Courtfield Guesthouse, Wetheral and the quest for Mr Larsen ...

My attic bedroom in Courtfield Guesthouse was reached by a narrow mazy stair - I wallowed in a scalding bath, closing my eyes, turning on the hot tap from time to time with my toes - I imagined myself lolling on a divan, sipping a rare cordial - 

Downstairs, we'd been greeted by the landlady - she zinged with northern energy - I quailed before her piecing eye -

From my bedroom window I could see reefs of Victorian villas - I heard the low murmur of traffic - 

Before my bath, I drank gallons of tea in Alyson and Penny's bedroom - we agreed to meet later in the lounge - 

That evening we had dinner with Julia's cousin, Richard - he met his Swedish wife, Marguerite, at Newcastle University - 

Richard was a retired GP - I felt at ease with this wry thoughtful physician - 

I gulped a bumper of icy Wainwright Ale - 

Richard and Marguerite told us of their recent Baltic cruise - they'd spent some time in St Petersburg - 

They piped us ashore said Richard - 

They were tracking down information about Marguerite's great grandfather - he changed his name from Larsen to Alquist - 

There was talk of a child left in Sweden, whose name was recorded in the 1901 Census - 

Julia said, mysteriously - I wondered how much he'd tell -  

The cruise ship was caught in a gale off Rugen - the immaculate decks had heaved up and down - 

We sat down to a chicken tagine fit for a jaded pasha - 

When we left Wetheral at ten thirty it was still light - I tottered up the labyrinthine stairs to my chamber, falling at once into silky dreams - 

Evening of 14 July 2014

Court field Guest House, Carlisle

Wetheral, Cumbria