Marvellous May

May promises so much: spring explodes, plants emerging, shooting...some welcome (like the self-seeded rocket and spinach which bravely endured a long winter) others not (I think of bracken... beautiful on the cliffs, not in MY garden).

The days grow so long that it seems like summer: yet, at the beginning of the month, it is cold. I regret packing away most of my warm winter woollies; socks and tights are still the order of the day. When the sun comes out, we bask in its warmth at the front of the house, sheltered from the wind, facing south. Other days and evenings, we light the fire...bizarre, as bright days descend into glorious sunsets, to be burning wood inside.

But May is filled with marvellous things, seemingly miniscule yet meaningful. My school term gallops, so fast we can barely keep up: reports are crammed in, hurriedly, with minutes to the deadline. We take the children to visit an exhibition about the Guernsey folk who, during the Occupation (1940 - 1945), were arrested, imprisoned, exiled and executed. Sobering. Sports Day, well-organised as ever. And some days off... especially Liberation Day, May 9th, when we celebrate Guernsey's liberation from Occupation by German forces. Dear Wendy came to brunch, catching us up on life and family and we remembered dear Renee... then a relaxed afternoon before going to join our friends in our home group for supper... just eight of us, fun to be together.

More fun when we went to hear Adrian and Bridget Plass: such gifted speakers, having us in helpless laughter and then the next second bringing profound God-truth in a simple sentence. What a privilege to be able to hear them here as part of the Guernsey Literary Festival.

And so many kindnesses. My colleague Barbara (Italian, teaching French, speaking fluent English) sees me limping and insists on my trying her knee brace. We have exchanged many long conversations about injured and damaged knees, discussing the merits of different treatments... The brace is highly effective and I order a similar one straight away. Dear NickyNextdoor visits with eggs, which are always pale and delightfully elongated.

My friend and colleague Carry is as thrilled as I am to see photos and videos of Cara, which arrive every couple of days. Cara is now beginning to eat solid food, delighting in feeding herself; and rolling over too, now. #soonbecrawling  Skype sessions with her are never frequent enough: we remember early-morning coffee with Cara. She sees Richard's colourful mug on the phone screen and tries to reach out to it...

The garden is growing explosively, of course: the clematis on the patio in particular is trying for world patio domination. Nellie Moser, huge, showy, a deluge of purple. I love it, not just for colour but for representing my gardening-loving Grandpa, who delighted in 'cloning' clematis and growing his own varieties. Rocket and spinach in the garden have decided to run away; the brussel sprouts went rapidly to seed.

Everywhere, farmers are hard at work: seagulls supervise, following faithfully.

Cycle rides are a joy, past fields of golden buttercups down to the orchid fields: first the purple southern marsh-orchid, then blue loose-flowered orchids (not found in mainland Britain), arriving amidst the yellow flag iris and the ragged robin. Later, we look for common-spotted and the heath-spotted orchids too. We hear the first cuckoo as swallows begin their swooping back and forth across the fields.

Then, Phil and Judy’s eagerly awaited visit arrives at last. So wonderful to have these dear, dear friends who are family to us through lovely Adele. Our times together are precious.

So we sit and chat long, share meal after meal, go on adventures together...cycle rides through the lanes, visiting the orchid fields, along the coast to have coffee at Richmond Kiosk. We visit the Trepieds dolmen up on the Catioroc, meeting a lady with a dog Jack Russell terrier named Pickle who knows the Other Patterdale on the island, living at the Collenette Hotel. That Patterdale doesn’t ‘do’ acquaintance with other dogs, either.

Then off to Sausmarez Manor to a Grand Plant Sale - so many knowledgeable gardeners. Judy finds agapanthus and other plants, I come home - not having intended to purchase anything - with a solanum jasminoides, which Judy assures me is a beautiful, scented climber.
We even fitted in a visit to the Manor's Sculpture Park and wonderful sub-tropical gardens.