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Saturday 23 June 2018

Midsummer at the Watermill



Our strawberries are still green, perhaps they will ripen in time for Wimbledon, or maybe not.     Luckily we have a fabulous fruit farm just a mile or so down the lane.   These are my first strawberries of the year, freshly picked on the farm - I refuse to buy them from supermarkets, they nearly always seem to lack flavour, as well as being expensive.

Finally, a chance to use my beautiful little berry bowls.       They were made by potter and blogger 'gz', her blog can be found here.      




I haven't been sleeping too well lately - this morning I got up at 4am and watched the sun rising over the railway line - an hour after I got up!        

After drinking a strong cup of coffee I decided not to waste the 'extra' hours, so I got on with doing a little typing for Miss Read.    Many of you know her quite well by now but, for new readers, she lives in our tiny village and is a long-retired primary schoolteacher.      She has always kept herself involved with community life, the WI, the Village Hall Committee, craft work, local events, painting groups.

Once a month we host a meeting in our village hall, to enable older people to come together to have a cup of tea and a natter.    Often we have small projects to keep everyone interested, local history, cooking, flower arranging, etc.      Last meeting was wonderful, we had some new people, as well as several others who only rarely attend.   Luckily we had a fairly packed agenda, so they were well entertained.

What to do next month?      We were short of ideas, but Miss Read, ever the schoolteacher, rang me yesterday to say that she had written a little story about a cycle ride around some local villages.   A fun quiz for the group.   Her story gives cryptic clues as to the names of the villages visited... would it be possible for me to type it up?

Of course!   

So that was how I spent the next hour of my 'bonus' time - being very careful to check the spelling and punctuation!    I will be taking it round to her on Monday, I don't want to feel like an anxious schoolgirl, waiting to have my homework marked.

After that it all fell apart, my computer went into meltdown, going round in circles, the touchpad mouse ran away, I couldn't get it to do anything at all, most of all I feared that I had lost my work.         I removed the battery, restarted things, twiddled with some settings and gave it a severe talking-to.   So far, so good and the work is still safe.

Other than that the day has been spent catching up on some ironing, gardening, a little housework and dog walks. 
     




More strawberries for tea.      

Tomorrow teatime I will be going to the watermill, they are staging an outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream - on midsummer night.




The weather forecast is for a mild and dry evening - fingers crossed!



Enjoy your weekend.
x





14 comments:

  1. Those strawberries look luscious. I made a strawberry pie today to give to a church member who purchased one at our annual church auction. This was the 5th and final pie I needed to make. It's in the freezer though because they can't pick it up until Monday and don't plan to eat it until next month. I've never frozen one before and plan to tell them I can't be responsible for how it comes out.

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    1. I hope the pie defrosted beautifully, sounds wonderful.

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  2. Hi Elaine! Thanks for adding me to your blogroll! Your strawberries look amazing, and I'm sure they taste spectacular!

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    1. Hello Silver Willow, they tasted as good as they looked - very moreish!

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  3. Ohhh yes, strawberries right from the farm! We got some last week, and have to go back and get more.

    Miss Read to the rescue! Just like in a book. :-))))))

    Yes, the performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, at the watermill. I remember. And yes, you will have a lovely evening for it. (Perhaps thanks to our Kate...) :-)))

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    1. Three cheers for Miss Read! She is a treasure. I hope Kate is having a marvellous holiday - and thank her for the weather!

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  4. I write my notes on Gwynneth's cards. How small indeed the world. Our strawberries are past and it's almost time for raspberries. I'm mulling over planting some bushes.

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    1. She is a wonderful artist, Joanne. Our blackcurrants are ripening now, it is a competition between the birds and me as to who gets to them first - so far the birds are winning!

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  5. What lovely strawberries! And I also wake early these light mornings. Husband and I haven't slept well for years, but we find that as we age (hear those violins playing?) we require less sleep, and we can have a nap in an afternoon. I love the light summer mornings and am always delighted to wake before Himself, so that I can potter around the house in the quiet and stillness of the morning air, see the sunshine from the east, as it swiftly disappears to around the front of the house and we have it from the east for such a short time, and shining on the leaves of the walnut tree from that angle.
    Hope you enjoyed A Midsummer Night's Dream, such a fun play by old William.
    Margaret P

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    1. Early mornings are very special - but best enjoyed after a few hours of pain-free sleep! Like you, I enjoy pottering around the house and gardens in the peace of the mornings when the air seems to hold so much promise. The play was very enjoyable indeed, enhanced by the weather and the location. To think how many people have enjoyed that play since he wrote it - simply amazing.

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  6. Thank goodness you saved your work. It can be very annoying not to say bloody maddening when you lose something on the computer.
    Wonderful dear of Miss Reads. Hope it is enjoyed by your fellow villagers.

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    1. I was in a bit of a panic - thank goodness there was some sort of 'rescue' programme which gave me the option of restoring the file!
      It should keep people occupied for half an hour, or so - I hope!

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  7. I'm sorry you are sleeping badly. I can sympathise! Like you I view these extra hours as "bonus time" when I can play catch up on all the things which need doing. (Though so far, my accounts haven't crept into that equation!) I can garden when it is cool and if I am up early tomorrow, I will walk before the sun is high - I absolutely melted on my walk yesterday. Not enjoyable.

    The Miss Read chronicles always sound so delightful. I hope you enjoyed the Midsummer Night's Dream performance - what a perfect setting, at the old mill.

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    1. I hope you are feeling a whole lot better, Jennie. I know from the weather forecasts that you have it much hotter on your side of the country.
      Midsummer Night's Dream was beautifully done. i loved the fact that they were travelling performers, performing outdoors on midsummer day. It added a little extra sparkle to everything.

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Lovely to hear from you.
I will try to answer comments in the next post.