A different type of holiday – Painting in York
If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you’ll know that we’ve met some fascinating folks on our travels. Richard and Jenny are some of these folks. We first met them in Estonia, and caught up several times through Finland, topping out at Nordkapp in Norway with them and then meeting up again earlier this year in Southern Spain. The nature of our wandering lives means that we often find ourselves in different countries to our travelling friends, and while Skype etc do help, it’s not the same as a catch up face to face.
Feeling at a bit of a loose end after our week away in Staithes, we got in touch with Richard and Jenny and arranged to visit them at their home in York. They’re currently busy converting what had become a shop back into a homely cottage, no small undertaking, but planned to stop work when we visited. We had other ideas. We were visiting to see them, and we could do that anywhere – even over a few litres of paint. So we packed up our DIY clothes and headed north.
It was fantastic to see the three of them again (can’t forget Carling, their pooch) and strangely it was great to spend some time doing some practical work and seeing results as rooms went from plaster pink to white. It was also fascinating to see what they had done to the property – moving stairs, moving windows, shifting the kitchen and bathrooms, building walls and driveways, pretty much everything – and how much of it they were undertaking themselves.
They had Jay at ‘nail gun’!
Of course it wasn’t all work. We were thoroughly spoiled by Richard and Jenny who put us up in their house in York, fed us like kings and took us on a tour of their local drinking establishments. They also ferried us to the vets when Charlie wasn’t doing so well, and dog-sat him so we could go out and explore York. I haven’t visited the city for years and it was great to have a wander around and take in the sights. We also took a trip to the National Railway Museum to see Tim Peake’s spacecraft – a rather humbling experience when you think what the lump of metal in front of you has been through.
York Minster in the cold February sunshine
Walking the walls of York
Tim Peake’s spacecraft in the National Railway Museum, York
Sadly, we had to cut our visit a bit short due to the ‘beast from the east’ threatening to cover our route home in snow drifts. As we left, Jenny handed us a bag of Easter eggs, beers and ciders as a thank you (they know us so well). Their friends and family thought we were strange to be there painting their house, but to us it seemed perfectly normal. Financial freedom has given us time, and what better way to use it then helping our friends? On the way back home we talked about what a nicer place the world would be if more people had the time to be able to help others. We were buzzing when we got back, having had a few days with some good friends and feeling a sense of achievement at having done some useful work.
Ju x
Bonus Pic –
Loved this guys sandal/tiger boots
All your help was greatly appreciated. You worked like troopers AND I had not realised you left booze!
Looking forward to seeing you again.
R & J
xx
We left booze?! We’re on our way back! ;)
Hi we’re prepping in readiness for our second ‘longer trip’ (did 6 weeks in Europe a couple of years ago), but leave at Easter for about four months taking in mid-France (Lyon/Rhône/Ardeche) to avoid the need for winter tyres/snow chain; riviera to northern Italy/Tuscany; Amalfi Coast; Bari to Patra; mooch around the area and Lefkada; Albania, Montenegro and Croatian Coasts before heading back up to Lake Como region and onwards home. Just wondered if you had any ‘must see’ places/sites we should add to our list and tips on travel/overnighting there. Hopefully that’s not too much of a big ask but don’t worry if it is. Thanks for your inspiration. Take care
Wow. It sounds like you have a fantastic trip ahead of you. There are so many amazing places to see and everyone likes different things, so I would be loathed to recommend anything. In the past we’ve visited ‘must sees’ only to be a bit underwhelmed by them – perhaps they had simply been built up too much! We tend to grab an old rough guide or lonely planet (from the charity shop as not much changes) and pick out what we want to see from them, and talk to other folks you meet. We have found out about great events etc from local knowledge and fellow travellers. Have an amazing time. Ju x