11 April 2011

The beginning of a fairly frenetic week. There seems to be something happening almost everyday. No big deal but enough to keep me out of mischief. This morning Doreen, my faithful secretary came in to do some filing and sorting out some documents etc. Then, Jane ‘the sheep’ came to do her Monday stint of’ babysitting’. She is still massages the fluid in my hands.. each time she comes and stretching my arms up to the ceiling,. five times on each side in order to keep the joints mobile. Heaven knows whether it’s doing any good or not, but, at least, I cannot think it’s doing any harm. I only learned today for the first time, that Jane is a talented musician and plays the bassoon, amongst other things.. This weekend she attended a gathering of 40 bassoon players, which must’ve been a wonderful sound itself. She tells me I can see it on U Tube but if I’m not successful. I have threatened to make her bring her bassoon and give me a private concert.

Having asked my GP to refer me to a good ENT man for my runny nose and a pain consultant for my painful joints at night, who I used to use when I was a private patient, her suggestion was that I would be best served by seeing a palliative care consultant who could take into account all of my symptoms. This seemed like a sensible solution for which I have now opted/

Another district nurse turned up to discuss the Just in Case box, with which Alice had already been fully briefed last week by Sarah – a lack of communication somewhere but then better as that to should turn up than none at all. Then Peter, our gardener arrived to continue his good work.

I must say I was very proud of the garden at the weekend when our family and their American friends came, although the early daffodils and the carpets of white snowdrops have now all but gone there was a myriad of other spring flowers on the show and with the lawns beautifully mown and the house relatively recently re-thatched, it was a picture postcard scene of rural England at its best in the spring. . As our guests approached the house, from the road. passing the long beach hedge, which is beginning to burst into leaf, immediately coming into view, in front of the white paling fence was a long clipped hedge of yellow forsythia, which I planted 30 years ago, a brief forerunner of the summer to come. From the gravel drive, emerging from their car, our American guests would see an abundance of spring flowers scattered here and there, under shady trees, in flowerbeds, in the large herbaceous border flanking the brick and stone path from the small white gate to the front of the house, and in the rockery in front of my18th-century white weatherboarded, yellow doored and thatched officewith its narrow, winding upward path leading to the memorial slab to our beloved it black labrador Woody, who passed away six years ago.. Between the paddock and the house running alongside the office. the. apple espalier was beginning to spring into life. Elsewhere the almost everlasting Christmas roses; primroses; white hyacinths; small blue grape hyacinths; a great array of yellow, red, white and pink tulips; deep miniature blue irises; yellow helibores; bluebells; mauvy pink celadines; violets and forget-me-nots could be seen. Here and there, under the shady lower branches of the tall pine hedge, running along the front of the road, boundary,one will find the occasionalsmall, delicate wild orchid.Then, as a backdrop to this wonderful rebirth, overshadowing the chocolate brown Acer, at the back of the house, the two giant chestnuts are bursting into bud, as is the ash, the tall bright yellow forsythia tree and many others too numerous to mention..The flowering cherry is in full bloom and the plum and apple trees are just beginning to blossom. The climbing roses, on the fan espalier dividing the back from the front garden, as well as the grapevine on the rustic wooden arch over the little wrought iron gate are also showing strong signs of growth. Add to that the long tall pine tree hedge, dividing our property from our neighbours and the long beautifully clipped privet box hedge dividing the garden from the vegetable garden across the croquet lawn, then you have a sight to behold. Our guests could not have come at a better day in spring. What would we do without that treasure, Peter!?