Pat is 60 Day 2

Today is the day for the Grand Promenade around Bath dressed in regency costumes. Here we see the Admiral and his lady in the grounds of the Kennard Hotel. For once, getting dressed took the Admiral longer than it took his lady. Tights – Shirt – Cravat – Breeches – Waistcoat – Shoes – Jacket – Hat. There were no zips, just buttons and more importantly (and an problem), no pockets at all. So money had to be stored in the Admiral's hat band and the camera was stored somewhere quite unusual (you may notice the well endowed bulge).

We walked into town with three Americans who were similarly attired in Regency dress and all of us immediately became the centre of attention from the numerous tourists. We soon lost count of the number of times we had to stop to have our photograph taken.

The general assembly point for the procession was in front of the Roman Baths and was led by the Town Cryer.

There were about 200 people assembled there in dress and lots of tourists taking photographs.

We paused in The Circus for a rest before continuing

Above is "Prince Ropork" pig.

There was also some regency music played to keep us entertained

A highlight was walking around the Crescent,

The above picture apparently appeared in the local press entitled "The Admiral and his Vice".

After the Promenade, we all went to Queens Square where

there was a Regency Fair,

Dancing,

and a couple of soldiers recruiting for the Peninsula War.

We also witnessed a Dual over some stolen money - luckily no one was hurt.

That night we went to the Theatre Royal to see The Circle, by Somerset Maugham with Susan Hampshire (hiding 71 years) in the leading role. A really nice theatre kept in great condition.

Pat is 60 Day 1

Pat is 60 next Thursday so for her retirement and birthday present, I organised a surprise Regency Weekend for her. As is usual, she was not told where she was going, nor what she was doing and as much disinformation as possible was given before we left. So we left home at 10.30 a.m. on the Saturday before her birthday with Pat not knowing where she was going and resigned to the fact that she would have to wait to find out.

After a brief diversion towards Heathrow (just to create further confusion), the secret was revealed - a Jane Austen weekend In Bath during which she would take part in a costume parade as a Regency lady,  a guided tour of Regency Bath, attend a Regency Tea and learn how to fold napkins in a Regency style, attend a Regency concert where the favourite music of Jane Austen would be played.and finally, learn Regency dancing and then attend a Regency Ball.

Was she surprised? Somewhat !!! especially when she learnt that I would be taking part in all of the above but dressed as a Naval Captain.

We stayed at the Kennard Hotel which describes itself

as "Built in 1794, the golden age of Bath's Georgian elegance, it was once a lodging house which one rented to enjoy this delightful city. Over many years, the house has been carefully maintained and restored and we hope it will now give you the experience of staying in one of Bath's original Georgian townhouses. Throughout the house, the essence has always been to provide a quality and stylish décor suited to a building of this period."

That night we had dinner at Demuths Vegetarian Restaurant which modestly describes itself as "The best vegetarian restaurant in the south west of England". The food was very good – we both had the Mezze followed by Brioche and Ice-cream.