My English Garden - May 2013

My English cottage garden has had a wonderful show of tulips during the last week. It's so wonderful to watch them opening up every day when the sun comes out!

Each year I lift some of the bulbs and dry them off. I usually pick a hot, dry day in summer and let the bulbs have a good baking.

Once they are dry, I rub off the soil and store them until the Autumn when I plant them out again, usually haphazardly. I like to see where they come up, mixing the colours as I go.

Just love to count how many of each colour I have each year.

...but I always buy new ones, usual ten at a time. That guarantees that at least some of them will come true. I put the new ones in a tub by the back door to the cottage so I can see them from the kitchen window.

The cowslips are pretty too, aren't they!

The primroses and primulas are mainly over now but there is still a bit of colour visible.

What a joy my Spring garden is. It delights all the senses.

Have a good week everyone.

Star

This is St. Peter's Church, Lilley last Saturday when I visited their glorious Flower Festival. You can read more about Lilley and its church here.

The graveyard is delightful, as is the church and I love to visit every year if I can. It is not my local church.

This year's Flower Festival theme was '  On the Air'   and the festival ran for three days over the recent Bank Holiday weekend.  For once the weather was kind, which made the whole thing more enjoyable and hopefully helped to raise the funds needed to keep this beautiful church in a healthy condition.

Here are some of the exhibits:

'Radio Times' by Monica Thomas

BBC World Services by Kim Major:

'Gardener's Question Time' by Betty Sharp:

'The Chris Evan's Show' by Susan Constable:

'Listen with Mother' by Maureen Bland:

'Sunday Half Hour' by Pat Sayer & Margaret Dickenson:

I'll show you some more of these wonderful flower arrangements next time,

and before I go - a Very Happy Birthday to my son David, who was 33 year's old yesterday and soon to be a dad for the first time!

Not long now!

It won't be long now until I am an Oma again and as you can see from the picture above, my daughter-in-law is blooming. She looks great and is all prepared.

The baby she is expecting will be much loved and well cared for. A lucky baby for sure in this world as it is today. As I look forward to this happy event with the rest of the family, I can't help thinking about all the children who are not so lucky so I'm giving them my thoughts too when I go to bed each night and pray for a happy outcome.

This is such a wonderful time of the year to be having a baby.  Two of my own sons were born in May and I remember how getting up in the night to feed them was not half so difficult in May as if it had been November, or worse - February!

Together again, at last!

Last Wednesday I went down to Heathrow Airport to pick up Millie. She had travelled 4,500 miles to be with me here in England - all the way from Tennessee no less. It was lovely to see her again!

I was expecting to collect her from Airpets at Terminal 5, but in the event, she was waiting at the Animal Reception Centre, which is much nearer to Terminal 4.  The two terminals are a long way from each other so I caught the coach to the Central Bus Station near Terminals 1,2 and 3 and then got a bus from there.

It was rather exciting.  It felt a bit like Christmas! When I got to The Central Bus Station, it was lunch-time so I stopped there and bought some lunch and a newspaper. The paperwork said it could take up to five hours before Millie was checked and cleared for collection so I was prepared for a long wait.  After I'd eaten my sandwich and drunk my drink, I phoned the Reception Centre and they told me that Millie had arrived safely and that they would ring me when she was ready for collection.  I decided not to wait at the Bus Station.  It was very busy there. I thought I might be better waiting at the Reception Centre itself so I asked the lady on the Information Desk which bus I needed to catch to get to Terminal 4. She told me I needed the number 555 and that they ran every 30 minutes.

I caught the next one, at 12.25 and asked the driver if he would drop me off near the animal place. He said there was a bus-stop right outside so I didn't have to walk very far. The Reception Centre itself was being filmed when I got there.  Who knows, I might be on T.V. at some point. There were people waiting in the conservatory waiting area, which was very comfortable.  Everyone was excited and nervous and longing to see their pet again.

While I was waiting, I phoned the taxi firm to arrange for transport home. Millie was in a larger than average cage because that's the way they do it, so I needed a people carrier taxi to accommodate her.

I waited there for 30 minutes or so and then she was brought out to me. She looked a bit scared but I think she recognised me. I know she recognises my voice and all was soon well. A few soothing words goes a long way...

When I got home my son was here, working from home. I left Millie in the cage for half an hour and then let her out to explore the house. She was purring as she looked around. I expect she was glad to be free again although she had been let out 2 or 3 times during the long journey, which started with a 3 1/2 hour car ride from Knoxville to Atlanta.

So far so good, but she still had to meet my English cat, Patch and the neighbourhood terror - The Ghost. More of Millie's adventures next time.

Millie looking out of my window.  "Where the .....! am I?  Oh well, at least I didn't have to go into quarantine!"

My Memoirs - 2 - 1953

This is the second part of My Memoirs. Here you see me at aged two years, on the beach in 1953. I think it is Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight.

If you missed the first part of My Memoirs, you can read it here.

From Wikipaedia: 'The Isle of Wight pron.: is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 3–5 miles off the coast of Hampshire, separated from Great Britain by a strait called the Solent.

Population: 140,500, 2010

Of course I don't remember the occasion, but I've heard enough stories about our visit to the Isle of Wight, over the years, that it is familiar to me, even in the telling.

We stayed in a caravan on a caravan park, which was nice because there were no doubt other families there, company for all of us. Apparently the bed that my dad slept in was too short for him and he had to put his feet in the small cupboard at the bottom.  Sounds uncomfortable, doesn't it.

This time period was not long after World War II ended so it was a time when people could relax a bit and maybe let their guard down. It was still a time of food rationing, which didn't end till 1954. You can read more about food rationing in the United Kingdom here.

In my youthful state, I knew nothing about wars, food rationing or other hardships which my parents had just endured. I was on the beach, probably for the first time! and I was having a good time. My parents must have scrimped and saved to afford that holiday because they only had rented rooms to live in with a shared bathroom and kitchen down the corridor.

1953 was notable for many things, some of which I list below in chronological order:

Ian Fleming had just published his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.

Winston Churchill received a Knighthood from the Queen.

The coronation of Queen Elizabeth took place at Westminster Abbey and

Laura Ashley sold her first printed fabrics.

No doubt I ate my way through a fair few clouds of candy-floss and at least half a dozen ice-creams.

Star

Baking Day

Last Tuesday was baking day at the cottage. I decided to make some bread.

Sadly, it was  the day after Mrs. Margaret Thatcher died. R.I.P Margaret. She was a strong leader, liked by some, hated by others. Me? I liked her very much.  I didn't agree with everything she said or did but she never faltered. I feel safe with people who make up their minds and stick to it. Thanks to Mrs. Thatcher, my mother was able to buy her own council house (social housing dwelling) after paying rent for forty years. At the grand age of 62 my mother got a mortgage and actually owned her own house! She was so delighted with it and that finally she had something to leave to me (her only daughter) when she died.

Unfortunately, that was not to be because my mother got very sick and had to go into an old folk's home. They took all her money except for a small amount which was left when she died a year later.

However, owning her own house gave my mother such pleasure and it was all because of Margaret Thatcher.

I cooked the loaf in my gas oven at Gas Mark 7 (very hot) for 30 minutes but the gas must have been high on Tuesday because it caught a little on the top. Next time I'll move it down a rung.

It didn't alter the flavour though and we are still enjoying it today (Friday). Almost gone now.

Would you like a slice?

Star

Easter Treats

Yesterday was a wonderful day, here in the cottage.  On Saturday night we put the clocks forward. Yes I know what you're thinking, but we're always a little later here in England. The lady vicar at church was very accommodating and put the service forward an hour so it started at 10 a.m. instead of 9 a.m. I was grateful for that.  The Easter Service was wonderful, with a full church and hardly any spaces. This was achieved by combining the early morning service with the late morning service so we got to meet lots of people we didn't usually get to see on a weekly basis.

The Easter Treats above are called 'Crispy Crackles'. I'll be posting the recipe soon.

How did you spend your Easter Day?  Was it joyful?

Here is my Grandson, Dylan, hunting for Easter Eggs.

Happy Easter! from Star.