Dad has had a good weekend, with a trip to Cromford mill, bought some wool at weaveknitit and Then Sunday lunch at my house. Coming from his house to my house seems to get longer and longer for Dad. He was convinced it would take Mum an hour to get here. So they timed it, 16mins.

They came for Sunday dinner armed with a German bottle of wine from which Dad has often visited with winster morris. He was worried that it was wine and not milk for cups of tea, but then he seemed very interested in what the wine might taste like and if he would like it.

He then whittled about the bottle of wine he had given me, had I got it, can we drink it, do we have more.

He was concerned on how far Cromford was from my house.

“It must be miles and miles? Have we got time to go?”

“Dad it will take us 5 minutes”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, shall we time it?”

“What time is it really?” He looks at his watch. He is not sure what time it is now. We work out which hand is the minute hand. I tell him the time and we set off, Dad is watching his wrist watch very carefully. He is very surprised to find it actually takes 4 minutes.

Dad remembers coming here before. He decides to walk up to the aqueduct and over the bridge. He activates the cog system and the pulleys. He talks about the waterwheels, but doesn't remember undershot and overshot.

He then whittled about the bottle of wine he had given me, had I got it, can we drink it, do we have more. Maybe we should go home to check that it is there.

I go to buy some lovely yarn from weaveknitit, while Mum is with Dad looking at the water. Dad is confused that I have gone missing. Mum has to go into the shop to make sure I am still there. He peers over a stand of wool to find me.

“Hello”

An old neighbour of Dads, from the house I grew up in, has the bookshop in the mill. Dad does remember him from last time we came to his bookshop to get some Christmas presents, but does not remember that he was his neighbour back in Winster for a number of years.

Mum has a chat in the bookshop while Dad and I wander back to the car. Dad worries where Mum is.

“She is the oldest you know”

“Dad she is 5 years younger than you”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Dad”, I ask how old was I, maybe a dangerous question. He answers by adding 10 whole years onto my age! His age is approximately 30 years younger than it really is.

Mum appears from the bookshop.

“look there she is with two handles” says Dad in relief, I have to check what he means by handles, he is referring to her two walking sticks, you do have to be able to interpretative Dads words sometimes!

We come home for a cuppa, and a rest.

I get the bottle of wine he has been talking about all day to show him that we have got it and that we could open it if he wanted to try it.

He checks out the label. He reads the bit warning against drinking and driving.

“Well that's sensible advice. How can you drink with a wine glass in your hand while driving, you will spill all the wine.”

Looking at the pictures of the German visit dad saw the same bottle of wine that he had bought.

“Look you have 2 now, so I can have one back.”

He wasn't convince that having a bottle of wine in a picture was different from having one on the table in front of you.

My husbands Mum and uncle came. We have a lamb roast sunday dinner with red wine too! Cheesecake for afters. And a game of Pass the Pig.

Dad decided it was time to go by 3.30. His hand started to wring together anxiously. He was distracted by lighting the fire. His gas lighter is better than ours

A cuppa stretched it out a bit too. By 4.30 he was desperate to get home. So off they went.

Life can be full of laughs if you just take the time and patience to enjoy it.