Holy contraceptives

Mum has a small house and very kindly lets us sleep in her bedroom whilst she moves to something smaller in another room. Being a staunch Roman Catholic, the room is full of religious artifacts, crucifixes, statues et al, which kind of puts you off your stroke if you are feeling in the slightest bit amorous. I presume it's a type of Catholic contraception. Anyway it bloody works!

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First stop today was Knaresborough. A delightful market town where mum has her doctor's surgery. As a note of warning, never offer my mother a lift anywhere, it will take the rest of the day. On to Harrogate where, between them, mum and Jan achieved 2 hours of shopping, I hung around whilst they 'popped' into shops and, other than boredom, I achieved absolutely nothing. Now usually I don't mind shopping but my mother tests every kind fibre in my body to breaking point. When will I ever learn? Anyway, I had another bite of the cherry this afternoon and managed to buy Jan's forthcoming birthday present.

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Out to the theatre tonight to see Alan Bennet's, Talking Heads. Harrogate Theatre opened in 1900 as Harrogate Grand Opera House and, over the years, has been visited by many famous old actors, Sarah Bernhardt, Isadora Duncan, Henry Irving, Herbert Beerbohm Tree and even Charlie Chaplin. It has a charming Victorian auditorium and only seats 500 people. The play was well performed and was very entertaining, albeit in a very gentle northern humoured way. The test for me, with anything like this, is whether I fall asleep or not. I stayed awake.