What a great week – lots going on and the weather was half-decent. Don’t hold your breath though – storm Floris is heading our way, due to arrive tonight and/or tomorrow. Mainly in the north allegedly but we’re bound to get some overspill. Where did I leave the umbrella?
We had a number of our lovely neighbours over for lunch on Monday – the weather stayed sunny and fair and it was great to sit out on the patio under the grape-vine entwined pergola and enjoy good company and a great meal. The wine and conversation flowed and Penelope’s Pond was much admired.
Wednesday was a proper “Date Night” – dinner out in a romantic (?) restaurant followed by an evening’s entertainment at the theatre. We’d been looking forward to this for some time and we were not disappointed – we went to see The Constant Wife at the Swan Theatre in Stratford which was excellent prefaced by dinner at The Rooftop Restaurant which was good enough if not quite excellent.
The Constant Wife was written by Somerset Maugham and is a “sparkling comedy of ill manners.” The play features the resourceful and charming Constance Middleton, who has long known that her husband had been having an affair with her best friend, Marie-Louise. When the affair is publicly acknowledged, rather than reprimanding or divorcing him, she embraces the opportunity to create an independent life, starting a new job, paying her husband for room and board, and taking on her own lover.
It was a lot of fun.
If it’s Thursday we must be due for another lunch, this time with friends from our former association with the gym at the Red Lion in Culworth. It’s always grand to see these friends and the food at the Red Lion is always delicious. Sadly, the current owners are selling up and we don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to indulge ourselves. Let’s hope the new owners, whoever they might be, can live up to its current outstanding reputation.
And Saturday brought an unexpected bonus mini-outing. The dog-walker-in-chief and her companion set off for their morning amble across the countryside. They made their way to the neighbouring village of Eydon and phoned me to ask if I fancied joining them for coffee and a cake at Dodds Manor Farm. Well, it would have been rude not to, wouldn’t it?
Sadly, when I was about halfway there, Penny phoned to say that Dodds was closed because of an agricultural show in another neighbouring village. Still, great minds think alike – the Forge in Culworth was open and they have excellent coffee, cakes and savouries! That’ll do.
Lovely photos of Nick & Annabelle on their American adventure. After a week or so in New England they made their way firstly to LA to visit with Ben & Brex-Anna and then up to Seattle. Yesterday they drove to my niece/Nick’s cousin Emily’s wedding in Acme. We’re off to the airport tomorrow to collect them on their return.
While in Seattle they visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum – always amazing.
And, some lovely photos of our Chinese family still enjoying their adventures in southeast Asia. George and Bill Jefferies showed up to join them in Chiang Mai – the Jefferies lived in Ratley at the top of the hill when we lived in Radway and our boys went to primary school with George and Bill (as well as Joe). Looking good guys!
Great excitement – another gardening development. One of our very lovely neighbours very kindly gifted Penelope a container grown Catalpa Bignoniodes (Indian Bean Tree) which she had grown from a seed. This is one of my all-time favourite trees – we had one in Byfield which was given to us by Penny’s sister J (I think). The leaves are large and a gorgeous shade of green and it produces delicate clusters of white flowers in July. Although I don’t imagine we’ll see it, it could grow to 10 to 15 metres.
I had always imagined that the Indian Bean tree originally came from India. Not so, apparently. It’s native to the southeastern US. It was recorded by the European botanist who discovered it as Catalpa which was a mis-recording of the local native American Indian tribe, the Catawba.
Happy Birthday this coming week to my darling youngest sister Sarah who shares her birthday on Saturday with my great-niece Azalea. They’ll both be a bit older than they were!
Ran across this on Facebook which made me chuckle. It’s from the New Yorker and was drawn by Adam D Thompson.
And, I think that’s it about it for this week!
Meanwhile, keep breathing, 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