It’s been another one of those busy, busy weeks. An outing to the circus last Sunday, a Garden Club expedition to a magnificent local garden, a spell of child minding and oodles of time and energy expended getting ready for the sometimes, occasional Moreton Pinkney Open Gardens later today. Drop in if you get the chance.
Last Saturday we had Jessie for an overnighter and on Sunday we trotted off down the road to see Gifford’s Circus which was great fun and Jessie thoroughly enjoyed herself. This was the same circus that we went to with Nick, Lucy and Annabelle a few weeks ago and we thought Jessie would enjoy it. And so it proved – she enjoyed it enormously! At the end of the show, she even went up to one of the attendants to ask if they ever required volunteers as she would love to take part. Just let her know.
Thankfully, she never realised (I think) that Grandpa had utterly f**ked up. I was 100% convinced that the show started at noon. We got to the venue about 11.25 and, although the car park was full, there were very few people about, i.e., no one. We bought Jessie some popcorn and then discovered that the show had started at 11.00 and we were in danger of missing the whole first half! So, we quickly made our way into the “big top” and found some seats up at the back. It was good fun and, as I say, Jessie thoroughly enjoyed herself.
We’ve spent the week mowing, trimming, clipping, sweeping, etc. trying our best to make our garden tolerably presentable for the Moreton Pinkney Open Gardens this afternoon. Penny, who knows about these things, reckons we are opening about three or four weeks too late – the early summer bloom has finished and the later summer bloom has yet to appear. Hey ho.
We took a break from the slog on Wednesday afternoon to visit the gardens at Priors Marston Manor, a village about half an hour from here. It was an absolutely lovely garden created over the past twenty years or so. It was one of those gardens when, every time you turned a corner you stumbled across lovely views of another aspect of the garden. I did come across an article in County Life which describes the garden better than I can. And, my photos aren’t quite so good as theirs for some reason.
We spent yesterday “baby sitting” two of our favourite people – Adam was off to the airport to collect Ava and her parents and we had the pleasure of entertaining (or attempting to entertain) Jessie and Julieta.
This is the first time Ava’s folks have been to the UK and, as they speak no English and have never travelled outside China before, Ava thought it would be a good idea for her to fly out to China, have a quick visit with friends and family, and then bring her parents back to the UK with her. She’ll do the same in two months’ time when they fly back again. Lots of “fun” activities planned.
Our newly installed solar panels are doing the business! We’ve had a couple of bright sunny days and I find it hard to resist checking my phone very five minutes or so to check how much energy they are generating. Although it’s early days, I suppose the real, crucial question is: how long will it be before I stop checking my phone every five minutes?
Finally, Ben & Brex-Anna sent the following – a lovely family photo at Yosemite. What a great looking family!
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, be careful, wear a f**king facemask in crowded places and keep your distance. And keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg