2024 Diary - Page 44

18 May

Jobs, gym and gardening before dinner.

We both headed out early afternoon: Jonathon to London to do a photoshoot and me to lead a Knoll Active walk.

We didn't walk far today - just PG, River Cray and SMC Rec. My foot coped quite well! We had a drink stop at Lopeto in PG and were sad to learn that more birds had been targeted last night, including one of the long-term favourites, Lady Gray. Alicia and Lizzie were there and very upset.

19 May

A good start to the day because I saw all three adult foxes and all three cubs. The youngsters were all galloping about looking healthy.

I went to the gym then church. Margaret led the service and all was going well until we got to the last hymn when there were no words on the screen and we didn't know it well enough to sing without! The organist was playing it a lot slower than we are used to so Margaret, very sensibly, stopped it after verse two before we massacred it any further!

I planted out the courgettes after dinner - that's the last of the veg done. This year we have two "normal" courgettes and two climbing ones. I've not grown climbing ones before so it will be interesting to see how they go.

I used the "halos" and sheep's wool again so that will also be interesting to see if that works.

I notived that quite a few of the potato plants look like they've been sat on because quite a lot of the stalks were broken. I'm not sure what has caused it but I hope it doesn't stop the potatoes from growing.

Mum was too poorly to talk on Skype at 4 p.m. so I called Christine earlier than normal. She's been very busy, taking advantage of the warmer, dry weather.

I went for a walk to finish my steps and dropped the final two courgette plants round to Brendan en route. I saw my first big orange poppies along the way - so pretty.

Mum called me while I was walking about to let me know she was feeling a bit better. Carole has taken her some low fibre foods to try for a couple of weeks to see if that helps.

20 May

A busy day today.

Ela's class to start with. Gilda messaged to say she had an unexpected Zoom call this morning so wouldn't be coming over until lunchtime so I took advantage and edge the grass. It looks a lot tidier!

I did Park Watch from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thankfully it was nice and quiet. I had a long chat with Nikki (she's the person who has the unenviable job of removing the birds that have been killed by the local yobs).

By the end of Park Watch, I'd more than done my steps for the day and met the stretch target for the month!

My final job of the day was St. John's Worship Group - I'm the current secretary so have to do the minutes.

Time for bed.

21 May

The foxes were all in the garden this morning - poor Mum, having three of them all trying to feed at once!

Went to the gym then work. I got to work to find there were no systems so it was a bit of a frustating morning until they were restored around 11.30 a.m.

It rained pretty much all day so I got wet going to meet Mark at The Ivy, Tower Bridge for dinner but the food was as delicious as always.

22 May

Janet messaged yesterday to let me know that Veronica had won a raffle prize from last Friday so Bev dropped it round and I delivered it to Veronica this morning at the gym. It was the first prize in the draw and had all sorts of edible and drinkable goodies in it. Veronica was delighted but I'm not sure she quite grasped it was a raffle prize rather than a present from us all.

It was quite misty and damp on the way to work - the Shard had disappeared in the clouds! Work was quite busy so the day went pretty quickly. Pete confirmed that I was going to get a pay rise in exchange for extending to the end of the year so that's all agreed. It wasn't too wet at dinner time so I wandered round The City for a while.

We had a branch meeting late afternoon to show us mock-ups of our new offices. They look very nice and I'm looking forward to moving there in September.

23 May

Ela's class was really hard this morning. Perhaps it was because I was feeling a bit tired or maybe it was simply harder than normal. I felt very pleased when it ended (and very pleased with myself for getting through it!)

I seemed to do a lot of feeding before I left and when I got back (Oli, foxes, birds and fish). No wonder our bird food goes down so quickly with big birds like jackdaws scoffing it.

I did a few catch up errands this morning so the freezer is now full again and the Boots shopping replenished.

I went to see John and Margaret in the afternoon. They were much the same and still have nobody coming in to help but seem to be managing OK, albeint Margaret is understandably tired.

I went there using my usual route (train to Beckenham Junction and tram with a walk in the lovely South Norwood Country Park) but came home on the new Superloop Bus SL5 to Bromley South and caught a train back from there. I got home about the same time as I would have had I reversed my earlier route.

I had Music Group rehearsal in the evening.

24 May

Had a walk through Priory Gardens on the way to the gym. There's been a lot of trouble recently caused by people with catapults (thought to be youngsters, aged between 8 and 15) so I thought I'd do the check through this morning to make sure there were no dead birds around. Thankfully there weren't any so I could enjoy the lovely, morning sunshine as I walked around and admired the gardens and wildlife.

I spent the afternoon in the garden, reading my paper, enjoying a pot of green tea and then doing some actual gardening!

The climbing hydrangea is looking the best I've ever seen it. The carrot experiment appears to be going well - they are looking very healthy and the allium and California poppies set each other off beautifully (both self seed really well).

We went to Cadogan Hall in the evening to listen to Lindisfarne. It was on Jonathon's bucket list and he was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the songs they chose to play were not our favourites and not done particularly well so he was very disappointed. Needless to say we left at half time rather than sit through more ear pain.

25 May

I had a sleep in and did some jobs before I went to the gym (just did weights today). By the time I got back I had time for my crossword and a pot of green tea before dinner.

I met the walkers at the station and we went to Kent House for our visit to four of the parks in Beckenham. We were really lucky with the weather and enjoyed a coffee and cake stop in Kelsey Park hence the length of time it took us to walk the route!

Did some more jobs when I got home and then put my feet up in front of the TV and finished reading the paper.

26 May

I went via Priory Gardens on the way to the gym. Did a bit of weights, rowing and cycling then back home to get ready for church.

The service went well but the feedback from a couple of the other attendees from the music group rehearsal on Thursday was far from positive. It had annoyed me because of John waffling on but one of the singers didn't come to church today because it had upset her so much. I'll have a word with Lesley when she gets back from holiday to see if anything can be done.

I did some gardening after dinner. Was really pleased to find we had a few strawberries ready so picked those (they were very tasty).

My main job for today was pruning and generally tidying up the roses. The yellow rose seems to have tired itself out by flowering so much earlier this year and is now looking quite spindly.

The roses round the archway are (hopefully) tied in and flowering nicely. My fingers are now pricked to high heaven to prove it.

Had a Skype call with Mum but she didn't have much news.

Had an SOS for someone to go to Priory Gardens between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. so I went down there. Sally handed over to me (all quiet on her shift) and I handed over to Peitra after a quiet shift. Three known troublemakers walked through while I was there but, thankfully, with no problem.

27 May

Went to the gym for a short while then came home and got ready for Alma's arrival (she was early today - started at 10 a.m. instead of 1 p.m. - guess some of her other clients didn't want her cleaning on a bank holiday).

Gilda arrived soon after that and we went to Chislehurst to try and find some of the new bears on the Bear Trail. We found all those we were looking for but needed a bit of help to work out which path we needed for this Mum and Cub. The other new ones were a bit more obvious!

Jonathon joined us at Ole Kyiv for lunch then we headed back home for half an hour before I went to Priory Gardens to do my Park Watch shift. Unfortunately, the rain arrived before I set off and didn't really stop for the whole hour + journey time so I was drenched by the time I got home. It was good to see both Alicia and Lizzie there as well, especially as three suspect lads were wandering about so I wasn't on my own. They didn't do anything wrong but that might have been because they knew we were watching them.

There is a beautiful hedge of these pink roses between here and Priory Gardens - they look amazing this year and I enjoying seeing them every time I walk past.

Had a chat with Christine - she's fed up with the weather. Stan, Laura's dad, is slowly recovering from his stroke but is still very poorly.

The weather faired up and the evening sunshine lit up our back garden really prettily.

28 May

Gym then work.

Work was quite busy because of questions about the new system so the time went quite quickly. Went for a wander at lunchtime, just round the City, taking in Leadenhall Market.

Met Mark at Cote for dinner. Came home to find Vixie nursing her cubs right outside the back door! They are definitely getting bolder.

29 May

Gym then work (as is normal on Wednesdays). I walked over Tower Bridge on the way in to the office and noted that they were setting up an area for showing the UEFA cup on big screens on the south side of the river. Not sure what these creatures represent but there a few of them.

Spent the day fire-fighting problems with the new system (at least I feel like I'm adding value!)

Northern Ballet's Romeo and Juliet was the best performance of R&J I've ever seen. It was amazing. The dancing was exquisite and it was full of emotion.

30 May

Oli and I had a sleep in this morning - it was almost 8 a.m. before we got up! I did a whole load of jobs before heading off to the gym.

The alstromaerias in our front garden look stunning, as do the rose gardens in Priory Park and Gardens. It was lovely and quiet in there this morning.

I spent the afternoon catching up with admin. I spoke with John, Dad's accountant, and we finalised Dad's tax return so that's now been submitted to HMRC.

There was an SOS from Jacqui needing extra people on Park Watch this afternoon so I volunteered for the 4 - 5 p.m. shift. Thankfully, it was quiet and, although it rained, it wasn't as wet as Monday.

I had a welcome night in with Jonathon.

31 May

I went for a walk beside the River Cray then through PG this morning. It was really quiet in PG - I only saw Roger (the council man who looks after it) and a handful of dog walkers. Gym next and I even managed a bit on the treadmill today!

I collected Ravi's sack trolley from Carol so we could use it to move the pots because Alan came today to clean the patio. It was a mammoth task but it looked much better afterwards - it's come up like new.

Neither Oli nor the foxes were impressed that there was a stranger here all day. Oli was kept inside most of the day so he didn't walk about in the cleaning stuff too much (he still managed it a bit so we had to clean his paws, much to his disgust).

We decided to leave the bird feeders on the long grass rather than bring them back to the patio in the hope that it will not get so dirty in future!

1 June

Gym (just cycling today) then led a walk for the Knoll Active group. Stayed local - Goddington Park and Lilly's Wood. It's a while since I last walked that route so it was good to do go there today.

Tried some new sausages for dinner. We didn't like them at all to the point we didn't eat them. The foxes liked them well enough so they weren't wasted!

Got my plant pots and other garden stuff put back where it belongs this afternoon so all back to normal. The mini snails have had a field day with my hostas - they are very "lacy".

Carole went to see Dad. He's really struggling at the moment. I suspect he's had enough of life but time will tell.

Had a Skype call with Mum. Her tummy was upset again but she didn't seem too poorly. She didn't have any news.

I did an extra Park Watch shift because they were short of people. I got my best photo yet of the Tufted Ducks.

However, Park Watch was more eventful than I like!

I saw a youngster chasing some geese with a stick so shouted at him to stop. His mother was less than impressed and told me never to shout at her child and to speak to her instead. I asked her to stop her child but she really wasn't interested. Thankfully they left the park straight after that.

I was just about to go home when Michael called from the bus (he'd left to go home) to say he'd seen two teenagers enter the park, looking like trouble. Having tracked them down, I saw them using a catapult but they were firing at trees rather than humans or wildlife. Thankfully, Pamella was in the park with her daughter (I know her from church) so I asked her to lurk about while I had a word with the lads. They were very polite and put the catapults away, possibly because they knew I was keeping an eye on them. I phoned 999 and reported them so we had a crime number but I knew the police wouldn't come as no crime had been committed. I was very pleased when Linda and Janice arrived to take over from me. The lads had left the park by then.

I had a well-earned pot of green tea when I got home and phoned Christine for a good, long chat.

2 June

I woke up early after a good night's sleep and decided to go for a walk in Crofton Woods. It was a lovely morning but still quite muddy underfoot in parts so it wasn't feasible to complete the circular route in trainers.

Jonathon went to the West End for a photo shoot. Unfortunately, the trains weren't working because of a power outage at the station so he had a bit of a convoluted journey but still made it there on time.

I went to the gym on the way back then home to have a bite to eat before heading off to Broomhill Common for the Knoll Residents' Association's 50th anniversary party.

My duties today included archery (no surprise but at least I wasn't on my own this time and other people covered some of the shifts so I could have a break).

My other task, with Diane and others, was to be a marshall for the Space Hopper races. It was a bit chaotic but everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and, thankfully, nobody got hurt.

It was a great afternoon but I was glad to get home, have dinner, drink lots of tea and put my feet up!

3 June

Ela's class to start the day. Jo didn't come because her hay fever was bothering her but Irene was there and we managed to get round!

Gilda came and we went for a walk around Bromley Common. It was a new walk for us, one that Bromley Council have created in a leaflet. Jonathon saw a whole pack of these leaflets for sale in a charity shop last week and bought them for me so I thought we'd try this one today. It was a lovely walk so I'm looking forward to trying the others I don't already know at some point.

We met up with Jonathon at Aqua for lunch. I had a very tasty beef risotto but J had to eat my pudding for me (his favourite - panna cotta).

Alma was here doing the cleaning when we got back so our house is all sparkly clean again.

I did my Park Watch shift later in the afternoon. Thankfully, other than a Herring Gull killing a baby Coot, all was quiet with no thugs in the park at all.

Amazingly, we haven't had any rain for a few days so Jonathon went across the road to do their watering (Chris and Hilary are away) while I watered all our pots.

4 June

I picked so many strawberries yesterday that we had some left for today - it's a good crop this year.

I was up early so went to Tesco on the way to work to drop off the soft plastic recycling. When I'd finished in the gym, Sainsbury's still hadn't got the newspapers ready so I went back to Tesco to get The Times.

Work was quite encouraging only in that it made me realise that I know more about the new system than most of my colleagues - not saying a lot! We had a teach in (of sorts) this afternoon but ran out of time so they are going to finish the session on Friday which means I'll miss it.

5 June

Gym (back on the treadmill - hurrah!). I walked via the Millennium Bridge as a test for when we move offices - it will take me about 30 minutes to walk to the new office.

Work was busy - continuing to fire fight with the new system but at least I feel like I'm adding value!

Met Mark at Zizzi's for dinner. He's going to Cornwall for a few days next week.

6 June

I saw two of the cubs this morning. It's ages since I've seen all three so I hope the third one is OK.

Ela's early circuits class was cancelled so I had a bit longer sleep before delivering a load of old newspapers to Peitra at the Orpington Cat Rescue then wandeingd my way through the Priory Gardens and, finally, the gym. I met Carol on the way and she told me that she's moving over to Godstone to live nearer her mum so I've lost my tennis buddy.

One of my main jobs today was sorting out Dad's ISA so I went to the Yorkshire Building Society in Bromley where Alva-Lee was, as always, really helpful so I can tick that job off my list. Jonathon came to Bromley with me and suggested we call into The Drawing Room in Locksbottom on the way home for lunch. It was very tasty and I think their funky teapots are lovely.

I finally sat down when I got home, did my crossword and read The Times before doing a bit of gardening. The roses really love this cooler, damper weather and are looking spectacular this year.

At least some of the broad beans seem to have survived the slug onslaught so I'm hoping we will get some actual beans at some point.

Oli came over the road to help me water Chris and Hilary's pots and veg. He was really trying to get into their house (I understand he's a regular visitor) but he'll have to wait until they get back home from Pakistan.

I topped up the pond from the water butt at the bottom of the garden (although it's not particularly warm, it is dry and windy so evaporation is a bit of a problem). I got all our watering done as well and picked another load of strawberries (yum!).

7 June

Went to the Nugent to get tea for Nicola and me from Pret a Manger but they didn't have what I wanted so I popped to M&S instead.

It was a lovely sunny morning so much better to walk in the fresh air rather than the gym. I did burn a few calories in the gym before going home.

Terry came to do something with the pond and Will came to clean the windows.

Big treat forthis evening was a T20 cricket match at The Kia Oval - Surrey (home team) vs. Sussex Sharks. It was Nicola's birthday present - her first ever cricket match. It was quite exciting with lots of pizzazz (normal for a T20) but Sussex Sharks easily outplayed the home team.

I was so tired when I got home I fell asleep sitting up in bed, holding my book!

8 June

I had a lovely view when I opened the curtains this morning - blue sky and lovely yellowy green foliage on our trees, together with some wildflowers in the long grass area.

A quick trip to the gym was followed by Music Group Practice. We had a lovely visitor - Bella, Hilary's "grand-dog". She was as good as gold and took quite a shine to me so I knelt on the floor to sing so I could snuggle her!

This afternoon, I took the Knoll Active walkers on a Bear Hunt. We found all the bears (Priyanka's sons were very observant) and had a good walk around Chislehurst. Unfortunately we had to wait ages for a bus back to Orpington but it was a sunny afternoon so not too much of a hardship.

No sooner had I got home than it was time for me to go to Priory Gardens for a Park Watch session. Thankfully, all was quiet but I collected two full bags of rubbish.

I watered Chris and Hilary's pots (different Hilary!) then those of ours that needed watering and finally put my feet up and had some tea.

Ginny, Jane and I went to watch "Murder Trial Tonight" at the Churchill in the evening. A really good production, even if the majority found the defendant not guilty when she was!

10 June

Not feeling 100% today but can't really pinpoint what's wrong. I still got up and went to the gym for Ela's class. It was raining when I got up and our sparkly clean patio looked lovely.

Gilda came for our Monday walk. We checked the clues for the charity walk at the weekend so I have now sent the information around, asking if anyone is coming along.

Jonathon met us at Masala Dabbas for dinner. The flower towers are the High Street and looking lovely.

I did my hour's shift of Park Watch. Today's thugs were trying to destroy the metal chicane. They managed to get one of the "legs" loosened and moved. They put it back when I asked them to but as soon as I'd turned my back they moved it out again! It's now warped so won't fit back in the hole. At last they weren't attacking the birds!

Picked more strawberries when I got home and was surprised to find 5 raspberries were ready - they are Autumn Bliss so not usually ready until August / September.

Caught up with Christine - no real news but we've got a date in the diary for when we're up north.

11 June

Vixie brought one of her cubs right up to the back door this morning but he/she soon scampered off when I went to the door.

Did a bit in the gym then caught the 8.20 a.m. train, supposedly to work. 20 minutes later, they decided that the faulty door wasn't fixable so they kicked us all off and sent us to a different platform. It was heaving! Amazingly, when I got on the train I got a seat.

The two meetings I had in my diary this morning were both effectively cancelled so it wouldn't have mattered what time I got there.

I had very little to do all day so I wandered up to the Sky Garden to kill a bit of time then left work early.

Nice quiet night in.

12 June

Gym then work. Amazingly, I was reasonably occupied today so it went faster!

There was a huge ship moored alongside HMS Belfast all day - no idea what it is but I guess some kind of cruise liner.

The Flamingos did well at the pub quiz, coming second. The winning team had nine members (we thought it was limited to six) so we didn't feel too bad about not winning!

13 June

Ela's class and treadmill to start the day.

Went round to Carol's to walk Mia, Nellie and Tish (still not sure how to spell their names). That all went well.

Popped down to the High Street and got my hair cut. Nice girl from Cyprus who cut it today and I came home not feeling like I'd been scalped so hope she's there again when I go in the future.

Came across a lovely female stag beetle while I was in the garden so moved her to the wood pile where she'll be safer.

Dug up the first of the Swift potatoes - as usual, one bag (the one with the ants nest in it) produced more than the other.

Did a stint of Park Watch. Loads of litter but no trouble so nice and quiet.

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