This post will be in English to share with our dear friends in England. And you Swedish guys will of course have no problems. 😀
As a family (Kjell, myself and Fredrik, age one) we moved to England for the first time in early 1992. In Winchester we found a nice house to rent for a year. Little did we know, that this house came with lovely neighbors!
On our first morning in Whinchester, I met
Carol, Andy and baby William 3 months old.
I was pregnant with Caroline and needed to register with a local midwife. So I cheerfully nocked on my neighbors door to ask for advice. And the rest is history…
So here we are 30 years later, starting our two days together with coffee in a rebuild church in the West Country.
Carol recommended their favorite country pub where we stayed for this trip.
An English country pub should be set in a pretty old house with a cosy bar, a beer garden and good food, as is the Beckford Arms from 1790.
Great days out and about were followed by dinners at Carol and Andy’s house and at our pub.
Before moving on, I must share a pic from Carol and Andy’s kitchen in their resent house. Now this is what I call a stove!!!
When I moved to England I had now no idea what "An AGA" was. I have know become slightly more educated…
The AGA runs usually on gas and is always on, working also as a heater for the kitchen/house, with two supersized burners and four ovens/heating cabinets.
Carol and Andy’s AGA is an electric version with an extended regular stove. I think it is a piece of kitchen art.
During our two days together we shared good laughs and memories from Fairfax Close, Winchester. Even though we haven’t met since London 2014, it felt like picking up just where we left it.
Dear Carol and Andy, thank you ever so much for this!
Andy’s favorite memory was from when our son Fredrik, 15 months old, was gatherings stones on the bonnet of our car.
Andy was like a rocket, from the armchair in his living room, out to rescue Kjell’s car. He then had a quiet word with Fredrik, without selling him out to his parents.
Carol reminded me about how I, after my first week in Winchester nocked on her door again. This time I was inviting
her to the Mother and Toddler’s Group nearby, that I had just found.
I remember it as an invitation, but apparently I had more or less insisted that Carol should come along, even though her baby was only three months old. (Sorry about that Carol 😬)
However, Carol now tells me that this "intervention" helped her start getting out of the house with her new baby.
Anyway, Carol and I went to the mother and toddler’s group rhe following week. We met Sonya and Jules with their toddlers. And new friendships began ❤️
Special thanks to you, Jules and Sonya, for your "intervention" with me!
- What! Haven’t you taught Fredrik to watch TV yet?!?
So on Fredrik’s upcoming second birthday, you made sure to give him his first video "Pingu the Pingwin".
What a life saver that was! Especially since I at that point stayed home with two little ones in diapers.
Jules moved from Winchester as we left for Sweden, and we lost contact. But Carol and Sonya still meets regularly
, in spite of Carol having moved several times since.
Here’s to long term friendships!!!
Kjell and I also got to spend one afternoon with our dear friend Gabi, whom we have not seen since 2018,
Gabi now has a lovely house in a pretty little village near Oxford.
As always with you Gabi, we had a wonderful afternoon discussing life and politics, mixed with lots of love and laughter.
Thank you for this!
And I do agree with you Gabi. It is wonderful living opposite a church, since the church is always built in the best location.
On this theme of thankfulness, thank you for reading my simple notes.
And let’s keep on looking
after old friendships!
❤️❤️❤️
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