7th January 2010 Like many people, I couldn’t wait to see the back of 2009. Though Sue and I are now officially retired and collecting our teacher pensions, any joy is tinged with apprehension as we brace ourselves for the likely arrival of a new government in spring, and with it, the dreaded tinkering with… Continue Reading

 13th December 2009 There has been a fair bit of news since my last instalment in November. As always, life has a way of keeping us on our toes (or on ladders, in my case, wielding a paintbrush). Sue has been hard at work at the local Catholic school, managing to miss just one day… Continue Reading

29th November 2009 For the past three weeks, I’ve been holed up in Bulgaria helping my stepbrother David “renovate” his house, though ‘renovate’ might be stretching the truth. ‘Systematic destruction’ may be more accurate. Communicating with the outside world proved to be a bigger challenge than rebuilding it. The internet moved slower than a Bulgarian… Continue Reading

2nd October 2009 Yet again, I’ve had to be cajoled into finding time to write a blog. I’ve no real excuse; sometimes I’ve just been too busy, and other times I simply didn’t feel like it. Life seems to have settled into a routine, punctuated by random events, and I’m quite comfortable deciding which of… Continue Reading

24th September 2009 It’s been a while since my last blog, and so much has happened that I’m sure half of it has already vanished into that shadowy corner of my brain labelled Recycle Bin. But Charlotte requested I put finger to keyboard, so here I am, taking a break from the relentless glamour of… Continue Reading

2nd September 2009 There are a few unmistakable signs in our household that something significant is about to happen: the house is suddenly spotless from attic to skirting board, the fridge and larder groan under the weight of provisions, the laundry basket is suspiciously empty, and every drawer is bursting with ironed clothes. When, on… Continue Reading

21st August 2009 The day I last put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), Aunty Hilda slipped quietly from this world. Having said her goodbyes to her sisters, she left us that night to reunite with her beloved Ted, no doubt with a gentle sigh and a raised eyebrow at the state of the… Continue Reading

4th August 2009After successfully laying the flooring in my study, Jamie went on to spend another three days fitting flooring and hanging doors for Roger Woolnough. Once done, he returned to Willow Bank and laid a new floor in the sunroom, a trickier task, as he had to craft a drain cover. He then spent… Continue Reading

19th July 2009 It’s been a bit of a rough patch for Sue these past few weeks. She’s had yet another bout of her persistent chest infection and, following a consultation at the local cottage hospital, has been booked in for a hysterectomy on the 22nd of August. It turns out this has been an… Continue Reading

5th July 2009 Summer has well and truly arrived in the UK, with temperatures soaring to 32.2°C in the garden, warmer even than Majorca, according to Charlotte, Sarah, and Claire, who were enjoying a girlie week at an all-inclusive hotel in Cala de Majorca. Judging by their constant excursions into town for meals, I suspect… Continue Reading