I blogged on Thursday night while sitting on a train. I didn’t expect to sit there for two hours! sadly a problem on the line so we were stuck! I didn’t get home till 3 in the morning! Certainly didn’t expect to be back that late! For the Mighty Hatters it is back to the bread and butter of the league today- fingers crossed!
Looking forward to be Gramps for a few days- we have my granddaughter Ellen arriving imminently for a couple of days and On Wednesday we are looking after Owen.
Currently sitting on a train having watched The Mighty Hatters at Chelsea. A brave performance but they are a Premier League team and it showed. Now we can concentrate on the league!
I have been slow to go blackberrying this year especially as the blackberries appeared early this year. I went this morning and the usual thing – I got stung and pricked by the thorns my arm ached stretching up to reach those juicy berries high up. Well worth it because tonight we had my favourite pudding “Blackberry and Apple Crumble”- delicious! I do like the idea that these berries are free to anyone who can be bothered to pick them. Sadly our Bramley has only produced a few apples – not sure if that is a result of drought or a pruning last year! I keep meaning to write a piece about blackberrying but of course Seamus Heaney and Sylvia Plath would be hard to follow.
The Two Severn Bores gig at Wotton on the 28th November is now live on the Under The Edge Arts website. Will be more about this in future blogs- hope if you read this you will join us!!!!
It has been a busy week for me. We were busy for the the first three days of the week having fun and looking after our two young grandsons Owen and Robin. We visited Slimbridge on Monday and Owen was delighted to spot a distant Heron and a Lapwing! They enjoyed playing in Welly Boot Land!
Thursday and Friday I went to Cheltenham to watch Gloucestershire playing cricket. I went with my two sons on Thursday and cycled there on Friday.
Today I watched the Mighty Hatters being held to a draw.. We were frustrated by the petty fouls and an incompetent referee. Off to Chelsea on Thursday!
Saturday was the start of the football season and we travelled to Reading on the train full of hope but some trepidation! The journey went smoothly and we even managed to get a bus from the station using our bus passes!
The game kicked off and the Mighty Hatters were soon ahead. However, it then went pear shaped as our defenders gift wrapped Reading with two goals and a glaring mistake by the ref saw us go in 3-1 down.
The Mighty Hatters are certainly resilient and came roaring back to score two quick goals to equalise. We got to the closing minutes of injury time when we scored a dramatic winner to win 4-3!!! Cue jubilation in the away end! A couple of pictures below!
What a great evening. We made a big mistake on viewing the eclipse last night. In our usual laidback way we left it late to go to Frocester Hill to view the eclipse- we didn’t bargain for a good part of the population of Gloucestershire were also heading the same way as us! Traffic jams and chaotic parking made we needed to go for Plan B. When we wriggled clear of the traffic carnage we headed back to Frampton and Splatt Bridge. We just made it in time and what a lovely occasion. Lots of local people who were sharing glasses, colanders and helping hold white cards for each other giving it a great community experience. Pictures below I took on my phone!
Football kicked off on Saturday. I managed to watch the Mighty Hatters on TV win comfortably in the first round of the League Cup. I am off to see them on Saturday-COYH!!!
I am off to Buckinghamshire tomorrow to play cricket-it will be hot!
Storytelling on Wednesday morning to the ladies of Upton St. Leonards Probus- I am doing Mysterious Tales from Gloucestershire. I am resurrecting a story I wrote for The Two Severn Bores show we did on the River Severn- does mean quite a bit of work relearning it!
Had some lovely long cycle rides over the weekend!
We have just been looking after our delightful grandsons for the last 3 days so feeling a little weary!!! On Tuesday we took them on the local heritage railway near where they live. We got off at Winchcombe station because there was an indoor train sets and push long trains mainly featuring Thomas The Tank Engine. Really impressed by the range of equipment the young people could engage with.
Now catching up !!!
Bird Survey on Thursday was interesting – we had some good sightings-Yellow Wagtails, Whinchat, Curlew, and Great White Egret among the highlights. One surprise was a Greater Flamingo on the mud of the river. Apparently it had escaped from Birdland in the North of the County.
Told some stories including some old favourites at Wick Court on Thursday night to old friends from Liverpool.
I have managed to cover a few miles on the bike in the last few days.
One picture below from the Circus – might be a couple more in future blogs. The picture by the lake is Clare, Ellen and I spotting dragonflies.
Story Telling later today to young people from
Booked my first away football ticket for the new season (I still have my season ticket!)
