2026 Diary - Page 69

4 April

Gym when I eventually got up then I took the Knoll walkers to follow the Elephant Trail at Battersea Power Station. We found all 21 of the elephants but the walkers were really slow so it took for ever. I finally got home around 7 p.m., having left home at 2 p.m.

5 April

I came across Steve on the way to the gym. He was very busy delivering Easter Eggs to the local children who'd found the painted stones yesterday, complete with Bunny outfit. He's mad!

My cold meant I wasn't really well enough to go to church so I did some delivering, house checking, plant watering etc. instead - definitely better being out in the fresh air.

I caught up with more jobs in the afternoon so I've got a lot ticked off my list today - very satisfying.

The pond seems to be very low so I gave that a few hours of drip feed from the water butts. We'll need to top up my water butt at the bottom of the garden because it's completely empty at present with no real rain forecast.

Caught up with Mum on FaceTime and Christine on the phone. Both seem OK.

6 April

By the time I'd got my paper it wasn't long before Gilda arrived and we caught the train to Grove Park where we met Mark. We walked from there, through Chinbrook Meadows, Elmstead Woods, Walden Rec and finished in Chislehurst High Street.

We returned to Orpington and met Jonathon at Masala Dabbas. Raghu had saved me a bag of coffee grounds to help protect my hostas.

I went to tennis in the evening but nobody else turned up so I practised serves for a while then gave up and came home.

7 April

Alex was in charge of the class this morning as part of her training - she did very well and we all worked hard!

I returned the fruit crate and paid for my flowers then spent most of the rest of the day at home, managing water with Jonathon. We pumped loads of water into the pond from the big water butts - the fish are now much happier.

We also filled the smaller butt near my shed and topped up those near the garage so that should see us good for a while.

I joined the Police Walk and Talk at Priory Gardens in the afternoon. Chris and Paige were there from Greenwich Wildlife Network and rescued this baby rat (I was trusted to hold it while Paige tried to catch a poorly goose but the goose was having none of it and proved it could still fly!)

I put Diane's bins out and collected some coffee grounds from Costa for the hostas (to go with those Jonathon collected this morning). That was it for today.

8 April

Gym then we had a call with Ben from Audley - like a debrief about our Kenya holiday.

I planted the broad beans and faffed about in the garden for a while, enjoying the sunshine.

I went to Knit and Natter then it was time to go to the Orpington GPO for the monthly quiz. We came 4th with 60/70. The winning team got 64 so we were quite pleased with our performance.

9 April

It was another lovely, sunny day so I went for a walk rather than the gym this morning.

It was Knoll Chit Chat day so we went to the Orpington GPO and caught up with a few of the others, and gave Benji and Arthur a friendly stroke and snuggle.

Carol said it would be too warm to take the dogs out (not sure I agree but they are her dogs) so I spent the afternoon wandering through the woods, admiring the blossom etc. This time of year is my favourite, with all the fresh greens, and the weather was perfect for walking about.

I had hardly 10 minutes to eat before it was time to take the dogs out for their walk.

I did have time to notice our tree paeony is starting to flower and admire it!

I was supposed to go to Tai Chi this evening but I decided I'd had enough exercise for one day (especially after putting coffee grounds on a few more pots and watering the hostas and hydrangeas). Time to put my feet up.

Jason delivered two half fruit boxes and we delivered Ravi's to him. Unusually, the boxes included peppers and potatoes, neither of which I eould have considered to be fruit. We can use the potatoes and I'll find a home for the peppers.

Caught up with Mum on FaceTime. She seemed pretty well and was looking forward to testing out a new duvet at bedtime.

I was astonished to see that our yellow rose at the front of the house is starting to flower. It's always early but mid-April seems even earlier than usual.

I joined Peitra, Gary, Liz and Paul for a quiz for Orpington Cat Rescue, Peitra's charity. We came last but the booby prize was quite good and the others won a couple of raffle prizes.

The quiz raised almost £400 for the charity so a successful, if late, evening.

12 April

It was raining when I got up but, unfortunately, only for a few minutes whereas we could do with a good solid day (or two) of rain.

I went to the gym then church so a normal Sunday morning.

We had lunch at the GPO. Their roasts are very good but we didn't want that much food so I had a BLT and Jonathon had a Brie and Bacon toastie - both very tasty.

I delivered the surplus fruit and veg to Diane when I returned her keys then spent the afternoon gardening. The first row of peas are now planted. The seeds I planted in trays in the shed are all coming through nicely as well so, hopefully, we'll have some veg this year.

The bluebells in our garden are just as good as those in Scadbury, especially when the afternoon sun lights them up.

Caught up with Christine whose leg seems to be much better to the point that she no longer needs help in walking Bertie.

13 April

No gym today but Gilda and I had a lovely, long walk today. We went along the Cray, bought some card for her at HobbyCraft then walked up to and through Petts Wood and Hawkwood, finally walking round Jubilee Country Park before meeting Jonathon at Cyprianos for dinner.

14 April

I got a place at circuits but Jo was suffering from her shingles jab that she had yesterday so wasn't able to join me.

Michael and I batted a tennis ball around for an hour. There were two young girls being coached by their father on the court next to us - they were really good!

I spent time in the garden in the afternoon. The Tree Paeony is now in full bloom and looking lovely. The veg seeds are coming through nicely.

15 April

Delighted to see my Blossom Walk picture in the local newspaper.

I did some house jobs and went for a walk before going to the gym.

Jonathon and I went to Dobbies to get yet more compost and four tomato plants. I planted some peas and broad beans in a tub each (each tub uses a whole bag of compost!). This is my experiment for this year.

I joined Tina, Anne, Sohail and others at Knit and Natter.

16 April

I joined George at tennis this morning. I'd met him yesterday while I was walking past the courts and he invited me to join him today so I did. We had a great time - quite well matched (unless he was being simply kind to me)

I took the dogs for their weekly walk. Carol wasn't too well but was still quite chatty.

I spent the afternoon in the garden, putting all my birdfood away, feeding the birds, cutting the grass, breaking and mending the lawnmower(!) and weeding.

Sanchari, our new next door neighbour popped round to introduce herself which was a nice surprise.

17 April

Pauline phoned today with the worst possible news. Her cancer is aggressive and has spread throughout her body so there's nothing they can do to help her. The medics haven't given her a timescale but have referred her to the team that sits between a terminal diagnosis and end of life care. She is being amazingly brave about it all and, at least, she's not feeling any pain at the moment so she can still do bits and pieces although she gets very breathless.

I went for a walk this morning to see the Cowslips on Chelsfield Rec. This is the only place locally that I'm aware that they grow in profusion and it was lovely to see them. We used to have loads of them in the fields down Nun Monkton Lane but they don't seem to be so common any more.

Jonathon and I met Derek and Maureen for lunch at Manicomio in Chelsea. Yummy food and it was good that Maureen felt well enough to come into London. Her breast cancer is making her very tired but she is recovering slowly.

I went to Tai Chi in the evening - there were quite a few people there today.

18 April

Oli still seems to be in a strange state. He's very interested in the big fir tree - I think there must be some birds nesting there. He seems to be a bit nervous but not all the time. All very odd and hopefully he'll settle down again soon.

I went to the gym for a while then spent most of the rest of the day gardening. The tomatoes are now in the greenhouse in their grow bags, the big tree bed has been tidied up a bit, the hostas are thriving nonw they have coffee grounds in their pots (but I did remove a snail today) and the clematis along the fence is starting to flower.

Nickety Nick (rescue fox) is looking much healthier but he seems to be bothered by his front right paw. There's nothing obvious from a distance and getting close up is not going to happen so we'll just need to keep an eye on him.

Had a FaceTime call with Mum. She's still stunned by Pauline's awful news but, other than that, seemed to be her normal self.

19 April

Gym then church this morning.

This afternoon, Steve invited the Knoll Active group to one of his woods, Orb Wood, to admire the bluebells. They were stunning. The walk was really short but he still provided refreshments near the end of the route. There was a good crowd, car seats were allocated successfully, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Caught up with Christine in the evening.

20 April

Gilda and I went to Hayes and Keston Commons for our walk today. It was surprisingly muddy close to the ponds.

We met Jonathon at The British Queen for dinner then caught the bus back home.

I potted out the runner beans (I did the courgettes a couple of days ago) but it's too soon to plant them outside yet. The potatoes would also be better outside but the threat of frosts linger so I'll wait a while.

Knoll Tennis was fun this evening. George and I played against Matthew and Daniel - we had an honourable draw at 5-5 before we ran out of time. Isaiah and Diana played on Court 2 - it was her first time at tennis.

21 April

I went to Tesco for Jonathon's wrap then over to Nugent Shopping Centre to get something for my dinner as well as some pies for later in the week. I caught the bus back - I think the driver had been having lessons on how to brake really, really hard and fling everyone around the bus.

22 April

I walked a long way round to go to the gym to take full advantage of the beautiful morning sunshine.

The local Wisteria is really lovely at the moment, as is the Spring greenery. The only thing that doesn't seem to be thriving this year is my Tamarisk. Perhaps it's just a bit late?

We are quite worried about Oli. He has definitely been spooked by something. He spent last night on my bed so I know he had a good night's sleep. He didn't eat his breakfast to start with but munched up his dinner and breakfast at the same time. He would only eat if I pinned the door back so he didn't feel trapped inside.

He came in later for a nice, long grooming session and something else to eat then found somewhere to settle down.

We have no idea what's caused him to change from a confident, friendly, chatty cat to a scared shadow of himself - I wish he could tell us and we hope he recovers before too long.

Jonathon and I went to Chapter One for lunch - delicious. They have a "Spring Special" menu so very reasonable. We brought our cheese course home for J's dinner tomorrow.

I went to Knit and Natter at St. John's. Two of the Squirrels were messing about with my phone so I took a screen shot from one of the videos they created to show me in action!

Our red rose is starting to flower and the yellow one is in full bloom making the front of the house look pretty.

23 April

Delivered newspapers to Andersons and the latest batch of hearts to Francis Chappell then took the dogs out for their weekly walk.

We went to Sadlers Wells to see Birmingham Royal Ballet's "Don Quixote". The tube strike didn't stop us but the Thameslink was really busy on the way there, as were the pavements. It was a bit quieter on the way home.

24 April

I had a sleep in this morning (it was midnight by the time we got home last night) so only had time to go get my newspaper before meeting up with June and the others for our trip to Brockwell Park. It's a lovely park, very open with beautiful lakes and a walled garden. I left the others having coffee and made my home otherwise it would have been too late for dinner!

I spent the afternoon in the garden, reading my book rather than doing any work! Oli sat with me for a while - I think he might be getting over his trauma a little bit because he seems calmer today.

I went to Tai Chi in the evening.

25 April

A quick trip to the gym for a bit of cycling then I took the Knoll group to Hayes and Keston Commons. I took a slightly different route than they one I'd tested with Gilda on Monday to avoid the mud round the ponds.

Jonathon and I went to Xi'an for lunch then I spent some time in the garden. I've moved the Maris Bard potatoes and three of the runner bean plants into the veg beds. I also moved two courgette plants into an outside tub - just hope we don't have frost otherwise I'll have to cover them up to protect them.

Caught up with Mum on FaceTime - she seemed OK.

The Judas tree is now in full bloom, as is the Lilac - both of them look lovely against the bright blue, spring sky.

26 April

Gym then church as usual.

Something different for the afternoon - Ginny, Fiona and I went to an Open Garden in Beckenham. They were open for St. Christopher's. The garden was pretty but quite compact with narrow paths and lots of people so it was a bit too crowded. There was nowhere to sit for a cup of tea so we decided to go to Kelsey Park as we were close by. We had our drink then walked through the park back to the station.

We've still had no rain so I had lots of watering to do before I caught up with Christine.

27 April

Ginny, Gilda, Mark and I went to the "Ramses and the Pharaohs' Gold" exhibition at Battersea this morning then had lunch at Tasha. The exhibition was very interesting and informative and lunch was yummy.

I had a quick turnaround to get to tennis this evening. George and I played against Angela and Ravi (they won 6-4). A&R left so George and I played against Matthew and Daniel. They went and we played out the last fifteen minutes. Good fun.

28 April

Did a detour to the gym, pounded on the treadmill then joined Justice's class. Jo was there so caught up with her (seems ages since I've seen her).

Once I'd had a shower and done my crossword, I checked on the plants on the shed, watered the tomatoes and fed the birds but didn't do much else for the rest of the morning

29 April

I set off to Judy's to deliver Irene's birthday present (Judy is in charge of wrapping it prettily). About half way there, Judy messaged to say she was on her way to the gym so I changed my route and met her there. It's now handed over and no longer my responsibility.

We delivered a sputum specimen to the hospital as requested.

By then, it was time to head off for train and tram to visit Margaret. She is back on chemo but bearing up remarkably well. Her neighbours seem to be taking good care of her when needed.

Rather than come home and then go into town, I caught a train from Elmers End (like old times) and joined Margarete, Liba and Norbert for dinner at Circolo Populare. Yummy as always and they all seemed impressed with the restaurant.

30 April

Went to the gym for a little while then Jonathon and I re-wired the roses that had broken free from their moorings in yesterday's heavy winds. We'd managed to get the yellow rose re-tied yesterday but the red one decided to break free just before I went out so that one had to wait until today to get fixed. It's not as high as we'd like it but it's better than being loose and blowing around.

I took the dogs out earlier today because it was forecast to get warm (did that before the roses).

Gardening was my main task for the afternoon. All the potatoes, runner beans and courgettes are now outside so I'm hoping we will have rain but not frost. Fingers crossed. I had a couple of spare courgettes so Carol B has taken those.

Jonathon photographed Chicago Blues Brothers in Bromley in the evening so Ginny and I got free tickets. Great show - they've really tightened it up since Gilda and I saw it at Dartford and, with Bromley being a proper theatre rather than a temporary tent, they could give it their full volume - made a big difference.

1 May

My main activity for today was acting as treasurer and back marker for Allison's guided walk around the City of London. We visited a lot of churches and gardens, some of which I'd not visited before. Part of the walk was like a reminder of some of the places I used to sit and have my lunch when I was working in various different parts of the City.

The walk took quite a while, partly because of the amount of information Allison shared with us and partly because of slow walkers. We raised £135 for Hillview Hollow so a successful day.

Finsbury Circus

Pepys instruments - one of several carved paving stones

3 May

I went to the gym for a little while then joined Kaleria, John and a load of others to do a litter picking session around the station. Sara and I focused on the road up to the bus station while the others cleared the tunnel, the car park and the road at the other side of the tracks. We collected bags and bags of rubbish. Steve came with very welcome refreshments towards the end.

Jonathon bought a new curry sauce mix - Malayasian Lakhsa Curry. I cooked a chicken curry using it - very tasty with Tarka Dhal for dinner.

I caught up with Christine in the afternoon - she seems fine.

Our weekend walk was at 6 p.m. this evening. We stayed local and went to check out the rhodedendrons in Petts Wood. I think they'll be in flower in another couple of weeks but there were some pretty bushes on the way there.

We came back via the newly decorated tunnel.

4 May

Gilda arrived early today because we needed to get to Chislehurst to join a few others for The Cinnamon Trust's Big Walk. We did a short walk before and a slightly longer walk after the offical (short) walk then had to make our way home from Elmstead Woods via buses because there were no trains.

We met Jonathon at Masala Dabbas for lunch.

I was delighted to see a nursing vixen in our back garden today. She looks to be in really good condition and I wonder if she was a cub here because she seems quite relaxed with us.

The Alstromaeria Orange Glory are starting to flower so the front garden will soon be ablaze with colour.

I delivered another batch of Christian Aid envelopes, duly accompanied by Oli for the first part. He soon became very interested in a shrub in a neighbouring street and let me carry on without him.

5 May

I decided to go for a walk this morning rather than go to the gym (I didn't have a space for Justice's class). Somehow, I ended up at M&S so I got lunch for us from there and caught a bus back.

Sharon asked for a tennis knockabout and I was happy to agree. We had a good time batting the balls to and fro and running around.

Our Nelly Moser Clematis is starting to flower - so dramatic.

We had a Knoll Chit Chat Gathering this afternoon. There were only seven of us but we had a good chat.

6 May

Pleased to see one of my photos in the local paper today.

Did a detour to get to the gym. Jonathon had his feet done the Blu-Lite came to talk about the lights and security cameras in the back garden. Both Danny and Jonathon have some thinking to do now.

I did a bit of gardening - watering and I planted another row of peas. It's like planting in dust, it's so dry. I'll be amazed if anything grows much this year.

I had my hair cut after dinner then went to Knit and Natter. I was the only person there to start with but it got quite busy nearer the end.

7 May

I knew it had rained overnight before I got up because a very soggy Oli came to me in the middle of the night to warm up and dry off!

It had stopped by the time I got up so I went to join George at tennis then took the dogs out for their weekly walk.

I checked out part of the Saturday walk after dinner then went to a KRA Committee Meeting in The Cricketers in the evening.

8 May

By the time I'd got my newspaper, the engineer had arrived to service the ASHPs. All seems OK (thank goodness).

I joined June and the others for a trip to Dulwich Park. Judy and Anne missed the train so they joined us when we got to the cafe.

The rhododendrons were lovely - made up for last week's walk when they weren't in flower.

Jonathon and I went to the GPO for lunch then we opened our ISAs for this year.

I did a bit of gardening / watering then Jonathon went into London to do a photo shoot and I went to Tai Chi.

While I was there, the election results for our local council candidates came in - Tony, Simon and George took the three seats available - all Conservative and all good chaps!

9 May

I went to the gym for a while then took the Knoll walkers out. As it was such a lovely day, we went a bit further than normal to enjoy the sunshine.

10 May

Gym and church as normal for a Sunday morning.

After dinner, Jonathon and I went to a local open garden / plant sale. We didn't buy any plants - we only went for the coffee/tea and cakes. The carrot cake I had was lovely but Jonathon's coffee and walnut cake was disappointing. It was all for charity so we made a donation and left.

I went via the Alternative Market at the Priory on my way home. Nothing for me to buy there but at least the rose beds were looking spectacular so I admired them before leaving.

It's much colder today and frost is forecast for the next few nights so I tucked up the potatoes and runner beans in horticultural fleece in the hope of protecting them. The beans and courgettes in tubs are now in the shed for a couple of days.

Caught up with Christine - she's having bother with the Village Hall Committee Chairman but, other than that, all's well.

11 May

I did some shopping and got my paper then Jonathon and I went to The Tower of London for a look around. The weather was a bit damp so we didn't stay too long. We'd originally gone to see how the wild flowers were this year but they weren't a feature this year. We still had a good chat with a couple of members of staff about some of the history.

We went to the Ivy for dinner - yummy as always.

Alma came earlier today so she'd nearly finished by the time we got home.

Thankfully, the rain had stopped by tennis time. There were 5 of us tonight so we played as a two and a three and mixed it up a bit. It was good fun.

12 May

I had a busy morning!

First stop - Diane's to collect some glass dishes so Peitra can pick them up from me this afternoon for Greenwich Wildlife Network.

Second stop - Circuits at the gym.

Third stop - tennis with Sharon. After all that I needed a something to eat and a pot of green tea!

I spent the afternoon in the garden. The threat of frost seems to have ended so I took all the fleece off the veg. I cut the grass paths and did some general tidying up.

I joined Ginny and Jane at The Churchill to watch Midsomer Murders.

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