March

On Saturday 2 March we went to see Joseph and the Amazing Multicoloured Dreamcoat at the Festival Theatre in Malvern. It was the sixth time we had seen this touring production. The first was in Oxford in 1999, and since then we have seen it twice in Cheltenham as well as again in Oxford and Malvern. Though the cast changes, much of the production has continued throughout its run – the longest ever for any touring production – but it just seems to get better. This time there was an outstanding performance as ‘Elvis’ as the Pharoah, as well as the usual fast pace, spectacular mise en scène and catchy tunes in a wide range of styles.

On Friday 8 Roger returned to the doctor to report that his worst symptoms had been alleviated, but he was advised to continue the six-month course of pills to deal with the longer term problem, and to keep his planned appointment with the specialist. But so far, so good.

We celebrated Mother’s Day with a meal at the Beefeater Mitre in Oxford on Sunday 10. Helen was unable to make it this year, but we enjoyed our day out with Jay.

3Roger and Teresa in the Mitre, with Jay (below)

The selection of sweets – guess who had two

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On Tuesday 12 Teresa spent a day in London with Helen and included a visit to the Geffrye Museum, which is devoted to the history of the home, showing how homes and gardens have reflected changes in society over the past 400 years.  The building (left) is a restored former Almshouse in Shoreditch.

The Geffrye Museum

On Sunday 17 Teresa’s Uncle Mick and Auntie Pat celebrated their golden wedding in Taunton: because of Roger’s indisposition we had had to decline the invitation to join them, but we sent our best wishes and a celebratory gift.

Teresa regularly visits the spa at the Lygon Arms in Broadway, which attracts loyalty points: Teresa had accumulated enough to get a voucher for a meal for two which needed to be redeemed before the end of the month. Previously we had had a dinner there. On Wednesday 20 we went for lunch. To our surprise we found ourselves alone in the Great Hall, so had the pick of the tables and attentive service from a pleasant waitress. We had onion soup, fillet of Welsh coast bass and hot chocolate tart for Roger, chicken terrine, Gloucestershire pork belly and vanilla crème brulée for Teresa.

The great hall remained deserted except for us … … we chose this corner table by the window

Teresa’s pork in the foreground, and Roger’s sea bass

(just a trick of perspective!)

The latter part of the month was characterised by continually low temperatures, and another (mercifully brief) snowy interlude on Saturday 23: but the high winds caused some drifting, as we discovered on the way to Oxford the following day.

The bowls club held its men’s meeting on Wednesday 27 to prepare for the coming season, though growth on the green was minimal in the low temperatures.

Teresa’s birthday coincided with Easter this year. We made a couple of visits – to the garden centre in Stow and a rare excursion into Cheltenham – in the course of assembling presents and goodies to eat and drink. We were somewhat disappointed by the large Waitrose in Cheltenham, which seemed to have limited the scope of its grocery section to accommodate the sizeable household section selling the John Lewis ranges. We also looked round the Regent Arcade and the Beechwood Arcade – sadly in the latter all but one of the shops on the upper level were boarded up.

Teresa received a good number of cards (below) and a number of presents by post from Helen and her internet friends. Jay came home for the weekend and Teresa prepared excellent meals for Saturday evening and Sunday lunch.

Jay in the Beechwood Arcade in Cheltenham (left) and an attractive floral present (right)

Teresa and Jay also went across the road to see the new lambs on show in the pub car park:

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