2026 Diary - Page 74

St. John's is 100 years old next May and the Flower Festival is the first event to celebrate it.

Each of the big arrangements represents a different decade - they were stunning.

We all took advantage of the refreshments (including home made cakes) before Ginny and I joined several others for a choir practice ready for tomorrow's Harvest service and Eddie Bell's funeral on Tuesday.

Jonathon came home when the light got too weak for photography and we sat and watched television before heading off to sleep.

20 September

I decided to go for a walk when I got up rather than the gym so I could get some steps done in the fresh air.

It was lovely to see lots of green after the sandy conditions of last week.

It was Harvest Service at church and Music Group sang the intro at the front of the church. Ginny joined us as a one off.

I went to the gym after church then Sainsbury's to get something for my dinner. I'd hoped for some cooked salmon - there was only chillii salmon which didn't appeal so I got salmon en croute instead. It was quite tasty.

I caught up with Mum - she has definitely decided that she's staying put at Emmaus House and won't be going back to the bungalow. Caught up with Christine - all fine there.

Sindhu came to borrow some knitting needles and have some wool because she's hoping to learn how to knit from YouTube.

I did some gardening in between calls, visits etc. - sweeping up leaves and weeding.

21 September

Did some shopping then Terry came to fix the leak - he should have done it last week but made it worse rather than better. Hopefully, this time it really is fixed and our water usage will settle down.

Gilda and me went for a walk. We have to stay local because she teaches a keep fit class in Bromley on Moday afternoons so we don't have time to venture far.

We saw some lovely roses on our way to Tubbenden Meadows and the woods.

I did some gardening in the afternoon - concentrating on the grass so a bit of mowing then started the edging. Got about half way round before I ran out of time.

Tennis was just George and me so we had a good run round with plenty of decent shots - great fun but I came home tired out!

22 September

Gym first (as usual for a Tuesday) but I had to leave the class after the first circuit because Music Group were singing at Eddie Bell's funeral.

A Scottish man, born in Airdrie, he was piped into and out of the church.

I was supposed to play tennis with Sharon in the afternoon but she cancelled because she's hurt her leg so I did a load of gardening instead.

I cut the lavender for Gilda so she could take it home with her this evening and did yet more weeding and a bit more lawn edging.

23 September

Delighted to see one of my photos of the flower festiva in the News Shopperl. Lynn, who created this lovely arrangement, was chuffed to see her flowers in the paper.

Met up with Irene in the gym for the Flamingos Wednesday session but we were the only two there (Jane was in the pool, Jo had been and gone).

Spent a bit of time gardening, admiring the clematis that seems to be enjoying the cooler weather, watching the cheeky starling stealing our grapes and finishing off the grass edging.

Hosted the Knoll Chit Chat Gathering at The Chai Place - we won't be going back there because, apparently, the coffee is disgusting (my mocktail was lovely). The service was incredibly slow - Jonathon gave up waiting, cancelled his order and went home.

Hosted Knit and Natter at church then went back to church in the evening for a Worship Team meeting. The Worship Team is to merge with the Faith Development Team on a temporary basis so I stood down as secretary and from the Worship Team as a whole.

24 September

A very quick visit to the gym then Steve and I put our KRA Committee hats on and went to meet with a couple of our local councillors and Festus Akinbusoye, a prospective London mayoral candidate. He seemed to be quite a decent man but, obviously, a politician!

Straight from there to dog walking. Only Tisha and Nellie can go out, one at a time, because of Mia's dementia. She was so excited to see me that she piddled all down one of my legs - yuck! A load of washing was the first thing I did when I got home.

Jonathon and I went to Chapter One for lunch. They'd checked someone else in as him and given them our favourite table. We'd gone specifically for their offer on Chateaubriand but there was none left so not a good start but what we did have was scrumptious so we were very happy in the end.

Gilda and I went to Sadlers Wells to see Englsih National Ballet's "Rhythm Riot" - an excellent show, especially the second of the three pieces. Rather than take the direct route from the station to the theatre, I wandered some of the lesser known streets of Farringdon and Clerkenwell to get there.

25 September

I had a short wander on the way to get my paper, admiring the suburban sunrise as I went.

Jonathon dropped me at Margaret's so she and I could have a good, long chat before I went to the dentist. All clear so I don't need to go back for 6 months.

I walked through South Norwood Country Park, back to Avenue Road tram station and home from there. It was a lovely, autumn day but warmer than expected.

I went to Tai Chi in the evening as usual.

26 September

The sunrise was very pretty this morning and there were a surprising amount of contrails in the sky.

After gym, I took the Knoll walkers to Keston Common and Ponds. The weather was lovely so we had a good walk around.

I painted the fence with Cuprinol after dinner. It was on Terry's list but he never seems to get around to it so this is the third year I've done it instead of him. As usual at this time of year, I swept up another load of leaves.

I caught up with Mum on the phone. The signal isn't great at the care home so it's quite tricky sometimes to hear what she's saying but I think we got there in the end.

27 September

Another lovely sunrise as I set off for my walk before church.

There was some lovely fungi around the place and the sun picked up the yellow flowers beautifully.

June Bell, the widow of the man whose funeral we sang at, gave all the singers a thank you present. It's a diffuser from Next so I'll take that up north and put it in the bungalow to make it smell nice. I took Ginny's round to her.

I went to the gym after dinner to get my steps, calories etc. done.

Caught up with Christine - all seems normal up there.

Liba phoned to ask for some advice re job hunting. She has until the end of March next year to find something butthe time will fly past.

28 September

Two foxes in our garden this morning (Brownie and Number 3) were having a jolly good groom. Even the sound of a food packet didn't detract from the attention they were showing each other.

I delivered a load of old newspapers to Andersons and got lunch and my paper from Tesco then Gilda came and we went for a wander round Crofton Woods and Petts Wood. I specifically wanted her to see the most recent postbox topper - Halloween this time.

I did some gardening after dinner - mainly pruning and tidying up. James, our tree man, came to do the annual tree audit and agree what needs doing. I wasn't expecting him until next Tuesday so it was a bit of a surprise!

Our big fir tree has really suffered in the hot summer. James will bring his sounding mallet when they come to do the work and then we'll need to discuss whether to bind the tree or take one limb off - hopefully the former will work.

The Nerine are flowering nicely and their pink sits well with the pink of the Sedum.

Bruce and George joined me at tennis so we had a good knock around.

The sunset after tennis was amazing as I walked through the park.

As I headed East up the hill to home, the sky was lit up beautifully.

29 September

Went to the gym and circuits then Jonathon and I went to Boots to get me a new electric toothbrush (he'd spotted they were on offer so a good time to buy one).

St. Christopher's charity shop window was dressed up ready for Halloween and looking very scary.

I caught the train to York (the train from Orpington was cancelled but I was early enough to get a different one and still get to Kings Cross on time. The train from KX was delayed in the end so Carole had a long wait at York station to collect me.

After yummy tuna pie for tea Carole and I went to Mum's bungalow to create a plan of action to start clearing it. Carole and Pauline had already done a lot of work there so it was looking sellable.

30 September

I went for a walk after breakfast. It had rained overnight and looked a bit damp so I put my waterproof stuff on only to be far too hot on a "soft" warm morning. The rain held off so I wouldn't have needed it in any case.

There is always a fair bit of interesting artwork around Knaresborough - I seem to spot something new every time I visit (as well as seeing the old favourites).

Carole and I went to the market and local shops to get food for lunch. While we were in the town centre, we called into three estate agents to make appointments for them to value the bungalow. Thankfully, they can all visit on the same day so Carole won't have to keep going backwards and forwards.

Pauline, Marie and Olivia came to Carole's for lunch (Gareth was out playing padel). It was lovely to see them all and catch up with their news. Pauline is coping amazingly well with her cancer and has outlived the original prognosis by quite a few weeks already. She is seeing her GP nexxt week to discuss whether there could be any better idea of how long she has lef. I don't know how she deals with it so well.

Carole and I did a load of paper work for Mum then went to the bungalow to do more sorting. We now have a box full of documents to be destroyed (Christine has offered to have a burning session for us); a suitcase and folders of stuff to go to Orpington with Jonathon and me at the end of October and three drawers of phone and IT equipment for Jonathon to go through. The garage is looking remarkably tidy thanks to Carole. Pauline and Carole are having another blitz in a couple of weeks time.

1 October

I went for a pre-breakfast walk, setting off alongside the river from where I left it yesterday.

I was surprised to see a Halloween wreath but it is October!

I spent a bit of time wandering round the castle area before heading back to Carole's.

We went to see Mum at Emmaus House and to sign a lot of documents re change of address, changing her to a permanent resident etc. It all seemed to go quite smoothly.

It took a while to sort out the house insurance but we got there in the end and then Carole, Mum and I went out for dinner at Carole's golf club - very nice.

We dropped Mum back then went into Harrogate to deliver letters to YBS and Virgin Money and post the rest of the letters.

Back to the bungalow, we handed the NYC alarm kit back to the lady who came to collect it.

Finally, Carole dropped me off at York Station and I got back home about 8.15 pm. so not too late. I was really tired!

2 October

I decided to miss both the flamingos coffee meet up and June's Friday walk today so I could catch up with washing and go to the gym.

Vixie and Brownie seemed to be pleased I was at home to feed them!

I delivered the last batch of hearts to Francis Chappell on the way to the gym.

Nicola phoned so we had a long chat.

I brought the little Beswick dog home from Mum's so he's now settled with the bigger one on our front window ledge.

I took each of Tisha and Nellie for a walk (they misssed out yesterday). Tisha loves her walks and is a pleasure to take out. Nellie would prefer to be at home!

I went to Tai Chi in the evening then sat and enjoyed some TV watching.

3 October

First stop Jo's to check on her plants and flat then the gym before leading a Knoll Active walk. There were only three of us today so we went a bit further than normal because we could go a bit faster than when we are a bigger crowd.

We went to Masala Dabbas for lunch. They've just reopened after quite a few weeks away and it was lovely to have a proper chicken biryani.

I had my hair cut this afternoon. Sara is still off sick so Lani did it instead - only a trim because I'll be back there again before we go up north.

I spent quite a bit of time in the garden - cut the grass, pruned quite a few shrubs and admired the pink corner.

4 October

Gym for a while this morning - the sky was lovely when I came out.

Jenny from church brought me some flowers which was a lovely surprise.

We had loads of litter pickers today which was good to see. We collected a lot of rubbish, including a two part car seat and some very old metal. It's always interesting to see what we find.

I did a couple of hours gardening - pruning and weeding - focusing on the right hand side today. It looks tidier but there's still a lot to do.

Caught up with Christine - she seems to be walking a lot better now she's decided to use two poles.

5 October

I went to Tesco to get some bits then Gilda came for our Monday walk. We went to Goddington Park and Lilly's Wood today.

I spent a couple of hours gardening after dinner. My focus today was the pampas path, yet more pruning and clearing the echinops before they spread all over the garden (even more so than usual).

I played tennis with George and Bruce in the evening. The weather was amazing for early October - really sunny to the point that it was hard to see if you were facing into it. It was even warm enough to wear shorts!

6 October

It was really misty when I went out to the gym this morning.

I did a load of steps on the treadmill and went to Darcey's circuits class because I knew I had a busy day.

Today's gardening jobs were sweeping all the debris off the patio and generally tidying up that area as well as cleaning the bird baths and topping up the feeders.

As soon as that was done, it was time to go to the cinema with Jonathon for the new "Shaun the Sheep" film.

7 October

I was really pleased to see my misty morning photo in the local paper this morning.

I went to the gym before joining the Flamingos at BR6 to celebrate Janet's and Jo's birthday. We were all there which was unusual but lovely.

Jonathon and I went to see a cat who had been brought in to Anderson as a stray . She is very cute so but we will need to think hard before deciding whether or not to adopt her. Anderson need to hold on to her for at least 7 days in case her humans turn up.

I went to see the respiratory physiotherapist at Darent Valley Hospital today. I'm doing all the right things to keep my bronchiectasis at bay so I just need to carry on and include the new breathing exercises they've suggested.

The sunset was lovely as we drove home along the A2.

8 October

Gym first then dog walking for today.

I didn't do much in the afternoon because I was at Sadlers Wells in the evening to see Costa's Cuban Baroque - the dancing was amazing.

We have decided that the little female cat isn't right for us. We are really not sure how she'd deal with the foxes and the vets can't confirm for definite that she's been spayed and we aren't prepared to risk kittens. It was a hard decision but I think it's right for both her and us.

9 October

I joined June and Co for our Friday walk. We didn't go very far but it was lovely in the autumnal woods. Benji had a lovely run around, enjoying the sunshine.

From there, I went to Morrisons in Petts Wood then M&S in Nugent - more shopping than I've done for a long time.

10 October

I waited to make sure Jonathon was well enough to go to the book sale before I got ready for the gym. Before that, I went to get my paper - the sunrise was lovely.

The book sale seemed to go well - I joined Jonathon there about 11 a.m. but there were loads and loads of books left - thankfully, we have another church to pass them on to for their upcoming sale.

We had M&S pies with red cabbage for dinner - one of our favourites.

I topped up all the bird (and squirrel) feeders and planted about 100 daffodils into the grass. Whether many of them stay there and grow rather than being dug up by squirrels and foxes remains to be seen.

I caught up with Mum in the afternoon. She's been a bit off colour earlier this week but seems to be better now.

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