Tuesday 11 October - to Burnham to see Pam, Len and Hilary

A quick trip on a suburban diesel unit brought us to Burnham where Pam, Len and Hilary were waiting on the platform for us.  Elena, Hilary's guide dog is still pretty young and was very excited to see us.  We all piled into their car, Elena in the trunk of the hatchback and went back to Cheveley Gardens for a very pleasant visit.  Hilary had come up from Newport by train with a transfer at Reading on Sunday. Elena is very good when she is working but she likes to play a lot and she is a big dog.

We had a long chat - family stuff.  Pam and Len still have the occasional heron in the back yard as well as deer but the family of ducks has not been back for a couple of years.  At lunchtime Len drove us all to the Blackwood Arms, a delightful little country pub in the middle of nowhere, although it is only 10-15 minutes drive away.  It is rustic but the food was good (beef pie and sticky toffee pudding) as was the beer.  I had an excellent Brakspears Best Bitter.  Elena laid down quietly under the table and we didn't see or hear anything from her for a couple of hours.

Back at Cheveley Gardens it was time for Elena to work off a little energy, after which she came in and slept at Hilary's feet.

Both Mary and I were feeling the effects of jet lag and left quite early.  I even dozed off for part of the trip, unusual for me on a train, so I even missed passing Acton Yard, where I was nearly run down by a train - not so pleasant memories.  We came back to the hotel and crashed.