Karaoke & Keswick

It was 50 years since I had last visited Keswick. I was a Boy Scout then. Wandering around the town again on Sunday I remembered nothing of the place or the experience save for a couple of presents I had bought as a boy. A brooch for my mother; an actual bird's foot with embedded gemstone. And a record, on a postcard, for my brother; Hoots Mon, There’s a Moose Loose aboot this Hoose - Lord Rockingham’s XI. Such taste. Lasting memories of Sunday will include Keswick as a shopping Mecca for walkers and that the Steak & Gravy Pasty followed by a Cornish Pasty, from The Cornish Pasty shop on Lake Street, were delicious.

There were unforgettable events the day before when I’d been visiting family in South Cumbria. A pub Karaoke night with sister, brother-in-law and nephew till the early hours of Sunday wasn’t something I had thought could be so enjoyable.

I’ll be passing through Keswick again in July when I walk The Cumbria Way. I might have to settle for something tasty from the excellent Booths supermarket if I make the early start I’d prefer on that day.

After a good look around the area - driving as far north as Caldbeck, which will be another stop-over on The Cumbria Way, and a pint of Jennings Bitter in the Oddfellows Arms, we (me and Holly, my dog) were back home before mid-night.