Life!

We came back on Sunday – I was intending to leave in the middle of the day but when I got up in the morning I found the carpet in the bathroom cupboard soaking wet – plus all the toilet rolls stacked in there were sodden having soaked up lots of water – and discovered the stop cock was leaking.  We had had the plumber twice that week already – to change the ball cock in the back loo and to service the boiler.  Anyway we went off to the 8 am service, and to ring, and then when we got back Mike had a go at fixing it – luckily I had seen where the plumber had turned the water off at the road so I was able to do that.  The shed holds a wonderland of screws and other bits and pieces so I found the jar of washers and eventually it seemed to do the trick except for a minor drip from the tap itself.  The plumber came out anyway and tightened things up and all seems well now.  He only charged £32 for coming out on a Sunday! All that messing about with the plumbing meant ...

Mike went off to ring a peal on the morning of Bank Holiday Monday - but didn't get it.  We went for another walk in Stover in the afternoon. Suki hitches a ride! In the evening we went to The Bell for a pint and a pasty with the ringers - Lisa's new boyfriend, Adrian, was there.  I got a phone call from Lorraine to say Rita next door had died - the police were there and wanted her date of birth and thought I might know it.  I didn't! Jayne and I had a lovely day mooching around Totnes on the Tuesday.  We did lots of window shopping, indulged in a little retail therapy and had an extremely nice lunch in a cafe at the top of the town.  Then we popped in to Dartington on the way back and indulged ourselves a little more.  I bought two huge wine glasses which I had always wanted.  I shall probably not dare to use them now! I also purchased a nice crochet book with several things I thought I might crochet - and made a start on a filigree blanket ...

I set off for Devon on Tuesday 23rd Aug about 10.15 and arrived at The Old Inn, Halton at 12.45 to meet up with Jay for lunch.  It has been done out since I was last there and is very nice and comfortable now - and the toilets are inside and no spiders!  We had lovely baguettes for lunch and had a good catch up.  I got to Bovey about 3.30 and Jayne was already home from work which was lovely.  We had a good chin wag and then both took suki out for a short walk round the hilll/bridleway loop.  We had a nice evening in watching tv with a bottle of wine and ham, salad and jacket potato for supper.  The next day we went for a walk together round Parke in the morning with Suki - it was incredibly muddy (regretted wearing sandals) and the river was very full as a result of all the rain they had had lately.  The weir was completely full - which is most unusual in summer.  We dropped Suki off at home and went to Trago Mills to get a few bits and pieces. ...

Rang a nice peal of Superlative on 3-4 with Steve, Hamish and Margaret on 14th.  Very pleased with it. Failed yet again to ring a peal of minor with Caroline and Mike, although we rang about 3 extents quite confidently before it fell apart.  Had a nice supper at Cafe Rouge to make up for it.  Mike got away with going up the escalator at London Bridge and we played safe and went home via Monument. Supper with the Bell and Crown group on 13th - at The Duke of Somerset in Acton as Bell and Crown closed for refurbishment.  Had a lovely meal - Mike and I shared the rib steak (#50) and I probably drank a bit too much wine! Reunion of youth club group at The Duke of Kent in Ealing on 22nd.  Met up with Diane and Moira at Ealing Broadway station and shared a taxi.  Mike not allowed on the 607 because of pushchairs.  I was furious.  Good evening - really weird seeing so many people from the dim and distant past now old!  Chris Still was nice and c...

On 17th August I started Jury Service.  I had arranged for Mike to walk Suki in the mornings and for Lee and Emma to walk her in the afternoons - and to have her all day on the Thursdays when Mike was at work.  This cost in the region of #170 which is of course not reimbursed!  I had to turn up at 9.15 on the first day - and sit through a mind blowing induction talk from a jumped up little civil servant jury officer who clearly relished the sound of his own voice.  Never using five words when twenty five would do, he proceeded to go through every detail of the claims procedure etc.  It took 45 minutes and then we had to watch a video.  Finally we got to be left alone and I was able to make a lot of progress on another year of Middlesex Members before the battery in the laptop got low and I packed it all away and started to read my book.  This was quite good timing as at this point the jury officer called out the names of the first jury - and my name wa...

August started with a week in Buckinghamshire - Mike on Roving Ringers tour based at the Redfield Centre in Winslow, while I had accommodation booked in Great Horwood two miles away. I was lending my bike to Louise so we put it on the back of the car using the bike rack.  We picked up the keys from my cottage and then went over to the Redfield Centre where we discovered my back wheel had buckled on the journey!  So I unpacked Mike's stuff and then we drove to a bike shop in Aylesbury (10 miles away).  Luckily they had a wheel in stock so we left it there and I drove back to the pub where we unpacked the bike and we had lunch.  Then Mike went off on his bike and Louise and I went to Great Horford to drop off my luggage.  Then I took her to the second tower and waited for her - and then we both went back to the bike shop to pick up the bike.  I got back to the cottage about 6 pm - not quite the first day of my holiday I had had planned. I took Suki for a shor...

Having packed before going off to Devon, I was ready to leave once I had walked Suki and had breakfast.  Lorraine and I got off at 10 and had a good journey down to Bognor arriving about 12. We checked all of us in to the hotel and then had a coffee and sandwich in the hotel cafe. Carolyn, Leanne and Ollie arrived about 1.30 and John arrived about 3 - by which time we were all in Lorraine/Leanne's room waiting for mine to be ready (the last).  We had rooms next to each other which was good. Each day there would be a towel sculpture left by the cleaners - which was a rather nice touch.  We did all the usual things - funfair, amusements, soccer training.  I went to Splashworld twice with Ollie - Lorraine couldn't go because of her recent tattoo so it was all down to me. Ollie and I went down the white slide a lot - I shall give up when he wants to start going down the flues!  We ate at the diner the first evening - Mitzi had left which was a big disappointmen...