All go

Another day of waiting around lies ahead. This time we’re expecting the surveyor from the double glazing company to come round to do the fine measuring of the windows & doors.

Yesterday we got the main food shop done avoiding buying anything that may go off quickly. We’ll do that when we get back from France.

Our excitement is growing. We’ve now sorted out our euros, the travel insurance, cancelled Linda, our home help, for the duration. Later today we’ll go along & collect our holiday medical supplies. My hair will have its cut on Friday. I’m hoping to have another wash session tomorrow – to maximise our choice of clean clothes to take with us.

My days seem to be spent between making paper petals for the flowers, finishing a jigsaw to return to the library & reading about Paris. I’ve done my reading on Burgundy.

We’ll soon be off. After our flurry of activity this last couple of weeks we’re definitely feeling the need to get away & relax a bit.

Paper flowers

I’m busily making two-toned paper flowers. How come?

It was one of our neighbours who introduced us to our new gardener, Carol. By way of thanks I offered to help them out with making these flowers.

Why do they need the flowers? Their daughter is getting married next month. She wants all these flowers for the table decorations. Our neighbour is finding it difficult to fit in time to make so many while doing a full-time job as a medical secretary at the hospital. So I volunteered to help.

The first stage is a load of origami, carefully shaping each petal of the flower. There are six petals per flower. When all the petals are made they have to be glued together to form a flower shape, looking not unlike aquilegia (columbine).

So far I’m finding it takes about an hour to complete one flower. Our neighbour has forty to make. I can quite believe she’s feeling stressed as she tries to get them all done in her few hours of relaxation(?) per day. As for me, I finding it quite enjoyable to have something different to do, sat down, to fill my hours without overdoing it.

Fire! Fire!

Earlier this year we arranged for someone to come round a few times a year to feed, scarify, de-moss & weed the lawn etc. In other words to keep it in good fettle. Anyhow the man came yesterday for the spring treatment.

I duly showed him round to the back garden. Immediately we were struck by the billows of black smoke & a crackling sound. As we moved further into the garden we were struck by giant flames leaping into the sky.

We looked over the fence & were struck by a scene of utter chaos.

Our neighbour had decided to have a bonfire. The gentle breeze had blown a spark on to the hedge at the end of his garden which had duly taken light.

We watched as our neighbour ran in & out of the house with bowls of water, most of which he’d spilt by the time he’d got to the fire. Meanwhile his wife was trying to get out the long hose which was all tangled up. Eventually she managed to get it sorted & attached to the tap. 

By this time the workman who’d come to us had gone round to offer extra assistance & I was getting ready to dial 999 to get the fire brigade out if things got too out of hand. Trees were beginning to catch. Fortunately the hose was working & our neighbour managed to get it water through to dowse his neighbours’ wooden sheds with water before they went up to. He then managed to get the water on the hedge & trees & get the fire out.

It had all been rather Keystone Cops. It wasn’t helped by the fact our neighbour’s wife is Chinese & her English is not very good. What little she has disappeared in the panic of the occasion. 

However, the situation was rescued. We hadn’t had to get the fire brigade round twice in one week. I bet those other neighbours had a shock when they got home in the evening to discover the hedge had gone. I'd had visions of our beautiful new fences joining the inferno.