THE WEATHER REPORT had been right so when I got up it was raining. There were strong winds from the south, too, of course! Stow-on-the-Wold was south of Stratford.

I went down for the small breakfast again and when I returned to my room about two minutes later the hostess came up and said I'd have to leave as she was leaving to drive her daughter to school. I hadn't packed, showered or brushed my teeth. I quickly packed and left. I went downtown to see Shakespeare's home which was really quite interesting. There was also a dsisplay of costumes that BBC had used in their production of the plays. I loved it. I also saw one of his original complete works. In the window upstairs were scratched the names of many visitors including Sir Walter Scott. In the past, people could pay to scratch their names in the glass.

By the time I returned to get my stuff it was drying up so I packed, put the bags on the bike and headed out of town. Though I was heading straight south (ie wind), a huge black storm cloud was coming from the north. I knew it would hit so I took shelter and stayed relatively dry. When the worst had blown over I continued. It was drizzling so I did get wet - and the wind picked up.

I was in no rush today as I only wanted to go as far as Stow so I stayed in low gear and pedaled along. In Chipping Campden I stopped for lunch - I couldn't believe how beautiful it was. I looked around town for a short while and got a picture of a beautiful house and gardens then kept on along a pretty (and windy) B road.

When I got to the A road, it swung east so I could pick up a bit of speed. The sun was out, everything was finally a vivid green and no headwind - it was great.

A few kilometres on, a car went past with the horn beeping and all inside were waving at me. Around the next bend was the car with an elderly group standing around; one had a camera. She took a picture as I approached then asked for another when I stopped. They were from Willowdale, ON. They have four weeks here and leave June 7th.

All of a sudden I was in Stow so I stopped at a few B&B signs but they said they had no singles. I got the feeling they were waiting for a couple to come so they could get more money. I came through the town and stopped at a place which had nice curtains. I heard dogs barking and thought I'd be eaten alive when the door was opened. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties so I was a bit surprised. She had a single, showed me the garage where I was able to keep Bike all night and the house is very nice. I took the room.

I spoke with Carolyne over tea then I took a walk through town into a few of the million antique shops. None of them had a single thing I wanted. I looked for a cycle shop for chain lube and a spoke wrench but with the town having a population of only 2,200, there was nothing. I came back and was able to meet Mervyn, her husband. He looks sort of like Clint Eastwood and reminds me of Aunt Veralee's Joe. They were both extremely friendly. We talked a while over tea then they went out somewhere and I went to the garage to clean Bike. After cycling in the rain today, the dirt was just coated on! It sparkled when I'd finished.

Today while riding I noticed a warp in the wheel. I thought it was due to a bad bump - thus the need for the spoke wrench. As I cleaned the spokes I realized I'd broken one. Of course on the back wheel. Of course on the freewheel side! If I go too far on it I could break more spokes and even destroy the rim. If I change the spoke, it could take me forever as it is in the worst place possible. In other words, it's the only thing I don't know how to do! I think I'll stay here another day, visit Oxford the next one or two days, then Windsor, then take the train to Uncle Frank's. I'll tackle the spoke problem there on my day of rest or wait 'til I'm right back to Cochrane [home in Canada].

Anyways, I went for supper then I came right back for a nice soak in a hot bath. Was it ever nice. As I lay in the tub I heard the hosts return so I got out and went down to the sitting room where we talked all night. They have quite a few pieces of furniture they picked up at auctions including a beautifully inlaid fireplace mantle that I'm sure would cost several thousand dollars. It is simply amazing.

Merv had been in the forces for some years. He lived in Australia a year and has been to a number of eastern countries. He's very interesting to talk with. This place definitely gets an A++.