2026 Diary (Page 66)

2026 Diary - Page 66

1 January 2026

The start of another year and it began with an amazing sunrise!

Unfortunately, before 9 a.m. I'd heard from Dean that Rhondda died last night, I'd arrived at Poverest at the same time as an ambulance crew to help an elderly lady who was sitting on a bench in her nightie and I'd helped with the recovery of a dead Canadian goose at Priory Gardens.

I checked Jo's flat only to find her rose plant had withered so I gave that some water, despite her telling me not to do anything with it, and let her know. She's due home on Monday so she can sort it out herself after that.

I went for a second walk after breakfast. The rivers team have done an excellent job of clearing one part of the River Cray. I finally finished my steps after dinner.

Our main job for this afternoon was taking the decorations down (except the tree). They are all now boxed up again and the Advent Number 8 dismantled. I'll take the tree down at the weekend then we'll be back to normal.

goose

2 January

A quick visit to the gym then I joined June and the others for the Friday walk in the first snow of this season! It was a bit chilly but the snow was only a covering and the walk was lovely.

I took the Christmas tree down this afternoon so there's only the carousel left to put away and that's Jonathon's job for tomorrow.

Christine had her knee operation but I haven't heard how she'd got on so I hope she's OK.

3 January

Spent quite a bit of time in the gym then joined Fiona, Steve and Rowan to dismantle the tree for the last time this season.

Went to Nugent to get some stuff from Boots, M&S, Pret and some fabric from Hobbycraft. We've wanted a draught excluder for a while but our front door is really wide so the pre-made ones aren't big enough. I am really pleased with the end result and it will, hopefully, make the hall a bit less cold

Christine messaged to let me know her op had gone well and then later to let me know that she'd arrived home. It seems a very early discharge after such a major operation but she's pleased to be home, albeit really tired.

tree

4 January

I went the long way round to get my Sunday Times today and managed to slip on the ice and go down on my right knee quite heavily. Thankfully, no damage done other than a bit bruised.

A few hardy walkers joined me for a walk through Goddington Park and round Lilly's Wood. There were some distinctly icy patches along the way but we all managed to stay upright.

walkers

tree

Did a few weights exercises at home rather than venture out to the gym then had a nice quiet rest of the day reading my book, catching up with admin and TV watching.

Caught up with Christine in the evening. She sounded remarkably upbeat after her surgery but still quite tired and trying hard not to overdo things.

5 January

A quick visit to the gym then Gilda and Mark came and we walked through Crofton Woods to Richmal Crompton Fields and caught a bus back to Orpington.

We met Jonathon at the Orpington for lunch.

Alma was here when we got back.

I delivered some old newspapers to Andersons (Oli's vet) and the latest batch of hearts to Francis Chappell, paid for tomorrow's flowers, popped into Holland and Barratt and picked up some jars for Christine from Theresa.

My last job outside was to top up all the bird feeders - they are eating a lot in this cold weather!

6 January

Today was, as the TV football pundits (almost) say, a day of two halves.

We enjoyed an excellent exhibition 'Hyakko" at Japan House in the morning. There were about 100 craftspeople's work on display.

There was a cat display in the library as an added bonus.

After dinner, I was standing in the kitchen looking at the birds in the garden but something didn't feel right at the pond end of the garden so I wandered down to look.

Major crisis!

The pump had frozen (Terry thinks) and decided to empty the pond instead of putting the water back in. Thankfully, we think we've caught it in time but it took us ages to defrost the long hose so we could start to fill it up again. We'll switch the water off at 9 p.m. tonight and start again tomorrow.

pond

7 January

Delighted to see one of my photos in the local paper this week - always nice to be acknowledged.

The rain had washed away most of the snow by the time I went to the gym but it was really icy. Jonathon's car was covered in frost and looked very pretty.

We went to Bromley to get our malaria tablets for Kenya late morning - an easier process than we thought as we can now get them from the pharmacy counter.

It was quite mild by the afternoon so I took the dogs for a walk (forecast for tomorrow isn't too promising) and we emptied the one water butt that had thawed out into the pond. It's definitely looking better than yesterday but there's still a way to go.

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To 2026 Diary (Page 67)

2026 Diary - Page 66
1 January 2026 The start of another year and it began with an amazing sunrise! Unfortunately, before 9 a.m. I'd heard from Dean that Rhondda died last night, I'd arrived at Poverest at the same time as an ambulance crew to help an elderly lady who was sitting on a bench in her nightie and I'd helped with the recovery of a dead Canadian goose at Priory Gardens. I checked Jo's flat only to find her rose plant had withered so I gave that some water, despite her telling me not to do anything with it, and let her know. She's due home on Monday so she can sort it out herself after that.
I went for a second walk after breakfast. The rivers team have done an excellent job of clearing one part of the River Cray. I finally finished my steps after dinner. Our main job for this afternoon was taking the decorations down (except the tree). They are all now boxed up again and the Advent Number 8 dismantled. I'll take the tree down at the weekend then we'll be back to normal.

2 January A quick visit to the gym then I joined June and the others for the Friday walk in the first snow of this season! It was a bit chilly but the snow was only a covering and the walk was lovely. I took the Christmas tree down this afternoon so there's only the carousel left to put away and that's Jonathon's job for tomorrow. Christine had her knee operation but I haven't heard how she'd got on so I hope she's OK.

3 January Spent quite a bit of time in the gym then joined Fiona, Steve and Rowan to dismantle the tree for the last time this season. Went to Nugent to get some stuff from Boots, M&S, Pret and some fabric from Hobbycraft. We've wanted a draught excluder for a while but our front door is really wide so the pre-made ones aren't big enough. I am really pleased with the end result and it will, hopefully, make the hall a bit less cold Christine messaged to let me know her op had gone well and then later to let me know that she'd arrived home. It seems a very early discharge after such a major operation but she's pleased to be home, albeit really tired.
4 January I went the long way round to get my Sunday Times today and managed to slip on the ice and go down on my right knee quite heavily. Thankfully, no damage done other than a bit bruised. A few hardy walkers joined me for a walk through Goddington Park and round Lilly's Wood. There were some distinctly icy patches along the way but we all managed to stay upright.
		Did a few weights exercises at home rather than venture out to the gym then had a nice quiet rest of the day reading my book, catching up with admin and TV watching. Caught up with Christine in the evening. She sounded remarkably upbeat after her surgery but still quite tired and trying hard not to overdo things.
5 January A quick visit to the gym then Gilda and Mark came and we walked through Crofton Woods to Richmal Crompton Fields and caught a bus back to Orpington. We met Jonathon at the Orpington for lunch. Alma was here when we got back.
		I delivered some old newspapers to Andersons (Oli's vet) and the latest batch of hearts to Francis Chappell, paid for tomorrow's flowers, popped into Holland and Barratt and picked up some jars for Christine from Theresa. My last job outside was to top up all the bird feeders - they are eating a lot in this cold weather!
6 January Today was, as the TV football pundits (almost) say, a day of two halves. We enjoyed an excellent exhibition 'Hyakko" at Japan House in the morning. There were about 100 craftspeople's work on display. There was a cat display in the library as an added bonus.

	After dinner, I was standing in the kitchen looking at the birds in the garden but something didn't feel right at the pond end of the garden so I wandered down to look. Major crisis! The pump had frozen (Terry thinks) and decided to empty the pond instead of putting the water back in. Thankfully, we think we've caught it in time but it took us ages to defrost the long hose so we could start to fill it up again. We'll switch the water off at 9 p.m. tonight and start again tomorrow.
7 January Delighted to see one of my photos in the local paper this week - always nice to be acknowledged. The rain had washed away most of the snow by the time I went to the gym but it was really icy. Jonathon's car was covered in frost and looked very pretty. We went to Bromley to get our malaria tablets for Kenya late morning - an easier process than we thought as we can now get them from the pharmacy counter. It was quite mild by the afternoon so I took the dogs for a walk (forecast for tomorrow isn't too promising) and we emptied the one water butt that had thawed out into the pond. It's definitely looking better than yesterday but there's still a way to go.











































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