Op +9. Tradies day

 Up at 6... Windowsills cleared and finished and breakfast done by 8....

8.45 they started to arrive...three for the roof insulation...one went to another job nearby..they were waiting for materials, so went to the local shop to.buy breakfast!

While they were off, the electrician arrived..his job was installing extractors for the kitchen and bathroom..a good worker from Turkey, with a Ukrainian wife...so they had ended up as refugees in Britain as English is one of the languages they speak(4)..and speak well. ( No point staying a country where you don't speak the language if you already have another fluently) 

He had found the warmest welcome to.his hardworking self and family....has been in Scotland.  So glad to see him here being part of the community. He has found that "English" is quite different in different parts of England..and then you have Scots...

His work was tidy, well done and he was careful to move even more than I had away from the working area to avoid them getting dusty..and cleaned at the end.

The rest of the team were Scottish...and team was the right word too. The lead with ADHD like my family... and focussed, energetic and happy! 

Then came the plumber, last but not least..his was the longest job replacing the boiler..that took until 5pm, including cleaning and tidying after himself.

I collected the car mid afternoon, but couldn't go to see Pirate until he had had his supper..so I had mine before I went..and got the house tidy before going...and arrived there by 7. 

He was feeling tired, so I didn't stay too long..he is worrying about being able to cope at home, naturally

So a full day of a busy house full of tradies!

Good to see them working hard and working together.

Having cleared things away, I hope I can reduce what we have as the putting back begins. One step was raising the television...so that you are not peering over anything to watch it...

Work in progress...and hopefully this will mean that I can keep the radiators clearer of furniture.

Like grandma said, if you can't move, move the furniture!!

Op +8, getting ready

 That is our sky this morning.. yesterday was WET!!!

Yesterday morning I started getting the house sorted for today's work...

and by lunchtime it was confirmed that pirate will be back home on Friday.

If the boiler hadn't given up, he would have been back by Tuesday afternoon..they are desperate for beds, and when I arrived yesterday afternoon we found that the station he had been moved to was only going to be open until the end of the week unless the health board decides otherwise.

The health service here is good, co-ordinated with social care unlike other places further South..but like everywhere it is stretched. But thankfully no strikes here.

The station (ward) he had been moved to was cooler..a good idea, to get patients used to more normal indoor temperatures.

He was happy with his company..a younger man who cycled when young, but has rediscovered the love of the bike!

Luckily I managed to travel by bus ( car went to the garage first thing) while the rain had eased..but as the afternoon went on it came on heavier..and it was a downpour by 5pm....gutters full and running sort of rain..

With the timing of buses, I had to go into town and get a bus back out..

Then supper and clear everything away from the radiators.

And awake in the wee small hours to realise that I needed to clear access to all the windows as well as they will fit ventilators to bring the house up to building regs...

6am start....

Op +7. Here and there

 Here and there indeed...catching up on phone calls, rescheduling my Shingles Jag that got missed in all that has been going on...finding out what time the fitters will be here for the boiler....

And the realisation that I'd missed the post collection this morning...dash on the bus to the post office to post an anniversary card to youngest son, The Carpenter...they married on February 29...and this year they have a whole day to celebrate!! Instead of approaching midnight on the 28th, blink and it has gone!!

Phone calls and messages from Pirate...he is being signed out and moved.....

A quick lunch, just as the District Nurse called by...a bed has been earmarked for delivery....a week tomorrow....

Waiting for more information....and a call from him saying Come at the usual time...

Off to see him on the usual bus....which was late as usual! 

Well, he was still in his usual bed, having a rest..the physio has had him practising stairs....it looks like they will keep him there for now as everywhere else is full...and he will be back home on Friday as long as the central heating boiler installation goes ok on Thursday.

As the Sister agreed, everything has just happened in the same week, with his op being sooner than we had dared to hope...with the grant work being weeks sooner than expected..(but good as the boiler has almost given up.)..and our booked weekend away being this weekend coming....and the car needing work done.

Into town on the next bus ( and a very considerate driver paused his departure so that I didn't have to wait in the rain) and a nice chat and mooch around the Red Cross op shop...trousers for me for £4!! Then the bookshop..two mindfulness books for Pirate...he likes to give them to other people, but finds help in reading .

Then back home...and chill out!!

Op +6 Monday. Walking, planning, bits of this and that

 This morning dawned frosty..we had -2⁰ early on! 

After a breakfast phone call with Pirate and a phone chat with our district nurse, it was so bright and clear and blue...time for a walk!

Just half an hour around the village..the Mill circuit is twice as long and much of it on open roads....so not yet!

You can see where there has been trees freshly planted.

The sun was so bright!

Back home and the purple crocuses were sun worshipping!

I did a little more tidying and sorting in my workshop....and found the burners for the kiln!!!

A panful if soup next...an onion from a neighbour's garden, leeks and bay leaves from mine, squash and dried chillies from my store cupboard...and kumera  and red lentils!  A few more spices....

Off to see Pirate on the bus...so fortunate to have a cross country service to the hospital..

He is wearing his own pyjamas! And practising walking together..with me, not a nurse today.  He still isn't ready for home...but he is making progress.

It looks like they want him out during Wednesday....but so far no bed and struggling central heating ( hopefully to be sorted on Thursday) and no car either as that will be in the garage getting attention...

So I don't know what will be decided.

Back home on the same bus route.. and to a present from our lovely neighbour across the road...a card for him and a box of chocolates for me!!

She is a lovely person, a little older than Pirate,.once at least as tall as me..now bent over with scoliosis and walking with a walker or two sticks.

She has done a few different jobs,,. including in a carpet factory...and a no nonsense barmaid in a pub in Ayr!! Well known and loved.

Op +5. Lazy day

 Forecast overcast..but today developed into quite a bright sunny day..

As I'd woken early I put the washing machine to work, while I did nothing in particular most of the morning!

Just after lunchtime one of Pirate's best friends rolled up on his bike..time for a cuppa and a good natter. This friend was the local cyclist who made him most welcome over thirty years ago and showed him all the best cycling lanes and byways.

Off to see Pirate after that..and he is looking better..and walking a little more normally although still with a frame..

It doesn't look like he will be ready to come home in the next couple of days..but better to be even a week longer and be 100% sure that he is ready.

Like yesterday we watched the six nations rugby...Italy V France this time...a draw, which was a fair result..but oh so near to a win for Italy, as a kick for goal bounced off the upright post.

I saw two big skeins of birds flying over on the way back home...swans I'm sure...and one group of over thirty big birds.

The car isn't running completely smoothly all the time..so it's a good thing it goes for attention on Tuesday..and I'll go by bus tomorrow afternoon!!

Meanwhile...as my main tool for Ancestry, the laptop is away...back to fleabay!

This saddle is on...more tomorrow morning, hopefully!!

Op + 4. Getting out and about

 After dropping off a few goodies to Pirate, I went to Kilmarnock for some chiropractic treatment...one un-achey shoulder, and my lower back is gradually improving every time I go.. treatment finished off with a big hug...de-stressing me! He is a great friend...and a good musician as well.

I managed a brisk walk in the town centre first....

Couldn't miss this one for Cro....

And the swimmers in the main shopping street..I think that street it built over a river..

There are a few others dotted around the centre of the town, all related to it's history.

Back to Ayr, where the laptop has gone to computer hospital. It has decided to turn itself off. If they can get it going ok, it's operating system needs updating..which it would normally do automatically... usually it asks you first... unfortunately the working but of its brain...not the bit the user uses...is full for some reason, so hasn't been doing it. So I am on Linux 90.  

Linux has just updated to version 123.   Which I need for Ancestry as they won't even accept version 122.  Much discussion has been going on on farcebook groups about this. It also sounds as if with all the increased work, their servers might be creaking under an overload...

Then up to Cumnock...a nice new pair of jeans (mens...made better!) from an op shop...£7.50, I don't mind that, thankyou!!  Next a visit to Mary's Fabrics for pricing curtain lining and rufflette to take the curtain hooks. A lovely small local shop with people who know and love what they sell!!

On to Mauchline to "nae sae new" ( not so new) the secondhand emporium in a four storey feed mill.  They hadn't got what I need for the kitchen, but it was good to see the friends who run it and to see them busy too.

Back home for a rest...check in with Pirate to see if anything was needed..and over to see him by 4. Then we watched the rugby, the Calcutta Cup from Murrayfield, in Edinburgh, where Scotland beat England...30-21 I think..in the day room. With staff popping their heads around the door every now and again to check the score!!

It's good to see Pirate walking again, even with a frame..which they have extended tall enough, thankfully. Small steps in the right direction.

Back home under the full Snow Moon..at her furthest from Earth...to catch the next programme in the series of New Zealand by Train...

Op+3. Here and there

 The gorse is flowering well everywhere..despite the cold cold wind...

I had hoped to carry on with bus travel...no chance today. 

First to collect Pirate's gold medal from NZ that he won a year ago..he wants to show it to the staff in the hospital who are caring for him.

I had thought,as that was with a friend in Kilmarnock, that I could have a wander around the town. Hail and heavy rain stopped that plan! 

So start the hunt for vertical blinds...the ones at the front of or living room need replacing..I'm gradually replacing the hooks that hold the vertical pieces... and the pieces themselves...with parts from the same on two other windows...they must be nearly thirty years old. Researching them I found that their usual life, being plastic and in daylight, is on average sixteen years..so these have done well. Unfortunately the track is just a bit too deep for the gap above the window, so when the windows were opened the frame scraped along the track...

I have ideas to mount them differently....but after hunting around six shops today I have only found one that sells them...not even IKEA !! It isn't just clothes that follow fashion...

That was this morning finished.....

And after lunchtime off to see Pirate for an hour or more, getting him out of bed!!..he is supposed to sit out on his chair for two hours morning and afternoon.

It was good just chatting to him and the staff..they love him!! We are hoping that he hasn't caught the cough and sniffles of the man opposite....mind you, colds take three days to develop...so if he has got something its not from that one.. possibly this calls for multivitamins to back up his immune system?

Back home, and a jar of the latest marmalade experiment goes to a neighbour..good to have a natter too..

And ask the district nurse when they will be bringing the hospital bed...it looks like Pirate may be back before it arrives! But we can manage, we have a folding bed and an airbed on top of it..although he will be glad when the real one arrives .

And to finish.. the laptop is playing up again...back to computer clinic as soon as.

Op +2 days

 I didn't do much this morning...tidied up the kitchen after marmalade making...I usually clear up every night to have a fresh start in the morning....but....

I did steam clean the kitchen floor....always a good idea after preserving!! And did our small bathroom floor too because..well, can't waste all that steam!!   And push the carpet sweeper round the living room.

Down to the garage to check with Davey about the car..it needs a wheel bearing, which he can do next week. He is up to his ears this week, so it is good he could check what needed doing and how urgent it is.

Then off on the bus again to see Pirate. I was lucky to catch the bus as it went up to the next smaller village..saved me standing on a cold and windy pavement for at least twenty minutes! Then back down and over to the hospital.

He hadn't been feeling too good this morning...you can't expect a constant improvement and it is early days..but was out in his chair. So a positive.

It is great that the staff like chatting to him ( and vice versa!) and he has a place that he can people watch all that is going on! 

Now he has his books, a Cycling Weekly magazine and a book of poems that his younger daughter published...and I have a list of what is needed tomorrow.

Off on the bus again, into town...and I am looking for more good signs...

Scotch Pies anyone😎?!

A walk over to Lidl for some bits and bobs... keeping up the exercise as it must be nearly 1 km...then back home on the bus.

I haven't done much since getting back home..but you can't dash around every day!  

Op day +1 , progress

It rained really heavily...again...last night, and was still at it at breakfast time...but I worked out that going by bus was preferable as at every destination, the distance travelled on foot was shorter! So the car went to the garage..and by their entrance gate is the bus stop!!

The rain had eased, thankfully.. another reason for bus travel, apart from taking a rest from driving, and using the car less...is getting a view of the countryside either side for a change!!

Back to the dentist's surgery to see the hygienist..and I passed with flying colours..relief. 

Then a bit of a wander around before lunch...I always leave half an hour between teeth cleaning and food and vice versa to allow my mouth to do it's natural thing...it works.

The Auld Brig...and M&S behind it

Entrance to the yard of the Black Bull, oldest pub in the Newtown area of Ayr, by one end of the auld brig.

Puns galore here...at the other end of town is "Ayr Guitar"...

And the obligatory seagull at the bus station...called Steven, with his girlfriend....

Next bus , 15 minutes ride to the hospital door, through a sharp rain shower...and of course when I reached Pirate, the sun was streaming in through the windows!!

He is recovering slowly but steadily from the op. A good sign? He is asking for two books tomorrow!! I might add a couple of crosswords...

It was good to sit and chat..

Back into town , and only ten minutes wait for the bus back home.

By which time it was decidedly chilly, having been pleasant all day, despite the showers. So nothing got done in the garden....but I did finish the orange and blueberry marmalade.

It is the colour that a good blood orange should be, but just made with Seville Oranges and blueberries..it has a tangy bite which balances the sweetness nicely...and I like the zested peel instead of sliced and chopped peel.

Thankyou all, fellow bloggers for your kind words and compliments and suggestions.  You are a great help, to taking a deep breath and carrying on...and remembering to rest as well!

Op day and keeping busy

 Pirate phoned me this morning..in good spirits and joking that he was glad the op was to be in the afternoon...as the surgeon's hands would have warmed up!

I have a short list of things he wants brought in tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile....start clearing the workshop which has turned into a dumping ground. I took a heap of cardboard boxes to the cowp (what used to be the tip....now the recycling centre) and returned with the regulation four bags of compost ( made from the green waste taken there) we buy the bags then use them for free. Followed by a quick visit to Cumnock (home of Kier Hardie) for a spare washing line as the present one is showing ominous signs...and I don't want a line full of washing to end up on the ground!!

Then start sorting the study.... fleabay stock is under the worktable, printing and linocut tools on my desk...and the floor clean.  Our bedroom is clean and a little bit more tidy, and I discovered the box of presents we brought back from NZ....now who was to receive what?!

Feet up then for a rest...and start on the last batch of marmalade.  It is supposed to be spiced orange and cranberry....I couldn't find the cranberries...they might be right at the bottom of the chest freezer! I've run out of cinnamon sticks, or they are hiding....

So it will be orange and blueberry with fresh ginger and whole cardamom pods in the muslin bag with the pips and pith.  For a change I zested the oranges first instead of laboriously cutting the peel into shreds.

It will be interesting to see how this tastes, and what colour it turns out as well.

I see the dental hygienist tomorrow morning, then phone the ward from town to see if he is up to having me visit.

Bus travel tomorrow too...the car needs some tlc, so will be left at our local garage first thing.  It has a couple of niggles which Davey our trusty garage man will hopefully diagnose and cure.   It will be nice to go by bus, and the more people use public transport the better.. especially with our Saltire card that we get at 60 and gives us free bus travel in Scotland.

Update...went over to see Pirate this evening...all ok so far...recovery from the op and learning to cope starts here.

Op day -1. Busy!!!

 I thought we had an early start today...but after several more Fridays upstairs...and another toilet visit....we were off at 9.30am.

Just as we left the rain came down...ah well, the washing on the line could wait!

Plenty of time for him.....he wasn't due to clock in until 10.30. I was supposed to be in town and at the dentists by 9.55.....

He phoned the dentist as I drove, to forewarn them....dropped him at the hospital door....got every traffic light green and a parking space straight away before five minutes walk....and stairs to the second floor...I was only ten minutes late and they were 100% understanding !!

Teeth checked....new dentist..a cycling friend of ours....and only one small filling..relief!!

A cuppa to celebrate in our favourite bookshop....and a text arrived..Pirate had left one of his array of meds on his bedside cupboard....no hope of gallivanting! 

Back to the hospital with his meds..and I kept him company in the day room until his bed was ready...at 2pm. They are SO busy...but always cheerful.

Back home to almost dry washing on the line..relief...and no more showers forecast..I checked the radar report..full speed ahead on sorting drawers, finding odd socks and lost ( mis-filed) t-shirts and trousers...and doing ALL the washing...a grand achievement.. and not overdoing things atall.

A quick trip to the local feed merchant for wild bird supplies..Pirate loves feeding the birds...

Then all the ironing....

And to crown the day, a phone call from the gas kiln specialist in a kiln company..I have started the ball rolling towards getting the kiln going again.

He will email me a couple of ideas on Wednesday...and he has a kiln visit coming up in Scotland.. hopefully he can do a diversion to here to see what the kiln situation is. Far easier than phone calls, emails and photos.

So all in all, the Lunar New Year has brought positive moves on many fronts.

Let's hope that carries on with a successful op for Pirate tomorrow and before too long a working kiln!!

At least I don't have the problems if a fellow potter about an hour from here.

She is a brilliant maker..and is disabled. Her business has been growing slowly..but due to illness she has had to claim Universal credit benefits.

She is supposed to prove every three months, to the departments satisfaction, that she is doing enough to grow her business.  They seem to want her business to grow at a fantastic rate...when on benefits firing the kiln takes too much money...so to keep her benefits she has had to withdraw all her work from  galleries,  pull out of potfest shows, stop selling online.

Universal credit system destroys artists. What does that say about our society 

Getting nearer

 Pirate is really ready for his op..I just wish that he had seen the light months earlier....but that is past, now we deal with what is. 

He also has the same pre race nerves as when he was racing... understandably!

We managed a short walk after a late lunch...after even a short siesta he takes an hour to get going...the mattress topper has made our bed far too comfortable!!  We checked the frogspawn pond..nothing yet...although yesterday just down from our home I saw a car squashed toad on the road...

The forecast was for overcast and 10% chance of rain...we had light rain and blue sky on our walk, and very inquisitive sheep.

Then shopping for new knickers, 'jamas, dressing gown and sliders...

Ready for tomorrow morning.

Gone

 

I went into Ayr by bus after lunch....even the bingo has left town.

Friends

 We managed to get out for a day... eventually...mornings are not easy for Pirate.

Lunch was a gift from a friend in Dumfries..a local church there has built a new community centre about four years ago...gym, meeting rooms, hireable conference/office rooms, a really good cafe Monday to Friday...and a church.

They have employed a full time chef and the food is good....and there is plenty of parking, unlike our favourite bike cafe by the river in Dumfries.

Then our original reason for going to Dumfries....the Abbey Sewing Machine shop....he was initially trained by Singer in Clydebank, Glasgow...and has a lifetime of working on sewing machines..he services machines from far and wide as there are so few doing this now. He also sells secondhand machines.

I took two electric machines that I had....and found out their worth...and discussed what I needed....I initially he didn't think he had what I needed....

But then remembered the last one of a batch of Bernina machines he had.... older style ones, not the modern all plastic jobs....

My mother had a Bernina in the 1960s...and I was supposed to get that when she wanted to change it but she part exchanged it for a Janome instead of letting me buy it....This one doesn't have all the embroidery stitches..which I never used on the old one..but it runs well and sounds just like the old one!

Sweet!!

He gave me a part exchange rate that I would have got by selling them on any online marketplace...which was a good deal. 

He did have a Husquvarna Viking machine.....but that was another £150 above the price of the Bernina...worth it, but I don't have that spare!!

To celebrate we went to see Phil McMenemy at the Gallery at Lauriston...celebration should be done with friends! 

Cake sharing....Ginger and Lemon Drizzle...with a proper hot chocolate that doesn't need the mug to hold it up!!!!

And now he has requested new curtains.....I do have some light tweed material....now to investigate the fabric stash ... Do I have lining material?

Now for some sewing mathematics......

Indoors , and family

 We had yet more steady rain all morning..as if we hadn't had enough already. The grassy bits of the garden are like sodden sponges. Water is sitting like a moat at the back and either side of the ramp to the house in the front.

The good news that we appear to be one more step closer to new loft insulation and boiler on the government grant scheme..the paperwork goes in tomorrow and the decision should be back to the agents in seven working days...so a week Tuesday....

Pirate had his siesta late morning...and I got stuck into sorting my study...packing boxes sorted and two bags of paper to recycle...

We were both glad to see that the rain had lifted and we had a gentle walk down to the village pharmacy to collect Pirate's latest scrip....pressure socks!

Another little bit of preparation for his op next Tuesday.

Pirate received a letter from one of the unpleasant people....Debby, your discovery of the word Errogant...is perfect.  

It hurts, but he has decided to take the advice of a friend on the downsizer forum....leave them on the riverbank as you go with the flow...

Mind you he does prefer his saying...act like a dog....scratch some grass over it and walk away!!!

He will send a reply....but only when he gets strong enough a few weeks after his op.

One discovery on doing the studio clearing....

The Epps family tree I drew for Pirate a couple of years ago..his mother's side...now this is incentive to do more!!

Room to think

 We met a friend for lunch yesterday..nearly a year since we saw him last in person...but he is busy running his own business and travels a lot.

Then down to the sea for ice cream and Pirate to sit and write and set out his thoughts.

He wants someone to write on his behalf..but unless you go down the legal route, that won't be possible, and that wouldn't be sensible...it would be being as bad as them.

He is really stressing, which isn't helping what he already has. 

However putting his thoughts and feelings on paper has been a good step.

Far better than just stewing them over and over in his head.

We looked over all communication over the past few months...and got it into his head that he has done nothing wrong.  He has had the backing of the Macmillan nurses and District Nurse and our doctor in all he has done.

So if a couple of people are being unpleasant because he hasn't done what they thought he should be doing....tough. I am even getting bad mouthed as I am his secretary...but I never write in his emails anything other than his words.

He has the love and respect of hundreds of others.

After all that he had a down day today, mainly resting and sleeping... ironically what these people think he ought to be doing every day...and by doing that he ends up feeling worse. Too much bed rest ends up with him being fatigued, shorter naps and activity works.

I just hope that next week's op will work and relieve him of at least some of the pain.

What did I do today?  Not a lot....

Our boiler and radiators and loft were surveyed this morning...one more step towards a government grant.....fingers crossed...

A bit more tidying and sorting....and some mending.....

A stitch in time as is said.  Worth doing, as very slowly my waistline is reducing...it is no longer a stretch to do up my waistband buttons on my trousers AND I can tuck in a t- shirt....

I am not going to weigh myself again until I can feel that I am getting my waistline back properly!! 

Swedish Afternoon

 We were on a roll this morning...two washes done, Blood Orange marmalade done (tasty!!) , clothes and sheets ready for ironing....sun and stiff breeze meant that didn't take long!!

Pirate went to have bloods taken at the surgery here....and on returning, decided that we were going out.....to a certain Swedish Shop!!

It was a lovely day to be out, but I'm glad we were in the car as that breeze was cold.

First a good (and very reasonably priced) lunch, then to slowly make our way around the shop...following the arrows as that makes life easier!

We had hoped for a quiet Monday shop.... unfortunately it appears to be half term...cue a lot of grannies with grandkids....so we missed one thing we were looking for.

I gathered a few things in my big yellow bag....plate shelves to stand plates on on the kitchen bench instead of one stack of plates and bowls....a loo brush and holder, a mattress protector...Pirate took a shine to a large wooden spoon x spatula, a pair of roller blinds for my study....and then Pirate realised that what he wanted, a mattress topper, was upstairs....

Off he went... bravely as he Does Not Like Shops....back up the stairs...only to find that what he wanted was downstairs on the warehouse shelves....and he had difficulty finding his way back down.....one rather stressed Pirate later, we found the beast, an assistant got us a trolley and shopping was Done...and he felt Done In !!

Then the joys of rush hour traffic...and a roll home, seeing the crescent new moon in front of us, and thinking that without the clouds, the sky would be surprisingly light.

The topper feels good... hopefully it will give us better sleep.

The old mattress is still good after 25 years...it was apparently very expensive then...even if you take out time spent in NZ it must have done 18 years work. It shows that a good bed and mattress is worth the investment, but we looked at the price of a new one and gulped!!

He has had an early night tonight, unsurprisingly.  Pirate is still doing what he can, but Charlie is pulling him down..he has worries about the op, but hopefully it will relieve symptoms even though it won't remove the problem.

Most people are understanding and do what they can to help...but a couple of his relations are being rather callous, almost accusing him of " crying wolf"...as he has been here before with prostate cancer..."here we go again"....but it is serious, it is terminal...people he cares for too. So unfair.

At least I have a quiet time to unwind after the day, blog a little, read others, do my Duolingo lesson... especially as I missed this morning!!

Night all xx

Weekend

 Once a month on a Saturday, the youth cycling club in Johnstone...the Johnstone Jets..organise a day long competition at Glasgow Velodrome.

Monsters of Track...in other words the youngsters! The future of track cycling...three under sixteen groups in two year age bands, with so many in one that there are separate boys and girls' races. They are running with full fields of 24, which is the track limit for a 250m track like this..it varies according mainly to length but also width, both of which are fairly standard for indoor velodromes. Add to that , Women's events and open events...anyone over 16.  Each in turn, every time I the same order so that you know which group is going on..and five events each group.

We managed to arrive just after midday, a little before the lunch break. ( The commissaires...judges...need a half time break!)

It was great to see riders from our club...three women..racing. 

Then to add to that our Fife friend turned up unannounced...making a good day great.  Pirate had the best of times watching the racing and talking to friends (and so did I)

Today we had a slow start, but as the clouds lifted we had a walk along the Big Hedge to check on the birds and down to a pond to see if the frogspawn was there..a bit early for that!

We heard chaffinches, saw great tits and blue tits, sparrows and dunnocks, rooks and gulls...by the river we saw dippers and mallard ducks, but not the kingfisher. 

And now waiting in the masking pan are the markings of blood...or blush as some now call them (!) Orange marmalade.