21st June, 2009
Had a couple of emails from Ruth today. She is a lovely sister to have. So understanding. She sent me a couple of photos which I will feature on the website this coming weekend but I will store here immediately.
This is Ruth, Joanne & Brandon. I can remember Joanne shuffling round the carpet on her bottom making a row aged about 18 months. How did she turn out so beautiful? Brandon looks a bit impish but Declan, eating crisps, looks a real hooligan. Thank goodness he wasn’t in my class. I would have retired even earlier.
22nd June, 2009
Quiet day – trip to Health Club for swimming, etc.. Buying trip for things we want to take to Greece: a food processor, a meat mincer and sausage maker, a blue flourescent tube insect killer, some wasp traps. We are beginning to worry about what we can get in the car this time. We will have to use Parcelforce again.
Spent some time developing a new page for the Website. This is just a ‘Favourites’ page away from home. It will sustain me in Sifnos.
23rd June, 2009
Got up at 2.00 am because our neighbour’s alarm was going off. They are in Greece. At any other time, Pauline & I would really have resented the break in our sleep but we suddenly realised as we walked round the outside of the house what a beautifully balmy night it was. The heady scent of honeysuckle wafting on the warm night air and the feeling that we could sleep in this morning without a problem. What freedom. The burglar alarm just stopped of its own volition. It must have sensed our contented and calming presence.
Had to give the pool a miss this morning because we don’t want to over train. Went out to buy more stuff for Greece. We needed a good CD player. We needed a new computer. PCWorld supplied both today.Massive shop – 2 customers.
24th June, 2009
Lovely day today. Went to see the Ophthalmologist. Got there right on time – 9.15 am. Unfortunately, I was a day early. Got to go back tomorrow. Went swimming. Pool completely to ourselves. It was lovely. Swam for half an hour followed by jacuzzi and steam room. Did another fifteen minutes swimming and then rushed off to Oldham. Pauline’s Mum had to go for a check-up. She got the all clear which is more than can be said for my friend, Brian, who looks as if he has Prostate Cancer. He is waiting for the results of his biopsy.
25th June, 2009
Went back to the Ophthalmologist today. Pauline and I were going to do a 10k run this morning but the specialist put drops in my eyes and it completely incapacitated me for the rest of the day. We went swimming instead. I’ll have to do the run next year. Managed to mow the lawns later in the evening.
26th June, 2009
Strawberry picking on a beautiful sunny morning. We went to Bentley Grange Farm near Emley Moor mast.
This is a farm on land the history of which goes back to the 11th century and the Cistercian Monks of Byland Abbey, North Yorkshire. Their interest in the land was purely commercial – for iron ore. When the iron was spent, the land was turned over to agriculture and Bentley Grange derives from the Anglo Saxon description – wild grass becoming grain. Nowadays it is fruit. This week – strawberries grown in long, grape vine type constructions with grow bags on waist high platforms and strawberry plants cascading huge ripe and clean berries straight to hand. We picked 20 lb in 20 minutes. Next week the raspberries will be ripe enough to pick and shortly after, we will go for blackcurrants. Pauline’s bread and homemade jam – just perfick!
27th June, 2009
Quiet day today – recovering from fruit picking.
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