The fraping of Fee-I-ona, & Esk Fest 2016

The day after our wild trip to Whitehaven, I lost my voice entirely, and Rachel's hearing wasn't too good. I think for me, it was a message from the universe that I shouldn't sing Dolly Parton so loud (or indeed sing at all). For Rachel, I suspect it was the universe's way of protecting her ears for sweeter sounds in the future. Either way, it made communication interesting for a few days. I couldn't speak, Rachel couldn't hear, so we reverted to elaborate hand gestures (inappropriate hand gestures in Rachel's case), and interpretative dance. Rachel did have an alternative theory for my lack of voice, though. She reckons that my thyroid has grown back, mutated, and is now pressing on my windpipe. "You'll have to tell your doctor that you need more radioactive stuff, K! Or just go and drink some sea water near Selafield." Meanwhile, Mick wandered around serenely, commenting on how lovey and peaceful the world is. 

On to more serious matters - the fraping of Fee-I-ona. It started off fairly mildly. An amiable post about how much she loves Rachel and I. But she didn't learn her lesson - she left her Facebook logged on, again. What happened next was for her own good - although I'm not sure she has actually noticed yet. There's no doubt who she will blame though, when she realises that she has inadvertently proclaimed to the world that she's getting the Icelandic football team's badge tattooed on her left butt cheek.

The weekend saw one of the events of the valley year so far. Esk Fest 2016 was being staged at the Woolpack - a two day music festival, organised by the amazing Tom-Tom. Mick was due to be playing the fiddle with his folk band, until disaster struck a few weeks ago when he badly injured his finger - hopefully next year. Unfortunately, it was true festival weather, but the need for wellies and waterproofs didn't seem to dampen the spirits. It was a wonderful way of bringing people to Eskdale, and a wonderful thing to hear live music while you worked. Great job by all involved. 

Certainly since being here, I've never been so relived to have a few days off. We've all been feeling it a little after a really busy week and a bit. Fiona has gone to Norfolk (which is apparently further away from Eskdale than Poland), far away from where I can access her Facebook login.....and I'm heading south on the M6 for a blood test, and my mum's amazing cooking (beans on toast - if I'm really lucky). Just before leaving, I asked Rachel if she wanted me to pick her up anything from a shop. "No thanks, K. I'm going to get my buttocks massaged today."