Monday August 10th – We left Madeley about 9:15am expecting quite a long drive down to Taunton, in Somerset. The motorway was pretty clear all the way down with few delays for construction (unusual here during the summer) and we arrived in excellent time. Our room at the Holiday Inn was ready so we had a relaxing afternoon of reading and snoozing before meeting my friend Judy Summerhayes.

Judy and I have been pen friends since we were 12. We were introduced by my Aunt Ruby (Grandpa Harris’ sister) when she visited Toronto in 1960. She knew of a girl in her church in New Barnet who wanted to write to someone in Canada and since we were about the same age, I was nominated. We corresponded regularly as teenagers and then sporadically since, although always at Christmas. My mom and I attended Judy’s wedding in the early 1970s, George and I visited again in 1979 on our way home from Africa, and we visited in 1997 when we were here with our kids. I think I also visited when I brought my parents and grandparents in the late 1960s but that’s ancient history which neither of us are sure about.

Judy has two grown children and five grandchildren. We were delighted to meet Lance, her significant other, last evening for the first time. We went to a little pub, close to where her folks used to live in Trull, and enjoyed an evening of great conversation and reminiscing. Would you believe Judy still remembers the full address of our house on Albright! We were so busy talking that neither of us thought to take any pictures… that will have to wait until they join us in Canada one day!