July

Teresa concluded her six week skating course on Tuesday 23, though would continue to practise occasionally when we visited Oxford to see Jay.

A run of fine weather allowed us to get the barbecue out a few times – at lunchtime on Saturday 6 and in the evening on Saturday 13.

Our lawnmower, which had gone in for repair at the end of May, finally came back on Monday 8. It would take several cuts before the jungle of grass and weeds was restored to its vague resemblance to a lawn.

The annual fete at nearby Stanway House was on Saturday 13, and Teresa went with Jay, who was home for the weekend. Glorious weather this year, which had not always been the case in the past. In addition to the usual stalls and refreshments, there was a display of vintage cars

(Above) Jay at the fete, and the spectacular water fountain

We returned to Malvern on Sunday 14 to see the Highley Colliery brass band from Shropshire.

Helen, after many years in her small flat in Swiss Cottage, moved to Barnet on Thursday 18. Teresa went to London for the day to help. The man with a van did a brilliant job, but, of course, Helen had worked extremely hard to sort things out first, and there would be work still to do after the move. Roger and Teresa drove up on Sunday 21 with a car full additional furnishings and equipment, and drove back with a car full of unwanted items. The new first floor flat had a light and airy feel thanks to the large bay window behind the sitting area, and was completely self-contained with en-suite shower room and fitted kitchen area.

(From the left above) The en-suite shower, the sitting area and the kitchen area (Below) The man with the van hard at work

On Saturday 27 we hosted Mike and his mother: hard to believe that a year had flown by since their last visit. After aperitifs and an exchange of gifts, Teresa produced as usual a beautiful meal based on ingredients we had bought on a rare visit to Cheltenham the previous day, mainly from the large Waitrose there, but also from Druckers patisserie in the Regent Arcade, where we found the most sumptuous chocolate cake. Mike was looking forward to a visit to Australia, so, as ever, we were not short of topics of conversation, and very soon we were wishing them a safe journey home, and good fortune on their travels.

Teresa’s meal did not, unfortunately, include our own potatoes this year, which proved to be a poor crop – mainly because Roger had used a certain amount of our own compost which must have been infested with slugs and ants, so yields were both small and damaged.

Home Diary 2013