A roast on Wednesday.

We have had  a busy couple of days - cleaned the church yesterday morning to clear the mountain of greenery from the harvest festival, then went to Bicester to see the families.
The church was easier than anticipated - two large black bags of greenery & two bags of fruit then some serious vacuuming.
A couple of hours.
The following hour was spent finding my handbag & getting home.
G came to mend the dyson, in the lotus, went to the volvo for tools, then went home with the key in his pocket.
I put my handbag in a carrier bag with the polish & dusters & put it in the wheelie bin.
I can't imagine how this happened.
I only looked there in desperation, having looked every where else five times, by which time JH had emptied his vacuum in the bin, having cleaned the clock room.
Maurice took me home - all's well.......

I picked up KP & T from school whilst G went to the local garage, then on to J & G's.
KP looked like an angel, sitting in the middle of the story group in a ray of sunshine, with bunches still intact.
We bought B&J's cookie dough ice cream & aerosol cream to make banana splits, which was a great success.
We had an enjoyable evening.
This morning we wrote "Mr & Mrs Bananaskin" stories before walking to school.
G & I shopped at Bicester Village, very successfully - I have a small, black Radley handbag (long awaited) & some Christmas presents to take to Denmark.
We went to the Jewellery Quarter on the way home & had lunch at a corner cafe, sitting in the sun.

Since getting home G has trimmed miles of hedges, I've helped clear up, picked a bowl of blackberries & cleared the litter from the entire village.
Beat that!   

How to measure success.

We seem to have been working flat out since my last blog, preparing for the Harvest weekend.
Friday, Jan & I shopped at Costco in the morning, catering for 50+ people for the walk on Sunday.
In  the afternoon G & I went to pick up Thomas & Jessie from school & get their teas - the abridged version of a "Thomas day", now they are both at school.
On Saturday I went to church to decorate & was delighted that 15 people turned up & made a brilliant job of the decorations - I served coffee & Danish pastries & cleaned up.
I know my limitations with making flowers & vegetables look decorative!
We finished the shopping later in the day, finding Ventura Park one of the worst places on Earth on a Saturday pm, but we did manage to buy very fresh bread for Sunday's escapade.
On Sunday we went to the Parish Hall early to prepare the food & drinks for the walkers.
The weather was not good - showery & cool.
Th walkers totalled 14, just 14!
A walking group from Coleshill + three locals - a little disappointing, having lefletted the entire village & contacted many local walking groups.
On the bright side, we served a few more lunches to folk from church, & enjoyed them ourselves.
The church was open all day so that the decorations could be enjoyed.
I had made cakes to serve & the church was manned all day.
Precisely one person came.
Anyway, all of the regulars went to   Evensong at 4.00pm, preceded by tea & cakes.
We sold of the excess salad & bread & the produce & flowers after the service, making the clearing up tomorrow far less arduous.
A very disappointing turnout, but those that came, enjoyed themselves.
We have all of the maps done, so we shall try again in the Spring.
Jan & I have cashed up tonight &, remarkably, we have made £45 profit.

Today has been beautiful - a belated Indian summer,
This morning we played tennis in the sunshine.
I came home & cleaned the downstairs after the house painting, & put everything back in it's rightful place. Brilliant.
This involved cleaning all of the windows, inside.
Just the outsides to do now.
G cut the front hedge & I went to help clear up, before having a shower & going to Jan's. to cash up.

We have had onion soup, made with the onions left over from yesterday, & smoked haddock for dinner, with a tomato salad.
Novel, but available.  

Another suitcase, another hall....

Just watching Question Time from Birmingham - Chris Hayton, a very nice looking young man, ex KS has been on , asking about planning.
Well done Chris.

We had a day's holiday, today: we went to town this morning, parked in the Jewellery Quarter, left my diamond ring at Turleys for the day for a minor repair, had lunch at Henrys Chinese Restaurant, then walked into the city centre to shop, a little, for W's birthday present. Success!

I really don't like the Bull Ring shopping Centre - too big, too many people, too many shops & too noisy, with awful acoustics. (I think that I may be showing signs of age here)
We walked back to the JQ & got soaked - no waterproof coats!
We collected my ring (which has been cleaned & looks amazing) & had a cup of tea in "Pomegranate", then drove to the Hippodrome car park.
We eventually had a drink in the pub opposite the theatre & then went to see "Evita", which was very good indeed.
A good day, no work done.

Time for bed.

Wednesday.

I'm lacking imagination today.
I played tennis this morning, sunny & windy, brilliant.
Phil & Margaret came to lunch, so I came home to cook. The house was a little cool as Peter painted the front & back doors & gave the conservatory a second coat of sadolin, so most downstairs doors & windows were open.
He has now finished, the windows & doors are all shut & the house all needs cleaning & things putting back.
Who cares? It'll get done next week, I think.
G has been busy getting new brake pads & an MOT on the Volvo.

I think that I'm going bald - my hair is receding on one temple, which is itchy.
G says it's genetic. I shall research it & spend my life's savings on saving my locks, if necessary.
I'm trying to get this in perspective.

Why has every & been followed by "amp;"?
I've deleted them.
Spooky. 

Drought.

A strange word.
No wonder people find English a difficult language, not me, I hasten to add, I cope very well with English.
No other languages, just English.
Last night friends came for a meal & then G used my laptop & then I fell asleep.
This was a shame, really, as I was enjoying watching "Doc Martin" up to that point, & I didn't get round to doing a blog.
I dare say that W & B will note that my day had little of intrinsic interest anyway, but I enjoyed it, in the main.
Actually, the morning was disappointing, as I cycled round the village to get the Parish Hall key, to check on the amenities, ready for Sunday's ploughmans extravaganza, then went to Coleshill to play tennis.
There was no-one there, which was disappointing as it was such a lovely day.
No tennis.
When I got home I found a message on the phone - Chris's husband died last Friday & things were complicated. 

Anyway, I went to the dentist, in Solihull, instead of lunch, to have half of a back molar replaced & came out feeling really spaced out. No pain - I could fall asleep during the horrors of it all -  but the anaesthetic really leaves me groggy & feeling the need to get home quickly before I loose consciousness.
I still feel a bit weird this morning, but I'm sure it will pass.
I now have a full set of teeth again, until the next time.

Just off to photocopy more flyers - Jan to ddeliver.
Nicee day, but blustery - volvo not bike!
"Have a good one" as the guy in the charity shop says - covers just about everything.

Title refers to the fact that we have been watering the top of the garden for 24 hours as some plants are looking very poorly & the soil is like dust.

Kinnocks running Denmark.

I may be wrong, of course, as I'm not really very politically inclined - not a Daily Mail reader or anything like that.
I hope that the result is pleasing to the Danish side of the family.
Will they notice any difference?

Apart from that, I have had a very quiet day.
G insisted on doing the Thomas day, as he had jobs to do in Solihull & one of us needed to stay at home as all of the windows are open, owing to them having been painted.
We have been very lucky with the timing of the painting as it has been dry all week & late enough for there to be few flying insects to impale themselves on the country cream.
There's one more window to paint, then the masonry & conservatory.
It looks great.

I ran, literally, to Jan's to collect some paperwork, then went to church to photocopy the flyers to go out around the village.
Jan has a swollen face due to a gnat nibble, with only one functioning eye, hence wearing shades.
Chris had locked his car keys in the boot of his lotus, at work, in Coventry, so I took her & the keys over.
The A45 is dodgy enough when you see the traffic on both sides of you.

After a light lunch & an unplanned nap I  wrote Sunday's sermon.
This was quite a long process, with three false starts, finished by 7.00pm, just as G arrived home.
Excellent. I now have tomorrow free to dig the garden & deliver flyers.
Enjoy the weekend - there's a definite chill in the air now. 

Happy Birthday Jessie.

Jessie's position as eldest grandchild is underlined today by her reaching the grand age of eight, now a whole year older than  T.
I popped over this afternoon, to share the moment & deliver pressies, visiting Solihull en route, to collest part of the pressie which M&S had ordered for me.

Another lovely day so P the P could get on.
Some of the windows are finished now & look great, he's a perfectionist, not many of us about!
All of the masonry & the conservatory to do afterwards.
I vacuumed the window sills this morning  - several years of general detritus & insect remains blowing in on windows that haven't been opened for a number of years, added to the dust from sanding down.
A spring-clean when it's all done - that will save going to the gym for a few days.

I prepared the Evensong service for next Sunday, mix & match from services old & new, short as possible, with a lot of singing.
I hope it works well.

Judith & Peter have been for dinner - chicken stir-fry, apple strudel & creme fraiche or cream with lemoncello, cheese (jervaux from Yorkshire).
We are all on diets so this was good in parts.

Dian Abbot was on Question Time.
What a self important, obnoxious, posing woman she is. It was from Londonderry so questions were very skewed.

Thomas day tomorrow, he finishes at 11.30am, this week only, then full time.
No more lunches at McD until half term!  

Tinker, tailor, Soldier, whatever.

Been to see T, T, S, Spy at the Odeon in B'ham, courtesy of the Telegraph subscriber.
It was a very good film, excellent cast & acting, I even almost understood it, which is more than I ever did when it was on TV.
Neither of us fully followed it, despite staying awake for nearly all of the film.

Apart from that, we have had an excellent day.
The weather was great so Peter the Painter got on well - all of the windows open all day & all of the priming & undercoating done.
He is an excellent worker & doing a brilliant job.
I hope that we can afford for him to do some interior decorating later.
I've done a fair bit of work  in the garden & sorted the pot plants - I find that if I pot them lovingly, water & fertilise them they do really well, rather than just die, which is really good.

I.ve vacuumed through, despite G's attempts to make us live in a tip as P the P is making a mess all over.
Washing ready to go out in the morning, which is promised to be an other lovely day.
I hope to get to Solihull to buy food as Judith & Peter are coming for dinner & it's J's birthday - pressies to deliver.
G's taking the volvo in early for two new boots before the MOT.

We have an olive tree in the garden!

Time for bed.

G is asleep, having had an early morning, catching up on the Grand Prix/sleeping on the settee, followed by making good/painting windows inner parts, then off to Warwick to the dentist.
I've had an easy day - bathing, dossing, then going to Warwick with G to potter whilst he suffered.
We had coffee & a sandwich then went to MG to see Gina & the grandchildren - delightful, hectic & noisy.
We went via Bicester Garden Centre, which is marvellous.
We bought a climbing jasmine for G's new shed, a Camelia & a couple of other shrubs.

We got home at 8.00pm, just in time for the Church fundraising meeting.
This went well - we have the weekend of 24/25 Sept all planned out for the Harvest Celebration & a Mid- Advent weekend planned for 10/11 Dec - the church decorated with Christmas trees, serving teas with Christmas cake, ending with Evensong, with carols, Andrew willing.

I think I need to do some housework tomorrow.

Blustery.

Today is warm & very windy.
The decorator is here to paint the outside of the house.
He comes highly recommended & has worked really hard all day, despite the weather.
I played tennis for a couple of hours, which was challenging & great fun.
G has been doing jobs connected with the decorating, outside somewhere - he's just gone to DMP to take a thank- you letter to Colin & Lynne.
 We had a lovely weekend, the hotel looks great, at the top of the drive & was superb.
We drank Veuve Cliquot throughout, a fantastic 7 course taster menu in The Grill on Saturday evening, with matched wines & sommelier to explain them.
We spent Sunday morning in the park then back to lunch in the hotel with the rest of the family & grandchildren.
We got home by tea-time & slept off the excesses.
A taste of the high life!

I have the TV on & have already nodded off once - the effects of fresh air & exercise.
I must rescue the washing, put a second load out & do some housework before G catches me still sitting down - perhaps he'll be detained at DMP.
On TV this nerd is making horseradish vodka by steeping horseradish roots in vodka (surprise) for 3/4 weeks.
I have  horseradish roots in the laundry sink, I dug up in the field on Friday.


All of the grandchildren are now at school, I hope that they are all enjoying themselves & the school run is manageable.

TGIF

Actually, no, as it makes no difference to us retirees.
Everyday is a holiday, unlike the days of my family, who are so busy that they don't have a moment to comment on my blog.

Thomas came this morning, we played, he played football with G; asked if G was any good he replied, rather diplomatically, "he's not as good as me".
Th did some colouring whilst I did the last thank-you letters for Blyth hall & froggy notes inviting folk to come & decorate the church for the harvest on 24 Sept @ 10.00am, promising "refreshments & fun".
Th & I delivered a few of these, on foot before G took him to church where Maurice was working on the bells.
I prepared their lunch then changed to go to a funeral -that of Enid's husband, Peter, a lovely man who had spent the last 9 years in a wheelchair following heart problems.
The crem in Nuneaton has a glass wall & overlooks open fields - very peaceful.
The service was taken by a Reader, which made me think that I should offer my services here, if needed.
I am qualified but have always declined for fear of failure. 
The service lasted an hour, then back to a local sports club, grinding a wheel on the curb en route as the friends I was following executed a turn in the road & I followed.
Bother.
Home by 5.00pm with ideas of vacuuming whilst G was out, but settled for a nice cup of tea & watching the news.
A quiet evening, beef stir fry & poor TV.
Enjoy your weekends - ours is action-packed, starting with a stall at the NW flower Festival tomorrow morning. Bric-a-brac to load & damsons to pick first thing.

plums & damsons.

Chris & Jan joined us for dinner tonight, Jan brought her own as she has started a diet where the food is sent to you monthly.
It looked alright, but not as good as our calamari, prawn & scallop salad starter, followed by M&S sausage, new potatoes, sprouting & cauliflower cheese then poached damsons, plums & Maribelle's(?) with creme fraiche.
The Maribelle's are the little yellow plums that grow on the tree opposite the conservatory.
G has raked up barrow loads; today they were on sale in M&S for a vast amount so we decided to eat some.
They were all very good.
We also picked the best crop of pears from the tree on the West wall - large & luscious.

Before all of this horticultural activity, we had a morning at home, doing things, then went to Solihull for G to go to the bank whilst I bought food. 
I sorted out the wardrobes & took a large bag of clothes to the charity shop.
I should have spared a couple of pairs of jeans to return to M&S as they were giving tokens today only.
Never mind - my needs are small (scope here for sarcasm)
We settled for coffee in M&S & came home .
Time for bed.

Indian summer?

I think that this is an Arctic winter.
Today was cool & windy with the odd shower.
This isn't what early September should be like - back to school, sun comes out, we all know the pattern.
Anyway, I have been in the garden - picking damsons for Sue, who sells jam by her garden gate & gave the chutney for Blyth Hall & enough left for the ploughmans' lunches on 25 Sept.
I've tidied all of the garden around the yard, which I then swept - a barrow load of leaves & acorns.
G went to the hospital then mowed the lawns, painted the overlap bits on the back bedroom window, ate his dinner & took charge of the remote control.

We have taken advantage of our Telegraph subscription for the first time (apart from a free coffee in Debenhams in Oxford) & booked free tickets to see "Tinker, Tailor......."
I've just booked tickets for "Evita" at the Hippodrome, half price through Travelzoo.
Culture Vultures or what?

So much going on over the next couple of weeks, we shall need a holiday.

It's the Lotto rollover.
I'm not overly excited as I think that our ticket has run out - 4, 29 31, 35, 38, 48.
No big winner so I'll have to buy a ticket on Saturday. What would I do if I won?
I'd buy a big house on the coast & furnish it like a proper beach house.

Home, without Robin.

Aj & I have had a long weekend getting a little culture.
We met at Kings Cross on Saturday lunchtime, evaded the EDL protest & found our car to go to the Marriot Hotel on  East or West India Dock, aj & the driver knew which one) in bright sunshine.
After a potter we met the other three couples, none of whom knew what they had done to be a "Nissan winner"
Two had at least bought a Nissan recently.
Who cares.
We were plied with drink then taken to O2 to see "Batman" from a box, with bar & buffet dinner.
Pretty good show, circus & drama & a lot of posing by Batman.
Back to the VIP bar (no VIPs - B & R must have had an early night), then back to the hotel bar (posh) for more drinks.
I only managed two glasses of wine before tonic then coffee.
aj did much better!

Sunday I went to Uxbridge on the train to meet G & cousins for a great lunch at The Compleat Angler.
Highly recommended.
We went to P's at Richmond, to catch up with aj, then G home.

Monday we walked to Ham House, along the river, did the NT bit, then back to Richmond to shop & drink coffee, then back to P's to nap & cook dinner.
We watched the Ham House video before touring the garden as the house didn't open until 12.00.
This enabled us to answer the questions on the tour as the guide obviously hadn't seen the video or read the book. How to win friends........

Today we came /went home.
I'm getting the hang of this travelling on the train - aj gives me an Oyster card & I'm off.

I've just come in from an Alms Houses trustee meeting &  need a glass of wine - G didn't finish the bottle he opened yesterday.
E-mails done, washing & ironing done & bed changed, loads of damsons picked & taken to  an elderly jam maker. A little light housework & that's it for the week.
Really?
Perhaps I'll do a 16 hour fast as recommended by W. Miss breakfast.

Weather should be better tomorrow, gardening to do.

Watching a good programme about twins  bereaved on 9/11.

White Rabbits.

I know that it's the 3 Sept., but the first two days just disappeared.
We had a great time with all of the grandchildren, & spent Wed at the Safari Park with T & KP, before returning to Bicester.
Wed was not one of my better organised days - I forgot to let  the ladies know that I was unavailable for tennis, or B&E know that we were returning T & KP.
Whoop
I've been forgiven; the three ladies at tennis said they enjoyed the chat & the early return home.
That's dedication!

Yesterday I shopped for food in Solihull M&S rubbish anyway sale is over, thank goodness.
We had a fund raising meeting over afternoon tea, then the "old" KS folk came for a meal in the evening.
Most enjoyable - I felt quite athletic in such company.

Just getting organised to go to London to meet aj for her Nissan prize of  a visit to "The Batman Experience" at the O2, then overnight  in London, train tickets provided & cars to meet us at the other end.
Should be fun.
I only have to get from Euston to Kings Cross, which I've done before without alarming anyone.

Have a good weekend.

This computer keeps locking.
Is it my fault or is it trying to tell me that I should have an i pad?