Running to Catch Up, and a Benedictine moment

Before we head out to take advantage of this glorious, sunny day, I should say that yesterday was a very good day - much less stressful than the one before. We went to Exeter, where I went shopping, as I always seem to do when I find myself in Exeter. Not that I made any serious purchases -- they were pretty mundane, apart from the lovely but inexpensive earrings that I bought down on the Quay.

We started out with coffee and a sandwich at Nero on the High Street. From my seat, I could drink my coffee and watch bubbles billowing out of the Early Learning Centre across the street.

After lunch, we wandered the High Street, leaking money at various shops. I did have a funny conversation with a saleslady at Marks & Spencer. When I finally found the lingerie department and set about looking for a few extra pairs of undies, I found myself faced with a bewildering variety of types and sizes. I wandered the aisles for a few minutes, then accosted said saleslady. "Excuse me," I said, "but I'm not altogether familiar with your sizing system. Would this be my size?"

"Yes, that looks just right. Now what style would you like?"

"Um, I'm not quite sure."

"Well, all these have a thong at the back. I don't suppose you want that."

"Duh."  (Not really. I was more polite, if just as firm.)

"Well, then, there are the full length panties -- and these are the high leg. Do you like a high leg?"

"Um."

"Or there are bikinis."

I interrupted at this point to say "You take your underwear very seriously here, don't you?" which caused the saleslady to giggle just a bit. "Yes, we do."


We settled on something called a midi. Via Media. Very Benedictine.

After that, it was an afternoon of rediscovering the things we love about Exeter - like the Quay, with its funny little ferry. Robin enjoyed a shandy at one of the Quay's pubs while I wandered from shop to shop. I'm not a city person, but there are a few cities that I find very compelling, and Exeter is one of them.

Later in the afternoon, we drove to a village called Bickleigh, where we had tea on the terrace of a roadhouse called The Fisherman's Cot.

In all, it was a lovely day. Today, we're going to go back to Sharp Tor -- you know, the place where I nearly froze to death a couple of weeks ago. Today, I'm wearing capri pants and no coat at all. Things change so quickly around here!