May — turning 80 and the King and Queen's Coronation and Cambridge and London

 There is terrible fighting in Sudan as the government army fights a rebel army in its own city killing civilians and causing thousands to try to escape. This is civil war rather than what is happening in Ukraine. Displaced people everywhere. 

Chris and I are planning a tour of Saudi Arabia in November - who knows what can happen between now and then.

My car has a lot of red messages and feels rather unsafe to drive. Of course public holiday today so hope I can get it fixed as a hair cut planned and potting and shopping for party on Sunday. All fixed, hair cut and shopping done for Sunday.

Some recent pics. I have taken photos and done some sketches and now paintings of local sheds that I know about.

And here is my big South American inspired bowl.

My birthday shelf — lots of lovely cards, flowers, emails, pressies and phone calls.

6th May the Coronation and pleased to see Chris Finney GC reading something. Penny Mordaunt who stood for PM but lost out actually got to do the most incredible job standing by the altar throughout the Coronation holding a sceptre or something similar and having to present it to the King. But she had to stand throughout which was well over an hour if not two! Pic below clipped from screen. Two old happy people who have done the job of the day to perfection.

copyright BBC

My 80th birthday party and guess what after the rain all days yesterday a beautiful sunny day as always.

Full complement came - except Sophie who was away doing a long walk.

Here are the pics.

An intrepid Effie.

Anna and Feelie were inseparable.

Three generations.

These were taken by Lisa.

Helen, Josh and Eleanor were over at the mill.

Oti came home with a big cup and here is the newly drawn out game.

Items needed to play.

Oti and his team's cup.

I went on a salad making course at the organic farm. A lot of chat about free radicals, effect of preservatives and non-organic foods. Some really nice ideas but not that different from what I do except for the dressings and a nice rice dish using brown short grain.

17/19 th in Cambridge.

Staying at the vastly expensive Varsity hotel but it is in the middle of this quiet city. Could not be more different from Oxford. Lots of high quality shops with carfree streets.  Lovely buildings both old and new. Had a lunch at Midsummer House which is a Michelin Star place.

  

This must be the most unusual cheese board ever, delicious.

Walked up to Kettle Yard to see Lucie Rie then eventually collapsed at 8pm. 

View from my bed. However, 5 star hotels no longer seem to be very luxurious. Carpets and other furnishings are rather tatty but of course the location is key as this was. This has become a sort of photo album which it was not meant to be.

The quintessential Cambridge scene.

Robert came up and we had a very nice supper at The Ivy then had breakfast there too. He looks remarkably like cousin Gary but as he said not really surprising.

There is controversy about the SATS that year 6 have taken - that includes Alex.

I went up to London on a National Express bus from Cirencester - leaving home just before 7 I eventually got home just before 8 - too long.

Diana and I went to the Vault at the Natural History Museum - where there were too many children on trips, unsupervised and not interested in the wonderful items in the cabinets. Then we took a taxi to the British Library where we had lunch and visited the 200 treasures of the Library including the Magna Carta. I was shocked to see that even in this document Jews were discriminated against.

I took only one photo - outside St Pancras - heaven knows what was the point of leaving this car just parked with no bodyguard. Though looking at the photos again I see that there is a sort of concierge outside the hotel. Looking on the web though it has been there for a couple of years and the owner lives in the hotel. It has become a landmark/

Quick roundup for the wildlife activity.

8 ducklings are half grown and there seems to be that there are more males.

There is a new nest of blue tits in the willow and they are cheeping away and now fledged or stolen?

Saw my first water vole of the season pulling a long piece of reed into the hole.

The moorhen has had a chick but gets very upset if she is disturbed. She is very shy.

There is now a great white egret on the rive as well as the odd cormorant.

Bees have swarmed a few times.

Mayflies very late and not nearly as many as last year.

The water is slowly eating away at the bank and the lawn is thus subsiding.