Yes, we are still alive.

Apologies to the few that still have the perseverance to be following our blog that you have had no riveting entries to digest for some time. We did not take most of our little collection of electronica and it's associated assortment of chargers along on  our week of roaming about the hills and dales of the Lake District in an ill-considered and desperate attempt to reduce the weight we needed to lug on our protesting backs. Actually, we were to discover that the area is remote by English standards and even at it's most modern stuck somewhere in the 1970s so we had to conserve our communication equipment for emergency use only though for the most part the I-phone could not 'bar up' sufficiently to give 'service'. We managed some nice pics on the trusty old camera but had to be sparing even with that too and until we do some fancy stuff with high powered computers we cannot display those here and you will need to wait with eager anticipation. All I can say  is that it was a stunningly beautiful landscape and I was often stricken with awe. It has leapt into my top 10 places in the world. We even made it to the highest peak in England! 

But now I want to go back a wee bit as personally I have not been doing my 'homework' and this is the first entry I have made since arriving in the UK. So let's see.....Glasgow...we flew in over the islands and lochs of western Scotland (which interestingly seems to be known as the 'The North' by the English if the road signs are to be believed...perhaps they still think of it as part of their own country). True to reputation by touchdown it was overcast but we had a warm Scottish reception which unfortunately did not include the hands of the customs officer who patted me down very thoroughly. After a quick look around the city centre we were off to Edinburgh. This would have to be the place where the term gothic was coined. The greyness of everything is startling....in the wintertime it must feel like life is a black and white film. What colour there is seems so vivid. The solidity and heft of the buildings which appear to lean solemnly over the footpaths make people seem more fragile beings here. We had a wonderful sunny day here wandering through the parks and up Arthur's Seat, a la 'One Day',  for the view and a day of cold rain...our first persistently wet day of the trip. We made good use of the local cafes,shops and bars that day and snuggled up for the afternoon in the extremely comfy bed at our B and B (which was excellent all round). The locals were friendly and helpful...much like Kiwis.  I enjoyed our stay in the spiritual home of medicine and could live there quite happily I think. 

Crossed the border into England first class on the wrong train (it's a long story) and met Anna and Jo at Windermere all safe and sound keen to experience the charms of the Lake District. We were not to be disappointed.