The Teachers

I was going to publish a picture of the nearby village of Otley, where we are staying for a couple of days. We did a walk with some old friends, and I took a picture from the hill overlooking Otley that was covered in cloud and drizzle. However, when I gave it some though, blip should be about a picture that sums up the day, so I changed my mind.

The blip picture is of our friends, Linda and David. They are both retired teachers from Chorley, Lancashire. We met them on a Princess Cruise (Sapphire Princess) of 24 days long, in 2006. It was a cruise of The Far East that visited places like China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc.

Being our very first cruise we were lost, but as they were seasoned cruisers they took us under their wing. There's so much to learn on cruises, and the cruise we had chosen was probably not the best to have started with. They made it enjoyable and virtually every night we dined with them. When the cruise ended, we just kept in touch and have met up a few times. They mentored us.

They have no children. Both have good pensions and for many years have been spending their inheritances before it's reclaimed in care home fees! They have holidays like you and I have meals. They often go away for months at a time. This December, over Christmas, they go to the Amazon among other places and will be away for nearly a month. Invariably they fly first class.

They only got back from over a month away this Saturday but travelled 90 mins to meet up with us this morning. They walked with us several miles into Otley and back to the Chevin Lodge Hotel, where they changed clothes, and stayed to have dinner with us before trekking back home at 9.30pm.

It was great to see them again and the photo is a great momento of the day. It shows them and my wife (she's in pink) on the balcony over looking the hotel lake. Our room is behind my wife's head.

I agree with them in spending their money before they get too old. You never know what's going to happen and you can't take your money with you. Even if you haven't got money, there's still a lot you can do to get the most out of what you have.