2025 Diary - Page 59

5 June

It was raining when I got up and continued to do so on and off all day - the garden will be so happy! I'm not sure whether it will have been anywhere near enough to put any into the water butts but at least we didn't have to draw any off them.

No dog walking today because of the weather. not sure Carol could cope with 3 soggy dogs so she cancelled me. I did a load of steps on the treadmill then joined Ela's WOD (Workout of the Day) class - I enjoyed this week more than last!

We had our monthly Chit Chat meeting - this time at Smokey Kitchen. I forgot to take a photo but there were nine of us so a reasonable turnout, especially considering the weather.

Alicia and Lizzie came to collect the bottles for the tombola so our hall is clear again now.

6 June

Only had a quick visit to the gym this morning because I knew I'd be doing quite a bit of walking today.

June took us through Crofton Woods to Richmal Compton Fields today. It was surprisingly muddy in places because we haven't had much rain.

7 June

I did a few household jobs and moved all the garden rubbish sacks to the front of the house before I went to the gym. Patch was keeping a close eye on me in case there was food involved!

The gym was really busy - probably because of the weather forecast. The promised rain didn't really arrive until nearly 5 p.m. so Carol and I agreed we could risk me taking the dogs out as they'd missed their walk on Thursday. I left them with her - all asleep and happy.

Jonathon managed to get all 18 of the bags to the tip and emptied so I now have plenty of bags and the patio is cleared ready for him to power wash that final part.

Had a FaceTime call with Mum who was on good form today.

Ginny, Irene, Judy and I went to a concert by Orpington Gospel Choir in aid of Christians Against Poverty at Orpington Baptist Church. It was great fun - very uplifting.

8 June

Gym then church before we went to Chapter One with Derek and Maureen for lunch. I had cauliflower fricasse - very tasty!

I hardly had time to sit down after dinner before it was time to go out with the walking group for a local prowl around. Despite the rain yesterday, the parks and woods were not muddy at all so it was easy walking.

Our final stop on the walk was at All Saints Church to admire the newly tiled lych gate. They've used Canadian Red Cedar wooden tiles and it looks very smart.

Someone mentioned recently that they'd not seen many bees this year - I think they are all in our garden!

Caught up with Christine for our weekly chat.

9 June

First stop Tesco for some bits and bobs then Sainsburys for picnic stuff for Nicola and me to take to cricket on Wednesday.

Gilda came and we did the alleyways and woodland walk, adding a stroll across the meadows to check the status of the wild flowers. One field was full of flowers, the others aren't ready for a group visit yet.

While we were walking, Jonathon started to sand the shed windows ready for painting.

After lunch at A Mano, I dug up some potatoes for Jonathon to take with him to Devon later this week and re-potted a poorly looking Christmas Cactus. Hopefully it will recover with its new compost. I did a bit of weeding as well - strawberry beds today.

Went to tennis - there were only three of us today so I did a lot of running around because John and Angela wanted to play together. John had a rest from tennis an acted as ball boy for a while (phew!).

The Worship Team Meeting at Church seemed to go well. It was the first one with Sohail in charge and didn't finish until almost 10 p.m. so I was tired by the time I got home.

10 June

Justice covered Matt's class today. She's been told she has a hernia so has to take it easy so someone else had to demonstrate the exercises we did.

Ginny and I went to Lesnes Abbey at Abbey Wood for the day. It was a lovely day and we had a good walk round the ruins and the woods before wending our way back on a Superloop 3 bus as far as Sidcup then a 51 bus home.

While we were doing that Jonathon was very busy at home putting 2 coats of primer and undercoat on the shed. It's looking a lot better already.

11 June

Went to the gym to get a load of steps done on the cross trainer and treadmill then home to work with Ben in the garden. His job for today was painting the top coat of the white on my shed.

Popped back to the gym for my health assessment - need to build up my muscle mass because that's slipped a bit - more weights needed!

Enjoyed the view of my garden while I ate my dinner - Albanian Fli that Alma brought yesterday. Very tasty with chutney, cheese and ham.

Tried to wipe the black fly off my broad beans - we'll see if that's successful or not in due course.

Pleased to see the runner beans in the tubs are growing well so, hopefully, we'll have plenty of those this year.

12 June

Went to Ela's "workout of the day" class - she warned us it would get harder over the weeks!

Carol asked me to walk the dogs a bit earlier than normal because it was a warm day so that was done well before dinner time.

Ras and Atul let me know they wouldn't be joining us at Sadlers Wells because she'd tested positive for Covid. Nicola and Angela took their tickets. Derek then let me know that they wouldn't be coming either because Maureen wasn't well - Netta and Nicky took their tickets. The final straw was Nigel and Rona not coming because of the "dreaded lurgy" only a few hours before the start of the show. Nobody to be found for their tickets (hardly surprising). The show (Matthew Bourne's "The Midnight Bell") was fabulous so they all missed a treat but the stand-ins really enjoyed it, it was the first time of dance or Sadlers for some of them.

13 June

Had a quick visit to the gym before joining June and co for the Friday walk. We walked round Crofton Woods so stayed in the shade as much as possible - it was just getting there and back that was in the hot sun. I was well protected with long sleeves, long trousers and sun cream.

Having been to Sainsbury's on the way home from the walk, I spent the afternoon in the shade of our sun umbrella or the trees. I moved one of the loungers into the shade so I could sit with my feet up, read my book and watch the birds on the feeders.

I called Margaret - she starts her radiotherapy next Friday and will have 5 sessions in total over 11 days.

Despite the weather forecasting rain, I watered the veg beds because I don't trust the forecast. It won't do it any harm to have extra water if the rain appears!

14 June

I had a nice quiet morning having not had much sleep because Oli brought a mouse in just as I was about to drop off to sleep. I'm hoping it ran out of the open door because I couldn't find it this morning and it wasn't in the humane traps.

I went to the gym and pounded on the treadmill for while then relaxed at home with my crossword and The Times. I was pleased to see The Midnight Bell got a 5* review.

I won a vocal coaching session with Katie Rose (apparently I'd answered a survey for her and my name had been drawn for the prize). I caught the train to Penge East and had a walk around Crystal Palace Park before going to her home for the session. It was good fun, I really enjoyed it but I was so tired by the time I got home. I was pleased I was staying home for the evening.

Delighted to see my "growing in tubs" experiment seems to be working - the plants look really healthy. The runner beans are much better being grown this way than in the ground - perhaps because I can control the water levels better.

Caught up with Mum - she's still not 100% and dizzy now and then but doesn't seem to be prepared to do anything about it.

Caught up with Christine who seems to be settled into retirement with plenty to keep her busy, not least walking Bertie the dog!

16 June

I decided to go for an early walk this morning. Gilda was otherwise engaged so not coming over and Ben was due at 10 a.m. for gardening. I went through Poverest / Covet Wood, alongside the River Cray and back via Priory Gardens and Sainsbury's.

Ben duly arrived and we got a load of gardening done but it was really hot so I put the umbrella up and hid under there for a couple of hours after he left.

Alma came and did the cleaning so all tidy again.

Met Steve for Monday tennis and had a knockabout - we both felt we'd had a good run around after our hour. Sara had invited the Open Garden team to her house for drinks and nibbles (and to quiz us about how it works). We left there just before 9 p.m. so not too late home.

17 June

I was grounded after gym class today while I waited for a redelivery of a parcel for Jonathon. It arrived about dinner time so not too bad.

While I waited for that, I checked Dad's tax return, got all the outdoor cushions down from the loft, helped Christine with a spreadsheet, did my crossword, accepted another parcel (first delivery for that one!), ordered some bird food and a few other bits and bobs.

Jonathon came back from Devon mid afternoon so we had dinner / tea about 4.30 p.m. - very strange timing.

Jonathon managed to get the masking tape off my shed and we cleaned the windows so it looks very smart now.

18 June

With the weather forecast as hot again, I decided to weed the veg beds first thing when I got up.

I went to the gym mid-morning and had a good chat with Lorraine while we were both pounding on the treadmills.

We have a lovely crop of gooseberries this year so I picked a lot of those, topped and tailed them and froze most of them. They are sweet enough to eat without being stewed with sugar - delicious.

Jonathon finished power washing the patio and moved the rain water from the big butts at the side of the house to the ones near the garage that I use for watering the food beds.

I topped up pond using tap water and switched the filter off to try and slow down the evaporation. Surprisingly, the fish seemed more lively - perhaps because the water is cooler.

I finished my steps for the day with a short local wander. There's a dead tree in Broxbourne but it's sustaining lots of other life forms.

It was lovely and cool under the trees just as it was under our garden umbrella - thank goodness for shade.

19 June

Went a longer way round to the gym this morning to get some steps done before it got too hot.

Ela's class was hard but more manageable than last week's!

I spent time getting things ready for Sunday, including putting some notices up. How anyone will see an A4 poster advising them of water if they can't see the 20ft x 9ft pond is beyond me but Health and Safety rules!

No dog walking today because it was far too hot. I hid under the umbrella for a lot of the day to stay safe and only managed to do some hoeing in the fruit cage late evening.

The veggies in the tubs are doing really well - plenty of beans and courgettes coming along, both kinds of courgettes. These plants look much, much better than those planted in the beds. I used the latest batch of coffee grounds from Pasha as mulch after I'd water the beds.

Picked the second batch of gooseberries - as many as the first - I've never had such a great harvest and certainly never tasted gooseberries this sweet before.

21 June

Not a lot left to do in the garden at the moment. Ran the lawnmower over the grass, more to pick up fallen leaves and petals than to cut the grass itself. Edged the grass as well but the lack of rain meant there was very little needed there either.

Great excitement in the experimental area - our first courgette flower. I'll definitely try and grow courgettes this way again (assuming the flower turns into an actual courgette of course!)

I paid a couple of bills for Dad. His contribution to his care costs has increase but only because his state pension has gone up so no surprise.

Had a short chat with Mum on FaceTime - she seemed OK but the connection wasn't brilliant because of the muggy weather.

Steve had organised the Summer Solstice Walk for this evening and, as usual, asked me to be back marker, complete with radio and first aid kit.

There were about 42 of us (can't be certain) with a good range of ages. Some started at Broomhill and others joined at Goddington Park which shortened the 8.75 mile walk by about 2 miles.

The sunset was spectacular but the walk took ages. There was a lot of interest in the bugs and butterflies that we saw (loads of Speckled White Butterflies) and the biggest attraction of all, horses. There were quite a few and they were very friendly, quite happy to be stroked and fussed over.

With back marking, I didn't even see the "jumping over the fire" ceremony - I only know it happened because I saw Steve's photos of it later.

It was almost 11 p.m. when I got home, much later than I wanted.

22 June

Open Gardens Day arrived with lovely, clear weather and a gentle breeze - so much more bearable than the sticky heat of yesterday,

I went to the gym first thing then helped Jonathon get everything set up ready for our visitors.

All my lovely assistants turned up on schedule for their shift on the "front desk" and it ran really smoothly.

I have no real idea how many visitors we had - we don't keep count - but there a steady trickle of guests for the full 5 hours we were open but I'd guess around 80 or so.

I popped round to Anika's with the money that we'd collected and then home for something to eat. We decided a take away from A Mano would be as good as anything - very tasty and easy.

Gavin and Anika let us all know that the total of funds raised was £1,450.98 so everyone was delighted.

23 June

Finished putting the garden stuff away after yesterday and watered the veg beds before going to get my paper.

Terry came to deliver some stuff for the pond but didn't stay long as he needed to go get paint etc. for the front of the garage. He should start painting tomorrow.

Gilda and Mark came and we went for a walk to check the wild flower meadow areas on Chelsfield Rec. They look pretty so that's where the Knoll walk will be on Saturday evening.

We joined Jonathon at Smokey Kitchen for dinner then back home to do a few more jobs, including topping up the pond a bit because Terry isn't going to start clearing it out until next week.

I met up with Angela, Steve and Ravi for tennis. We played doubles and Angela insisted that we play men vs. women. We won the first two games then lost the set 6-2. As she and I are both 20 or more years older than the men we didn't think we'd disgraced ourselves too badly.

24 June

A bit quieter day today.

Gym class was Myrox instead of normal circuits so a bit different and quite exhausting but I'm usre it was good for us. There was a bit too much running for my liking - I can do that myself on the treadmill if I want to!

I dropped some knitted hearts to Francis Chappell - they were very grateful as they'd almost run out so it was good timing.

Terry and Tony came and started the outside painting and removed the old (very smelly) pond filter. I think Terry will be pleased when he's found a council tip where he can dispose of it. The new filter is sitting on the patio and a makeshift water mover has been set up until it's fitted next week.

I finished the website page for our Open Garden and send the link around so that's done.

Allison sent the info round for the next "special" Knoll walk so I started putting something together for that and popped it onto the Knoll social media.

25 June

Went to a "HiT and Abs" class today then had a "Learn to Lift" lesson with Ela. There were four of us in the class and we surprised ourselves with how much we could lift in supervised conditions.

Our Lillies are flowering in the front garden - they come out after the Alstromaerias have started to die back.

Did a bit of gardening but not much because it was too hot.

Gilda and I went to see "Just Between Ourselves" but left at half time because it was too annoying!

26 June

I joined Ela's WOD class after a stint on the cross trainer and treadmill.

Carol and I agreed that a short walk would be OK for the dogs before it got too hot so I scooted over there and did that.

I dug up the first bag of Ratte potatoes - they look very different to any other kind of potato I've grown so looking forward to trying them soon.

Jonathon was shooting Sun Records, The Concert in Chelmsford in the evening so I went with him. We had tea at the Brewhouse and Kitchen - very tasty Mac n Cheese. While he got his intructions from Peter re what kind of photos he wanted, I went for a walk round the local area. A really pretty park with ponds, the River Can etc. made a lovely venue.

27 June

No gym today because I needed a rest having done classes for three days in a row. Instead, I delivered the old newspapers to Peitra then joined June's Friday walk. It was a similar route to the one I took the walkers on last weekend but it's always interesting to see the tweaks she has compared to my routes.

Terry and Tony continued painting outside but it was really too warm so they left about 1 p.m. before they melted completely.

I had my hair trimmed and collected some more bottles for tomorrow's bottle tombola.

Will, the window cleaner, was here when I got back so they're all nice a sparkly again.

Sylvia popped round because she had a problem with her phone. Thankfully, Jonathon could sort it out so she went home happy.

28 June

First stop thegym then up to All Saints Church to help set up the gazebo and stall. We had received a lot of bottles for the tombola and, because Peitra didn't want to take any home, she had only put a limited number of non-winning tickets in the draw so we had a few happy customers before I left. We also had a raffle, a stalal selling bits and bobs, a donations tin and a few information sheets.

Carol B came round with a SD card that was proving to be problematic so Jonathon could put it through his recovery programme. She left it with him, he sorted it out and I'll return it to her tomorrow.

Shreena, Mike and Amelie came round to collect a garden umbrella and base. They took both of the spare umbrellas to test them out and will return the one they don't want.

Hilary from across the road came across in a panic because her freezer had packed up. Thankfully we had some space in ours so we have quite a bit of her stuff in our freezer for the time being.

I took the Knoll Walkers to see the Pyramidal Orchids up on Chelsfield Rec. It was far too hot for walking really and only four of us braved the heat.

29 June

I decided it was time for a logo for the Knoll Active group so I drafted something up and sent it to Steve for him to prettify and this is what we ended up with. I am really pleased with it.

I went to the gym then church as normal. I did my first official solo at the end of the church service. John phoned me last night to ask if I would sing "Faithful One" as an Outro. This is the song that I practised with Katie a couple of weeks ago so a perfect choice for me.

I joined the other people who opened their gardens last weekend for a tour of each of our gardens.

Carol was babysitting the ducklings from her don's school so they were lovely to see.

I caught up with Mum - she seemed OK - and Christine so all up to date again.

The starlings enjoyed the bird baths in the garden - emptying them nearly as fast I was filling them. At least it will help them stay cool.

Our water butts are now almost empty so I have to use tap water on the veg and fruit beds.

30 June

Did the ironing before it got far too hot to face it.

Gilda came over and we went for a walk, hunting for shade along the way. We then met Jonathon at Masala Dabbas for lunch.

Terry and Tony continued to work on the new pond filter - it looks much smarter than the old one.

Alma came and cleaned the house so all back to normal on that front.

Not many of us were crazy enough to play tennis this evening (30C) but it didn't feel as impossibly hot as I feared.

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