Thursday 27 January 2011

A Different Kind of Day.

This has not been our usual kind of mid-week day at all. This morning both the farmer and I had appointments with our Physiotherapist. The farmer has permanently sore shoulders from carrying bales of hay and straw over the years and a monthly going over by the physio seems to improve them. My recent illness has left me with a slight loss of dexterity in my right hand and arm and the physio is helping me to overcome this (there is only a short time after such a seizure when this is possible), so I was being given a series of exercises.

Then this afternoon and evening we had a much more enjoyable (and less painful) time.
In the pretty little town of Richmond, North Yorkshire, our old railway station building has been converted into a super complex of shops, cafe and cinemas. The cafe is absolutely lovely and serves delicious food and the two little cinemas, each holding only 100 people, show the very latest films. Leaving home early so that we were sure to get a parking spot, we arrived at the station an hour early (the showing was the 5.30pm slot) and had the most delicious tea. We had a pot of tea each. The farmer had a BLT sandwich with salad and I had a croque monsieur with salad. In addition we had a lovely little basket of chips in the centre of the table. And we sat for three quarters of an hour in a lovely atmosphere, in arm chairs, people watching and eating our food. Then we went in to see "The King's Speech" - what a fantastic film it is too. I am old enough to remember the events clearly (one of my earliest memories is of the Silver Jubilee of King GeorgeV and Queen Mary which I think was in 1935), so from a historical point of view I found it all most interesting.

But apart from that, seeing the King overcome his speech problems and realising how he came to have them in the first place, proved to be a most moving experience. We hurried home afterwards in order to see Human Planet on television - this week about life in the Arctic. Now I am putting on a late blog and my head is buzzing with all this information - goodness knows what time I shall get to sleep.

today's aros: the first celandine shows its sunny golden face on an otherwise grey day.

16 comments:

Arija said...

What a splendid day indeed. I know the phisio was no 'fun' but it does make you feel better afterwards.
I would love to see 'The Kings Speech' but can no longer go the the cinema or fly in an airliner for fear of low frequency vibrations which put me into heart failure in a trice.
Can you remember 1935??? I did not think you were around then. Were you? I only arrived a year later.

I would love to see those little heads of old favourites of mine poking up in your garden.

George said...

Sounds like lovely day, Pat. The King's Speech is by far the best film I have seen recently, and I wager that it will receive the Academy Award (Oscar) for best film of 2010.

Jo said...

Oh, Weaver...you had me at "croque monsieur." Heaven!

It sounds like a marvelous day, one which might have started off better, but could not have ended any better.

I LOVED "The King's Speech." Its worthy of every accolade it's receiving.

Thank you for allowing us to accompany you on a charming outing!

Eryl said...

We went to see The King's Speech last week and loved it. His memories of childhood were heartbreaking, and to see him overcome them through his friendship was a joy. I can't wait for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it again.

Hopefully now you've blogged about your day you'll have emptied your mind enough to allow you to sleep.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

I do that, too. If I have an evening filled with conversation, I can't get to sleep. All the words go through my head and takes forever to drift off.

Physical therapy can be tough on you. Glad you had something else to take your mind off it. And, thank you. Just reminded me I hadn't had my cup of tea yet today.

Elisabeth said...

It sounds as though you've ad a splendid day. I'm visiting a physio too after my broken leg, to stengthen the muscles. it's helpful but I find the exercises tedious.

By the way I think I noticed on a comment to someone somewhere that you spoke in Dutch. Is this so? and if so how wonderful. Do you have Dutch connections, too.

Tess Kincaid said...

I was wondering if you saw "The King's Speech" and what you thought of it. I enjoyed it very much.

steven said...

weaver i love that our world which is opening out, almost flowering, is available to us in all its complexity as simply as it is. steven

angryparsnip said...

It sounds like you both had a lovely day. Get the work out of the way and then enjoy.
You have written about the train station before, it is the one with the room for the art shows ? or is this a different one ?

I want to see "The Kings Speech" and hope to soon.

cheers, parsnip

Von said...

Nice day and glad you enjoyed the film.The therapist was born in the same city I was, bit of trivia for you!

Heather said...

Your trip to Richmond sounds perfect to me - I must see that film. I can remember hearing the King speak on the radio - everyone was aware of his problem and was willing him to get through the speech without too much difficulty. He was a brave man and much loved. I do hope your exercises will be helpful and make life easier for you - both.

MorningAJ said...

I love Richmond. We stopped off there on the way North a few years ago on holiday. I keep meaning to arrange a weekend visit back there.

Glad you liked the film. It's on my wish list!

Reader Wil said...

I am sorry that you still have problems due to your recent illness. Great that you do so many things to overcome your loss of dexterity. Also great that you went out and enjoyed yourself.
I know about the speech problems of King George V, but I don't know what caused them. He was a brave king. May be one of the best European kings during the war. Though the Danish king was also very brave and stood up against the nazis.

Golden West said...

Sounds like a lovely time!

sleepinl8 said...

sounds like a lil' bit of UK paradise. There is nothing I enjoy more than reading about a sunny day at an outdoor shopping and eating plaza. I have a few in my area. My favorite is the one that has all these entrepreneurial shops with creative, wondrous products that you couldn't get anywhere else. It is plenty sunny and especially beautiful in the winter when it isn't so sweltering hot (It's in Florida, if you're wondering) There is even a little park and golfing area, with a few historical "monuments" (the reason for the quotes is because their small size hardly makes them enough to be considered a monument)And gardens of simple flowers overgrowing out of pots on the sidewalk. I could go on and on, but this is a comment so I think I have said enough haha. Please check out my blog here: http://www.sleepinl8.blogspot.com

Dominic Rivron said...

Haven't been to the Station for a while. Karen took some photos of it. There's one here. It's taken on a tripod with a long exposure - if you view it large, there's a wonderful "timelapse" shot of a lady picking up a cup of tea.