Here comes the sunshine.

Driving through the rocks in Yosemine National Park California

Young Stag  seen on Bear Mountain Tehachapi



27^th September

It will be the 1st October this weekend and we are having a mini heat wave, its been cold and wet,  horrendous rain most of September and now the sun is beating down. The weather is just crazy . It hasn’t taken me long to fall into my usual routine, and meeting up with friends and neighbours it's nice to know that I have been missed. I eventually gave up on the garden it was totally beyond me, it seemed to get more overgrown every time I looked out. I blame the jet lag but never the less I don’t regret seeking out a gardener who has worked wonders and will be coming every fortnight to lovingly tend both my gardens. No more will I be a slave to the ever growing, green green grass of home, it feels truly liberating.. I really can’t recall what I have been doing these past weeks since I got home as I developed a nasty cold soon after getting home. Someone on the plane had a rather persistent cough that apparently passed on to me. Spent most of the first week in bed dosed up with cough syrup and flue remedies.Thankfully I am much better now and the coughing has stopped. It’s such a relief to sleep right through the night and not wake up feeling rough. I have been out enjoying the sunshine today, shopping and lunch. Nothing has changed much in the town, apart from a couple of major shops being renovated, which is good as too many empty shops around town makes the place look rather sad. The economy is still precarious, jobs are hard to find and Bolton Council are still deliberating on the cuts to public services to save £50 million in the next five years. The European Common Market is in turmoil again, Greece is bankrupt for the second time in as many years and wants bailing out again, I am so glad we didn’t adopt the Euro. Ah well it will soon be Christmas and all that retail hype starts again, Christmas cards are already in the shops.
I  am looking forward to  going up to Knaresborough this weekend to see Stue and family it seems ages since I saw them ,I hope its still sunny so we can take Bob for a walk by river.
Bye for now
Love you all.

The River Nidd Knaresborough

Thought it would be useful to see what the weather is like in the UK every day. Today is good the sun is still shining but it is cold and the forcast isn`t good for the next week or so . Still Llandudno will be a change of scene,as long as we are sufficiently warm and dry it will be good.
I am packing lots of layers as it might be sunny, the weather changes so quickly these days.
Speakers Club dinner last night was good I got through my speech, forgot to toast the guests, but the atmosphere was so that no one really bothered. The dinner was held at Ridgment House Horwich on the outskirts of Bolton. A lovely old house built by Lord Leverhulme and extended now to accommodate weddings and functions. Today is Mothers Day (a retail ripoff) . I have received a brilliant card from Stue and had a phone call this morning,. Andy will be here later this afternoon,I think he is working. I think of my mother often as I am getting more like her every day.

http://ridgemonthouse.co.uk/ Go see the house

Pre-Christmas Days

Full of Festive Good Cheer.

The snow lingered for about two days and then slowly disappeared. It has been extremely cold and frosty all this week and slippy underfoot. I haven`t ventured out until after midday when I hoped the pavement have been defrosted by the sun and the roads clear and safe. Unfortunately our Stuart has fallen on black ice and broken his elbow which means he is grounded for many weeks unable to drive or do much.
Enjoyed our Women Institute Dinner at the local Golf Club, our table was very noisy we had the giggles and blamed the port and lemon most where on.Speakers Party was rather a sedate affair though it was good to see everyone relaxed and not under pressure with assignments. Went to Bolton Little Theatre to see “Fawlty Towers” it was a very successful TV comedy sitcom in the sixties, with Monty Python`s John Clease and Connie Booth. It was excellent they had all the characters off to a T. I was disappointed I couldn’t get to the Wigan Poetry Night as the weather was really bad hailstones and windy. I am really adverse to going far a field in winter, its not the going it’s the coming back as the weather changes so suddenly. I am busy next week three Christmas lunches so I hope the weather is better. I will be glad to stop all this eating. Ha Ha ! did I really say that ? No, but it is always good to get back to a normal pattern of eating
Finally decided not to get another dishwasher but a condensing clothes dryer instead. It is coming next week and they will take the old dishwasher away. I have a rather noisy vented tumble dryer in the garage that can be scrapped or given away.
17th Finally gave in and went into the attic and rescued the Christmas Decorations. Each year I vow not to bother and then I weaken. Andrew will be with me for Christmas Day and Stuart is coming down New Year for a few days so I have to get with the Christmas Spirit. It just seems so much trouble putting the tree up and taking it down again. I must be getting old!

It`s Write Out Loud`s Christmas Party Sunday so I am practising my piece. I will put my others on my poetry page later. This one is current to this time.

The Festive Season

3am I awake alert disturbed and anxious
Is it a dog barking, a car backfiring
No it’s thoughts dropping into my mind
Like a stone into water the ripples spreading to become a flood of fear.
Its all this Christmas hype,
Each year I vow to be ready .
I never am.

Last minute panic, cards and letters to write.
Presents, parties, clothes and dates to fix
Why is it such a headache.
Every year it arrives earlier
And I am never ready.

When I was working.
With a family of five.
I was organised on time well prepared
Now I have retired its just bedlam
Running around at the last minute .
Places to go, people to see, parcels to post.
Presents to chose, extra food and drink
Always buying far to much
As though we face a famine
Will I ever get it right.
Don’t think I don’t enjoy the festivities
Drinks with friends, dinner dancing.
A time to let you hair down.
No ! It’s the hullabaloo in the weeks leading up to the holiday.

I have thought about getting away
Leaving it all behind
Taking a Turkey and Tinsel Tour
A Cruise round the Caribbean
But its just a day dream .
How could I face the family ,
How could I not be there for my friends.
No its not Christmas
Without a festive tree
Eating too much, getting tipsy and watching Tele.
Knowing that the pressure evaporates
On the morning of the 25th

It is over
Yes Over
For another year.

Val Cook 2008