Strolling through September

I'd like to say that September began with Reconnecting With Friends but actually it began with Catching Up With Washing. 16 loads of it, to be precise...it took a week or two to get it all dried and put away...

But the month did, indeed, also begin withReconnecting With Friends. Afternoon tea with Sarah's lemon curd cakes on the cliffs - and with Sarah, of course. We usually manage an afternoon with tea and scones at the beach, but the weather, while sunny, wasn't quite warm enough thanks to the north-easterly wind. We didn't miss swimming - too much to talk about.

The next day was Lunch With Kareena. Usually Tea With Kareena On Saturday Afternoon, but we were both busy later on. Catch up Part One. A quick walk on the cliffs - and there were Sarah and Martin, busy picking blackberries.

There was, of course, a Birthday and an Anniversary.  33 years!!

Then, meeting up at the beach for kayaking with other friends - about a dozen of us, in the end. Pickle came too, for her first sea kayak outing. She sat comfortably between us, very chilled and relaxed: although she expressed an interest in riding up front on the bow, she was quite calm about not taking up the figurehead position. Afterwards, as we sat on the beach chatting, she sat next to us - a very different dog from a couple of years ago, when the prospect of staying in one place for more than a few minutes resulted in whining, pulling and general restlessness. Many hours well spent in the motorhome...

But the WEATHER!  A post here would not be complete without a mention of The Great British Bugbear.  Most of September's weather was unbelievably...bad.  Rain. Wind. Storms. Rainstorms. Windstorms, even.  We hurtled from one bad to one not-so-good day, until the Autumn Equinox when the weather inexplicably took a turn for the better, with calm days and warmer evenings: so much so, that the 23rd was sunny and almost hot: certainly warm enough to sit comfortably outside for more than a few minutes and hot enough to produce a bit of a suntan.

We made the most of it. A quick scamper to the cliffs resulted in the last blackberry picking of the season and a beautiful sunset.

I hosted a breakfast for eight friends, after which we took off, with Pickle, on bikes exploring the lanes and then down to the coast; watched cars race up the hill by the Imperial Hotel at Rocquaine for a few minutes; pottered around the garden, sitting on the patio for tea; then, again, going out for a night ride on the bikes. Back down again to the Imperial and a brief listen to one of the bands performing down there, the music floating far across the waters of Rocquaine bay as the tide lapped the sea wall. A peaceful, calm evening: we returned home as the last flight of the day landed at the airport, drifting in at the end of the garden....

Chimonea... burning hedge cuttings with enthusiasm

Berries brighten...

Early morning delight...

...And so we arrive at the 30th. Good waves this week have seen us in the waves at Vazon, surfing/bodyboarding in surprisingly warm water. September is always the warmest sea month - I now have a thin shortie wetsuit for swimming in, but it is only in late August/September that the water actually feels more pleasant.  #notacoldwaterswimmer  We'll venture out again, later this morning: we've had a heavy rainshower, but that doesn't make any difference. It is certainly no longer beach weather.

Looking back, though, there have only been two occasions when I drove to school, one of them because I had two evening meetings afterwards. Otherwise, I've been able to cycle, trying to stay fit, though it's nothing like what we were able to do in the summer, of course. Cycling back through the lanes is a calm pleasure after a busy day: especially when I find signs which say: "Access as far as Rue Sans Nom." Road without name.  Not even 'Ruette' which means 'lane': somewhat more insignificant than 'road'. What could be more insignificant than not deserving a name...?

It seems to have been a long month. School days are packed: I'm still adjusting to dealing with hundreds of interactions every day, rather than just a few. But it's all been good, as we have settled back into routines again: Richard busy with DIY outside while the weather is still reasonable.  Even I have been spurred on to paint some bedside chests of drawers white, to fit in better with the colour scheme: not that I'm going all 'Homes and Gardens'. Home decorating for me has always been about using what I have, making the best of it and adding items only if they are needed, rather than for decorative purposes. However, I did buy a blue cushion from a charity shop recently, for no other purpose than to coordinate with the curtains we inherited for the guest room....

I'll have to retake the photos for Airbnb now.

Accelerating through August

August whizzed by in gloriously slow, sunny days, each one rich in experiences. Considering that we arrived home on August 31st... well, it's all on Pickle's travel blog, really.

But there were one or two memorable extras. Cat and Andy, of course, were settled back in Iraq. There was still a tangible reminder of their visit, sitting forlornly in a corner of a cupboard in the motorhome:

Jonny and Adele arrived in Tanzania on August 2nd and we spent more than a little time praying for their settling in. Their new colleagues and neighbours were friendly and welcoming; the house comfortable, furnished with most of what they would need; they had managed to buy a car through our good friends, Byron and Lisa, who have already been living in Arusha for some years...and then there were issues with the car.

Of course there were. It has spent nearly all of its 20 years in Africa, enduring the roads and, at times, less than expert mechanical repairs. So Richard spent a bit of time exchanging WhatsApp messages on the Pollards Mechanics Helpline group, and then on the Cars group, with a few Skype conversations as well when we could.  (Amazingly, when we needed it most, we were in places where there was good internet connection.)

There was also an amusing exchange with Cat on the Pollard Pavlova Helpline as well: amusing, because she is an expert pavlova maker and I am definitely not. I can count on hands (not fingers) the number of times in my life that I have attempted to make pavlova or meringues.

Otherwise, August was a Cycling and Reading and Pondering month.  I noticed a few blackberries: September in Guernsey beckons. As we neared the end, I began to look forward to Reconnecting With Friends At Home.

And then it was over. August AND Summer.