Sunday ...

... dawned bright and sunny

The garden in the early morning sunshine

 with clear signs of spring

No time to mess about in the garden, though.  I was off to Chesterfield in the newly tyred car.  It takes about 8 minutes to get from our place into the Chesterfield town centre at 10:00 on a Sunday morning - and there is plenty of choice for parking spaces!

I met Richard at the church with the twisty spire for the Passion Sunday service.  It was absolutely delightful. Very, very high church, lots of incense, lots of processions, beautiful music, hearty hymns and a rather good little choir. I have been in the church many times but never for the Sunday service. I really must go again!

Then Richard and I went back to Tupton, where The Builder had been doing useful things, and we had lunch

The pie that I had made yesterday

It's chicken, ham and apricot

Steamed chocolate pudding for dessert

We had the pie with potato salad and a green and red salad.  We had the steamed pudding (which The Builder had been in charge of while I was out) with a red fruit syrup, made using fruit from the garden from last summer.  It was all very convivial.

The whole weekend had been thrown thoroughly out of kilter, mind.  I had spoken to Stella and Tony at the usual time, but on Saturday rather than Sunday (they had bounced me on the Sunday in favour of a fish and chip adventure!).  This meant that I spent all of Saturday thinking it was Sunday and, on the whole, doing Sunday things.  Then, of course, we had the real Sunday.  I am very fond of Sundays, but it did all feel just a little bit odd.

I am definitely in countdown mode.  The end of my almost 19 year association with SHU is
oh-so-nearly in sight. Two weeks to go!