while while she lived over here. From there we parked in town and looked into the pub where mom worked and lived for much of her time here. 


From there we walked down by the river Severn which bisects the town. It was interesting to see both the sights that I've heard mom talk about mixed with brand new sights, such as the new apartment complex right on the harbour. We wandered down by the river for a bit, over a few locks and down by the fair that brings many visitors to Stourport. I have a few vague memories of it from 1998 when I was last here, but they always came back to me at the most random times. During the whole tour both Kamaljot and I were so engrossed with Emma's guiding that neither of us thought to take pictures, but you'll just have to believe me when I tell you that the town was quite a sight! :)


After the river and the parks we walked up Bridge St. and High St. and saw some of the shops and restaurants around town. After the tour we drove back home and had a cup of tea while Emma looked over some photos I had brought over from some of her visits to Canada and my visit here 14 years ago. Everyone seems to particularly enjoy the one picture of 2 and 6 year old Daniel and Emma bathing together in Canada. 


After Emma and Ste left, Kamaljot and I went with Karen over to Robyn's school to pick her up. This is the school (now St. Bartholomew's School, but previously Windmill School) that was responsible for my family meeting the Baylis family. When Lisa and my mom were both in school, a teacher at Windmill had the idea to set her students up with pen pals in Canada, and Lisa and my mother have stayed in touch over the years. Once we were back home we met Hollie, who had taken the bus, and we spent a few hours with them, all of us writing blog posts and taking pictures. 


At about 6:00 people started to arrive for the barbecue that the Minshalls had planned in our honour. Many of the guests we'd met earlier in our stay, but others I was either meeting for the first time, or for the first time in a number of years. All in all, Jean and Maurice (Karen's parents), Lisa (Karen's sister) and her partner Rich, Emma and Sophie (Lisa's daughters), Ste and Brad (Emma and Sophie's partners, respectively), Louise (Karen's other sister) and her partner Jason, and Louise's baby boy Joshua all came over. I don't believe I've managed to forget anyone, but I apologize if I somehow have!


All of us had a great time eating some great sausages and burgers and both catching up and trading old stories of visits long past. It was great seeing both the new faces (Josh) and ones that I hadn't seen in years (Sophie). All in all in was an amazing night with good company and good conversation.

Back: Brad, Jason, Michael, ME, Kamaljot, Ste, and Rich
Middle: Sophie, Maurice, Robyn, Jean, Emma, and Lisa
Front: Karen, Hollie, Joshua, and Louise

After the barbecue, we cleaned up and retired to the living room to watch some TV. We've been drawn into the search for the new star of the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Jesus Christ: Superstar, so we watched that and then the highlights program for the past few days of the Tour de France (it was a rest day yesterday, so they recapped the race so far). Everyone slept at various times, with me staying up the latest finishing off our blog post about our eventful highland day.

So ended another restful day in Stourport, full of memories and stories.

Until next time,

-Daniel