Chapter Sixty Nine – “Keswick: A Week in the Lakes (Part Two)”

Day 5 – Wednesday, 18^th October 2017

                Genesis 25:33 was the subject of today’s morning prayers – what foolish desires do we put before God? Let us not be like Esau. Spoken prayers were few today (just me), so we closed with a quiet, reflective feel.
                Today was a day to spend together as a group – a chance for Venna to share in our company, albeit sometimes staying in the car.
                We started by walking around Thirlmere Reservoir, by Helvellyn, the third highest peak in the Lake District. It was unusual, to me, to see a reservoir as such a natural looking feature, although I am told the more man-made structures tend to be found in the South. Such a clear reflection, the water practically mirroring the land and sky above it. The weather, in contrast to days before, was glorious.
                For lunch we stopped at the Travellers Inn where the sole staff member sheepishly agreed to serve us. While I enjoyed a delicious steak and kidney pudding, subsequently endorsing it to other travellers, Tom got me thinking about my tree of choice if I was to be a species for a day; for want of something else, I settled on a copper beech (primarily because of its links with Devon). 
                Dessert was ice cream in nearby Grasmere, though it took us long enough to decide on that, because in the absence of Dan and Venna we can be an indecisive lot! While in Grasmere we also spent a considerable amount of time in a souvenir shop – I was spoilt for choice with border collie related gifts! However, my most noteworthy (and impulsive) buy came when I passed the window of Sam’s bookshop and spied a hardback copy of the newly released ‘Manderley Forever’, the biography of Daphne du Maurier. I was surprised to find her so far North! I think it was this surprise, combined with the thrill of having only recently seen it discussed on the Facebook group that made me go through with the purchase.
                So on to Ambleside, and specifically boot shopping for Josh, who had come off rather worse for wear following yesterday’s walk to Innominate Tarn, covered in mud. In Gaynor’s, the outdoor shop, after Josh had found his new boots, Dan and I spent time browsing the shirts section. He gently suggested I could buy a slightly more eye-catching shirt, to go with my new, confident persona, with the added incentive of winning some feminine attention. Initially it felt strange, being very unlike me, but I soon grew to the idea and purchased a checked shirt with mild red patterning. That’s Sunday sorted, and the last of the day’s impulse buys!
                Just before five we reconvened and entered Zeffirelli’s cinema to see ‘Bladerunner 2049’, which had received mixed reviews. Venna left us, to see ‘Victoria and Abdul’, a recent favourite with Mum. As for us, I enjoyed the film a lot, although some parts were hard to understand. It helped that I had seen and basically understood the original – something that Josh and Tom were unfortunately lacking, although I didn’t realise that until the end, and Tom dismissed the film as ‘boring’ and Josh was left scratching his head. Dan and I would both welcome another viewing. You get more out, second time round. Venna, waiting for us as we left our screen, loved her movie and enthusiastically recounted the best bits – one for me to look out for.
                The return journey discussion topic was Christian marriage, dating, engagements and whether or not it was permissible to divorce one’s spouse, although I remain uncertain on how the conversation started. The message seemed to be that marriage and engagement both carry significant weight, and it is God’s will for us to persevere in marriage despite any difficulties, rather than divorce – as such engagement (not just marriage) should be entered into only when there is serious commitment and a properly considered decision to follow through. It is my prayer that God will lead me to the right girl, and give me the wisdom I need to decide whether to commit, when the time comes – if, of course, that is His plan for me.
                Dinner was Keswick fish and chips – I had plaice with a side of smoked black pudding. A truly delicious meal. I was glad to have black pudding again (an echo of Scotland), although I’d never tried it smoked. It won my approval.
                The evening rounded off with the final episode of ‘The Night Manager’. Our Bondian adventure was drawing to a close, and despite a long and full day all our attentions were held.
                The schedule for tomorrow has yet to be formulated, although Venna will be going to a Bible study in the morning. For now though, a warm bed awaits, and dreams of the holiday and perhaps the future – my bold, new self.

Day 6 – Thursday, 19^th October 2017

                The alarm went off at half past seven this morning, but the theological wakeup calls had stopped at this point (and I sensed a particular tiredness in Josh this morning) so I went straight to the shower. As I prepared to go downstairs for breakfast I suggested to Josh a subtle code-phrase as a prompt to finally indicate writing Dan’s birthday card – ‘I’m going upstairs to tie my shoelaces’, suitably obscure but also not strange enough to sound odd in general conversation.

                The devotion for the day was centred around Romans 15:4, and how we are actively involved in God’s story. The featured lines of the old song ‘Take my life, and let it be, consecrated, Lord, to thee’ also got us thinking about the old hymns – this would come up indirectly in discussion later.

                Venna disappeared to a Bible study this morning. Dan’s idea for the day was for the rest of us (Tom, Josh and myself) to trek up Skiddaw, though he wouldn’t be joining us. As he said, it was time to see if the chicks were ready to leave the nest. As various items of serious hiking kit appeared on the dining table, I began to wonder what sort of a day we had ahead. A first aid kit, survival blanket, emergency whistles, map etc.

                Before embarking on our epic trek to Skiddaw, we spent the morning in the town of Keswick, moving from one outdoor supplies shop to another, in search of final supplies for Josh – a water bottle and walking socks. Dan, Tom and I also took the opportunity to seek out kit for ourselves. I was interested in finding suitable gloves and perhaps a specific rucksack designed for hiking, which I was lacking. With all the kit I had packed for the day, it was a tight squeeze. So we travelled from door to door making mental notes of prices and various styles for our respective desired items, and I learnt the importance of waiting before purchasing. Once we had visited all the outdoors shops, Josh settled on a water bottle and socks, and I bought gloves, after appropriate consideration. Tom and Dan also made purchases. Soon, with hunger setting in, we visited Bryson’s tea rooms (yes, I know) and the Cornish pasty shop, and bought lunch to eat in the car as we drove on to start our walk to Skiddaw. By this point my apprehensions about trekking without Dan’s company (as a seasoned walker) were fading and I became excited about starting our adventure. Despite buying a new water bottle, Josh had not filled it up for our walk. And I asked Dan which direction to start off in, inadvertently ignoring the signpost at the start. I wonder if we were really ready for this!

                 We started our walk at noon, and for the first fifteen minutes or so seemed to stop continually to take off or apply layers. However we only really felt the chill when we reached our peak. The views from here, though mist-covered, were stunning. Tom stated a preference for this view over Innominate Tarn (Tuesday), and though to me the walks both had a very different feel (probably due to weather), I could see his point. Time was passing quickly, and the others wanted to go back, so although I felt I could have gone on further, I turned around with them and we headed back down. It turned out we never actually reached the Skiddaw peak – we only got to ‘Lesser Man’ with its strange rusty monument. Our walk took us just under three miles with about 500m of ascent. A surprised Dan met us at the car park, earlier than he expected, at about four. By this point we were enjoying coffees from an ingenious van/coffee machine lady and rain was beginning to fall, becoming steadily heavier. My disappointment at not going further faded as I considered that we’d turned around at just the right time.

                A brief discussion about worship music preferences came about in the car on the return journey – a sensitive issue for me, given my musical involvement at church. However, we agreed that accurate biblical lyrics were of utmost importance.

                On returning to the house we rejoined Venna, satisfied after her day out. It wasn’t long before Josh and I went upstairs to tie our shoelaces in preparation for tomorrow.

                Tom’s risotto, minus apple, was well received, much anticipated by me. There was plenty to go around and it was delicious, although there was a lack of crunch as the apple had been removed due to previous mixed opinions. This was followed by Angel Delight, although a slight error in preparation made something more akin to very thick strawberry milkshake. I struggled with this somewhat, far preferring my glass of red wine instead!

                The evening closed with ‘Top Gun’ – a new film to Josh, and something I thought would make up for Tom’s disappointment with ‘Bladerunner 2049’ yesterday. Still a favourite with me, even with Dan’s frequent comments on the inaccuracies of the film’s details.

                Then, to close the day, laundry washed and dried, I did some brief ironing and compiled my thoughts. And so I close.

Day 7 – Friday, 20^th October 2017

                This morning after rising and showering I headed down for breakfast. By this point in the holiday, nearing the end (though I loathed to admit it to myself), some tensions were starting to show between us, so I was particularly grateful for Dan’s focused prayers during our daily devotional time. The theme of the actual devotion was the dangers of compromise, looking at 2 Kings 14:3-4.

                Being Dan’s birthday, we gave him our cards and gifts (the cake would come later) before starting off on the day’s activities. It was also a perfect chance to show our appreciation for Dan’s organisation and planning for the holiday – not wanting him to feel he was being taken for granted.

                No sooner had we got in the car and gone a short distance down the road, we realised we had developed a puncture – on Venna’s side, confirming her adverse reputation with various forms of travel. Under Dan’s instruction, Tom, Josh and I set to jacking up the car and removing the old tyre. For me, despite not driving or owning a car myself, it was somewhat thrilling to get my hands dirty with manly work. However, as I attempted to take the tyre off, crouched down in the road, I cut my little finger on something sharp in the outer tread, and rushed back to the house to find antiseptic and a plaster. I reappeared in time to load the old tyre into the boot, which impressed Venna and affirmed my masculinity.

              Eventually, tyre sorted, we moved on to Castlerigg stone circle, a pagan site with an uncertain history, but which afforded a wonderful view of the surrounding peaks, particularly with the rays of the morning sunlight falling diagonally across the rocks. These stones had been previously famous amongst us for playing host to some of Toby and Laura’s antics. 

              From there we moved on to the ‘lightning tree’, a spectacularly picturesque skeletal tree evocative of gothic drama and mystery. A favourite with Dan.

               Lunch in  town provided me with a chance to try a haggis pasty – not my immediate choice as not truly Cornish, but a suggestion from Venna. However, Josh bought the last one, so I defaulted to a large traditional, and ate it trying to imagine myself back in Cornwall. Pasty finished, I wandered over to Bryson’s, shadowing the others. I decided to sample the signature sandwich of Wensleydale and homemade chutney which they kindly made up especially for me. I reasoned to myself that this would keep me going during mid-afternoon, but resolved not to make any more food purchases.

                Next it seemed we stumbled across a little church in Bassenthwaite. The churchyard was neatly arranged and kept, with the enthralling backdrop of mountains, and the building itself had that old musty church smell that was so familiar to me from Devon life. The church was deserted, so Josh, Dan and I passed time belting out some old hymns and worship songs, revelling in the acoustics and the joy of singing our praises to God. Dan hailed it a birthday treat.

                Teatime approaching, we stopped next at an old sawmill tearoom. I was feeling full from my Bryson’s sandwich, so just settled for an Earl Grey. Nearby was the Osprey Viewpoint, but alas no ospreys were visible. Josh, Dan and I did however spot a lesser spotted woodpecker at a birdfeeder, which was a small bonus.

                Heading back to the house before the evening birthday meal, it was about quarter past five. Dan stopped at the roadside and suggested that some of us could climb up Catbells mountain if we felt like it. Not wanting to lose the unique opportunity I decided to go, and Tom accompanied me. I appreciated his company one to one, not just for motivation getting up the steep slopes, but also to smooth any of the aforementioned tensions. The ultimate view was moody and atmospheric, looking down at the more remote farmsteads and sparse clusters of houses, sheltered in the brown-green hills. We wished we could have watched for longer, but time was very much against us – our most time sensitive climb of the holiday! I was glad to have finally visited another location of my list.

                At almost half past six we arrived back, freshened up for the evening meal and sang happy birthday to Dan as we presented him with a chocolate cake. The enjoyment of the cake would have to wait until after the evening meal however – so we set off, not to the Wetherspoon’s jail cell as originally planned at the start of the week, but to a pleasant restaurant on the edge of town.

                Black pudding and steak and stilton pie later, having particularly bonded with Venna over the starter, I was satisfied and ready to round off the day with cake and journaling. Sadly, all good things must come to a close. Early start tomorrow.

Day 8  - Saturday, 21^st October 2017

                Keswick, Keswick – so good they left it twice! But onto that later.

                The moment had finally come. After waking at seven, showering and completing the packing, Tom cooked us boiled eggs and bacon, finishing off our provisions from the week. Venna was up and away early, having a train to catch. Dan closed our packing time with a time of prayer as we looked at our final devotion – how Jesus is able to sympathise with all our struggles, having gone through them before us, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

                We started our journey smoothly, making good time via a brief stop in Keswick for food and last minute souvenirs (and cheesecake). It was only when we got to the services on the M6 that we realised to our dismay that we still had the keys in the glove compartment. A quick call to the cottage company, and soon we were back in Keswick – so much for sticking to our precise schedule. This setback coincided with a leak in our car’s coolant system, leading to numerous trips to fill up water bottles from a nearby water fountain while Tom returned the keys.

                Take two! The journey proceeded again, largely uneventfully this time. Everything passed by as it gradually became clear that another holiday was drawing to a close.

                Tonight would see us at Film Club, so we drove with a deadline in mind. Storm Brian didn’t impact us much on our journey (although it had been said that Ophelia had done more damage), so despite our earlier setback, we were likely to arrive back just after six – perfectly acceptable considering the film was starting at seven. Our experience of Storm Brian was a spot of light drizzle.

                The rest of the afternoon passed by, with U2 and Alanis Morissette as backing. Nine hours later we arrived in Kingston, just in time for the film, ‘Carnage’. Reunited with Venna, it was a relaxed end to the trip for the four of us (Tom headed back home). Plenty of memories to think back on, and friendships strengthened, for the most part. Now on with the next chapter.