Category: Pic of the week

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It’s all gone quiet …

Pic of the week 18/9/22

All of a sudden the house is quiet and feels empty.

On Tuesday Sophie moved up to Cardiff, and on Thursday Sam returned to Cardiff to (re) start his first year at uni.  Their return does see to really mark the end of summer – whilst we still have dry days (although Tuesday, when Sophie moved pretty much rained all day, although fortunately not until she had got all packed up) and brightness and sunshine, it is now noticeably colder, almost surprisingly so. After such a long hot summer it doesn’t feel right to be cold!

Anyway, both Bambinos seem happy to be in Cardiff, embarking on the next stages of their life.  I think they were enjoying the comforts of living in “Hotel Home”, but now they are both moved in I think they are looking forward to the coming months.

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The Queen is dead

Pic of the week 11/9/22

On Thursday, the Queen died.

It all happened quite swiftly.  During the day, news kept breaking that various royals were travelling to Balmoral, so it was pretty evident that we were in her final days, but then, at circa 6.30 pm, her passing was officially announced.

I was a little surprised at how sombre I felt.  I suppose it was because it was a moment in history, a constant has gone. And, as with any high profile death, it makes you think of those close to you that you have lost.

We are in a slightly strange state of affairs, but I get the sense that most of the country want to remain respectful, but now get on with our lives. The muted TV and radio broadcasts are beginning to bore a little. She was a good women, and history will look back kindly upon her life and reign, but life goes on.

On Friday, Sophie collected the keys to her new flat.  She hasn’t moved in yet, that will happen on Tuesday, but it is a significant moment in her life.

 

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Farewell to summer

Pic of the week 4/9/22

By pretty much any metric, summer is over.

The most important metric is that I return to school tomorrow, but this weekend has also seen a notable shift in the weather – its still been warm, but the glorious blue sky and wall to wall sunshine is no longer here. After brilliant, beautiful light for months, it did seem remarkably dark under the leaden grey skies yesterday morning.  There has been a little rain – enough to annoy my washing! – but not the significant deluge we need.

It has been a great summer. The holidays, to me at least, have seemed really long. I think that’s been because of the wonderful weather – no day has been wasted, sat inside watching the rain and wondering what to do.

Kefalonia was wonderful and the sun has shined ever since we jetted off. We’ve also been to Sophie’s graduation (hot, hot, hot!), Coldplay, Bristol … the only thing we didn’t achieve was our balloon flight – cancelled three times, twice because of weather, once for a technical hitch.  I’ve refereed a lot (and found myself enjoying it again) and spent many a happy hour tinkering on cars – its a shame I didn’t get the 205 through an MOT, but I’ve enjoyed working on it, and I’m also pleased to have cured the knocking noise on the Corsa (replaced a drop link) and also (finally) got the oil change plug out.

The sunflowers – both front and back – have been the success of the garden.  Initially it was a little disappointing that we didn’t seem to have a mass of high sunflowers, but over the course of the summer, we’ve always had several in flower and it has been fun watching them blossom.  Two pumpkins have grown – must tray and grow a few more next year – one is smallish and already fully orange, the other quite big and only just starting to change hue.

And on Monday I saw a grass snake!

I was driving along a country lane near Castle Cary (returning from Jago’s house) and saw it in the road. It was long: a good metre to 1.5 m long. an impressive site!

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Bristol

Pic of the week 28/8/22

On Wednesday, Becky and I went to Bristol, in the main to see the Grayson’s Art Club exhibition – which we did – but to also have a general mooch around the city. For lunch, I had the most delicious cheese toasty from the Dareshack cafe.  The bread (from Abergavenny, apparently) was superb.  The exhibition was good and then we explored a little on our way back down from the museum, stumbling upon, and the ascending, Cabot’s tower for some great views across the city.

It was a good day out, that I enjoyed.

On the same day, Sophie signed the contact on her first flat in Cardiff (she starts work in mid-September) so that has been exciting, giving her a purpose and incentive to get organised ready for the next phase of her life.

On Thursday, Sam headed up to the Reading festival – he has just messaged to say he aims to get the 8.30pm train back to Castle Cary this evening – I think he wants his bed tonight!

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Coldplay

Pic of the week 21/8/22

On Tuesday we all went to London to watch Coldplay.

We had bought the tickets way back in October (whilst in Palma) but at last the day had come and we headed up to the capital for the show.  And what a show it was.  A magnificent fusion of music an lights, in a sea of humanity at Wembley stadium. We had great seats – 7 rows from the “edge of the pitch”, on about the half way line.  For once, I could see the stars and not have to solely rely on the big screen for my view.

They banged out the belters, and we all had a wristband which lit up in various colours to produce a visual effect that matched the music. A great evening, a great show.

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Hot, hot, hot!

Pic of the week 14/8/22

This week has been hot!

The temperature started building last Sunday, and it has been wall to wall sunshine all week, but it was Thursday through to today that the mercury really began to soar, being mid thirties everyday and not really getting out of the twenties at night.

Although I would say it has been too hot, I have enjoyed it and, weather-wise, it has been a summer to remember, a summer to enjoy – certainly preferable to grey skies and showers. The landscape has taken on an arid beauty, everywhere is a parched brown. On Friday evening Becky & I went for a walk on the Poldens at circa 8.15 pm – the temparature was lovely, a few degrees lower than at home, probably because it lacked the retained, radiated heat from builidngs, and a gentle breeze lightly brushed past the skin. The grassland was as dry as a bone (the pic above is from that evening) but the grass swishing and swashing in a gentle rhythm with the breeze.

The heat is due to break tomorrow – we are all looking forward to a much cooler 26 degrees (!) and the possibility of rain showers.

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Disculpe!

It has been sometime since I posted – I have gotten out of the habit of my Sunday evening round up.  A lot has happened since my last post, here is a quick summary:

First there was 10 wonderful days in Kefaloni,  starting in Argostoli where we found this taverna in the trees

Fabulous Fiskardo – even if I did get stung by a jellyfish when we spent the day on Emplisi beach,

and the incomparable Assos. This pick was taken as we walked down from the fort on our first day there. We had arrived to somewhat cloudy skies – and quite strong winds – so trekked to the top of the hill.  By the time we were descending the skies had cleared and we enjoyed a wonderful few days in the beautiful village.

For a much better write up of the holiday, read the posts on Becky’s blog

Then it was home, and up to Reading on the hottest day of the year for Sophie’s graduation. Very proud parents!

The 3rd August was our 26th Anniversary, and we returned to Farrington Gurney to pick sunflowers and visit the church where we got married. In a very dry, hot summer, it was one of the few days that saw any rain, but not enough to dampen our love!

and last Sunday was Sam’s birthday – we are no longer parents to teenagers! How did the time pass so quickly.

So forgive me for falling into bad habits – a quick skim through the last few weeks. I must start blogging weekly once again.

 

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Wedding

Pic of the week 3/7/22

Yesterday we went to Chippenham to celebrate Rod & Lisa’s wedding.

They had got married about a month a go – just the two of them at the ceremony – but yesterday they invited all and sundry to celebrate the day, and what a great day it was.  Despite the rain! We arrived in the rain, and all crammed, damp and dripping, into their house, but as the afternoon wore on, the rain moved on and we all enjoyed some blue sky outside. Then, though, during the speeches, the rain came back, with a vengeance, and for about twenty minutes it poured. But the rain stopped, the speeches restarted and then the sun came out to bathe us in glorious early evening sunshine.  It was a lovely day.

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Glastonbury

Pic of the week 26/6/22

On Sunday I went to Glastonbury. It was brilliant. Met up with Sam, who had been in since Wednesday , we walked up to the top of the hill, to the iconic Glastonbury letters and chilled out eating lunch looking down on the festival sight below.

I, along with about 100,000 others, watched Diana Ross which culminated with a joyous 15 minutes of Aint no mountain high enough, and I will survive,  before I headed home.

It was a dry Glastonbury – there had been no more than a couple of showers all week, the ground was parched hard and on Sunday the sun shone bright (by 3pm I was regretting forgetting my suntan cream)

A great day, a life affirming day, I day I shall long remember.

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Father’s Day

Pic of the week 19/6/22

Today is Father’s day and I have had a pleasent day with both children home, and Sophie making me a tea of Chicken Kyiv and chips – v nice!

I’ve spent the day pottering, as I like to do, a bit in the garden, planting up the last of the geraniums and lobelia and some pumpkin plants from a neighbour.  I mowed the path in the lawn (I love the pic above from earlier in the week), I was going to strim the long grass down, but my strimmer has now strimming wire, so that will have to wait.  I intend to strim it once and then let it grow again for the rest of the summer.

The chicks are certainly growing, it doesn’t look like there is much space left in the nest. Its been about a week since they hatched, I wonder when they will leave the nest?

A sad day – the Micra Dci got taken away yesterday, got about £240 for it.  I liked that car, and shall miss it. But I did fire up the pug today and “drove” it around our drive whilst there was space.  Just trying to stop things seizing up before I can give it some proper attention in the hols.