10th May

Our lovely peaceful super quiet Sunday Morning could only mean one thing - we didn't have any hot water again.  How did we know?  Well it was a beautiful day and the sun was streaming in and there was no sound coming from the impeller pump which circulates the hot water from the panels down into our tank.  No unmistakable hum as the temperature differential was met and the sensor kicked into life to do its stuff.

Bugger and Bum is all I could say on the matter,  John, ever hopeful brought in the ladder and waited for the hum which did not come and Charlie, who is so nosy, decided to climb the ladder and was looking to get into my wardrobe.  He was discouraged.

Realising that we did indeed have a problem Houston John went off to investigate.  Strangely the water in the system was sooooooo hot yesterday evening he couldn't do the washing up (at least that was his excuse) so we knew that the system had been working yesterday but yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far and it came as no surprise that the repair John had made a few weeks ago had actually melted and was stopping the sensor from working.  Good news was that he could temporarily fix it and so later during the day we had hot water again.

Panic over we could then concentrate on doing some more jobs around the garden.  Today the Olive Tree was the subject of our attention and got rather a drastic haircut.  We know that these trees are great survivors so by reducing the height it will be more manageable for me although I have to say it was looking a bit scalped by the time we had finished.  Hopefully with the net now on the gazebo the Morning Glory and Passion Flower will stop trying to grow all over the Olive.

As we were waiting for the water to heat up we decided that we could have a clean up by using the pool - Duck said it was a healthy 23 degrees but I swear Duck lies and John is contemplating the fact that despite reports of the demise of Little Richard yesterday, the temperature of the water meant he was alive and well in our pool (sorry Mum!!).  Now I have been in our pool when the temperature has been as low as 10 degrees and as high as 32 degrees and it always seems bloomin' cold - why is that?

This evening we actually managed to get our act together and have ourselves a barbeque - this was after an hour long Wiseman/Mooney/Beniston family WhatsApp video chat which was not without a few technical issues - not least that Wend looked like she was in thick fog when in fact she was ironing!!!  Anyway back to the barbeque we had decided to keep it simple so just coleslaw and some frozen wedges then one of those massive pork chops, two ready done spicy chicken skewers from Paps and some corn on the cob.

It was absolutely delicious and we actually sat outside and ate it which we never do unless we have visitors but we realise just how lucky we are to have such beautiful outside space and we never really use it.  If the lockdown had taught us anything it is to appreciate the lovely home and lovely garden we have.

Even that 'simple' barbeque proved to be too much food for us and so the strawberries I had prepared will remain in the fridge until tomorrow!!!

The weather was good enough to crack open white wine instead of red so we had Vasilikon and it was lovely, then we remembered that Sunday is down as one of our non-drinking days but that only served to make the wine taste even better!!

We ate our food and then retired to Wendy and Bill corner to digest our meal, just as Dad used to do on a Sunday!!!  I have noticed that the cushions need to be recovered but now I have got to grips with the sewing machine I am happy to give that a go myself if I can get the fabric.

When we were sorting out the singing ringing Olive Tree I took down some of the things that hang from it which included two iridescent humming bird decorations which I had got at Brimsmore Garden Centre in their after Christmas sale and which I love but they were a bit lost in amongst the foliage.  John has put them on wires and I love them.

I am running out of pearly words of wisdom from the Ration Book but after Boris Johnson wishy washy address to the British Public tonight I think this is apt...

A popular slogan during the war was:
Your Courage
Your Cheerfulness
Your Resolution
WILL BRING US VICTORY

rather more inspiring than:
Stay Alert
Control the Virus
Save Lives