Tuesday, July 2: I am, after 45 years with Buzz, getting the hang of packing. We have one medium and one small bag to check and we each have a small carry on. We leave for the airport around 2 PM.

Wednesday, July 3: Robyn took us to Manchester yesterday. Our flight was cancelled and we were rebooked on a later one. The second one was delayed for so long that we would not have made our connection in Philadelphia. Fortunately Robyn was still around. She and her friend came back to the airport, took us home for the night, and brought us back today at noon. Our flight was, again, delayed, but we got to Philly just after 4PM.

I was astonished at the lack of concern shown by the Airline staff yesterday as we waited over four hours only to be told we wouldn't make our connection. Then, to top it off, when I called Thrifty car rental to say we would be a day late because of the airline issue, they said we couldn't have have the same rate, and we would have to pay almost double the original rate. Needless to say, I cancelled the reservation and made a new one with another company. Not an auspicious start, but it can only get better.

Thursday, July 4: Happy Independence Day, USA! our flight was smooth, we arrived close to on time, picked up our car , and found our way to the Coachman's Cottage B & B in sale just outside Manchester city. Our Sat Nav (GPS to you Yanks) worked perfectly...already worth the $35 I paid for it. The B&B is, in fact a renovated Coachman's cottage. The hosts have appointed it very well. There are only two rooms, and, at the moment, we are the only guests. We got a warm welcome from Manon Hardy and a lovely cup of English tea as we settled in. We took a nap, then a walk around this charming neighborhood before walking into the village to the Old Plough Pub for dinner. The pub is the local gathering place for locals and most of them were around our age. Good food, good beer, and only a short walk from our accommodation. After dinner, we sat in the garden for a while and listened to the wood pigeons who inhabit the trees before turning in for an early night. Both of us are finding it necessary to get a bit of rest after the long trip!

Friday, July 5: After a delightful English breakfast complete with grilled tomato and real marmalade, we went to the Manchester War Museum. It is a thoughtfully organized series of exhibits covering the period from WWI through the war in Afghanistan. The exhibits are compelling, and every hour or so there is a multi media presentation on some aspect of war in the main exhibit space. We spent three hours there. Then we walked across the pedestrian bridge across the Manchester Shipping Canal to The Lowry which is a large entertainment complex housing, among other venues, the art of Laurence Lowry. He had, as many artists see to have, a difficult life and was prolific in his art. In addition to the Lowry paintings, there is an exhibit of photographs of famous rock stars when they performed for the BBC show Top of the Pops in the sixties. From the Beach Boys to Aretha Franklin, the Beatles and many more, it was a walk down memory lane.

From the Lowry, we took a walk along the Quayside promenade. Along the way we met a charming little girl on a climbing apparatus, and we stopped to look at a permanent exhibit honoring the dock workers of Manchester. The exhibit which looks like a collection of wool bales and barrels and stacks of wood waiting to be shipped along with shipyard machinery is actually made of concrete...and very cleverly done.

Tonight we'll go to have dinner at the fish and chip shop owned by Paul MacDonald the co-host of our B&B. Tomorrow we head to Guisborough and our friends Sonia and John.