Wicked-ly Fun in London and Relaxation in Yarwell

Chuck and I had such a wonderful time with the poodles, Maggie, Rose, and Molly; the Chinese Crested; Poppy, and the cats, Lulu and Kitty but the time came for us to travel to Mill Hill in northwest London to spend a few days with Yoffi and Toffi.

The beauties live in a lovely townhouse. While in Mill Hill, we were able to see THREE musicals: Wicked, Five Guys Named Moe, and The Book of Mormon. I especially enjoyed Wicked. For those very few of you who don't know the storyline, it's the story of the characters in The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum before Dorothy and Toto entered the picture. Wicked is now at the top of my To Be Read list. We next saw Five Guys Named Moe. It was a show full of toe-tapping fun. The setting was New Orleans in the late 40s and early 50s with lots of music from that era as well as songs written specifically for Five Guys. One cast member came out at the beginning of intermission and got the audience up and moving with a conga line. During intermission, more cast members performed in the lobby.

The last musical we saw was The Book of Mormon. We really didn't know what to expect, but since it was written by those wild and crazy guys that wrote Southpark, it was guaranteed to be a bit bawdy, and it was. It did, however, have a good message; it was just lurking behind the bawdiness. It was fun, though.

Upon leaving London, we traveled to the Cambridge area. While there, we spent a lovely evening catching up with Janet and Michael (our very first Trusted Housesitters assignment) over dinner at The Golden Ball. We didn't get to see Gracie and Tillie, but they assured us that they were fine. 😊

We are now spending time with two great German Shepherds named Willis and Willow. The very first pet Chuck and I had when were first married was a German Shepherd named Jack. These two remind us of him.

This area of the UK is very green and beautiful. Yarwell Mill Country Park is a great place for long walks with the dogs. We have also seen skydivers almost every time we have been out. The park has an old mill that is undergoing renovation and has a working lock that allow the narrow boats passage on the River Nene. We have even made friends with the horses at the end of the lane. Two of them walk up to the gate and wait until we walk up to speak to them and give them a carrot. The dogs don't seem to bother them and the dogs aren't concerned at all with the dogs. (Just a little aside: While I'm composing this blog, Willis is sleeping on my foot and Willow is sleeping only a foot away from him. They're just big cuddly babies!)

We spent this afternoon at a car boot sale. We like car boot sales are almost as much as charity shops. This car boot sale was very large. The trick for buying items is to be open minded. If you go in with a specific item in mind, chances are you won't find it but if just go to find treasure, you just might. We found some more prints to add our souvenirs. We found some pretty watercolors of Stamford. We visited Stamford yesterday, but neglected to take the camera. So, we'll head back to explore some more. However, we did take in some of the Georgian Festival that was happening.

This is a great stay for us, especially with Willis and Willow. We have lots to explore. Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle, a little village abut a mile from where we are. She was first buried at Peterborough Cathredral but later her remains were moved to Westminster Abbey. There's so much to see and do. We need to get busy!