In mid-May, my dad, stepmum and her sister visited for two weeks. Along with my stepmum's nephew Dr J, the six of us drove up to the beautiful Lake District for a long weekend. We rented a lodge with a deck that overlooked the stream and spent many an hour admiring the birds and drinking in the tranquility.
We also did lots of walks and enjoyed a cruise on Lake Windermere.
This collection of auriculas literally took my breath away when I saw it:
I joked with my stepmum and her sister that when I was young, I used to get excited about hot guys or designer handbags. Now, it takes a bl**dy good plant to get my blood pumping! Auriculas were very popular in Victorian times and collectors used to display them with a black background to show off the amazing colours. The specialist growers of this display have been going to the Chelsea Flower Show for 20 years and although they have been awarded loads of Silvers and Silver Gilts, this is the first year they have won a Gold Medal.
After the show, I purchase some plants from them and this is my version of the auricula theatre:
I openly acknowledge that it will be some time before I reach the Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal standard but we all have to start somewhere!
When we picked up the auriculas from the Growers, we got along so well that we decided to invite them over for dinner. Although they are almost 70, they have never had Chinese food before! In addition, the husband does not like anything with sauce or gravy. So last weekend, they came round and I made roast soy chicken drumsticks, prawn omelette and steamed vegetables in oyster sauce...which I then had to drain off for him ha ha.
We also invited another set of close friends and had the most wonderful evening. The Grower Husband has deep knowledge covering many subjects so it was really fascinating to hear him speak. He took a tour around our garden with P and me and made several suggestions on how we could improve it. For example, he told us to round the edges of flower borders as it is more pleasing to the eye. He also suggested planting ferns in a shaded corner next to the shed where nothing else will grow. He told us of the history of florists and many other Victorian plants. We all hung on to his every word.
In their 20 years at Chelsea, the Growers have met many famous people including members of the Royal Family. However, more importantly, they have promised to introduce me to Alan Titchmarsh the next time we are at a show together! For all of you who don't know, Alan is a gardener who has been on the telly for decades and now has his own radio show. I can't wait!
We feel really fortunate that we continue to meet wonderful people here in Brrrringland and long may it continue.
If all this excitement was not enough, we then had the Canadian family visit us at the end of June for five days. We ate lots, drank more and had a fabulous time.
It is hard to believe that their two children are now 16 and 18. When we met, they were 8 and 10 and very sweet. It's funny seeing your friends' children turn into teenagers, who are the bane of parents the world over. They are great kids but I'm glad to see that even they are prone to backchat and smart alec remarks! We did a couple of day trips and one was to Rye, a quaint ancient town:
My only complaint was that the Canadian family didn't stay with us for long enough.
Almost as soon as the Canadian family left to enjoy the rest of their European tour, we had a wedding to attend in mid-July. Three people from the wedding party stayed with us. It was a wonderful day but as is often the case with close friends, we helped out a lot so it was quite tiring. I made sandwiches for the bridesmaids and helpers and P drove them to the venue to decorate. We also stayed on after the wedding to take down the decorations and took most of the items back to our place. The next day, we brought them all to the groom's parents's house, where we enjoyed a delicious brunch on the sunny patio.
This month has been just as busy. The whole city has been caught up in Olympic fever and we are no different. Although we haven't been to any events, we have watched a lot of it on telly at home and with our friends. I'm glad it's over as I was starting to get a bit of 'sports overload' but then the Paralympics start shortly!
P and I are on holiday this week but so far, he has boarded up the loft (for extra storage space) and re-organised and cleaned out the garage. I have steam cleaned the whole house, defrosted the freezer and cleaned out the fridge. And next weekend, we have our close friends from Northampton coming to stay.
Then at the end of September, Dr J will be with us for a few days before he heads back to the Small Island after his year-long research course. I can't believe it has been 12 months since he first arrived here. I think being in Blundon has been a great experience for him, but I also know that his family and friends are looking forward to him going home. I am sure he is going to be spoilt with lots of yummy homecooked food! Jealous much?!! Yesssssssssssssss!
In a way, it's quite sad that the summer is almost over and we haven't had any good stretches of warm, dry weather. But nonetheless, I always look forward to our yearly trip in November to Northampton to spend the day with friends. We also always have a great time with another set of friends over the Christmas and New Year period. I'm well equipped to face the winter this year with a new North Face coat and a pair of gorgeous waterproof boots. So with lots to look forward to, I go into the fall with a spring in my step (no pun intended).
If after reading about the last four months of excitement and you too want to visit us, all you have to do is get in touch! There are two guest rooms awaiting...
