ANOTHER WEEKEND IN THE LAKES

We'd really, really needed something to look forward to.

Well, at least the Beloved had, given the monstrously busy time she's been having at work recently.

So, because we really do like to at least TRY to get up to the Lake District at around this time of the year - usually a couple of weeks later, to be fair - I went ahead and booked us in for a couple of nights at our usual Bed and Breakfast haunt to give her something to look forward to during the chaos of September.

That was the easy part.

Rather naturally, she began to "come down with something" during the week but struggled through regardless and made it to the weekend.

Meanwhile, I made it through to the end of the week by suffering my "computer crisis" on Friday and packing up with all of the consequences of that still bubbling through my mind.

I only had to return to the house once after departure, as the text message arrived asking me to go back for the Beloved's phone charger, but that was enough to kick-start a chain of events which did not put me into the calmest of moods.

As I climbed back into the car, getting filthy looks from the new neighbour for daring to park up - however briefly - outside her house, the heavens opened and the monsoon which had lurked above my house all day finally let itself go with as much force as it could muster and what with that, the terrors of negotiating the various idiots doing the "school run" without any care and attention, and a possible sighting of my long-ago "Ex" (a person whom the prospect of accidentally running into still troubles me), my mood had blackened even before I met the Beloved from her train.

This, combined with the many traffic accidents causing multiple traffic jams on the way up north, and the less than promising statement from the Beloved that all she really wanted to do was to go home and go to bed, did not make for the most promising of starts, especially as our continued delays made me wonder if we'd be able to get to our destination before the local pub had stopped serving food, and whether they would even have any tables available anyway.

Still, after our four-hour ordeal, we made it, and, whilst this weekend was not ultimately one in which the Beloved had the energy to do any "proper" fell walking, we did have a nice boat trip around a lake, a couple of hours just sitting and watching the world go by, and a lovely Saturday evening meal in a very good local restaurant, although we were troubled to discover that our favourite little tea room seemed to be no longer with us.

However, all that, combined with our meandering return on Sunday, stopping off at various towns along the way home, was pleasant enough to ensure that it did, at least, feel like a proper break and that we even managed to relax a little which is, of course, very valuable in itself, and made the whole venture seem far more worthwhile than it did at certain moments when we were sitting on the car park that calls itself our motorway network last Friday.