Holiday, holiday, holiday.

Well, wasn't it a wonderful wedding - the humour, the dress, the address, the music, everything, right down to the Princesses Beatrice & Eugenie dressing as pantomine dames.
We went for a walk, came back for scrambled eggs before the event, watched the wedding & then had smoked salmon sandwiches & pinot grigio whilst waiting for the balcony kiss.
We did three hours of heavy digging on the top border to make up for the relaxation, then in for a shower & dinner (fish & .......)
The day had a fitting finale when The Tennis Club phoned from their AGM to say that I had been successful in the draw for Wimbledon tickets. Great!

Today we moved the logs into the shed, tidied the top of the field & I did more gardening while G mowed the lawns.
We have thoroughly watered the borders, to little effect, everywhere is very dry.
We showered & went for a walk before dinner (fishcakes &.....).
Half way across the field opposite the house I realised that I had lost my wedding ring.
I have searched everywhere, with no success so far, hampered by the fact that I don't really know when it came off.
We are hoping to borrow a metal detector tomorrow to check where we were gardening & the field where we were walking.
This morning, I was delighted that I had lost another pound & have cracked the last "stone barrier".
This is a consequence - skinny fingers, (but still plump around the middle)
Tomorrow I'll get to church early to look for my ring as I cleaned there on Thursday morning & may not have noticed it had gone.
I have a baptism at lunchtime, but have no food to cook, so this will not be a problem.

I collected G from Terminal 4 on Wednesday, having spent a lovely day with KP, including a train trip to Oxford & baking with KP & T after school. Timing was perfact, thanks to B's advice.

Never have there been so many holidays - 5 days out of 9 - you can't spot the retirees!

Another lazy day....

Yesterday aj & I went to see JR, he had a bad fall & bang on the head last week which has necessitated him having 24 hour care at home & has affected his memory.
He remembered us after a while & hopefully we did some good.
We came home in the evening so as not to disturb his routine with his carer by staying overnight, getting home by 8.30pm.
Today I tackled the problem of the lawns.
I have never used the mower before & couldn't find the manual, or the gears, to start with, so I pushed it out onto the lawn, where direction of travel was less vital.
I got the hang of it, although the first few circuits were pretty scary owing to the undulating lawns & a fear of falling off/rolling the mower.
The grass had grown exponentially in the 2+ weeks since B mowed; this caused problems with the grass collection, but it doesn't look too bad, for a rank amateur.
Aj fetched more petrol so that G can do a better job when he gets home.
I dried two loads of washing outside & ironed them before going to Ventura Park this afternoon to buy some food; the first shop since the holiday.
Aj treated us to coffee & a nibble in M&S before coming home with the spoils - duck a l'orange with a mountain of vegetables, for dinner.
I have a T & KP day tomorrow, so an early morning, then on to collect G from Heathrow in the evening - should be an action packed day.
Aj 's settling for a lie-in!

W has posted some great holiday photos on is blog, I didn't take a camera.
No change there.
There may be plenty of holiday photos in circulation after tomorrow.....

Whew, what a scorcher!

As "The Sun" would describe our wonderful week in Minehead with a large chunk of the family.
The weather was what you dream of for a summer holiday, especially one with six small, energetic children & seven disparate adults.
More later.
I didn't take a camera as I tend to enjoy the moment as it happens & rarely catch it on film successfully.
A JR incident last week, so a big mobile phone bill & more toing & froing to come.
Nice day today, yesterday was disappointing - a North/South divide apparently, we were in the North!

Think of a number......

Yes, the car has been to The Ring of Bells again, &, as usual, the bill was twice what I had expected - £861, to be precise. This was with a discount as I mentioned that I had already paid them £2800 this year, which seemed beyond all reason for a less than 5 year old car with 60000 on the clock. This was for a new axle & bearings on both front wheels. I love the car but it will become a case of it or food. On the bright side, they lent me a red S60, which was very nice, despite the push button hand brake & having no petrol in it, so I had to drive into Solihull to get some before going to the gym. After the gym, I went to Solihull to buy groceries for next week. RoB phoned just before 2.00pm, the time I was to collect the car, to say it wouldn't be ready until 5.00pm. I went to Knowle, had a walk in Brueton Park, then back to Solihull for a cup of tea at M&S, risking parking at Morrisons. It has been a cold day; I'm watching TV,killer whales, & am still cold. I do seem to have a cold, so will go to bed early, perhaps with a small dram. I have lost 9 kg, if my calculation is correct (I'm sure it is really, I'm just being modest) I'm sure that I didn't have muffins from armpits to thighs last time I was this weight. Luckily I seem to have lost my sweet tooth & appetite, so it's not difficult. Perhaps I'm pining for G. Two weeks to go. A comment would be reassuring that someone reads this.r

Another quiet night in.

Well, after 8.30pm anyway. I went to see JR on Monday as he was having a medical assessment in the morning & the new carpet that we bought last week was being fitted in the afternoon. I left home at 7.15am, arriving at 9.30am, owing to the heavy traffic at that time of day. All went well, JR suffering mainly from "anno Domini", as Aunt Mollie (his mother) would have said! The carpet looks & feels magnificent. Dear old Frank visited for elevenses, Dear old Joan, for tea, so it was a full day. This morning we pottered about, searching all of the barns & sheds for a specific deckchair. I spied about a dozen vintage models, but not the one in question. Never mind. We went to JS for me to buy Easter eggs & fuel - £1.40, compared with £1.47 on the M6! We took Mary out to lunch at The George at Babraham. We had trout/sea bass, which was delicious - a venue to be recommended. I left at 3.30pm for Marsh Gibbon, to see the family & deliver goodies. O & the twins were on good form. I went on to Bicester & had a warm reception from T & KP, then home. There was an accident on the M40, one car that ended at the windscreen & a half hour delay.Accidents , I find hard to cope with. Anyway, home by 8.20pm, toast & tea then "Supersize vs Superskinny". Blogger will, no doubt, destroy all of my carefully composed paragraphs. Please help.

Bearings still dodgy.

I went to The Ring of Bells at 9.ooam, as requested. An hour later they gave me a print out of what needed doing. So far so good, but I had told them what needed doing on the phone, rather hoping that they would do it. When asked if they could now do it, they went & checked - Tuesday. Great, the reason for me being there was because I needed to drive to Cambridge on Monday. I'm assured that it will be fine for the journey, & have booked it in on Wednesday, with a red S60 to get me home. No doubt this will be followed by an enormous bill, like a pelican walking backwards! Little choice though - another month on omelets. I had my last free coffee in M&S,as I was nearly there anyway, bought some vegetables, came home & gardened. I've now done all of the borders at the front, ready for some bedding plants when the chance of frost is over. Today I had a lie in until 8.30am after a disturbed night. I wrote tomorrow's sermon - John 11, 1 - 45, the raising of Lazarus, if you're interested. A very long reading. I phoned Ann, to say Happy Birthday", then went to Coleshill to the post. Unfortunately James & the twins chose that exact time to visit, to deliver the trailer. The only visitors all week & I'm out. Oh well. I spent the rest of the day in the garden, digging a barrow load of celandines from the rockery - they spread like wild fire, digging the bed at the top of the lawn & then starting on the top border. I gave up at 7.30pm & came in for a meal, knackered. I'm about to have a soak in the bath & start a new book - "Credo", Melvyn Bragg He writes brilliantly.

Lost my bearings.

I went to see JR on Tuesday morning to keep him company for a couple of days, retuning this afternoon. I thought that I had detected a slight whirring sound from the front end of the car since last week, this seemed to be getting louder so I stopped at the local garage in Abingdon, on the way home, before joining the M11, to reduce stress induced. The garage owner kindly took me for a spin & immediately diagnosed wheel bearings problem in the "drivers" wheel. He was charming & he refused payment. Ring of Bells are going to look at it tomorrow as I have to go back to JR's on Monday for a carpet to be fitted, a JR assessment & to finalise an attendance rota, so that he will have company every morning & afternoon. It was really nice to get home - the garden plants have all grown remarkably with one warm & one hot day. I really want to spend a couple of days in the garden, but fear that the car will take up at least half of tomorrow & I have to prepare for two services on Sunday. Oh well. I have think about transport from Hampton - no buses, perhaps a walk into Knowle? I hope that you've all enjoyed the sun - Haverill was out in T shirts today.

Why won't this blog with the paragraphs?

Thanks, P.

To fit in with Thomas & Jessie's hectic social life, I had a Thomas day today, instead of Friday. To accommodate this, I changed my JR day from Monday to Tuesday, Thank God. As I drove to Solihull this morning the traffic news was a one & a half hour delay on the M6 at the Catthorpe interchange, where I get on the A14. Later on there was a dreadful accident on the M11 at Duxford,closing the M11 altogether. This is where I leave the motorway. Had I gone today I would have had an horrendous journey. I hope that all will be clear tomorrow. Anyway, I went to the gym first thing & am feeling fitter with reducing weight. I enjoyed it. I collected Thomas, jogged home with him on his bike, after a brief chat, T went upstairs & put himself to bed for an hour. I phoned Ann, who is now recovered from septicaemia, off the drugs & back on form! I woke T for lunch, then we did T's new Ben Ten jigsaw. This is actually an overstatement as despite working on it until Jessie's home time, we only did about half of it. It's meant to be for a 3 year old! When I left later I found that someone had bumped my wing mirror & taken the back off. As there were no bits in the road, I looked in the hedges & found the part, scraped but intact. Good. I bought C on U meals at M&S an route home, feeling too lazy to cook fish. University Challenge was won by a mile by Magdalen College, Oxford. They are brilliant. I'm about to write to Morrisons in Solihull to point out the deficiencies in their car parking system. I gather that there have been a great many complaints from others who have been fined for not realising that the system had changed, to no avail. It must be worth a stamp anyway.

Happy Belated Birthday, G.

G left on his birthday, on Friday, to go trekking in the foothills of the Himalayas, with Peter & Jack. I trust that he's having a good time, he's out of contact until sometime next week. I spent Thursday & Friday nights with B & E; E, KP & I had a day with the twins on Friday as J & G moved house. We had a great time at a play centre in Banbury, which kept everyone entertained for over three hours, then back to collect T from school. B, E, T, & KP came for a sleepover on Saturday, having an Indian meal in Coleshill. morning we went to NW to church whilst B mowed the lawns. They look very good. P, A, J & T came to lunch after which T & J ran a quiz!!!! Following that, if anyone knows the whereabouts of the bureau key, please let me know, I've searched everywhere. Thanks for the wonderful gifts - the best handcream in the universe & a magnificent hydrangea. A Thomas day tomorrow, I hope it's warm, the forecast is not good. I haven't won the lottery. Shame.