Little working holiday in Purbeck.

I am having a duvet day. I was working in Dorset for a couple of nights Thursday and Friday and I started my 5 hour car journey back to Lancashire after work finished at 10pm Friday. You can tell just why I am so tired today. Crazy most people called me as I set off but, for me, more crazy is wasting the whole of yesterday on busy roads when I could be home. I managed it all without a stop (for once, my pea sized bladder didn't let me down) and was in my bed by 3 am. What made it most exhasuting was the fact that I only drove there the day before ready to work from 2 until 10.
No other expenses as a lovely lady put myself and another singer up for the night and was most welcoming to us, so kind of someone to open up their home to two strange men, just because they assume opera singers are nice and honest people (which, of course, we mostly are).
Yesterday I only had to be back working at 3, so my friend and I went for an explore, which was like a mini (very mini) holiday. We got up early and were on our way by 9 with only a vague idea where to go, just drive and stop when we feel like it. We headed out and made our first stop at Corfe Castle for a quick wander around the town. It is very small, but exceedinly perfect in every way, a true Dorset village (overrun with visitors of course.) We didn't do the castle as it was quite expensive, but as it was a ruin anyway, just looked at it from afar.

It is everything that a ruined castle should be.

I was most excited because, so the stories go, it is the castle that Enid Blyton based her Famous Five's Kirrin Castle on (there is an Enid Blyton shop in the town)

Back in the car and on to Studland where we stopped and walked to Harry's old Rocks. It was a pleasant walk and we found a very small crop of rather tired, but still pungent wild garlic growing in the hedgerow. I took a few leaves and shoved them in my pocket for some pasta tonight.

After the walk we moved on again for a quick lunch of egg butties in Swanage, which is one of those very old fashioned coastal resort towns, now populated by retired people walking along the prom. It was really, really lovely (and my expectations had been quite low having been brought up near Blackpool).

A quick trip to a garden centre and finally on to my rehearsal at Lulworth Castle.

Quite a lot to pack into a morning off, but I loved every second and the weather was extremely kind to us.