May 17th

 May 17th

First a garden update... the potatoes are doing very well in their bags and I have runner beans on the way and rainbow chard. 

My plants have been a good food source for some little creatures though which has been a bit of a challenge!

The orange and green netting weighted down with old bits of wood is to discourage a cat from using my lovely turned ground as a litter tray! I was not happy!

The mint, chives and herbs also seem to be fairly happy!

Tim headed off back to London and now I have Bridgie here which is lovely.

She is working three days this week but we sneaked down for her to play a few holes...she used to join me from time to time when I first started playing.

Laptop needed plugging in directly to router!

The funniest thing was being on the green for one on the 12th and out-driving me on the final hole!

We had fun!

The previous Friday I went up to Falmouth for a Rules meeting at Falmouth Golf Club which overlooks Swanpool.

The 13th May is a day for lovely memories so I went early and drove round Castle Drive and parked out on the end...

The trees were beautiful

I went on to the meeting (which was a very useful two hour session) and when that was all done I parked down by Swanpool lake and had a walk round to Gyllingvase and back along Maderia Walk.

Across the beach passing the beach huts

Gyllingvase was quite seaweedy!

I then walked up and around the road and down to the path that goes along between two sections of the cemetery.

Madeira Walk - so gentle

Then I walked back for a final look at the beach - the sun was out and it was breathtaking. It was a special day.

We also had a League match up at Newquay - I'd never played there before so it was very interesting!

Our team managed a win too which was an added bonus!

I also played at the Spring County Meeting and somehow fluked a win!

Unlikely to ever win a County Trophy again so I made the most of it!

It has to be said there were only 9 of us in the competition!

That brings us up to date just about!

April 25th!

April!

I guess it is an indicator that things are more normal in that I have  not written anything on here since March 1st!

So it is time to catch up with a few pictures!

There has been some golf when the weather allowed... the fog bank seen below would roll in then disappear again so quite often we weren't sure if we'd be playing!

But it can make for some good sunsets ...or none at all.

Most of you will know how much I like to grow vegetables - up till now I hadn't felt the need to scratch this particular itch but somehow the need returned and I decided to remove one of my Camellia bushes to make a small space to grow some beans and things.

So I cut the big shrub back and borrowed a pick axe from Lindsay and Peter and set to!

It took some days, working in really short bursts, I wondered if I'd actually manage it on more than one occasion but eventually I did!

It took a lot of rocking and digging and rocking again but I won in the end!

It was so heavy!

All done now and I have some beans planted and potatoes in sacks. It's fun to go out every morning to see if I can catch the little slugs who have taken a fancy to the young plants!

Another beauty

The other thing I tackled was my gate!

The bottom hinge had rusted through... so I thought I'd replace it...

I needed Andrews help in the end to get some of the rusted screws out. I painted it with some preservative (we were having lovely weather!) and then decided I'd better replace to top one too because it looked a bit odd!

The top one had even more rusted screws (if that were possible!) and I used rubber bands (quite effective) to try and remove the screws that lost their definition. Once again Andrew  next door came to me aid and in the end we got that bracket removed too.

Now the gate is looking far better and also functioning much better too!

I may, one day, tackle the one in the front garden but I'm in no hurry because the wood supports are completely rotten

Anyway - I felt quite happy by the time i'd finished - it felt like a real achievement!

I have had a couple of golf lessons and we have had our league matches begin again (absent for two years because of Covid) and then we had our away weekend at Dartmouth.

This had also been delayed by two years so it was lovely to go away together again although there were several ladies who couldn't make it because of Covid. 

We had beautiful sunshine for our first day (though it was cold) and a cloudy second day.

Lindsay, Angie and Liz sharing a tipple!

It was really lovely to be away as a group though we really missed our absent friends.

Once we got back home I discovered I was absolutely exhausted and decided I wouldn't play/do anything till I felt better. I don't know if I had anything (I was negative for Covid) but felt washed out. 

Tim returned on the 4th April which was lovely. He is good company and occasionally I get treated to cooked breakfasts!

He suggested my tiredness might be connected with not eating enough protein so I have increased that and have been feeling better. 

In fact well enough to play three days on the trot and not feel too tired after!

I think I have thrown off whatever bug I was fighting and the increased good food intake has helped.

Saturday 15th Keith came down for the week and we had a good time.

The weather was pretty decent although the wind has a chill to it.

One of Tim's challenges was to cook something new every few weeks... so I gave this a go and it was delicious!

Jamie Oliver fishcakes and tasty salads

The day before my three days golf I made lasagne and a chilli so that we'd have some meals ready for Keith...he seemed a happy chappy!

There were two Open competitions in a row and on the second one Frieda's husband bought us all a little bottle of Prosecco!! It was waiting for us on the third tee!

It was such a treat!

And incredibly - even though there were teams of men... we won! We didn't know until the following day but it did amuse us!

A lot of football watching went on!

Bed settee ready for me!

Keith and Tim had a trip over to St Ives on the open-top bus and had a great time...but it was windy and sunny and they both came back a little rosy! 

We also headed over to Gwynver...

...which was beautiful. Frisbee throwing ensued and Tim even went in for a dip!

Tim braving the cold.

Keith headed back on Saturday, Tim took him to the station bright and early but his train had been cancelled! All in all an eight hour return for him, but he got there in the end.

I've had more golf and we've managed to play but the wind has been really chill. Still, it hasn't been pouring with rain.

Tim leaves on Wednesday - it's been lovely to have him here - I then have Bridgie to look forward to next month.

Phil and Brandi had a fabulous trip to Hawaii, and Bridgie and Ben have been to Dubai. Everyone seems to be keeping well.

Margo, who has been extremely poorly for some time is now making good progress. We are hoping she may be able to return home in a couple of weeks time!

All for now!

Oh...and finally... my usual government rant! I wrote to my MP about the government decision to send "illegal immigrants" to Rwanda! He didn't say he disagreed with it but it was the nearest thing to it that I have read...it sounded as if he hoped it would get ditched. 

As for Boris...words fail

And another..

 March 1st

Another month has flown by - a series of pictures for you...

I love the colours and patterns of the lichen

A very low tide at Priest's Cove

Birthday treat!

Playing golf in the wind!

It seems to have been constantly windy and then we had a proper gale. It blew tiles off; trees over and the roof off the Sennen Lifeboat building.

It was so strong I didn't feel safe going out in it until the worst had passed... then Tim and I went down the Cot valley.

Gales blew many tiles off!

It was blowy getting there (though it blew us home quickly!) and the cove was full of foam. The sea was rough but the waves not as high as we expected.

Cot was full of foam!

Crown's Mines
Tim had been planning to catch the train to London to stay with Bridgie and see Keith before he flew out to Barbados (Keith not Tim), but the storms meant days of cancelled trains - the plan to leave on Friday became Tuesday but they did manage to meet up before Keith flew out which was great.

These little daffs hide under my camellias

Most of February has been fairly wild with the wind but when the sun has shone the colours of the sea have been absolutely glorious!

And with an offshore wind the waves became better formed.

Tim was with me until the about the 23rd and I haven't been to the shops for food for ages!

Today the car went to the garage for an MOT - it has to stay in for a couple of things but will hopefully be ok for a while yet.

And then there is Ukraine... unspeakable heartbreak.

One month on

 February already!

January saw some fabulous sunsets with us running up to the Carn quite often to catch them!

Simply glorious.

Sometimes we jumped in the car and headed out, this time out to Land's End with a fierce wind and showers haring in on them!

It was pouring in St Just!

This was the 8th and I still hadn't played any golf - but plenty to do at home including this beautiful jigsaw the 'children' had got me for Christmas, 

Such fun to do!

Then on the 12th the weather became beautiful and I was able to get on the course - the first time since Dec 5th!

How long the shadows are!

It was lovely to be out there - the golf was a real mixture of awful and good! To be expected I guess!

I was able to get some lovely walks in too...

I've have this lovely chap with me still!

I discovered that mug in the charity shop and it is the perfect size for strong black coffee!

We continued to have lovely sunsets - it was so busy up there one day!!!

It has been really nice to see folk at golf again and play a bit more regularly - Lindsay has played a gentle 9 holes and is doing well.

Also i've had time for more jigsaws - this was great fun and very difficult!

Some of you will know Margo our friend from Bedford who used to teach Phil, Tim and Bridgie to play the piano; she had had kidney failure some time ago and was so poorly so as to be on the transplant list. 

She had a transplant a few weeks back and all seemed to be going well until she had a major setback.

She is intensive care very poorly at the moment - when we heard I needed to get out and feel sand under my feet so Tim and I went to Gwynver.

It was wonderful.

and I even paddled.

She is needing a lot of support but less than before -  the nurse is cautiously optimistic but a long way to go,

Andy is giving us regular updates.

So we reach the end of the month. I can hardly believe a whole month has gone already! Tim will probably head up to London at some point but has been busy getting his website sorted alongside completing the training he needed to get done.

It has been fun coming up with piles of food for him to eat!!!!

Phil and Brandi both had Covid recently - Brandi's experience was quite something as she got taken to a government facility for her quarantine! Not easy.

They are both better now and back together.

Bridgie passed her MBA and has been incredibly busy at work! It was great to celebrate her success!

Well... that brings me up to date. 

Our government continues to be an absolute shambles...if it were written in a book you'd say it could never happen... but somehow Mr Johnson remains in No 10!