SURROUNDED BY OCTOGENARIANS, BUT SURPRISINGLY FITTING IN WELL!!
Its 8:50 pm and here we sit in the television lounge of the Patterdale Hotel. England vs. Switzerland at Wembley. This little bit of heaven is nestled snugly in the heart of the Lake District. Having been here since the late afternoon we have acclimatized well to this snails pace. Today the towns of Keswick and Penrith have entertained in an exceptional way. These lake towns are geared to walkers old and older. I kid, there are all ages about.
What I have noticed over the last couple of days is that your average walker is nearing retirement or past. You need to be solvent to enjoy this lark. It's not cheap in this part of the world. But what's important is that a good real ale pint is £3.50 and it's always tasty. The folks that run the accommodations are friendly knowledgable and proud. We rest tonight at Green Bank farm.
This is a sheep farm of 3000 acres and well over 3000 sheep. The gentleman farmer is 70 and took great pride in telling us as he drove us to the pub that his new hip and knee are keeping him going strong. An awesome man & I have made friends forever with his 10 Australian cattle dogs. I sat down for a minute and got licked and jumped on by all of them. I want one. Really smart. Smarter than me for sure. There just happens to be 4 tons of wool in the barn at the moment. The farmer told us that lamb is the money and old sheep end up in kebabs for the "ethnics" after they loose their teeth (the sheep not the “ethnics”).
England is having a shocker in this bloody boring 2nd half. Thank god it's on ITV and there are commercials to entertain the doom & gloom in the room. We like our new old friends. We don't want them to die soon. The Lake District is special. England's football team would not survive up here because they don’t deserve to. Bring on the England rugby team. Bring on Twickenham. Good night from us and many of Winston Churchill's classmates who sit around us and the warm hearth of the pub’s coal fire. Cheering ensues from bomber command and finally one nil good guys! I love this land, I really do.
Cheerio!
Mark
