A miscellany

We’re home! We were delayed another 45 minutes on the tarmac in Hong Kong, then flew through beautiful weather and interesting views on to London. It is very, very irritating the way airlines make you close all the blinds half way through the long sector so “people can sleep” There were interesting views of deserts and roads and what looked like dried up river beds and lakes; the sun was shining. I was having a lovely time reading my book and watching the view. And almost no one was actually sleeping. It wasn’t sleeping time either where we were or, indeed, in London. Anyway, the airlines provide eye shades for people who do want to sleep. However, “That’s just what we do, sir” was the response The Builder got when he queried this edict. And my blind was closed. Gloom. So I had a sleep too.

Young Harry (3½) who was sat behind us (and who was spectacularly well behaved) and his parents well and truly missed their connecting flight to Amsterdam. Gomez and his carer and her muso friends equally missed their flight to Helsinki (and the onward flight to wherever the wine and folk festival is). We, however, did not miss our train. Just! I had booked us onto a train at 19:25 from ST Pancras. Takes about an hour from Heathrow to Kings Cross. WE had been due in at 13:30 so, in theory, we had plenty of time. In the end we got to St Pancras at 19:00, more or less just in time to walk onto the train. And we had to be on that train. I’d bought very cheap tickets which required us to be on that train and in those seats. Would have been expensive to have missed it! And so we got home more or less at the time we should have got home, despite the delays.

The house seemed quite pleased to see us. Nearly all the seedlings and pot plants in the garden had survived. All bar one of the indoor plants had survived. The neighbours seemed pleased to have us back. Max the puppy even licked my hand. But I don’t think we’re going to be allowed to buy the land at the back of the house. Number 4 has a For Sale sign outside it now. Must remember to ring the agents on Monday and quiz them. Never mind, it would have been nice to have it, but the allotments aren’t all that far away. Must ring the allotment man.

We’ve been into Sheffield by bus and by train (have worked out now how to get from the bus stop to the station!!) and collected the SS Vixen (*not* Sally the Stilo, which is what Tabitha has been calling her). She has had to have a new paw. Her left hand inside tyre had gone flat just before we left. We’d pumped it up, but it had gone down again while we were away. Nail in her hoof. Tyre buggered because of being driven on for who-knows-how-long before we’d noticed it was soft. New tyre required. We’ve stocked up at Waitrose, been to the allotment and collected broad beans, peas, onions, garlic and red currants. We’ve been to Chatsworth and bought other vegetables and a beef box. They’ve having a food festival this weekend. The continental market is in Sheffield too. I can see lots of foodie things happening on Saturday and Sunday! The allotment is doing not too badly. The broad beans and peas, potatoes and cherries, gooseberries and strawberries, beetroot and rhubarb are all doing really well. For some reason the sweet corn and runner beans are struggling. Strange, the ways of fruit and vegetables!

And so home. I’m in the process of making a small amount of red currant jelly. We had home made lamb and mint burgers (mint from the garden) with the beans and peas from the allotment, together with buttered Chinese cabbage and new English potatoes from Chatsworth for dinner. And The Builder slept through most of the evening. I do like this house. If you go out the back you have a rural aspect. If you look out the front, you have a suburban aspect. It’s fun. There are all sorts of things to watch.

Time to get up. The sun is shining. The birds are tweeting. The sheep are baa-ing. Best find something useful to do.