Tyre, tourist stuff and tucker

The rear tyre on the bike was half worn so I had a new one fitted today at the Honda dealership that gave it a service a year ago. They remembered me and the bike and gave me a discount price. While the wheel was out they checked a weakpoint on these models - the swinging arm in the rear suspension - and declared it corrosion free - which was good news.

Then I picked Gail up from a local shopping centre and we set off to do more of the English stately home touristy stuff and went to Woburn Abbey.

The ancestral home of the Duke of Bedford it has been open to the public since the 1970's and is furnished with exquisite antique furniture and the walls are hung with hundreds of of paintings, most of them family portraits going back hundreds of years but including a Rembrandt. Photography isn't allowed in the house so these poor photos are shots of pictures in their brochure. I used to go there in the 50's and 60's to caravan rallies with my parents before the house was open to the public. I remember the Duke of that time having a glass of sherry with my parents in our caravan.

Got back to Dave and Irenes place in the late afternoon and thought I'd get on-line and check that my Post Office money travel card had been credited correctly with the money I'd handed over at the post office counter. Found to my horror that 3,500 euros had been removed! Phoned them and found that my ID had been insufficient so they had removed all but a small sum until I could assure them I wasn't a money launderer. So I shot round to Colin's, scanned my UK driving licence, passport and documentation showing where I'd got the cash from and emailed it to them. Fingers crossed.

Then Gail and I shouted Dave and Irene and Colin and Chris to dinner at a local pub restaurant, the Old Beams, by way of thanks for everything; Dave and Irene for putting us up and tolerating the disruption to their routine and peace and quiet and Colin and Chris for minding the bike and sorting the registration etc so it was ready for us.