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LAST PLANE HOME - PART THREE: The Day Of Sloth - 9/4/04 Nothing much to tell for this particular entry; sweet FA sums up pretty much the entire day. TravelCards expired, joined by and large by the travelers themselves. Barbara & Don's friends arrived, which was quite fun - "growing old disgracefully" you could say, which was quite pleasing to see. We ate and tanked ourselves up a little at dinner, before we packed ourselves off back to 'The Baker's Arms' to prepare ourselves for... The Big Event: Chaos/Tranquility - 10/4 "And so it begins" - relatively early arising and returning once more to Barbara & Don's for their big day - the Golden Jubilee. We even got a parking space! It was in fact quite beneficial being there from the start, as it meant we aliens could greet the relatives one troop at a time, and thus save ourselves from being too overwhelmed. Well, sort of. The branch we are closest to, being that of Caroline, Chris, Kathy and Phil, were next to arrive, and helped us help the others to set things up. To be honest perhaps the most helpful thing we accomplished was to simply stay out of the way of those who knew what they were doing and needed to be done, but that's usually for the best. The food was out, and so we set the drinks up in the music room and veritably camped there - because of its proximity to the front door and the future arrivals, of course ;D And so, glass in hand (red wine if you're wondering - no idea what specifically), I proceeded to meet and greet the rest of the horde, and try in vain to fix until-now-unknown names with until-now-unfamiliar faces. Liz and her clan were next to arrive, easing us into the swing of things - I managed to remember their names from the day before that previous. I don't know how you determine such things, but next was quite possibly the most successful of the family - Jane (Ray, illustrator and sometimes-author of childrens books, largely to a christian theme, but despite this quite good. She's also an accomplished painter of what I would class as 'normal' works), her husband David, and their small army or Clara, Ellie, and Joe. Clara was pretty zonked, having just returned from France - a school trip, if I remember correctly (someone correct me if I'm wrong!) else might've been more responding to conversation - I tried anyway at one point I think, but by that stage I was a little 'jolly' (and acting up a bit like I often do in social situations) though think I managed not to make a complete fool of myself. If I did, well, meh - too bad =D I was having fun at least, and I don't think I seriously offended anyone, so that's the main things taken care of. Still, back on topic; generally speaking, people tended to take up positions in various rooms, me being one of the few just roaming between and chiming into their subsequent conversations - just mingling in general, really. A few good photo opportunities - I gave my camera to Martin, who might've been more successful than I by way of his not drinking (he just doesn't like the stuff), and he took quite a few superb shots of most family members present whilst I hovered around the place. I spent some time entertaining the small gang of young girls (Ellie, Charlotte & the captivating Kathy who we'll expand upon later) as I tend to have the knack of doing - just act like an idiot and you can't go far wrong, I've found. Maybe I should be a clown or something. But I digress once more. The various festivities continued, and we stayed through lunch, with the cutting of the celebratory cake and reception of gifts, and continued into early afternoon. However, we were due half-way across the country by evening, so we found ourselves having to leave, which was quite the shame. It also meant Dad hadn't been able to indulge in drinking much, but I expect he was fine with that. The weather was appropriately a tad gloomy, but we caught a glimpse of blue on occasion, but more importantly the motorway was quite clear, and the traveling was quite pleasant in our rental. Our car was a Ford "Moo" - formerly a Mondeo, but the 'nde' had disappeared sometime previously in it's life. As such things go it was quite reasonable - 4 wheels, an engine, a roof, and as a bonus was even quite comfortable. Like many cars it did lack certain facilities, however, so a pit-stop was surrendered at one of the frequent expressway complexes. Consisting of a general store, various cafes, I think a gas station (I'd be surprised if not), and occasionally with neighbouring motel, these complexes are really quite convenient mini-malls for the under-equipped, hungry, 'empty', tired, or just plain busting traveler - they had toilets too, obviously. At any rate, following the directions we had been given we found our way to Maiden Newton (Isaac's long-lost unmarried daughter one presumes) and from there down to the settlement of Wynford Eagle, and up the hill and through the narrow lane to Ferndown Farm. Ferns were a little scarce, but the rustic charm wasn't, since it is of course a complete working farm - the guest accommodation is in a neighboring vottage to the owner's house, and I expect guests are more than welcome to join in the work - something I chose not to partake in, I should point out - much to the sheep's relief, I expect; I'm no farmer! The first issue, naturally, was fighting over the bedrooms. We (Phil, Marty & I) relented to overwhelming odds and let Kathy have the downstairs double-bed (dammit) and decided the best configuration was Martin & I in the twin room, with Phil in either of the bunks - I hope he wasn't too overwhelmed by the opportunity to choose which. We set out for a quick exploration, first of the farm, and then down in Maiden Newton. Checking out the local pub was a priority, naturally, as was some supplies (for some dinner if nothing else), and so equipped we headed for 'home' for our first, and relatively uneventful night on the farm.

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