After an inspiring afternoon at Rosslyn Chapel, we headed out to the Scottish Cabaret and show. All drinks were included tonight so everyone made a good effort at pushing the best advantage of this.

With a four course meal, including my first serving of Haggis, the evening started well. I loved the haggis, David didn't share this appreciation and left just over ½ on his plate. The entertainment included highland dancing, bagpipes, piano accordions, singers and entertainment. Apart from the fact that the room had no air conditioning it was an exceptional evening enjoyed by the entire group. Arriving back at the hotel and with the realisation that this was our second to last night, a good majority of us stopped by the bar for a night cap. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but when the alarm went off in the morning a dread of regret came over me.

We were heading to York today. We had a lunch break at Alwick, a small village with a big castle which featured in the Harry Potter movie. The idea was to get to York as soon as possible so that we could go for a good walk about. That was a good move.

The city has a large wall that runs thru it, with step banks sloping up to the wall. Our tour guide walked us in to the city…. Actually he marched us up to the top of the hill and he marched us back again… tee hee. And when we were up we were up, and when we were down we were down and when we were only half way up we were neither up nor down.

I love YORK!. Talk about history and ghosts, this place was leads the way. We walked up the Shambles, a really old paved road with houses all leaning in all directions. We walking past the birthplace of Guy Fawkes, and onto Westminster. What a church. Our tour guide told us of the punishments that were handed out to Guy Fawkes and his fellow villions, he told us how they were tortured and executed on the grounds we were standing on. He told us the story of Mary, who sheltered some catholic priests and how they crushed her to death in the square, by placing a stone under her back, then a board on top of her, and a large stone on top of that, he told us how it took 3 hours for her to die, all rather gruesome. Then we were free to roam. David and I found this great little pub which is considered the most haunted and oldest pub in York. As we were talking David started to look beyond me, I asked him what he was doing, and whether he was seeing a ghost behind me,. He commented that it was worse than a ghost… and I guess it did trump ghost. In an old box with a glass door, just behind my head on the shelf, was a skull. It was the head of Elizabeth (somebody - couldn't quite read the writing) who was executed in York in 1800. Based on what we had seen around York, I am confident that it was authentic. We wandered around looking at old timber and daub houses, past the grave of d*** Turpin, alias John Palmer, who was some famous criminal who was sentenced to death, and hung. We could see his grave outside our hotel room window. It is legended that he jumped into the noose before the hangman could release him, which would mean that the executor would not get his fee,. Because of this the executor ordered his horse to be hung as well. It is legended that he is buried on his horse, and from the size of his headstone this looks probable.

For dinner we were taken out to this manor in the countryside. Trafalgar call this a "be my guest" dinner, where we go into a private home. I think in this case "home" is the wrong word, it would be more appropriate to use the term "castle". Amazing. !! The couple that live there are probably in their early 60s. They greeted us all off the coach along with their two dogs. We wandered thru the incredible gardens with a glass of champagne, amongst 200 year old trees, and marvelled at the ivy covered building that we were to be dining in. We were totally their guests. They had the neighbours and their children in to help with serving, and the dining room was empowering. The art that adorned the walls both in that room and the main living room was incredible. Huge paintings, at least 4 - 5 metres long took your breathe away. After dinner you could wander around and in the main living room a 12 year played the piano like he was some sort of Mozart. He had only been playing for 3 years, and yet he had no music in front of him. He then played us a piece that he had written himself. A perfect finish to a night in such an incredible location. We felt very honoured to be in this fine home.