Life Class

I` m off to sit for the Grey Ladies thiis morning. They are an Art Group that meets every week in the Meeting House (I do not know how they got that name as they are not particularly old or grey).   I have sat for them many times before and I really enjoy it as I get all the village news and I am actually paid! Not a princely sum but acceptable all the same. I do not look at their work as when I have done so in the past I am shocked at how old and wrinkled they perceive me to be.
This afternoon, I am off to the Infants and we are doing woodwork. It is only balsa wood but the kids love hammering and sawing and also we smother the little boxes they ar making in glue and as I have said before there is nothing I like better than a spot of glue.
I saw an upsetting Swedish film the other night called Emma`s Bliss., which involved the aforesaid Emma killing several pigs. The method she used was cuddling and kissing them and suddenly plunging in a knife so that they merely looked surprised and did not squeal or feel any pain. Later in the film she did the same for her husband. I do not recommend this film to the ultra sensitive. It was very gory.
I watched the Childrens Parade in Brighton on Mayday. Children from every primary school in the city march through the streets dressed up as film characters, with their teachers bravely marching backwards whilst conducting a band of drummers and tooters. It always brings a lump to my throat. It is so joyful and hopeful.
I heard my first cuckoo this morning when I took B.Wiggins out for his walk over the buttercup meadows.

Spring Has Sprung...

Easter has come and gone. My mother used to make us new frocks. She would also make a Simnel cake with eleven marzipan ball on top (eleven disciples but not one for Judas, though she was not a religious woman) She would make hot cross buns and a special roast lamb Sunday dinner and we had Easter eggs in abundance.  Nowadays, I don`t do any of this. I used to make a cake but lots of people say they don`t like marzipan, the hot cross buns are in Lidls all the year round and my `new` clothes come from charity shops.So it all seems to have faded out. But on Easter Monday, I did take grand daughter Tiger up Lodge Hill in Ditchling for egg rolling. Hordes of children of all ages and sizes hurled their home painted boiled eggs down the hill and ran after them whooping, and it all looked symbolic and joyful.
  
Tigers tenth birthday was the previous week and as usual, daughter J and three friends put on a puppet show for her party  They have done this for the past eight years and previous productions have  included Wizard of Oz, Little Mermaid, Jungle Book. This year it was a musical of Brighton Rock with a happy ending.  It was totally gripping as usual though the puppets are all made of old socks.  It was a sunny afternoon so was an Open Air production. In the evening it was chilly so we had a lovely log fire and sat round with son C and family too and chose music to play for our Julia whose anniversary falls on the same day.We also skyped son R in USA and went on a tour of his house! I don`t do things like skyping as a rule but this was
really interesting.

B. Wiggins had been away the previous week walking all the way round the Isle of Wight, sixty seven miles, a long way for his little legs. Daughter J and friends and two other dogs went with him.  I enjoyed a lazy week but I was glad to see him home again.

The Axeman Cometh....

Disaster struck last weekend. The demon hacker violated my computer and got his evil way.  It is quite shocking to an Elderly Person like me. Well to anyone really. I put a stop on my online banking in case he got his paws on my meagre savings and it has been a nightmare thinking up new passwords and memorable information`which I instantly forget.  I had days of not being able to download the Guardian cryptic crossword, google recipes, let alone do this blog and I suffered severe withdrawal symptoms.   Grand daughter M came to my rescue and also R, a good Quaker friend and all is well now I hope.  
I have just about caught up with my replies to all the kind friends who emailed or texted to tell me of the strange rogue emails that were sent by the hacker. Some were from people I had not heard from in years, so that was a treat.
I saw a film at the Village Hall the other evening, a Ken Loach film called The Angel`s Share. Our film club served whiskey along with the coffee and tea as it was about some skullduggery in a distillery done by a bunch of young unemployed Glasgow lads. The dialogue was totally undecipherable apart from alternate F.words. It really should have had subtitles, but it was a good film.
I have been in Ditchling for exactly four years and it has gone so quickly. I really like it but I do still miss my old friends and people popping in.  No one seems to do it round here.