Last week I had a few days away, with a lady friend of mine who lives in Sheffield, and in this story she will be referred to as Merryn

Anyway my step daughter Emma took me to St Austell where I caught one of Sir Richard Branson’s voyager trains to Birmingham and then caught the train to Leicester where I had some business to deal with.  I got on the train and found my seat, then I needed to spend a penny so I thought before we get moving I will go, so I found the toilet and done my business, but I did the unforgivable thing when I went in there I didn’t check how to get out, I should have asked someone before I went in there which button it was to release the door, when I went to get out I thought the switch would be in the same place as on the Richard Branson trains but it wasn’t it seem to over in the corner which I found strange, I began to panic and hit the door several times shouting let me out let me out, but in the end I was forced to press the red button with the train still in the station, soon I heard voices saying its ok we will get you out. The door opened and stood in front of me were 4 railway staff of which 2 were railway police, they seen I had my white stick and said it was alright, but I think this is a lesson to every one, if you have got poor sight check how to get out even if you have to ask someone. Soon I was off to Leicester done my business and about 8 o clock at night leave Leicester station bound for Sheffield, I travelled on one of these new revamped inter city 125 s it was  the roughest ride I had ever ridden on in my life ( and this coming from a man who spent a great deal of time at sea fishing on the north Cornwall coast ) it was like riding on a stone crusher the wheels were bang bang bang  and every thing inside of me was moving around, I remember thinking at the time that you wouldn’t need to buy all those expensive pills and medicines for constipation just take a ride on a new revamped inter city 125, one good thing though there was plenty of room on board it was like a 747 jumbo it would carry a lot of passengers. Personally I prefer the trains that carry more passengers to the ones that are luxurious like the voyagers but that’s just my view.

Ok now I get to Sheffield, and get a Taxi I gave him the address and said do you know where this is, he said yes, I think he tried it on a bit because we seem to go all over Sheffield, so I said to him I think you must be lost let me phone my friend no he said I think its up here, we went up this road and he found it. Finally I was with Merryn

Let me tell you a little bit about Merryn.  Merryn is a few years younger than me she’s not far of 70 but she would easily pass for 60 not an ounce of weight on her, I think she is probably a size 10 she’s tiny.  She reminds me of a school mistress she doesn’t let me out of her sight if she had a set of babies reigns she would have put them on me, and I certainly wouldn’t have answered her back for fear of a scalding. She had a wonderful house it was a lovely house to sleep in, so cosy.

In the morning we went up to the baths and we swam, well Merryn swam I just floated and relaxed but Merryn swam all the time, she is a keep fit fanatic and she has a lot of stamina and strength it was great. I do love city life, but only for a day or two no more than that. Then we went to downtown Sheffield Merryn went to have her hair done and I wandered around the town on my own, While she was in having her hair done I felt free to wander everywhere it felt like a horse that had his gate left open and I started wandering but I kept looking behind in case she was keeping an eye on me.

Sheffield city centre is a great place I had no problem finding  places, getting around, in and out of shops, I needed to go to Lloyds bank I asked Merryn where it was she said she didn’t know, she said there’s 100s of banks so I said I am going into this bank here ( I think it was the Yorkshire bank or the bank of Sheffield ) and ask for directions to the Lloyds bank so I said would you give me permission to go in and ask she said no I wont, well I thought bu**er  it I’m going in anyway so I did ,Merryn waited outside, the girl had to go and ask the manager if they could tell me and they did, on the way there Merryn said your not crossing those tram lines by yourself you will be knocked over and killed I’ll come with you it is dangerous, she looked after me a lot better this time than ever she did. We had to catch a bus back to Merryn’s house and as we were nearing the bus stop the bus was already there we started to run, I got up a bit of speed and passed her like a long dog,(that’s an old Cornish saying)and caught the bus just in time, I thought I would have a bit of fun with her and I said, I thought you were a fitness fanatic but when we were running for the bus I passed you with ease she lifted her leg up and said I would like to see you run in a pair of these and she showed he her stiletto heals, we both laughed. That night we all went out for a meal I started telling them all the stories of things we did and talked about in the crib hut back at St Eval I can tell you a lot of what I said  was a bit naughty, I could tell that they weren’t use to such tales by there faces I don’t know if I will be aloud back there again, but Merryn didn’t seem to mind these stories, she said I do hope something exciting happens in my life so I said when you come to Cornwall I will make sure something exciting will happen for you and she has met the right person to do that.

Well I had a fantastic time she looked after me and for the first time in all my travels I didn’t want to come home, I have never said that before. I don’t know what you want to read into that.

Well I got on the train and in 6 hours I was back home in my house I rang Merryn, and told her what a wonderful time I had, and that I didn’t want to leave and she said that she didn’t want me to leave.

She is coming down for the carnival I told her that I couldn’t wait but that she couldn’t have to many visits, maybe only six days she said why, and I said because I cant stand the pain when you leave each time, she laughed, I didn’t have any trouble in making Merryn laugh, and she made me laugh with her strict regime.

Well that was my few days away. No doubt you will be hearing more of Merryn in the future, I know you will    

Well as I was coming home on the train, I met a lovely girl we got chatting  and I said to her what do you do for a living, she told me that she was at college and that she was learning to make jewellery, well we talked a lot about jewellery, because I could have written a book about the superstition of jewellery but I never got around to it I talked to her about all the knowledge I had picked up about jewellery and I hope that some of it was useful to her, well I ended up telling her fortune and I told her that she would live in Cornwall one day and that she would have her own shop in Falmouth  but that I wouldn’t be alive to see it, but I must tell my grandchildren about this girl who has lovely black hair who is going to take the jewellery world by storm , she got off the train at Birmingham and I carried on my way.

 I will probably never see her again.