Reminiscing

When we're in Berkshire our daughter usually takes me on a trip down Memory Lane to see some of the places where we used to live.  Before we moved to Yorkshire we lived mostly outside the borough of Reading on the east side of Berkshire towards the town of  Wokingham, but in the 1980s and 90s we lived opposite Whiteknights Park. This is the site of the main university campus, although there are older buildings on the original land in east Reading. The park is over 300 acres in size and includes lakes, conservation meadows and woodland as well as the university departments and some halls of residence.  At different times I've worked in two of the faculties there and I enjoyed being in the beautiful surroundings of the park.  As a family it was also a convenient place to take a walk around one of the lakes.

Above are the recent photos including one of the lodge houses and entrance where we would enter the park and below are some photos taken of the family in March 1991. Since we've just celebrated our no 2 grandson's 30th birthday I thought it would be a fun thing to look out old photos in our family album.  

Me with grandson in the buggy.

What was Mr P doing?  Playing with the older brother.

Feeding the ducks with our adopted son who, of course, is now grown up, and has his own family.

A good place to take the family's pet dog, Alex, for a walk too.

 Here's our grandson at his 30th birthday party. 

Joining Riitta's Friday Bliss linkup # 28

Have a lovely weekend!

My week: surprises

It was the perfect Spring day yesterday; sunshine, warmth, blue skies. Even in an ordinary and seemingly unexciting  place such as the car park of a local supermarket  the butterflies were flitting around the blossoming shrubs.  Back home, looking out of the window I saw a butterfly feasting on the nectar of the plum blossom and with camera in hand quickly went out to get a closer look.  By then the butterfly was resting on the cypress hedge.

Indoors I was thrilled to see that the fritillary (fritillaria meleagris) bulbs planted in the Autumn of last year had buds and then flowers. They're fascinating to look at close up. There are also five tulips (Blue Parrot) in the pot that I'm looking forward to seeing in flower in due course.

Taking a look around the garden I was amazed to see this rose in bloom.  Apparently it was one that had been in the covered yard over the Winter months and Mr P had transferred it to a spot by the garage wall and behind a garden seat to give it some shelter.  I'm always getting surprises like that when the plants that he's been nurturing inside are transplanted in the garden or he picks some flowers and puts them in a vase on the kitchen window sill for me to enjoy.

narcissi (Paper white) and (Orangery)

The miniature daffodils are still blooming, the blue, white and yellow polyanthus still looks fresh and the tomato plants are growing with lots more in individual pots on indoor window sills.

 The wallflowers are doing well and the last of the daffodils have survived the windy weather.

The rosemary flowers, hopefully, will attract the butterflies and any bees that should start to come by once the weather gets warmer.

front garden

 Slow progress, but a few more rows around the blanket have been done!

More reading, crocheting and walking in the park to the library and the adjoining walled garden as well as the usual food shopping and household chores continue as part of our daily and weekly routine.

The warmth of yesterday seems to have been a bit of a treat as today we're back to cloudier skies although it's still quite mild and the sun is trying to peep through the clouds every now and again.

Warming comfort food is what I'm cooking. The other evening it was minestrone with lots of different vegetables and legumes in the pot accompanied by a glass of home made wine.

Spring flowers

On Sunday the weather was fairly dry although rain clouds loomed overhead on the way back from church.  The blossom on the ornamental cherry trees along the road is now out. The trees are pretty, although the recent wind and rain storms did damage the flowers. A large tree came down in the church grounds during the storms narrowly missing the church hall. 

 In the churchyard the daffodils and primroses were in flower.

************************

Back to my home town of Reading and a walk in the Forbury Gardens in Springtime, not this year, but two years ago during March and a visit to St James' R.C. church. We were at the church to attend  a sister-in-law's funeral that year.

those trees full of blossom high up in the offices

 opposite the church must look amazing close up from inside the building

I think they're on a balcony or walkway up there. 

On this road there was once an orchard probably part of Reading Abbey

called The Plummery.

shells brought back by parishioners  who

made a pilgrimage through Galicia, Northern Spain

finishing at the Cathedral in Compostela, better known as 

The Way of Saint James, The Camino de Santiago