Tuesday, very late, hence Wed.

T & KP are sleeping over.
They sleep very well.
Jessie & Thomas came for the day, along with Fred, Nigel's son.
They have had a whale of a day, the fleet of wheeled vehicles flying around the yard, helping Nigel in the shed, helping G build a bonfire, cooking & making shops from shoe boxes.
All  have eaten well, in fact, the cupboards are almost bare.
It is ridiculously late as I've been finding a priest to do a baptism on Sunday, sorting the evening harvest service & checking the planning application on Shustoke House Barns, at the bottom of Castle Lane,to a wedding/occasions venue, which is causing a lot of concern.
There are many photos in the plans, they are very attractive, grade 11 listed & redundant.
Car parking for 50 cars, events licenced until 2.00am.
Is that really going to cause a big problem?
Equivalent of 9 jobs created - I could become an MC!!
Should we be worried?

West Midlands Safari Park tomorrow/later, using the free return given when we took J & TH some weeks ago.
I thought it was great, Jurassic Park, on a smaller, less scary scale.
Earplugs may be needed (passengers, not beasties) 

Church closed.

It was open until about 5.00pm & we had a steady flow of people through all day, who ate all of the cakes & scones that I had made, enjoyed the church & made donations of £135.
We made a few new contacts, have volunteers to man the next open day, decorate the church for the harvest & decorate christmas trees for the Christingle service in December.
A pretty good day all round.
G has finished his shed, ready to move in next week, & planted the fruit bushes we bought in Bicester last week.
We have eaten pan fried salmon, followed by pancakes, which caused both aj & G to nap intermittently all evening.
We have just watched a good play with Bill Nighy, time for bed, said Zebedee! 

Done & dusted.

Yesterday went very well.
aj & I went to the hairdressers at lunchtime, went & had coffee & went back again an hour later, as he was running late.
We relaxed  over lunch,  loaded the goods into Keith's van, relaxed with a cup of tea, then eventually went to Blyth Hall, to set up for the evening.
G & Keith set up the bar, whilst us girls, aj, Jan & I, laid the table - 8 cheese, 5 breads, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, chutney, oil & balsamic.
It looked very good, so I'm told.
Nearly 70 attended, ate most of the bread & cheese & bought £470 worth of raffle tickets.
Colin joined in & sold off the remaining food whilst aj slaved over a hot sink.
We were home by 10.00pm, tired.

Everything's back to normal, we've done the accounts & we are delighted to have made almost £1700 profit.
aj & I went to Solihull to return the glasses to Laithwaites, along with a case of wine - far less was drunk than we anticipated, the shopped for food for the weekend.

I  have included the menu  to prove that we did not have a vast selection of accompaniments with the cheese, as suggested somewhere.
The evening was a great success.
I wonder if I won the lottery.      

Happy Birthday aj!

I'm not changing my age for a while now, as this will save me thinking about it.
I am now officially 58 & sticking!
I spoke to aj at midnight - she answered almost as coherently as she does earlier in the day.
This was good going as she had eaten an entire M&S family size chicken pie  (with veg) for her dinner.
She ate one half, fell asleep, then, remembering how good it had been, she ate the other half.
Not bad for a 57 year old!
I had a great day yesterday, so I shall revert to that for my b'day, if today's not so good.
I was out early, photocopied posters at church, played tennis in the sunshine for a couple of hours, trailed around the shops in Coleshill to get the posters displayed, then went to Solihull & Knowle , to finish the wine & cheese shopping.
W suggests that this must be pretty straightforward &, as usual, he's right.
We have 8 cheeses, 6 wines,3 non alcoholic drinks, water, 5 different breads,4 types of biscuit, 2 types of olives, 3 chutneys, oil/balsamic, sun-dried tomatoes & grapes.
Have we forgotten anything?
I'm sorting out plates & knives for 70, along with cheese boards, bread baskets & dishes.

I had coffee in M&S, bought a new straw hat in the sale &had a wonderful chocolate in Hotel Chocolat, where I went to buy a gift for Lady D.
Life can't get much better.
Jan & Chris came to dinner, we had spatchcock chicken, a bottle of bubbly pinot noir, put in the mystery case we bought at Laithwaites, & a coffee birthday cake, with candles, for Chris, whose b'day was on 22 Aug.

AS I was up late/early I sneaked downstairs & opened the mysterious present from W & MK, J & DK.
I am now the proud owner of a brilliant pair of flowery Hunter wellies.
these will be my "indoor wellies", worn to impress, & to keep my feet dry, of course.
Many thanks - they're great.

Off to start my day - O & the twins sang "Happy Birthday" to me, over the phone, which was lovely & had me in tears.
Us 58 year olds!

Spellcheck doesn't!like this blog.

Flock + 1

A busy day - church followed by a meeting with Jan & Keith to finalise details for the Blyth Hall Soiree.
Home for a cup of coffee & the odd digestive biscuit, then back to church, Lea Marston this time, to baptise young Oliver Stephen Matthew Smith, great grandson of Les, in the village
A dear little boy, about 18 months old, who spent much of the service lying on his tummy somewhere near my feet.
Home to prepare dinner, with P, A & family - toad in the hole, Eton mess & chocolate cake.
Thomas & Jessie are staying for a couple of days, both sleeping peacefully after a little "Miffy" & chocolate.
Adventures planned - Safari Park and/or Marsh Gibbon.
Time for bed, I think. It may be an early morning.....

Hi

I've discovered e-mailing!
Well, I'm not new to it, but I've had e-mails that need/warrant a reply & suddenly I'm e-mailing.
It's brilliant.
I don't think it costs anything & I get a reply really quickly.
This could be the way forward!

Anyway, we, or it might only be me, have eaten up all of the puddings from Wed's entertaining so we can get back to proper eating again.
Can I really have pet on 3lb in two days?

Yesterday we sourced food for the wine & cheese evening.
That might sound like a two shop stop, but it's not that easy.
We did Costco in Coventry, with Jan, for olives , sun-dried tomatoes & some cheese - the special cheeses are from a deli in Knowle, where we have ordered scrummy special breads.
W told me I must have the sd-toms & goats cheese. 
Are there any other "must-haves"?

We bought a sample or two & dined on cheese, olives & herb bread - not too healthy really.
I'll have a go at cheese straws, W makes them & says they're easy - I used to make them, in a former life, I think.
It's strange how you can be reminded of things that you had completely forgotten, but can't put them in context. The past all blurring/stirred up.
Is this common or is my brain closing down?
Immaterial really.

I bought two pairs of trousers yesterday, blue linen, long desired, in M&S sale & bargain crag hoppers, really special, spf 40, ....... even better than the chs that G took me to see, for my travels.

Have a brilliant weekend - I'm going in the garden.

Spotted Dick fondue.

PS. I  forgot the culinary delight/high spot/discovery of the decade.
Some years ago I bought a green enamel Le Cruset fondue set, following a visit to W in Grenoble, returning home via Geneva, where we had a typical Swiss meal, in a restaurant built to look like a typical Swiss home .
I daresay that we were the only couple in Geneva eating fondue in a fake Swiss chalet!
I may be wrong.
We stayed in a comfy hotel in the red light district, booked for us by W.
An interesting visit, all in all.

Anyway, the fondue was so good that I bought a fondue set some time later.
We used it once - highly calorific & lots of cheeses needed -  since when it has been taking up too much room in a kitchen cupboard.

On Wed, in the pudding frenzy, I had used my large pudding basin for a creme caramel & needed another for the spotted dick.
The fondue basin was perfect, a lovely shape & the handles make it easy to lift out of the saucepan when you steam a pudding.
At last it can earn it's place in the cupboard.

A level results day.

We don't have any results to worry about, thank goodness, but I still remember W getting his results, on a school holiday in the South of France.
All that education & he can't think of a comment for his Mother's blog!

I had a hectic day yesterday - up at seven o'clock to prepare puddings for lunch & dinner, tennis, lunch with Shaws, Woodwards & Jan (fish, new potatoes, purple sprouting & petit pois, followed by spotted dick, Danish rice pudding, fruit jelly, etc). Cleared up, Internet search for a holiday, nap, Wheelers for dinner (salmon with ginger, chili & soy, with new potatoes, asparagus, & ps, followed by creme caramel & cheese)
This is the first time that I've made the Danish rice pud - rice cooked in pan then whipped cream & chopped almonds stirred in.
This recipe was on the Internet - are there any secrets that I should know - it was very well received.

A quiet day today, to spend in the garden.
G will be working on the shed - he hopes to move in before Christmas!!

Perhaps an heir-hunter will knock on my door today.
It was just suggested by a programme on the TV.
As it's just background noise, I was thinking "air hunter" & thought it must be a pretty easy job.
Proof might be more difficult!
A little light ironing before I start the day - I think that G is still asleep.

Tuesday - the less glorious 16th.

Blog or find a holiday, on line.
Actually, I managed to do neither; there are so many deals about & too many different holidays to choose from, we can't decide.
We did find a cruise on Discovery, but it came in at £3579 as there were only expensive cabins left.
The volvo is having a short summer break at the "Ring of Bells".
They tracked the noise to a drive belt, but didn't have one in stock.
It should be done by tea time.
I should be doing housework & baking ready for tomorrow as we have seven for lunch & Rita & Peter for dinner.
We have been to the bank this morning & now G is off somewhere, in the lotus.
I've done work on The Blyth Hall Soiree - spoken to Lady d, letters out to donors & tickets ready to deliver.
We still need to sell more tickets.

Great game of tennis yesterday, we are playing early tomorrow so I hope that this good weather keeps up.

AJ's has the London "Batman weekend" sorted - a taste of the high life?

The glorious thirteenth.

It was past midnight before I was able to blog, last night, so missed the intended title.
Grouse beware!
The streets seem to have settled down, with added security, even in the bluest of white Solihull.

We went to see JR on Wed, staying overnight. All seems well there & Abigail, the Bolivian carer is great. It gave her a couple of days off, to spend with her family.
There is a carrier bag in the pond, which JR can see, of course. How do we get it out?

The volvo has a nasty banging/clicking from under the bonnet.
Ring of Bells has had it in once. overnight, to hear it first thing.
They didn't.
I took it in on Friday. It was banging away when I arrived, so I left it running on the road & fetched a mechanic.
He listened under the bonnet for ten minutes, without diagnosis, so it is having another away day on Monday, with bed-rest until then.
I went on to shop in Solihull, scrummy, healthy, bargain food in M&S & some window shopping.

Today I went to Blyth Hall to discuss the Soiree with Lady D. & Keith.
Lady D was delightful & couldn't have been more helpful.
We just need to sell some more tickets - let me know if you want to join us - good company, good wine & scrummy cheese in wonderful surroundings, all for £20.
I've finished tomorrow's sermon, thank God, we've had a super dinner & are now relaxing, watching Ronnie Corbett.
G is getting on well with the shed, Nigel has been here all day, petting in the footings for the little walls that will meet the timber, eventually.
It will be fit for habitation at this rate, better than the factory.

Two services tomorrow then I can relax, hopefully whilst gardening.

We're eating healthily, so no more cakes for a while & loads of fruit & vegetables.
We seem to have got into the habit of going to bed too late & then reading until the small hours.
This has the knock on effect of losing the following morning.
It must stop.
I shall be in bed by 11.00pm tonight.

Spellcheck turns Solihull into "molehill".
Discuss.

Phew!

What on earth is happening?
Kids rioting in the streets of Birmingham, amongst other places, fire-bombing buildings, firing cars, smashing shop windows & looting.
The scenes are horrendous - people have lost their homes & businesses, others forced to leave their homes, in fear.
This is just opportunist crime.
So, what triggers it?
Surely decent people don't behave like this, so what is our society really like?

Peter is staying with us, a quiet few days, with some good weather.
I played tennis yesterday & did loads of washing today, otherwise, lazy.
I have delivered the first lot of tickets for Blyth Hall & done more invitations.
I wish that people who have said they are coming, would reply so we know how many tickets are sold.
G is getting on well with the shed, mining scrap metal in there.
Rain forecast for tonight, so I haven't watered the plants.
I trust that the forecast is right.  

By thunder.

Sunday afternoon, we have just had a ferocious storm, the first this year, as far as I can recall.
I was contemplating doing a little light gardening, but that is obviously out of the question now.
I shall follow plan 2: make some scones to go with the raspberry jam I bought for the prize-winning sponge cake & clotted cream that I bought in Tesco yesterday, because they didn't have any double cream.
You may ask what I was doing in the abhorred Tesco.
Well, I awarded myself a day off.
I booked a hairdressing appointment for 11.30am.
I asked him to do whatever he thought best.He opted for my present bob, which he said that he had been cultivating for twelve months & now hung very well (I think that I got that term from somewhere else. Was it B at DMP?)
We opted for it shorter & shaped to my neck at the back.
It looked good when I left.
I went to Solihull, parked at Morrison's (I feel that they owe me a lifetime of free parking after the £80 fine), went to M&S for coffee as it was 1.30am & I'd had nothing to eat.
This took an hour as I met an old friend.I only had time to shop in M&S then back to the car, to beat the 2 hour curfew.
I opted for Knowle to the Acorn shop, the only food shop is Tesco.
No wonder that JS & Waitrose are vying for a store there.
We went to Balti Cottage last night, whilst I was still glam.
We found that a whole meal is too much to eat - I left half of mine, G had a bad night, with flatulence!

I went to communion this morning, assisting as Keith is on holiday.
I got rid of the remaining plants from the sale at the show, before they realised that they were in a pot plant hospice, & was given a jar of marmalade.
Peter is here for a couple of days, snoozing in front of the TV after a late lunch.
Th kitchen floor is glistening as G dropped a bottle of Rioja before lunch!

Back to the kitchen - I did make a fine banana cake before lunch & a banoffi pie for desert.
Guess what I found lurking in the vegetable rack last night?

Friday again.

If I haven't blogged, it is usually because either I'm not at home or I'm so tired that I've fallen asleep in the evening & not woken up until it's too late & I'm already tired again.
This week it's been a combination of the two.
We have had a great week entertaining & being entertained by grandchildren.
We went to Bicester on Monday, stayed over, then brought T & KP back with us for a couple of nights.
They played hard all day & slept like angels all night - you know when they are asleep, they stop talking! Th & J came for the day on Wed & they had a whale of a time.
It was very warm, we had two tents, a gazebo & a fleet of vehicles out - we've just put them all away this evening.
A hosepipe, bucket of soapy water & a lot of small sponges created a great vehicle wash, & watered the lawn at the same time,
The most enduring image of a hot day is KP holding the sprayer, which was watering the bed at the top of the garden, the kids running under the dry parabola.Kp realised that she could adjust the direction by holding it & spraying at everyone.
OK, but Adrian was collecting Th & J, in his new car!

Yesterday it rained. We went to the Transport Museum in Coventry after lunch, then on to Ikea for tea, then back to Bicester.

Today has been a Th & J day - humid & warm.
We've camped, made cards, had a treasure hunt for coins to make sets up & been to the playground to work out on the assault course.
They should sleep well tonight.
During the treasure hunt we found a cache of Gina's jewellery in a dressing table pot, in the spare room.
It had been missing for a long time - not a place that I would look, as a rule.

Hairdressers tomorrow - a bit of indulgence .
Still haven't decided whether to go for the chop.
On that note, G's beard has gone, completely.
He did go for the hill-billy look for a couple of days (middle missing)
That really was bad.
He does look at least ten years younger - I'll post the before, during & after photos when I can remember how to do it.

Another late night.
I have compensated by sleeping through a Sean Connery film & The Real Deal - self preservation.
I have to finish reading The Human Stain (Philip Roth) as we recorded the film last night.
I gave up about half way through, a few weeks ago, as it was such slow going & I couldn't spot the humour that was promised.
Perhaps the second attempt will be more successful, seeing Anthony Hopkins (? - Silence of the lambs guy) as the main character.

Travelzoo day.

Wednesday already.
Monday morning was spent on housework - quite enjoyed it really, sad to say, then down to Bicester to see G & family, then on to see B&E for dinner & a sleepover.
We came home with T&KP yesterday, via Solihull and had lunch at mcdonalds.
we have spent today with tents and J and Th  ( not for the night!) and we had tea and lunch in them.