Louise Brealey Instagram – Mum and dad with dad looking very Anton Chekhov. Dad had sorted out some photos and I hadn’t seen this one of them. One of 28 of them together he said.
On my way to the Lakes I skimmed the Dales. Dolly the van was peerless all the way including a stop for a sleep in a lay-by on the A1, where we were buffeted by lorries in the afternoon sun. It took a flock of mechanics to get her on the road. And now she is MOT’d to the hilt and flying along silver lanes again. Only this time there are daffodils and the gorse has come.
Being in the van feels a bit like coming home. I think because the trip meant such a lot to me and because she was made with love and kindness by strangers who became my friends.
I’ve got all my supplies: marmite and rye bread, tins of tomato soup and bags of pretty pistachios, a small bottle of whisky, Spanish hot chocolate, thick so you have to tip your head back to get the last of it, Japanese candles that smell of the woods, tins of mackerel which I forked out in a Lidl carpark like it was the end of days. Two hot water bottles, eggs from a farm shop, Ready Brek. I am going to stop this list now. It has got out of hand. I will always be Anne from Famous Five. I wish I was cool and wanted to be George but I just wanted to make bracken beds and arrange tins. Kendal, Lakedistrict | Posted on 17/Apr/2023 00:55:24