Dad's
70th Birthday |
Dad was 70 at the end of October
2004 and we celebrated with a day on the Settle to Carlisle railway. |
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Pauline
and Paul, being train fans, had organised the timing etc. so we all met
at Settle as arranged and had coffee/tea and birthday cake in the car
park before setting off. |
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The
weather wasn't particularly kind but it was dry and the mist wasn't too
thick so we could enjoy some of the beautiful scenery as we sped along. |
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Finally
we got to Carlisle - the station was very nicely decorated with several
pictures of trains painted on the walls |
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Paul
was our "tour guide" and gave us snippets of information as
we approached each of the stations. We had to remember what he said
as Pauline had set us a quiz for the way back.
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We
had a mooch around Carlisle when we got there - the "boys"
went off to computer or camera stores, the "girls" went clothes
shopping whilst some of us enjoyed the mild weather with a cup of tea
al fresco.
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Off
we went to the Cumbria Park Hotel for lunch and very nice it was too.
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At
the end of the meal, a few of us sang a rap Happy Birthday to Dad -
Graeme was lead singer, Marie on percussion, Carole backing singer and
Pauline and Shirley base. Good job there weren't too many other people
in the restaurant!
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Lunch
was followed by a walk in Bitts Park (or a game of footie with a tennis
ball in some cases) or even a swing in the Oriental Gardens. |
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Mum
had a few problems with her camera - hope the photos come out OK. |
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The
gardens were lovely with the Autumn colours. |
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On
the subway from the town to the park there was some brilliant graffiti
and a frieze for us to admire. |
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There
was also a piece of sculpture to be admired (along with a few statues)
- this is number 9 of a series of 9 sculptures along the river called
the Eden Benchmarks. |
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Back
through town and to the station ready to make our way home. It was dark
by the time the train set off with the clocks going back an hour that
weekend. |
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The
quiz gave us all food for thought - the Fantastic 4 won 36-34 against
the Old Birthday Boy's Team but the fudge was shared anyway! |
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All
in all, a really good day!
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