Did I really say that?

Photos from yesterday.

Digging out tree roots - did I say that it sounded like a tiring day?
We went out at 9.00am, stopped only briefly for a glass of squash, & came in shortly after 4.00pm, absolutely knackered.
We dug out three of the conifer roots next to the hedge on the side lawn, this involved chopping, sawing, undermining & towing with the car. It was very hard work - G worked much harder than me, I'm not as strong as I used to be.
We came in & had a shower & a nice cup of tea, before collecting the paper & something easy for a meal - don't bother with Co-op Thai green chicken curry, even if you are tired, egg on toast would beat it hands down.
Rain forecast for tomorrow so we may have to rethink the day with Jessie & Thomas - at least it won't involve any digging!

Home again again!

Aj & I have spent a week in the guest house in Ringstead, that is , staying with the Danish side of the family, W, MK, J & DK.
We had an enjoyable week with the family, including MK's family.
J was his usual "fast-forward" self DK, has grown a lot & tries to do everything that J does.
W is recovering from his slipped discs, with lots of exercises & little sitting-down , Mk supports them all & has just started a new career.
Busy all round.
We were met at Stanstead on Monday evening by G & JR.
Aj left this morning, after a relaxing day yesterday.
Thomas & Jessie came today; we had a great time playing, baking cakes & taking a nature walk across the fields, as far as Moat House Farm.
We hoped to find some calves, but they were all out in distant fields.
Tomorrow is to be spent in the garden, digging out tree roots & cutting hedges - could be another tiring day!

Monkeys, apes &.....

Today was a Thomas & Jessie day
G was busy so we made up a pic-nic, leaving G's in the fridge & set off for Twycross zoo.
We timed things perfectly, arriving in time to see the sea-lions being fed, the penguin pool being swept, underwater (not a job I'd fancy), have our pic-nic in a little sunshine & potter around for 4 1/2 hours without a drop of rain, until we were on the way home.
The little train was a big hit; we went on it twice, as were the meercats, who put on a good show along with five small babies. Surprisingly, none of them wore smoking jackets or seemed inclined to lecture on their genealogy!

The zoo has been greatly improved since I was there last.
It has a vast reception/ restaurant/ shop area called "Himalaya", with a glass wall separating it from the snow leopard enclosure.
The s & w seemed superfluous, but better luck next time.
J & T were excellent company & we had a lovely day.
Home at 4.00pm for a nice cup of tea.

All is in order as aj & I are visiting W, MK & family next week.
I have a sermon to complete on Mary Sumner, two services on Sunday morning, then off to visit JR for a sleepover before flying from Stanstead on Monday.

One of the chimps at Twycross has hereditary alopecia (no hair) & looks disturbingly human.
Otherwise they have an amazing collection of primates - apes (no tails), monkeys (tails) & lemurs (pre-monkeys, only from Madagascar).
They are fascinating, but all rather smelly. I guess they think the same about us.

Queen Mum's birthday.....

Another lazy day, a lie-in, following a disturbed night of coughing.
I did enjoy a little gentle shopping in Solihull, whilst G worked.
M&S had the oddments all marked down to £3, so that's my wardrobe sorted out for the coming season.
See what you can spot over the coming weeks - unusual colours & fit worn with a certain panache!

JS have 25% off Dorset cereals & Hellmans tomato ketchup (sounds posh) for £1.

Tuesday already.

We have had a really lazy couple of days - beautiful weather, so G has finished the garden hedges, I've managed a little light housework & four, yes four loads of washing & ironing.
That's pretty uninteresting, but relaxing.
I did almost complete the Telegraph crossword yesterday, today I can't even get started:
Capitol of Israel? Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or, even Jaffa, but not with 6 letters.
Obviously, I'm rubbish.
The PM's been in B'ham today, doing quite well apparently.
The banks have mainly published good results for the last six months, so perhaps things are on the mend. It would be good if they could find some cash to pay interest on accounts at some point so that depositors could benefit before the bosses!

Mastermind of masterminds is on. God they're clever. I bet they'd have no trouble with the crossword. (G's cooking dinner)

How about a comment on G's picture gallery following 10/10 as Grandad last week?

Dragon's Den

We survived and so did they! More photos may follow.

They slept, ate, visited a fairy castle, hunted dragons (and found some dragon's poo to prove it!), played nicely with other kids, loved the playground, enchanted more than a few other visitors.

"Mummy & Daddy are away having a good time" (0, to a couple on a bench near our pic-nic))

All were knackered but happy and no issues.
Parents got a break and only texted 3 times and called once in 27 hours!

Good for a first time and they really were 'no trouble'.

Drove home, g had long soak and early bed on the agenda.

That was 2 days JR , 2days J&T, 2 days OS&H in last week!

Time for a rest.

Home & dry.

We have just spent two days with JR. I forgot the sleeping bags so actually made up my bed with thick, vintage, cotton sheets, accepting that I shall be spending a fair few nights there.
It was wonderful, It is very quiet & I slept like a log - the shiny sleeping bag on a narrow single bed always gives the slight fear that you will slide off at some point.
G slept on top (of his bed), under an eiderdown, kicking & giving commands, so no change there.
JR was on good form & delighted to see us.
We went to Stanstead Mountfitchet to find the garage parking we used in February. It took ages to get there, to find that it had closed down.
Anyone know of a cheaper car park than £63 per week?

We have had a relaxing day with Jessie & Thomas, Jessie's highlight may have been reading "Where did I come from?", the book that set P in the right direction many years ago, with large, graphic, cartoon pictures. We ate some "giant's sausages", according to Thomas & cycled/scooted to the playground for a while.
To Marsh Gibbon tomorrow.