It was the Tupton Carnival on Saturday. Freyja came down from Sheffield and we went to play.

First there was a little procession. The Builder, watching it from our front window, thought it was pathetic. Freyja and I watching it from the village garden thought it was lovely. I will admit that it wasn’t a very long procession, but we were watching it surrounded by people who knew the people in the procession and who were waving and talking to the participants. There was quite a buzz of excitement where we were, and no excitement at all in our lounge room! The procession starts up by the high school and wends its way down past the post office, then down Ward Street and up along QVR back to the primary school. Then the gates of the school are opened and everyone makes their way up on to the school playing fields (which I didn’t know were there!) where there were rides and games and about a thousand tombolas. There was a baking competition (the kind that I could probably enter – the cakes weren’t up to Agricultural Show standards) and an art display. Punch and Judy were there. There was a sausage sizzle. The Sheffield Pipe Band, which had led the procession, gave a display . Some tiny children gave a dancing display, supervised by the Carnival Queen. It was all very lovely. And the sun shone, which made it lovelier still. Then Freyja and I went back to The Sidings, where The Builder wasn’t doing any useful gardening but was watching Hampshire win the cricket.

I took Freyja back to Sheffield, carrying all of our suitcases and bags with us, not to mention several cardboard boxes which we’ve been collecting for her. We made a slight detour to inspect the outside of the house that she’ll be moving into next weekend (hence the cases, bags and boxes). It’s near a tiny Sainsbury’s, and a greengrocer, two cafes, a gift shop and a bakery. Well located! There are also, apparently, a couple of pubs. I did, however, remember why I don’t live in Sheffield any more as I tried very hard to navigate The Vixen among all the parked cars and vans which made it extremely difficult to see if anything was coming up or down the narrow roads! I wouldn’t mind the cafes though. We do have a coffee shop in Tupton, it is true. But now it’s closed on Saturdays for lack of trade. This is very sad. I enjoyed popping in from time to time for a leisurely Saturday breakfast. Although I suppose we didn’t pop often enough to keep Saturday trade ticking over. We’ll just have to go often during August, when I, at least, will be around during the week. The Builder only has two weeks off during August, and we’ll be away for quite a bit of that.

Sunday was a very lazy day. We got up late and achieved very little. We did get the shopping done and we had a truly lovely roast lamb later in the afternoon. But we got none of the gardening or allotmenting done that we had intended – mostly because it was raining. We didn’t put up the energy usage meter that I’ve just bought. We didn’t seal the bathroom. We didn’t put up the new bathroom door. (And when I say “we”, I emphatically don’t mean me. Hanging doors is not one of my expertises!). We didn’t sort out the spare room. The Builder did watch the Grand Prix. I’m not altogether sure quite what I did – apart from cook the lamb. Oh – and dig up a potato root (It had stopped raining by that point; I could have gone gardening, really) and a couple of onions for roasting.

It is always possible that we might have drunk quite a quantity of wine as well. Must remember to get some more. And green tea. Not to mention whisky and Jack Daniels.

And I really must excavate the spare room. I believe we have visitors hoving into view.