Poppy appears

And now for something completely different...

I was quite sure that I had planted, last year, a poppy called Patty's Plum. It's a very pretty lilac colour.

However, this is what appeared yesterday!

She is very pretty, and I like to have lots of pink in my garden, so she is welcome.

The garden is so dry, day by day the sun shines and there is no sign of rain. Each night I potter around with a watering can and treat my seedlings to a drink.

That's the time when the scents seem to intensify, and there is a wash of rose perfume through the garden.

I love this time of year.

A bit of fury.

Madness.

This is Bournemouth beach on a sunny Bank Holiday, yesterday.

For the many of us who adhere to the rules of socal distancing and short travelling, this is unbelievable.

But, when a country has a senior minister who drives hundreds of miles in lockdown and is unapologetic, what can one expect.

(I wont go into the politics of it all, it is too frightful)

Apparently the attitude of people was....'if he can do it, why cant we?'

We wait for another surge in the death toll, which may sound dramatic, but is possible.

Free plants

Is this the best plant of any?

It's the self effacing Erigeron Karvinskianus,

Otherwise known here as 'that little white daisy'.

I have not planted nor sown one of these!

They just arrived and happily self seeded along a step.
As they cost around £5.00 per plant in a garden centre I think I'm doing well! In fact maybe I could offer some to Sarah Raven?

I'm going to see if I can prise one small one out and put it in a pot, just to see how it looks.
So good to have 'free' plants.

Not exactly PPE....

I wish I'd kept count of the masks I have made.

They are simple basic  masks, more a face covering than anything.

I havent done many with filters, as I dont feel they are really necessary unless one is travelling on trains etc.

I put a few on a garden table the other day, with some spare tomato plants,

not expecting them to go, but by lunch time none were left.

It's mostly neighbours who pass by on their daily walk who take them.

When I discovered that little donations were being left I felt I had to write a note saying that it isnt necessary, as it's my way of supporting people. The donations will of course go to the NHS.

Fortunately I have a large fabric collection, and a neighbour kindly added to it yesterday.
But....I've run out of elastic!
Hopefully my Ebay order will soon be here

People do care about each other. My window cleaner was very worried about my 93 yr old  next door neighbour yesterday. He could see her in her armchair, but she wasnt responding to his knock.

So I rang her son who came round, and found his mum in a very deep sleep but perfectly well.

It's so good when folk look out for each other.

Rose, Orient Express

Can you imagine anything more beautifully formed than this rose?

She is very special, brought back from France as a cutting, and obviously enjoying being English.

It looks as though she has a double centre.

Every bloom on this rose is slightly different in colour and shape.

I'm not sure why she is called Orient Express, but it seems like a slightly mysterious name for her.

VE day

 Just a few pictures of the celebrations in Uk for VE day.

These first two are local events, street parties with social distancing..and a bit of dancing.

Tea parties at a distance!

Below is a street party in Cheshire.

Everyone is observing the rules of distancing, but still managing to have a community feel to the occasion.

On our little road, many of the neighbours put out flags, and in the afternoon each garden had a tea table set with cakes and scones.  People waved and chatted, but remained in their own garden,

Community spirit ruled!

On a day when we gave thanks for the sacrifice of so many it was good to re-create that wartime spirit of togetherness.

Essential journeys

On re-reading my last post it may have seemed as though I was being a bit hard on our wonderful Police force.

Not at all.

The Government guidelines are fairly clear about what counts as an essential journey, and our Police have the power to pull cars in and question the driver.

These are the guides as to what is permitted;

• shopping for basic necessities, such as trips to the supermarket or other food stores, as infrequently as possible (social distancing still applies)
• trips to pharmacies for any medical need
• to provide care or to help a vulnerable person; and
• travelling for work purposes, where the work cannot be done from home

Even with that clearly laid out we still have the occasions when, for example, the Police found a couple who had driven from Kent to Cornwall (around 300 miles) for.....

a 'mini-break'.

They were discovered sleeping in their car in Falmouth and as the car was neither insured nor taxed it was impounded, and the owners fined heavily. How frustrating to the Police force to know that people are deliberately flouting rules which are put in place to keep us safe.

So this is why our family and friends try hard to make only absolutely essential journeys, bringing the occasional medical needs.

 It's hard for all of us but it will be over, one day.

A little rose.

This morning Angela, of Tracing Rainbows, asked what was on our dining tables. 

I told her that on mine was a cutting mat, catalogues, a pair of socks (no idea) and forgot to say that I also have a beautiful rose.

A perfect gift from my husband as a thank you.

The rose is a blush pink and sits in the prettiest little watering can.

This makes me feel a little nostalgic for France and the time we had there. 

Isn't it sweet? 

We always use a lovely company called Bunches, who not only provide beautiful arrangements, but also give part of their profits to  Charity. At the moment they are supporting projects in Malawi.

Wishing you a happy and safe day.

Just after I had written this, there was a knock at the door , and there stood daughter and grandson! We visited in the garden at the required distance, not having seen them for weeks. They can only do 'essential' journeys (bringing my husband's medication) and our police are quite fierce!
It was such a happy time.