Diary > Sunday 25th April

[Roobarb]

After going to sleep much earlier than usual I thought I'd wake up early but was amazed to see that I'd slept for ten hours. Someone must have spiked my wine. 

Was pleased to see on my walk that there was no rubbish left in the usual place, just some charred wood from a bonfire. There were two very large branches that had been dragged over there but I could see that they were dead ones, some of the natural damage that had occurred in the woods during the winter.

Had a long chat with a friend when I got home, good to hear about what she's been up to. Afternoon was much the same as the others recently, gardening and sitting in the sun. I had to change into shorts as the sun was so hot through my jeans. Very peaceful in the garden.

Watched Line of Duty, I missed the vital first five minutes, will have to catch it on iPlayer. Only one more episode, I know who I'm putting my money on.

Can't believe that in less than a week it'll be May. It doesn't seem five minutes since Christmas, where has the time gone?

[Mowsehowse]

Yes, it is most odd how time seems to be flying this year Roobarb. In the South I noticed that lilac is in flower already, which was a bit of a shock!
Seems you had a good sleep and a pleasant day which is good.

We had another bright morning with strong Easterlies, and as usual on a Sunday morning I attempted to make contact with my family in Oz. Glory be, for the first time in almost 2 months I got to speak to my grandson, who is five, and bright as a button. I had a guided tour of the race track he has built out of Lego, was re-introduced to the guinea pigs, and had some fun under the "dooner" while he worked out how to stop "the blackness" so I could still see him.
Eventually H and I walked over to the lakes, and were flabbergasted the car park was crammed to overflowing.  It turned out there were simultaneous athletic events on the field, and cycling events at the Velopark,  but it was possible to give the crowds a wide berth and the lakesides were quiet.  We were delighted to see a family of 6 goslings with parents, which I assume was the family I saw on Tuesday. Lots of song birds and some butterflies too.
Returning home a toad was striding along the path and had almost reached the beach road, so H picked him up and carried him to some wild land behind the pond in Young's park. Hopefully he will stay away from traffic. While we were there we noticed 3 cygnets have hatched at the pond.
H had a surprise video call with a sibling at lunchtime, and then during the afternoon we walked inland to Oldway Mansion, via Victoria Park.  Although there weren't any ducks in the leat where we saw the 6 hatchlings last week, we did find a family of 8 ducklings busy on the pond nearby.
Watched "Line of Duty", penultimate for this series.... haven't got the faintest idea how it will be wrapped up!

[jo1962]

Another lovely summer day. I too can't believe it's May next week, christmas doesn't seem that long ago.  We decided to go out and look for an outdoor dining table and chairs. Just something simple and reasonably priced. It was like trying to find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Everywhere was sold out and didn't know when they would be having another delivery. It seems outdoor furniture is as much in demand as dogs, everybody wants them.  Didn't do much else for the rest of the day - though looking for the furniture we didn't get took up most of it. Watched call the midwife. I have heard  of several people who watch line of duty, it's not something I have watched, not sure why. Perhaps I will give it a go.

[Mowsehowse]

Jo.... I spotted a "cheap and cheerful" white plastic set in B&Q last Sunday. 
I am fairly certain the table was £79, and had an eye catching cut out pattern around the edge, which is why I noticed it.
I wouldn't have minded that set indoors in a conservatory.

[jo1962]

MH, I did look in B&Q and saw a couple I liked. The problem is none of them were in stock. We have an old, and rather shabby wooden set at the moment which has seen better days.  OH says he will sand it down and treat with osmo oil so perhaps it might come up reasonably well and we will get this year out of it.

[Roobarb]

Great to finally have contact with your family in Oz MH. I hope the toad was grateful to H for the disaster avoidance, well done to him. You certainly had a busy day.

So frustrating Jo when you find that what you want to buy has become the latest thing, there was so much of that last year, I thought it would have calmed down now. Hope the old table turns out well.

[Ruskie]

Jo, Line of Duty is good, but this current series is the sixth! They refer back to characters from previous series so you should probably watch it from series one. With so many twists and turns and undercover baddies and goodies it is a bit complicated, and with such a long time betweeen series, I forget who is who and tend to get a bit lost.

I’m not surprised you are having difficulty finding an outdoor setting. It only takes a couple of warm days for seasonal items to sell out, and it may be that there are supply issues due to covid.

I love hearing about your wildlife adventures MH. I do worry about the little babies, as one way or another some will be lost. So nice that you managed to have a chat with your grandson.

Roobarb, it must be a relief that your walk is litter free - let’s hope it continues that way. I find it quite depressing to see litter around - and it makes me annoyed too.

Sunday - Anzac Day. All Anzac commemorations were cancelled last year, but this year it was business as usual. A march used to go down our street with a ceremony at the RSL Hall near us, which we sometimes used to attend. They changed the route in 2019 which was disappointing, then no march last year and none this year. Shame. Almost all shops closed for the day, with some opening in the afternoon only.

Took dog for her walk and spotted labradoodle playing with it’s neighbour’s yard. Sweet.

Added: Jo, if your wooden set is still in solid order it should scrub up very well.

[Caw1]

My lots of entries for yesterday....

Roobarb- lovely to sit outside in shorts... a bit brr 🥶 down here for that despite the sun! Glad to hear no more bottles,cans or broken glass....

MH - delighted you were able to speak to your five year old grandson.... and be shown around,it’s such a treat... they do so love to do that and with these extraordinary times they’re all ever more competent with modern technology! Your local wildlife must be delightful to see too. Love the toad story!

Jo... it seems that stocks of things are not as good as one would hope... when we visited a garden centre recently to look for a climbing hydrangea and a plum tree they were very thin on the ground or non existent!
We used a pressure washer on our teak garden table and chairs and it came up beautifully... have to say I’d much prefer it to have teak oil put on it rather than they grey it gets without it.... but then I’m not the one slogging over it.. have offered but apparently I’m not thorough enough! Hope you’re able to find something suitable soon..

Ruskie - shame your Anzac Day isn’t able to go ahead as normal.... we were in Oz on Australia Day many moons ago and thoroughly enjoyed seeing all that went on...

Sunday is usually paper reading day but each week I become more disappointed with the content... I can’t read about all the infighting going on currently with Boris and that dreadful man Dominic Cummings... he’s just too slimy and obviously wants his pound of flesh...
It was a nice sunny day but the wind was quite bitter... having spent all week outside I sat in the conservatory enjoying the sunshine without the chill!
OH went off to play golf late morning and I had a lovely long chat with a friend.... she’s certainly more knowledgeable about gardening and plants than I am so have followed her suggestions 🤞I can easily kill off most things 😢.
After lunch I vacuumed the house as haven’t done much housework recently....
Sat and read for a while second book about Eleanor of Aquitaine....
Decided to get dinner organised as I had a feeling my daughter would FaceTime just when I was in the middle of doing it!
Had some paperwork to do regarding the subs coming up for the village lottery.... it’s amazing how many times you have to remind people before they get round to it!
Daughter FaceTimed ... youngest J proudly showed me the two new fish they’d bought... one of previous lot had died.... so now they have 11!
Eldest T then took me on a tour of their new bedroom and showed me all the cactus plants they’d bought... including a fly trap which apparently he’s been feeding with flies... boys eh!
They’re off next w/e to Longleat for three days staying in a cottage the boys are very excited.
We discussed half term at the end of May and if all things are ok she will come up to stay with the boys for a couple of nights... how lovely the last time they were inside the house was August of last year and we were inside their house in February last year.... madness... they should hopefully get their first jab in the coming weeks as they’re both mid 40’s...
OH arrived home from golf and joined the conversation...
Despite my early dinner organising we didn’t eat until 8pm....
Watched Line of Duty.... as MH says I can’t see how they’re going to tie up all the loose ends in the last episode unless it’s an extended one... it’s a good series, despite the critics comments.... we’ve not found it too difficult to get our heads round the police terminology.....helps having watched previous series I think...

Take care all and continue to enjoy our ever expanding progress back to some sort of normality!

Caroline

[Roobarb]

A shame about the Anzac day celebrations Ruskie. We can only hope that this time next year such events will take place as normal.

I agree about the news items Caroline, I look at the headlines and can't be bothered reading it. And I'm amazed that Dominic Cummings has the brass neck to question the integrity of anyone after the way he behaved. You must be looking forward very much to the visit from your family, I guess you will be feeling more relaxed about it than their previous visit.

Re Line of Duty, it demands my full attention, I can't faff about on my tablet while half watching and listening. Really gripping. I agree with Ruskie, if you're going to watch it Jo your best option would be to watch right through from series 1