The Travel Dogs clearly don't love Freyja very much

Freyja is off to Berlin today, accompanied by the Hippos and a friend.

Things were not going quite to plan when she took her passport to work last Monday to photocopy it. After work she went to the cinema and then out to dinner.  At some point during the day her passport escaped from her bag.  She searched everywhere, but to no avail. Passport gone, never to be seen again.

So.  She had to make an unscheduled and rather expensive trip to the Liverpool Passport Office on Friday where, because she has a biometric passport, they were able (although rather reluctantly) to replace it for her on the day.  At vast expense.  It ended up being, as she commented later, a somewhat expensive evening out!!

Anyway.  All was well that ended well.  Freyja had her new  passport.  The hippos had never lost theirs.  Everyone was fit to travel.

Then the Norse Volcano Dogs decided to have another round in the "Which airports can we disrupt today with our volcanic ash" game that they've been playing for the past month or so and decided to take out the northern and central British Isles.  Which is where Freyja was flying from.  All flights from East Midlands were cancelled (well, if not all, then certainly this morning's flights).  Freyja and her friend were transferred to a flight from Bristol.  Not entirely convenient if you live in Sheffield, but accessible via an eye-wateringly expensive train trip.

Bristol airport is now closed!!  They're all off there anyway.  If necessary they'll camp in Bristol until an aircraft is available to take them to Berlin.

Fortunately, they are returning to the UK in a fortnight's time - on Eurostar.  Which is unlikely to be affected by volcanic ash.  And probably, at the beginning of June, not by snow either.

We, in the meantime, have had a much less exciting time.  Mostly the week has been full of food.  We had dinner at Roger and Kate's place on Saturday evening, as did Bea and Steve.   We had fresh asparagus wrapped in ham, and lamb casserole, and raspberries and cream.  We had wine and conversation and music.  It was a lovely evening.  We've been eating our own asparagus from the garden for the first time.  Not a lot, but some, and it's very delicious.  We've also been eating cabbages and mini cauliflowers and using fresh herbs all from the garden.  We've been indulging in lots of Jersey Royal potatoes (not from the garden, obviously, because it's not in Jersey!!)  We are beginning to run out of Farmer Jayne's lamb and pork.  Must get some more.  Tonight we are going to have our very own steak night: Derbyshire rump steak, garlic mushrooms, Jersey Royal potatoes and some of the cabbage and asparagus fro mthe garden. We do not appear to be losing any girth.  I can't think why not!!!!!

And the weather has been rather lovely.  Sunny and warming up.  You can feel the hints of summer in the air.  So can the birds.  The swallows are back.  I think I saw some swifts yesterday too.  And there are young starlings in the garden trying very hard to fall into the fish pond.  Fortunately, we have a net!!

It's very nearly light at 04:00 in Tupton at the moment.  I know this from personal experience.  So too do the blackbirds who were having a merry time singing this morning. Right outside the bedroom window!