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Pergolas, Pickiness and Premonitions

 Andy has built a pergola. It is a grapevine pergola because the grapevine has gone wild this year and we felt it deserved a bit of a treat. Also, it was trailing itself across the grass and making the grapes all too easy for the idiot cockerels to access. I bet cockerels are secret vintners - I bet they could snaffle grapes, put them in a bucket, tread them with their scaly feet and make a nice little Sauvignon blanc with accents of feather, sunshine and wasp spit. Can you imagine? Not only idiot cockerels, but DRUNK idiot cockerels. Heaven forfend…

This is the pergola. There has been a general consensus between myself and His Lordship Malarkey that we could grow hops up the front posts. I’ve a hankering to grow a few hops, for decorative purposes you understand, because hop growing is in my genes, coming as I do from a line of brewers (on my mother’s side) and rather liking the prettiness of them. Anyway, it’s a plan. Pop in some hops when the time is right. Andy’s plan for the pergola is to install a chair in which he will sit and read, and reach up and pluck from the grapes dangling overhead…

Lots of family visits this month, culminating with one from Heather. We had a fabulous three days of sunshine, shopping, walking, chatting of a highly philosophical nature, and general having a bit of groovy Mum ‘n’ Daughter time.


Here we are, on a visit to the Dorothy Clive Gardens. The Dorothy Clive Gardens are beautiful! Here I am, admiring a view across a field…


We stopped for lunch in the tea rooms because the last time I went there it was a lovely experience. Sadly not this time though. They’ve gone a bit ‘Covid Security Crazy’. Instead of the lovely crockery which makes for a proper dining experience they served hot drinks in disposable cups with sachet milk, and our food arrived on paper plates with bamboo cutlery that was rather on the flimsy side. Mine certainly had trouble dealing with a stubborn tomato and Heather narrowly missed splinter damage from hers. We were instructed to clear our table when we had finished and dispose of our plates, cups and cutlery in the bins outside. And wipe down the table with the equipment supplied. Given we had eaten lunch out the previous two days with ‘normal’ china, cutlery and service this approach seemed extreme but hey - if it made them feel safe who am I to complain? The paying customer, that’s who! Sheesh. They also lost out on potential sales in their gift shop because they demanded we wore face masks. Heather was happy to, but I wasn’t so we left. Besides, Heather was being pursued by a particularly persistent wasp, so the time felt right. We went on to Bridgemere garden centre where we had cake on proper plates.

I had a series of three dreams the week before last regarding people I know welcoming new babies. The first dream was about a friend having a granddaughter arrive in their family. The second was about a close family member having a grandson called Louis. The third dream concerned a family member announcing a pregnancy by Christmas. No hint of boy/girl outcome came with this one so I suspect the spirit of the baby is yet undecided. I say these were dreams but my dreams tend to be symbolic and these were very precise so I shall call them premonitions instead. I shall be interested to see how they turn out! 

As always, I am looking forward to the arrival of Autumn. It’s my favourite season. Granddaughter Kayleigh is off to secondary school next week. I can’t believe she has reached this stage of her life already. It seems such a short time ago she was born. She was about 2 here…we are squishing faces! 


Comments

Anonymous said…
How nice!! The apple doesn’t fall far from the three! Heather looks so much like you. The pergola looks like the perfect reading nook to me. I’m with Andy. Ooooh how about a hammock or hammock chair!!?? And a little foldable table for the cold or hot drink with a newly baked biscuit?! Just saying.
KJ
1 September 2021 at 20:19
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