Britains Blue Bells

Busy day today.....a lot of it spent stuck in traffic!

Had a good nights sleep, so was up and ready preparing a lovely piece of shoulder pork, rubbed with a paste made from garlic,ginger and red chilli, mixed with olive oil and rice wine. Then in the oven, a quick blast to get the crackling going, then low for 6 hours to cook slowly:-)

Off to pick mum up.......firstly encountered slow traffic as the dual carriageway was down to one lane, the road sweepers were cleaning the central reservations! Then further along, signs saying road ahead closed until Monday morning, so all traffic being diverted! I knew the diversion wouldn't lead me to the motorway, so an about turn and back up the way I'd just come, until I could head off towards Manchester City Centre! I then encountered a charity bike ride, literally 100s of cyclists dressed in pink, with pink balloons, I'm guessing in support of breast cancer, so that slowed everything up. Eventually got onto the motorway into Manchester, but at the end a long queue materialised!! I crawled all along the by pass, mancunian way, then realised it was the Great Manchester Run today, so lots of ancillary routes were closed! Hurrah, on the home run, got off onto the roads leading towards mums, when I hit yet another tailback......at which point I remembered Man City were at home for an early kick off. You couldn't write it could you........somebody was definitely yanking my chain today!!!!
Having left home at 11 to go and get mum for 12.......the circa 45 mins journey took 1 hour and 50 minutes!!!!!! To say I was a little stressed when I arrived is a bit of an understatement lol

Anyhow.......got back home, checked on the pork, looking lovely......hub had been busy, cut both lawns, run the Hoover round and cleaned the downstairs loo :-)

Mum was in good form, we had a light lunch.....watched a bit of the VE Day celebrations, an episode of Googlebox, which we all had a good laugh at, so funny!

Dinner was sumptuous pork, with crackling, cabbage with onions and sage, baked in the oven, runner beans, roast potatoes, gravy and apple sauce........nothing left on anyone's plate, so I think it was a success ;-) mums taken home some of the pork for tomorrow. We dropped her back home around 8 and got back just before 9.

It was still light so we had a cuppa and a 5 minute wander in the garden. Saw a newt in the pond :-)

I'd decided earlier today that I would try and blip something that was linked to VE Day, but with one thing and another, I just didn't get the chance......so I thought these British blue bells from the garden would be appropriate. After all, they are a very British sign of spring. They have self seeded from nearby I'm assuming, as I definitely haven't planted them, now there's a bit of luck :-)

Hope our trip to youngest son's tomorrow isn't as fraught as Friday's journey, nor today's :-/