Bartimaeus

While preparing the birthday chilli, a visitor arrived at the hatch. Roland was sitting there so Mugs and I passed bits and pieces to him while also getting veg chopped. He was having quite a day of communing with the swan family. We had very little to feed it though so it wasn’t long till it was gone.

After dinner, (delicious though I say so myself – I should cook after prosecco more often – all gone) we went for a walk. As we went along the canal we spotted a heron. We have not seen many here. It flew off, but I got a picture of it by the bridge before it had gone.

Earlier in the day, I had an exchange with Nye, by text starting with happy birthday greetings and queries about how I was celebrating and moving swiftly on to a query about kitchen utensils and ginger. It looked and sounded like he was making a delicious tea too. He passed the recipe on to us, something for another day as it needed shopping. My phone rang and it was Bryn. After a halting start we were cut off and tried again. I thought it was working better but while still discussing whether we could hear each other, it was evident the connection was gone again. I messaged to say the next day might be better when I might be stationary and the guests would be gone. 

The next day was their last morning and we had a walk to the grounds of a once grand home that seemed to have become a bit dilapidated. We wanted to see an ornamental pond but it was a bit overgrown.  We still saw and heard a few birds though.

Roland was enjoying eating brambles though regretting not having a container for them as there were so many. He might not have wanted to transport them all day on the train. It was a lengthy journey but not as long as this sign made it appear. A long journey in time and space is required to reach the Rhodesia I heard about in school.

We were back for lunch then it was time for final packing and getting to the station which was very close. We were a little early giving us time to admire the flowers and sample the scents of the herb garden on the platform, before we heard the warning sirens of the level crossing. 

We waved them off and went back to the boat. Sometimes it can feel flat when guests have gone, but we also knew now that more might be arriving. We didn’t know yet if it would be Heather or Bryn.or possibly Benny. We were near Sheffield and both Heather and Benny live there and have been known to make last minute decisions to come. Being so close, that seemed all the more likely, so we immediately got washing on. The wet morning had turned to a sunny afternoon. The next morning was sunny again so we were able to run another load and dry it. Meantime we established that Heather was very busy and more likely to come later, if at all, and just a day trip. It was good to be ready anyway, while it was sunny and breezy.  We had established that despite lots of other travelling lately, for work, Bryn was planning to come on Monday which suited us. The locks ahead were padlocked, so we were certain he should travel to Shireoaks and we would still be here on Monday afternoon.

We went to see the low water section and the water had gone well down. Luckily we were stuck near facilities,  so we have been able to go to shops, get ice cream, and have a pub lunch – a few things we wanted had gone from the menu and bar since there has been very busy in the hot holiday week but we managed to have a good meal and drink anyway. We also had a nice walk taking us through a cornfield with poppies.

I had also noticed a surprise visitor to our bedroom. There’s a bit of a green colour scheme in the room but this was against the ceiling and stood out. It might have blended in with the duvet. I caught it in a glass and took it outside. He  was in no hurry to leave (and it is a he –  I  got a good look and my book gave me details) which gave me time for pictures. He is an oak bush cricket and not jumpy like the Roesel’s bush cricket was. He was easy to see on the glass, but on the grass, he’s (almost) gone.