April 10
Mom and I did a bit of shopping in town - going to the likes of Marks and Spencers (I think that's what she was really looking forward to) as well as to the local market again. We then went into the "mall" and bought a few items, heading to Clarks (another spot mom was looking forward to) when I received a text from my roomies saying they would be leaving for their own trip soon. We abandoned our outing to return home - making sure to say good-bye to them as they went on their way. We had a very leisurely day, doing a couple more loads of laundry (in hopes that our previous night's laundry would be dry soon) and relaxed in front of the Telly - beginning our Glee marathon :)
April 11
Mom woke up early to come with me to church. It was a nice service with what I've nicknamed the "cute" priest. We then made our way back to the house to collect Seb, then on to my Sunday ritual: Brunch at Cafe Royal Bistro. We had an enjoyable meal, then we took Seb around the town to see Kettering for the first time since she'd been there. When we returned home, we relaxed, again watching Glee. I also called Sylvia - as she'd called me when I was in Rome - to see how she was doing and wishing her a late "happy Easter". By the end of the conversation, we decided to get together for lunch on Monday - of course bringing Seb and Mom.
April 12
We had a relaxing morning, though I went out to be sure to purchase a potted plant for our lunch visit. We took a taxi to the house, and were greeted with open arms by Sylvia and Ron (my first introduction to Kettering). We had an enjoyable meal and great conversation. There was also an added visit by Emily, their grand-daughter who had been there a couple of days when we stayed at the B&B. We left about 3 hours later, and relaxed at home - we finished watching Glee that night :)
April 13
Second last day in Kettering, Seb and I went into town so that she could purchase some more music CDs she'd been having an eye on. As she was doing that, I went to go find a place to get my passport photo taken. Turned out that although one would think having a picture taken at a photo place would be the location...you'd be wrong. I went to the local cobbler to get my photo taken. We then packed suitcases and got everything ready for our departure the next day.
April 14
The taxi was ordered a couple days before, so there was no concern that way. We just spent our morning relaxing and just spending time together (damn me for showing Seb "Bejeweled" on facebook). The time eventually came where we had to make our way, bags and all, to the end of our street for the taxi. We spent the 1h 45min ride mostly in silence, me trying not to get car-sick as I was seated backwards in the cab. After checking in and paying for the extra luggage, we went up to the security area. We shared a coffee and some treats while waiting. I soon said a tearful farewell to my little touch of home, before I had to make my way back to St. Pancras and the train ride home. It was a quiet night with no one at home but me.
April 15
Back into London I went - as I had to renew my passport. It turned out the process wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and I only spent about an hour in the office once I got passed security. When I was done, I had a lot of time to kill (as the cheap train didn't leave St. Pancras until 8pm...and it was about 1pm at this point). So, I went to the National Gallery - right by the High Commission - and spent 5 hours there wandering and checking out all the paintings. I was excited to view the original "sunflowers" by Van Gogh - one of my favourite paintings. After a nice meal at the "Spaghetti House", I made a brief stop at Harrods to pick up a key chain Seb wanted, then on to the train station. I arrived home around 9:30 to a house with the lights on as the roomies were back.
April 16
Just had a relaxing day. Did my grocery shopping, picked up some shoes and a couple new articles of clothing, then home and finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns". Mel visited in between and we got caught up on her travels to Scotland. I also received a phone call from Jen saying she's "stranded" in Canada until Monday/Tuesday due to the volcanic ash issue that has closed the airports in the UK. Went to bed around midnight, after a nice Skype conversation with Alex
April 17
Chilling in the sunshine! (finally)
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