The Gift

I wondered why he wanted to do the Christmas stockings last.  It seemed an odd request, but I agreed,
The last item was an envelope simply labeled J.

Inside was the following letter...

j,

OK, so this is a little bit unconventional as far as Christmas presents go, but I though it was a good time for a surprise…….

This short note is to let you know that we will be departing for England in May ... for two weeks.

We will be traveling business class both ways and the reservations have been made, so I hope that it’ll give you plenty of time to arrange cover at Create-a-Cook and/or Cambridge as necessary.

When we arrive at Heathrow we will stay one night at the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel in a King-sized Bedroom before picking up our rental car for the holiday. I haven’t arranged the car yet because I thought you would like to take part in the selection process my queen-of-four-wheeled-vehicles.

We’ll drive up to Manchester and stay Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights with K (R's brother and my brother in law). We will go out for a dual celebratory dinner on Saturday evening (K’s Birthday and our 10th Anniversary).

Sunday morning we will drive up to Hexham where we will (you guessed it) stay two nights at Langley Castle in The Radcliffe Room (this is the one with the four-poster super King sized double bed, window seat, sauna, shower and semi-sunken bath). I’ve arranged for us to have dinner there the first night and the second night we can nip out to a local pub or eatery of our choice.

After that it’s up to us to make plans for the remainder of our stay……should be an interesting and absorbing prospect huh?

A Very Happy Christmas sweetheart (and a very early Happy 10th Anniversary !!)

Love you muchly,

r

Langley is the 14th century castle where we were married in May 1998.  I am floored, and gobsmacked and flabbergasted and desperately excited. He's a keeper that husband of mine. We haven't been 'home' to visit in 5 years.  The night before we were married we ate in dinner with our families in the castle, there was a couple there celebrating their 10th anniversary, we joked that one day that might be us.

I've been surfing and debating and plotting and planning.  Will it be Scotland again?  More of Wales - maybe Snowdonia? Will we drive down and see Cornwall instead?  East Coast? West Coast? So many choices! I know we will drive through the hills and dales of Yorkshire because I think it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I know their will be Lancashire crumbly with oat cakes and good cider and beer, eccles cakes, sheep, SHEEP(!) everywhere, little villages to see and hopefully some new cookbooks to discover.

Where will we stay?  Should I make reservations at St. John's or The Fat Duck?

If anyone has suggestions of things we shouldn't miss, places we should stay or places we need to dine at, please drop me a note. I am beginning the list making with great excitement..I love making plans...

Already 2008 is looking up up up...