Ilkley

With a sad heart and lots of hugs I left Cas-Vegas and headed towards Silsden once again. The end of my holiday was not far off.  Before leaving there was one more important thing to do. This was to visit Ilkley.

This town is the home of my mother and her family. It is also where the family grave is. It has now become something of a ritual that I take 'The Girls' to Betty's Tea Shop on The Grove which is the town's famous shopping street.

We all climbed into my car and off we went. I can hear you asking who 'The Girls' are. They are sister Frances, cousin Barbara and an old family friend called Rachel. I write this blog for Frances and Barbara. Barbara is very computer savvy and is an avid reader.

We decided to visit the family grave first and place some flowers there. We dutifully did this before keeping the memory of mother's family alive by going to Betty's. This was a ritual observed by grandmother, my mother and Barbara's mother, all our aunts and cousins. We took them with us again in spirit and talked about them as we sipped tea from china cups, and ate cakes served from silver plates. Nice!

Next day, goodbyes to all and into the car with Geoff's detailed plan of how to get to Liverpool airport. This time I did not get lost :-))) and dutifully returned the car and settled into waiting for my flight to Berlin.

It was a standard, even boring, flight home with only a short wait for my regional train to take me to my home station. The end of a very memorable visit to family and friends in England. Warm thanks to each and all for your time and generosity.