Well my best intentions were to blog from deepest Dorset on a couple of occasions. We had no internet in the house so that is why there has been silence-possibly a good thing!

We had a good cycle down to Frome St Quintin where we were staying. We had a rendezvous planned at Bath Railway Station for 10.30 ish we were late because we had a coffee stop. In fact food featured large on the ride with our refuel stops; the champagne moment was a wonderful cream tea in an eccentric hotel. Scones and jams were all home-made delicious! The whole ride was 98 miles and surprise, surprise our comrades at the house cooked a splendid meal for the weary travellers. We are thinking of doing a cycling food book, we would enjoy the research!

Once established we visited the sea-side, Dorchester, Maiden Castle and of course Hardy sites. We cycled to all the above apart from the sea-side. Dorset Hills tested our resolve on occasions! The cottage where Hardy was born was a particular favourite, if you haven’t visited it you will find a delightful cottage, garden and a lovely woodland walk (it is National Trust). As our evening treats apart from the wonderful feasts was to watch Far From the Madding Crowd (the old one-we all loved Julie Christie’s eyes) and Under the Greenwood Tree.

So it is now back home in Gloucestershire to prepare for Story Telling next week and a cricket semi-final today for the Gloucestershire Old Men against Cheshire. Fingers crossed!