Hmm, yes, I thought it would be lovely too. The weeks leading up to our return were warm and sunny - even the odd suggestion of a hosepipe ban - always a sign of real, summer weather. July 9th 2011 we arrived at Heathrow. It was raining and, to be honest, it stayed that way rpetty much all the way through.
There was an unusual glitch with the hire car which saw us leaving LHR a little later than we would have wished but we still arrived in Cheltenham by 7pm which was something of a miracle. We were met by our lovely host, Lindy, who had prepared the 'garden' apartment in her amazing, Georgian home by filling the fridge and putting the heating on! Lovely. Had a quick look round - absolutely delightful and the bath? Well, Romanesque and a jacuzzi to boot. It was a little chilly in there though and I did manage to put bubble bath in it which I discovered was not such a good idea - the Magic Porridge Pot sprang to mind as I leapt about trying to stop the bubbles from flowing onto the floor.
We soon settled in, learnt how to light the fire and work the oven - all the important things in life. Our time in Cheltenham was delightful. We thought we knew it quite well but we found some fabulous places to eat and really enjoyed our stay with the close proximity to the M5 it was a perfect place to base ourselves. I did suggest we might like to live there when we get back from our travels but it isn't near enough to the sea.
We met up with family and friends and had a wonderful time. Dave's birthday was celebrated with his son and daughter in law and we went to Blancs Brasserie. There's a story in here - you might have guessed. Nic is allergic to many things and has the good sense to bring a list with her when she eats out. We gave the list which included things like nuts and plums and cherries, to the waiter at Blancs and they did very well to start with. Then we got to dessert. Nic chose an apple crumble. The meu described it and there was no mention of nuts of any kind. Fortunately, Dave rather liked the look of it and tried a mouthful. "Er... are those almonds?" He asked Nic. Well, the panic that then set in. Nic had to take her medication quickly to prevent a bad reaction, Lee was very concerned about his wife, Dave was furious with the restaurant and told them so very quietly and politely but with that look on his face - yes, THAT one! Trysh, forever the first aider was watching Nic carefully to see if she might go into shock and was fully prepared to do the 999 thing.. All very scarey. Fortunately there were no really bad effects - Nic did have a reaction but it was containable - thank goodness. The upside, and there had to be one, was that we had a free lunch for four people with drinks on Blancs. They were very concerned about it all and very apologetic. I must say however that that really isn't good enough for any restaurant, let alone one of Blancs calibre, and the nuts should have been highlighted on the menu. Note to self - I must check to see if they have made changes to the menu.
