I thought 2023 was eventful but this year is turning out to be even more so. I’m delighted to share the news that my daughter and her husband are expecting a son in May. When our first grandchild arrives, we’ve been asked us to block out a month to help. This feels like an incredible privilege and we look forward to spending time with the family in Keynsham. Meanwhile, we have a 3-week backpacking holiday in Cyprus, a fortnight in Edinburgh and my mum’s 90th birthday to celebrate in April.
Me and Izzy on a recent trip to the Cotswolds.
David is in the process of clearing his aunt’s flat ready to sell it and fund her care home place. Fortunately, she’s very happy in the care home and it’s a joy to visit her and listen to her positive response to aging with good physical health, family around her and the excellent meals provided. We will be spending more time in Exmouth over the summer to finish work on the flat.
With the opportunity to meet up to six other people outside from 29 March (when some of the lockdown restrictions are lifted in England) I find my diary filling up. My mum is visiting from 1 April (she’s in our bubble) and my daughter returns to Dorchester until her new-build house is ready. I haven’t seen either since December when we had a pre-Christmas celebration so I’m really looking forward to catching up. Mum and my son share the same birthday in April so there will be more celebrations before she goes home.
In other news, David and I achieved a long held ambition yesterday. The windows of our house look over water meadows to a ridge with a clump of trees. Setting off at ten o’clock, we stomped beside hedgerows and through fields to reach the trees ninety minutes later. They were not as we expected, with the evergreens hiding two huge water tanks but the deciduous tree with its many trunks and extensive roots was fascinating.
We covered 15km in total and saw other interesting things along the way.
Our plans to visit Scotland depend on further lockdown restrictions being lifted but we will definitely be heading off in the coming months. Arrangements are confirmed that will enable us to spend time in Cambridge over the summer. And now the clocks have changed to British Summer Time, things are definitely looking up.
the writer is a lonely hunter 