Buzz

We went to see 3D Toy Story 3 before the hordes descended on the cinema (the school holidays started two weeks ago); I loved it- it operates on two levels-for the young it is fun and scary; adults too will find it those things though if you are a parent I think you will find it sad thinking about times passed. Read A.A.Milne's 'The House at Pooh Corner' wherein the last paragraph is similarly wistful.

'So they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.'

J.M.Barry said 'If a man is sick of London he is sick of life'. Try as I might I cannot like our capital city! I am so proud of every thing it represents via 10 Downing St, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace etc but for me it is 'noise, traffic,muck, people and very few Londoners'. We have been to see D2 and fiance and to have a girly day looking at wedding dresses. However trauma with a relative caused anxieties second to none.... I shall tell you about that another time.



For the first time in years I sent an Interflora bouquet (£30+ £7 Interflora charge)-to the engaged pair; the bouquet arrived- brown edged lilies, dead flowers and all; I rang my florist who rang the London florist; the latter asked to recollect it within the hour so she could check its condition; 4 hours later!! she recollected and delivered a new one. I went to visit 3-4 days later- so small, pathetic and almost dead (see photo above- that wilting bunch cost £37) nothing like the one chosen from the Interflora catalogue. Having said it was not their responsibility and with my making lots of phonecalls & emails (with photos), Interflora have offered to send a £10 voucher to D2. Shabby ,unacceptable and appalling customer service so don't send things Interflora is my advice. I bought a gorgeous bouquet off our local florist for P&M's silver wedding-3 stems of white lilies and 5 white delphinium, straw wrap,greentissuey paper and card for £11.



Men have a weird mindset and selective hearing. I suggested to H1 not to buy flowers to celebrate our anniversary as we would be away so he bought a dozen red roses!!!!!! They are beautiful now we are back (all except for one which has died unopened after just 3 days and alone probably cost an arm and a leg).



Meanwhile gardens are showing the effects of a snap of cold, rain and moving into later summer; roses are blowsy while buddleia butterfly bushes, montbretia and hydrangea are all full out.So many fields this year are filled with cereal crops especially wheat- has the EEC taken the subsidy off rape? The fields are golden and combined harvesters are trundling up and down sacking grain and stacking or rolling hay. Subsequent ploughs and harrows are followed by a cloud of gulls.



Over the last two weeks we have all seen lots of dead bees- why? I hope my solo bee is not one of them. H1 has positioned my birthday bee-home on the fence; I wait expectantly...

The Grand Tour

'So where have you been?' I hear you say! I have been gallivanting hither and thither....... amid fields in England which are wheat and poppy filled... and verges which are overgrown with dog roses.



I missed the Blaydon Race- 'twas on the 9th of June.....'

I went to Sicily via D2&M's in London. Sicily had a heatwave while we were there; it is an island with culture fusion- strategically placed in mid Med so everyone wants it.... taking it from the 2 indigenous tribes were....Greeks ,Romans, Carthaginians, Arabs, Byzantines, Spanish, Normans.... and it wasn't till the Unity of Italy in the late? 1800s that it was brought into Italy. The building styles reflect all the occupiers. The Valley of the Temples near Agrigento had survived from 500BC; Pizza Armerina??? (oops- it was too hot to remember the name properly ) has the biggest area of mosaics in the world; the Roman tessellations eg of hunting scenes and bikini-clad concubines were magnificent but spoiled by a lack of tourist infrastructure and Italian mayhem. Monreale cathedral was beautiful with fewer dusty madonnas than usual and SO much gold sandwiched between glass in order to create wall mosaics like you have never seen- adorned further with magnificent white flower arrangements for a wedding.... From Naxos (wherein we spent much time in a seafront bar) we visited Taormina (wherein we spent much time in a bar!)-rather touristy but being geet culture-vultures we went to visit the roman amphitheatre. Mount Etna towered above the island but we decided not to climb another volcano.Syracuse provided us with a fun,eating & dancing boat trip. Guides Susan,Luigi, and Marie Louise were excellent and our group really bonded & were very caring of each other.





We came back through Gatwick and via a 'Could you just pop into my ex-house in West London and pick up a few things I left there please?'!!trip right round the M25; thus midnight saw us still on the A1 northbound.



Morning saw us southbound on the A1 to Brimham Rocks to see J&J.

Church Gate Farm is the best B&B I have ever stayed in; wonderful hostess, breakfast, bedroom.... I could just go on and on..... We did a tour of 'life below stairs' in Beningborough Hall (National Trust); We called in at Nun Monkton village with village green,duck pond and maypole (huge!)and the pub 'The Alice Hawthorne ' provided us with delicious food.


The following day we visited Ripley for fudge, icecream and a tour of Ripley Castle.

The washing machine is working overtime again but being knickerless is worth all the time away.

We have been back down to London in the company of shrieking S. African vuzuvulas (is that what they are called?)and the commentary on the appalling play of the English World Cup team; inspite of the hollering of commentators over the top of said noise, we had a lovely weekend all together.

Oh no! Today is the longest day when the sun is at its maximum up north- tomorrow the days begin to shorten towards winter... aaaaagh! no! We are still having sun , sun and more sun; fingers crossed it stays this way this week as forecast.