Saturday 2nd February...

When we were round at Trev and Vix last night Trev was saying how odd it was to have their lounge laid out so that the fireplace was behind them - I suggested that they turned it round so it was more like how Crafty Jane and Budgie Smuggler Mark have theirs that way the fireplace becomes a focal point and would afford them more heat - this was a bit like a lightbulb moment for Trev - bless him - and John offered to give a hand moving the furniture to save Vicki's back.  Needless to say when we got round there Trev had already started and got the important things like the TV moved and put on the wall!

It was a bright morning so I got up and put washing on whilst we had coffee and read the papers before getting the bike out to go to Arodes and furniture shift.

En route I noticed that a lot of the spring flowers are out already including some of the orchids which seem to be flowering a lot earlier this year than last - I seem to remember our orchid walk last year with Wheelie Helen was in March.

Anyway I am sorry I have absolutely no idea what orchids these are but they are very beautiful and all over the place up here.  I took these photographs on the road up to Running John and Susan's.

It was our last day for feeding their cat(s) as they have been away since before Christmas and have been back to the UK and then on holiday in the States.  I say cat(s) because they have two outdoor cats Billy and Milly and we have only seen Milly on the days that we have been feeding.  She is a tiny fluffy thing with unusual markings and is always ravenous when we see her.  We wonder if Billy has been adopted by someone in one of the industrial units down below and is being kept as a rodent catcher - we hope so and we hope that when John and Susan are back he will reappear.  

Apparently whilst away John has had keyhole surgery on his knee and Susan was concerned because the hospital wouldn't use disposable stitches and had provided her with a stitch removal kit - I told her not to worry because I was sure that Vicki would be happy to remove them for her when they need to come out at the end of next week and she is so Susan is relieved!

Anyway we hope that the Read's have a safe journey tomorrow and find everything ok when they get back home tomorrow.  We offered to pick them up from the airport but they are sorted so my beach combing plans for tomorrow are still in place.

I make no apology for filling the remainder of this blog with photographs of the wild flowers that are springing up everywhere at the moment.

John and I had a chilly bike ride back home but John was good enough to stop to allow me to take photographs as and when I spotted a flower - after all he did owe me for my incarceration yesterday!!!

My washing was dry when I got home - just as well as there was a bank of very dark cloud amassing over Droushia which came to nothing but better to be safe than sorry.  We have spent the remainder of the day at home - John is currently having a six nations fest and our dinner is on the wood burner bubbling away - we just have to agree on the film we are going to watch afterwards - that will be a challenge!