I have been staying with old friend J in Limpley Stoke while her live -in carer was away. She is soon to move from her large beautiful house and garden into a small retirement flat, so I enjoyed the wonderful views of the Avon Valley for the last time. B.Wiggins and I had some splendid early morning walks (same old mud, alas, as in Sussex) On one of the footpaths I came to a particularly steep, slippery muddy bit and was wondering how I was going to manage it, when another dog-walker came up behind me and said `Would you like an arm?` I accepted gratefully. I reflected on random acts of kindness and how good they are. Another was when I left to go home, I discovered that J`s helper had secretly put two delicious home made cheese scones in my car for the journey !
While I was there I visited an old Winchester friend V, who now lives in Bradford on Avon, nearby. She is now ninety and very sprightly. She attributes her health and mobility to swallowing cider vinegar with runny honey every day, and urged me to do the same. I have been doing so for the last week so I expect that soon I will be leaping over stiles and bounding up and down the hills.
Daughter J and family came home for Ghana on Friday and in spite of insect bites, tummy upsets, extreme heat, dodgy toilets, they looked surprisingly fit and well and in good spirits. They loved the friendly people and were glad of the whole experience but realise what comfortable lives we lead here in England. And it was lovely for them to spend time with daughter M who is there for some months working for a charity in Komasi.
I saw a tragic film in the Village Hall the other night called Two Lives, about poor little Norwegian babies which were taken away from their mothers and brought up in Germany, and then their struggle to be re united years later. It was a good film and very exciting but so sad, it has haunted me ever since.