A very long day

I set off just after 8am for the long drive to Bournemouth. It gets busy on the outskirts of Poole and then the two conurbations merge, a sea of cars and people. A trip to the chemist and surgery for my in-laws and then a wait for the assessment person/s who never arrived as promised at midday. My father in law rang the surgery at 2.30 only to be told the visit was now going to take place on Tuesday at 11.30. This is the third different day he has been told. I had come today especially to be there while the visit was in place to be another pair of ears. My brother in law arrived soon afterwards and after a visit into a very busy town later, I left Bournemouth at 5pm to travel to see my eldest son, daughter in law and grandsons in Lymington, all of whom I hadn’t seen since just after Christmas. The day got better as we visited the very old pub where both grandsons work part time, mainly behind the bar and we had a lovely relaxed meal outside.
My daughter in law wanted to know what this flower was. It had a very long stem and on looking at it the next day I realised it is a dahlia but didn’t realise they can grow to over six feet. It’s a very poor shot but difficult to photograph as there were another couple of diners next to it. The day hadn’t finished as after we got back, my son and I set off with their golden retriever for a lovely long walk and arrived home at 10.45. The sunset had been glorious reflecting on the sea, I hadn’t taken a camera or phone, and listening to all the seabirds as they settled down for the night was quite special. I finally turned the light off at 11.45. At least a better end to the day than the wasted visit during the day.