A Good Read

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult

and Jennifer Finney Boylan
   

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life - living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher - was upended when her husband revealed a darker side to his character. She never imagined she would end up back in Adams, her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father's beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is also familiar with starting over. When she and her mom relocate to the same town they both hope it will be a fresh start. And for a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for Lily, and Lily can’t help but fall for him too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can trust him completely.

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realises he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.

I enjoyed this but it is sad.
   

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x

Aussie Mother's Day

These flowers arrived today from my darling Aussie daughter and her partner.

They are beautiful and the stocks smell divine.

And inside the box are scrumptious marbled ruby and white chocolate blondies

😋

   

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x 

Feeling Sorry For Myself

Well dear reader I am bruised and battered after a nasty fall yesterday. I misjudged a kerb and all ten stone of me slammed down onto the pavement. A lovely young lady came to my rescue and stayed with me until my daughter arrived. The first thing I thought was "I've broken my glasses, that's £300 to replace them"! The left  side of my face took the brunt of the fall and it is a mess. My eye socket is full of blood and around the eye is a kaleidoscope of red blue and purple. My cheek and chin are also bruised. Our wonderful NHS took good care of me with a CT scan which thankfully confirmed nothing is broken. The bruising will go, I have some cream to prevent infection and the eye clinic said the blood will disperse in about two weeks. My arms and legs are aching as well.

It wasn't too bad at first but then I woke up to this.

My daughter said I shouldn't worry about it being an age related fall, it was an accident, and she is right. I didn't feel dizzy or disoriented beforehand, it was just a clumsy accident.

oOo

On a lighter note, last Thursday my U3a group marked the VE day 80th anniversary with a visit from none other than Sir Winston Churchill, as portrayed by Tony Harris.

He told us all about Churchill's life. He's very good.

The hall was packed

The sandwiches and cakes were plentiful and delicious.

∼ Be safe and well, particularly safe∼ 

Polly x 

VE Celebration

On Monday, to mark the 80th anniversary of VE day we had a wonderful celebration in our village hall. 

One of our village committee ladies made these lovely posters for outside the hall. The afternoon teas were sold out but people could still come along to

enjoy a drink at the bar and to hear our wonderful singer.

The hall was decorated

The tables looked lovely with pretty flowers, flags

and these cute aeroplanes which the children enjoyed playing with

They also had these goodie bags containing a toy, sweets, a poppy,

a Tunnocks tea cake, and a flag to colour.

Time for a cuppa before our guests arrived

We serving girls did an excellent job.

I'm the one not blurred out!

The stage was set

for our wonderful singer Beverley

Paintings by our talented Art Group organiser

there was lots of memorabilia

Great food, great company and great entertainment, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x 

An OK Read

The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish
Oh this was tedious. It was a fairly good plot, which I quickly picked up on, but at 457 pages, a lot of the dialogue was superfluous.
It's summer when Elm Hill Lido opens, having stood empty for years. For Natalie Steele - wife, mother, teacher - it offers freedom from the tightly controlled routines of work and family. Especially when it leads her to Lara Channing, a charismatic former actress with a lavish bohemian lifestyle, who seems all too happy to invite Natalie into her elite circle.
Soon Natalie is spending long days at the pool, socialising with new friends and basking in a popularity she didn't know she'd been missing. Real life, and the person she used to be, begins to feel very far away.
But is such a change in fortunes too good to be true? Why are dark memories of a summer long ago now threatening to surface? And, without realising, could Natalie have been swept dangerously out of her depth?

   

∼ Happy Reading∼ 

Polly x

St George's Day

Happy St George's Day April 23rd

  

St George, the patron saint of England is known as a heroic knight in shining armour slaying a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x 

Hot Cross Buns

🐤 Happy Easter 🐤

daffodils + sunshine = happiness

"Hot cross buns, hot cross buns

one a penny two a penny hot cross buns.

If you have no daughters give them to your sons

one a penny two a penny hot cross buns".

The nursery rhyme "One a penny, two a penny, Hot Cross Buns" emerged from the tradition of street sellers hawking Hot Cross Buns. It was first published in "The Christmas Box" in London in 1798.

The St Alban Bun is thought to be the original Hot Cross Bun which was first produced on the site of St Albans Cathedral by a medieval monk, Brother Thomas Rocliffe. According to "Ye Book of St Albans", in 1361 Thomas “caused a quantity of small sweet spiced cakes, marked with a cross, to be made”.
The cakes, which were given away on Good Friday, “so pleased the palates of the people who were the recipients that they became talked about, and various were the attempts to imitate the cakes of Brother Rocliffe all over the country, but the recipe of which was kept within the walls of the Abbey”.

In 1592 hot cross buns were briefly banned in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The ban was not intended to be a permanent restriction, but rather a measure to ensure the buns were not seen as a replacement for the traditional Easter bread. The queen and her court considered them "too special to be eaten any other day" and issued a decree prohibiting their sale except on specific holidays, such as Good Friday and Christmas.

I wonder what Brother Thomas would make of the array of hot cross buns produced today.

Apple and cinnamon, triple chocolate

salted caramel, rhubarb and custard

M&S has a bun for everone!

There are ‘luxury’, ‘very berry’ and ‘extra fruity’ versions. There are buns filled with fudge, and I saw some Kit Kat ones in Australia.

It's enough to send Brother Rocliffe fleeing back to the safety of St Albans Abbey!

Just give me a nice traditional sticky fruit bun 😋

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x 

Holiday Round Up

I've been home for just over a week. I had good flights, even the 14 hour one passed very well - I slept for a few hours, watched 3 films, read my book, did some puzzles, and of course eating. 

oOo

The last of my holiday photos. We love markets, and the West End market is a big one. Lots of food stalls and every other kind of stall you could imagine.

Books

Cheese

Just about everything you need for your pet dog or cat

ties and dicky bows                           hats

mushrooms

plants

salami

sunglasses, or as they call them in Oz, and I now call them - sunnies

fruit & veg

delicious breads and pastries

and even a psychic

I'm missing my daughter but we all talk and post on Whatsapp, and it's nice spending time with my eldest daughter.

∼ Be safe and well∼ 

Polly x