A Pensioners' Day Out

I finally got round to renewing my passport this morning before its sell by date, although the thought of airport queues has quite put us off flying anywhere exotic, but you should never say never and there are always trains and boats that could transport us off our island.

£72.50 seems an expensive price to pay for that renewal, especially as we may all may have to have new ones issued after Brexit.
In addition one might have hoped that the official envelope was prepaid, but no that was another 64p and had I gone for someone signing on delivery, that would have cost more. Come to think of it, that might have been a good idea.........

We let the bus take the strain again, as we rolled through the moody autumnal countryside to Lauder for a last lunch of the year with our friends who divide their year between Kelso and Thame near London, with Thame winning for the winter.

As always there was plenty to comment on, ranging through topics as diverse as the American election, Tommy Sheridan, Nicola Sturgeon, another Indy referendum and the plight of the NHS in Scotland. Never a dull moment, one could say, and all that as we dealt with chicken pies, sausages with black pudding ,and a vegetarian quiche, with a following dessert..

I have blipped a sideboard decoration of a yellow lily against a darker wall -a lovely contrast.