Our house is on the left of the picture further back from the front and with an arrow pointing down at its roof.
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Grand Havre
Our house is on the left of the picture further back from the front and with an arrow pointing down at its roof.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Meanwhile in May....
....a month...
Of hard work and a few holidays, including Liberation Day.
Of spring arriving and summer hopeful, but mostly scarves and coats and gloves and boots and winter winter clothes.
Of friends and meetings and kayaking and lovely lovely ladies breakfast.
Of emails and Skype calls.
Of charity walks and cycling to school.
Of hard work.Report writing. Meetings. Discussions. Lessons. Lessons.
And several completely astonishing 'blasts from the past': I bumped into an acquaintance from Kenya while I was on a course in the UK - and someone, too, with a close connection to school here in Guernsey. Then, as Richard was taking the dog for a walk, he was recognized by one of his father's farm employees - having worked on the Pollard farm in Kenya, he had been farming in Devon for many years and was on holiday in Guernsey for a couple of days. We last met him and his wife at our wedding, nearly 29 years ago! So astonishing that he recognized Richard - plus beard, plus pepper-and-salt hair (but no weight gain!) - after so many years...
And I listen to the bird song and watch the baby rabbits spring-hare leaping on the lawn. Magpies raid wood pigeon nests and I find the sad eggshell debris. New potatoes appear on the 'hedge veg' and chickens lay too many eggs. And some days the sun is warm and hot on my back and I lie with a book.
May might be here.
Of hard work and a few holidays, including Liberation Day.
Of spring arriving and summer hopeful, but mostly scarves and coats and gloves and boots and winter winter clothes.
Of friends and meetings and kayaking and lovely lovely ladies breakfast.
Of emails and Skype calls.
Of charity walks and cycling to school.
Of hard work.Report writing. Meetings. Discussions. Lessons. Lessons.
And several completely astonishing 'blasts from the past': I bumped into an acquaintance from Kenya while I was on a course in the UK - and someone, too, with a close connection to school here in Guernsey. Then, as Richard was taking the dog for a walk, he was recognized by one of his father's farm employees - having worked on the Pollard farm in Kenya, he had been farming in Devon for many years and was on holiday in Guernsey for a couple of days. We last met him and his wife at our wedding, nearly 29 years ago! So astonishing that he recognized Richard - plus beard, plus pepper-and-salt hair (but no weight gain!) - after so many years...
And I listen to the bird song and watch the baby rabbits spring-hare leaping on the lawn. Magpies raid wood pigeon nests and I find the sad eggshell debris. New potatoes appear on the 'hedge veg' and chickens lay too many eggs. And some days the sun is warm and hot on my back and I lie with a book.
May might be here.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Frrrrrog Chasing
Pickle loves the summer. Huge opportunities to spend a lot of time outdoors, discovering all kinds of exciting creatures and unusual smells.
A plump rabbit sitting outside the back door in the early morning is just asking to be chased.
A hedgehog, struggling up and down the pond, invites derision and annoyance. The animal in question is not designed for swimming, however elegant its hedgehog-paddle might be.
Beetles crawling through the grass are a source of fascination. So are ants and bumble bees.
As for the large frog, which had the temerity to leap into the pond right under her nose....well, she couldn't let it get away with that:
A plump rabbit sitting outside the back door in the early morning is just asking to be chased.
A hedgehog, struggling up and down the pond, invites derision and annoyance. The animal in question is not designed for swimming, however elegant its hedgehog-paddle might be.
Beetles crawling through the grass are a source of fascination. So are ants and bumble bees.
As for the large frog, which had the temerity to leap into the pond right under her nose....well, she couldn't let it get away with that:
 |
| Investigating the pond during a playdate with Howie... |
 |
| ...needs a deep and thorough search for that elusive amphibian... |
 |
| ...which ends up really tiring. Aaahh.... |
Monday, 20 May 2013
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Amazing April!
Well, not exceptionally amazing except for the weather, which was amazingly cold. North winds bit at the sunshine. It was warm behind glass, so the greenhouse lettuces started to grow. Fortunately, the school garden is further behind although it is hectic trying to get things going quickly now. Not enough time, not enough time...
April brought many good things. A visit from Jonny was first: he helped us hugely by chopping up some of the felled trees which had collapsed under snow and stormy winds in March. There were five trees in total, so there is firewood for the next x number of years.
Our dear friend Leslie from Kenya days came to stay. Good to catch up on times old and new. Such a privilege to share in the lives of others. The end of the month saw me meet up with precious friends from Rugby days, too, when I dropped in before and after attending a course at Rugby School. The town hadn't changed too much - the railway station has been wonderfully upgraded: clean, smart paintwork which went some way to ameliorating the brash new canopy which replaces the beautiful Victorian fretwork which had lasted a hundred years... progress? Not.
So days were full with holiday catch up of all sorts...friends, colleagues, chores. A time of looking back and remembering the distant past. And many conversations about the future - immediate and further off. Because in all this, mid-April marked the start of another period of sick leave for Richard...we wait to see what will happen...
April brought many good things. A visit from Jonny was first: he helped us hugely by chopping up some of the felled trees which had collapsed under snow and stormy winds in March. There were five trees in total, so there is firewood for the next x number of years.
Our dear friend Leslie from Kenya days came to stay. Good to catch up on times old and new. Such a privilege to share in the lives of others. The end of the month saw me meet up with precious friends from Rugby days, too, when I dropped in before and after attending a course at Rugby School. The town hadn't changed too much - the railway station has been wonderfully upgraded: clean, smart paintwork which went some way to ameliorating the brash new canopy which replaces the beautiful Victorian fretwork which had lasted a hundred years... progress? Not.
So days were full with holiday catch up of all sorts...friends, colleagues, chores. A time of looking back and remembering the distant past. And many conversations about the future - immediate and further off. Because in all this, mid-April marked the start of another period of sick leave for Richard...we wait to see what will happen...
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Trislander engine failure: the final report
Over a year has passed since Richard had to deal with an engine failure on a flight from Alderney to Southampton. Since then, emails have passed back and forth while the engine has undergone investigation and now the final report from the Air Accident Investigation Board has just been released, and so the incident has been rehashed in the local press.
I want to show my wonderful husband off. There have been a few more comments in the press: the managing director of the company said 'The pilot handled the incident in a calm and professional manner and was commended for his actions.'
(The commendation by the former managing director was simply that he had 'avoided turning a drama into a crisis'. High praise indeed. ? )
My favourite quote was from one of the passengers: "The pilot was fantastic. He simply said: 'We've got a technical problem and we are going back to Alderney.' Some people just kept on reading."
I love it.
Monday, 1 April 2013
March Madness
March was the strangest month. I've already blogged about the snow - a freak blizzard which brought Guernsey to a standstill for three days. Skidding into school, it looked as if the worst was already over - just a few grains and a light covering - but then the storm hit. Force 9 winds lashed the islands with hail and snow, which accumulated, in places, in drifts over 8 feet high.
The airport was, of course, closed as heavy machinery struggled to clear the snow. Fortunately for Guernsey, the airport was already undergoing major work and so the contractor's heavy plant proved to be very useful.
Goodness knows how many trees were uprooted: the total of just the ones which blocked roads was 70, while fallen trees can still be seen in hedgerows or, in one case, fallen across one of the footpaths.
Firewood won't be a problem for a while.
Around the storm, life continued as usual. The pace at school picked up as we struggled to fit in activities before the end of term - sadly, Easter barely got a mention. No eggs or chicks, let alone an acknowledgement of the festival's real meaning.
As well as fitting in our usual church and house group commitments, I enjoyed a fascinating morning listening to a visiting speaker teach on apologetics; we also started teaching a CAP money coaching course; prepared a prayer workshop for Good Friday, with practical activities for reflection; and I contributed a post to another blog site as a guest.
We also caught up with friends, especially from Devon and Dorset; celebrated the school holidays with a fun 'bring and share' and then numerous trips to cafes; and I made the journey over to London for the day, to celebrate my brother's 50th birthday. What a joy to meet up with childhood - and more recent - friends, one of whom I hadn't seen for over 30 years.
And, at the end of the month, wonderful answers to prayer. God is good, ALL THE TIME.
March seemed, before I looked back, somewhat of a 'mini' month. How wrong I was. March demanded maximum effort in every minute.
The airport was, of course, closed as heavy machinery struggled to clear the snow. Fortunately for Guernsey, the airport was already undergoing major work and so the contractor's heavy plant proved to be very useful.
Goodness knows how many trees were uprooted: the total of just the ones which blocked roads was 70, while fallen trees can still be seen in hedgerows or, in one case, fallen across one of the footpaths.
Firewood won't be a problem for a while.
Around the storm, life continued as usual. The pace at school picked up as we struggled to fit in activities before the end of term - sadly, Easter barely got a mention. No eggs or chicks, let alone an acknowledgement of the festival's real meaning.
As well as fitting in our usual church and house group commitments, I enjoyed a fascinating morning listening to a visiting speaker teach on apologetics; we also started teaching a CAP money coaching course; prepared a prayer workshop for Good Friday, with practical activities for reflection; and I contributed a post to another blog site as a guest.
We also caught up with friends, especially from Devon and Dorset; celebrated the school holidays with a fun 'bring and share' and then numerous trips to cafes; and I made the journey over to London for the day, to celebrate my brother's 50th birthday. What a joy to meet up with childhood - and more recent - friends, one of whom I hadn't seen for over 30 years.
And, at the end of the month, wonderful answers to prayer. God is good, ALL THE TIME.
March seemed, before I looked back, somewhat of a 'mini' month. How wrong I was. March demanded maximum effort in every minute.
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