Pickering War Weekend

After Italy I had one training day, which was fantastic but I'm not sure how interested everyone else is in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, and then I was off again for a weekend away. And what a fantastic weekend it was! In all honesty there is not a single thing I would change or would have had differently. That weekend was indeed Pickering War Weekend!

We stayed at a nice bed and breakfast in Whitby on Friday night travelling there straight from work so that we could go straight on the train the next morning. I have to point out that I am not a train geek but there's just something so fun and different about going on the North York Moors steam train. Plus with everyone else all dressed in their forties finery it was even more nostalgic. The train was running quite late and in the end it was quite a long trip to get to Pickering but entirely worth it and the food trolley helped a lot. One of my favourite stops along the way was at Levisham or Le Visham as it was re-enacting German occupied France. When we stopped there were lots of people dressed as various German military men and they were all great at their characters. At one point an officer (correct me if I'm wrong but I don't know about military hierarchies) stormed onto the train to demand people's documents. I think it was great that Germany was represented and they certainly got lots of laughs wherever they went.

When we were at Pickering the streets were full of people and the town looked almost like a film set. Also there were lots of stalls and the local shops had gone to efforts to fit in with the theme. At the local chocolate I bought reproduction Ministry of Food chocolate and at a charity shop I bought a handbag and stockings. While outside I ummed and ahhed about getting a little suitcase and as I was holding it and faffing I got a very nice compliment from a St John's volunteer so I immediately when straight back in the shop and bought it too. An action I do not regret! There was also two girls doing hairdressing out in a pub car park and they drew such a crowd to watch the bouffs they were producing. Quite rightly too as their rolls were victorious!

After wandering all over we went for lunch at the local Primary School and it all felt very war effort; plus we were glad that our dinner money went to a good cause. We toddled back to the train station but ended up going to the pub over the road and since the trains were running so late we confidently stayed 30 minutes after the timetabled last train. When we got to the platform we only had minutes to wait before our Whitby train arrived which was a stroke of luck.

As soon as the train got in at Whitby station we made straight for the Magpie cafe since I know the waiting times can be long. The fish and chips are worth it though and when we got sat down we had two lovely tables of people either side of us. We had really good conversations with the people around us as they were very interested in our day and why we liked dressing up. It was nice that they felt comfortable enough to ask and we both enjoyed the attention and interest. I also told them about my Grandma being in the ATS and at the end of the meal the lady to my left said as she left "I think you have a book in you". What a compliment!

On Sunday we spent to day walking around Whitby and even though it's not so big we found plenty to amuse ourselves. I had my palm read which something I’ve wanted doing for a while and do you know she was spot on; I could have cried at some of the things she said. We also found a pie shop and since pie is one of our major food groups we were very excited. Imagine how much more excited we were when we went in, got sat down and realised the interior was all decorate 1940's. How fantastic is that! We fitted in perfectly and it felt like our own little time-warp dining room. To the point that when other customers came in we were saying to each other "quick! Call the police. Some chap's just come wondering into our dining room."

That evening we headed home sleepy, happy and still full of pie.