I sit watching rain run down the window panes watching the emerging wisteria framing the window and the abundance of Choiysia outside the study window. Slightly disconcerting if one catches the greenish old glass as it turns the flowers a strange colour. At the bottom of the green walk the newly planted day lillies have enjoyed their natural watering and look very well. The fields have turned from green to brown and we slop about again in mud which we had hoped to have seen the back of for a bit.
It was off to Norway last weekend for the funeral of my oldest friend's mother. We have known each other all our lives even sharing a birthday which was incedentaly last weekend so it was a birthday breakfast with another birthday girl friend here and a party in Olso 14 hours later with my astrotwin. How amazing when travel is smooth but for me it was surrounded by people with cancelled trains and missed flights I sat on a crowded train in a booked seat. stepped seamlessly from train to Heathrow bus followed someone who looked confident as no signage and found a lift hidden behind a tower which whisked us up to departures. As I had discovered my out of date passport in time to hasten to Newport for a remedy I felt that al in all someone was smiling on my efforts. That the plane was 1 1/2 late was I suppose almost a necessary inconvenience. Plane train car party at the new house where environmental courses are already being held by Julio combining old world and new techniques, very interesting. Apples, Raspberries (they can only grow summer varieties) Plums all mulched up. Kindergarten amended to study room and loads of room. Met up with 4 of the 6 siblings and had a very jolly hour or two. Lightened the travel bag with the requested cheddar and duty free wine soon consumed with much catching up.
A noisy breakfast bacon (they like English we like Norwegian), eggs, cheese (Chedder of course) and ham, home made jam.Oceans of tea (Typhoo only will do). Off to exceedingly pretty cafe on the edge of the Oslo Fjiord for open sandwiches for the post crem bun fight then on to the crem a truly depressing building circa 1970 of pebbledash concrete flat roof and dripping wooden slats overhead (yes it was raining while the day before was light, bright and sunny (swapped with England who did the opposite on both days). To a funeral in Norwegian interspersed with an English oration and 'All things bright and beautiful' played as my brother said the 'B' tune at a million miles an hour with not a pause for breath. The vicar while having the most wonderful voice not leading as he did for the Norwegian hymns which was a shame. It made me wish that I was not completely tone deaf. They don't stand for hymns but do for the comittal (dropped a couple of feet, I suppose for suggestion of burial, then stays there in sight.
On to Karin's catching up with various people that we'd not seen for years. I was amused taht The owner of a horse that I had 'rescued' from Denmark didn't ask how she was. I wonder how much she knew of her endrometritis which has made getting her in foal very difficult. Ah well. I am a sucker for that. Very good to catch up with the next generation. We are now the oldest, such a strange feeling. Met also the step children. One a very compliant 11 year old who is still very grateful for being rescued from a haphazard life in Chile. The other a rfebelious late teenager who is not reallt sure why she is rebelling and turned up to the funeral in a red tarining outfit and then clearly wished she hadn't despite being completely ignored by all and sundry. It just was not 'her day'. So difficult to be 19 going on 14.
The bro and I were really pleased that we had attended and had a relaxed journey home. The only people through the face recognition passport control so no waiting at all. Queue? What queue? It was 10.30pm but nice not to have to struggle through endless masses. Then onto the new pod system to the carpark. What a revolution. We must get it in Bristol. After all it was developed in Bristol University and we should be flying its flag. Something to work on.
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