Easter Day 2017

Floral arrangements in St. Peter's Aldborough Hatch for Easter Day. Have a Good Easter, wherever you are. I am at St. Peter's this morning for Holy Communion, then lunch with Heather, Rob, Marlon and Luke. This afternoon I will be at St. Paul's Cathedral in London for Sung Evensong.

Good Friday

I spent Good Friday in London. First, at the Savoy Chapel to hear Stainer's CRUCIFIXION. Yvonne and I sang in this on many Good Friday's past at St. Peter's. After a light lunch in Pret a Manger, I returned to St. Paul's Cathedral for Evening Prayer and the Liturgy for Good Friday and the Veneration of the Cross - 4pm to 6.45pm. Inspiring and peaceful. I had my camera, but it was not until I spotted the tulips that I took it from the camera case to photograph John Donne, one-time Dean of St. Paul's, who visited Aldborough Hatch in 1630, staying with his daughter (it's in my book 'Aldborough Hatch - The Village in the Suburbs - A HIstory' - page 106). I also shot the statue "Young Lovers' which stands to the south of the Cathedral and the statue at the top of the steps - the notice explains all. This shot took some time as tourists would keep standing by the statue to have their photographs taken! I doubt many of them had a clue what it was about for some stood with their arms round the figure, even hugging and kissing it! In the end I made clear that I wanted to figure only - and they stood back - but not for long!

It is finished!

As some of you will know, I have had to have the complete house rewired - lighting and power - with all new wall sockets 15” above the floor (something to do with floods and wheelchairs). I have a light in the back garden in case I go out there at night in the dark - which I never do. And Ruth-over-the-Road is now happy that there is a light in the porch again so that she can see my plants. And I have switches within reach so no more crawling on hands and knees to bring some of the lights into action. Ad you should see the fuse box! I reckon it could control all the lighting in Aldborough Hatch!

It has been a nightmare but it ended last evening when the last bit of redecorating was done and dusted. Cleaning and polishing has been going on room by room - but I ran out of furniture polish yesterday and had to dash into Ilford to buy supplies. Yellow dusters have been washed - separate from anything else (I learned that lesson!). And Rob discovered that the gas stove has a battery which (when replaced) allows me to light the gases without matches. Something I guess Yvonne knew but I did not!

The garden is a bit behind as a result so there will be no tours there for a few weeks! My daughter and son-in-law have been just great support - without then I might have gone stark raving mad! And my son in Norway has been thoughtful and kind on the telephone, whilst the son in Dorset looked after me for a dust-free weekend recently! My cleaner is coming in today and will put in some extra hours as she has not been here for two weeks!

I feel so relieved that the stress has gone and Socks is happy again now that there are no floor boards up and dangling wires!

Two donkeys at Palm Sunday procession

Few churches have a real live donkey to lead their Palm Sunday Procession but here at St. Peter's Aldborough Hatch we have two - Elizabeth and her son, Valentine. Thanks to Ann and Clive Wilderspin who brought them from Willow Farm at nearby Little Heath.

All my MASS distorters are now yellow!

Following a number of sessions spread over three days, the brass, copper and silverware is all now cleaned and polished. Yvonne used to say that there was a feeling of deep satisfaction when this task is accomplished - and I can now understand what she was on about. However, I am starting to think that I would willingly forego this pleasure - but perhaps not!

All this is so that on Monday - when I am promised the decorating will be finished - I will be able to return the rooms of this house to some semblance of normality. Heather has been a great help in making this happen and so has Rob. But before I retire this eveing I must run into the rear garden to test the setting of the light which comes on when there is movement. Ken set it for about 10 seconds. Rob has changed the setting. Rob believes this will give me sufficient time to reach the shed-with-the-over-hang and return in brilliant light at night! I have to test this theory and report back.

I use MASS for the cleaning, which lasts for five to six months, unlike Brasso, which meant cleaning every two months or so.

I discovered MASS at Lakeland at Stratford Westfield - Yvonne's favourite shop. Yvonne used to say that she would only spend a fiver and invariably came out forty pounds short of a penny! But the odd thing is that Lakeland have now discontinued the product, so I buy it online at Amazon. And here is the crunch. It is delivered in Lakeland packaging! So what is going on?

As I write I can see 15 dusters fluttering in the breeze and drying on the washing line in the garden. Some are the traditional yellow dusters; others are not. But all are now either bright yellow or have a touch of yellow. But they are all MASS dusters so why worry?

The other task today (after watering and fertilising the 4,000 or so bulbs in St. Peter's churchyard) has been clearing out the what-not-drawer in the kitchen. I guess you have one of these, Cedric. It contains batteries, string, screwdrivers, matches and all those things you might need one day but rarely do. At least it is now tidy and lots of stuff that I have never seen any use for was binned. But I have four things which mystify. They are small with wooden handles and metal spikes. I will show them to Heather tomorrow. Heather will now what they are for.

Orchard in blossom

The 100-year-old trees in the Dick Turpin and Cuckoo Hall orchards are in blossom. After the priming earlier this year under expert tuition, we now look forward to a bumper crop in the autumn.

Yellow dusters!

The BIG CLEAN, started last week by my wonderful daughter, Heather, whilst son-in-law Rob continues with the redecoration following the complete re-wiring of my house, and dusters have to be washed but separately and never with other items - I learned that lesson early on in my life as a house-husband-retired! So today the dusters used in cleaning the porch are now on the line. The electrical work is all but finished and the redecorating will end on Monday, Rob assures me. Had I known just what a rewiring entails, I might have moved house! But it is all looking really good now - thanks to Ken, Heather, Rob - and Graham and Danielle (who took me away for a few days) and Richard who would join in but he lives in Oslo and is working hard on his house.