September 2004 Archives
Such a relief.... It's been a nerve-racking few days of phone calls and frantic faxing.
Next step, completion on 01 October.
... required a mad dash back from the OU Revision weekend in Reading, but worth it as:
1. Everyone was wonderful and happy, Matt and Fiona most of all
2. There were lots of Mary-and-Phil friends there
3. I saw inside the RSA - a fascinating building, where Barney and Rosa outdid themselves in the Olympic Stair Jumping stakes (Tom Coates did quite well too)
4. It gave my sides a rest from Maurice/Tony/Steve induced laughter
Photos by Tom Coates
Photos by Chris and Helen Locke
Photos by me and/or Rosa and/or Barney and/or Phil
My favourites:
I feel unworthy for saying this, but Phil and I went to see Dodgeball on Friday night, and I've not laughed so much and so loudly for ages, to the extent that I had tears streaming down my face (unlike Wednesday's tears which were booze-fuelled. uh oh).
Just what the doctor ordered.
First day back at work after a lovely long week at Forty Acres where Phil and I enjoyed days of endless sunshine, a pile of good books, and fine food and wine in deepest darkest (sunniest) Herefordshire.
After spending Sunday at Dinedor with dad and Jean, TJBR and Jean's parents, we ventured out on Bank Holiday Monday to sample the (as it turned out, limited) delights of Peterchurch Show & Sports before driving on to Hay-on-Wye for afternoon tea at the Granary (their service is sooooooo slow) and a mooch in the bookshops.
We didn't go out again until Thursday when we entertained dad and Jean and Jean's aunt Jean to morning coffee after which we all headed down to Abbey Dore, and lunched at Abbey Dore Court, and then in the evening dad drove us all over to Crickhowell for dinner at The Bear to mark their wedding anniversary.
Drove out to Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye on Friday, returning with more books and a bag full of tasty goodies from Truffles (veggie scotch eggs - heaven! - from the Handmade Scotch Egg Company), and on Saturday we headed into Hereford to sample the delights of the farmers' market and shops generally.
Saturday afternoon saw dad and Jean arrive for reading and relaxation (Jean) and mowing (dad) followed by a fantastic BBQ courtesy of dad and the Hereford Butter Market butchers.
The rest of the time Phil and I simply pottered - reading out on the sunsoaked patio, moving out onto the lawn as the shadows lengthened, cooking and baking cakes, practising guitar and Japanese (both Phil's!) and watching old episodes of James Burke's Connections.