Instalment 7

York on Thursday August 12

We were over hot breakfasts so had cereal, yoghurt and buns and jam instead; there's only so many hash browns you can eat before they begin to taste like cardboard.

I think Gibbo would have preferred to stay back at the hotel and rest his weary bones but I'd booked and paid for the trip to York before we left so he came along. Plus, I've travelled all this way to watch him play cricket; the least he could do was humor me and do some sightseeing.

After a 40 minute bus ride we arrived and followed our guide to the Boat Ride. We sat up the top and went up and down the river in the pouring rain and sunshine! We quickly put our panchos on; Gibbo wanted to go downstairs but I wanted to stay; you have to experience everything I told him. He just looked at me blankly and shook his head. Rain dripped off the hoods of the panchos; it dribbled down our backs and formed in a pool on our seats. The ride took about 45 minutes then we followed our guide while she showed us where lunch was to be. Then we were free until 4pm.

We found a Collectables Fair and wandered about. I found some pennies from the years of birth of the Brewer family (except Mate's 1935). Gibbo bought a hip flask and three prints of bulls and a butcher shop.

We had a quick lunch at The Pitcher and Piano before making our way through The Shambles, the old part of town, with cobbled streets and overhanging buildings.

From there we walked to York Minster, the massive cathedral that dominates the skyline. We went inside and hid from the rain; we lit a candle each then sat in the chapel to rest his weary knees.

We went and had a pot of tea in a nice little tearoom with blankets on the seats and talked to a couple and their dog, Billy.

As we headed back to catch the bus home we spied a sign that said you could hire self drive boats. Gibbo looked at me and grinned; I had a violent flashback to our trip on the houseboat and ran away, screaming.

Gib snored all the way home and I had to keep digging him in the ribs to wake him up.

We'd planned on having a light dinner but then Tracey rang and asked if we wanted to go to Cattlemans Corner for dinner so we did. Gibbo had a t-bone and I ate a whole rack of pork ribs. He couldn't believe I ate the whole lot; they were delicious and I chewed the bones.