Something to Sing About.

What a month June has been - and it's not over yet!   Not only have John and I played at a lovely Concert with the Weston Light Orchestra in Mark Church (sadly no photographs), but we have had the enormous pleasure of going (with Kerry too ) to listen to our daughter Kim perform with the Wherwell Singers at St.Peter's Church, Stockbridge, Hants.  The early evening sun streamed through the stained glass windows as the Concert began, and the music was perfect for a June evening - a very varied selection from Monteverdi, Vivaldi, and Handel, to more modern composers.    The choir were a real joy to listen to,  whether singing unaccompanied, or with their very talented pianist/organist.     But the setting of 'The Seal Lullaby' by Eric Whitacre, a young modern composer, really brought a lump to my throat, and must have affected others similarly, as the Choir reprised it at the end of the evening.    Well done everyone, and particularly our lovely Kim.    (Oh, and the Choir party back at Kim's home afterwards ended the evening on a high note - excuse the pun!)

Then of course the BIG EVENT of the month has been the birth of a brand new baby Grandson, Zac, to proud parents Jon and Sam.   John, Kerry and I couldn't wait to go and see him, and spent a couple of  memorable days with the new little family.   OF COURSE he is adorable, and looks (to us!) exactly like his splendid Dad, and if Zac brings as much happiness to his parents as Jon has to us, then they have a wonderful future ahead.    Well done you two!!

Lots of other 'happys' have taken place as well, too numerous to mention, but very importantly, we have AT LAST set a date for visiting Oz to see a much-missed branch of the family - Bring it on!)

And so June continues its very damp progress, after the warmest driest spring on record.   Are our spirits dampened?  Why, NO........  "June is bustin' out all over" as far as we're concerned.

Holiday Afloat

We have just returned from a super holiday on the Leeds/Liverpool Canal, as guests of Ron and Grace who hired the newest, largest, most luxurious narrowboat available!  The weather wasn't always marvellous, but the company was great, the accommodation spacious - we had our own en suite cabins complete with showers, there was most efficient central heating (and a great little stove on which we burned Martin's HotMax), the galley was roomy and beautifully fitted, and if all that wasn't enough, we ate... and drank!! ... in fine style.   Sadly Ron wasn't too well and took to his bed for some of the time, and Grace was suffering from a nasty cough,  but she soldiered on manfully and was ever cheerful, neither of them allowing their own difficulties to spoil the holiday.

A selection of the photographs we took give a glimpse of the journey we took from Silsden in Yorkshire.

We loved holding up the traffic - this man came to see if we knew what we were doing!

And this craft reminded us of our Ozzie exiles....

We loved Skipton..

And enjoyed a nice walk beneath Castle Hill ....

We spent much time feeding .....

We stopped off to visit Rosie at Nottingham University on our way home.  She took us for a walk around some of the Campus, we met some of her friends, and we drove her out to Wilford Hill, West Bridgford to see the house where her mother was born - very nostalgic for John and I.     We finished off with a 3 course evening meal at the Cafe Rouge in the City Centre which we all much enjoyed.   It was great to get together with our eldest granddaughter who looked wonderful and was great company.

Thank you Grace and Ron for an energetic, yet most relaxing holiday.

(Clever reflection by John!)