I drove mum to the mad metropolis, aka Bedford, where we walked along the pedestianised pavements and browsed in shop windows.  We were on a quest to find paper doilies which seem to be so out of fashion that neither mum nor I can buy them anywhere.  Not even Poundland stocks them anymore.  But (don’t tell everyone) the Pound shop in Bedford has a packet of 60 for a pound.   We drove along the embankment in town, admired the swans and geese and the bridges and then breathed a sigh of relief when we left and returned for lunch to the peace and tranquility of The Gables.