It's a funny old world...

...but we may not always see the joke.



Late on Monday afternoon I had a nasty fall onto the patio.

The weather forecast had warned of heavy rain and thunderstorms on TV and when this was repeated on the radio we were listening to in the summer house, we thought it wise to decamp as the storms sounded imminent. Ron took a few things back indoors and I gathered up some others.

Thus my hands were full with bits and pieces and, on a hairsbreadth of gap between the patio slabs, my toes caught it and I went flying, not able to put out my hands to save myself but everything scattered as I hit the ground, full length on my front, the final clunk being my jaw next to my chin.  That jarred my skull particularly and my whole body. With Ron's help I gradually maneuvered myself onto my side, my back, t'other side and, leaning on a chair, a shelf and Ron eventually got upright.  I was left with a large, black bruise on my jaw, bruised knees and elbows and grazes on my forearms and a couple of fingers, a headache, pains at the base of my skull, my ribs plus woken-up arthritis pains on the back of my neck and shoulders.  But I think I was very lucky not to have broken any bones...just Ron's pipe which separated at the joint! Even a glass I was carrying bounced!!

It's a funny old world.  It didn't thunder let alone rain.  I blame the weather forecasters!

Each day since then I have gradually improved and on Wednesday it was a pleasure to welcome dear friends to our new home on a pre-arranged visit. Lovely to see them again and they lifted my spirits. 

But there's a funny old world story there too.  They hail from Sheringham, where we lived before our move to France - but we were all living in France before we met!  Now we all live in other parts of Norfolk and we look forward to visiting them on the Norfolk Broads where they live and work...providing I can keep upright that is!

Gressenhall.

Today a visit to Gressenhall and its Workhouse Museum.

What a pleasure it has been to have the company of this lovely family.  A big family get together to look forward to before we have to wish them bon voyage for their return to Brisbane.

The Wizard of Oz!

A few months ago we became step great-grandparents and today (and tomorrow) Forest came with his parents, Rob and Jenna, all the way from Brisbane to catch up with family and friends and it was wizard to welcome our visitors from Oz!  We truly appreciate their visit.

Happy parents. 

Happy baby. 

Happy us.










Magic!

At last!

After many weeks of delay, finally our summer house is in situ and furnished to enable the patio and garage to be cleared.  Other belongings have come to light although some items are still missing but we hope those few items still have a chance to appear!

In the current hot weather we think perhaps the building should be named the winter house when, with heating instead of a cooling fan, we will be able to get right out into the garden whatever the weather and watch the birds on their feeder. Now we have the choice of patio or summer house, then a cosy nook.  We feel blessed.

Toast

The last few boxes found and emptied and we came across this, which made us cry.  We miss our daughter, the love and laughter but, as ever, one foot in front of the other...Cheers, darling.




I’d like to take a moment, if I may
For there’s something that I really want to say,
Merci beaucoup, gracias, abrigado too, and danke
To my awesome parents I owe a massive thanks



For everything they do for me every single day
When I cry they comfort me and chase the blues away
And when I am in lots of pain, which happens almost daily
They want to take the hurt away - they say I’m still their baby



They’re generous with everything, be it love, advice or time
They’re such a lovely couple, those old folks of mine
So raise a glass of something nice, be it grapes or hops
And drink a toast to both of them “Here’s to Muzz and Pops!”



© Sheridan Musson

Crash, bang, wallop!

Friday 27th July and and it's hard to comprehend that our son would have been 55 today.  But, after a quiet morning, we had little time for reflection as weeks of heatwave ended with a flourish of heavy rain and a hailstorm with big lumps of ice hitting everything and causing some damage locally - up to a couple of miles away it remained dry! The noise was unbelievable!!

A realistic size of the hailstones...

...these caught in zooming to snap the hail on a roof - the stones were big but not that big so those at the front of the photos were enlarged!

A lot of leaves were broken off the shrubs and trees by the hailstones. 

The hailstones hung around for quite some time after the storm had passed...

A metal flower container was smashed...

...and there were a few dints in the car bonnet in spite of it being partly sheltered by a hedge and trees.  But we came off lightly compared to a neighbour who suffered extensive damage to cars and a greenhouse was smashed.

Over the weekend, there were very high and blustery winds plus rain showers.  The disturbed weather is supposed to have a final blow from south to north across the country today, then return to calmer weather and a rise in temperature again.  We hope not so extreme during or after sunny weather! 

As with most things, I feel that "fair to middlin'" is best!!

Byways

We were curious what roads are behind the golden wheat fields which we can only glimpse in the distance through the trees at the bottom of our garden, so set off on a mystery tour. 

The roads are mostly byways - narrow lanes with high hedges and a few bends.  Luckily we met only two cars which, with a bit of negotiating from both drivers, we were able to pass. We managed, mostly by accident, there being few signposts to cover the circular route from the bottom of our road to the top!  But also took other turnings most of the time not really knowing where we were! 

We spotted other byways, footpaths and a bridleway.  In gaps in the high hedges, we saw that most of the fields were of wheat which had been harvested, others of maize. There were a few isolated farms, houses and one or two small villages, only one boasting a church.

And, on a small crossroads, we spotted a cycle way in a rather dilapidated state…

After nearly an hour, we were amazed to learn from a signpost that we were only 1 ¼ miles from home!