Sept 10. Around Milton Abbas

This morning for breakfast Aliya made us Parathas for breakfast....naan bread sort of...fried in ghee with some curried chicken. Nice flavours but very heavy at such an early hour. 

We ran around a lot today. Drove to Hardy's monument which has very good views in all directions.

I would say it is much more significant to a local than to blow-ins like us.  We also ended up in Blandford Forum where I managed to make an appointment to see a doctor late in the afternoon as I think the gout I had a couple of years ago is rearing its ugly head.  No doubt all the rich food and cider. I now have anti inflammatories to try to attenuate symptoms.  Better to knock it on the head early. No doubt things will improve when I return to my normal diet.

We went to Thomas Hardy's cottage arrived to find it closed. A bit of a bugger, but at least Ross got to see the surrounds to which all his novels relate.  Nearly came to a perilous demise as we found ourselves forced to reverse up a narrow lane to allow a big truck laden with bails of hay to pass. We inched past each other with about 10 centimetres clearance. The narrow roads have their charm but I won't miss them when we return. It's very tiring driving and having to watch EVERY CORNER AND EVERY BEND in order to avoid an accident.

After the doctor's appointment (what a dry English manner he had--I'll stick to my GP thanks) we walked around Blandford Forum and ate at an Indian restaurant which was very nice. Dorset is a beautiful county....rolling green hills and pastures, hedgerows and beautiful wood lots scattered across the countryside. The little villages are absolutely charming...but we need to remember that they were originally rural slums inhabited by wretchedly poor agricultural labourers. Nowadays one would have to be quite wealthy if you wished to own one. It's all rather ironic I think.

Tomorrow we'll be spending a few hours with John (pianos) and we'll see what else the days brings us.