We arrived at Geoff and Helens around 5p.m. on Friday night. Their house is in a tiny village near Guilleford. A cricket green is the heart of the village, much to Nic's great excitement, with an old English pub right off the way. We sat in their lovely yard and enjoyed the sun, yes! The actual sun. It was a perfect evening! We walked over to the pub for a lovely dinner together. Geoff, Helen and Nic met when they were 19ish at a summer camp in Maine. They have kept in contact all of these years. Nic pops in to see them most times he makes it back to England. It was really neat to meet them and get to know them a bit.
Helen and I discovered we have a lot in common, including an appreciation for rose. This resulted in a rather late evening and some regrets the next day.
The morning sun peeped out from behind the blinds very early to remind us that we had committed to running a 5K on the Thames at 8:30a.m. Like all events in England, we were at least an hour away from our destination, so an early wake up was the word of the day. It was the earliest we have woken up in 5 weeks, so it was a bit of a shock and it made the day feel like it really does have a lot of hours in it. Be that as it may, we tied up our running shoes, grabbed our jackets and heavy coats because it is July, after all, and headed out into the arctic sun.
Helen helps her father organize
Parkruns in the UK, which originally began in Bushy Park in front of the Hampton House on the River Thames. These runs are all the rage in England, and have spread like wildfire. Helen's dad became particularly involved in the 80+ age category, which meant that Helen is also super involved in Parkruns and the 80+ group. The runners, young and old, are very enthusiastic and a great crowd to run with.
Nic and I arrived with Geoff and Helen with the medals in the car. I was pretty jazzed to run in this event as a tourist. I eagerly took pictures of other runners to prove I was here and ready to run with only one cup of coffee in my system.
My kids are always laughing at Nic and his yoga in random places. His friend Geoff joined him in some pre-race stretching. Apparently Nic and his friend also share a deep love for stretching.
Here is Helen holding the sign for 80+ encouraging them to meet up and chat before the races.
Nic, Geoff and myself were running the race while Helen worked on Prosecco and cupcakes. Geoff is healing from a recent heart attack so today was his first big event! We were happy to be joining him in this event and his recovery.
Old friends.
Nic and I ran our race together. This was our first run together in a year, maybe almost 3 years. We had a lot of fun together. And I only fell once.
Please note the free booze and cookies. I passed on the Prosecco. I was still a tad bleary from my previous night's experiences.
After our race, we headed over to the home of Henry IIIV, Hampton Court Palace. This week was the flower show, which made the event beautiful and expensive.
Despite my semi-indifference to the royals, I do appreciate the history of these sites. We really enjoyed wandering around the grounds
Geoff and Helen
The four of us!
Nic and I, post-run
Flowers!
We wandered up the roads of Guillleford pulling over to see what ever caught out eye. I was very curious about gin and the making of the drink. We popped in to check out good Gin. We had a nice walk across the Silent Pool and
I'm still really into the trees and the roots of England.
After a rest and some tea, we took a lovely walk around their neighborhood.
Many of the roads are Roman roads that have worn deeply into the ground. The woods have grown up and around the roads and paths. These woods are almost all deciduous trees, but the are a natural wood here.
Nic and I stood in front of our dream home in Surrey, Geoff happily snapped a picture of us for our vision board. :P
Helen is a wonderful walker. She names the paths and routes she likes to walk. This walk was aptly named the 'Fake Cow Walk.'
Many famous people live in these parts, Eric Clapton, and the likes, so she has houses named for them too. It is good fun and she is good naming things.
We walked past the pub on our way home where Nic had a Gin & Tonic with the gin from the distillery we had visited that morning. We rounded the evening out with a lovely, quiet dinner at their home and an early bedtime. I was tuckered out! It was a wonderful day - almost warm, even. I do understand now why people love southern England. It might be my favorite part of England. The scenery is amazing. The weather is nice. The people are brilliant. What more could you ask?
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