Another Perfect Day
Perfect Day
Sweet Peas
Today is a “Perfect Day” announced the presenter on Classic FM. It seems that nowadays every day is a special day. From Winnie the Pooh Day to National Cream Tea Day, the list is endless. But on Tuesday the 28 June 2022 it was a “Perfect Day”. Because 28 and 6 are “perfect numbers” and that day the 28th June is the only day in 2022 that has two. 28 and 6.
Bertie: “Too Bleedin much for me, Bobby.”
Bobby: “And me, Bertie!”
The definition follows for those with inquiring minds:
Now you know!
Tuesday is Bobby’s favourite day of the week, being the lunchtime meeting with his friends in the Angel Islington Al-Anon Family Group. A day in London. That Tuesday his favourite flowers, Sweet Peas, had reached their peak on the allotment. He remembered how once he had transported flowers from Austria to Laurel Cottage in his hand luggage on an aeroplane.
So today he would use the same technique to take Sweet Peas to The Angel Islington for the meeting. A quick trip to the local shop for a large bottle of lemonade. Empty the bottle and cut the top off. And here you have the full picture of what you needed to transport flowers to the Angel.
Plus picking the Sweet Peas at last moment. Secure in his rucksack and then plonked in the middle of the table in Islington, the bottle looked far from attractive. A few seconds later, the beauty of the flowers and their exquisite scent was there for everybody to share and, as promised, for Nadia to take home.
The tools.
The result at Nadia’s.
Part of the wonder of Sweet Peas is their short life span. Three or four days at most. You can’t buy them as cut flowers in shops. You have to grow them yourself, or have a Bobby to treat you. As he has done ever since Sweet Peas were in his first wife’s wedding bouquet in 1966. Diddley loved them, and was always presented with the first bunch each summer.
When Bobby and Diddley married, they had both been dumped from long childhood sweetheart marriages. Lessons had been learned, one of which was that neither would give up the freedom they had been given by other’s disloyalty.
When Bobby told Diddley that he would love to see the Alpine Meadows in Austria in May, on his own, her answer was that then he must – as long as he came back to her loving arms.
It was 2007 and a dream had come true in spectacular fashion. Glorious Kärnten (Carinthia) is Austria’s southernmost state. The Alpine Meadows that spread down the valley up the lower reaches of the mountains and surrounded the homesteads were too beautiful for words.
Despite ringing Diddley every single day, he badly wanted to share the flowers with her. Not in pictures, but in reality. That first time to Austria was by plane. So he devised a plan to take a bunch of wild flowers home in his hand luggage. Hidden in amongst clothes and probably illegal.
He picked the flowers early morning. Packed them. And handed them to Diddley later that day. Fifteen years later, he used the same technique taking sweet peas to Islington on a perfect day.
2007
Austria. Lammersdorf. Millstatter See. Kärnten.
Cotton Grass.
A field of Barley. In Austria, a farmer has a choice when he/she buys seeds for Barley. With or without Wild Flowers. How brilliant is that! The lady farmer here chose “with”, and this is the result.
Cornflower amongst Barley.
Time to fly home. Here are the flowers picked at Lammersdorf.
On the bus down to Millstatter See.
Towards Spittall along the River Drau Gorge.
Spittall station. Train for Klagenfurt.
Klagenfurt Airport. Ryanair stopped flying there. No direct flights from the UK it seems. Much more expensive now by air. We were very lucky then.
Over the Alps.
And back later the same day to Laurel Cottage and Diddley. As fresh as a daisy.
2016
He went back to Austria many times and finally in 2016 he took me. By train.
And most spectacular of all. Gentians from above the snow line.
I loved Austria.
Times have changed and Austria is now a lovely memory. We have written about it, but we can’t go back. We can, however, tell some stories from those years that have not appeared in Mindfully Bertie before.
28 June 2022 turned out to be a perfect day.
Lighting a Candle for Diddley
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