Saturday 23 August 2008

Bath sharing with friends - a dream of a day



Today's tale is a story half told. A day that had been planned and looked forward to for months. A day full of anticipation, weather watching, sightseeing, cake eating, tea drinking, chatting and, most of all, friendship.



I visited Bath twenty years ago whilst I was still a student, I remember its beauty, the grandeur of its buildings and very little else. This week I visited Bath with my family, saw once again its beauty and experienced its great charm, this time however, I was lucky enough to share it with lovely new friends. Yes the Ragged Roses got to meet The Custard Clan on their home turf.



Way back in the spring when the sun still shone and summer was a sunny dream on the horizon, Mrs Custard managed to squeeze a few hours with us on a whistlestop trip to the south coast and we had been hoping to reciprocate ever since. This blogging business is a funny thing isn't it, we strike up friendships, we share our daily news and hopes and sometimes, if we're really lucky we get to meet the people who have become part of our lives. I don't know what I'd do without my daily banter with Mrs Custard, how strange to have struck such a deep friendship at the other side of the country with somebody who I have only met once before.



So there we were on a very wet Monday morning being greeted by the very lovely Mr C at Bath station. Five minutes later we're all sitting around the kitchen table, drinking tea, eating the most scrummy cakes and acting as if we'd known each other a life time, conversations continued that started in the ether and ended next to an Aga, how surreal is that?



As we walked around Bath with our wonderful hosts I have to say that whilst I noticed the beautiful golden stone of the buildings, the seemingly endless beauty of the Georgian buildings and my daughters floated around the magnificent Assembly Rooms with imaginary fans and parasols in their hands, it all felt very surreal.



We had been transported into another world, a world that we had had glimpses of through blog posts, a world that strangely resembled the Jane Austen novels that we love.



At the end of the very long day when we returned home, it felt a bit as if it were a dream, hazy beautiful memories, time slipping through our fingers, conversations peppering the day and most of all the warmth and kindness of our hosts and friends.

32 comments:

Amanda and Tim said...

Oh how wonderful it al sounds! I'm glad you had such a lovely day - I've not met any bloggers in person but have met many "online friends" from a forum I frequent and am at a loss this year because our yearly meet isn't going ahead. It really is quite strange when we meet people for the first time having known so much about them before that!

silverpebble said...

I read about this at Mrs Custard's too - so great to read about bloggy meet ups like this. Wonderful that you had such a good day - lovely pictures...and words

ginny said...

how wonderful Kim for you both. So pleased you all had a lovely day. isn't blogging amazing?!!!
hope you enjoy the rest of your holidays.
with love
ginny x

Elizabethd said...

Bath is one of my favourite cities. When we lived in England I used to go up to Bath often, it is a city like no other.
I wonder if you have ever been to the American Quilt museum just outside Bath? Or maybe thats another visit!

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

Dear Kim...
I knew that you would do our day real justice and you have.. you have said so eloquently.. what I failed to say.. It was a very special day with our very special friends... thank you for making that epic journey to our doorstep..
Your place or mine next time ??

D xx

Tracy said...

Sooo wonderful...thank you for sharing your story, Kim! Bath is one of the great many beauty spots in the UK...dream of going back there oneday :o) Happy weekend ((HUGS))

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing that story, so happy you had a wonderful day.
Have a good weekend
Diane

Gina said...

What a wonderful day you had - sounds divine. It is years since I've been to Bath - such a beautiful city.

Garden Girl said...

ahh, sounds like a fabulous day out for the Roses and Custards, glad you had a lovely day.
I too am incredibly lucky to have met some of my fellow bloggers as well as struck up firm friendships with people I am yet to meet but bound to one day, (you included, Roses!)xx

Gill said...

Hi Kim,
It's so nice to hear when blog friends meet in the real world, and what a wonderful day you had. Sounds like you're friends for life, I'm sure it won't be too long until the next get together. What I've enjoyed most about blogging is communicating with like-minded people, we all have friends but they don't necessarily share the same interests so it's good to waffle on about the latest boot sale find or recipe and know that someone out there "gets" it!
I visited Bath as a child so didn't appreciate it really, hope to go again someday.
Enjoy the weekend.
Gill x

meggie said...

What a lovely post. It is always so good to spend time with friends- no matter how we found them.

This Vintage Life... said...

How lovely to have made a friendship through blogging...long may it continue.

Sal said...

What a wonderful day for you!
It's so nice to put faces to blog names.I'm really looking forward to doing that in Nov!;-)

Niki Fretwell said...

How lovely for your two familie's Kim. And such a beautifully written post. (Of course I know that Bath is a dreamy place! ;-))

Have a great Bank Holiday,
Niki

Cape Cod Washashore said...

Sounds like you've had a beautiful time with the Custards! All these events sound like the basis for a new British TV series... "The Raggeds and The Custards!"

hugs! =)

periwinkle said...

Isn't it amazing just what lovely people you meet with this blogging - I know I'd be lost now without my friends. Glad you all had a lovely day
lisa x

Ali said...

Bloggy meet ups do have the most surreal dream-like quality don't they? Happy days.

Cassie said...

Your pictures are beautiful! I'm glad you had such a lovely visit.

Sea Angels said...

Hello Kim, your beautiful post ..it is the magic of frienship, two souls on the same path, dreams that join like clouds...seamless...precious moments and memories that will last forever.....
Stories like this make my heart soar.( and bring tears to my eyes, lovely)
Hugs to both of you
Lynn xxxx

Twiggy said...

How lovely, I'd love to visit Bath, I've only ever driven through it on the way to somewhere else! It's great to meet bloggy friends isn't it? we spent some time in Anglesey with lovely Vicky @ Anglesey Allsorts and her family. As you say it's funny how close you are to someone and yet you don't spend that much time with each other in real life. The bloggy community is a very lovely one indeed.
Twiggy x

Heidi said...

I love Bath! So much so that I hope to go again one day soon. We find it so magical a place that it is worth the ferry to England followed by a trip across the country. I think your time there must have been heightened by the friendships with Mr and Mrs C. It is great to make friends through blogs as we get to know them as a person without all the human pitfalls of our visual judgements. Then we already know them so well by the time we actually do meet them in real life if we are fortunate enough to do so. I have a blogging friend like that met through my handwork blog and she even lives in the same city as I. We would never of had our paths cross otherwise. Funny world, isn't it. Glad you had such a wonderful day!

Hugs ~
Heidi

Margaret Cloud said...

I am glad you had such a magical time, it is so nice to have friends that can create this for you, I am glad for you. Yes I to have met friends through blogging including you and hope it does go on.

Country Cottage Chic said...

It's wonderful to meet up isn't it? Such a pity you can't make the fair.

Betty said...

How wonderful that you could spend time together in such a historic city and then write your own history there.

Wayfaring Wanderer said...

Now that sounds like a lovely visit! What a picturesque city :)

tea time and roses said...

I so dream of one day visiting these far away places...so beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing this lovely story! You and your family have a beautiful week!

Smiles...

Beverly

Thimbleanna said...

Oh how exciting! It all sounds so wonderful and now you're making me sorry that we didn't take time to visit Bath on our last trip! How fun to have had a blog get-together!

Pondside said...

I'd love to visit Bath. We once lived very near to Baden-Baden and I wonder if the two cities are similar. How nice that you were able to connect with new friends and enjoy such a pleasant time. I loved your illustrations!

Louise said...

Michele's home turf looks fabulous, Michele always sounds fabulous, the whole event must have been fabulous! Did you make acquaintance with Mr Pickles? x

Anonymous said...

You just can't beat Bath for a darned good day out, especially in the company of friends. I used to live in the centre Bath when I was in my twenties and it turned out I lived just around the corner from Mrs Custard - it's a small world!

Selfsewn said...

Hi Kim loving your blog.
I have received the 'tree of happiness' award, I've chosen your blog as one of my favs to pass it on.
Clare

Louise said...

Aren't blog meets the best. I always feel like I belong to some kind of special club filled with super lovely people. Lucky you to have such a nice day in Bath. A place I would love to return to one day!