18th August Happy Valley: Not the TV series


So here we are safely esconced in our lovely Air B&B for the next few days, literally a stones throw from the centre of all the action in downtown Harrogate and its very expensive shops. Having done our Youtube homework before we came, after a quick 30 mins during which time we managed to transform a spotless apartment into something that looked as if it were home to squatters, we set off under what was by now a beautiful blue sky to explore the delights of Agatha Christie's once secret hideaway. 

Well when I say explore what I really mean is to hit the Tourist Information and then have a sedate saunter and sit in the Valley gardens just soaking up the sun and admiring the scenery. A beautiful technicolour gardens that could really teach the YSP something about the appropriate provision and placement of benches! It was just nice to be 'away' doing something different from the usual routine that we have both found ourselves in for the past 16 months. 

And that different included a trip to 'Spoons' for tea, my first venture inside one of Mr Martin's venerable establishments since the pandemic started, this one being the old Winter Gardens. Now whether it was our memories playing tricks, the effects of Brexit or just bad luck but neither of us thought that our fish and chips was upto the standards we were used to in our frequent pre lockdown visits. Less chips, more batter than fish and a portion of mushy peas that required as much imagination as we needed for the installations at the YSP to work out if it was animal, vegetable or mineral catagores.

At the time of going to press no toys have yet been thrown out of the pram although the temper tantrum tactical team remain at a state of full alert.

 

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