I had a quiet day today. Dee had started catching up on the washing from our trip to the Isle of Wight while she doing a few clients hair. Dee has a busy day today with more clients so I finished the washing when she left.

Trevor spent some time sorting wedding photos and some from Megan so they could be printed. We made our way to Portsmouth where Trevor gets his photos printed but they won't be ready till about 2pm.

This calls for another lunch out. This time we went to Portsdown Hill. It is an escarpment that overlooks Portsmouth and its surroundings. From here you can see the ferries that go to the Isle of Wight and France come and go. The scenery was beautiful and luckily it was bright and sunny. Yet again we enjoyed a tasty meal and also dessert. What a way to spend the afternoon.

After collecting photos in Portsmouth we made our way back to Emsworth. Dee came home soon after to finish the last of her clients for the day.

Even though all the meals have been great when we have been out it is not good for the waistline. We have to enjoy everything while we are here and if it means eating while at the same time then so be it. I'm sure it will get sorted when we get home.

Only 10 days to go before we leave. The holiday has been worth it.

June 28 2014

The weather today is the wettest it has been since we arrived in England. It rained most of the day and did not even stop when we wanted to look at things. So there weren't many photos taken as we stayed in the car.

We had a busy day doing many things. It bought back old memories for John, Trevor and Dee and we met Ricky's family.

Today we travelled to Aldershot and Farnborough. Aldershot is where John grew up. John's father was in the army and Aldershot is known as the 'home of the British army'. We saw where he lived and the school he attended. It bought back memories of his childhood. Trevor also grew up here and that's how they became friends from the age of 11. We also saw where Trevor lived.

From there we went to Farnborough where John and Trevor did their apprenticeship. A lot of the buildings from the college have gone to make way for housing. But John could still point out where different buildings were located in the past. Trevor and John met Dee at college as she was also doing her hairdressing apprenticeship. Trevor and Dee ended up being an item in their late teens.

They reminisced about the time they spent together and the places they used to go for drinks and meals like the Tumble Down d*** Pub which is now earmarked for McDonalds. McDonalds are everywhere. It was interesting listening to the conversations they were having. Unfortunately due to the rain we only drove past the places and took no photos.

About 20mins from Farnborough we went to Ascot. Not far from here Dee grew up. Dee as a child would go to the Royal Ascot Racecourse and watch the beginning of the horserace and go home and ask if her parents had seen her on TV.

We went on to Windsor. It was pouring rain by this stage so our planned visit to Windsor castle was cancelled. We drove round the castle and it was obvious that it is a popular tourist spot by the number of people walking around regardless of the rain. I had been to Windsor Castle when I was last in England in 1984 so I wasn't that disappointed not to look inside the castle.

Our next stop was Toby Carvery in Old Windsor to meet Ricky's parents. We were about an hour early so decided to sit down and have a drink whilst we waited. Jan, Dave and Ian arrived early so we were able to sit down for our meal. The food at Toby Carvery is always nice. It was good to meet Ricky's family as Megan and Ricky had spoken about them a lot. The conversation centred on the grandchildren and it was sad that it will be a little while before they can actually hold them. Thank god for FaceTime and Skype. It makes the distance not seem so far. We were able to exchange gifts and enjoyed the lunch immensely.

We left Old Windsor at about 5pm and made our way back to Aldershot. We stopped at Brewers Fayre in Aldershot. We had only just finished lunch so weren't sure why we were stopping at a pub. Unbeknown to John a surprise get together had been arranged with some of the class of '63 intake of 43 Command Workshops. It was a great surprise to John when Frank Allen appeared at the bar and later Andy Duff and Den Pharo arrived. There was a lot of talk about the antics they got up to while they did their apprenticeship. A toast was done to those friends that were unable to attend. It was great that Andy had come since he had surgery recently. John really enjoyed the few hours he had reminiscing over old times.

Unfortunately everything comes to an end and we had to say our goodbyes. On the way home we called in to see Trevor and Dee's daughter Ali and the family in Farnham. There was an opportunity to see Amelia Rose, their great granddaughter who is now 4 weeks old.

The rain continued as we drove the rest of the way home. It has been a very busy but special day particularly for John. I enjoyed being part of it. It was also great to finally meet Ricky's family.