No photos for this one. About 35 years ago I was divorced and returned home to parents with young son. Joined Dateline. Went out with some very weird men - most of them wished to talk about their previous wives! One I remember had a Bobby Charlton hairstyle, a brown suit (I hate them) and a purple tie which he started wrapping round the steering wheel whilst driving (god knows why). Another chap was 5ft 4ins tall and I am nearing 6ft !
Eventually met a sheep farmer from Scotland - we both got on well and he did his level best to enjoy my interests. One day my Dad said "Don't put your eggs all in one basket" - so I looked at my computer sheet of four names (I had been too shy to make the initial contact) and decided to write to one - but which one - in the end I chose the one with the nicest sounding name! Eventually a letter (full of spelling mistakes) came back from Nice Name including a fab photo and I remember my mum, dad and myself (son eating rusks or something similar) pouring over this photo. The letter said he would drive down from London to see me. Well . . . . . . we hit it off from the moment we met.
Sheep Farmer and Nice Name had different methods of arranging their lives. Sheep Farmer would look at his diary and make a date. Nice Name would just suddenly ring up out of the blue and suggest we should go out that night. The inevitable happened. I had a date fixed with Sheep Farmer one Wednesday night - Wednesday afternoon Nice Name phoned and said he would be with me within the hour! By that time I liked Nice Name better than Sheep Farmer so I did the most terrible thing - I still remain deeply embarrassed.. . . . . . . . . .
I said yes to Nice Name and rang Sheep Farmer and told a whopper - my father had had a severe epileptic fit and had been rushed to hospital. Sheep Farmer said how sorry he was. I proceeded that night to see Nice Name.
The weekend arrived. It was very very hot. We had front door and garden door open to keep a breeze running through the house. All the family were in the garden sunbathing (son must have been toddling around). Doorbell rang and there on the doorstep was Sheep Farmer with a huge bouquet of flowers for me - he could see straight through the house into the garden where my father was in a very healthy condition for someone who had had a severe epileptic fit. Sheep Farmer with downcast eyes left never to be seen again. I later married Nice Name who is now Husband and we live happily ever after.
So Sheep Farmer if you read this blog - I am truly sorry for treating you so shabbily.
This is a boring photo to everyone except Husband and I. This is the view out of one of our kitchen windows. At the AGM of our Parish Council I asked whether or not fly posting was illegal - they agreed that it was. It was suggested that if we thought the posters were an eyesore we could take them down and place them on another pole instead! This telegraph pole and a large number of others in our village are very often plastered with notices about village matters and they are not taken down after the event by the people who put them up in the first place! In our village there are suitable places for posters such as the Parish Council notice board and the village shop. We also receive a very good village newsletter which is the ideal place to advertise forthcoming events.
This Bull has lately been residing in the field at the end of our garden. Apparently he was a champion of champions - he was gentle and friendly because he had been handled regularly. A week ago he twisted his back whilst serving a skittish cow. He hobbled around but became very lame and eventually sat down most of the time. The farmer fed and watered him and on hot days us neighbours watered him as well. It was a very humbling experience to watch a truly noble animal relying on us in his last days. Yesterday he was there and then suddenly not there. We miss him.
This is where I take my Wonky Knees most days to try and keep fit. I have stopped participating in the Aqua class (seen here) as I now prefer to swim about 30-40 lengths for the cardiac exercise. Yesterday forgot to collect towel at Reception - I had swimming hat and goggles already in situ - struggled back into my jeans and walked through sitting room and cafe area to main entrance. 'Goodness', said Spa Manager 'Are you ready to swim the channel' !!! I wish!
This photo is a calming one - after a hectic night at the local competing in the quiz. 'The Kitchen Gardeners' team were awful - we came second to last. Wrinkly type teams cannot possibly know what Garfield's teddy was called - can they? We had never heard of the Gummy Bears. If you come last you win a bottle of wine and we could not even manage that - we would have done if we had not cheated and sidled up to a young bystander who wrote down some music answers for us! So next time we will not cheat - well - perhaps not!
For last few days, since the cows ate our apple tree and half the compost , we have suggested to Rescue Dog that he takes up position near the remaining apple tree and pretend to be a big fierce guard dog. Now that the strawberries have finished, he having eaten half of them, there is nothing for him to do! His big ears flapped up into the 'radar position' - just as he was thinking he could perhaps look a teensy weensy bit fierce - the cows were taken away into the next field! Whew what a relief for Rescue Dog.
