8th May

Today all across Europe people have marked the 75th anniversary of VE day (Victory in Europe).  On this historic day even Germany has declared a national holiday.  In the UK all sorts of socially distanced street celebrations have been organised although having seen the reports on the news the social distancing doesn't seem to be as distant as it should be - either that or Peter Crouch has shrunk.  Even our garden got the brief as it was awash with wild poppies which have self seeded all over the place but in particular by the outside shower.

Not only do we have a stunning display of poppies at the moment (both wild and Californian) we have masses of arching blooms which I think are Ixea Yellow Emperor (Ixea is also known as the Corn Lily) I have never seen so many in the garden and pray it doesnt rain because the slender arching stems can barely hold up the flowers as it is but when they are wet they are just beaten to the ground.  We also have a rogue rose in bloom.  I think it may have be one which has reverted back to its stock which is a sort of dog rose and is very pretty.

Mum has been keeping busy re-doing a jigsaw which we gave her and which she has done on a number of occasions.  This make has special pieces which are bigger and more robust than normal and are therefore easier for her to pick up and place.  The only trouble is that we got it through Amazon and the postage alone is over 20 quid so if anyone ever wants to give her a present get a jigsaw with specially made pieces for people who have arthritis.

John had seen a recipe for a garlic mozzarella bread online which he was determined to make today to go with the pasta that we had penciled in for tonight's supper.

As you can imagine both him and me in the kitchen is a recipe for disaster so there were a few full and frank discussions during the preparation.

Ultimately the loaf turned out as a triumph.  It was a bit like a foccacia in taste and texture and although we had put on quite a bit of garlic butter we agreed that it required more.

We had a quiet end to the day, I fell asleep watching the film John had picked out for us to watch.  I had managed to see Isabel today and take her down something to eat.  I was just glad to have had some contact with her to know that she was ok or at least as ok as can be expected under the very sad circumstances.

The Ration Book says...
Rabbit wasn't rationed so you could breed as many as you wished for the pot without giving up any coupons.  If you had too many (and we all know how fast they can breed) you could make a useful income by sellign them at the local market or to a butcher.