Not much to report, since this is a rest day. We've
gone three separate ways. My mother and Wayne went birding (or at least they
were driven out to a recommended birding spot which was almost totally devoid
of birds). Claudia and I stayed in town to do nothing (except sleep and update
the Web site), and the rest have "gone shopping," probably in Windermere.
There's been a political boil-up overnight, though we're not surprised. It's between Claudia and her sisters and will carry on most of the week. Details are not pertinent, and in any case I wouldn't attempt to describe them, because in another example of an unspoken agreement between Wayne and myself, we never discuss the issues, and we never take sides (for or against) in the debate. It just blows past. Nevertheless, I'm always struck both by the intensity of the emotions expressed in these fairly frequent outbursts, and by the way the women seem to be able to work through it and become friends again. My family has started twenty-year feuds over less.
Anyway, one of the more pleasant outcomes of this is that Claudia
and I spend the morning sleeping in a B&B that Caroline booked
us into. After lunch, Wayne, Adam, mother and I take a guided
tour of Pendragon Castle. At least it is advertised as a tour.
It turns out to be a two hour walk through the muddiest fields
we've yet encountered, followed by a brief trip out of the van
to check out the castle. This is Uther Pendragon's lair, or what's
left of it. Uther Pendragon's most famous feat, you will recall,
was to sire King Arthur, of round table fame. It is easy to imagine
it's former glory. Camelot it is not, but it is still an attractive
(and formidable) pile of stones, and it is still in an attractive
spot.