2026 Diary (Page 69)

2026 Diary - Page 69

3 April

Gym then I went to the open air Good Friday service in the Market Square. There were quite a few people there. I didn't join the walk of witness beforehand.

I met Poppy the puppy on the way there. June is looking after her while her daughter is away.

I had my hair cut after dinner then led Knoll Active walk (June wasn't able to do her usual Friday walk). We stayed local and admired the bright yellow of the oilseed rape fields.

walkers

4 April

Gym when I eventually got up then I took the Knoll walkers to follow the Elephant Trail at Battersea Power Station. We found all 21 of the elephants but the walkers were really slow so it took for ever. I finally got home around 7 p.m., having left home at 2 p.m.

5 April

I came across Steve on the way to the gym. He was very busy delivering Easter Eggs to the local children who'd found the painted stones yesterday, complete with Bunny outfit. He's mad!

My cold meant I wasn't really well enough to go to church so I did some delivering, house checking, plant watering etc. instead - definitely better being out in the fresh air.

Steve Easter Bunny

I caught up with more jobs in the afternoon so I've got a lot ticked off my list today - very satisfying.

The pond seems to be very low so I gave that a few hours of drip feed from the water butts. We'll need to top up my water butt at the bottom of the garden because it's completely empty at present with no real rain forecast.

Caught up with Mum on FaceTime and Christine on the phone. Both seem OK.

6 April

By the time I'd got my paper it wasn't long before Gilda arrived and we caught the train to Grove Park where we met Mark. We walked from there, through Chinbrook Meadows, Elmstead Woods, Walden Rec and finished in Chislehurst High Street.

We returned to Orpington and met Jonathon at Masala Dabbas. Raghu had saved me a bag of coffee grounds to help protect my hostas.

I went to tennis in the evening but nobody else turned up so I practised serves for a while then gave up and came home.

Chinbrook Meadows

woodland path

bear

7 April

Alex was in charge of the class this morning as part of her training -she did very well and we all worked hard!

I returned the fruit crate and paid for my flowers then spent most of the rest of the day at home, managing water with Jonathon. We pumped loads of water into the pond from the big water butts - the fish are now much happier.

We also filled the smaller butt near my shed and topped up those near the garage so that should see us good for a while.

I joined the Police Walk and Talk at Priory Gardens in the afternoon. Chris and Paige were there from Greenwich Wildlife Network and rescued this baby rat (I was trusted to hold it while Paige tried to catch a poorly goose but the goose was having none of it and provied it could still fly!)

I put Diane's bins out and collected some coffee grounds from Costa for the hostas (to go with those Jonathon collected this morning). That was it for today.

8 April

Gym then we had a call with Ben from Audley - like a debrief about our Kenya holiday.

I planted the broad beans and faffed about in the garden for a while, enjoying the sunshine.

I went to Knit and Natter then it was time to go to the Orpington GPO for the monthly quiz. We came 4th with 60/70. The winning team got 64 so we were quite pleased with our performance.

9 April

It was another lovely, sunny day so I went for a walk rather than the gym this morning.

It was Knoll Chit Chat day so we went to the Orpington GPO and caught up with a few of the others, and gave Benji and Arthur a friendly stroke and snuggle.

Carol said it would be too warm to take the dogs out (not sure I agree but they are her dogs) so I spent the afternoon wandering through the woods, admiring the blossom etc. This time of year is my favourite, with all the fresh greens, and the weather was perfect for walking about.

10 April

I dropped a load of newspapers to Andersons then got some fresh sourdough rolls for lunch.

Pauline phoned me on my way home. She now knows she has cancer but not the full extent as more tests are needed. It doesn't sound good at all. Very sad.

Today's Knoll walk was a repeat of Monday's walk with Mark and Gilda with the additional bonus of meeting Cleo, courtesy of bumping into her creator. She is magnificent.

Cleo

I had hardly 10 minutes to eat before it was time to take the dogs out for their walk.

I did have time to notice our tree paeony is starting to flower and admire it!

I was supposed to go to Tai Chi this evening but I decided I'd had enough exercise for one day (especially after putting coffee grounds on a few more pots and watering the hostas and hydrangeas). Time to put my feet up.

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To 2026 Diary (Page 70 )

2026 Diary - Page 69
3 April Gym then I went to the open air Good Friday service in the Market Square. There were quite a few people there. I didn't join the walk of witness beforehand. I met Poppy the puppy on the way there. June is looking after her while her daughter is away.		I had my hair cut after dinner then led Knoll Active walk (June wasn't able to do her usual Friday walk). We stayed local and admired the bright yellow of the oilseed rape fields.

4 April Gym when I eventually got up then I took the Knoll walkers to follow the Elephant Trail at Battersea Power Station. We found all 21 of the elephants but the walkers were really slow so it took for ever. I finally got home around 7 p.m., having left home at 2 p.m.

5 April I came across Steve on the way to the gym. He was very busy delivering Easter Eggs to the local children who'd found the painted stones yesterday, complete with Bunny outfit. He's mad! My cold meant I wasn't really well enough to go to church so I did some delivering, house checking, plant watering etc. instead - definitely better being out in the fresh air.		I caught up with more jobs in the afternoon so I've got a lot ticked off my list today - very satisfying. The pond seems to be very low so I gave that a few hours of drip feed from the water butts. We'll need to top up my water butt at the bottom of the garden because it's completely empty at present with no real rain forecast. Caught up with Mum on FaceTime and Christine on the phone. Both seem OK.
6 April By the time I'd got my paper it wasn't long before Gilda arrived and we caught the train to Grove Park where we met Mark. We walked from there, through Chinbrook Meadows, Elmstead Woods, Walden Rec and finished in Chislehurst High Street. We returned to Orpington and met Jonathon at Masala Dabbas. Raghu had saved me a bag of coffee grounds to help protect my hostas. I went to tennis in the evening but nobody else turned up so I practised serves for a while then gave up and came home.

7 April Alex was in charge of the class this morning as part of her training -she did very well and we all worked hard! I returned the fruit crate and paid for my flowers then spent most of the rest of the day at home, managing water with Jonathon. We pumped loads of water into the pond from the big water butts - the fish are now much happier. We also filled the smaller butt near my shed and topped up those near the garage so that should see us good for a while.
		I joined the Police Walk and Talk at Priory Gardens in the afternoon. Chris and Paige were there from Greenwich Wildlife Network and rescued this baby rat (I was trusted to hold it while Paige tried to catch a poorly goose but the goose was having none of it and provied it could still fly!) I put Diane's bins out and collected some coffee grounds from Costa for the hostas (to go with those Jonathon collected this morning). That was it for today.
8 April Gym then we had a call with Ben from Audley - like a debrief about our Kenya holiday. I planted the broad beans and faffed about in the garden for a while, enjoying the sunshine. I went to Knit and Natter then it was time to go to the Orpington GPO for the monthly quiz. We came 4th with 60/70. The winning team got 64 so we were quite pleased with our performance.
9 April It was another lovely, sunny day so I went for a walk rather than the gym this morning.

It was Knoll Chit Chat day so we went to the Orpington GPO and caught up with a few of the others, and gave Benji and Arthur a friendly stroke and snuggle. Carol said it would be too warm to take the dogs out (not sure I agree but they are her dogs) so I spent the afternoon wandering through the woods, admiring the blossom etc. This time of year is my favourite, with all the fresh greens, and the weather was perfect for walking about.

10 April I dropped a load of newspapers to Andersons then got some fresh sourdough rolls for lunch. Pauline phoned me on my way home. She now knows she has cancer but not the full extent as more tests are needed. It doesn't sound good at all. Very sad. Today's Knoll walk was a repeat of Monday's walk with Mark and Gilda with the additional bonus of meeting Cleo, courtesy of bumping into her creator. She is magnificent.

		I had hardly 10 minutes to eat before it was time to take the dogs out for their walk. I did have time to notice our tree paeony is starting to flower and admire it! I was supposed to go to Tai Chi this evening but I decided I'd had enough exercise for one day (especially after putting coffee grounds on a few more pots and watering the hostas and hydrangeas). Time to put my feet up.







































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