One Hundred!
One Hundred!
Bertie: “Stone the crows and strike a light mate. One Hundred? Are you sure?”
Bobby: “Yes Bertie. This is your… ONE HUNDRETH BLOG! A century of stories. A week late after last week’s headache.” (Trevor is getting a little full of himself. More later).
Bertie: “Crikey! I wonder what Diddley would make of it?”
Bobby: “Well I can tell you that she knew, like all of us, she would meet her maker one day. More than anything she hoped that she would not be forgotten.”
Bertie: “Fat chance of that mate!”
This 100th blog is spread over two weeks, centred on where it all started. Spitalfields. The National Garden Scheme’s Spitalfields Open Gardens (see 31 Fournier Street) has been featured by the Gentle Author. All the gardens are behind the houses and you have to walk through them to the gardens. Here’s his take on it:
His student Bobby has a rather different take, dominated by me. The Bear that he created as Mindfully Bertie. And has now given rise to one hundred blogs!
Townhouse Fournier Street
Townhouse above which the course was held that saw the creation of Mindfully Bertie.
Uncle Dick.
Uncle Dick.
Dear Friends
Posh Pea Ice Pack!
Today is our ONE HUNDRETH BLOG. Or would have been. I am sick as a parrot, and decidedly Uncle Dick. The symptoms are… my bleedin ‘ead is coming orf! (more…)
The Ballet.
The Ballet.
Swan Lake live at the cinema.
I knew when he told me he was going to the ballet it would be a problem. It always is. Not Covent Garden, but a packed Dorking Halls. The Royal Opera House screening live to 1,500 cinemas in 35 countries. (more…)
Queen Mary’s Rose Garden.
Queen Mary’s Rose Garden. Regent’s Park, London.
Queen Mary’s Rose Garden in Regents Park is a world-famous garden named after the wife of King George V. In 1932, when Queen Mary’s Gardens opened to the general public, the first superintendent planted a rose garden, which was completed in 1934. (more…)
Cuckoo.
Cuckoo.
A fine example.
“Cuckoo, cuck-ooh, cuck-oooh…” Was Bobby half asleep? Maybe he was a little “cuckoo” himself! The days of waiting for the first “cuc … koo”, to confirm that summer really was here, seemed a distant memory. Hearing that evocative, unmistakable call again would be wonderful. Especially from his cosy bed at Laurel Cottage. The village is close to farmland and the Surrey Hills and we heard them every year until recently. For these birds have suffered a catastrophic decline, as detailed later. (more…)
Rob and the 840 to Whitby.
Rob and the 840 to Whitby.
This Is Rob:
Rob.
This is the 840 to Whitby:
The bus.
Rob is nice.
Bobby can be nice, but needs to try harder. (more…)
Halcyon Days.
Halcyon Days.
Do you have a favourite word? Mine is serendipity. If I can remember how to spell it!
Bobby has a favourite word too. Halcyon. A word that always uplifts his spirits. The halcyon days of youth maybe. Or of summer. Or maybe autumn. In the countryside and in life. But for him the dazzling flash of iridescent blue along the river will lift his spirits to the heavens. For the halcyon is also the kingfisher.
Kingfisher.
Good Thinking
Good Thinking
It’s a strange thing, bereavement. You may think “you have got over it”. ”Moved on”. You would have thought that would be “good thinking“. Those around you may think how “well you are doing” and “making the best of life”. Then something quite insignificant happens and you realise that it’s not quite as simple as that. Such was Bobby’s experience a few days ago.
The glorious sun, shorts and even suntan lotion of Dunsborough Park (www.dunsboroughpark.com) had given way to rain, turning the heating back on and a new unwelcome friend. Gordon. Like “Enery Ernia” and piles, Gordon is a condition that seriously undermines the sufferer while amusing the general populace. And here is why…
Gout!
Once associated with the high living and self indulgence of rich ne’er-do-wells and the like in previous centuries. Gout is no fun at all. Particularly in Laurel Cottage. Once the world centre of red wine drinking and now alcohol free. Ha ha ha. Ouchhhh. (more…)
Frank’s Walk.
Frank’s Walk.
The fun and laughter of the Teddy Bears’ Picnic was wonderful. But a quiet and pensive mood has its devotees as well. A time to think about life and the world we live in. A time to appreciate the beauty of that world and those who have shared it with us. And enjoy Frank’s Walk.
Sonnet 18. William Shakespeare.
Diddley – on the Walk 2014.
Teddy Bears’ Picnic
Welcome to the 2018 Teddy Bears’ Picnic. The sun will shine and we shall have fun.
7 May 12-4pm.
And we certainly did enjoy the Teddy Bears’ Picnic. On a glorious May Bank Holiday Monday, the cricket field at Abinger Hammer in Surrey became a sea of colour, picnics and teddy bears. The River Tillingbourne flows right through the middle. Just a few inches deep, it is the ultimate “catch a stickleback and put it back” stream. Amazingly, with so many human beings invading their habitat, there were lots of sticklebacks, and other tiny fish, in jam jars and buckets. (more…)