My hottest birthday ever...

...it has stayed good all week so spent time in the garden, cutting grass, washing cars and taking out the old Lilac tree that was threatening to push the garden wall over.  Yesterday Anita and Cliff, Alan, Sukhpal, Darsh and I got together and had roast chicken at our house.  

Today we went for a walk in Chasewater, took the dog, but it was just too hot for him and he was not too happy about it.  Carried on to Newlife, but was too much to leave him in the car, even in the shade, and it was an off day for good stuff.  They didn't even have any good fleece fabric for Matt's mat he is making.  Came home early to change and went into the city for a pre-show supper in the Raddison Blu, and then over to see "The importance of being Earnest" at the Old Rep Theatre.

Tomorrow we are aiming to see the food festival in Stone, but dogs aren't allowed, and it is due to be even hotter, so not too sure what to do with him.

  

Counting his money in the Chasewater Reservoir!  It is still empty after a 2 year repair job.

A mini heatwave....

....is how they described this weekends weather on the radio....and for once, they were right.  We went down to Bristol and it was glorious.

We ate breakfast in the garden, and spent the whole of Saturday digging out and chopping down the wasted bit of Selina's garden behind the Bay tree.

Sunday was wet when we got up, but by the time we drove a few miles out of Bristol and into Bath it was bright sunshine again.

Selina and Pete had booked a table at "the Pear tree" for my birthday treat.  It was really hard to find, in a little village the far side of Bath and it belongs toMarco Pierre White.  It was a lovely restaurant, still in the process of being developed, and the food was great, especially the puddings, which we were really too full to eat!

    We took photos in the gardens, then took a ride into Bradford-upon-Avon, a lovely little village on the banks of the river, where I saw my first Kingfisher!  I've never seen one out in the wild before

     Monday morning we dropped Selina and Pete at work and drove back up the motorway, stopping in Worcester to walk along the canal bank and sat out in the sun to enjoy a shared plate of Tapas and a bowl of very fat delicous chips.

Sunday was a day of sunshine and showers.....

.....a case of dry your umbrella when you can.  We took a long walk along the river, and had to shelter under the bridge where the gun went off the day before, Joe knew exactly where he was and was taking no chances, he preferred to stand in the wet, and as dad was on the other end of the lead, he did as well.  But at the time we didn't realise why Joe was been so stubborn, we just had a good giggle at them both getting wet. 

Enjoyed the Sunday market along the riverside, thats the first time I've walked along there and not been frozen solid.

Matt treated us to afternoon tea, and we sat outside, admittedly under a heater, but outside still.

    You've got to be quick to get a snap of Matt's cake.....but Dad ate mine while I was taking pictures....

    ......we all loved this little shiny teapot, but Charlotte has just bought one, and who needs 2!......a quick postcard for Sara and John...

......and a walk back along the otherside of the river...

.....under one bridge, over another (can't remember which is which)

....and back to the flat, where we dried off had a rest..... and then stripped the wallpaper of the living room wall.  Matt cooked supper while Dad and Charlotte sorted out the smelly plumbing in the en-suite. 

 Sorry Sara I can't get piccis of the super smart bathrooms or bedroom (Charlotte's is a right tip-looks like she has just moved in)  You just have to go and see for yourself.

We headed home monday, via the North Yorkshire Moors......

.....where the oh so near sheep got Joe so excited he almost fell out of the window...

      .....the seagulls, not quite so exciting, but they were nearly as big as him, and we were eating fish and chips on Scarborough harbour....

Called into Shelton Avenue to see Sue and Tony, Bernie and Ian have moved and we didn't have a new address, so carried on and camped at an auction centre, just outside York.

Tuesday was wet.... very...we got wet in Chesterfield...... wet in Denby  pottery..... and wet nipping into Tesco....so we dripped our way home on Tuesday evening.

Headed over to Newcastle for the weekend.....

     .....up bright and early on Saturday morning, so went for a walk along the back of Charlotte's new flat....
   Joe knew exactly where he was going, scorching off without his lead, its the way dad usually takes him, and he knows there are foxes to be sniffed out....

    ....the path goes right under the bridge, and up to Newcastle castle....

....before it drops down to the edge of the river....where on Saturday hundreds of families were gathering....

      ....to take part in the children's version of the Great North Run.....lead by Mickey and Minnie....

.....but they had a starting pistol!  Few things terrify Joe more than starting pistols, loudspeakers, wooden floors, christmas crackers and champagne corks.

2 out of 5 was just too much to take, and he wanted to go home.

  The man next to me couldn't stop laughing at the daft animal, so home we went.

The others were up...one was watching rugby on the TV...

....and the other was cooking breakfast.....come lunch...

For some reason Joe is not the least bit bothered about the wooden floor and will happily lie on it, whereas at Selina's he is scared of it and insists on standing only on the carpet.

The rest of the day was spent shopping- lazy shopping-picking up ideas and odd bits for the flat, choosing paint, looking for sofas and thinking about new beds.

Home and changed and out for a really good Indian down in the city centre, only a few minutes walk from the flat.

Well....we got that sunny weekend...

     .....and got all those tomatoes ripened after all

    We also enjoyed the "Artsfest" in the city centre.  We spent most of the weekend there, it is a free festival of entertainment, showcasing all that the city has to offer.  So we enjoyed cake and ice cream...

               ...on the steps of Chamberlain Square watching 1 of the many large stages dotted around....

    .....We went on a tour around the new library building, not realising just how enormous it all is when you get close up to it....it is 10 storeys high, and will have a huge glass shaft sunk deep down into the ground, a theatre, coffee bars and a roof top garden- all covered over in these huge steel rings, that really are huge when you see them all stacked up on the ground......

    ....And we enjoyed free concerts in the symphony hall, the town hall and even a rather duff "comedian"
who was "performing" in the council house.
       We came home Saturday evening, planning to feed Joe, get some warmer clothes and then go back in to listen to the CBSO and watch the fireworks, but it really rained heavily, so we changed our minds and stayed dry at home. 

Autumn has arrived so suddenly....

...it has been cold, wet and very windy.  I think we have missed out on our summer holiday in Scotland for this year.  I think it would be too cold to take the camper van right up there now.  But we may pack up and give it a go.  Today has been warm enough, but it is the evenings that worry me, it is dark so early now and we have had a lot of rain at night.  However if we set off and find it too bad we can always head back home, or go to Charlotte's for a few days.

I took Joe into the park earlier in the week and found the biggest puff ball I have ever seen, it is far larger than a tennis ball and had the most amazing patterns all over it.

Also found the smallest, most perfect tiny acorn I have ever seen.  But I found that in my boot, of all places, goodnesss knows how it got there.

The summer flowers are putting on a final spurt of colour....

.....but I've got a few blank spaces, so bought this box of cheeky cat-faced violas to fill the gaps.

My chillies in the greenhouse are doing really well, so I have moved some into the kitchen, otherwise they will not get eaten if they are not easy reach....

We need just a bit more sunshine to ripen up all my tomatoes.

So Selina and Pete went to the Cotswolds.....

      ....and Selina came back sporting a beautiful solitaire diamond ring, but no chickens nor puppy dogs.  It was a very stressful weekend for Pete, not least because Darsh had borrowed all his money as a deposit for Charlotte's flat, and he was panicing about paying for the ring. 

Charlotte and I nipped into Sutton on Sunday afternoon and gathered bits and pieces to make up a wedding table, and after our champagne we went to Simon's, with a surprise cake we picked up in Sutton.
     Dad drove up to Reading and fetched the old caravan, Sara and John home on Monday, whilst Selina, Pete and I took Charlotte to catch the train to Newcastle for her first day at Ever(or garden)sheds on Tuesday.
     Sara and John enjoyed their weekend, and managed to stay relatively dry, but they were heading back to Dublin on Monday night, so it was a bit of a rush, but we managed to squeeze in a curry in Caldmore before they went.

    On Tuesday morning Dad started pushing to get Charlotte's flat through as fast as possible, as she was in a new job and worrying about having to stay at friends when we had expected to be in her new home.
After much hassle, we finally packed the car as tight as we possibly could, and on Friday we headed up North.

   We managed to get the keys Friday afternoon, all sealed and sorted, Matt arrived and we made our way up to the flat to wait for Charlotte finishing work, and another bottle of Champagne.

         The view from our bedroom window....

...not that Darsh and Joe are stood there all the time....but you can see that we are on the pavement level at this side of the flat.

It really gave Joe a shock when he realised where we were- he could have had a quick wee if we weren't careful with him. But it also means that you can't leave the window open as people can drop rubbish or even a lit cigarette into the the bedroom.

   
     ....However at the other side of the flat, we are up on the 6th floor, and Joe lays happily on his cushions on the window sill overlooking the garden....

.....And there is Freddy Fox, all curled up in his basket, just outside the kitchen window!

Hooray, it takes me hours to download videos, especially when they go in the wrong order and I have to start all over again-TWICE.`

Now it is about to rain and Joe is giving me the evil eye because his walk is late.

Keep calm....

       .....they're getting married....
We celebrated with a meal and a surprise cake at Simon's on bank holiday Sunday, and a quick curry with Sara and John, before they had to rush off to catch their plane on Monday night.

....this leaves the groom with some very important bedtime reading to do, if he is to remain on the right side of the official wedding planner...

Charlotte!!!

Who thought the secret and  excitement was because Selina was getting a puppy or some chickens, not an engagement ring.  This trainee solicitor is going to go far with her powers of deduction-not.

She has just survived her 1st week in a garden shed, and has got some life changing developments of her own this week.

Lets just say we have just arrived home from a busy weekend in Newcastle.

And am too tired to write anymore so will show you the weekend photos tomorrow....

xxx.