Very excited, one of my poems was ‘spotted’ on Twitter and has been printed in Tear TimesYou can order a copy (family heirloom) at : tearfund.org (they’re free)

For David’s birthday, his sisters gave him a voucher for a champagne cream tea at the races. Decided to use it on Saturday. Was fun. We arrived about two, having missed lunch due to eating big breakfast. Wondered how we would manage to drink a whole bottle of champagne mid afternoon. We managed surprisingly well.

The race course was nice. Not really used to race courses, so no idea what to expect. We had a table in a pavilion, which we could leave to watch the races and then come back to (for more champagne.) On way to the track passed a group of musicians who never seemed to be playing and a stand selling ‘Hand Pulled Pork’ which made me giggle. (I blame it on the champagne, but honestly, WHO thought that was a good name for something people would want to eat????)

Liked watching everyone. All the women seemed to be dressed up in high heels and fancy dresses and fascinators. I do not get the point of fascinators – they are fascinating because they look very difficult to keep from falling off! I had my best trousers on but fear I may have looked like I had come straight from sorting out ducks and kittens (because I had.)

Anyway, I had reminded David that Great Grandad had been involved with building the race course at Huntingdon, we had Dick Francis and Josh Gifford on our family tree, etc, etc. First race, I picked a horse. Told David it had odds of 9:1.
He then pointed out that actually that was its weight. It came second. Next race chose with confidence, telling him the weight. It lost, of course. Then we texted lucky niece and asked her for her tip – that lost too. Was great fun watching though.

Tea was nice. We had a Romanian waiter. I asked him which part of Romania he came from, he told me Eastern Europe. Maybe I was slurring by this point.

I used the Ladies before we came home. David pointed me in the right direction and I managed the heavy double doors just fine. Room very crowded with lots of women touching up their make up and combing hair. Did not use elbows to reach the sink (would’ve been rude.) Wondered who thought ‘bubble gum’ was a good perfume for liquid soap.

Thanks for sending the pot pourri. I’ve put it in a pretty china dish in the downstairs bathroom. Not sure why the whole world now thinks that’s a good place to fling the empty toilet roll insert.

My animals are doing well. The silver call ducks have just hatched. Mother keeps sitting on them still (glad there is one good mother in my household) so getting a decent photo is near impossible. Milly and Molly continue to be terrible mothers and only really notice their babies when I go in and put them back together. All four kittens continue to thrive, I feel despite rather than because of their mothers.

Talking of mothers, I took our mother to the supermarket yesterday. She went to one of the ‘self check out’ tills before I could stop her. Immediately, an assistant came and stood next to her, helping her check out. Think that tells a story in itself.

Take care,
Anne x