2nd June 2009

Sarah has battled bravely through her exams, all while sweltering in what can only be described as tropical conditions. Despite the heat and the academic pressure, we managed to squeeze in a bike ride, which she thoroughly enjoyed. She even promised to go on more once the exams are out of the way, although we’ll see how long that promise holds after a week in Majorca with Charlotte!

Sue is thankfully back on her feet after her latest chest infection. The antibiotics have done their job, and she’s almost back to full throttle, working every day this week bar one. She’s planning a well-earned trip to Tenbury Wells this weekend to visit a family friend, which should do her good, provided she doesn’t end up cooking, cleaning, and reorganising someone else’s cupboards.

Jamie, never one to be outdone by a heatwave, has spent much of the week cooling off in the swimming pool with friends. Yesterday, he and I drove to Nan’s with the parts for her walk-in wardrobe. I graciously left him to the hard graft while I focused on the critical tasks: weeding, brewing tea, and holding things when summoned. I must admit, the finished result looked impressive, and everything fitted perfectly. Just a few panels left to add next week. On the way back to Harborough, we dropped in on Charlotte to deliver some vegetable plants she’d forgotten to pick up on her last visit to Willow Bank. Lucas shadowed Jamie everywhere, shouting his name with unrelenting enthusiasm, though I’m still not entirely convinced Jamie is the role model we want!

Charlotte and family visited over the weekend, keen to buy a new 42” TV from Argos in Corby, only to discover there weren’t any in stock, modern tragedy. Later, I took Suraj over to Roger Woolnough’s in Braybrooke to drop off a computer he had built for Roger. Upon returning to Willow Bank, Suraj took one look at my ageing PCs and upgraded the memory in both, performance now noticeably improved, and no extra charge! Before they headed back to Newark, we managed a family BBQ. I confess I spent much of the afternoon indoors, watching the Lions beat a South African side, swiftly followed by an England fifteen lose to the Barbarians. Barbecue smoke and rugby, bliss.

With such glorious weather, I’ve been hard at work in the garden. My stepbrother David and his wife Genya flew in from Bulgaria this week, though I only found out as they were packing to leave! No matter, Roger and I are flying out to see them on the 10th of June. They live three hours’ drive from Sofia, so I’ve hired a car for the cross-country adventure. Having driven in Bulgaria before, I already know the road signs are all in Cyrillic, which makes navigation rather like playing Russian Scrabble in the dark. Should be an interesting journey!

Meanwhile, we’ve been dog-sitting Sacha, the ageing spaniel belonging to Jim and Bridget Hankers, while they jetted off to Brussels for a break. Sacha, now over 12, is more decorative than energetic and spent most of her time dozing on the study sofa. Given the heat, I didn’t blame her; if I could’ve got away with the same, I would have.

As for Nan, she’s just returned from a wedding in Wales with enough tales about distant relatives to fill a family tree, and possibly a small novel. She remains as sprightly as ever and was delighted with her new walk-in wardrobe (courtesy of Jamie). She’s still glued to every sporting event on TV, usually flicking between three channels. I honestly don’t know how she keeps track, but she does.