It’s been another great and busy week – what are the chances of that? We’ve had family walks, family dinners, a theatre outing, a visit to Coton Manor and generally just a marvellously great time. And the weather has been even better than “decent” – warm and sunny most of the time.
The good weather we’ve been enjoying has brought out the Spring blossom – the blackthorn in the hedgerows is covered with white snowy blossom and everything else is either bursting or on the verge of doing so.
As well as having Ben, Brex-Anna and Max on hand to enjoy, we also had the pleasure of Brex-Anna’s folks, Ron and Mary Jane, who were here for a few days after their visit to Paris with Brex-Anna. They certainly got dragged around! We took them all to Coton Manor one day and they also spent some time visiting Coventry Cathedral on Easter Sunday and a visit to Stratford.
Coton Manor was lovely. Again, the weather was grand and the early spring flowers and blossom were fabulous.
On Wednesday Penny organised a grand outing to Edgehill and Radway which is, of course, where our boys grew up. Her brother Jeremy and his wife Liz joined us for lunch at the Castle followed by a leisurely stroll through the woods and down the hill into Radway. Fortunately, we had the foresight to park one of our cars at the bottom of the hill so that the younger members of our tour group did not have to face the long trek back up the hill. Unfortunately for her, Daisy found the pond by the obelisk too tempting and emerged with her legs and undercarriage covered with thick, black, sticky, stinky mud. She was not too pleased about the bath she was forced to endure when we got home.
Thursday afternoon, the day before Ben et la famille left to go back to the States, Penny and I took Jessie and Max to a show at the Derngate in Northampton. The title will tell you just about everything you need to know – Rude Science. As you might guess, the show was all about farts, explosions and just about every bodily fluid imaginable. Not surprisingly, the young audience found most of this absolutely hilarious.
Friday morning we had to say “goodbye” to Ben, Brex-Anna and Max as they started their long journey home. There were lots of hugs and a few tears but it’s been a great couple of weeks and we can’t wait until we’re able to do it again!
We’re slowly getting back to some sense of normality around here even while everything around us seems to be the opposite of normal. It rained for a bit yesterday morning just to remind us what Spring in the UK generally looks like.
And finally, just for a laugh, have a look at this from the BBC website – a man whose hobby is making “supersized” models of household objects.
And finally, finally, this coming Friday, 17 April, would have been my folks’ 78th anniversary – many happy returns!
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