Well second hand new! As we are staying at Aston marina (Stone) for 5 months we thought it would be a good idea to buy a car to have a look around the countryside and visit friends and relos etc. We had a look around at a lot of crap before we found what we hope will be a nice reliable little motor. We brought the car from 'Arthur Daley motors' in Crewe; I don't think they were too happy that I wanted the a/c fixed, but fix it they did, although it took them a week!
We caught a train from Stone to Crewe on Friday evening, 'Terry' picked us up at the station and took us back to the dealer where we handed over the hard-earned and away we went! It took us about 50 mins to drive it back to the marina; I would have to say it performed like a new car - early days though - it is a 9 year old car so we will see, but it is in an immaculate condition for its age. We are driving to Kent next week so that will be a good test for it.
This afternoon we walked down to Stone to go the the Food and Drink festival ... bit of a problem though as it turned out they didn't allow dogs - plus they were charging 6 quid each entry fee!
We caught a train from Stone to Crewe on Friday evening, 'Terry' picked us up at the station and took us back to the dealer where we handed over the hard-earned and away we went! It took us about 50 mins to drive it back to the marina; I would have to say it performed like a new car - early days though - it is a 9 year old car so we will see, but it is in an immaculate condition for its age. We are driving to Kent next week so that will be a good test for it.
This afternoon we walked down to Stone to go the the Food and Drink festival ... bit of a problem though as it turned out they didn't allow dogs - plus they were charging 6 quid each entry fee!
So we went for a walk around Stone instead as the monthly Farmers' Market was also on in the town centre - plus a couple of pubs !
The Star (below) is right on the canal and a super little spot to sit in the sun.
I was in the bar, when I noticed a nice painting of a Spitfire (The Star of Stone). Apparently during WW2 the drinkers of the pub plus the residents of Stone raised enough money...£5000, to buy a Spitfire. It was handed over to a RAF 331 Squadron (Norwegian) based out of North Weald - unfortunately the plane was shot down within a year over the Channel, killing the pilot
We had a walk around the market and bought a big supply of magnificent olives - then we found a nice cafe-set up in the town square, so we had a bite to eat there ...
On our way back toward the tow path to walk back we thought it would be rude not to stop in at the Swan, which is a really great, no frills pub, no rug-rats and doggy friendly - a great place to finish off Saturday arvo. We never went for a casual drink Saturday arvo back in Oz, it just wasn't done but we really enjoyed it today, it seems to be an accepted part of the culture....we like it.
We walked back to the boat as the sun was setting, the marina looked quite stunning in the late light ...
We walked back to the boat as the sun was setting, the marina looked quite stunning in the late light ...
Tomorrow we are popping up to Macc to catch up with Elaine's Dad, Brother, Nephew and our Friends ... busy day !
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