The first morning staying with these relatives of ours (day 6 of this 7 day trip) began with a dog walk, which I decided to join – and it got set off on at 9.07am – in rather cold temperatures, things were a bit misty outside, and the walk went through a quite posh looking housing estate, where a fluffy dog being walked the other way was sniffed by Poppy the dog, and sniffed her back – meaning they briefly chased each other in circles and almost tangled the other owner in her dogs lead. 9.26am was when a path directly next to a railway track was joined – and snails were all over the foliage to the side of the path; after another street and a Way – which had another couple of dogs being walked along it – was Candy Street, then a Road, I heard some seagulls making noises, and 10.07am was when their home street was returned to.

A little bit of conversation went on, and after that, we all got in their car (and I realised I’d forgotten my water bottle) which moved at 11.11am; 8 minutes later we were parked in an Asda car park in Peterborough town centre, and I turned my phone on to see if I could be tracked. On a street (called Bridge Street) with market stalls in the middle – someone was chucking bird seed in the paving slabs for pigeons, another bloke was using an implement to blow bubbles, it seemed a visit to the cathedral had been planned, and by 11.35am we were in it.

A baptism font had a creepy plastic baby in it, a mirror had been placed on a table so the ceiling was visible, a big crucifix was dangling from the ceiling, a big metal thing said ‘The London Warming and Heating Company’ on it, there was one area that seemed to be meant more for kids and had several teddy bears in it, and a sign said that we could walk through the story of creation via an exhibition (which seemed to be panels of cloth) – the last bit of which was some ancient machinery titled ‘the clock with no face’. I spotted some more teddy bears (who were having Holy Communion)…

…and a wooden statue of a man holding a sheep; and in the gift shop was soap, teddy bears, scented candles, rather expensive paintings, crucifixes on necklaces, and various plates and mugs (and some other stuff I forgot). Back outside on Bridge Street, smells of hot chocolate were wafting out of Starbucks, WHSmiths had teddy bears wearing crowns and Royal robes in the window, and an oriental supermarket/European food store was selling French hot dogs.

It was 12.27pm when the car got reached again (its temperature gauge said it was 12°C – I’d thought it was much colder); a few people holding PCS flags were on a street (something to do with The Public And Commercial Services Union); and 10 minutes later – back at the house, Poppy was walking around with a soft toy in her mouth, I sat on the bed and read a couple of pages of the book I’d brought with me (called Slime) – before some sort of tart got served for lunch just before 1pm, which Poppy observed – flat on the carpet – from the doorway; and afterwards she got a small ball out of her toy box behind the sofa, this man (who – with the help of Google – I discovered was, to me –officially a first cousin once removed) started ranting about Prince Harry and Megan Markle, some more stuff I forgot was said, and I’d just picked up my book when it became time for Poppy to be walked, and it was 1.55pm when everyone got in the car again. New housing estates being built everywhere were passed before Norman Cross, and then the A1 – by which point I was seriously struggling to stay awake; and it was 2.43pm when Burghley was reached and I got woken up again. It felt freezing outside of the car and my teeth were chattering, my first cousin once removed briefly stood in a sentry box by the courtyard gates, Poppy did a poo near the brick haha, and a couple of loud geese flew over; robotic lawn mowers, lawns (when needing to be cut ornamentally) being cut with scissors in the 17th and 18th centuries got briefly talked about before reaching a bridge. The lake had sheep, with lambs (who were leaping around) on the other side, a dog hole in the gate at 1 end of the bridge got spotted, and Poppy was persuaded through it when we turned round and went back to the car – making it at 3.27pm (and the car said it was 11°C).

10 minutes later the car got parked on Water Street in Stamford – next to the River Welland, a bridge built in 1881 was crossed (and a tiny boat called Dizzy Lizzy was moored at the end of a garden), and Blackfriers Street and St. Georges Street took us to St. Georges Square and The Stamford Art Centre by 3.46pm – where there was a ‘Welland Valley Art Society Spring Exhibition’. The majority of the paintings were landscapes, there was 1 random 1 (titled ‘Your full attention’) of a partially naked woman sat with 1 boob hanging out of the gown she had on, a few small statues of naked women and a painting of pumpkin pickers near Ketton, and a little wooden statue of a chicken and 3 chicks in a trailer were what I noticed before leaving again at 4pm, and St. Michaels Church bells chimed as we passed. High Street was walked down and Godwin Estate Agents window got briefly looked at; and I noticed a Stamford Clock Shop before St. Marys Hill and the Church of St. Mary, an antique book shop, and Stamford School students (girls in floor length skirts) on the way back to the car. While on a bumpy country lane called Castor Road, my first cousin once removed told us we were next to the Fitzwilliam estate, there was a brief stretch on the ring road, and it was approaching 5pm when his and his wife’s house was returned to, and their kettle got boiled.

Poppy had fallen asleep with her head on her sheep toy, conversation included languages and pronunciation, I mentioned my method of communication while staying with a family in Peru in 2019, the Krispy Kreme doughnut sales done for World Challenge fundraising when I was at school, then the topic of bread meant I got to tell the whole World Challenge story (it’s a fabulous 3 week and 4 day story from when I was 15 – and I know the whole of the team are incredibly proud to have survived that expedition!) and a few more stories from my travels. The sizes of TV screens, and TV remotes was a topic, and as my first cousin once removed said without a remote they couldn’t turn their TV on, I pointed out a small button I could see – and pressed it, that turned the TV on, and he looked utterly stunned (and said ‘well, I never knew that’). Poppy remained curled up with her sheep toy in her mouth, and the BBC news at 6pm was reporting on people being evacuated from Sudan, the teachers union strikes, and the BBC chairman resigning.

We all tidied ourselves up, and it was 6.41pm when we got into a car being driven by my first cousin once removed (and a Radio 4 program was on the radio). 15 minutes later – at The Fitzwilliam Arms, we were given menus, Mum mentioned The Pudding Club in The Three Ways House Hotel (in Mickleton) – where the challenge is to eat all 7 puddings on the menu (she attempted it with my Dad and neither of them managed it); and then orders were placed at 7.10pm. Conversation continued – about Greenland, travelling, a cruise they were going on, Sutton Hoo, a government bunker in Essex, and a couple of things I forgot while plates were eaten; pudding orders were placed, my first cousin once removed was talking about crawling through tunnels in Canada while in the Canadian army, and then Mums mini crumble appeared – with a tea mug (which my first cousin once removed sniffed) that had on it the phrase ‘is the honey still for tea?’. The other puddings appeared, my note writing and my blog were asked about (and my first cousin once removed looked up my blog on his phone) before we left the table at 9.30pm – by which point it was pitch black outside, and I forgot when we got back to the house because we all said goodnight.