Lots of Caayke!

 Caayke is how we tend to pronounce 'cake' in this part of the world.  At least that's what people from the Midlands say we say.  Anyway . . .

There has been plenty of it over the last couple of weeks.  (I'm apologising now for lack of photos but I keep forgetting to charge my camera.  Useless!)

Weekend of 13th/14th: I was in Ashby to meet my new  great-nephew.  Who is a dote!  It was still very hot at that point so apart from talking, playing with De and his big bro, Ar, sitting in the shade, drinking coffee and eating lovely food and more than enough cake we didn't do an awful lot.  

Wednesday 17th:  Book Club Afternoon Tea at Berny's.  There are seven of us and I knew four of the ladies before I joined and the other two have become good friends since.  So it was a jolly afternoon.  And we had read 'The Confession' ~ Jessie Burton.

Friday 19th:  Another Afternoon Tea ~ this time at Three Rivers Museum.  Yet more cake! ~ and meeting a few 'new' people, which is always nice, and looking at the new acquisitions.

Monday 22nd:  Not much cake today ~ none in fact ~ but Dougie and I went to Costco, had lunch and bought cookies, went up to camp for an hour or so, came home, chatted, had dinner, watered the garden and  then I drove Dougie home.  

Tuesday 23rd:  With family again ~ this time at E&J's caravan near Stratford.  The occasion was Ar's 2nd birthday.  It was lovely to see Peter, Emma, Ar and baby De again as well as Emma's mum, dad and sister.  My niece Lizzie came with her three girls and Eric and Jane were there too of course.  Well!  that cake takes the biscuit!  It was the most magnificent confection with a digger made of icing as a topper.  And the cake was absolutely delicious too.  A lovely time was had by all.  I only went for the day so away early and home after dark but well worth it!

Today:  It was a Biscuit Day today.  No cake.  Two hardy souls arrived to start on my downstairs cloakroom and hall renovation.  This is due to a leak in the cloakroom that caused considerable damage.  It's an insurance claim and has taken ages to get going but at last I do believe we are GO.  

It has not been an altogether good year for Ticklepenny Corner:

A leak in the downstairs cloakroom

A flood in the bathroom

A hole and escaping sewage in the sewage pipe (sorted!)

A rat between the downstairs ceiling and the upstairs floor (sorted)

A hole in one of the bedroom ceilings (caused by a con man 'inspecting' my attic under false pretenses and then putting his foot through the attic floor!)

But:  

Today has been a great day for Clara and her cousin Freddie who both gained terrific passes in all their G.C.S.E subjects and are consequently going on to Sixth Form and 'A' Levels in September.  

And last Thursday was 'A' level results day.  Kezia and Jago' s result were similarly outstanding.  Both heading off to what are for them fresh woods and pastures new.  Exciting Times! 

and now it's time to charge that camera . . . .

Covid-19 . . .

has ended at last.  Or at least isolation has ~ quite a while ago really ~ although still ongoing for those who are unfortunate enough to be struck down even now.  

Frankie's family survived with no-one catching it at all ~ among the few!

Stella and co. had it twice ~ all of them at once (!!) which was difficult!  And they went into isolation weeks before it became compulsory in March 2020.

Almost everyone I know caught it ~ or someone in close family  ~ at least once ~ some multiple times.

I did too.  But only once and not badly.  

So now we are 'out' of the pandemic ~ just wars, climate problems, world recession, heat waves and a leadership election to worry about. 

I have not looked at bloggings since the start of the pandemic but I am going to be looking for my faves . . . although I will never truly catch up! 😢

Back at some point . . . .

 

Busy Days

It's all been a little tense.  

Full Governing Body meeting last evening and we're in lock-down.  So we needed to 'meet' online and as the clerk to the governors I set up the meeting.  My IT talents are almost NIL and the very idea was enough to send me screaming for the hills.  (I'm kidding  it was nowhere near as bad as that but I wasn't looking forward to it).  

I seemed to spend days worrying and checking and re-checking the site but in the end it was fine.  The start was a bit hairy ~ I was thrown out of the internet and I had to log back in quick-sticks ~ but everyone 'attended' and the meeting was good.   

Mind you, I'm certainly hoping we are back to 'normal' by the next meeting!    

In other news:
I've just finished our Book Club ZOOM meeting.  We read 'The Legacy of Mr Jarvis' (Jude Hyland) which we all felt was very well written.  It is goes back and forth in time between the late sixties and now and and the sixties were described very much as we remembered it from our youth and school days.  All but one of us enjoyed it ~ the only dissenter found the times she described somewhat depressing. 
Next time:   Mill on the Floss 

Frankie and the Pips came round this afternoon.  We stayed in the garden and Frankie, Lu and I socially distanced ourselves and relaxed in the garden chairs while the boys and Kpip hared around letting off steam.  

No photos today as my camera needs charging. But hopefully a few flower photos tomorrow.

Stay safe

Po xx 

In the Right Garden

I spent time in the garden today ~ gardening ~ which I am really not very keen on!  My garden is always very green.  That's it!  Green!  I'm not sure whether I buy the wrong plants, or I don't plant them properly or I don't talk to them sufficiently.  But I never seem capable of growing flowers in my garden.  

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the lupins grow in their bed, the geranium in its pot and the night scented stocks and the nasturtium seeds thrive.  I'll keep you posted!

I am, however, happier about the south side of the garden.  It was always a mess:  an old chain link fence which I hadn't the strength to pull out and large trees almost all with ivy thicker than most people's legs entwined around them.

The triangle of land at the back of my garden doesn't appear to belong to anyone (it's not mine ~ I checked) and has always been a dumping ground (not by me I hasten to add!) for weeds, tree branches and various other sorts of debris ~ fortunately mostly biodegradable ~ but unsightly nonetheless.  

Late last autumn I had Ricky, a very helpful neighbour, come round, get rid of all the weeds and uproot the trees.  It was a huge job ~ and the bonfire we had was legendary!  

Then a new fence went up. 
I was delighted.  
I painted it earlier this year and I'm pleased with that too.  

But the thing I am most happy about is this . . . from my side of the fence I can imagine I'm living on the edge of a wood.  I'm not of course.  And I can't go in there.  But it really is a far more pleasant prospect than the one I had before.  



You can just see the top of the fence in this photo and I plan to have shrubs ~ ones that like shade and clay soil.  Research required!

And now time to relax . . . current book is 'The Legacy of Mr Jarvis' by Jude Hayland.  I'm enjoying it and it is the one that Book Club will be discussing on Zoom on Wednesday evening.   I'll post the general feeling from the group after our 'meeting'.

Stay Safe

Po xx

New Name for Blog

Blog Name:
I feel it is time to change the name of this blog. That's mainly because life is different for me now from how it was 15 years ago when I started.  
I had a job, I changed to a different one although still within the Council. I retired (yay!).  
I had a daughter: married and living in Yorkshire.  With two small children.   Now there are three delightful teens and two little ones and they all live about 3 miles away.  
Other daughter was single, a student, now a teacher, with one teen, one almost 11 (and about to move on to secondary school) and one of eight.  They live two miles away. 
The  advent of Covid-19 has made a huge change for everyone.  For me the realisation has come that I'm not really comfortable with all the 'out and about' I do.  The enforced 'Stay Home' has made me see that I'd like to spend more time here.  So the blog will probably focus more on Home.  

And . . . 'Ticklepenny' . . . I call my house Ticklepenny Corner after a field in 'Cold Comfort Farm' (Stella Gibbons).  A very funny book and the video, staring Kate Beckinsale, Ian McKellen, Eileen Atkins, Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley, Rufus Sewell . . . has a very special niche in the family's heart.  Oh and my house actually sits at a corner of the road.  

Frankie made this sign for me one Christmas from reclaimed wood.  It hangs in my sitting room and I love it.



Walk:
Many more people are walking these days as part of their daily exercise.  Mine was fairly short today.  There is a field about a quarter of a mile from home which we always call The Gypsy Field.  Not that gypsies manage to get in now as the gate has been well and truly blocked by the landowner.  Still, it's a public right of way and it was mainly used by dog walkers until the lock-down. 

I'll be honest and admit that I have cropped this and cut out the pylon and the massive Porcelanosa warehouse  (!!) but it is peaceful enough to be able to hear the birds sing and still has a rural feel to it. 

  
Path through a little woody area on one side.








More than I thought I would write . . .

Back soon 

Po xx

Clapping for the NHS

It's ten past eight and I'm just in from the Eighth Thursday Clapping-on-your-Doorstep session.  Hard to believe we have been in Lock-down for over seven weeks already.  

I don't know who thought up the clapping idea but it's certainly a good'un. Clearly the medical staff deserve our appreciation and keeping them in our thoughts can only be a good reminder of what they are doing and the support we need to show.

But in addition it is a lovely way for communities to 'come together' albeit socially distant.  I love that in our road neighbours come out clapping, banging saucepans, blowing horns, shouting, cheering and ~ on a couple of occasions ~ singing 'Happy Birthday' to those who would otherwise be celebrating rather more festively.

Soon after lock-down began, a neighbour from the 'northend' started a Whats App group mainly so that we could ask for help and support if needed.  Most of us joined up and it has become one of the joys (there are a few!) of this trying time.   Everyone has been very kind and friendly with funny messages and photos going back and forth and, on VE Day, we had a grand 'Stay at Home Street Party' where we decorated our homes and sat in our own front gardens eating scones and drinking tea (and probably something stronger!) and chatting and laughing at an acceptable distance.  I loved it and despite having lived here for 27 years 'met' a number of people whom I hadn't known before.  

I'm not really finding this time too difficult as I rather enjoy the peace and quiet and a chance to 'catch-up'.  The news,  however, is very worrying for all sorts of reasons and naturally I am concerned for those who have the virus.  The situation regarding schools is dire ~ children going back to school will inevitably result in a spike in cases of Covid-19 ~ I heard today that a classroom assistant (who had been in her school in order to look after the children of key workers) has died ~ not surprising when one considers the duties associated with very little children.  

A grim note on which to end, perhaps.  But these are grim times.

Stay Safe and Take Care

Po xx

AWOL

Yup! AWOL for ages I'm afraid.  
And looking at fave blogs but not commenting.
And mostly my emails are in a parlous state although I have done quite a lot of 'catch-up' on the Governor front.  
Walking! More than I have for years ~ which is great. And rediscovering local rural spots I had virtually forgotten about.  Plug the podcast in and off I go . . . 
The pandemic is worrying for many reasons ~ although so far for family and friends all is well.  
I am enjoying the peace and calm ~ and I shall continue much of what has been good into the future (hopefully).
I've updated the Good Old Reading list and with a bit of luck by the end of the week will even post a little of what I have been up to.
Best Wishes to anyone who still visits.
Carpe Diem!
Po xx