Tetbury & new friends
Tetbury was barely 10 minutes from Malesmbury, which was perfect because I was in the mood to walk. I checked into my hotel, which I had to double park, halfway up on the sidewalk to do…bloody narrow busy streets… dashed in, teasing & joking with the checking girl. Everyone was so friendly! Across the hall was a pub where three guys beaconed me to join them. Why was I this popular?? Staving the men off, the check in girl told me she’d help me schlep my bags up to my room, chatting easily up the flight of stairs, through two doors & down the hall. Beauty of a room! Drop bags, pee & out to park the car.
Founded in approximately 681 A.D., the town of Tetbury is Royal famous as King Charles & Camilla have a home here. With a population of just over 5000 people, its small town vibe is appealing as are its multiple antique/vintage stores. I walked up one street & down the other, stopping into each shop, absorbing its culture & chatting with the shopkeepers.
Kevin messaged that I should hit the Blue Zucchini cafe up before five, so I put the location into my gps & headed that direction.
I had actually read a bit about The Blue Zucchini when I was googling best restaurants earlier. I had intentions of having a beer at the street seating area & when I approached a smart looking woman with lovely strawberry blonde hair immediately said hi & told me she loved my outfit, saw me walking earlier & had wished I’d walk by. (Huh?) She asked me to sit with her & that is how I became friends with Alison. We spent the afternoon talking about absolutely everything, drinking rose, eating foie gras burgers & finishing our evening drinking Cotswold whiskey at Lola, a hip Spanish tapas bar. Whew!
Alison knew absolutely everyone that walked by & quickly so did I. What an absolutely lovely way to spend an afternoon & evening.
Begrudgingly, with promises to keep in touch, I returned to my hotel & decided, since I was high on life, I’d sit in the pub adjacent & nurse a pint while I decompressed by writing a bit. Oddly, my iPad had locked me out & the screen said I had to try again to open the thing in three hours! WTF?
The pub was packed full of people…standing room only, but I had lucked out with the coveted seat at the bar & I wasn’t giving that up easily. I switched off to whiskey & chatted to everyone around me. Who was this person I was becoming? What were the Cotswolds doing to me? How can I move here?
As the pub died down, I made my way up to my room, exhausted from all this socializing. I woke in the night, absolutely gripped in fear….there was a man standing at there! OMG! My heart knocking the covers about, beating out of my chest like a machine set on high speed. I squinted my eyes, careful not to move a muscle in fear he’d see me awake…I had to think…I had to formulate a plan! As my eyes adjusted I realize that the man was the dress I had hung up on a peg sticking out of the wall….a scarf draped around the shoulders looking like a mans head. Jesus Laurie.
I woke groggily & made my way downstairs to breakfast. On Alison’s suggestion, I’m off to Stroud to the farmers market. Staying at Bourdon-on-the-water for the next couple of days. I wonder who I’ll meet there?
