Monday Evening, June 21st At 1 Welcome Cottage

It's a week later and I'm back home in Canada trying to recover from the jet lag and an ankle that I sprained on Wednesday evening.  My ankles are not the strongest which is why I wear boots most of the time.  And the one time, after 6 weeks in England, that I wear shoes, I go over on my ankle.

Anyhoo..........

I took a taxi from Oxted up to Woldingham arriving at 1 Welcome Cottage for 7pm.  John Odlin had supper cooking away nicely - some beautiful venison steaks, new potatoes, and veggies.  We sat outside at his large picnic table, a glass of red wine in hand while we introduced ourselves and got to know each other.

 John had been a helicopter pilot for 40 years travelling to all parts of the world before retiring about 10 years ago.  An avid hunter, he had many stories to tell about his trips and travels.  For me, it was nostalgia time as I was only 6 years old the last time I had been in this house.  The house had much changed, of course, and John had nicely landscaped the property with gardens, sculpture, and a garden shed at the back.

Just as we were sitting down to eat our supper, his friend, Rodney Fuller came in the side gate with a new friend, Peter.  John and Rodney are hunting buddies who have gone on many safaris to Africa together.  They were planning to do the same next October and were trying to convince Peter to come with them.  Having seen the trophies John had mounted on his wall, I added my two pence worth to convince Peter to go with them.

It turns out that Rodney's family has been farming down the hill from 1 Welcome Cottage, Woldingham since 1898!  So there is a good probability that either, Rodney, his father, or both of them delivered milk to my grandparents when they lived here.  Small world, eh!? (Rodney on the left, John on the right.)

I have photos of my father when he was stationed in Woldingham but can't determine the location of the properties.  I promised to send copies of the photos to Rodney and to enlist his aid in identifying the locations.

After some good food, good company, good cigars (I was tempted but didn't), and good conversation, it was time to head back to my B&B.  John drove me back to Oxted where we said our good-byes, promising to stay in touch for the future. 

It was indeed a most enjoyable evening and a superb way to finish up my 6-week stay in England!

Tomorrow we make our way to Heathrow Airport and back home to Canada.