Cats & a visit to see former work colleagues.

As I headed across the farmyard to the ablution block a black and white cat bounded out from a shed and gave me a friendly greeting.  Another black and white cat also appeared and the first cat disappeared under a car.  The second cat seemed to 'hog the limelight' and wanting all the attention for itself even when I left it and went over to the first cat, which again moved when the second cat came to me.  After I finished at the ablution block the second cat followed me to the caravan and came inside the caravan for a mosey around.  I wished I could have asked the cat to wipe his paws on the doormat before coming inside because it left muddy footprints while exploring.  Eventually it settled down and sat with us for a while before heading out of the door.

Our route today, more or less per Google but not the exact route our satnav
took us.

We took a nice drive (satnav set to the shortest route again) today through the beautiful Peak District in southerly direction to Swadlincote so that I could visit former work colleagues, and pick up some mail.  It was lovely to see familiar faces again at Gresleydale Healthcare Centre.  Most staff were still there but there were a few new faces.  I loved working for the doctors' practice as a medical secretary and have many happy memories from when I worked there.

From Gresleydale we drove to Swadlincote where we did a bit of necessary shopping and visited a piercing studio (http://www.freewebs.com/labyrinthbodypiercing/) to see we could get a few piercings done.  Lynn was on her way out, having finished for the day, but she had a quick chat with us about what we wanted and we made arrangements to come back in a few days time before we head back to the Netherlands.

We met up with a South African friend for an early dinner at Cherry Tree Farm (pub) (https://www.farmhouseinns.co.uk/locations/cherry-tree-farm?utm_source=g_places&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=places&utm_content=5191) and spent the next 2 or 3 hours catching up on news.

We took a different route back to the campsite, partly along a main route because the sun was going down and it would have been pointless to take a more scenic route.  Back to the ablution block to use the paid meter shower.  Paul had managed to get some £1 coins to ensure that we could have a longer shower if necessary.  We did need an extra coin because we washed our hair which adds extra time to a shower.  Walking back through the muddy farmyard in pitch darkness wasn't an option.  It was a necessity because it is so darn cold outside.