Up sticks

When my parents first moved into their current house a few years back, there was a plentiful supply of twigs, sticks and branches left in the woodland garden to create a den.

I think it was one of the first things we did on our first stay here. The den stood the test of time for a little while, but as the parents grew into the house and garden, it was decided that the den needed moving. A couple of years ago, we worked together to move it to its new location (back and to the left), where it has weathered a further test of time, various storms and, judging by the flapping of wings/general screeching when I approached, a family of pheasants.

The fact that it remains standing is a testament to the craftmanship, love and care that was put into its (re)construction.

Had quite an emotional reunion with my sister today too, so nice to be able to hold a proper conversation with her whilst the kids played in the hot tub and charged about the place. The Eldest got to see her other grandparents with a social distanced and masked up garden meet.

Whilst they caught up, I picked up some shopping and thought I would visit The Old Court Theatre (home of Chelmsford Theatre Workshop which I blipped about the other day) and man alive, the memories once again came flooding back - see extra. As a point of interest the theatre faces Chelmsford Prison which was used for some internal shots in the Ronnie Barker classic; Porridge.

Another lovely day finished up with the first barbecue of the year complete with Grandad’s cheeseburgers and Nanny’s delicious tzatziki.

The sight of The Youngest curled up with her grandad on the outside sofa and reading to him from her new book really warmed the cockles!

Having now stopped the cut and thrust of the day to day, the drop in adrenaline has resulted in me being hit by a tsunami of tiredness and I feel like I could sleep for days!

Fat chance.