THE DAY THAT THE RAINS CAME DOWN.....

…..I had arranged to go to Salisbury on the bus to meet my friend, Mary.  Our friendship goes back many years to when our children were small, and although we keep in touch by messaging each other, we hadn’t actually met since before she went to Australia in the summer of 2018, so a visit was well overdue.

Mr. HCB took me down to the bus stop at 9.30 this morning and then came back home, hoping to be able to get out into the garden and do some work - meanwhile, I was hoping for a lovely day in Salisbury, with perhaps a visit to the Cathedral and a wander around since Mary lives quite near.  

However, it was obvious that the rain wasn’t going to stop - on the way down in the bus, all the windows were fugged up and it was really cold.  I had taken my knitting, so even though I was cold, I still managed to knit one fingerless glove!  When I mentioned to the driver when I got off how cold I was, she told me that I should have asked her to turn the heating on!  

I thought I may not have too many Blip opportunities during the day, so when this man got on the bus and sat opposite, holding onto his bag, how could I resist!  Well, would you have?  If that’s how you look when you are “full of beans” think I will give them a miss!

Mary was waiting at the bus stop to meet me and welcomed me to “Salisbury, the Soggy City of Scaffolding” as there are so many buildings covered in scaffolding.  I told her I had two priorities - a cup of coffee and a loo stop!  There was a new little coffee shop that had just opened, so we went in and I asked if they had (a) decaffeinated coffee and (b) a toilet - the answer was yes to both, although had I realised the toilets were at the top of the building, three flights of stairs up, I might not have stayed.  On the plus side, the coffee and salted caramel brownie were delicious and perhaps it was just as well I had to go up three flights of stairs and did my exercise before I ate it.

We had a lovely lunch in a nearby Italian restaurant and chatted non-stop for almost two hours and then had a wander round the market - but it was miserable - the rain was hammering down and there were huge puddles all around - and as you can imagine, the market traders were very fed up.  The rain was dripping from all the awnings and down our necks, and as neither of us had an umbrella, after a wander around Debenhams - just in case it was our last chance to do so, I reluctantly decided that I would catch the 3.25 bus home.  I have promised to visit again, once the weather perks up - and then perhaps we can do the Cathedral visit.

On the way home, I decided to sit on the upper deck of the bus and after two young girls alighted at Pewsey and I was the only passenger left upstairs, I decided to be a little “naughty” - I can hear you all saying you don’t believe it - but on this occasion, it’s true.  All the windows were well steamed up and I couldn’t see out at all, so I decided to write the word “BLIP” on the front window.  It was only when I looked out of my steamed up window that I saw we had stopped next to the Wesleyan Chapel and the words from my Sunday School days came into my mind - “Be sure your sins will find you out”!   I was fully expecting the driver to admonish me when I went downstairs, but I got off the bus and nothing was said, so hopefully I’m safe - unless of course, they catch me by viewing the CCTV on the bus.

I am safely home now and it looks as if the evening will be drier than the day has been, but it was lovely to see Mary and I have just messaged her to say we probably chatted more because of the rain.

“Don’t be angry with the rain; 
     it simply does not know 
          how to fall upwards.” 
Vladimir Nabokov


P.S.  When I got off the bus, I saw a coach with "England" on the front, sides and rear - just listening to the News, Mr. HCB tells me that the England Women's football team is playing Spain tonight in Swindon - fame at last for Swindon!