It is so tempting to talk about the weather, the rain, the floods, the cold - but I won't.
I took a drive to a different part of the county, yesterday.
A surprise birthday tea had been organised, to celebrate a cousin's 80th birthday, in Glentham village hall which is a bit further north and on the other side of the Lincolnshire Wolds.
The hall was pleasantly full, tables were set with starched white cloths, prettily patterned and mismatched china, vast platters of tiny sandwiches, dainty scones, savouries, and lots of homemade cakes.
When the guest of honour arrived she was genuinely surprised to find a large number of her family and friends, plus her art class and writing group waiting for her. Somehow the sixty/seventy people had managed to keep the secret. Even this little chap hadn't blabbed a word of it to his great granny.
He was so proud of his face paint that I had to take a photograph.
It was great fun catching up with everyone. The family line is very complicated so I have given up trying to work out exactly what kind of cousins, etc they all are. Let's just say that for a young woman born in the Victorian era my grandmother must have had quite a strong and resilient character and, despite everything, my grandfather's 'first' family all adored her.
Unfortunately, I never met her, she died a few years before I was born.
Yesterday I could hear the genuine affection in their voices when they spoke of her. How I wish I knew the whole story, but the dots still don't quite meet.
It must remain a mystery.
Poppies are out in full force.
Walks are breathtakingly beautiful, the world is washed and clean.
Everywhere looks as it did before, except for the mud.
Those cakes look delicious - it must have been a wonderful "catch up".
ReplyDeleteIt was a really nice way to celebrate.
DeleteWhat a lovely occasion. I enjoyed reading about it and could feel the need for emotional tears. Lovely. My poppies are out, too, the first actually opened on the D-Day remembrance day, I had never grown poppies before so I was extra thrilled.
ReplyDeleteThat definitely makes them extra special, Valerie. Each year I gather seeds from these particular poppies, scatter them around the fringes of Owl Wood - no luck so far.
DeleteLovely to see a post from you.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a happy reunion.
It was an event which I really didn't want to attend - typical me - but I am really glad that I did!
DeleteSounds like you had a lovely time. Families are funny, they are welcoming, can be loving and incredibly forgiving and if not, at least accepting but the secrets, or untold tales of the past is sad. I suppose with geographics of family life nowadays, there's less opportunity for sharing the past.
ReplyDeleteCathy x
The numbers are steadily diminishing - my side of the family are lovely, but not nearly so sociable! It was great fun, though I am aware that the novelty effect helps to make things merry!!
DeleteThat's my village hall!
ReplyDeleteVery nice, too!
DeleteI tried scattering poppy seed a few years ago in the front garden. No luck . This year a clump unexpectedly appeared on the back garden. You never know.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely civilised tea. Love the sound of it all, chat, tea and cakes.
Glad you enjoyed yourself
So summer will be with you soon?
Last year we had a splendid, hot and sunny one. This one looks like being a typical English summer - bally awful. Poros here I come!
DeleteDelightful way to start a gloomy, rainy day! With a post by you, at the top of my Blog List!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd what a delightful, family, Birthday gathering! Quite perfect. Even to the little one with the face paint! :-)
Oh your poppies! We love them, and only 3 came out this year. But we are thrilled with 3!!!! :-)
From other blogs, I imagine your Spring has been, shall we say, a bit 'Wanting'? ,-) Oh well, we can't fight with Mother Nature.
Wonderful to see you again!
Would you be spending time on IG, now that the season has (nearly) changed?
Gentle hugs,
✨💛✨✨💛✨✨💛✨✨💛✨✨💛✨✨💛✨
It was great fun. Another gathering in August, apparently... I will need all that time to prepare!
DeleteI deleted my old IG account last year!
Good to see you back, along with others I am sure, I was beginning to worry about the reason for your absence. We are just in from three hours snooping at the Secret Gardens of Ludlow and what an eye-opener that was... who knew? Like you I wasn’t sure I wanted to go... boy am I glad I did. Welcome back.
ReplyDeleteLXX
Your new home looks wonderful and Ludlow such a lovely place. I bet you don't miss those sea breezes one jot!
DeleteNot for a nanosecond! And the difference in me is truly amazing. There is so much to do here, however I am relishing the time planning for a brighter future in, as you say a wonderful place to live. In the middle of town but tucked completely away. As we walk down the hill from the market and castle it is hard not to feast your eyes on the backdrop of trees and the River Teme just a stone’s throw from where we live. In Hythe I missed the trees and the garden birds, I am sure you know exactly what I mean Elaine, when you think of the joy Owl Wood gives you and your family.
DeleteLX
My goodness sounds like an amazing get together. Hope everything is alright with you Lincolnshire seems to have been hit hard with all the rain and flooding.
ReplyDeleteThe village road sometimes gets flooded at either side of the village - this time it was passable, with care. The watermill river was almost a metre higher than normal, their buildings were fine, but the road was impassable for a couple of days. Wainfleet people have really suffered badly.
DeleteWelcome back. It was lovely to read this post from you. I've missed reading of your adventures. Hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteAll is well, thanks Marcia. Busy times, but I will try to get back to doing an occasional post. Life is good but the weather is dreadful...being English, that means one is never short of a conversational starting point!
DeleteLooks like you all had a fabulous time. The weather has been pretty poor and they say there is more to come which made it very confusing as to what to wear today. Still it seems to be warm enough and not seen a rain drop fall as yet today which is a bonus. Family history is fascinating isn't it. I did a fare bit a number of years ago but then it all went a bit out of the window when my youngest was born and I've not really had the time to get back into it. Maybe when I eventually retire I can give it another go if I can find all my notes and folders full of research.
ReplyDeleteMx
Nice to see you back again and what a lovely day you had at the reunion. Often at these mixed do's with family and friends I have had to ask people I do not recognise 'are you family or friend'? just in case they are distant family of the inlaws I have never met!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see your post, Elaine! We have been to the mountains of Georgia, for my Mom's 89th birthday. It was a blast, but as always, sooo great to come back home! Hope your gathering was festive and memory making.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had a lovely time at the reunion, those cakes looked very yummy and I love mis-matched china! (My husband just doesn't 'get it'' though)
ReplyDeleteHopefully by now, you will have had some of the very hot sunny weather that has graced us.
Not seen you on line or commenting for a while but thought I would pay a visit to see what you have been up to. Those cakes in the first photo slook scrummy, not sure I'd be sharing them with everyone if I could help it.
ReplyDeleteHope you are survied the heat, got to 39.6 on the patio outside our kitchen and 37 odd in the garden and not much different in the shade. I seriously can do with out that weather so I'm glad lit has cooled down a little.
Thank you, Lazy Days & Sundays, Where the journey takes me 2, Wyomingheart, Ann, and Billy Blue Eyes! All is well, here at Parsonage Cottage...it is turning into a very busy summer. Out today, but there may be time to dash out a catch-up post before long. I hope you are all having a wonderful summer.
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