Well, the Wedding has been and gone and it's now time for us to leave sunny Lincoln and move onto York.
The Wedding celebration was just wonderful. The ceremony took place in a small church in the village of Stoke Rochford (Todd is insisting that I tell readers that this village is otherwise famously home to Lady McCorquodale - Princess Diana's eldest sister who was in fact dating Prince Charles prior to Diana........ whatever - I think he just likes saying the name 'McCorquodale'). It was a beautifully simple ceremony that was truly moving. Kathryn looked stunning and the weather held up nicely so all was well.
Following the ceremony, we all returned to Stoke Rochford Hall for dinner, drinks and dancing. As the evening progressed, there were snacks brought out as refreshments for the guests staying late. I had my first taste of Pork Pie and I must say that whilst it did seem to be a heart attack in every bite... it was quite delicious. Todd and I retired 'early' at around 11pm however I understand that the festivities went well into the early morning.
We checked into our B&B in Lincoln the day after the wedding and were delighted. We had variously discussed that our B&B experiences across the UK would likely resemble Little Britain sketches and indeed there were elements of that here. Our hosts were genuinely wonderful and on the first morning, shared various stories with us including some current challenges around a recently checked out bed wetter. This then extended to various other stories including one about about a woman who had trouble with her period, another about a man with dementia who pulled a shower rail off the wall and a couple of regulars who are intellectually disabled who come for a bit of nooky... you get the idea. The recent bed wetter was now demanding possession of the soiled mattress as proof that the proprietors were indeed purchasing a new one and not just going to turn it over.
Our room is decorated in a Victorian fashion with lots of knick knacks about the place. The only down side is that the shower has been built to a size fit only for a starved indentured child from the Victorian era. There is simply no room for a portly gentlemen such as myself to even turn around, let along retrieve a dropped bar of soap.
Continuing the heart attack theme, we've so far been breakfasting with abandon. Each day has been a freshly cooked hot English breakfast and whilst I know that's the purpose of staying in a B&B, I'm feeling the need to moderate my food lest I actually end up needing to travel home in the cargo hold of the plane as I simply may not fit through the door.
(A note here from Todd - I am struck by Danny's engagement with 'old school' English eating patterns - he has taken to pork pie, HP Sauce with every breakfast and even vinegar on chips. Odd that he would never have eaten any of this at home. By the time we leave I'll have him eating kippers with horseradish...)
We also spent a day in the town of Boston, not far from Lincoln. It turns out, this is from whence the Mayflower sailed to America. We climbed up a tiny spiral stair in the main church called St. Botolph's and had a wonderful view of the surrounding countryside.
A disconcerting thing is that variously, people seem to think that we're from America. This tends to be even after we've started speaking. Both times this has happened we were wearing shorts and sneakers, so it could be this or just that we're both fat - not sure.
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