Hi Brian,

Well am loving the sunshine but the temperature could do with coming down a bit to make life a little more comfortable. I did indeed go for my usual Sunday walk after going to the gym. The Artisan and Farmers' Market was on so  popped in there and stocked up on my favourite cheeses as well as grabbing an iced coffee to enjoy whilst I sat and read my book whilst listening to the live music.

My Dad was a great fan of Mantovani and I asureMrs B is delighted with her present.

Seems you can google anything these days and does indeed cut down some research time.  Hubby's workmate used to have an Austin (7) but it saw its final days languishing in a barn. Glad you were able to find a picture to help illustrate your tome. Are you getting them published now?

I also bought strawberries and blackberries and enjoy them with my breakfast most mornings. Have to eat the quickly in the hot weather as they do not last as long (hence much reduced in the greengrocers this week:)  Glad you both enjoyed the outing out.

Congrats to your son; great result and also to you for producing more great works in wood.  Hope they sell well for your craft fair.

Spent some time with Mum this morning bringing her up to date with family news and though no words from her did get a nod as I said goodbye.  The antibiotics seem to have helped physically at least but her only request to the visiting social assessor was that she be allowed to pass in peace.At 92 she is very frustrated  that she cannot have her own way on this bless her.

Well off to have a bite of lunch and then get dead-heading in the garden again.  Still nice to have a respite from mowing for a few weeks.

Take care and best wishes to you and your family.  Jules

Hi Jules,

Just a quick post. I came across this information while doing our clubs newsletter which included an article about The Moringa trees which are native to India but are grown elsewhere. .

The most commonly harvested species, M. oleifera, is a small, fast-growing tree used for centuries to combat many different ailments, including symptoms associated with a mesothelioma diagnosis. That species also is commonly known as the drumstick tree because of its long, slender, triangular seedpods and the horseradish tree because of its taste.

Will post again shortly, best wishes, Brian

Thanks  Brian. There are some fascinating facts out there.

My late hubby would be very proud as our son and daughter in law welcomed a baby boy into the world on the 24th weighing in at a healthy 9 lb 10oz. That makes me granny to four now. A lovely piece of happy news.

Still waiting for some rain for my concrete garden ha ha. Hope you and MRS B coping ok. Jules 

Hi Jules,

Have had to put the lights on to write this as its dark and raining at last. Not that I'm complaining about the rain. We do need lots of it. Our back garden is so cracked Mrs B nearly fell in one of them. Congratulation on the latest addition to your growing family. Bet everyone is pleased, especially your daughter in law.  My youngest grandson becomes a teenager next week. Tried to tell him he is getting as old as me but he said "But that would mean I would be as old as a dinosaur just like you grandad". See what cheek I have to put up with. We have had more members join our club so our recruiting campaing is working. I told our chairman, we cant just w=sit and wait for people to join up;we have to be more pro-active.

Have spent some time tidying up some folders on my laptop; something that needed doing. Bought some more frozen chestnuts yesterday so enjoyed some last night. Have been cracking on with my stories. Am well advanced on one about a guy who inherits a big house and factory which is losing money. And another one about an ex detective who is investigating the dissapearance of four teenage girls. Both going along nicely and I think my writing skills are a lot better than they used to be. Practise makes perfect they say allthough I am way off being perfect ha ha. 

Only about a month to go now before our next show which again is a three day show which I am looking forward to. Have got some small multi coulor led lights to put on part of my stand. Hvae plenty of new lines to exhibit so looking forward to see what the public think of them.

I bet your mother is glad its cooled down. We have both felt for those in homes. My son went out to try and get some photos of the red moon the other night but as he expected, it was too cloudy. But He did get some nice photos of the lightening storm over one of our coastal towns. My youngest granson is having to do cooking classes at school. He is not happy about this as he had told them he will never be able to eat. When they said well when you older and someone come to visit you, you will be able to cook them something. He replied, they can blooming well bring their own food for I wont have need of a cooker. Plus as he said, If I cant taste what I'm cooking, how do I know if its eatable. He has a point.

 Sending kind thoughts to you and your family, Brian

Hi Jules,

Just to add to the above, Just had some good news.  I have just had an e-mail asking if we would like to have our three day exhibition in the mansion house at Wakehurst Place in August rather than having it in marquee..

This is where we always used to have our exhibitions so am looking forward to going back there.We have always had good sales when there.

Take care, Brian

Hi Brian

Lovely news about having your exhibition back in the mansion house. Whatever the weather I an sure the footfall will be greater for you and hope the whole event goes well for everyone taking part. Also good news inthat the Club's numbers are rising and being pro-active in advertising/talking about the Club can only be a positive thing.....I bet the Chairman thinks so too and you must be very proud of your own achievements in this respect.

Finally, like you, we had a day of pretty steady rain yesterday.Thankfully no cracks in my lawn but very hard  and dry beforehand (though the weeds carried on growing!!). After a couple of hours I had a lawn full of sparrows and starlings as obviously could access the insects/grubs etc.  Happily most of my shrubs have managed fine  and as I usually keep annuals to a minimum not too much lost. Cooler temperatures meant I could get out and do a bit of weeding between the showers too though it was very windy.

How quickly time goes and hope your grandson has a lovely birthday as he becomes a teenager.  His sense of humour/cheekiness is wonderful and it is a shame that the school curriculum does not allow for some choice (but that would be going back to the good old days when girls did home economics and the boys did wordwork etc). I can understand his thoughts on cooking when he is unable to enjoy it himself, He manages so well and know you are very proud of the whole family.

Not too much going on this week.  The calm before the storm as I have my daughter and two grandsons coming to stay next week which will be lovely but busy,Fingers crossed for dry weather for the most part as they catch up with old friends and we have a couple of days out planned as a holiday treat for them.

Also have the decorator coming in (probably tomorrow) to assess state of walls in hall/stairs/landing (stripping old wallpaper) so we can find out whether just skim plastering will be sufficient (hopefully as less expensive option) before work starts next month.

Will pop to see Mum tomorrow and would be nice if she is awake so I can tell her the news of the latest edition to the family, her fourth great grandchild and show her photos. Unfortunately in the past three years or so she has shown little interest in family events and even refused to have other members of the family visiit and so she has never met my son's daughter and now will not meet their son. At least I can celebrate the news with the staff. Social Services carried out their yearly assessment of Mum's care and have informed me that she is still 'eligible' to receive support (red tape forms completed and the boxes ticked!!).

Had some sad news yesterday as my best friend's brother has been diagnosed with lung cancer.Pre op appointment next week followed by the operation the following week so worrying times for all the family. She has put herself on standby to fly to Ireland.  He is apparently in no pain and they only found it when a chest infection refused to clear up and his GP quickly send him for follow up tests/scans etc. All hoping for a successful outcome from the surgery which is said to be a little tricky as the tumour is close to his windpipe.  Am giving what support I can though she does not like to be fussed over.  As a former Samaritan volunteer of over 25yrs  experience she is a very organised person but know she will be worried sick and she supported me and hubby throughout our own journey.

Well, dry here just now though apparently some sunny intervals forecast so am going out to clear my head with a gym visit and a walk and then trying to research my ideas for a 2019 summer break (via the computer).

Sounds as though your writings are coming along nicely though I am not sure where  you find the time to fit everything in. Keep up the good work.

Wishing you and Mrs B a very pleasant week.  Jules

Hi Brian,

Just a quick response as I am shortly due to leave my family to their own devices and go to work. Hot weather earier inthe week meant a slight change of plans as my daughter's health condition means her body does not cope well with high temperatures.  Lovely day yesterday with a visit to the cinema in the morning followed by lunch and then a visit to see the newest member of the clan, already two weeks old and doing well.

Mum is no different whether it be hot or cold but the carers make sure she has plenty of fluids and there is a lovely big floor standing fan in her room which I certainly felt the benefit off when I visited last Sunday.  Most of her time is spent sleeping other than when meal times come around.

Sounds as though all your Club business is being very well looked after and hope the slightly cooler weather now upon us will help with your preparations for the next show event.

Best regards to you, Mrs B and the family.  Jules

Hi Jules,

Just a quick post. We had a very good club meeting last night. I was so pleased as we had six potential new members come along and one of them has allready joined up. We have never had some many new people turn up for a meeting since we started the club 33 years ago. Plus the veneers and brass locks we had donated to our club, I gave to one of our members who makes these lovely veneered boxes. He was so pleased he very kindly gave the club a donation of £100.00. I guess he had nearly £300 to £500 worth of goods so he had a good bargain. I know he will make good use of them.

Hope you are enjoying your break, Brian

Hi Jules,

Just a P.S. to the last post . Since then we have had two more people pay up so for the first time in years our club membership is going up. 

My youngest grandson is unhappy;.................. He wont be able to come and wind me up at our show as he is on holiday. Apparently he had worked out several things to pull my leg about and is quite upset about it. But my son said, he will no doubt make up for it later on. Trouble is Jules he has a very good memory and just doesnt forget.

Here is a picture of the big Begonia which is one of twenty free ones we had.

Hope you have had a great week and have made lots of memories, Brian.

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