Nice Rest Day - but cold

This was the 'Princesses and Dinosaurs' game. Although I said yesterday it involved whacking each-other with bamboo canes, there was'nt any actual whacking. Just much chasing and much noise. At the stage when I took the picture, they hadn't added the refinement of the camellia flowers being taped to the end of the sticks.

Apparently Brooke (second from left) is very good at 'dying' and has quite a reputation for it.

We both slept well after our exertions but both woke up early but that's fine. Although a nice morning it has remained cold all day; no higher than 8c. Yvonne went out in the garden for an hour and rooted up some enormous dandelions. With the soil being moist she said they came up without much trouble with taproots complete. It's a pity we don't know someone with a rabbit. I potted up some fuschias and have put them outside. It will be necessary to keep an eye on frost warnings, but they were getting so leggy indoors.

Steve sent us a grid-reference for his new factory but I didn't get a very good picture. Ray did and emailed me his picture. To cut a long story, eventually I got there. I seemed to do a lot better wth the postcode. At first, I wasn't waiting long enough for the 'streaming' to finish. Our own bungalow though remains elusive. But I got a good picture of Rays. I exchanged emails with WUforums Hello_There (Caroline) and I sent her the family group picture. She said it was good to see people's pictures from 'behind the cyber-wall' and sent me a nice piccie of her and her son. At lunchtime I did a spag. bol and enough to do us tomorrow as well.

I was delighted to hear on the news that Fleur Adcock has been awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for poetry. She joins such luminaries as Auden and John Betjeman and more recently Ted Hughes. She throughly deserves it and is one of my favourite poets. I was fortunate, many years ago, to go on an Arvon Foundation course where she was the tutor.

I'd suggested to Bob that I pop over on Wednesday, as he had offered to take me to the Snooty Fox which he rates. He is going to try to book, and failing that is going to cook a 'smoked-fish chowder'. Both sound great to me.