Lockdown week 2 - Sunday

Going through the archives again, I came across this picture of my mother in her parents' back garden, with her friend Suzanne, playing table tennis. And just generally messing around. It's a terrible photo technically but I like to see her young and having fun. Actually it was probably taken when she was on leave from her job in London during the Blitz, which makes the carefree scene even more poignant for me.

Then there's this, which is the house I spent my teens and early twenties in, but long before I was around. It had been a farm house, surrounded - not surprisingly - by farmland. This photo is of the back of the house. By the time we moved there, this field had houses in it.

And here are my dad and his sisters. He became an engineer and later the financial controller of a large manufacturing firm. The older of the sisters became a doctor and worked in Pakistan, and the little sister was the one mentioned in all the references in my previous post - she was a teacher and for a while a church worker.  Neither aunt had any children, though the older one was married. They lived to 87, 89 and 93 and were all unusually energetic people.

There was an article in today's paper about foraging for various things, including nettles, and cooking them. I liked this advice for anyone considering making nettle salad.

And spring continues to spring. Pieris Forest Flame...

Magnolia Stellata...

 drumstick primula...

tulips and forget-me-not. All very cheering.

We walked on the big golf course again. It's so lovely, in current circumstances, to focus on far vistas,

such as our city hill, Arthur's Seat,

the sea, and the hills beyond.