Freedom day, travel plans and car troubles.

Here we are again - that fortnight flew by!

The weather was so changeable in early July. On Wednesday 7th it was humid and warm but mostly overcast. I took the train to Harlington to meet the Ivel Valley group for a walk to Pulloxhill and Sharpenhoe.  I walked  about 8 miles as I walked to the station; there and back and from the station; there and back. That was the first time I'd been on a train since our first lock down in March 2020. There were almost no people on the train and of course I wore my mask; it did feel slightly strange. No, I'll correct that and say that it felt 'normal' and as there was not a lot that was still 'normal' at that point -  was why it felt strange. If you see what I mean...

Obviously I didn't wear this on the walk but changed into it when I got home. The skirt was an impulse buy in QD last year, I think, as it was only a fiver. I've had the white tee shirt for ever and the black and white jacket by Next was a 1.00 rail find last year. The black pumps came from The Cat's Protection League.

Earrings from Sainsburys; beads charity shopped. I didn't bother with bangles or rings as my hands were still swollen after the walk. We went through a path that was completely overgrown for about 200 metres and had to hack our way through. I used my secateurs to cut things back; some used their walking poles to bash things down. Anyway, we all got cut or scratched and we all got stung by nettles! Both my hands and forearms were full of stings. I just ignored them as eventually they stop tingling and go away. Nettle stings are part and parcel of walking in the countryside and it's usually my hands that get stung the most.

As we were hacking our way through the undergrowth it was lucky someone spotted this and didn't crush it to death.  It's a rather small bird; if you look carefully you can see it at the top of the above photo. I would guess a young female blackbird as they often have speckled chests; or if not it's a thrush. I think it was brooding some eggs as it stayed put and was probably quite annoyed at a bunch of noisy humans disturbing her nesting place! If it was a fledgling that had fallen from the nest; the best thing to do was to leave it where it was as one of the parents might retrieve it. 

We stopped halfway for a break on the walk and I took photos of Chicory (left) I've never seen it grow as tall as this before and on the bottom right is 'Hedge Wound-wort'.

The promised afternoon rain didn't happen and I spent the afternoon catching up with blog land and reading. I also had a wander round and tidy up in the garden, too. I still hadn't heard anything about my car at this point. In the evening we watched more episodes of 'Pakt'. When I went to bed I was kept awake until about 1 am in the morning with cars hooting and beeping around the streets as England had got through to the semi-finals of the European Cup.

Here's what was happening in the garden:

OH bought the Nicotiana and planted it it in the planters (top). I told him it will grow to be quite tall, but I don't think he believed me and he's 'waiting and seeing'! On the dining room window sill there are two green peppers; some Busy Lizzies and some House Leeks. Can you see my sheep skull on the left, found when out walking with my daughter earlier this year. Those branches to the right are from the Wisteria which is 8/9 years old and has only ever had one flower on it. It's days are numbered, I think.

The Aquilegia flowered again but it seems to be blooming only one bloom at a time (top left). The Lupin has finally produced a spike (top right). Bottom left; Zinnias and bottom right; two different coloured Fuchsias in one of my junk shop pots -   both are at the front. We have two quite large Fuchsias at the back; one of which is several years old.

Top left; a pink blotchy Mimulus (we also have an orange one). Top right; the Nemesia has gone mad. Bottom left; the Alium heads are turning purple; this little yellow plant pops up all over the garden both front and back; it's Corydalis and my neighbours's front garden is full of it.

Gazania - which I moved to the front.

Another muggy day on Thursday and still no news of the car. I walked to Lidl in the morning and took a taxi home with the shopping. It was all done by 11 am and I did two washes and hung both of them outside praying it wouldn't rain later when I was at the swimming pool.

Shoes bought online this year everything else charity shopped. The trousers are the black linen ones I found in Aylesbury; they're by M&S; the tunic is by Laura Brook and was found in an Irish charity shop in 2014. The cardigan was a 1.00 rail find last year.

All jewellery charity shopped.

Lidl had some tiny Chrysanthemums for sale so I bought two wee pots and planted them up for the front.

Aren't they sweet?

I swam another 45 laps in the afternoon and the pool was not at all crowded. I wondered if this was the way things would go once we got to 'Freedom Day' on 19th July; would we still have to book in advance? Would we finally be able to have a shower? I got a call from the garage to say the car should be ready by Wednesday; they'd stripped the engine and sent the head gasket off to be inspected. My cousin Linda sent me a message to say we could now travel to Ireland so I spent time in the evening looking at ferry sailing dates. I had already applied for a Green Card from my insurer. As we are no longer in the EU we have to have this card to drive in Europe. My EHIC (European Heath Insurance Certificate) card had expired so I also applied for a GHIC (Global Health Insurance Certificate) card which is what replaced the EHIC card once Brexit happened. I also packed up a bag of clothing that would come to Ireland with me and stay there permanently; part of my caravan wardrobe!

Another very muggy and hot day on Friday but no sun. OH had taken the day off.

New things in the garden on Friday:

Left; Coreopsis in a small bucket from Poundland. If I'm not mistaken this is the one we bought from a local garden in Bedford when it was 'Open Garden's' weekend a couple of years ago; or it's possible it was bought last year - that's why I now label all the plants! On the right is the newly opened rose which was a Mother's Day present from my daughter in 2020. It was meant for indoors but we planted it outside and it flourished last year.

Dress by M&S; bought when I did the shopping yesterday. Lidl is just around the corner from the Salvation Army shop so I had to have a quick browse. It had been reduced to 1.00. The trousers are by Zara and were also charity shopped. Clarks sandals brand new with tags bought recently from a local charity shop but can't remember where!

All jewellery charity shopped.

I decided to have a day of rest on Friday and not go for a walk. Instead I went to get my eyebrows waxed and tinted in town and had a rummage in the Bedford town charity shops. My feet were killing me by the time I'd finished. I found a Fred Vargas book I hadn't read (yippee!) a book of poetry called the 'The Rattle Bag' by Seamus Heaney and a glass and silver bowl for my hoop earrings. I was looking for small picture frames as I bought some lovely cards with old railways posters on them from QD last week.  I need 5 altogether and will need to keep looking as I found none. I also went to QD today and bought a new cup; in green this time as my old one (turquoise) had a big chip in it. On the way back home I stopped at the food charity and bought some chrysanthemums and miniature gladioli for my weekly floral display.

Saturday was a free day for me; no grandchildren or responsibilities. I had a vague idea of going for a walk at some point in the day.  I started the day by walking round the garden and making an inventory of all the plants and trees and then did the same for the front. There were 117 plants in the back garden and 33 in the front making a total of 150! No more plants need to be bought for quite a while. Are you listening OH? A few weeks back I also made a list of which plants were perennials so we know what will come back next year and what just needs uprooting and throwing away. The two most plentiful plants were Dianthus x 9 and Geraniums x 8.

OH was going to visit his mum in London in the afternoon so I decided to go with him. While he spent time with his mum who is bed bound now (she's 97) I thought I'd have a bit of a wander and a rummage. I could hop on and off buses with my bus pass so off we set. It rained several times on the way there but London itself was hot and humid. As we were leaving the motorway I spotted this 'Come on England' sign and just further on was this Chinese Cash and Carry - on the North Circular Road. It's been an icon for years and such an unexpected sight in gritty north west London...

This was my outfit. All charity shopped. White plimsolls/pumps by New Look; trousers by Papaya (they've gone in the charity shop bag - I didn't like the material) top by Jaeger bought at Barnardo's last week; and the white linen kimono had no label. What a bugger to iron!

All jewellery charity shopped.

OH dropped me off at Cricklewood Broadway where I found 2 charity shops; I bought a blue Trilby type hat for 3.00. I continued walking to Kilburn High Road where I bought a book and then continued walking until I reached West Hampstead. I found a necklace, two picture frames and a book there. If I had had enough time I would have continued to Golders Green but by then it was 4.30 pm and  the charity shops would have been closed. I hopped on a bus to Cricklewood and walked to Brent Cross where I caught a bus to Harlesden and met up with OH. I walked about 6 miles in total so felt I'd got some exercise at least. We got home about 8 pm and after having something to eat started watched the second series of 'The Pakt'.

I went for a long walk on Sunday morning of 9.3 miles. I walked to the village of Cardington along the Great River Ouse and back into Bedford. I saw several fields of this purple flower and could smell its very pleasant scent from quite far. I thought at first it was Flax but you can see below it looks nothing like flax. Google Lens informed me it was Lacy Phacelia or Blue or Purple Tansy. Apparently, it is very attractive to all sorts of pollinators so well done to the land owner for planting it. It was an overcast day but warm and humid. I was pretty sweaty and tired when I got home but Sunday duties of housework and cooking the dinner kept me busy until 6 pm; when I collapsed on the sofa and stayed put until bedtime! Yes, I sort of watched the match at least until the end but couldn't face the extra 30 minutes and went to bed. Both grandsons and OH were watching and I could tell by the yells of joy or anguish what was going on. Middle grandson was devastated by the result; youngest grandson wasn't too bothered and said he had thought that Italy would win anyway...

For the second day in a row I wore pink. Everything was charity shopped. The linen trousers were bought at Barnardo's last week and are by Pomodoro; the top by QED and the pink kimono was by James Lakeland. Beige suede clogs by New Look via Vinted.

All jewellery charity shopped.

I walked grandson to school on Monday morning and set off for Barnardo's catching the bus from the bus station. It was just the old manager and me; she will be covering the shop a few days a week until a replacement manager has been found. I was on the till and hanging and tagging clothes most of the time I was there. I bought 2 more picture frames whilst there and now had the 5 frames I needed for my framing project.

Shoes from Sainsburys retail; everything else from charity shops. I bought this jacket from Oxfam in Kilburn a few years ago for 2.00; the blue linen top is by Monsoon and bought in a Co. Longford charity shop  last year; the white jeans by Next are so old I can't remember where I got them from.

 Earrings from Bedford Market all other jewellery charity shopped. In the afternoon I walked into town to pick up some reservations from the library. It was almost back to normal in there; you could browse the shelves and take out books. However, you still had to wear a mask and sanitise your hands and sign in with your contact details. I was the only person in there on Monday afternoon. It will be interesting to see next week if anything has changed further. I made a cauliflower, chickpea and kale curry for dinner; OH had his with chicken wings.

Tuesday saw the Lupin finally flower; it seemed to have taken forever.

Sweet peas from the garden. They smelled amazing.

I spent the whole time at the food bank making up hygiene packs. I made up 66 in total. 46 for single/couples and 20 for families. We are currently out of shampoo and hand wash. When this happens and if they are essential items the food bank buy them from the cash and carry. A few weeks ago we were low on washing up liquid so the manager went to the cash and carry and bought some. When the driver turned up from collecting the donations from the supermarkets I rifled through them looking for shampoo but some packs had to go without.

All jewellery charity shopped. I bought the earrings from Oxfam, Co. Sligo, Ireland.

Everything charity shopped. Skirt by Rapp, top by Papaya and lace jacket by Roman. Yellow shoes bought in a Devon charity shop years ago. I walked to the food bank but got a lift home as it was threatening to rain and I'd forgotten my umbrella. I went for a swim in the afternoon and did 45 laps or 1.5 km. For the third week running the pool had a lot fewer people. I look forward to seeing what happens next week. 

I said a while I go I wanted to have a go at making my own earrings as I had all the equipment I needed. This was my first and so far, only attempt. I just don't seem to have the time or I forget and then it's too late in the day to start. Maybe more of a winter pastime?

These were beads from a lovely necklace I had; I dropped it on the floor and it broke. The beads reminded me of Liquorice All Sorts. The glass and silver lidded dish was bought last Friday from Marie Curie for my hoop earrings.

I wasn't able to walk with my group on Wednesday as I couldn't get to the start place in time. OH phoned the garage for me and they said I would get the car back back on Friday. Finger's crossed. I got up at my leisure, pottered about the house and garden; dead heading the plants that needed it. Then after breakfast and getting ready I went into town to collect more reservations from the library and to buy bread. It was very warm and sunny; I thought about going for a walk but decided to wait until the evening when it was cooler.

Shoes bought online. Trousers and top both charity shopped. Top by New Look. I usually wear yellow with these trousers and thought red would make a nice contrast. 

All jewellery charity shopped. I spent much of the afternoon in the garden reading under the shade of the parasol and watching the birds. I took advantage of the good weather and hung a wash out. Tomorrow I will have been without  my car for two weeks and I haven't really missed it. Yes, I've missed out on going to see my aunt and sister-in-law; I missed being able to pop to one of the big supermarkets when I needed something and I missed it for bringing the weekly shopping home. Not having the car has stopped me going for a rummage somewhere as well and saved me money. I think if I had to go without a car on a permanent basis I'd cope but it does make life easier and saves so much time...I opted out of an evening walk and instead got stuck into one of the reservations I picked up from the library. All 3 books were non-fiction; one about the history of knitting in the UK; one a nature diary and the third one about graveyards in the UK. The 2 books I returned were a non-fiction book about Hope Bourne who lived a self sufficient life on Exmoor for many years; and another Fred Vargas book in the series about her detective Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg. July was shaping up to be a non fiction month...

Thursday was overcast but still warm. I went to Lidl to do the shopping and took a taxi home. I unpacked it all, made some flapjacks  which I left cooling while I went for a swim. I managed 42 laps. I didn't bother to take an outfit photo. I wore a beige and white linen top with beige trousers (both charity shopped) - practical for getting changed and dressed again but not particularly interesting...

Friday was scorching! I woke up quite late as I was awake for several hours when it was still dark. I almost got up to make a cup of tea and have a read but must have drifted off as dawn was breaking. I usually sleep well but I had the car on my mind. Well, the news was not good. I wouldn't get the car back until Tuesday (that's the easy part) and the cost was - an awful lot double what I had expected. I also discovered that cousin Marian wouldn't be coming out to Ireland this year; also OH wouldn't get any 'summer' holiday until September. Although you could travel freely to Ireland from 19th July from the UK; we thought long and hard about it and OH and I agreed we would go to Ireland together in September and return in September staying for about 2 weeks only. Usually, I would travel on my own and stay for about 6 - 8 weeks and return with OH. Taking into account the financial considerations with the cost of car  repairs; this was the best option. Hello, Ireland I'll see you in September! I am looking forward to spending August in the UK as since 2014 I've spent every August in Ireland. I'm also looking forward to wearing my summer clothes (usually a bit too chilly in Ireland to wear them much in August) and to spending time with daughter, grandsons and cousin Marian.

All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings which were from eBay.

Trousers by Phool; linen tunic by Piera Celini (it's years old) and shoes by Hotter. All charity shopped.

I walked to Sainsbury's in the morning to buy some items and after hanging out some towels to dry in the sun; I decided some retail therapy was in order. I caught the bus to Kempston and went for a rummage. The plan was to walk back. It was very hot and in the end I caught the bus back again but not before walking around for at least an hour and a half. Did I buy anything? I bought a  turquoise BNWT maxi skirt by Colini for 4.00 from the Wood Green Animal Charity shop and a yellow and black necklace from the Daycare Hospice. I also visited Keech; Barnardo's and The Cat's Protection League where I bought nothing. Middle Grandson came to stay in the evening for a few days. He's been staying regularly since he broke up from school at the end of May; he's on his gaming computer most of the the time so apart from feeding him I hardly know he's there!

Saturday was another scorching hot day. My daughter and I went for 8.5 mile walk at 9am and I was feeling the heat so much; that instead of walking home from her estate where the walk ended; I got the bus - the one that drops me outside my door! I was so grateful for my bus pass... I spent much of the  day pottering about between the house and the garden and just wore my kaftan for coolness. There had been some more developments in the garden:

The last of our 3 roses bloomed. Unfortunately it doesn't have any scent at all. I discovered the Galliardia (top right - last year's plant) hidden behind the strawberry plants and moved it into a sunnier spot. The second set of Alliums have bloomed and the bees are constantly toing and froing (middle right). Bottom right; the first of our Antirrhinums planted into the ground as opposed to planted in a container; they're just by the bird feeder station. Finally; bottom left the Buddleia bloomed and reminded me why I bought it in the first place; the butterflies love it.

I woke to yet another extremely hot day on Sunday.

Skirt by Nomads; top by Per Una and green shoes; all charity shopped. The shoes were charity shopped in Cornwall when we were there in April.

Jacket by M&S; 1.00 rail somewhere.

It was too hot to do housework. The window boxes at the front were looking a bit past their best; they had been filled with Dianthus. OH agreed the Nicotiana was too bushy and tall for the planter and as we had two gone over Geums; we decided to visit a garden centre recommended to me by Lynne at the Food Bank. Called 'Cherry Gardens Centre' and based in the village of Poddington just over the border in Northants about 12 miles away. It was a really nice place with plenty of reasonably priced plants and loads of other things too. We'll definitely be going back there. We had a very happy time browsing and bought as replacements for the window boxes some Bacopa; a Scaevola or 'Fan Flower' and some more Calibrachoa; all in shades of purple, lavender and pink. I hope they make a good as show as the Dianthus did. I had Bacopa in a side window box last year and it did very well indeed. I also managed to pick up a well established Euphorbia for 2.99. You may remember a couple of years back; I dug one up growing alongside a footpath at the back of the Great Denham golf course but it didn't cope with the uprooting.  I also chose a Helichrysum for a small metal pot I had which was crying out for some plants in it! We also picked up Agastache Morello to replace the Salvia Sebastian we bought at Anglesey Abbey last year which had not done at all well with the leaves turning brown. OH chose some Begonias for the planters and some Mint. I spent the rest of the day in the garden sitting under the shade of the parasol supervising (!) OH planting up our new additions and listening to the droning of bees and the bird sounds whilst writing my blog and updating my plant list. I love the sounds of the swifts screaming high up in the heavens and I always imagine they're having such fun. I picked six almost ripe gooseberries from our bush and ate them; I love gooseberries. Have you noticed how rarely supermarkets sell gooseberries these days? OH cooked dinner which was a nice change. Middle grandson went home and youngest grandson arrived to stay over. Having finished watching 'The Pakt' series 2; we enjoyed watching 'Baptiste' on Sunday evening and will be watching future episodes on I Player throughout the coming week. Talking of which...

Monday was freedom day! No need for mask wearing (unless on public transport); no social distancing; night clubs reopening; no restrictions on gatherings inside or outside.

I wore this to the charity shop on Freedom day. Skirt by Colini bought from the Wood Green Animal Shelter in Kempston last week; green jacket 1.00 rail somewhere; sandals by Clarks bought in a sale 10 years ago!

I wore my mask on the bus but didn't need to wear one in the shop; for which I was truly thankful - especially in the very high temperatures - 28-30 degrees today. The shop may be air conditioned but the back where the sorting and processing takes place was not. In the shop we still had hand sanitiser for customer use but masks were not compulsory; we had also removed the 2 metre social distancing markers on the floor. The perspex 'sneeze' guard remained in place at the front of the till.

All jewellery charity shopped except the ring from Sainsbury's; bought a long time ago.

This is a close up of the print in the skirt - I love it. This unusual striated Sweet Pea popped up on Monday.

A lot of people were still wearing their masks outside, I noticed on the way home despite the restrictions being lifted. I stopped at the food charity and bought some Sunflowers and some Lisianthus.

Top left; another success in the garden Lewisia Cotyledon. The hydrangeas; bottom left were from the garden.

Yet another boiling hot day on Tuesday. I did the usual at the Food Bank; packing the toiletries away and making up hygiene bags. I dressed for coolness:

Everything charity shopped. The skirt is actually one of those elasticated, sleeveless dresses; it's from Clockhouse which was a C&A brand back in the day; t shirt by Primarni bought for 50p at Barnardo's on Monday and the black pumps are New Look via The Cat's Protection League.

All jewellery charity shopped. Look, make up melting and I'd only just applied it...there were thunderstorms and rain forecast for the afternoon. I hoped so; it might help to cool us down a bit! I went for a swim managing 42 lengths; 1.3km. I didn't wear my mask when I went in and no one asked me to. It was surprisingly busy; probably because the schools had broken up and there were a gang of teenagers in the slow lane so everyone moved over to the middle...we were able to have a shower afterwards which was great.

I've just picked up my car and paid the bill - ouch! It felt strange to be driving after a gap of almost 3 weeks but it felt good. I'll see you in a fortnight in the mean time take care of yourselves and think twice about going clubbing....!!