Summerhouse

We have now put the finishing touches to the summerhouse that we erected last Autumn. The two side walls are lined with matting made from thin bamboo or thick grass, I'm not sure which, and the back wall has two brass plates and a picture of the seaside on it.. A rug on the floor and an brass topped table for drinks, books etc make it feel homely. All these items were bought for next to nothing at auctions over the years. Already the summerhouse is catching the full afternoon sun and it is warm enough to sit there with the doors open. The view out takes in part of the garden, at present with spring flowers and bulbs. We are pleased with it and intend to spend many happy hours there in the evening sun.

Got it!

After several days and nights without any sign of mice, I opened the pantry door this morning to find one in a trap I had put there. Perhaps it is the clever mouse, perhaps not. I have decided not to send its brains for medical research

Clever mouse

The loft under the thatched roof of the oldest part of our house provides a relatively warm refuge for mice during the cold weather. Mice are attractive little things but they are also dirty and unhealthy so every winter we put traps up there, baited with lovely organic, crunchy peanut butter and we catch several. Mice rarely get into the house itself but the other night was an exception and we were woken at about 1am by a mouse trying to chew its way out of our bedroom via the bristles on the draught excluder at the bottom of the door. The noise was amazing. When I put the light on to investigate the mouse ran under the bed. Ah, I thought, an ideal opportunity to catch the mouse and I got a baited trap and put it near the hole it had started to chew. Before long the noise started again, I shone a torch on the mouse and saw it was chewing very carefully right next to the trap without actually touching it. It will get careless before long I thought and settled down to await the thwack of the trap as it closed on the mouse. Instead the chewing continued apart from brief periods when the mouse went exploring and on one occasion ran right over my shoulder in bed. Eventually I gave up, opened the bedroom door and the no doubt the mouse (which was again hiding under the bed) later went on its way. Next day I baited the trap again and left it on the landing. This morning we discovered that the mouse had eaten all the peanut butter from the trap without setting it off. How did it do that - these traps are very sensitive? When (or should that read "if") I catch this clever mouse I will send its brain off for medical research - its obviously much cleverer than I am. Watch this space.

Sophie's birthday

Last week our Bedfordshire granddaughter Sophie celebrated her 5th birthday with a party in the church hall and an entertainer! Here she is looking lovely at the party with her new hair style. Sophie is great fun and likes parties - starting with her own christening party nearly five years ago. She also loves school, which is good as she has quite a few years of it to go yet!

Libby Peet

When we were in South Africa over Christmas our granddaughter Libby kindly gave us a large picture which she had painted herself when she was 5 years old. It just fitted into our suitcase without folding and is now on the wall of our study (see picture). Libby celebrated her 6th birthday whilst we were there, one of the celebrations being a family meal in an Italian restaurant (see picture). Olly and Sally adopted Libby under Liberian law when she was just a few months old and she is still a Liberian citizen. Currently the entire family is living and working on the Mercy Ship, Africa Mercy, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and shortly they will start the process of getting a visa to bring Libby into the UK. So far they have been told that they must go to Ghana to get the visa but this involves a lengthy and expensive journey across West Africa. Please pray that the process of getting a visa for Libby is not too difficult so that she can come to the UK this summer.

Long time no see

In the late 80's/early 90's we had an excellent Minister at our Methodist Church in Harpenden. We and our sons got to know him, his wife and their two daughters quite well through various church activities, Scouting and youth clubs and I well remember playing "Twister" at their house one Boxing Day with a very full stomach! Methodist Ministers have to move on every few years years and John and Janet went to Hampshire and then as District Chairman to Cheshire. Recently we learned that they were living in semi-retirement about 20 miles from us in Dorset and yesterday they came to lunch and a good old natter at our house. They look very well, don't they?

More about the auction

Another "lot" that we successfully bid for at last week's Charterhouse Auction was a box full of brass/bronze items featuring African figures (see photos). They may be modern reproductions but on the other hand they could be genuine old West African bronzes worth a small fortune. Either way they are interesting and look good about the house. Another lot (no, we did not buy it) was a clear glass Lalique vase with classical figures on it which quickly went up to £3400 - let's hope that the buyer didn't drop it on the way home. Unfortunately we could not stay for the wine auction taking place later in the day where hundreds of bottles of wine and spirits were on offer, some 50 years old. One item that caught my eye was a wooden packing case labelled "RASC - RUM" containing two stoneware flagons of rum, sealed with red wax, guide price £300 - £400. Yes, we do enjoy a good auction.