[FLYING BANANA]

........................................ and so it should have been judging by the bill, still the food ate beautifully and the Merlot went down a treat. Dessert was different as well, chargrilled pineapple over meringue with pineapple liqueur. Yummy!. We split up after dinner, Michael went up to his room and I popped out to check on Bear. Tucked up in the car park in the rain.
As I came back I thought I might have a wee malt to round the evening off. Had to have a second to get over the price of the first one.

Slept like a baby till about 6am. Then up and showered, dressed and made some tea. We was meeting for breakfast 08.00-30. I went down at about 08.10 and was surprised to see Michael already seated there. He had already ordered his breakfast. And it arrived whilst he was still eating his cereal. Now Michael likes to talk, and I mean talk. I had my cereal and had eaten my full English and he was still eating his cereal.
On and on he droned about his journey home on Friday, what train he was getting, when it would arrive......................blah! blah!

Even the people on the table behind us were getting bored by his constant talking, I heard the woman say, “why doesn’t he shut up and eat his cold breakfast”. I turned round and said to her, “thank your lucky stars, I’m stuck with him all day”. Michael wanted to know what was being said, I had to be diplomatic in my answer. “I tell you later Michael, now eat your breakfast as we need to be gone soon as they will be serving lunch”. And with that he started eating his breakfast, but he ordered more tea and this was his 4th pot.

Eventually I made my escape saying that I needed the loo. We agreed to meet by the car at 10am. He was late. After he had eaten his breakfast he went to buy a newspaper and decided to have a look in the bookshop on the way back to me.
I had already set the sat nav up for our visit to Hidcote gardens, 40 miles away in Gloucestershire. Now remember we are parked in an enclosed car park, so I left starting the Bear up until he was in the car. Mmmm!!!!! What a noise. But we was away. Tight getting out but we did it ok.

Michael insisted on getting his map out and told me where to go, but I said I’ll let the sat nav guide me. I had to keep telling Michael to lower the map as I could not see out of my n/s mirror. But he still did it. Finally I stopped before joining the M50 and explained if he wanted to keep looking at the map then he would have sit in the back. Result as the map went back into his bag and he finally stopped talking..............................for about 20 minutes. Then out came the map but he kept it low.

Soon thundering our way through the villages till we found the gardens and parked next to Rover 75 Tourer, 3 letters different on the number plate to ours.
Beautiful gardens, would have been better if Michael would stop yapping. Finally I had enough and pulled him to one side and told him what the woman had said at breakfast. He was very annoyed but I explained he had not stopped talking since 08.10 this morning and it was now nearly Noon. And it was getting on my nerves. Supposed to be having a relaxing couple of days.
Well, that finally shut him up..............................for about 20 minutes before he apologised.

Carried on around the gardens in almost total silence, I found I was relaxing a bit and started pointing out the different flowers, most I know the name of. But Michael then started again, this time that the woman at breakfast had no right to talk about him like that. I wandered off and left him rabbiting on. I thought to myself, “if I could borrow a shovel I could bury him somewhere, the judge would take pity on me maybe and I would get a reduced sentence”.
Just my luck he found me before I found the shovel. But he said that he would apologise to the woman in the morning. From then everything returned to normal.

To be continued........................ it’s dinner time, and off to the pub we go.