It’s been a tolerably good week – what are the chances of that? The weather’s been mixed – a bit of rain but mainly dry with overcast skies, warm temperatures for the time of year and 500% humidity.
We had Jessie for an overnighter on Sunday, just before she started back to school. It was great fun, as always, but hard work (for Penny). We watched Annie and she and Penny spent the next day or so breaking into song every so often – Tomorrow!
Wednesday we had a very special treat – a great visit with George Jefferies. Some of you may remember (perhaps) that the Jefferies lived in Ratley when we lived in Radway; their three boys (Bill, Joe and George) were about the same ages as our three. They went to primary school together and became great friends – they were always at ours or our boys were up at theirs. George now lives and works in Cambodia so it was a real treat to see him and we really appreciate him making the time and effort to come and see us when he had so many cousins, aunts, uncles, half-siblings and friends who would like to enjoy his company during his brief visit to the UK. And then, of course, there’s his father and one of his older brothers living in the south of France.
We enjoyed another of our occasional “Not a Pub Night” with our lovely neighbours on Friday evening. This was another, simple “Not a Pub Night” of course but the occasion was also to inaugurate the hosts’ new “Garden Room” which is very nice indeed. The evening was warm and dry so we were able to mingle with dozens of our lovely neighbours out of doors. Plenty to drink, obviously, but also a seemingly endless supply of very tasty nibbles. Lovely.
We’ve really been enjoying the series Kaos. It’s a “darkly comedic and contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology, exploring themes of gender politics, power, and life in the underworld.” Jeff Goldblum plays Zeus and is excellent, as are the rest of the cast. I do confess, it’s been a long time since I studied Greek mythology (do they still teach that stuff in school?) so I had to give my brain a little refresher – thanks Wikipedia. With the whole of Greek mythology to get through, this looks like it could run and run. It’s on Netflix here so give it a try.
We’re also really enjoying the second series of Colin from Accounts, a series concerning a young couple (a micro-brewery owner and a student nurse) who meet as a result of a car accident and an injured dog. Don’t let the fact that it’s Australian put you off – it’s on the BBC (and iPlayer) here.
Nick, Lucy & Annabelle came for lunch yesterday – we went out to The Crown Inn at Weston which is always perfectly satisfactory if not necessarily outstanding. Annabelle and Jessie are both back at school now. My goodness, that summer certainly sprinted past!
Penelope’s new post box has been carefully affixed to the front of the house in place of the old one. It is truly superb and everyone who sees it comments on its magnificence. Our first challenge, of course, was getting the old one off the wall. Roger happened to come by when Penny and I were debating how to get it off without totally destroying it. Roger said it’s been there 40 years! If this one lasts half that time it should see us out!
And finally, how about these two cute young things – thanks to their respective parents who kindly sent along the relevant photos.
And, how about these two photos which Nick shared recently – the same two great people in the same place separated by a few years.
And finally, finally, finally, Nick did some sort of something at a conference somewhere in London. He even looks like he knows what he is talking about!
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg