August
The
competitive bowls season drew to a close.
The Overbury Triples team finished their programme on Tuesday 27, but
missed by one point the score they needed to win the league, and had to be
content with the Runners Up prize.
However, Roger and his partner retained the club pairs championship they
won the previous year.
On Friday 9 Roger, Teresa and
Helen met in
Helen
and Roger view the Messiah violin (left), and (below) a mock-up of the
workshop.
Helen
stayed with us for the weekend of 10-11, when we celebrated Roger’s and Helen’s
birthdays. The weather was reasonably
kind to us on Saturday 10 when we were able to fire up the barbecue for our
birthday meal followed by opening of the presents.
Roger attends to the barbecue
On
Sunday 11 we visited Batsford Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh, spending our
time looking round the large new garden centre there. We didn’t go round the Arboretum as such, though
did examine some of the specimens on the approaches.
Helen and Roger (left) puzzle over this tall specimen
On the way back we stopped to see the church in
Bourton-on-the-Hill, which we had passed many times on the way to Moreton or
St Lawrence’s Church,
Bourton-on-the-Hill
On
Sunday 18 we returned again to Malvern to see the
Teresa sitting next to her
green chair
Roger sitting next to his striped chair
Another
idyllic afternoon in the sun: picnic
lunch, music and an ice cream for tea.
On
Wednesday 21 we had yet another visit from our British Gas engineers. Though their major repair had been
successful, they concluded that there may still have been another leak in the
system. As it would have been difficult
and expensive to trace, because there was no obvious dampness anywhere, and
because it was only a minor inconvenience, they recommended no further
action. They did add another dose of sealant,
which may have helped, as the pressure has been stable since then.
Roger
had his annual medical review on Friday 23, with no problems apparent.
On
Bank Holiday Monday (26) we visited Blockley.
Though Roger had played bowls there, we had never looked round the
village, and the lure of their annual Duck Race was a further incentive. Blockley is a hidden gem, with many
interesting features, including church and village store/café. However, many of the old properties appeared
to be second homes or in the hands of well-heeled commuters.