'elles Belles

Tuesday 7th October

2008-10-16T19:11:00.002+01:00

There were the usual early risers and they were out walking round the heath whereas others had a more leisurely rising. Breakfast was from 7.00 am, soon all were tucking into a full English Breakfast and by 9.10 am the coach was on its way back into Central London to the Palace of Westminster where at St Stephen’s Gate we were all searched, frisked and photographed as we entered the Houses of Parliament Once in the Great Hall we were divided into three groups and each group had a superb guide taking us round the Robing Room, the House of Lords, through the Central Lobby and then into the House of Commons via the Division Lobbies and finally back into the Great Hall at Westminster.

After a short walk along Millbank we then found ourselves outside number 7 and then after another quick search we found ourselves inside and a lunch was provided and a much welcome cup of tea. Shaun Woodward left a Cabinet Meeting to present a cheque from the Twirlie Girlies to the Hospice for £5,000.00. Shaun Woodward gave a short speech about the work of Hospices in general and a mention of Helen House in Oxford was given as he and Twirlie 1 had connections with them. Very soon afterwards the party had free time in London and so visited the Jewel Tower, others went to the London Eye, some went shopping in Central London but there was no let up for the Twirlie Girlies. They were whisked away by taxi to 10 Downing Street for a photo shoot. Once again their bags were searched and they were being frisked before entering the street itself. Much to their surprise they were invited into 10 Downing Street and given a tour of the building. What an honour! What an experience! What were they saying about taking every opportunity? Certainly this was not an opportunity to be missed. What a wonderful experience to be taken on a guided tour through Number 10 - thank you for the time and for the excellent tour which was thoroughly enjoyed.

Back to reality this was free time for the Twirlie Girlies. Twirlie 2 went to the Jewel Tower whilst Twirlie 1 went to the London Eye. Tickets were bought and distributed and everyone went for a 35 minute flight. Taxis were taken into Central London, Oxford Street visited and at 6.30 pm the numbers on the coach were checked; all present and correct and off on the last stage of the journey. Tales were told of purchases, theatre visits, wanders round Tate Modern, British Museum to say nothing of cups of tea in Marks and Spencer’s. Once on the motorway the coach sped with all speed and soon the services approached and we all disembarked for a break. Oh dear! Everyone boarded the coach but it was at a funny angle. The driver Gary said there was a flat tyre and John asked everyone to leave the coach but no one believed him. Twirlie 1 told him to stop being flippant but on this occasion he was telling the truth! Even so many of the party went to view the flat tyre. After an hour or so the tyre was replaced and we were on our way again. The St. Helens sign approached then into Chapel Lane and a party of very happy but tired people left the coach and went home. The time 1.30 am on Wednesday 8th October 2008.

…. The tyre on the bus went flat, flat, flat.
Flat, flat, flat.
Flat, flat, flat.
The tyre on the bus went flat, flat, flat.
On the way home!

Monday 6th October

2008-10-16T19:11:00.001+01:00

Back on the road again and in a bus but a different type of bus and not one that stopped at every bus stop- well not quite, also we were allowed on board some thirty minutes before 9.30 am.

This time, instead of there being two Twirlie Girlies there were some forty nine passengers including the Twirlies and they were all on a comfortable coach to London. At 9.15 promptly the coach left Chapel Lane Eccleston St Helens and made for the M6 south. Our first stop was on the M6 toll road for a short break then on to London. We arrived at the Clarendon Hotel, Blackheath, shortly after 2.30 pm. - what an uneventful ride. After unpacking some guests went for a walk to Greenwich Observatory others round Blackheath Shops and others to a well known hostelry to sample some special tipple. We all met for dinner at 5.30 before taking the coach to Central London. Oh! those road works, diversions and one way streets to say nothing of the endless red lights.

After a tortuous journey we finally arrived at the London Palladium to see the Sound of Music. Everyone enjoyed it but the ladies enjoyed the story whereas the men in the audience marvelled at the mechanics of the scenery which were most impressive. After the show the Twirlie Girlies tried to use their bus passes when they went for a ride on a rickshaw but the cyclist was having none of it; so they had to pay £5.00 for a ride round the block. Everyone thought this was a hoot. Twirlie 1 said that she was no longer going to let opportunities pass her by – as if she had ever done so! After this event everyone piled back onto the coach and we were driven back to the hotel.

Sunday 5 October

2008-10-16T19:10:00.001+01:00

What a beautiful day – the sun was shining and everything was ideal for a Thanksgiving Service. The Thanksgiving Service was held at 3.00 pm at Our Lady’s Church Hall, Portico. This was attended by some 60 members of the public, including Lady Kirsty Pilkington and The Rev. Derek Mellors led us in worship. We sang the Hymns He Who Would Valiant Be and I Vow To Thee My Country. George Swift played the music and Christopher John Swift, Twirlie 1’s Godson sang – Lord For Tomorrow And Its Needs I Do Not pray. Helen, Twirlie 2, gave a short address about the fifteen day journey and then Ella, Twirlie 1 gave thanks to all the people who had been involved in the venture. It was a very moving Service. Then home to pack for the following day’s visit to London.

Tuesday, 30th September

2008-10-05T12:05:00.002+01:00

Yuck - it is raining - we decided to go for an earlier train rather than the later one so we caught the 10.00am train to Plymouth where we changed, caught a connection there to Birmingham New Street and then on to Runcorn. It rained on and off all the way up England but this did not dampen our spirits. Our journey was over - we sat back and laughed and talked about all the lovely bus journeys we had undertaken over the last two weeks. It had been fantastic to see England and all its lovely little villages which one doesn't encounter when travelling by train or car. How lucky we had been.

On arrival in Crewe the guard announced "this train is terminating here" we all had to get off and wait for the London train to take us on to Runcorn - 45 minutes late in Runcorn but John was there to meet us with Chris. It was raining hard and we had a job to get into the car because of all the water in the gutters. We arrived home at approximately 7.00 pm - the last stage of our journey finally completed. We shuddered to think what our homes would be like on arrival but to our surprise they were clean, spick and span. Thank you to Tony and John.

Monday 29th September

2008-10-01T15:09:00.002+01:00

We woke at 7.30 this was unheard of, no mid night feasts, no 3.00 am cups of tea and no midnight walks. This was our last day. We had mixed feelings of elation and sadness. Once again another hearty breakfast and then to the open road – well another bus ride this time from Truro to Penzance.

We said our goodbyes to the guest house lady who gave us some agapanthus seeds from her garden as a memoir of stay. We walked through the town to the bus station and waiting for us was the 09.35am bus to Penzance. On our way we passed through Redruth and we saw the sea for the first time since leaving Berwick on Tweed and then on to Cambourne – what a beautiful ride on through the Cornish countryside. The bus was full so had to share a seat with all our luggage.
Penzance came into sight and much to our amazement there were no pirates and we could not understand why. There was an hour or so before the next bus. We wandered up the high street examining the shops but Twirlie One could not remember where the shop was where she bought her tea trolley some forty years ago! As usual there was coffee and scones mid morning and for lunch it was Cornish Pasties - what a surprise!

The last bus of our venture was the last bus that day to Land’s End at 13.05. En route we passed through the Cornish Villages of Mousehole and we followed the coast line passing by the Minnack Theatre and then onto Porthcurno, the home of the telegram, (home of the Victorian Internet) and so to LAND’S END.
This was some ride! A friend of the driver said it was a more exciting than a ride at Alton Towers and in a loud voice exclaimed that his bad back had been put right; much to everyone’s amusement.

The bus arrived at Land’s End car park we were met by some friends of Janice Owen, they were Susan and Robert Kempt. There they were holding a bouquet of flowers for each of us. What a lovely surprise. Take note Twirlie One’s husband! We felt like Queens especially as many people were taking our piccies and chatting to us about our journey.

What a fantastic day the sun was shining, a lovely breeze an idyllic afternoon. Off came the Crocs and a paddle in the sea to relieve our worn out feet! The sea was cool and refreshing, the air was sea fresh, the sound of the waves, the wet sand and then the dry sand – what more could anyone want!! You guessed it! - a Cornish Cream Tea, sitting and chatting with friends enjoying the warmth of the sun. It was good to be alive and thank God for all His goodness.

Once again we had to leave this wonderful place and were taken by car back to Penzance. On the way back we were taken through St Just where Susan and Robert live – what a lovely village but like St Helens it was built on mines. The mining that used to go on was for tin, arsenic and china clay but today it is a tourist attraction. Then off to the hotel, we were dropped of right out side the hotel and said our good byes and thank yous to Susan and Robert for a lovely afternoon.

We unpacked, had a cup of tea put our feet up and relaxed. After an hour or so our tummies began to rumble so we knew it was time for dinner. We dressed for dinner in the same old clothes and found a good eating house which offered local food and wine and when replete the elements were braved as it was lashing down with rain and we got soaked. The weather had returned to normal. After a hot shower it was bed time and we felt that another good job had been done!

Monday 29th September

2008-09-30T01:47:00.001+01:00

Extract from text message:
Lands End finally reached at 2.15 Monday 29.9.08
The Twirlie Girlies xx

Sunday 28th September

2008-09-29T16:43:00.002+01:00

Our room had no en suite 5.00 am, so just to be sure – we hurried down the landing to the bathroom not a pretty sight.

How to be embarrassed? Let the hotel owner know you are doing a sponsored bus ride for Willowbrook Hospice and she will go round and collect for you despite the reluctance of the other guests. Gentlemen; Thank you very much your contributions. What a breakfast!
Today is a rest day. The only reason for this is, there are no buses to where we want to go! We are staying in Truro, so we thought we would go the Cathedral for morning service. (We do not know whether it will be ‘FRANC’ here or not – today is Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, Neighbours and Colleagues; back to church Sunday, you may have heard about it!) What a wonderful service! The old hymns we knew, prayers we were familiar with and the whole service was very dignified. We went up to the middle rail for Communion. Suddenly Twirlie One remembered the muddy, green Crocs and felt terribly out of place, nevertheless we had done our duty to God! After the service, we had coffee and chatted with other members of the congregation and met people from Woolton.

Once outside of the Cathedral, we found a Cornish Food and Wine Festival. It did not take too much encouragement for us to participate in the reverie and we thoroughly enjoyed the samples. To work up an appetite for lunch we thought we would go for a sail to Falmouth but no such luck the pleasure and ferry boats did not operate on Sundays. So we went for a walk in the sunshine - Another lovely day!

Heard about the Victoria Gardens? So off we went to see their delights. We had found the ideal place for lunch. The day was so warm, our tummies so full and the seats so comfortable we drifted off for an hour or so! After snoozing the hunger pangs hit us again so we each had an apple pie flavoured Cornish Ice Cream. Another wander round Truro and then it was time for dinner at the Royal Hotel. When we arrived it was Happy Hour so we had a free glass of wine with dinner. After an eventful day we returned to the guest house for our last night on our quest to reach Land’s End. Will we do it?

Saturday 27th September

2008-09-29T14:49:00.005+01:00

Oh! to be woken at the unearthly hour of 6.00 am – It was Rosemary calling from America. When she had finished chatting we were both wide awake and ready to go. Next, there was Helen trying to explain that her trousers were far too tight and could not understand why they had shrunk.
Down stairs for hearty but leisurely English Breakfast, to say nothing of the shrunken trousers. We wandered to the bus stop and as soon as we arrived there the phone went – John as usual picking the most inconvenient time to ring. Twirlie One decided to ignore it. Another ring this time on Twirlie Two’s phone – it was Radio City Talk. Twirlie Two chatted and then handed the phone to Twirlie One.

Just as Twirlie One was climbing aboard the bus it rang again – there was Twirlie One getting on the bus, asking the price of the bus ride and being interviewed by Radio City – what a performance – the whole bus knew we were on air but not the radio station. Oh to be a celebrity!

To come back to pseudo-reality, the journey from Tiverton to Exeter was a dream. It was one of those balmy, autumnal days with the mist swirling and the sun trying to break through. This is a morning ride I shall never forget but hope to repeat again sometime! From Exeter we boarded the 11.40 am bus to Plymouth went up stairs and sat in the front seats. We watched the mist lift and the sun break through to a glorious morning. As we travelled up Telegraph Hill we took bets as to whether the bus would manage to make it to the top of the hill but had no trouble in going down the other side. In Ashburton we saw a little girl taking a basket of fruit in to church – harvest festival Sunday tomorrow?

All the way to Plymouth we chatted with people who were very interested in what we were doing and why were doing it. Eventually we arrived in Plymouth and down to the Barbican for lunch – We couldn't remember whether or not we had had breakfast. It did not matter we had a hearty lunch! The 14.30 Greyhound – no not a dog but the bus company - took us to is Liskeard; another, What a Ride, experience! We stayed on the same bus to St Columb Major but we had a different drive. There was a ten minute wait then on to Truro when we arrived at 17.10 pm – this was travelling all day by bus. Thank you John for the experience!!!
We walked down the hill to the Guest House there was no en suite and all the other guests were men Twirlie Two said definitely pyjamas tonight.

Friday 26 September

2008-09-27T20:27:00.002+01:00

As a result of our perambulations, we have become expert in the use of bathroom apparatus and probably know more about the basics of plumbing than most qualified plumbers. Today’s shower was by far the easiest to work. After a power shower, we ventured down for another full English Breakfast. This morning we once again became acquainted with the world’s news via the Independent. Twirlie Two wanted to read the paper but ‘Oh dear’ where were the specs. We searched high and low for them only to be found round her neck. We soon learnt that Ruth Kelly was out of the frame and Gordon Brown was visiting America but for what reason we could not find out. Back to reality!

A good breakfast and we were off again on our travels. Today there was no rush as the first bus we could catch was at 10.20 am. As it was one of those beautiful English autumnal mornings we decided to walk to the bus station about twenty minutes away and take the bus from Bristol to Wells.

As we were walking along the road, there were two gentlemen of the road who shouted over to us:
‘Hi girls don’t you look lovely today!’
At this point we decided to cross the road. We over heard one say to the other:
‘Green Tee shirt, green hat, green shoes!’ The other replied
‘I don’t think they are clones – they are clowns!’
How we laughed – but there was more than a grain of truth in it.

The bus left on time for Wells two minutes later we were passing the front door of our hotel. This was the second time this had happened. Soon we were out in the open countryside of Somerset being driven through the rolling hills; past the farms where cows were chewing the cud, sheep lazing in the sunshine, hens busily running round and geese standing on guard, and quaint villages. As we travelled along the sunlight was flickering as we passed under the trees along the country lanes which had been resurfaced – what a delightful ride!
Great to be alive and we should all thank God for the pleasures of this place.

As we journeyed along Helen was busy at work crocheting. On arrival in Wells there was the town crier in full voice whether it was for our benefit or not we shall never know. The town crier was in fact outside the National Trust shop where people were sat drinking coffee so we joined them. We walked to the Bishop’s Palace and the Gardens were beautiful – what a treat! We went into the cathedral and on our arrival the famous old clock chimed and struck the hour and we saw ‘the wrath of jousting kings go round as in a tournament’. Shortly after the clock struck 12 noon:

Father Eric stood up and prayed for the nation and the world, he then said the following lines:
"God, Our heavenly father, make we pray, the door of this cathedral church wide enough to welcome all who need human love and fellowship and a father's care, but narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and lack of love. Here may the tempted find help, the sorrowing receive comfort and the penitent be assured of your mercy. And, Here may all your children renew their strength and go on their way in hope and joy. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen"
After the benediction, we had lunch in the cloisters rather than being chastised. Once again we had to resume our journey so we headed for the bus station to catch the next bus to Taunton. On this bus two ladies thought we were from the Willowbrook Garden Centre which was shown to us as the bus drove went by.

Oh dear!! The first time a bus was late. The Tiverton bus was 15 minutes late but the driver knew where we staying so he dropped us off at the front door of the hotel so that made up for the minor indiscretion earlier. We had a look round Tiverton and found the bus station, had our evening meal and off for a goodnight’s sleep.

Thursday 25th September

2008-09-27T20:26:00.006+01:00

This is a totally new experience for Twirlie One, she actually got up first and made tea and sorted out the pills for Twirlie Two and took it to her in bed. There is always something novel in the world! When John reads this no doubt he will remind Twirlie One of this event!

Another Full English Breakfast - what a delight. This morning there was a ten minute walk to the bus stop and boarded the bus from Hereford to Ross on Wye. What a pleasant bus driver, he was chatty and informative about the countryside through which we were about to be driven, he was asked if he would take our photograph upstairs to which he willingly agreed. For the first six years of Twirlie Two’s life she had lived in this area and was familiar with it. After a couple of minutes the bus set off for Ross on Wye. Upstairs on the bus, the floor and seats were covered in leaves which we thought was very odd but we thought no more about it. Very shortly we were passing the hotel in which we had stayed – Oh, that ten minute walk was all in vain but it may have reduced our girths by an inch or two! Soon we were in the beautiful countryside, rolling hills, narrow country lanes with the bus brushing the trees – now we knew why there were leaves on the upstairs of the bus - and as we looked in the fields much to our delight, we saw the Hereford cattle with the typical white stripe on their heads.

What a lovely bus ride to Ross on Wye and only a half hour wait for the next, so it was a very quick coffee, scone and loo before catching the bus to Stroud. A gentleman alighted with a Guide Dog Puppy in Training, what a lovely animal. Then came the horror, the driver switched on the CCTV camera and we could see ourselves on the screen. ‘Oh! to see ourselves as others see us.’ At Stroud, we had three minutes to buy a sandwich and on with our journey to Dursley. Another quick change – we may even become quick change artists at this rate: Hmmm! A mere eight minutes and then on the Bristol Bus but don’t panic we made it but only just. This was an experience: The bus, shook, rattled and rolled - and bumped all the way. We turned into St Katherine and the Lady Beck School en route and filled up with children who were amused to see our unusual garb. This journey took two hours through villages, the outskirts of Bristol and then estates followed by the city itself. Catherine and Jimmy – Twirlie Two’s daughter and grandson - were there to greet us. We walked with them to the hotel and afterwards Glen, Twirlie Two’s son in law arrived. We went to the Severn Shed for a super evening meal where there was lots of merriment and chatter about our exploits so far. Catherine had been chatting to her neighbour and said, ‘I cannot believe she has done this!’ - to which the reply from the neighbour was 'I can't believe your Dad's let her!' We all laughed. What does she think we do – we are not quite fuddy duddies yet! Back to hotel and then to bed!

It was interesting to note First Somerset and Avon buses were now allowing all Twirlies to use their bus passes from 9:00 am – other areas please take note!

Wednesday 24th September

2008-09-26T00:11:00.002+01:00

What have we come to? The first words uttered this morning were – ‘Have you taken your pills?’ What a sorry state we are in! Now let us begin our day on a far more cheerful note.

Breakfast was at 8.15 in a beautiful setting. The room had two tiers of English Oak Beams full of little nooks and crannies. What a delightful place to have another full English Breakfast. This is not doing our waist line much good but it is most enjoyable. Bags packed as we trooped out of the hotel ready for the 0935 bus to Ludlow. Wow! What a beautiful bus ride through the glorious Shropshire countryside on this wonderful morning. The fields had their autumnal colours the leaves turning magnificent shades of reds and yellows. We were driven through more lovely villages and hamlets. What a beautiful country we live in - all we need to do is open our eyes.
We arrived in Ludlow just before noon and visited the church before making our way to the famous Feathers hotel in Ludlow. You must visit this hotel when you are in Ludlow! We had lunch there followed by a walk round the town and bought some Turkish Delight just in case there weren’t any tea shops on the way to our next destination – Hereford. We walked passed the Angel Hotel which was the hotel John and Twirlie One spent the first night of the honeymoon. All those years ago!!

Another beautiful drive through the Shropshire and Hereford countryside on a glorious afternoon! To add to our enjoyment there were some super people who talked to us; thus the time passed very quickly and soon we were in Hereford.
This evening we stayed at the Green Dragon, this hotel has fond memories for Twirlie Two. She has had many a meal here with her family in the past. We booked into the hotel and our room was overlooking the NatWest Bank. Glamour does seem to follow us! As usual we found a tea room, this time it near The Old House in Hereford and had a cup of coffee and another scone – what ever has happened to our waist lines – serious dieting when we get home. We had a wander round the lovely town of Hereford and had a super meal this evening in an Italian Restaurant.

Ludlow and Hereford we SHALL BE BACK!! What a beautiful part of England!

One again people have been very generous where people on the buses and in churches have made donations to the Willowbrook Hospice. Thank you all very much

Tuesday 23 September

2008-09-24T15:19:00.004+01:00

Despite such a hectic day yesterday, followed by revelry through the evening, we managed to sleep all night. We spent the night in the Park Inn St Helens and the room was comfortable and thank you for the bottles of wine which were most enjoyable. The Park Inn St Helens is our local hotel where we going swimming daily when we are at home. As usual we met many of the regulars who were most interested in our journey and needless to mention, ninety percent of the time was spent talking and the rest of the time listening, to say nothing of the swimming!!! As usual we met Joyce, Mary and others and Joan who had a lovely Golden Wedding Anniversary with her family. Richard her son said there was a comedian coming like Johnnie Vegas with a hood over his head; in fact it was her other son Robert from Thailand. What a lovely surprise. It’s amazing what goes on in the pool at 7.30 in the morning, every morning. Sets us up for the day in splendid fashion!
After the swim yet another English Breakfast – good job we had been swimming and exercising our mouths to lose those extra pounds! A quick pack and down to Bridge Street, St Helens to catch the first bus into Liverpool. John walked into town as he could not use his bus pass, he would have been a twirlie (Too early for the better spoken amongst us – one can only use the bus pass after 9.30 am) but no doubt he used it on the way back. The first bus was a 10A – to Liverpool!

At 10.30 we arrived in Liverpool and made our way to Victoria Street for the bus to Chester. As we had an hour to spare we had lunch in Chester Cathedral. We were in time for the 41 to Whitchurch which went through the Cheshire Villages. Somehow, we started talking to a lady who said she was most interested in our venture and she said she would visit our blog. We hope you have enjoyed reading about our escapades so far. Please keep up to date! After an hour or so we arrived in Whitchurch, Shropshire. Shropshire is known as the forgotten county. John loves this county and would move there today - even now! After such a long journey we were thirsty so it was coffee and scone time again but this time in Fiona’s in Whitchurch!

We didn’t have to be late for the 3.15pm; 511 bus for Shrewsbury as the next bus would have taken a lot longer. We were the only two passengers on the bus. This driver was a total gem and very enthusiastic about his job, the county in which he lived and was an inspiration to us. As we travelled through the county, he gave us a running commentary on the small market towns, villages and hamlets of North Shropshire – Prees, Weston under Red Castle, Wem, Yorton, Clive (remember Clive of India - his birth place), Preston, Grinsill, Battlefield and then into Shrewsbury. We voted this the best driver and bus ride so far! Now there is real competition for the rest of our journey! Thank you for a wonderful ride – The Twirlie Girlies.
Very quickly we found the Lion and Pheasant, a very quaint hotel over looking the River Severn an early dinner in Brasserie and then to bed - how lovely to have the central heating on and to be lovely and warm – Good night!!

Monday 22 September

2008-09-23T22:03:00.001+01:00

This morning we decided to have a cup of tea and biscuits at 2.00 am, as we knew it was going to be a hectic day. After the refreshment we fell asleep and were woken by everywhere being very noisy and so we went down for breakfast – another hearty English Breakfast; the works.

We packed and went down stairs to meet our first guest. Mr Sajid Karim MEP for the North West who arrived very punctually. We had a chat and then went outside for a photograph and possibly a mention in the Manchester Evening News – a little light relief from the Labour Party Conference. Whilst we were having the photo shoot by a bus stop, John (my husband) arrived and we knew we were in good hands!!! Thank you Sajid for your time and the photographs! We hope you had safe flight to Brussels.

We went back into the Travel Lodge had a cup of tea picked up our rucksacks and decided to go to the Labour Party Conference to see what was going on there. A quick stroll up King Street across the Town Hall Square and we were soon outside the Midland Hotel. The area in front of the hotel was cordoned off and no one could get near the front entrance. We stood around and waited for some friends who were attending the conference and said they would come out to see us. We telephoned Simon, but as ever, he took his time. Whilst we were waiting Jack Straw MP came along and John said go and have your photo with him. We asked him if we could have a photo to which he readily agreed. Then came the fumbling! John tried to take a photo – disaster, firstly his specs some how flew off and he complained he could not see. Jack Straw was saying ‘Come on John hurry up!’ This made him even more flustered! He had the bright idea to ask for help. There was a man in a beautiful suit stood right next to him, so John asked if this ‘city gent’ would take the photograph and he readily agreed. Jack Straw turned to me and said, ‘John has only asked one of the most senior police officers in the Manchester Police to do his bidding!’ – much to everyone’s amusement. Only John could get away with that! Simon and two friends came to see us and gave us information about the conference. John disappeared presumably back to St Helens.

Time was pressing and we had to make our way back to the bus stop for the next step on our journey. So off we went to the junction of King Street and Cross Street, Manchester. Just before the bus came along a Labour Party open topped bus came past bedecked with balloons and other streamers which gave a festive air to the city. It was not too long before the Wigan bus arrived and soon we were comfortably seated up stairs on the front seat of a brand new bus. What a delight and such comfortable ride. Atherton then Wigan and again we were picking up our rucksacks to alight from the bus. Whilst in Wigan as we had eaten very little lunch so we decided to go into the Galleries for a cup of you know what and yet another scone. The journey from Wigan to St Helens takes about 50 minutes so we had time to relax, digest and view the countryside we know so well. The thought that came to mind was ‘Ex terra lucem’

There, at the bus stand in Hardshaw Street, was a reception party. On our arrival a great cheer went up much to amazement of the people around. This was followed by photos and the poor old bus driver was told not to move until we had had all our shots. We felt like royalty. There was a crocodile through Marks and Spencer’s and onto the Park Inn St Helens where we were staying for the night. This evening we could not have a peaceful relaxing evening as is the wander’s want, however, on this occasion we had to spruce up as we had a Civic Reception in St Helens Town Hall. A number of the people who had helped with our effort were also invited to the Town Hall. At 6.00 o’clock we were ushered into the Mayor’s Parlour and greeted by the Mayor Councillor John Bierne and the Lady Mayoress. What a magnificent room; full of history and interest! Soon we were being offered cups of tea and biscuits. This was followed by Allan who gave us a history of the St Helens Town Halls and told us about the many artefacts in the Mayor’s Parlour. Thank you Mr Mayor and Allan for a most interesting time with you!

We went back to the Park Inn and had dinner with family and friends – there was much hilarity and story telling and all too soon the day came to an end.

Sunday 21st September

2008-09-22T17:06:00.002+01:00

What a beautiful morning it was in Preston, the sun was shining and again we ate another excellent full English Breakfast. Good job the buses have strong springs!

We walked across the road to Preston Bus Station and there ready for us was the bus to Bolton. On our way to Bolton we passed through the interesting countryside of mid Lancashire and town of Chorley. It was idyllic as was passed by the reservoir on the way to Horwich. On our arrival in Bolton we visited Whittakers of Bolton for a coffee and a scone! In the main square there was a Children’s Pop Concert so we watched and listened to this brilliant free entertainment. It was a glorious afternoon for a wander round the shops and to enjoy the pop concert.

The bus for Manchester left at 2 o’clock and we were on it. It travelled through industrial Greater Manchester – what a change of scenery! On arrival in Manchester we made our way to the Travel Lodge near to Manchester Cathedral. The room we had was huge and so we could spread out. After showering we went to the Café Rouge for a meal. At first, we could not understand why there were so many posh cars, police cars with sirens wailing and thousands of police of all ranks about in the streets. The thought was is this for us! Then it dawned on us - it was the Labour Party Conference. There is nothing like people watching and we had a great time watching the preparations. Manchester proved it is worthy to be known as England’s second city.

Saturday 20 September

2008-09-21T18:36:00.003+01:00

Thank you to Helen’s friends, Lucy and Dudley, in Kendal for a good night’s sleep, a superb breakfast and once again we were ready for the road or should I say the buses.

However, before we left the mobile ‘phone went – it was not Antony or John wanting to know where we where and what we were doing but Simon O’Brien from Radio City. We were on air, live, that’s a coup for our families! We were able to advertise ourselves and Willowbrook Hopsice on City Talk at prime time on Saturday morning!

We had a ten minute walk to the bus stop and bid our farewells. They waved us off and by chance we met some of their friends on the bus from Kendal to Lancaster and there was a lot of chatting on the bus. (The Twirlies Go Chatter, Chatter, Chatter all day long – heard that somewhere before.)

We travelled from Kendal to Lancaster through the beautiful South Lakeland countryside and today we had sunshine all the way. Well almost, our second unfortunate encounter was with a grumpy old man who said we were wasting tax payers money on such a frivolous exploit and people like us should be stopped from doing this sort of thing. The third encounter soon followed it was with another miserable man who complained bitterly that he was having to pay for his bus journey whilst we ‘swanned along’ paying nothing – it was disgraceful!

We arrived in Lancaster and guess what – you guessed it - a cup of coffee and biscuits! In Lancaster there was a street market and we spent a lot of time wondering what to buy but as we had small rucksacks, everything was left on the market stalls. We took pictures of people playing panpipes and recorders – the music was so relaxing- and they had knitted jackets on their stall which we were sorely tempted to buy. There was lots to buy but nowhere to put it.

After exhausting the market we walked up to Lancaster Castle and the Priory. Lunch was taken in the Priory and a donation of £8.45 was given: Thank you. More money was donated by the Deacon and others in the shop: Thank you. We left a poster at the shop and they said they would publicise our project for us. The highlight of this part of the journey was two VI formers were doing a project of young people for young people – Hmmm! Who’s kidding whom? - and took a photo of us for posterity. I am sure we will earn them a few extra marks.

A lady we met on the way back to the bus asked what were doing and said it was good to talk to someone everyday especially someone who was doing something for others! After her chat she said she felt better and so did we. After this excursion we walked back to the bus station and caught the 41 to Preston.

The Holiday Inn in Preston where we were to stay was easy to find as it was opposite the bus station. We had a lovely room surrounded by a number of young men and realised we were in for a good night!

Friday 19 September

2008-09-20T20:57:00.003+01:00

This morning we could have slept until very late but at 5.30 am we were up having a cup of tea and – you guessed it – biscuits. Soon we were fast asleep again.

Today, we both had a hearty English breakfast with all the trimmings and more. The waiter wanted to know why were both dressed alike and what we were doing so we told her all about our trip so far. A donation was given and again we would like to Thank you for your generosity! It was a lovely day for walking but there was no sunshine despite being told again by many people what a sunny day it was in other parts of the country.

We ambled back to Grasmere and went round the church. We found the stone Twrilie 2 and her husband Antony had purchase many years ago. One cannot visit Grasmere without going to the Gingerbread Shop. We were no exception and bought gingerbreads for lunch and had them under the old Rowan Tree. After a further wander round the village and a cup of coffee we decided to go back to the hotel to collect our rucksacks for the next part of the journey. On the way back to the hotel we met two people from Scotland who gave us a donation –Thank you very much – and they said that we were very brave to undertake such a journey. They were fascinated with our story so far.

Soon we arrived in Kendal and had to take another bus, the 45 and were met at the next bus stop by Twirlie 2’s friends and spent a hilarious evening with them.

Thursday 18 September

2008-09-20T20:16:00.001+01:00

Another rude awakening this morning not by falling girders but by the telephone and Rosemary (Twirlie 1’s daughter to tell us that some of her friends in the Phoenix, Arizona had made contributions towards our final total. Thank you to Carolyn and Kalpan for their most generous donations. After a long chat it was tea and biscuits’ time again and then back to sleep for an hour or so.
A full English breakfast awaited us, Twirlie 1 had egg, bacon and toast but the chef said to Twirlie 2 ‘don’t eat any more otherwise you’ll not fit on the bus’. A lady from Nuneaton came into the restaurant with Special Needs Students. They had been to see a film about Beatrix Potter. This lady was involved with MENCAP.

We then went to the bus station and caught our next bus, this part of the journey we sat up stairs and had wonderful view of the lovely Cumbrian countryside. The bus had the heating on at full belt and it was more like a traveling sauna than a bus. This is when our first confrontation took place. We wanted the windows open in order to keep cool and have fresh air blowing over our faces – the lady thought otherwise and there was a battle of wills and wits and we think, it was a draw! However, we soon arrived in Penrith and then onto Keswick. All along the way ‘the wipers on the bus went swish, swish, swish’ taking us back to our service on Monday and the lovely children’s song. Our arrival in Keswick was at lunch time so we set-up camp on the banks of Derwent Water. We had a walk round the lake and the town before finding the bus station again in Keswick and caught the number 555 to Grasmere. Aren’t we lucky having such a lovely day in such a charming place!

The peace of the countryside was soon shattered on arrival at the bus stop as the whole world was there to catch the number 555. We managed to get on this bus despite it being full upstairs and full down stairs with 15 people standing! Unfortunately 20+ people missed this bus and had to wait another hour for the next one. Half an hour later we arrived in Grasmere. On the bus we had eight text messages from our friends at home saying how beautiful the weather was but if we were lucky we saw the sun for two minutes. People weren’t half rubbing it in!

Our logistics manager thought the hotel was in Grasmere itself but it transpired to be a ten minute walk from the centre of Grasmere to the hotel – how we blessed him! It was worth the walk though as the hotel was near Dove Cottage and had every convenience so we forgave him after finding such a lovely hotel. We washed our clothes and had dinner and then went to bed.

Wednesday 17th September

2008-09-18T20:57:00.003+01:00

Oh! to be a Twirlie Girlie to be awakened at some unearthly hour – 5-30 in the morning – to sound of iron girders being thrown around. Twirlie Girlie 2 looked out of the window and said, ’Are you awake?’ What a silly question with that racket going on. This was an excuse to make tea and eat biscuits. After that Twirlie Girlie 1 managed somehow to go back to sleep but Twirlie Girlie 2 could not sleep again.

We went for breakfast and there was a telephone call on Twirlie Girlie 1’s mobile. The waiter who was standing by remarked that ‘Me mam has an old fashioned ‘phone like that’.
Our travels began again with a long walk to the bus station and there we were given a £5.00 note –Thank you to that person. Some ladies at the bus station said what a wonderful idea and would like to have done a trip like this but they had husbands and our reply was that we have them too.

The bus from Newcastle to Hexham was full. We continued to create havoc with all our baggage, fortunately we had seats. Soon we arrived in Hexham. This was a far bigger place than we had imagined. As usual we went for a coffee and a scone and a chat with people to tell them about our trip and what we were doing for the Hospice. We visited the lovely cathedral and then back to the bus station to catch the 2pm bus to Carlisle. This bus was empty, we had the pick of the seats and as we travelled the knitting came out. At Hornby, a lovely lady jumped onto the bus and noticed our Tilley Hats – what a talking point. She took one of our posters and said that it would be displayed in the Drop In Centre. This part of the journey passed very quickly due to the knitting and the chatting.

We arrived in Carlisle on time, found the County Hotel booked in and went for a meal in an Italian Restaurant.

This had been a lovely day and we loved Hexham!

Tuesday 16 September

2008-09-17T19:03:00.013+01:00

This morning we had our breakfast at Morrision’s Berwick on Tweed – what a breakfast! It really set us up for the day. John, of course, had a big fry up!

The car was packed and off we went to the Border. Photos were taken of the Border as we travelled North; the photos were welcome to Scotland and Lamberton. To our horror a bus going south went passed on its way to Berwick we thought we had missed our first bus so we took the rest of our photos and went to wait at the first bus stop in England opposite New Gate Farm.

As we were waiting for the bus a lorry driver pipped us so we are not too old to have truck drivers giving us the eye.

The bus arrived a few minutes later and as we boarded the bus photos were taken and off we went. Golly! Did we get some funny looks not only from the driver who was vaguely amused but the other passengers could not understand what we were doing. We soon put them right! A lady in a pink mac obviously felt sorry for us or she waned to help the Hospice – we are very grateful to her for the £5.00 donation. Thank you!

Very soon we arrived in Berwick it only took ten minutes to travel to Berwick on Tweed from the Border and that was our first experience of local bus riding as the Twirlie Girlies. John tried to beat us into Berwick but the driver was having none of it so there are no photos of us getting off the bus in Berwick. He went home!

There was plenty of time before the next stage of our trip so we went into a lovely café called the ‘The Thistle Do Nicely’ for a coffee again people were generous and we came out with a further £6.00. Once refreshed we walked round the walls and somehow Twirlie One lost her water bottle and so has to stay dry for the rest of the trip.

Back to the bus station and again someone gave us a £1.00 which was gratefully received, Thank you, and then on to the bus for Newcastle on Tyne. The bus went via Alnwick, Morpeth and soon we arrived in Newcastle on Tyne. All the way from Berwick to Newcastle through the beautiful Northumberland countryside it rained but it did not dampen our spirits.

What a surprise – a great cheer went up as got off the bus - there to greet us was Twirlie Two’s sister, two nieces and a great niece and other members of her family. This was so important that one of Twirlie Two’s nieces left a legal meeting where the value of the contract was in the millions of pounds to come and see us. How’s that for fame? Soon she was back at work!

We had a lovely evening and then back to Travel Lodge on the Quay and went to bed very tired at 10 o’clock.

What a day!

Monday 15th September

2008-09-16T20:44:00.003+01:00

There was a lovely service at the hospice, Bill Forster presided, with the Mayoress of St Helens and the High Sheriff of Merseyside, Mrs Judith Greensmith being present.

We spoke to children from Merton Bank and St Mary’s & St Thomas about our venture. The children sang "One More Step Along the Road I Go" and "The Wheels on The Bus." They were only supposed to sing six verses but as the weather had been so bad they included another verse ‘The Wipers on the Bus Go Swish, Swish, Swish all Day Long’! There were about 70 adults and 30 children at the service and we would like to thank everyone for coming but especially all the children for coming to sing to us and making our service very special for all those who came to it. We were waved off at 12 noon and travelled up to Berwick by car, John driving. We arrived at Berwick on Tweed at 5pm, had cup of tea. Shortly after that we went to the Meadow House Last and First Pub in England. Here we had a lovely meal and the landlord allowed us to put up our publicity on his notice board. Thank you for that!

On the journey from St Helens to the Border - it rained all the way.
Ella & Helen.

And they're off....

2008-09-16T18:28:00.003+01:00

Eventually.

For all those sponsoring the number of missed buses the total is one right now. That's right. They missed the first bus. Too much gassing if you ask me. Hopefully they are in Newcastle and tucking into Supper.

P.S. Heard I missed a beautiful send off. Feel very proud to be English as well; even if I'm in the Valley of the Sun.