where's the cuckoo?

Perhaps they don't like the rain, but we have usually heard a cuckoo or two by the end of April.
It's not raining yet & the yard is dry, a sight we've not seen very often this month - the wettest April in York since records began, 153 cm.
No wonder aj sounds a little soggy!

All went well yesterday - trip to offload at the Charity Shop, collected Christian Aid envelopes, blank cheque to Tennis Club in case I came up in the Wimbledon ticket draw (didn't), then a mass shop in Solihull for Sunday lunch, before picking J  Th from their schools.
G went to the Boxing event at DMP.
Having planned a cosy night with the remote control, a "Count On Us" meal & a glass of wine, G wrote me into the plan by requesting a taxi service.
Eventually did DMP run, ironing & remaking bed, chat to aj, watched a couple of antiques programmes whilst trying to do the T crossword, then back to DMP at 11.30pm.

Lazy hour with the papers this morning before getting stuck in with housework & cooking for tomorrow.
I've prepared the casseroles - 4 kg beef, 1kg bacon 1.5kg mushrooms, 1kg carrots, 1kg onions & a bottle of Merlot - cooked & smelling good.
A big creme caramel & trifle in the fridge to lessen the pudding pressure.

Wet & windy this evening, after a dry day.
Have a good weekend.

Another workday.

Unaccustomed as I am to working, I was really tired by the time I got home, having driven to Solihull college, worked with one student for 75 minutes & driven home again, via Knowle, to do a little shopping.
Anyway, we got a lot done during the session & if the student puts in the diagrams, by hand, over the weekend, as promised, he will have completed his first assignment of the year - the school/college year.
The group is about a dozen in all.
They are on their eighth assignment & most have either not finished or not passed the first seven, although all of the practical work is done, by some amazing teacher, as the results I've seen are perfect!

College isn't like school, lots of free time, it seems, & attendance at tutorials is optional. In other words, the tutorials have to be attractive to induce attendance - I could cope with >one at a time.
Satisfying & appreciated by the two students I've worked with so far - they all have Friday off, apparently!
Back in on Monday, hoping to fit tennis in first, but I'll have to cancel "lunch with the girls" from school.

BP check & shopping ready for the big lunch on Sunday, before picking up J & Th from school, tomorrow.
I'm considering cooking one of "The Apprentice" meals from last night's programme- posh street food - Aberdeen Angus beef casserole/haggis.
This or W's pork Wellington.
Any better ideas?

Rain,rain.....

Raining hard & the yard already partly flooded, so there's no tennis today.
Shame.
The good thing is that we spent yesterday in the garden - G in noisy mode, sawing logs  then mowing the lawns. I didn't start until midday as I had domestic duties to attend to, but then worked like a diligent little mouse, weeding most of the borders, shifting three barrow loads of weeds.
I stopped, worn out, at 5.30pm, collapsed in front of the TV & watched "Put your money where your mouth is" (recorded), with a glass of ginger ale (diet)
A pretty good day, really - a lot done, plenty of exercise, all achieved without leaving home or spending a bob.
We watched "Meet the Romans" presented by Mary Beard.. It has great potential if only it didn't have the same fault as nearly every other travel/history programme at the moment - 50% of the programme showing the presenter, rather than what you want to see.
Mary Beard has the added disadvantage of looking like a bag lady, with long, wild, grey hair, horse teeth & looking way beyond her 57 years - not a pretty site!
Show us Rome, not MB!

Going to Solihull College at 1.00pm to meet a small group of students I am to work with to improve their science - only three weeks available, so I'm not sure how much I can achieve.
United church fund raising meeting here this evening - more fun than it sounds!  

Once more into the breach......

The Barbers' shop concert went very well - a number of quartets, including one rather intriging female foursome, & a choir made up of all of the men.
Good fun & about £300 made for charity.
Afterwards we went to Marsh Gibbon & slept.
We had a great day with the grandchildren, five in all for much of the day as we met B, E, T & KP for a picnic lunch at Wendlebury (?) woods.
The kids had fun on the adventure playground & we walked a couple of miles through the woods to a hide.
We were lucky enough to spot an orange or black large ape from the hide - actually, only KP saw it, although we all heard it banging & "whoo whoo whooing", apart from G, who had mysteriously disappeared!
Back to MG for much needed baths & dinner.
O, H & S were just on their way to bed when the family arrived home.
G had completed the London marathon in a magnificent 5 hours!
Well done G!.
I think she may be a little stiff today.

Tennis this morning, if the rain keeps off, possibly a "special offer manicure & pedicure" in Coleshill, later.
Some work to be done on the Charity Lunch here next Sunday - phone calls & notes through doors, to rally support.
Sounds like a wet week - we managed to avoid the rain last week - it always sounds/looks worse from inside than when you're out in it - allowing for sensible clothing.
It seems that a fair number of people don shorts, strappy tops & sandals as soon as the sun comes out (& that's just the men....), with no thought of it being April, noted since 2000BC for being showery.
i.e. wet.  

More Culture!

A good night' sleep, back in our own bed, then up early (for us - 7.30am) as P was dropping J & Th off, to entertain us for the day.
We played, drew, made mobiles & did the Telegraph crossword, before having enormous boiled eggs - laid by B's guitar teacher - & soldiers for lunch.
One was too big for an egg cup!
After lunch we went to Packwood House, which is only a few miles from home for J & Th.
They loved the house - a Tudor mansion, modernised & Victorianised, then returned to a Tudor mansion again in the 1920's by the owner by rescuing Tudor paraphernalia from derelict houses.
They loved the garden even more - The Sermon on the Mount in yews, a sunken garden complete with pond & a kitchen garden with dipping pond all  to be scampered around.
Back to P & A's to cook tea, then home via Meriden for fish & chips (diet starts tomorrow - no real food in).
We were going to the pictures to see "Fishing in the Yemen"??, but it started too late.
Perhaps next week.

Day off tomorrow, Barbers' shop concert at Coleshill Town Hall (just turn up, if you're free) then off to MG to babysit until Sunday night, whilst Gina runs in the London Marathon.
We're hoping to have a picnic lunch on Sunday with B, E, T & KP.
The weather's been very kind to us so far this week, please let the rain hold off .

Home again.

We're relaxing by a nice fire, having returned from Mid Wales, The Lake Vyrnwy Hotel, at the end of the lake/reservoir.
The reservoir was built in 1881 by Liverpool Corporation, having purchased 24000 acres of land around the valley, to ensure cleanliness.
They then rebuilt the village that was to be submerged - 37 homes & a chapel - just up the road & removed the mansion to somewhere else.
This was the first valley to be flooded, so Liverpool beat Brum to it.
It's a beautiful site, with fascinating wildlife.
We went to a couple of the RSPB hides & saw a multitude of birds -  at a picnic site,chaffinchs perched on the wing mirrors; ate hotel shortbread from the door window ledges.
Yesterday we went to Fairbourne, on the coast, via Bala & Machynllth, the ancient capital.
Today we visited Boscobel House in Shropshire with the famous oak in which the future Charles 11 hid from Cromwell & went on to the RAF museum at Cosford.
We stopped for a potter around Oswestry, before we even got out of the car a granny pulled out of the space behind us, ran into the back of the car, turned & scraped all across the back bumper.
Great!
We could do with a new back bumper to match the new front bumper, replaced after the grandad backed into us in Guildford a few weeks ago. 

Almost Godlike.

The excitement of finding I had ten comments, after not logging on since last week.
I must have made some deep, interesting point that had caused a flurry of responses.
No.
Just a couple of commentators, with tremors, discussing the finer points of "up & over door technology".
I can tie the excess rope to a hook by the back door &, hey presto, a convenient washing line, when the door is open/up
Anyway, we had two excellent days with J, T, KP & Th.
They really enjoyed playing together & we set up a dorm in the spare room for Friday night.
" Horrible Histories" & "Lady & the Tramp" proved very popular when they ran out of steam.
We had Saturday lunch in Macdonalds then took J & Th home before going on to MG to deliver Easter presents, then on to Bicester.
KP slept for the last lap of the journey (phew) so T moved to the front seat & set up the satnav & commented on the speed - practising back seat driving for later life!
B looked ill, the result of a visit to the pub whilst "single" on Friday night.
Tut, tut.

Today we did the Litter Pick.
The weather was great - dry & sunny, if not warm.
There were 5 of us in Sh, 9 in NW & 3 in OW, not bad.
We did all of Sh, apart from Moat House lane & Shawbury.
I did from Hampton bridge to the Parish Hall, home for lunch, then Watery lane & the area around OW church, as I went to collect the bags of litter - 12 in all, plus car parts, the rest in wheelie bins around the district.
A good day's work - cleanliness is next to Godliness!  

Logged.

T & KP are doing a "Sleepover" until Saturday, being joined by Th & J tomorrow.
Great excitement deciding who will sleep where tomorrow night!
I had a lovely evening with B & E yesterday & stayed over to spend the day with T & KP today.
T planned the day & kept a log as it proceeded!
We went to Stratford  to visit the Tudor House, off Sheep Street, down a cobbled yard, once used by W Shakespeare himself, to get to the local hostelry.
We then had an early lunch in MacDonalds - history does not note whether WS took lunch at this establishment - then on to the RS theatre for a look round.
We stopped in Henley in Arden on the way home, to sample the best ice cream in Henley, if not the world.
We then took in Solihull, having heard that Gordon Scott's had a special delivery of magic pink trainers that make you behave impeccably the moment you put them on .
Fortunately, the assistant knew exactly the trainers we wanted & KP is enchanted with them!
T opted for Olympic pyjamas - perhaps he'll develop athletic prowess overnight. Time will tell, as we intend to play tennis at Coleshill tomorrow morning.
We've had a great day & G has enjoyed the challenge of making a shed door; he's now working on the opening mechanism - I favour a brace of elephants in harness!

I think that an early night will be a good idea, in preparation. 

April showers.

A day at home whilst G sorted out the car tyres.
It was a bright sunny morning, despite the wind, typical April weather with regular showers blowing in.
I wrapped up, including a hat, & went out to dig the border on the far side of the side lawn - almost finished, but very wet & muddy as I  worked on through a couple of showers.
G prepared a late lunch, out of desperation, then I made some rock cakes ready a church fund raising meeting at 4.00pm.
We made some good decisions, including making a 2013 calendar with photos from events this year's events, including the dates for events next year.
That's next year's Christmas presents sorted then!

The porch is half full of litter pickers, awaiting delivery to the other villages & Shustoke is littered with posters advertising the "Community Spring Clean",  flyers through the doors of likely participants.
I can only hope that the weather is fine & there is a reasonable turn out.

How many programmes can be made about "Titanic"?
Presently there seems to be an hour devoted to each of the musicians - the heroes of the hour who played hymns as the ship went down.
Stewards next week?

Happy easter.

Not an egg in sight!
After a productive afternoon in the garden on Saturday I baked cakes for Church on Sunday morning, to celebrate Easter & a chocolate cake to take to JR.
We had a good turnout at Church, despite some strange priest writing in all the papers that it may be better to celebrate Easter by staying in bed, eating chocolate & having sex than going to a draughty Victorian Church!
I can't find self-indulgence anywhere in the Easter message - I don't think the "He is risen" refers to getting out of bed, satiated.
What do I know?
Read Rowan Williams if you want something to think about.
(Our church isn't Victorian & was warm. It's main failing is the noise from the heaters partially obliterating the minister's voice. Roll on summer!)

After Church we packed up a lunch & drove to Cambs to see JR.
I cooked lunch whilst G spent the afternoon at Duxford.
Today we went to Anglesey Abbey, between Cambridge & Newmarket.
A new experience for JR, as we borrowed a NT wheelchair & walked through the gardens to the mill - about 1/4 mile.
Hard work!
JR did offer to push me, on the way back - had it been much further/steeper incline I may have been tempted to accept.
The gardens are beautiful & fragrant - one area has stark white birch trees & pink anemones (I think) & was amazing.
We had a nice/overpriced lunch then went to see Mary & co.
We left at 6.00pm, leaving JR in carer Sam's hands.

What am I doing up at this time of night?
Actually, I slept for most of the A14, having found the day pretty stressful.

I've done half of the telegraph crossword!!!
Wow!!!

Good Friday.

I'm not sure where this week has gone to - perhaps it will come back to me as I blog.
Yesterday I eventually got around to cleaning, post party - stripped the beds, vacuumed from top to bottom & steam cleaned the tiles & dusted - then showered & dressed & pretended I had a cleaner!
Jan dropped in for a nice cup of tea & a chat!
We dropped a cake dish in at P's to pile with cupcakes, then drove into town & managed to get tickets for Oliver, at the Hippodrome - fantastic!
Home for bed.

Remembered!
Aj was here, on Wed we went to Knowle & Solihull, pottered round the shops & had coffee in M&S.
Great.
A good week.
G has walked mud all through the house, apparently I have nagged him by pointing this out.
Shitfeet! 

A nice day out.

We planned a day out today.
Aj rejected the first choice of a  tootle & lunch in Lichfield, as being too much like York, so we thought again & went to Kenilworth - not generally favoured by G as he claims that it is full of charity shops!
Indeed it is, or at least it has a fair number, but it also has a brill Waitrose & enough ironmonger/household/mousetrap type shops, to entertain G for an hour or so.
We met & had lunch at the cafe run by the local churches, before going on going on to Warwick, to see what new volvos look like (really nice) & potter a little more.
We left for home as the rain started & came home for a nice cup of tea.
We have had a quiet evening, including dinner created fr    m Waitrose goodies, finishing with  coffee & marzipan Easter eggs, courtesy of W & MK -  I don't think that they'll last until Easter!

Tennis tomorrow, weather permitting.

Happy Birthday G.

We managed it!
Yesterday G had a big birthday & we had a great party with over forty friends & family & best of all, managed to keep it a secret from G.
The invitation replies went to J & C's & i managed to smuggle in the food with G thinking that the "Kids" were coming to lunch, which would make a total of 15, including 7 grandchildren.
G played it cool, but he was pleased.

Aj came on Friday evening & helped with the final shop on Saturday & preparation on Sunday - all under cover.
Friends all "mucked in" on Sunday & we had the lunch on the table & salmon served in record time.
Many thanks to all those who came & made this a memorable day.

Today aj & I have had a good game of tennis with some friends at Coleshill, a healthy lunch & a rest - I was "full of beans" all day yesterday, but a bit knackered now - aj put me through my paces !

I'd better organise a healthy dinner, non spicy, to satisfy both G (dieting) & aj (tame)!