A Beautiful Day In Wadhurst

 My sister and I were so lucky to have such beautiful weather yesterday. We spent the morning at Bewl Water and had a lovely long walk around the water's edge. When I say around, we walked for just over two hours, walking for an hour then turning round to walk back. The walk around the water is 12 miles and I would love to walk the whole walk one day. I'm going to try and build up my fitness to this level over the year and walk the whole route. I enjoy a challenge, the only problem is at the moment I have a bit of a niggling pain in one heel and ankle, that I'm not quite sure what it is. It isn't constant and when I am walking it is a bit better, it's when I stop it hurts and I end up having to take painkillers which I hate doing. I'm trying to decide whether it is worth going to the doctors or it may just go as things often do. 

After our walk we drove into Wadhurst to have a pub lunch. We sat in the garden with Cassie who just loves being out all on her own with us. Youngest son says she has "little dog status" as she is so easy to take places the other two can't go as easily. We had such a delicious lunch sitting in the sunshine and the lovely young waitress brought Cassie a bowl of water and two dog biscuits on a tray! I couldn't fault it, I really must take the time to write a review as I feel often only the people who have had bad experiences, fuelled by anger, seem to make the effort. You can see how much she enjoyed herself!

After we had eaten our lunch we went for a walk around Wadhurst which is a really pretty little village. The only fault I could find was that in very narrow streets there as quite a lot of traffic but I suppose that is everywhere at the moment. We even found an independent book shop to browse around who welcomed Cassie which was a added bonus to the afternoon.  We walked around the beautiful graveyard in the local church, that had the most perfect views towards Bewl Water, certainly a very pretty final resting place.

We sat for a while on a carved bench in the church porch. It was ever so moving the inscription read "In Loving Memory Of Annora Violet Watson Smyth Of This Parish Born October 23 1901 Died April 29 1912. These Seats Her Own Wish. Given By Her Mother" There were two identical seats on either side of the porch with the carving of a little girls face on the sides. Little Annora, immortalised for ever in the pretty village she lived her short life in. It was a beautiful place to sit for a rest and end such a nice day. 

It's another sunny day today and the weather forecast is for very hot later. Tom is on and early and when he gets in after a short sleep we are going to go to the caravan for a few days. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and enjoys this sunny weather if you are lucky enough to be able to enjoy it. Back soon. xx

Happily Plodding Or High Flying

 Scarlett was so full of her two days at school when she came yesterday. A few of her friends from nursery are starting with her so it has made her more confident. Typically of Scarlett she has entered into it all with such enthusiasm. "Hands up!" has become her favourite expression "Hand's up who wants tomatoes at lunch, hand's up who want's to go for a walk!" I had to join in of course and even Cassie was expected to hold up her paw before we went for a walk! Eldest daughter is so beautifully organised and has written out a date list of every day I will have to pick her up from school right through to next March, when her partner is being transferred to a new job so his shift patterns will change. I'm going to have a few dummy runs during the school holidays to get the timing just right. It has taken me back to when my children started school and even when I started school. It all seems so much more relaxed and easy going. I keep thinking how lucky Scarlett is but I can't help but have these nagging worries in the back of my mind. 

Even primary schools now have resident psychologists, I know a very nice family, who work so hard to give their children the best life yet both of the children are seeing a psychologist regularly for "low self esteem." The news loves to give us statistics all the time about how many percent of children now have mental health problems and how much up that is from previous years. If it all seems so much more happy and relaxed than in my days of starting school why has this happened? I was terribly shy at school, maybe today I would have been sent to a psychologist for having "low self esteem". Has the modern world really changed children so much or is it just experts are so quick to put labels on people now.

I have lots of old school photos in my collection, the top two are the 1950s to the two photos at the bottom from around 1910.

I look at all those little faces and wonder if life was really easier and less stressful or was it just a different kind of stress. We talk in our small group of old school friends all the time about it wondering why we all seemed so much happier as children than children today. In days before league tables, targets and constant testing. we just seemed to have fun, or are we just looking back at life in a rosy nostalgic way. I don't have the answers and probably I may be "overthinking" I'm sure an expert would tell me so. I've always been a bit of a happy plodder in life, never a high flyer and I think that was always my personality even in childhood. I'm just glad I was born in a time when that was acceptable to be. 

It's a lovely sunny day today and I am going with my sister to our caravan for the day and having a walk around the local area. We are only taking Cassie so at least she is nicely trimmed for our long walk and pub lunch. Have a lovely day everyone and I hope the sun shines for you. xx

Grooming Dogs And Special Friends

 I was busy all day yesterday, working, weeding and washing. Oh and walking, there is always a dog to walk! There seems to be so much to do all the time, I don't really mind as I do love to be busy but I can't help but miss that feeling at the caravan when we have nothing to do. I often set to cleaning it and polishing dogs nose marks off the windows but the hole van takes half an hour. There is a lot to be said for downsizing! In the afternoon I started a job I hadn't been looking forward to and if Cassie had an inkling of it she wouldn't have been looking forward to it either.

Last weekend when we were at the caravan I decided she must have another trim. It was so muddy when we were out walking and as she is so low to the ground she got covered. It was so hard to get the mud off her legs when we got back to the caravan with limited water and I had to brush the dried mud off later which she absolutely hated. Cassie always hated the groomers. I took her a few times and she did look lovely but the woman was very off with me and told me she had been very naughty, and wouldn't stand still. She developed a fear of my Mum's fan oven hating the noise as they used a hot air drying cage. I decided enough was enough, what was the point of scaring her like this. I bought some clippers and I trim her myself. She still doesn't like it much and she often looks a bit rough around the edges, but she is happy which is the most important thing.

It really reminded me of an incident that happened with my Mum in the 1970s. We had a lovely little Yorkshire Terrier, just like Cassie, called Dougal, who we got on my 11th birthday. In those days Yorkshire Terriers weren't really trimmed, they had long flowing hair and walked along like Dougal in the Magic Roundabout which is why we called him his name. We were watching an episode of The Generation Game and Bruce Forsyth brought his little Yorkie on at the end. It had had a short clip and looked lovely, My Mum was so taken with it she phoned the BBC to ask where he had got it clipped. A few hours later a man from the BBC phoned back and said "Mr Forsyth say's to tell you his Yorkie was trimmed at ..." and gave an address in London. Can you imagine that happening now! My Mum and Dad duly took him to be clipped and next to the groomers was a restaurant. They decided to have lunch there while he was being trimmed. After this every time they took Dougal they would go in for lunch. Years after Dougal was dead and gone they would still go to the restaurant all the time and built up a lifelong friendship with the head waiter and his family until his death a few years ago. He was such a special friend to them. Isn't life funny, I often think this, one chance phone call led to such a long friendship. I was going to post a photo of trimmed Cassie, but she is still sulking a bit and won't look at the camera so here is a photo of Dougal, one of the most special little dogs I have ever been lucky enough to have in my life.

Scarlett is here today so we will busy all day but have lots of nice things planned to do. Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Bravery And Gardening For Life

 It turned into a lovely day yesterday, warm, sunny and thankfully dry. I went into the garden to feed the birds in the morning and there, they were two fox cubs sitting together in the flower bed! They both looked very pleased with themselves and quite happy in the sunshine, probably feeling just like me, relieved that the heavy rain has gone. The other sight that met me when I went to the aviary was little Todd the pigeon happily swinging on the cockatiel's swing in the sunshine. He's lost his fluffy look now and his face is looking more adult. He manages fine now, feeding and drinking in fact when I fill up the food bowls he's first in. It's decision time I think.

On the way to my Dad's house I noticed that the mural had been finished at the station. I love the way our large fox population in the area is celebrated. I know many people don't like foxes but in our area of London people seem to love them, our local butcher tells me he does a roaring trade with people buying off cuts of meat to give to them, no wonder they all look so healthy, 

My sister and I got all the jobs done that we needed to for him and we still had plenty of time to sit and chat and catch up. I had taken a book about First World War Victoria Cross winners of mine to lend to him, so can read about our newly discovered distant cousin Geoffrey Vickers. I had been reading it while I was sitting on the train and I felt completely humbled by the bravery of these young men. I can't imagine what it must be like at such a young age, being put in such terrible situations and then showing such courage. I think it will be a really interesting read for my Dad who is so interested in military history. 

Dad's garden was looking absolutely lovely. He is out in it so much at this time of the year, cutting back, dead heading the roses and generally making it look so pretty. It keeps him going and gives pleasure to a lot of people. I remember reading once that "Gardeners Live Forever." I know no one lives forever but I do think gardening can give an old person a real reason to keep going. My Dad always wants to see how a particular plant or flower will do each season. It is a constant in life when so many other things at the moment seem completely out of our control.

Talking of gardening that is what I must try and catch up with today, we have been spending so much time at the caravan and with all this rain everything is getting very wild. Definitely some hard work needed. Have a lovely day everyone what ever your plans. xx

Lidl's Centre Aisle And That Perfect Garage

 We had a really fun day with Scarlett yesterday. We went to Lidl to get some food to take to the caravan this weekend and she loved it. Isn't it strange she went around the shop in amazement and at one point I heard her say "Look at that isn't it wonderful!" It did make me smile, simple new experiences are such fun for little ones and I think there was something about the mix of food and that enticing centre aisle of goodies in Lidl which she just loved. It's not just Scarlett though, Tom would spend ages browsing that tempting centre aisle and he keeps saying "This is such a bargain!" I always say "It's only a bargain if we need it!" Tool boxes, drills, packs of nuts and screws he could spend an hour going through them all. I remember my Mum used to laugh when she got back from Lidl with my Dad, without fail he had bought some "bargain" he didn't need. He always had some sort of gadget to give to me or the children, we still have an enormous telescope under our bed that is still in the box. I would love to use it but we are surrounded by trees and are far too close to other houses to set up a telescope in our bedroom window! Only the other day my sister and I had to get something out of the shed in his garden and we were climbing over discarded electrical items, you can't get into the back of his garage for electrical extension leads. If Tom didn't have me keeping an eye on him our shed would be the same and I suppose it's just as well we don't have a garage. "If we move house we must have a garage." Tom always says. I'm sure it would soon be full of as much rubbish as our loft. When we are out walking the dogs sometimes we see garages with their doors open and with screws and tools in perfect order on the walls. "That's how I would have a garage" Tom says as we pass. Somehow I'm not too sure. It would be the case of me saying "Shut the garage door! I don't want all the neighbours seeing what a mess it is!" This is Tom's idea of a perfect garage. I doubt it would be the reality! Does anyone have a garage like this!

We're off to the caravan this morning for a few days but will be back in plenty of time to watch the match on Sunday. We can't risk not getting a reception on the TV for that one! Have a lovely day and weekend everyone. Back soon. xx

Exciting Times

 I was out in the garden early yesterday checking the birds and Todd is looking very happy. He still can only fly up to a low branch and then gradually make it up to a higher one but he spends a lot of time walking around on the floor of the aviary eating the seed I have put down there for him but surprisingly he has really taken to Dottie our rescue dove. He tries to sit next to her all the time and flaps his little wings hopefully, quite clearly thinking she may be able to feed him. She tolerates him sitting next to her but looks a bit bored by the whole thing. It has made me wonder if we have made a mistake and she isn't actually a white dove but a white pigeon. Apparently they are specially bred for release at weddings and funerals but still many of them never make it home. We have always commented that she and Del, the dove we bought to keep her company just ignore each other, both seem very happy, they just don't interact. What ever the ins and outs of pigeon or dove breeds, and I am amazed at how many different breeds of domestic pigeons there are when you look into it, Dottie is definitely giving Todd more confidence as he gets used to being independent so that has to be a good thing. 

I had my telephone consultation with the Royal Marsden yesterday morning and the thyroglobulin levels from my blood test hadn't come back yet. This is the marker to shows if there are any thyroid cancer cells circulating in the body. All the other results were normal and the doctor told me they have no reason to believe there will be anything wrong but I will just have to wait a little while longer to know for sure all is OK. 

Of course there is one other exciting piece of news. England won! They are through to the final on Sunday playing Italy. I'm not quite sure how that will play out in eldest daughters home as her partner is Italian but it should be a brilliant game! I could hear the little girl and boy next door singing "Football's Coming Home" all evening before the match and I felt so happy for them. Eldest son was only four and in the nursery part of the school in the Euros of 96 when the song came out and he says he can still remember the excitement of singing it with his friends. I remember so clearly the World Cup final in 1966 and the excitement of everyone in the country. I had a little World Cup Willie toy I loved. I wonder where that is now, it's probably worth a fortune! Win or lose what happy memories are being made for children all around the country. It has given everyone a real lift after such a bad 18 months.

Scarlett is coming this morning and I'm looking forward to hearing all about her day at school and as Tom is off too he will be able to spend some time with her. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

The Song Of The Day

 Singing songs about sunshine didn't really work yesterday, there was heavy rain on and off all day. I'm still trying not to put the television on in the morning though, just five or ten minutes to get the main new points, then switch it off and music comes on. I don't even listen to the radio just my Spotify play lists and it has made a real difference to my mood. I find myself singing away as I'm tidying up and it is so much nicer than the constant stream of stress and misery on the news. I have often said music was always so much a part of my life when I was growing up and I wonder if it could have been part of the reason everything always felt so cheerful. 

Yesterday I went to meet my sister to go to my Dad's house. I really wanted to share this beautiful piece of art work being painted at our local station by a young artist. She has managed to bring in so much local life, the ducks on the ponds, the lavender, the beech trees and even the local foxes. I think it really brightens up the station.

 Despite the rain, my sister and I managed to get all the jobs at my Dad's house sorted out. I had told him a really interesting piece of information I had found out while studying the family tree. Someone had shared a photo of a portrait of the sister of my 4x Great Grandfather on Ancestry. I saved it to our family tree and sent the original uploader a message thanking him for taking the trouble to upload it as it had been so interesting to see it. He messaged me back to say he couldn't really take credit as it had been given to them by his wife's late 2nd cousin and my 3rd cousin Geoffrey Vickers, with a link to a Wikipedia page. Geoffrey was the great grandson of my 4x Great Aunt (I'm glad Ancestry worked out my relationship to him as I wouldn't be able to!) Geoffrey Vickers is a famous First World War Victoria Cross winner I have studied and copied photos of for my First World War website. Vickers is a name in our family that is used all the time as a middle name through the generations and I had never made the connection between the two families. Geoffrey Vickers lived until the 1980s which was an incredibly long life for a First World War veteran. Dad is so thrilled to have someone so brave as a relative, if a rather distant one and my sister has sent him some links to pages to read all about his exploits, which we left him happily doing. I have a feeling he will be sharing this tale with every person who talks to him outside the house for weeks!

There is a big match on tonight of course, Tom is working late again which he is ever so upset about but at least he'll be able to watch the highlights when he gets in. I know exactly what song I will be singing all day today, it's the song my children would sing all the time in 1996 and children are singing it in schools all over England today. What fun for them, win or lose they will have happy memories to look back on all their lives. Here is a wonderful rendition of the song by the Coldstream Guards outside Clarence House yesterday. Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. Good luck England. xx

The Turns Of Fate In Life And Links To South Africa

 Tom was working on another late shift last night and in the evening I settled down to watch the film Yesterday. It was about of a young man who is an aspiring singer song writer, was involved in an accident and woke up to find no one could remember The Beatles. It was funny and sad in places and I really enjoyed it. I loved the John Lennon twist which I won't give away but it set me thinking. Fate is a very funny thing, choices we make in our lives alter the course of life for everyone. Not just the course of lives now but for generations, forever. It is a bit of a scary thought really. 

I have thought often when I've been researching my family tree how the action of one particular person, led to them meeting someone and marrying and having children. There is a line of real daredevils in our family. As a distant cousin I made contact with on Ancestry several years ago said "Our family were once seriously rich, but unfortunately we got the wayward son, who then went on to produce a line of wayward sons ever since!" Although I laughed it is true, chances and risks were taken all the way along but while researching I discovered the daring went back before this one wayward son. 

The "wayward son", who I will write about in a future post, was the son of a woman who I think changed our family history most, by one mistake she made, my 4x Great Grandmother Judith. Judith was born where I live now in 1791. She was Christened in the church I walk by all the time, five minutes walk from my house, and a ten minute walk from the hospital my four children were born in. When I moved here at 18 years old to start my nursing training I had no idea I had any links with the area at all. Part of a London borough now, it was a tiny village  in 1791. Judith's family were very comfortably off, her grandfather was a barber and wigmaker in the village with apprentices and her father owned a farm and had two homes. Carshalton ponds I take Scarlett to to feed the ducks were there then, maybe Judith and her eight brothers and sisters fed the ducks there too. Here is an engraving of the pond in 1806 when Judith would have been 15 years old. 

However when Judith was 20 something happened which changed her life forever. Although unmarried she became pregnant and gave birth to a little girl called Emma. Despite the family being quite well off she went to the parish and named a man from nearby Mitcham as the father to force him to pay upkeep. (Good for you Judith!) He was a much older man who was married with a son and his occupation was given as a fencing master, someone who taught fencing apparently, and a Captain in "His Majesty's Land Service". I suppose that must mean he was a Captain in the army. He sounds like a bit of a dashing character but seemed to totally abandon Judith with her little girl. At first I thought Judith's family must have abandoned her too but over the months I have discovered clues which point to the fact that they didn't. 

Somehow, and I think we may have found out how but that is another story, Judith ended up in Simons town South Africa and married a young naval officer, 6 years her junior, from a very well to do family from Nottingham, who was stationed there. My 4x Great Grandfather Samuel Rogers. She had five children, one dying in infancy and in that small British community it appears they were a happy young family. Sadly for poor Judith, although she had found happiness in the end, it was not to last. She died at the age of 39 leaving, a young husband and four young children, the youngest only four years old. An obituary in the local paper dated the 30th March 1831 hints at the sadness. "Died at Simon’s Town on the 12th March, my dear wife Judith Rogers (Born Sprules) aged 37. Respected and regretted by her friends, and leaving four children and myself to lament so afflicting a bereavement."

I really wanted to know what happened to Emma, her little daughter born in 1812 and was delighted to find there was a happy ending. Judith had a younger brother called James who married a young woman called Lucy. They appeared to not have had any children and took little Emma on as their own. When Emma married in 1839, James was listed as her father on her marriage certificate and he was witness at the wedding. Did she ever know James and Lucy were not her real parents, I wonder.  Emma and her husband emigrated to Australia in 1857 with five young children in tow, what a daring move that was! There are now generations of family in Australia, distant relatives, all living their lives, just as our family is, because of that one event in Judith's young life. If only she could have known. 

It's a lovely morning here today and although I have to work, later on when I walk the dogs I may take a stroll down to the church were Judith was Christened and spent so much of her young life and think of her. Have a wonderful day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Getting Ready To Go Out Into The World

 I had a really busy day yesterday, catching up with work, giving the house a clean up and the garden a tidy up. It is lovely to be away but there is a lot to do when you return. Youngest son has been feeding the fox family and he really enjoys doing this. He is getting to know the different personalities as much as Tom and I do now. He says the cub has really been gaining in confidence while the dogs have been away and had been sitting near to the house too. I noticed while I was out in the garden yesterday it was getting closer and closer to me, looking really inquisitively to try and see what I was doing. It is a lovely little animal, just like a puppy with so many mannerisms the same. It certainly looks very healthy and I hope it's good food has given it the best start for it's life.

He has also been on baby pigeon duties and has obviously been doing such a good job, as little Todd has really grown and even learnt how to sit on the perch. I'm not going to bother weighing him again as I can see how much he has grown now. It's now the best way to get some safe flying practice for him before we set him free, that won't be for a few weeks. Youngest son walked the five miles home from work yesterday as he fancied the exercise, but stopped in the local park to have a breather. While he was sitting on the bench he noticed that while lots of people were feeding the ducks, lots of the pigeons were being fed too and that reminded me that when Scarlett and I go down to feed the ducks we always feed the flock of pigeons too, so maybe it would be a good place to set him free. Hopefully he could just follow the flock and with a bit of luck it won't be a place were someone will come along and decide a pigeon cull is a good idea. We want to give him the best chance possible.

Scarlett really enjoyed her half day at school yesterday. A few friends from her nursery were there which gave her more confidence. She's such a kind, sociable little girl I know she will be fine, but I feel quite nervous for her out in the big world now. In September I will be on picking up duties sometimes and it will be ever so strange to be standing at the school gates again. It really is standing at the gates as well as because of coronavirus no parents or carers are allowed in, they have to drop off and pick up all the children, even the tiny ones, at the gate. There has been no showing round the school for eldest daughter and her partner, everything has been done online, even the guided tour and meet the teacher. It has certainly been challenging for the school but I suppose Scarlett doesn't know anything different so will adapt fine.

I'm going to The Marsden this morning for a blood test, then on to Lidl do do some shopping for the weekend. I'm leaving early as there is rain forecast later and I've been soaked through enough this week! Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx 

We're Still Here

 We're still  here. Tom spent so much of yesterday afternoon trying to get the washing machine sorted out he was really tired by the evening when I got back from my Dad's house, we decided it was best for him not to drive drive anymore. Brand new water pipe now in situ, the new (second hand) washing machine is working well. It looks lovely, has managed four loads of washing back to back and it's nice to know I can now put the washing machine on overnight without risking waking up everyone within a two mile radius! 

My sister and I did my Dad's shopping yesterday and incredibly by the time we arrived our wonderful roofer friend had fixed all my Dad's tiles that had slipped and even cleaned out all my Dad's gutters while he was up there. He charged literally a fraction of the price my Dad had been quoted by another company which goes to show you certainly shouldn't go with a first quote.

We're off now for a few days in the caravan. I didn't have time to do much shopping for us yesterday so we're going to explore the local takeaways for tonight's meal which will be fun in a different area. This is tonight's plan. Good Luck England, we may not be able to watch you but we will be with you in spirit. Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Welsh Roots and Curtain Planning

 When Tom got in from work yesterday we went straight to The British Heart Foundation shop and sadly they didn't have a single washing machine in stock. We were really surprised as we used to be spoilt for choice but one of the men who works there says they sell as soon as they come in now. I suppose it must be a sign of the times at the moment, everyone is looking for a bargain. There was a really lovely selection of fridges and freezers though, maybe as appliances they last longer. We went on to Emmaus and there was not a single one there either! Luckily though, a man who worked there showed us a Bosch machine in excellent condition at the back that had just arrived. It has to be checked by an electrician on Monday and then we can buy it. Our name has been put on it so at least if all goes well we will have a washing machine then. I don't know about other areas but we don't have a single Launderette left in this area. It's hand washing for me today!

After we left Emmaus we went to the garden centre to buy a hanging basket. I normally make up my own but this year my little plants I have grown from seed are very behind and there I don't think there is going to be much of a display, so with the money left over from the lights I bought with my Christmas gift voucher, I bought a really beautiful one. It is the largest hanging basket we have had for years and I'm really looking forward to it at it's best. "I may even paint the front door!" I told Tom. 

Another really exciting thing for Tom that happened yesterday was his Dad's birth certificate arrived. It meant I could fill in the first part of his family tree on Ancestry and all sorts of surprises have turned up already. His Dad was born in a place that despite my ongoing Welsh lessons I wouldn't even try to pronounce, called Mynyddislwyn  in Monmouthshire. His Grandmother was a widow, who's first husband was a soldier in The Monmouthshire Regiment killed on the Somme in the First World War. She had four children when she was widowed, three girls and one boy. Tom remembers visiting an Auntie when he was a child who was much older than his Dad but had no idea she was his half sister. He also knew his Dad had more sisters but had never met them. The surprise that  Tom had no idea at all about was his Dad had a half brother, 14 years older than his Dad. A sailor in the Second World War he was sadly killed in 1941 when HMS Bonaventure was sunk in enemy action. Tom has his same full names, so must have been named after him. His Grandmother was widowed again when Tom's Dad was a young child and she moved to Yorkshire to live near her eldest daughter, the one Tom remembers. It is so easy to see how family's can drift apart, particularly in times of war. We're looking forward to finding out more. 

Despite all Tom's enthusiastic support, Wales lost 4-0 last night and are sadly out of the Euros, so onward to look forward to the England match. A new curtain rail I ordered has arrived for the bedroom and today I'm really looking forward to sorting out some new curtains for in there. I have some old curtains that I may alter or I may just buy some material and make some. Decisions! I do love planning.

Little pigeon Todd is continuing to do quite well. I weighed him last night and he was 170g! He has put on 8g but also he is definitely more active and a bit brighter. He is practicing flapping his wings ready for what would be his fledging time. I think some safe flying lessons will have to be planned soon. Have a lovely Sunday everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Buying Second Hand

 Thank you for all your comments yesterday about telling strangers they look good. The consensus of opinion was that Scarlett should carry on saying nice comments to people and you know what you are all right. I shouldn't worry, I doubt there would be one person who would not be thrilled to receive a nice compliment. Interestingly though it has caused much discussion in our house. Youngest son said although he would love to say compliments he would be too afraid to in case women or even men thought he was "hitting on them." Youngest daughter is 6ft 1inches and is so stylish and pretty she gets remarks every where she goes, she has even had TV companies giving her cards to try and get her to apply for different reality shows when she is out and about, although she says she can't think of anything worse than taking part in some sort of tacky reality TV show! She get's fed up with all the comments but she said when one man wound down his window and shouted "Nice Style!" it made such a nice change from what she usually gets it made her day. Imagine if everyone was as nice as all you people in blogland, wouldn't the world be a happy place!

I had one very annoying thing happen yesterday, our washing machine has completely packed up. It has been making a very loud noise while it was spinning for a few weeks which was rather worrying and then in the last few days has made such an awful screeching noise youngest son came down to say surely the neighbours will be complaining or even worse calling the police! Yesterday it completely died the death. We have a routine with washing machines we have stuck to for years. When we moved into our previous house in 1995 I wanted a really lovely washing machine as with four young children it was on so much. We bought a machine at the top of our price range, didn't think we would need any insurance and then two years later it packed up. Out of guarantee it was sadly going to cost a fortune to fix, I know it was on a couple of times a day but it wasn't a very good advert for the make. One of eldest son's friends said his parents were selling their washing machine as they had a new integral one put in as part of a new kitchen and we bought it for £40. That wonderful Zanussi washing machine lasted for 9 years without a single problem and was the best washing machine we ever had. 

After that we completely changed the way we bought them. We have had two second hand washing machines since then and I'm sure it has saved us a fortune. On the last two occasions, we have bought from the British Heart Foundation shop so  they are checked by an electrician and give revenue for a really good charity too. I always think it is good to buy second hand if possible as it saves the world's resources. So that is where we are off to this afternoon when Tom gets in from work. I hope they have a nice one in stock. 

It's a lovely morning here today, the sun is shining and it makes it so much easier to get all the jobs done that need doing nice and early. I'm going to plant all my little geraniums out in the front garden I got free a few weeks ago. They are still quite small but if I don't put them out soon we won't get any benefit from them at all this summer. I'll walk one of the dogs this morning as we have a busy day ahead! We have to get our shopping done quickly when Tom comes in as he wants to be back in plenty of time for the Wales match. I'm not quite sure Cassie is in the mood for a walk yet though, it's a hard life being a dog!

So Good Luck Wales or should I say Pob Lwc! Have a lovely day everyone I hope the sun is shining on you a bit where ever you are. xx

The Fragility Of Young Lives

 Yesterday Scarlett and I took Cassie for quite a long walk to our local park and beyond it. I have to choose our walk destination quite carefully as there  is only so far she can walk happily and then it starts to become a bit of a chore and I can see she's not enjoying it so much. Cassie is also happy to walk at her pace where as Tess and Layla start pulling and get fed up. On the way we were walking along and a young man of about 20 was walking behind us. I stood to the side and let him pass as we were walking quite slowly. We passed the usual pleasant comments you do as we passed and I noticed how smart he looked. He was wearing beige trousers a very smart shirt and a straw boater hat. He looked wonderful, just as if he had stepped out of the 1930s! Scarlett who has a loud clear voice and has not quite learned she shouldn't pass remarks said loudly "He is very handsome!" Such an old fashioned word! I saw his face brighten and there was definitely a spring in his step as he walked on down the pavement. When he had gone I said to her kindly that even though he did look very nice she shouldn't really pass comments to people like that. She looked so crestfallen and said "Mummy said I mustn't say unkind things to people only kind things." I was at a total loss as what to say really as she is right, but doesn't really understand yet that social restraints mean we can't really be shouting things like "You look nice!" to people in the street. It's a shame we can't though as I'm sure it may brighten people's days. 

We walked round the park and then all the way along the path that takes us almost to Sutton where the path ends so we have to turn round and walk back to the park. It was so full of wild flowers and the grass was so long it was a nice exciting walk for Scarlett and Cassie too. I think the path belongs to the rail company but they have extended the park into it to make a bit of a wildlife walk along the edge of the railway track. There is a chart to show how many different butterflies have been seen but sadly we couldn't see any.

When we got back to the park Scarlett wanted to sit on a bench for a while and she told me she wanted to go and sit on the bench she had seen something had been left on as we walked past. Off we went to find the bench and as we sat down I realised it was a memorial bench to a young 15 year old who had died in the most tragic circumstances in the park a few years ago. I don't usually walk on that side of the park so had never noticed it before. The item left on the bench was heart breaking "What is it?" asked Scarlett who's reading isn't good enough yet to know what it said. "It is something put here by someone who loves their brother very much." I said. That seemed to please her and we sat on the bench and chatted about the squirrels that were running about in the park but I suddenly felt ever so sad at the fragility of young life and wished we had never sat there. 

Next to his name on a plaque was added another plaque advertising Child Line and The Samaritans. Who knows what pushed him to that point but I couldn't help but think if maybe we didn't have some of our social restraints and people really could say things like "You look nice" to people in the street instead of negative things on social media which can hurt people so much, life might be a bit better for young people.

I worried all day yesterday about my friends son who had been knocked off his moped in a hit and run but last night found out although he is hospital with several broken bones he is doing well and hopefully should recover without and lasting effects. My friend is so kind and forgiving, he said the young man who drove off handed himself into police later in the day and he actually felt a bit sorry for him as he only just passed his test and had the car a few days. He said this young lad made a terrible mistake driving off and the lasting effects of that may actually be worse than for his own son as he is now facing so many serious charges. As my friend said "One really bad error of judgement can ruin your life forever." 

I have a day at home today with all the usual things to catch up on. Little Todd is still with us and gained 1g yesterday! I know that is a pitiful amount but at least he didn't lose weight! Eldest daughter looked at him and thought there would only be a 50/50 chance of him surviving and then it is very hard to release him after he has been fed by humans from such a young age. Oh well I'll deal with each problem as it comes along. Have a lovely day everyone what ever your plans. xx

Dottie Update And Keeping Up Fluid Intake

 I left for my Dad's first thing yesterday morning and he had already been seen by the nurse, had his bloods taken and his blood pressure checked. All seemed well, but the nurse reminded him to drink plenty of liquids in this hot weather. When my sister, my Dad and I were back drinking a cup of tea and chatting about how much we have to drink, my Dad said he doesn't feel thirsty. "I know why that is Dad" I said "I remember from my nursing days when you get older the part of your brain that tells you, you need to drink doesn't work as well." "I've got news for you" he said "as you get older the part of your brain that tells you what day it is doesn't work as well either!" Oh dear. Despite all this, Dad was in good spirits and we managed to get all his shopping and tablets sorted out and the sun was shining on all his beautiful roses which always lifts everyone's spirits.

The little pigeon, Todd is still with us and seems quite bright really. When I left the house yesterday I said to him "All you have to do while I am away is stay alive, can you do that." He blinked his little eyes as he sat in his cage and managed to do what had been asked of him. It is very sad he cheeps and flaps his little wings to try and call his Mum for food and then just sadly pecks in the food bowl. I have got the scales out I used to weigh the baby cockatiels on when I hand reared them so am now able to check if he gains any weight. He was 162 g yesterday so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed his weight goes up not down. 

The office staff at Tom's work are eagerly awaiting a photo of Dottie our dove after they looked after her for a day when Tom had found her. He asked me if I would take a photo of her when I was out feeding the aviary. She's a lovely big confident bird now and seems to be really enjoying her life in the sunshine.

Her favourite part of the day is splashing about in the bird bath. I was trying to get a photo of her enjoying her bath but sadly she wouldn't oblige. It wasn't until I was back in the house showing youngest daughter that she pointed out the fox cub to me!

Scarlett is coming this morning and I'm hoping the rain may stay off for us to get out and about a bit. Our roses have been battered by the rain and need deadheading, I thought it would be a nice little gardening job to teach Scarlett and may start a life long love of roses too. I'm especially thinking of a friend of mine this morning who's son is in hospital after being knocked off his moped last night in a hit and run. He moved to London with his family to The Fens in Cambridgeshire for a safer life so it is very sad. Although he has lots of injuries he appears to be stable but it's a terrible thing to happen to a young man. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

A Busy Day Of Rescuing Birds And Neighbours

 Yesterday I  proved to myself exactly what I had written about yesterday. It's very hard to work from home without being distracted, at least it is in our house! I settled myself down at my desk to work.  I was slightly distracted as a friend of mine and his wife were hiking Helvellyn and along Striding Edge in the Lake District and he kept sharing the most stunning photos in our Whats App group, but as he seemed to only stop about every half an hour to send a photo for us to comment on and encourage him to keep going I kept quite focussed all morning. I caught up with a lot and was feeling very productive and pleased with myself by lunch time. A young woman in Croydon has contacted me asking if I would like some photos her parents have found in the loft of a house they have moved into in. Apparently the previous owners had lived there for decades and decades and although they have contacted them they are not interested in collecting the framed photos (can you imagine!) so the new owners have been trying to find a home for them. The local museum aren't interested either so after an internet search they have found my website and asked if I would like them. I'm not getting my hopes up too much as often people contact me and then nothing materialises, but I have offered to go and collect them so hopefully I will have a few more interesting photos to research soon. 

While I was sitting eating my sandwich and watching the news, Tom phoned and said he was on the way home with a baby pigeon he had found. His work garage had brought in pest control people over the weekend to kill all the pigeons who were roosting in the eaves. Tom had found this little pigeon sitting all alone under a bus which was parked in the corner of the garage. While he was finding a box so the office staff could keep an eye on it during the day until he came back to the garage one of the other drivers said "Just stamp on it, it's only a pigeon." The whole story made me feel so sad, as human beings why we feel we are so superior to animals and why some animals seem to be right at the bottom of the line of caring. The long suffering office staff, they are used to looking after waifs and strays for Tom, looked after the pigeon all morning, and then Tom bought him home on the bus. "How is the dove we looked after?" they asked. Tom promised to send them a photo of her living happily in our aviary. When Tom arrived home I had sorted the cage out and set it up for the poor little chap. He had called him Todd as he found him all alone. That's Todd Sloan which means alone for anyone not familiar with cockney rhyming slang!

I sent this photo of him to eldest daughter who before she became a police officer worked in the, now closed down, London Wildlife Hospital for two years so is quite an expert with this sort of thing. She says it is very borderline whether he will be able to feed himself as he still has some of his yellow baby feathers and will still have been fed by his mother but just learning to feed himself. I tried syringe feeding him as I have had lots of practice with hand rearing baby cockatiels but he just refused to open his beak, hand rearing really needs to start before about three weeks old to be successful, although I have had some successes older. In the end I tried him with softened oatmeal biscuit and later some warm scrambled egg which he did pick at a bit. He's still alive and picking at his food again this morning so I hope he will survive. He spent the evening sitting on my knee on an old towel watching the first half of the England match, so at least even if he doesn't survive he is warm and cared for, which is more than all his poor family. 

In between all this pigeon drama, our lovely jazz pianist neighbour came round as he had accidentally locked himself out of his house and asked if we could help him get in. His house is completely double glazed and it seemed like an impossible task, what an earth do people do in this situation, I had never really thought. In the end he asked Tom to smash the tiny little window in his front door and as Tom has long arms he managed to reach in and open the lock, of course then a glazier has to be found to make his house secure again and between all this and baby pigeon feeding the rest of the day passed by and I didn't get any more work done. While all this was going on my friend made it to the top of Striding Edge and I missed commenting on the dramatic photo of them posing with their dog in triumph! 

With baby pigeon Todd safely back in his cage, I was recounting all the days dramas to youngest daughter, who was sitting watching the second half with us. It was a nice end to the day even if not at all as I had planned. I suppose a life has been saved, our lovely neighbour was safely in his house and England won. I just had to share this photo of Tess and Layla watching youngest daughter eating crisps during the football match. You can see who gives the dogs unhealthy snacks in our house!

I'm off to my Dad's this morning. My sister is taking him for a blood test first thing this morning and then I am going round a little later and we will do his shopping and have lunch with him and then all the other little jobs we have to do. My six monthly blood test at the Royal Marsden is due this week so I will have to try and fit that it too at some point. At least the sun is shining. Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Working From Home And Surviving

 It was a really rainy day yesterday which wasn't very nice but I had so much work to catch up on, it made me feel a bit better about staying in most of the day. I haven't worked at all over the last couple of weeks and you can't work from home and just swan around all the time, so this week there is going to be a lot of catching up. All my income from my two work websites is from commission, so I'll have to find time to catch up over the next couple of weeks. I have worked at home for twenty years and apart from a few times when life has been really difficult with family or my own ill health, I work out a work plan for the day in two hour blocks and it  has all gone really well. Some days I work more than others and fit in around what I am doing that day but always try to work in my two hour blocks, and either work two, four or six hours in the day depending on what else is going on. I make enough money with Tom's wages to get along, and as we always look for ways to save money and aren't really interested in buying expensive items, have managed. I like being my own boss and there is only a few things I miss about going out to work. I am well aware I am rather vulnerable if I am ill but then again I don't have to worry about a company I work for not surviving in difficult times. Whether I sink or swim is really down to me and how I adapt my work over the years. I really enjoy that feeling of independence.

It is a way of life more and more people are having to adapt to. So many people are working from home I do wonder how many will manage as time goes on. I have a large family, which although I moan they distract me, I can't imagine what it would be like working from home all day with no one coming in, in the evening to share your day with. Even though eldest daughter is a police officer, her work is mainly office based now. The team she works on, have adapted to work phones and computers set up at home, online meetings and even court presentations online. Her kitchen is starting to resemble a police incident room! The trouble is sitting at a kitchen table on your own is hard after several months. If Scarlett is off nursery ill and wanting attention, an online meeting with a Detective Inspector and a magistrate takes on a whole new level of stress she hasn't had to deal with before! 

Eldest son and I talk about it all a lot and he often says to me "Human behaviour changes very quickly." He has the most wonderful business brain and I think he is right, there was an article on the news yesterday about the massive new warehouses being built to cope with the parcels waiting to be dispatched from all the online shopping we are now all doing. In a way it is very sad but in another way there are exciting new opportunities for people. I would say to anyone who is worrying about whether their job will survive or who are furloughed and don't know if they will have a job to go back to, to start their own business. There will be new ways forward I'm sure. If I was younger and not so close to our retirement plans (although they still involve another business!) as a dog lover I would start a really good dog boarding kennels. Everyone has gone puppy mad in the last year and many of these people are going to want foreign holidays in the coming years. They will soon discover how hard it is to find good kennels. I think there are lots of new ideas for businesses if you just look around at how life has changed and instead of feeling despair at how things are going maybe we should see it as a new challenge. Eldest son makes me smile, he has a motivational line for every occasion! This is one he often uses.

I'm still catching up with work today and hoping I will be a bit more on top of it all by the end of the day. Tom enjoyed being back at work yesterday though, he said it felt nice being back in the swing of it all, so I know working from home is definitely not for everyone. I'm desperate to get out in the garden to tidy up but I'm trying to be strong today. The snails have been causing havoc with all this wet weather. I managed to save a couple of little plants that I particularly want to make sure survive and have brought them into the kitchen window sill. One is a Tree Peony and the other is a little Silver Birch tree the only ones of them left that haven't been eaten by the snails. 

I only have a few dog walks planned to break up the day today but I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

The Special Days Are Today

 The rain stayed off most of yesterday and I met my sister and we popped into Marks & Spencer's to buy lunch for my Dad and we had a really nice few hours chatting and catching up over it. Dad had found an old bottle of really Armagnac brandy from 1931 which is his year of birth. One of his work colleagues had given it to him as a present years ago and he had put it away to open on a special birthday and forgotten about it. "We should have opened it on your 90th." my sister and I joked. "Oh well" he replied "We'll open it on my 100th, and if I don't make it, you can sell it and buy a house!" All joking apart, not quite a house but it is very valuable and another lesson learned not to put things away for best or special occasions as the special days are today.

It was one of the topics of conversation Tom and I had while we were away. It is so easy to always be planning for the future and missing "the now" . We are guilty of it, Tom often says "We'll do that when I retire."  It is nice to think about these things but I think every day I mustn't forget how much pleasure there is in now. You hear it all the time at the moment "I can't wait till this is all over." "I can't wait until next year when I can have a holiday abroad." My friend's husband died very suddenly aged only 58 a few years ago. He was a cheerful chap and the day before he died he visited the boat yard where they kept their little boat. His last Facebook entry on that day was a post saying. "It's a beautiful day here, the sort of day that makes you feel glad to be alive." While it is so poignant to see it, what a wonderful epitaph in another way. Tom and I have both said we are going to try and enjoy every day. I know it is harder for Tom driving round in the London traffic all day, but he says it could be much worse, most of the people he works with are really nice and 90% of the passengers are lovely. I am going to find time today sit down and make a few notes about ways to simplify our lives and enjoy it more. I try to do this sort of thing all the time and then somehow slip back into those days worrying about how I will get everything done I need to to. 

Eldest daughter and Scarlett came round yesterday and I wish I could simplify her life for her! We had a really nice family day though. A perfect day to finish off Tom's holiday and although he was up early today and left the house before 5am, he was definitely rested and refreshed after his break. I've just got to work out a way of keeping that for us!

Even though youngest son has been feeding the foxes, since we have been home the male fox has taken to standing looking in at us reproachfully all the time. Where have you been? I'm sure he is saying! Have a lovely day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Wildlife In The Rain And Thinking Of Fathers

 We came back yesterday from another lovely few days in the caravan. The weather was dreadful, heavy rain, and the caravan and field were shrouded in a low mist that was really eerie. With only one other campervan in the field we walked our dogs around the field and adjacent lane and then sat inside watching the wild birds. We had taken all our food as we had seen the weather forecast and I cooked some lovely meals on the little gas cooker, which rivals our own cooker at home for how well it works. I'm sure we would have got fed up with the rain if it had been so heavy for all our holiday but for a few days it felt cosy and warm, sitting inside listening to it battering on our caravan roof. There were so many swallows in the field we were convinced one would hit our van they were flying so low but they seemed to be too skilled at flying to do this.

We had flocks of starlings descending on the quiet field as well as a resident woodpecker. It was a real pleasure to sit and watch them. 

You can just see George the horse on the left in the top photo. We were getting really attached to him by the end of the two weeks and although Tom's holiday is finished and he is back at work tomorrow we are hoping to go back there when he has days off again in 10 days time. It was lovely to come home though and see youngest son and daughter and catch up with all the chat again.

 I spoke to eldest daughter on the phone who was feeling totally disheartened with trying to move house. They had been looking forward to seeing a beautiful house yesterday that had only just gone on the market. The estate agent called to tell them that although the owners had already accepted an offer they wanted to carry on with people viewing it to "See how it goes". They declined the offer of viewing it as it all seems so underhand. Imagine if they had put in an offer that had been accepted then a while later as they were preparing to move in, were told it had been sold to someone with a higher offer. They have decided they will try to forget about moving for the next few months and wait and see how things go with the property market, which at the moments is definitely all going in the sellers favour.

One of the things Tom and I have talked about in the last few weeks, while we were at the caravan was trying to spend more time tracing Tom's Welsh roots on his Dad's side. Tom is really keen to find out more about his Dad's family and embrace his Welsh roots (could it be because Wales are doing well in the Euros!) as he knows nothing at all. His Dad died a few years after we got married in 1982 and all Tom knows is he settled and married in London as a young man during the Second World War. He didn't even know his grandparents names, although he knew his Dad had sisters. Tom still misses his Dad and sadly there is no one left alive to ask. With one of the most common names in Wales it has been a challenge but I have found his Dad's birth in Newport, South Wales and have ordered his birth certificate last night. Tom is really excited to find out more about relatively close family, he knows nothing about and it felt a bit like an extra Father's Day present for him.

I'm meeting my sister this morning and we are going to see my Dad for Father's Day and have lunch with him, which will be lovely. This afternoon eldest daughter and Scarlett are coming round and later we have a lovely dinner planned. I'm really looking forward to the day and I hope everyone has a lovely day too. I know there will be lots of people feeling sad today who have lost their fathers, like Tom, and I'm particularly sending them lots of love and best wishes. xx

Relaxing Off Grid And Bats

We arrived back from the caravan yesterday afternoon for a couple of days. We felt rested, tanned and ready for anything! Our enthusiasm was slightly  dampened when we arrived home to discover the foxes had ripped the lid right off our food waste bin and rubbish was strewn every where. Youngest son and daughter hadn't had time to clear it up before they left for work (or so they said!) so I had to start sweeping the path as soon as I returned. When I got inside the house though my spirits were soon lifted by a wonderful chatty letter from my lovely cousin waiting for me. What is it about letters that are so special now? Reading her chatty letter with all her news felt so exciting. Technology has taken over our lives and although there is a lot of good in technology, I have definitely realised this past week there is a lot not so good. We had virtually no internet access at the caravan. I managed to post a few photos on Instagram but just had to post them and leave my phone and they could take hours uploading. A lot of the time we had no mobile signal either, I started by feeling a bit anxious about it but then kept reminding myself that before all this technology most of us were completely uncontactable on holiday. As an older teenager, at home with my sister when my Mum and Dad started to take some holidays on their own, we heard nothing from them for two weeks, the only contact we had was a postcard that usually arrived on the day they arrived home! We survived fine so how have we become so obsessed with keeping in contact all the time. 

The day before we left yesterday we went for another long walk with the dogs to Bewl Water. We went really early just after nine as it was so warm and walked all morning. When we arrived back at the caravan and I was getting lunch ready, the dogs were all so relaxed and tired, it made me realise that everyday life takes it toll on animals too. They have loved this caravan life.

After lunch I settled my self down on the sun lounger with my book for a guilt free afternoon doing nothing! There is something about that just sitting, on holiday that I could never do at home, there always seems to be so much to catch up with. A new couple in a very smart campervan arrived at the site and Tom turned his chair round so he could watch all the shenanagans! They spent a long time setting up all their electronic devices and a satellite dish but then realised they couldn't get any internet access. The owners of the site were summoned and after much discussion the van was all packed up again and the owners of another campervan who were parked closer to the house kindly swapped with them. Apparently if you are close to the owners house you can get get access to the internet. Tom gave me a running commentary of the entire proceedings, while I lay on the sun lounger reading and feigning interest. By the time they had set up again they were practically in the toilet block but they seemed happy and they both spent the rest of the afternoon sitting looking at their mobile phones. When I walked over to the toilet that evening, they were in the middle of loudly face timing someone and showing them round their campervan. They were so jolly and friendly stopping their phone conversation to chat to me, with their large glasses of red wine, I couldn't help but warm to them, but it did seem a bit of a shame they weren't really enjoying their beautiful surroundings more.

There is a lot of good on the internet, but I can't help but think life was simpler and less stressful without it, or was it because I was younger then so of course life was less stressful. Tom and I have talked a lot about simplifying our life and our plans for the future, but I also am not going to fall into the trap of not enjoying today. Even on the busiest of days there always seems to be something to enjoy. Youngest daughter couldn't wait to tell me, that over the last few evenings, she has seen bats flying around some large trees near our garden. she said as she was looking out, with her window open around nine o'clock she spotted them. Her old school, just down the road is a listed old building and they often had bats flying around if we went to events on summer evenings so I suppose it is not to far for them to travel. We can't wait to try and film them. 

I have just about forgiven the foxes for all the mayhem they caused. Youngest son is convinced it was not our pair, as they would be too discerning after the wonderful diet they normally get to raid mouldy old food waste bins. I'm having a garden day today, youngest daughter has been religiously watering it while we have been away and left unchecked everything has got really wild, so I better have a bit of a tidy up. That's before I even start on the house! Sigh, I miss my sun lounger! Have a lovely day everyone, what ever you are doing. xx

A Family Day

 We had a wonderful day at the caravan yesterday. Eldest and youngest daughters and Scarlett came for the whole day. We had really been looking forward to it and apparently Scarlett had barely slept the night before she was so excited. We were so lucky again with the weather and when we arrived we spent the morning showing Scarlett the horses, chickens, dogs and cat at the caravan site. The owners have four dogs including a spaniel puppy, an elderly cat, a Shire horse and ten chickens and a cockerel. The chickens free range all over the caravan site and even come and look in the caravan door so for an animal loving little girl like Scarlett it was just the best day. We sat and ate our lunch outside the caravan watching them and Scarlett chose names for them all, including the cockerel who she called The King! 

After lunch we went for a walk with Cassie, we walked through the woods and down lanes to a field of horses where we stood and stroked them for a long time. It was so quiet it felt as if we were in a different world to home. Along the lane there was a field of llama's, Scarlett was disappointed they wouldn't come over like the horses had as she was longing to stroke them too. I have no idea if llamas become tame enough to be stroked, but these ones just ignored us. 

It was lovely to be together and so relaxed. Eldest daughter particularly has a really stressful job and it was wonderful to see her chatting and laughing and catching up with her sister. I'm sure Scarlett will always look back on this day happily. I tidied up the caravan before we left and I thought how quickly you can get a small space back to normal. We left it all ready for Tom and I to go back to today.

Scarlett chatted the whole way home, we thought she would fall asleep but she wanted to talk about the entire day! When we had dropped them off and we arrived home youngest daughter and I walked down to the Co-op to buy a few bits and we had to go back as youngest daughter had forgotten her mask. She normally wears her mask round her neck all the time when she goes out, to pull up when she needs it, "I completely forgot about it" she said. I did think it really summed up how we had felt all day. 

  I hope everyone who is lucky enough to be enjoying this lovely weather manages to stay cool if you are out and about or having to work in it. Have a lovely Sunday everyone. Back soon. xx