Um - Excuse me ...

Is there anybody there? I may well ask, but in fact it is I who has been AWOL for the past 3 months.

I am not going to bore you and go into the why's and wherefores, suffice to say that I have had a busy and fairly stressful few weeks and just couldn't manage time and energy for the world of blogging as well. But I have missed it. As I write it is almost midnight but I suddenly felt the urge to have a quick look round and visit some old friends to see what has been happening to you.

Over the next few days I plan to let you know what has been happening in my world and to update myself with your news too.

So, for now, it's a good night from me.

March 2011

Here we are again at the end of another month. March has been a kinder month for me and my family than February was this year. To begin with the weather has been marvellous. Plenty of warm sunny days with few of the March winds we would normally expect and very little rain. We have even turned off our central heating although I realise that we may have to switch it back on again before Spring is well and truly over. We shall see!

The month has provided a few celebrations. To begin with there were two birthdays - my son was 43 on 4th March and my mother 89 on 9th March. Son was still in Australia for his birthday but returned to the UK on the 11th with his wife and three children. They are going to be staying with DIL's parents in Worcester for a few weeks and are looking to settle there. So a few days after their return we travelled to see them and had a bit of a family get together to welcome them home. This coming weekend they will visit us and we are planning another party!

It was lovely to see them all again and to know that they are now living so much closer. They were in Australia for 7 years but I think the longing for "home" became too much, especially for my DIL, who really and truthfully didn't really want to go in the first place. They agreed at the time that they would give it a few years and if one of them really wanted to return to UK then they would. So they are here and I just hope that all goes well for them now. The two eldest children are already in school and seem to be settling well. Jacob (aged 10) has a teacher who comes from Australia!

My mother isn't too well at the moment and is due for a check up next week. I actually called her GP to see her today but he says there is nothing wrong. I don't agree and feel that it could well be old age that is now taking its toll. We will get next week over and then I shall take it a step further to try to discover what is wrong and how to help her. My daughter has had a bout of shingles and immediately followed that up with a really heavy cold but is now well on the road to recovery and should get back to work next week.

We have had lunches with friends which is ALWAYS a pleasure. Some have been impromptu and others planned, both out and at home. All great fun, with much reminiscing and laughter.

I managed to finish my bedroom chair covers and although they are not perfect I am very pleased with the result and the chair now looks so much nicer than it did.



My next project will be to re-line a favourite winter coat, with help, of course!

Finally a picture of Springtime in Somerset.

February 2011

I have really been finding it difficult to do any posts at all lately. I have managed to look in at some of your blogs from time, in an attempt to keep up to date with your comings and goings but even that has been spasmodic. I have decided to take a leaf out of Kitty's book at Kitty's Bloggy Bits , (having asked her if she would mind first)and do a monthly round up. Kitty does her round up on the last day of the relevant month and here we are already at 2 March. However, my February was extended by one day this year because I have a friend whose birthday falls on 29th February so we were out for her birthday lunch yesterday. I had planned that I would write about things as they occurred but didn't even get around to that so here is a potted version of my February 2011.

The month actually began on a sad note as my daughter had to have her beloved puss cat put to sleep. A pretty cat, she was beautifully marked and her paws were black which I have never seen on any other cat. She was quite temperamental, really a cat with attitude. Ian (don't ask!) was 18 years old and had been ailing and failing since last summer, being kept going by steroid injections every few weeks. "You will know when it is time" the vet had said and on 2 February I received an early morning telephone call from my heartbroken daughter to say that the time had indeed come. She arranged for the vet to visit to the house rather than cause her pet any more distress by taking her to the surgery. There were several phone calls throughout the day between us with me trying to console and support her from 100 miles away and trying not to cry myself. However the deed was done and Ian is now sleeping peacefully, in the sunshine, under the bird bath in the garden she loved so much. I shall miss her when I visit as she and I used to have some fun times playing with a ping pong ball. I will tell you more about her one day in a separate post.

Ian playing (when she was still a kitten)



Ian relaxing (about 6 months ago)



Sleep well little lady.

The weather during February wasn't that cold but we have had mostly grey days, only seeing the sun shine on a few occasions. However the spring flowers began to show their colours and the birds have been singing for a few weeks now.

I returned to my sewing classes at the start of the month and I am now making some new covers for a bedroom chair. I will post a photo when it is complete. The owners of the shop where the classes are held (upstairs, away from the shop) have just won a "Stitching Retailer of the Year" award (for the third year) so we are all very thrilled for them. They definitely deserve it as their shop is so well stocked and the staff are always so pleasant and helpful.

I began sorting through old photographs which was great fun. We have hundreds of them to be looked through and decisions made as to which we will keep and which can be handed over to our children to peruse and which we can just discard. We love looking at those from our childhood and once I have been through them all I may post some for you to see.

Husband went away for a week to promote this area for tourism, something he has done for years and a subject very close to his heart. Whilst he was gone our eldest (14 years old) grandaughter came to stay for 4 days as her parents were also away and that was a new experience (in a good way). Well not new really as I have obviously lived with teenagers before but not for many years, and it is all so different these days! However, we both survived!

The brilliant news of my month is that my son and his wife and family (in Australia) have sold their house and have their return to UK flights booked for later this month. I last saw them in December 2009 so I am very excited about seeing them again soon and to know that they will only be about 100 miles away instead of 10,000.

So that is it, my potted version of February but I cannot end before saying just how touched I was by your comments on my previous post, about my late friend. They were so uplifting and I thank each and everyone of you.

A Fond Farewell

Many years ago, when I was a young girl, I had a close friend called Margaret. We were friends for quite a few years, losing touch when I moved, with my parents, to another village about 15 miles away. There was quite a group of us really, her sister, my cousin and other children of neighbours and we were all of a similar age. We went for walks, played together in each other's gardens, sat in the darkness of sheds and told each other ghost stories, you know the sort of thing! The usual childhood activities. Margaret and I were the same age and just seemed to click. As far I can remember all this took place between the years 1952-56.

Her parents had 5 children and were very hard working, her father was a chef at a local hotel and her mother worked as well. Margaret and her older sister were expected to help out at home and because we were such friends I used to stay and help her. To eke out their income her father used to bake pasties and pies at home, in short crust and flaky pastry, which became very popular with the local villagers who would buy them. This little business did very well so that they began a delivery service which meant Margaret taking a wicker basket of the freshly baked pies, covered with a cloth, to those of the local folk who had placed an order. Again, because of our friendship I would sometimes accompany her, also with a basket and we would walk a couple of miles to deliver the goods. To this day I can still remember the delicious aroma of the pies and pasties.

As I said, we lost touch when we were about 12-13 years old and eventually, after I had married, I moved about 100 miles away from my home town. I thought of her from time to time and always on her birthday - 1 December - as I knew this was the same date as my uncle's birthday; a fact often mentioned by my mother on that particular day.

One day about 30 years ago when I was shopping in the next town to where I live now, just as I was about to leave the department store I was in a woman of about my own age approached me. She said my name and when I just looked at her said "it is Anne isn't it, I recognised you instantly". I must have looked completely blank because she then said "it's Margaret". As much as I looked at her there was no recognition at all. I just couldn't see the girl who had been such a friend, although I had always remembered exactly how she had looked. Yet she had known me immediately. I felt dreadful and apologised, of course. We chatted for a while and learned that we were both living in the same area, about 20 miles apart. She was married with 2 children and so was I. Both busy mums. We didn't exchange telephone numbers or addresses. A missed opportunity or just not to be but when we parted that was the last time I would see her.

Last year on 1 December, once again my mother and I spoke of her, remembering her birthday. A couple of days later I thought I would try to look for her on Facebook but because I don't get on with it very well and because there were a lot of Margaret ***'s, I soon gave up.

On 10 December my cousin telephoned me. "I thought you would want to know" she said, "I saw Margaret's mum today and she told me that Margaret died a few days ago". She had had cancer and died following a very short illness, 3 days after her 66th birthday. Her funeral was to take place the following Monday. We spoke of her for a while, both fondly remembering all the happy times we had shared. The next day I managed to find her death announcement by looking on-line and decided I would attend her funeral a couple of days later.

And so I went to pay my last respects. The little chapel was packed, some mourners having to stand at the sides and at the back. Her son gave the Eulogy, paying a wonderful tribute to his loving and much loved mum. I learned a little about the life she had led and felt priviliged to be amongst her family and all those people who had known the adult Margaret so well.

Afterwards I introduced myself to her husband and I also spoke to her mother and sisters and they seemed to be touched that I was there.

While I was waiting to speak to Margeret's family the undertaker brought out a huge, enlarged photo of Margaret and placed it close to the flowers. And while I stood in line I looked across at her now 66 year old image and there she was. I was so glad I could see her at the last.

A Lovely Afternoon

The new film "The King's Speech" is showing at our local cinema. Being a Colin Firth fan I definitely wanted to see it and OH said he would like to see it as well.

On Wednesday we decided that we would go out to lunch and then go on to see the afternoon performance of the film. We asked some friends if they would like to join us and they were only too pleased.

The four of us drove the few miles to our favourite restaurant for lunch. We go there fairly regularly but our friends had never been before. It is a family run business and they serve all home cooked and prepared food. All the food is locally sourced as well and the restaurant is very popular and always busy. We all had a roast lunch and as usual it was delicious and we all enjoyed it.

We drove back in time to park the car at home and then, as it was such a beautiful day, we walked to the cinema. Most of the seats were taken and it was mostly an older audience and hardly anyone rushed out of the cinema afterwards, instead, discussing what we had just seen and exchanging views.

The film is brilliant and so well cast. Colin Firth's Golden Globe award is so well deserved for the part that he played. Geoffrey Rush as the speech therapist was also outstanding and Helena Bonham-Carter as Queen Elizabeth was perfect. It was moving and funny, thoroughly enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone.