Lovely day out.

Hi Friends.

Early old start to our day today. Keith had an appointment with the Advanced Nurse Practitioner. He had a Cholesterol blood test last week and the results were in. His level was higher than they like, so she wanted to talk about the options. We had to be there for 7.30 am, so were up at 6 am to get the boat jobs done before leaving. Paddy was less than impressed with having to get out of bed that early and yet Marmite was just pleased she got fed early.
The visit to the medical center was fine. His Cholesterol is slightly higher than the 5 or below they like, and so we have decided with her help to change a couple of things in Keith's diet. Both of us eat a pretty healthy diet and we do plenty of exercise. We do not smoke or drink is excess, so both of us are going to cut down on the sweets and crisps and see if that helps. The nurse was not to worried and has said she will do the test again sometime next year.
Back home on the boat, we decided to catch the bus to Coventry. We managed to cross the Birmingham road outside of the middle gate of the Arm. Luckily the peak time of the morning rush hour was almost at an end. We walked up St. Michael's Road to catch the X17 bus.
Whilst waiting for the bus, a taxi passed by on the other side of the road and I clocked him talking on his mobile phone. He also saw that I had seen him, and so quickly put his phone down. Grrrrrrrrrr what is it with people. Leave your flippen phone alone whilst driving. Do you really want to kill someone, is this your desire? Mobile phones should be banned in cars, or the manufacturers need to come up with a way of disabling phones in cars, when on the move.
Ok rant over back to going to Coventry. The bus arrived pretty much on time. Keith goes for free with his bus pass, but it cost me £8.60, which was a bit of shock, because we both thought it was a lot less than that. Still I handed over the money and we did a country tour by bus. The X17 goes all around the houses, through Leamington-Spa and Kenilworth, before it reaches Coventry. The joy of this was I got to see all the Christmas lights on peoples houses and in the towns. First place we went to was a Wetherspoon's for a cup of tea. We always like a cuppa before we begin shopping.

Coventry is in a very festive mood, with its lights up and a festive market going on with music and a fun fair.

You cannot but help feel festive when you see this and hear people singing Christmas Carols. We walked past a bank and there were a group of school children singing and signing carols, which was so lovely. The reason for visiting Coventry was not just for the festive feel, I wanted to go to Wilkinson's for new heads for our tooth brushes. We use their battery brushes and buy replacement heads. I do not see the point in paying for expensive electric/battery brushes. Some of the ones we have seen are as much as £50 to over £100, which is mad. We have used the Wilkinson's brushes for years and our teeth are really good. So tooth brush heads bought and a nosey around the store. We then headed off into Primark, where I bought there 80 denier tights. They are good quality and for £3.50 for three pairs last for ages. I wanted blue and black ones. I know many people do not like Primark for different reasons, but you cannot beat their prices and their quality. With living and working on a boat, it does not pay to buy expensive clothing, so Primark is great for that. Poundland we got our batteries from and then we went to The Red Panda, Chinese Buffet for lunch. It is not as good as our favourite one in Leamington-Spa, but it was adequate for what we wanted. 

After lunch, we went for a further stroll around the shops and then around the Cathedrals. To get into the modern Cathedral it is £6 an adult, so we gave that a miss, but you can look through the huge glass windows and doors. The old Cathedral is free to wander around.

In previous visits to the Cathedral, it has been shrouded in scaffolding, because of renovation work taking place. But today it was completely open and looking fabulous in the sunshine. St Michael's, a 14th-century Gothic church was designated a cathedral. It remains a ruined shell after its bombing during the Second World War. The new Cathedral, which stands along side the ruin, is also called St Michael's. The new cathedral was consecrated on 25 May 1962, and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, composed for the occasion, was premiered in the new cathedral on 30 May to mark its consecration. 

This cheeky Squirrel was being hand fed by some visitors. It made sure the pigeons did not get any food, by chasing them off at every opportunity, it was really funny to watch. 

We had a lovely day in Coventry, but all to soon it was time to catch the X17 bus back. We decided on route that we could catch the bus back to the Warwick bus station and then catch the G1 bus, which would drop us outside the middle gate at the Arm, this would save us having to walk down St Michael's road and having problems crossing, with it being late in the day, the road is a nightmare to cross. Back home and mog and dog were very happy to see us both. Marmite gave me the fifth degree, she wanted to know, where we had been and had we bought her anything. Paddy just stood wagging his tall, he is a dog of very few words. Mind you with Marmite around he would not get a woof in anyway. 

With us still being full from our lunch, neither of us needed any dinner, so I just made us a coffee before putting my feet up.

A fabulous day was had by us both.