It’s been a great and busy week! Ben, Brex-Anna and Max arrived last Saturday for Spring Break and it’s been full-on ever since. They’re parked up in a lovely little cottage in the village of Eydon, just up the road and we’ve had a number of get-togethers and outings with more to come.
Last Sunday everyone came to ours and Penny prepared a feast fit for the occasion, a Sunday roast with all the trimmings! It’s been a while since we’ve had all the boys and all the grandchildren together with us at one time and it’s simply grand.
On Tuesday we all trudged off to Adam and Ava’s and then on to ten-pin bowling. You can be thankful that I have decided not to share the videos of the occasion – it would be too embarrassing for one or two of us. The kids all had fun, even Juju. She took great pride in demonstrating her strength and stamina in carrying a bowling ball to the handily provided ramp and rolling it down the alley. Perfect. Perhaps some of us adults ought to have employed the same technique. All that followed by a sleep-over at ours with Max and Jessie. Excellent.
Meanwhile, while all this is going on, Brex-Anna left for Paris to meet up with her folks who flew in from the States. They’ve had a few days enjoying Paris together and then they’ll all be back here for a few days.
Thursday evening was the final Moreton Pinkney Film Night of the season. A lovely girl from the village was commandeered to babysit with Max so Ben was able to join us and immerse himself in the full village experience. And, the fish and chips are always grand.
The film was Fracture with Anthony Hopkins and a very young Ryan Gosling which was a lot of fun and a perfect fit for the demographic of those Moreton Pinknians who attend Film Night. It’s a tidy little thriller with a satisfying if well sign-posted twist at the end. I think everyone enjoyed it and I’m sure Ben enjoyed the spectacle – everyone is always so kind and friendly.
Brex-Anna arrived back from Paris with her folks yesterday via Eurostar and the Chiltern Railway to Banbury. They’ve timed their arrival perfectly – they sped off fairly early this morning as Mary Jane, Brex-Anna’s mother, was keen to see Coventry Cathedral. What better time to visit than Easter Sunday! Then, everyone’s back to ours (again!) for an egg hunt in the garden and an Easter feast without compare. The smells currently emanating from the kitchen are divine!
Last week I shared a photo of the structure the head gardener had me construct – some simple battening used to construct a cube covered with fine mesh, and I challenged you to identify its purpose.
No winners, I’m afraid – if I had told you that it ended up half-submerged in Penelope’s Pond you might have had an inkling. It’s a frog spawn/tadpole nursery. Penny collected a bucketful of frog spawn from a pond up the lane at the bottom of Brook Street and transported them home for rearing in her pond. However, we also have resident newts who were probably licking their chops when they heard Penny’s plan. So, the structure currently has tadpoles happily swimming about safely protected from the newts. When they reach a size where they can hopefully stand up to the newts or, at least, find a means of staying out of their reach, Penny will set them loose and hope for the best.
Finally, this tickled my fancy during the week – my grandchildren come to an understanding very early on in our relationship that Grampa’s chair is definitely off-limits.
And so this week winds to a conclusion. This week we’re looking forward to taking Jessie and Max to a show at the Derngate Theatre in Northampton – Rude Science which I’ve no doubt will be appropriately disgusting and rude for them.
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. And, hold your loved ones close.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg