Chester

We arrived in Chester just after 6 p.m and checked into our hotel (which was a Holiday Inn Express). We showered and changed as we were meeting Amanda and Linda at 7 p.m (they drove over from Manchester to see us). We all went out to dinner at a hotel called The Crowne Plaza. The meal was lovely and it was really nice catching up with them. I have known Amanda since we were about 2 years old and we've grown up together and even though she moved to England when we were 9, we've always kept in touch. I think it's lovely to stay in touch with friends, especially as the older I get, I don't seem to establish as solid friendships as I had when I was younger. Is that just me?! Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent as I do when I talk, so back to the trip. Amanda dropped us back at our hotel just after 9.30 p.m and we were both so tired that we went straight to bed.

In the morning Penri was supposed to be at work at 10 a.m so we started getting ready about 9 o'clock. Penri needed to go down to the car to get his suit out and asked me where the car keys were. I didn't know so we both started looking. Well, we turned the room upside down and I emptied and re-packed the suitcases and the hand luggage and I must have emptied my handbag at least 3 times - they were nowhere to be seen! Penri went to look if he'd dropped them outside and to check if the car was still there. The car was in the car park but there was no sign of the keys.

We went through the options - they could be in the restaurant where we had dinner or Amanda's car. So, I called Linda at home as I knew Amanda would be working and I didn't have a contact number for her at work. Amanda checked and she found them on the back seat of her car (so Penri's keys were in Manchester 45 minutes drive from where we were). By now it was approaching 10 o'clock and obviously Penri couldn't go to work as he had nothing smart to wear. He called the office and explained the situation and re-arranged his meeting for 2 p.m. We then had to decide the best course of action:
1. Take a train to Manchester to pick up the keys (but with no guarantee we'd be back in time for his meeting);
2. Go to Chester and buy a new suit, shirt and tie (this would cost a lot and we'd still have to figure out a way to get the keys back as Pen had to work in York the following morning);
3. Get a courier to pick up the keys from Amanda and bring them over to us (seemed like the best option).

So, a few phone calls and 65 quid later, we were told the keys would be delivered by 1 p.m which would give us enough time for Pen to get changed and go to work. We extended our check out as long as possible, which was until 1 o'clock so it seemed to work out nicely ... or so you would think ...

At 1.15 p.m there was no sign of the driver so Pen called the company to see what was going on. Apparently, the driver had got lost and phoned the hotel. The receptionist told him he had the wrong hotel as there was no-one waiting (she was so stupid - Penri had told her twice!) Anyway, because the driver couldn't find us, he had started heading back to Manchester! Penri was obviously really annoyed so he called the company AGAIN.

The driver finally arrived at 1.58 p.m. Penri got changed in the car park and raced off to work. I took the bus and went into Chester. I had arranged to meet an old school friend, Lucy. I haven't seen her since we were 18 years old and living in Doha. Ten years and yet she had hardly changed. We had a really nice time catching up and talking about "the good old days". I left Lucy at 5.30 to get a bus back to meet Penri so we could drive to York.

Me and Lucy