Our visitor arrives safe and sound.

Today would have been Mum and Dad's 64th wedding anniversary and so John and I had decided we would go down to Mum's for our evening meal (taking it with us so Mum didn't have to do anything) and then we would go on to the airport to pick up my old school friend Kenna who was coming in from Bournemouth.  That was the plan except that I hadn't quite clocked Kenna's flight information correctly when we made this arrangement and when we realised her flight wasn't getting in until around midnight decided we would still go down and eat with Mum and spend some time with her but then come home, sort the cats and maybe get some shut-eye for a pair of hours.  Just so you know the photograph above is when we were in Sixth Form - I am on the back row and not the Chinese one obviously and Kenna is in the middle long row six from the right.

It was a bright start to the day - we have been having this and then it all goes pear-shaped and we get rain but there was some genuine warmth in the sun and so I had everything crossed for a good week whilst Kenna is here.  The interesting stick that sits in a pot outside the back door, and is a Duranta, has eventually bucked its ideas up and there are now some tiny little bright green leaves appearing which is good news.  The same cannot be said for the three other interesting sticks that are dotted around the garden.  Two are Ficus trees which should probably not have been put outside for the winter, the other is a Mandevilla which started to form some buds but then got hit by a cold snap and is now in some sort of state of suspended animation.  I haven't quite given up hope that it might come back to life so am leaving it in situ for a while longer.

Any ideas what the photograph is above?  I know it looks like the landscape of the moon but actually it is a home of one of the many Amegilla Bees that we have living in the naturally occurring holes in the stone which was used to build our pump house, unfortunately this is directly outside the back door so you have to avoid them when you are going in and out.  They look like they are dressed as old convicts with their black and white stripes and they buzz so loudly.  These are not honey producing bees but are important because they are great pollinators and are also solitary.  One year we had one make its home in the spy-hole in the front gate - this came as a bit of a surprise to me when I was trying to take a look through and couldn't see anything save for a bee's backside!

We needed to get some shopping in and swap out one of the large gas bottles as we are still needing some form of heat in the lounge in the evenings and John doesn't want Kenna to feel the cold.

For a number of reasons we were a little later getting to Polis than we had intended.  Firstly we had heard voices in the empty house next door so John had been to investigate - we are not entirely sure what they were doing - they said they had come to clear the garden and the pool and had keys so hadn't broken in but didn't stay long and didn't do either the garden or the pool so maybe they had just come for a recce of what was required.  Then Kenny wouldn't start for some reason - John got him going with the help of the roofer guy who is putting a new 'skin' on the flat roof of 9A - some sort of new thing which I think John said was fibreglass and was guaranteed for 10 years.  So as a result we ended up in Polis at the time George the gas-guy is closed for lunch.  There was nothing for it but to waste some time waiting for him to reopen and this was done with the help of the Gelateria in Prodromi which has now opened for the season and John does like an ice-cream.

All sorted we did some finally tidying around the house and then went on down to Mum's.

We went via Paps Bakery - I had made some coleslaw and we picked up a chicken, some chips and a lamb dish for our mains and three slices of carrot cake for afters.  We knew that there would be enough left over for Mum to have a second meal out of it all.  In memory of Dad we played Noms - we haven't done so for a while and it was good fun - there must have been something wrong because the scorer (John) didn't win.  Anyway when we came to leave we realised that John had left the lights on Kenny and so Kenny wouldn't start so there was all sorts of jiggery-pokery pushing Kenny back and getting Mum's car out of the garage and in a position where we could jump start from her battery - this involved a 98 point turn on the drive avoiding the wall and the drop the other side.  We got it started and got home without a problem thank goodness.

Kenna's flight was on time and she had hand luggage so was through and had just walked outside when we arrived.  We got home and settled her in and although it was blooming chilly we sat outside for a catch-up and a drink before calling it a night - or actually an early morning.