The evening before last, I went out for a meal in a really authentic Spanish restaurant in Harrogate which was less than a five minute walk from the hotel in which I was staying. A table had been reserved for us and so I dined with my nephew, his wife and their two children aged about 22 and 17. We had the most beautiful meal out and there were many Spanish delicacies in which to indulge. To go with my chicken, I chose a side order of ‘pimientos de padron’ which are a small, bitter-sweet peppers fried in olive oil and served with a liberal helping of sea salt. All of this was helped down by a couple of bottles of rioja, needless to say, and we had the most wonderful of conversations as we ranged over family affairs, our social activities, and every topic on earth besides. What emerged at the end of the evening was that my nephews were in the habit of organising a ‘ceilidh’ at regular intervals. These are traditional gaelic folk festivals with singing, dancing and no doubt some drinking and once they had engaged a top rated band and hired a venue, invitations were distributed liberally to family and friends. Now to cut a long story short, my nephews would very much like myself and my American friend to attend the next event they are going to organise, probably in mid-October and accommodation will be no problem because they can rustle up some sleeping arrangements for the two of us. So, this sounds like a most marvellous event to which to look forward and I earnestly hope that it all comes off. I have invited as many members of the family as feel inclined to come and spend a few days with me in Bromsgrove as, again, accommodation will be no problem as we have bedrooms to spare. Later on in the day, there will be an afternoon tea party in celebration of my sister’s 84th birthday and I hope that many family members will be able to attend that gathering. I have one or two little surprises planned for that event about which I shall be silent until the events have taken place and then all be revealed. In the morning which I have free, I shall concentrate my attention upon a walk into town and buying a birthday present for my sister and then the festivities will take place during the afternoon. As well as my iPhone, I shall take along my iPad which has on it several family photos which I think may be of interest to members of the family and which I doubt they have actually seen before. I am trying to make connections with the younger members of the family who are now in their late schooling or higher education phases of their lives and to whom I may appear as a rather distant great uncle (one thinks of ‘Great Uncle Bulgaria’ of the Wombles fame and I think that Paddington bear’s relatives are Uncles and Aunts rather than grandparents) Meanwhile, more mad things seem to be happening on the other side of ‘the pond’ as they say. Donald Trump has said he will rename Lake Ontario as Lake America in the US following the escalating trade war with Canada. The US president signed an executive order on Thursday and said the change would take effect immediately. It will only apply in the US, as Mr Trump cannot force Canada to follow the renaming. Signing the order in the Oval Office, Mr Trump told reporters that Canada is the worst to deal with on trade, adding that they feel entitled and we can’t have that. Last year, he said he would be renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America – a move that was rejected by the Mexican government. Whether these international re-naming’s will have an effect upon the world’s cartographers remains, of course, to be seen.
After I had got myself up, showered and breakfasted I collected a copy of my regular newspaper and then made my way slowly into town – actually, rushing is not an option as I have to ascend pretty steep inclines to get into town. But passing an Oxfam shop, I purchased a handmade birthday card for my sister which she can keep if she feels so inclined. Once there, I made for Marks and Spencer and eventually located their flowers and plants section. It was quite easy for me to choose a stunning orchid as a present for my sister and although I think it was about 30″ in height, the checkout have a specially designed triangular-shaped carrying bag for the safe transport of flowers and plants. I also purchased a magnum of Prosecco for the mutual enjoyment of everyone at the party and this is the first time I have ever in my life purchased a magnum of any sort of wine. As I traversed the Harrogate streets, I came across a specialised phone accessory shop so that I could always ensure that I had a spare charging cable of the relevant type for my iPhone. I made my way towards a very special kind of coffee shop which some have claimed in the past to be the best in Harrogate. The original owners were Italian and they always have a range of excellent pastries all crafted on the premises. I made my way up some steep stairs to a beautifully comfortable lounge furnished with settees as well as tables and chairs and with the bonus of a stunning TV display showing drone generated images of continental landscapes. Meg and I, as well as my niece, know this upstairs room well and always made a beeline for it. I enjoyed a cappuccino and a very tasty almond pastry, warmed and then delivered up the stairs for me, I got into conversations with other groups of visitors, the last two being a Yorkshire man and his wife who had left Harrogate to settle in Brisbane, Australia but had returned to Harrogate to settle up some property matters. As I was in no rush to go anywhere this morning, these conversations were very welcome, after which I returned to my hotel bedroom to have a cup of soup for lunch as I had brought some packet soups with me for such a contingency. After lunch and a wash-and-brush-up, I know there is a direct link with a local taxi firm to arrange my transport to the afternoon’s tea party. I had been in contact with one of nieces who informed that her sister (another niece) would be attending, together with her two girls.