And Then: We Do Manage To Have A Celebration!

And Then: We Do Manage To Have A Celebration! 

Well, then, at least one of our best laid schemes came to fruition! With the postponement of the lifting of the remaining restrictions on 21 June, I had hardly dared hope this particular plan would actually go off alright. Weeks ago, I had booked a table at the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon in Fortnum and Mason, choosing 21 June for several reasons. 

1) It was a Monday, and therefore likely to be quieter than a day later in the week

2) It was the first day of the lifting of lockdown, and hopefully people might not be completely in the swing of booking such treats

3) I checked with the reservations team at Fortnum and Mason, and they had confirmed they were not fully booked on that day; social distancing would be maintained, and although full lifting of restrictions had been delayed for four weeks, afternoon tea was still being served

4) Rather than take public transport to get to Piccadilly, we had decided to drive into London and I booked a slot for four hours in the car park in Arlington Street, at the back of The Ritz. From there, it was a short walk to Piccadilly, and we would be in the fresh air. 

So: A gentle return for a celebratory get-together for us all!

The next consideration was the weather. After a cold month of May (one of the coldest on record), we then had a week of heatwave. The air-conditioning was full on in our house! and as we gently sweltered,  we started to think how nice it would be, if the weather cooled down again. Don't be silly, I said; that will happen soon enough! And indeed it did. We had a few nice days before the weekend of 19 June, with rain then forecast intermittently on Monday, 21st.

Heigh ho; I thought, there I would be, in posh frock, suede shoes, hair done up - actually loose and flowing, but I didn't need a windy afternoon to ruin the look - and I didn't need rain to wreck my outfit either!

Al drove up from Portsmouth to meet  us at home, and then we all piled into one car for the trip up to London. Wendy drove, and we arrived at the car park venue with three minutes to spare: Perfectly timed by Wendy. 

The car park is underground, and as Wendy turned the car into the entrance  at street level, suddenly we were faced with a very, very steep slope to drive down. I felt we were paused at the top of a rollercoaster! and even Wendy drew a deep as breath as she took in what she had to negotiate. I'm afraid I could not face it! and got out of the car at the top, whilst she then progressed slowly and carefully down the very sheer slope to the bottom. 

I waited until everyone else had got back up to street level, and then we walked to Fortnum and Mason. We were all well equipped with umbrellas, but to my delight, we didn't need to unfurl them; the weather was kind to us, and we didn't get wet.

The Best Laid Schemes O' Mice And Men...

The Best Laid Schemes O' Mice And Men...

Robert Burns' poem, To A Mouse, contains the lines: "The best laid schemes o' Mice and Men gang aft agley.."

And so do our best laid plans for little trips away, a wee break from the fortitude we have displayed now for so many long months! 

With the original date for restrictions to be lifted cited as 21 June, I did some research into steam trains, and came up with the Ffestiniog Steam Railway - somewhere we had not visited before, and the Great Little Trains of Wales were definitely calling! This was to have been part of a short break up north: spend the first day chuffing on the Railway, and then drive up to the hotel in Preston Brook, near Chester, where we have stayed many times before. The plan was to visit Mum's grave in Kirkdale Cemetery in Liverpool, and maybe also look round the shops in Liverpool; we had the possibility of visiting dear relatives in Chester, and friends not far from Liverpool, and also scouting round old places where we lived on the Wirral, when Wendy was small - Prenton and Raby Mere, and finding the mere where her dad used to sail Orion, our radio-controlled model boat. We haven't sailed her for years, but we have photographs of the boat on the water, and it would be nice to see the mere again.

We also had plans to see what was happening to Shell Stanlow, the oil refinery that featured large in our lives when we lived on the Wirral; every time we drove to Glossop to pick up Grandma to bring her home for a while, we would pass by Shell Stanlow and be fascinated by the number of flames we could count, as surplus gas was burned off. 

What the plans for Shell Stanlow in the future are, we do not know; with the new regulations and emissions and decisions on reducing gas and oil use, it will probably be taken out of commission, but having made such a big impression on us for nearly 50 years, we like to take every opportunity to see it again, whilst we still can. 

And then the next virus variant hit: The Indian/Delta virus started to sweep the northwest, including Chester, Liverpool, Manchester - all the places we would be in, or very near, and the Government announced an extension of restrictions, for a further four weeks, until 19 July.  

Have I said before, we are sensible? Of course I have; even though we are all doubly vaccinated, we decided to wait until the signs are more propitious. So, although this was a disappointment, we decided it wasn't so much a cancellation, as a postponement. 

Happily, when I originally booked the hotel, I paid a flexi supplement, so the date could be changed without penalty to one that suited us better; I was also very impressed with the Ffestiniog Railway, who immediately offered me a full refund. I said, we still definitely wanted to visit the Railway, and was very happy to accept a voucher to be used at a later date, which I felt also showed clearly, we wanted to support the Railway, and this way they were assured we would be coming along as soon as possible.

So there it is: We still have our dreams, which are set in concrete: but our timing and plans are set in jelly!  It's still a case of "Watch this space!" 

The Simple Joy Of Looking Forward To Things...

The Simple Joy Of Looking Forward To Things...

Looking back on some of my posts - both more recent and historical - I realise they haven't all been about worries and apprehension, and there have been some very light-hearted moments, too. 

When Mum was still with us, obviously we couldn't go away with her as we used to before she broke her ankle, and it took a lot of arranging to take her on trips for Tea at the Ritz; but they were something we all looked forward to, enjoyed on the day, and then, after the event, had happy memories to look back on. 

After  Mum's funeral in September 2020, the ordeal that loomed very large on my particular horizon was facing the operation to replace my aortic valve; I knew I had to face up to it, and get through it, but in no way could I say I had been looking forward to it!

It's now 4 months on since my operation, and 2 months since I had the pleural effusion drained, and I am beginning to feel I am really getting back to "me," the person I was pre-op - but a better, healthier and more "rarin' to go!" Alexandra than ever before!

And so I have started to make plans for little trips (government guidance permitting, of course) and treats, and beginning to dare to look forward to them. Nothing dramatic, nothing that involves travel abroad - well, not just yet, anyway - just simple treats, repeating things we've done before; those things that at the moment seem like a lifetime ago!

I have written this before, but I think it's worth repeating: Watch this space!

A Prize Draw Win

A Prize Draw Win

I've been a faithful subscriber to Best of British, a great national magazine, for many years, and the Editor has been enthusiastic in supporting some of my ideas for articles I've submitted on various subjects - it's always a grand feeling to see one's work in print! and the magazine is a marvellous publication for so many interesting pieces, covering a wide variety of topics.

I sat down to read the May edition with great delight, and enjoyed going through it from cover to cover, including a regular feature near the back of the magazine, a page with three competition questions, each with a chance to win a prize in a draw. 

One question posed was what was the name of the last steam locomotive to be built by British Railways? The prize on offer was a jigsaw, and as I knew the answer, and enjoy putting jigsaws together, I thought I would have a go! 

I realised there would be a great number of people trying their luck as well, but I submitted the answer - the Evening Star - by e-mail, and thought no more about it. 

The merry month of May flashed by, until one afternoon at the beginning of June, a parcel company delivered a large box, containing the brilliant prize. The jigsaw was called "Crossing the Forth," and featured a painting of a locomotive steaming across the Forth Bridge.  

My surprise and delight were complete when I saw the picture was of a painting by Keith Stapleton, who I think is a member of the Guild of Railway Artists, and has provided many pictures for jigsaws.

Putting it together will give me many hours of pleasure, and I am sure there are lots of other people equally chuffed with their prizes. Having tasted success, I might just carry on trying my luck in the future!

I Pick Up Mum's Coloured Pencils

 I Pick Up Mum's Coloured Pencils

When I went in to hospital for the operation, I took in my suitcase some mending (Wendy had some favourite socks that had become threadbare), a sketch pad, and the large plastic case with Mum's coloured pencils. 

With hindsight, and thinking I was about to undergo surgery, was it such a good idea to take in needles and thread and scissors into hospital? Possibly not! and I did not one stitch of darning whilst I was there. However, I did get the paper and pencils out, and had a go at drawing a red admiral butterfly, which kept my mind off what I had to face the next day. 

I'm not an artist (I'll stick to poetry!) but I enjoy using Mum's old coloured pencils - she was good at drawing - and I like to try and capture something.

I also love bees. Although we don't have a hive, there's a little area at the bottom of the garden where we just threw down some wild flower seeds and they all "took." Everything came up, flowering energetically, to the great delight of the bees and butterflies that visit the garden. 

There are also a lot of lavender plants and last summer I saw one little bee working incredibly hard, visiting every flower. She worked so enthusiastically, and for so long, I had time to draw a little picture of her; it's one of the few drawings I've made that I'm quite pleased with!

I know there is a huge interest in keeping bees. You need a protective hat with the veil, in case they get a bit lively, and probably the suit as well (I wouldn't want to risk getting stung!) but I don't think it's that difficult to get started, and there are many clubs and associations with members very willing to help with advice.

There's also a blossoming interest in having hives in cities; Fortnum and Mason have (I think) 5 hives on the roof of their shop in Piccadilly, and even though they are in the middle of London, the bees do so well, they produce enough honey for it to be on sale in the shop. Having just written that Fortnum and Mason is in the middle of London - which it is! - of course London is blessed with many green spaces and parks, which give the bees a wide area of floral choice!

If we ever see a bee that has "run out of steam" and is lying exhausted, we make a little dish of very shallow sugar water, and take it to the bee; this usually works, and, after a few sips, she will have gained enough strength to fly again and land on some better nectar producing flowers. 

I read in the paper recently that 20th May was World Bee Day, so there is a huge interest out there. If the bees stopped carrying out their (free) work, pollinating all the crops, it would be a disaster for the world economy. I can't remember how much it was estimated to cost if farmers had to do it, but it was billions of pounds/dollars/euros ... a prohibitive amount. We are so blessed to have the bees doing it for us, freely.

The only other thing I know about bees is that, if you keep them, you have to visit them regularly, and tell them all your news. I don't know where that tradition comes from, but I think it is really charming; if we ever have any hives, I will definitely confide everything to the bees.

Bee on the Lavender - 12 August 2020