Remembering

Today is a Bank Holiday when we remember the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.  It's a poignant day even more so because I've just received a phone call to say that we've suffered a bereavement in the family. I've learnt that my Great Aunt Rose's son died at the family home in Berkshire on Wednesday.  He had not been well for some time. My first cousin, once removed, would correspond by letter and he would give me information about the family to further my family history research.

The reason I'm writing about V.E. Day is because I was born two weeks after this momentous event in a nursing home in Reading, Berkshire.  My Mum had been very ill during her pregnancy so it was the best place to give birth. I didn't weigh much at birth and it was touch and go that I survived. I was christened not long after in June, according to my Mum's baby book diary.  Meanwhile my Dad was still over in mainland Europe moving up through various countries and as part of the war effort witnessed the liberation of a concentration camp.  I have the published papers of the history of this period of the route taken across Europe written up later by Dad's regimental commander.  When Dad eventually got back to England many months later he was, of course, a changed man and I was several months old.  We were still living with my grandparents whilst my mother managed the bakery business before my grandparents eventually bought a new house in Earley, which was outside the Borough of Reading. Here we continued to live together with my maternal grandparents for quite a few years.  (I've written about this time before).

Here's a collage of me as a new born baby, a few months old sitting in my maternal grandparents' Earley garden and as\ young child on an English seaside holiday or other events with my parents and with Dad and my doll's pram in my other Grandma's garden in the King's Road in Reading ....

Our Berkshire daughter took some flowers up to my parents', grandparents' and  uncles' graves. They are all buried near one another in a Caversham, Berkshire cemetery and she sent me a photo by email of the flowers.  The staff were cutting the grass around the graves, which was a good thing and daughter D took photos of two pheasants, male and female, that were wandering around.

Well, that's all for today.  I'm going out for another walk and the rest of the day will be a quiet one thinking and remembering days gone by with my family.

Thank you for your visit.  I hope you have a peaceful day and weekend.

Observing Trees

Yesterday the weather was so good, the light was clear and the skies were blue.  It was time for another walk and an exploration of a park nearer to where we live than the big park where I go to the library.  It's about five minutes walk from where we live, but I've never been in it.  Actually, it's more of a recreation ground for a housing estate, but at the same time there are wooded areas, high banks and downhill grassland and, therefore, suitable for a quiet walk.

Here we are at the far side of the field.  In the distance you can see a residential home for the elderly and that was the way into the park through an entrance on a road by the buildings.

On the other side of the field, being high up, I could see the the wooded hills of the Loxley Valley.

A willow tree that has fallen, but is still alive.

I could just imagine children running up and down the grassy banks, playing football, racing around in the wooded areas, but there was no-one around except a lady out walking with her dog.  The nearby primary school, of course, is closed, locked up and silent.

I walked a little way along a path that leads to the housing estate and could hear children playing in a garden over the other side of the fence.  The gardens are quite big and it's probably safer to play there where a parent can see them.

Can you see the owl ornament on top of the fence?  Owls are popular as a mascot around our area of Sheffield.

I walked back up onto the field.

There was a sycamore tree glowing in the bright sunshine...

and a cherry tree showing the first signs of developing fruit.

There was a tree with fluffy catkins which is probably an aspen.

I liked the way someone, (a park keeper) had painted the trunk of this sapling (possibly a preservative) and then painted a pattern in white paint on the railings.

I walked on to the park entrance and passed the old people's home.  There were people in the gardens that are surrounded by thick beech hedges and flowering shrubs such as yellow broom.

At the top of the short road  which acts as a drive into the park is a church and the primary school....

and at the crossroads the shops are the nearest to where we live which includes the post office and small store.

Here there's a sculpture of woodland animals carved in wood which I've featured before on the blog. It has weathered considerably since I shared photo images in 2013 and I'll show more closeups another time.

This was another tree glowing in the sunshine.  I think it's some kind of oak judging by the leaves.

holly flowers

A Prunus Padus or bird cherry is an ornamental tree with white flowers growing in the grounds of the sports centre and charity centre hub that's also closed and locked up at the moment. 

The ancient village stocks outside the pub.

Inside the pub a rainbow paper chain has been created for display.

On the fence of the sports centre community hub children have been encouraged to put up their drawings.

I'm back at the corner of the road where we live.

There are even more flowers on the rosemary bush.

The peonies are just coming out in the front garden.

The hawthorn tree in the neighbour's garden behind our hedge in the back garden is now in full bloom.

I hope you enjoyed the walk.  Have a good day.

April and early May in our garden.

There's a lot going on in the garden at this time of the year.  We've had some rain showers which has lately helped alleviate the need to frequently water plants although Mr P does take the plants in pots in and out of the covered yard to harden them off and place them near an outside tap for a top up of water.

Here are a few collages of photos taken from early April until today. The highlights during April were the blossoms, blue skies, sunshine and seeing the first Spring flowers.  The tulips that followed were delightful. After seeds were sown the vegetables and herbs have been coming on well.

dianthus in hanging basket, tulips, white veronica 

Lilac and wisteria are now fully out in neighbours' gardens, but will soon be over. Clematis will go on flowering a while longer. There were two lilac heads on the ground in the lane which I brought home, gave them a sprinkling of water to revive them and then put them in water in a tea cup.

Blue tits and robins are coming into the garden now.

veg plot, courgette and tomato plants, thyme,

grape vines, fennel and salad leaves, marigold, 

peas, a variety of seeds, basil

Lily-of the valley just in bud, broccoli, peas,

amaryllis which has bloomed again for the third season,

 strawberry plants and new vine cutting, clematis (first season's buds)

blue wild geranium, violet, white pelargonium now planted out.

Finally, the blanket I'm working on at the moment.  I've just completed the second panel of nine squares in the same combination of colours.

Thank you for coming by.  Have a good week.