Slaithwaite visit

Slaithwaite is a village in northern England, in Yorkshire, about an hour from Manchester. Now tell me, looking at the name, how would you pronounce it? Slayth-wait, right? Oh NOOOO, of course not--I never did get it right but it's something like Slaw-wit. I tell you, that northern accent is VERY different from what I've been hearing in the south!

Mary and I went there last weekend to visit her friends Camilla and Harry, who she met in Bosnia while working, and their two children, Alex and Kate. We had such a great visit! The village has lots of canals, and old mills--that whole area was big in the production of wool and weaving. We were told that it was the area where the Luddites were, opposing industrial growth. Frankly, I think those Luddites were on to something.

We were also in the area where the moors are--they are quite dramatic. Hikers regularly get disoriented there when the fog descends. There's a range of mountaines called the Pennines that runs up to Scotland and the area is well known for hikers. The mountains were so much more imposing and BIG than the hills we've seen here in the southwest.

I so enjoyed being with the children--really bright, really delightful. Kate was scornful of Mary using the word "pants" when she meant "trousers"--"pants" here only referring to underpants, OF COURSE, as any five year old knows! We had so much fun playing with them--and their parents were the greatest hosts.

So now we are back in Peasedown, waiting for Mary's aunt and cousin to arrive from London, for the weekend, and that is going to be fun.

Thanks to those I've spoken to or emailed with who have commented on the blog...I sometimes think I am writing to thin air and it's always encouraging to know that people are reading and (I hope!) enjoying.

6 more weeks til we return to Canada. Yippee!

Karen