Home, sweet home

I returned to blessed Ditchling last night after the long long train journey from Newcastle which was even longer than usual because of `work on the line`.  I had a bus trip around the wilds of East Grinstead,  and several long waits on chilly, windswept stations.  B.Wiggins slept throughout except when the refreshment trolley came round but even he could not stomach the flabby egg sandwich I foolishly bought. 

He and I had some wonderful walks in the forests and hills around the Derwent Valley while we were away,.though the weather was blustery at times. I stayed with dear sister J, and also saw the rest of the tribe including three great grandsons and such well turned out polite boys they are too, it made my great grandmotherly heart swell with pride.  There was the deliciousness of Christmas meals, and rather more wine and G and T`s than is my usual habit, and several spirited games of Scvrabble plus time to read new books: All in all a joyful time.

And now back to decorous  Dumbrells Court and my cosy bungalow.   I wrote out my New Year Resolutions on the train:  Apart from trying to be a kinder and more considerate Old Person and Dog Owner, I resolve to :  : Get my bathroom `done`    (it has horrid pale avocado bath and basin etc)    

Finish arranging and paying for my funeral,  Finish a writing project I have been doing for ages,  Get an IPhone like a proper grown up person instead of the £10 one from Tesco`s,  (then I can bore everyone with photos of my dog,and grandchildren as I am always being swooped on by people showing me their pet`s pictures on buses and trains)   But the most important resolution of all is to  be creative and have as many good times as possible with family and friends and Make the Most of Life  In the words of our beloved Julia: While we can, while we can.........

Back to me bungalow for a bit....

I have been away for almost a week, first to Winchester, then to Limpley Stoke (lovely name, lovely place) then back to Winch again, seeing old, old friends and some young ones too and a new baby, I stayed with son T and grandson M.  who cut my hair for me, very well, and that was a first.   I took L out for lunch and pushed her in her wheel chair, and it is only when you do this that you realise how bumpy the pavements are and how difficult it is to negotiate kerbs, doorways and steps.    I visited B in her new Care Home at Arlesford where they like dogs (she has Charlie there with her and B.Wiggins was welcomed)     I also had a lovely evening with E and B (ex Meeting House residents) and their five beautiful children including a three week old baby, whom I seized as soon as I arrived and had a really good session getting to know.   Such a treat. She almost fell asleep at one point and I asked one of the others where her cot was and she said `Oh we didn`t think we would have any more babies so we gave it away`.  
I am never properly prepared for Christmas. When will I ever learn? Three members of my music group gave me beautifully wrapped parcels and cards yesterday. It had never entered my head to do the same   This also happened several times in Winchester. Oh the mortification!    I am hopeless at wrapping up presents, always have been and I have never got the hang of sellotape.
I went to a good party the other night: Bring and Share veggie supper, very little alcohol, but we were asked to put our names in a hat to do a turn: a song, a poem, a game a dance.  A very elderly woman who had been a jazz singer with a band in her youth, sang poignant songs accompanied by another elderly guitarist, someone told a story, many of us did poems.  Nine year old grand daughter Tiger was master of ceremonies and as I think I have said before, she is brilliant at `crowd control`so it was a well organised affair.
Next I have the Old Folks Christmas do ( for my sheltered housing place)  I wonder how that will turn out. Rather formal I expect but you never know........
Then I am off Up North for a week to see my lovely family and B.Wiggins will have to make friends with sister J`s two formidable cats. I think they are bigger than him.    

Stirrng things up.......

Stir Up Sunday has been and gone, and I did not stir a single pudding or cake.   My mum would line us up to stir and wish, and I did the same with my family and my Nursery School kids. Of recent years  cakes have sometimes sunk in the middle or got a bit burnt so perhaps I will not make one this year,  but I will miss the deliciousness of the thin slice of rich fruit cake with a cup of Earl Grey tea in a bone china cup on wintry afternoons in January.
I saw a moving and harrowing film called Amour at the Ditchling Film Club. All about old age and death and a husband devotedly caring for his wife after a stroke.   The next day I decided to pay for and organise my funeral, so I went to talk to nice Sharon at the undertakers in Hassocks to discuss the options.
` I think I can see you in the Woodland option rather than the crem,` said Sharon, her head on one side, looking me up and down.   
On a more cheerful note, B.Wiggins has been behaving impeccably so there have been no more tellings off from the headmaster at Dumbrells Court. We have had some wonderful walks in the woods at Ditchling Common, though I did get lost recently just as it was getting dark. I was so relieved when another dog walker hove in site and told me the way out of the woods. I did not think it was possible to get lost these days.
I went to a wonderful concert in Brighton in aid of the Bophal Medical Foundation. The disaster was 29 years ago and the people there are still suffering. James Bowman, the countertenor sang some of my favourite songs Linden Lea, Down By The Sally Gardens, Where Corals Lie, and others. It was sheer bliss.