Birthdays

A few hours ago Jenny and I returned from a long weekend in Paris where we went to celebrate my birthday. Among other things we were able join the crowds on the Champs d'Elyssee to see part of the final Tour de France race won for the first time by a British cyclist. What excitement, what cheering, what flag-waving - Well done, Bradley Wiggins and the British Team. It was not easy to get a photo of the riders speeding past at 40mph but Jenny managed to get this one over the heads of the massed crowds.  You can see the 3000 year old Egyptian obelisk on the Place de Concorde in the background.

Being away for my birthday reminded me that four years ago Jenny and I were on holiday in Turkey on my birthday when I received an email from our son, Olly, saying that he had set up this blog(The Peets of Pippin Cottage) for me as a birthday present. At that time he and his family were living in a heavily guarded house in Monrovia, the war torn capital of Liberia in West Africa. They had no mains electricity, water, sewage or land line telephone, there was no postal service to or from Liberia and the best way for them to keep in touch with what we were doing was through a blog, with photos and narrative. And so it was, for three years as Olly and his family worked with the charity Mercy Ships (http://www.mercyships.org/) in the developing countries of West Africa we kept in touch via our blogs. But since they returned to the UK a year ago we don't have to rely on the blogs, and my entries have become spamodic and since February none at all. Despite that I see that people in places I do not recognise are regularly logging on. Sorry folks that there's not much to read at present. And I'd be fascinated to know who you are and what your interest is - just email me at peet.pippin@virgin.net.

Wonderful weather

This weekend was more like Spring than February down here in deepest Somerset - blue skies and warm sunshine, although still cold at night. On Saturday Jenny and I loaded our folding bikes into the car and drove to Creech St Michael where we parked and cycled for several miles along the towpath of the Bridgewater-Taunton Canal. It was very quiet and we saw only one canal boat on the move. There was mistletoe everywhere, beautiful swans and several concrete "pillboxes" built at the start of the Second World War and still in good condition over 70 years later. These were designed to protect our soldiers whilst providing them with a good field of fire in several directions to shoot at invading forces trying to get inland - a very real threat in 1940. Thankfully the invasion never came and the pillboxes were never used for guns - the one is the first photograph is now a potting shed!

London Trip

Back in January Jenny and I spent three nights in London, in a luxury hotel adapted from the old Whitbread Brewery in Chiswell Street, right in the heart of the City. Arriving in London Thursday lunchtime we first visited the Dickens Exhibition at the City of London Museum in the Barbican and in the evening went to the National Portrait Gallery in Leicester Square where there was a late night exhibition of Victorian portraits. Thursday morning we had breakfast with Ben in his staff restaurant just 10 minutes walk from our hotel, then visited the Canal Museum, the Jewish Museum and the Wellcome Institute, walking from one to the other. After dinner in a West End restaurant we went to see an excellent performance of the "The Ladykillers". Saturday morning Ben and Thomas came to our hotel to collect us and we walked to Liverpool Street Station (see photo) to catch the first of two buses which took us across London to the Science Museum where we spent most of the day. In the early evening the four of us had a delicious meal in a new Italian restaurant in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral. Then Ben and Thomas had to catch the train home and Jenny and I crossed the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern. This was our second visit and I'm sorry to say that we still don't really "get" modern art. Sunday morning we got the bus to Rotherhithe to visit the Brunel Museum then walked back along the south bank. The weather was bright and sunny throughout (see photo) but very cold. What a great weekend!

New Year

A Happy New Year to all. On the day before New Year's eve we were at the Kings Arms again - this time with Olly, Sally, Noah, Anna and Libby, for a splendid lunch (see photo). It was a very wet day so we could not do the treasure hunt round the village and came straight back to Pippin Cottage to play hide and seek, Pictionary (again!) and UNO. Next day Jenny and I went to Bristol and explored the ancient Cathedral, the city museum and the M Shed (a new exciting museum). Then we went to a party at a neighbours with a lot more bellringers and their partners before we all made our way down to the Church to ring out the Old Year with muffled bells. At midnight we took the muffles off the bells and rang in the New Year loud and clear. Then we had a few glasses of phizzy wine - it was all great fun. That's me in the orange jumper ringing my bell - I must go on a New Year diet and get rid of that excess weight!

Boxing Day

Boxing Day was a great day too. Ben, Claire, Thomas and Sophie came to Pippin Cottage for the day and, after a treasure hunt round the village, we had a splendid lunch at our village pub/restaurant, The Kings Arms (see photo). Then we walked home and played Quirkle (Sophie's Christmas present), Chickenfoot and Uno. The afternoon passed so quickly that there was no time to play Rummikub or Pit. Next time perhaps?

Christmas Day 2011

This year the Peet Family were altogether on Christmas Day for the first time in 8 years and we had the best Christmas ever. Ben, Claire, Thomas and Sophie stayed with Olly, Sally, Noah, Anna and Libby in their new home in Sherborne and Jenny and I joined them for the day. What a lovely time we had - lots of presents for the kids, a delicious turkey lunch, NO TV but plenty of games (including a Pictionary marathon) fun and laughter. The photos show the serious business of present opening, the children having fun at their end of the table (from L to R, Noah 12, Thomas 10, Anna 10, Libby 7 and Sophie 6)and Jenny, Claire and I observing a tricky game where odd shaped objects had to be placed on odd shaped slopes - very tricky.

Weather!

This time last year our house and garden and the lane outside were covered in snow and the UK was enduring some of its lowest temperatures for decades (see photos taken by our neighbours). This year we have had no real cold weather as yet and our begonias are still in flower - just! No doubt the cold weather will come soon - "daylight lengthens, cold strengthens" as Jenny's grandmother used to say.

Cinderella

Yesterday was Libby's 7th birthday and Jenny and I took her to the matinee performance of the pantomime, Cinderella, at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil. Libby knew the story but this was her first visit to a theatre and her first pantomime. The show was excellent, one of the highlights being two live ponies pulling Cinderella's coach to the ball. Buttons was very good and he mentioned Libby's birthday from the stage. Afterwards we went to Tamberino's Italian Restaurant for a meal and the staff turned off the lights, brought an ice cream with a candle in it and sang "Happy birthday" to Libby. A great day out. Sorry we don't have a photo of the day but we do have one of Libby's birthday last year, when we went to an Italian Restaurant in Ramsgate, South Africa.

Wood carving lessons

About 6 weeks ago Jenny and I started attending wood carving lessons given by an experienced artist in a Victorian school building near Street in Somerset. We quickly learned that wood carving is very different to stone carving, using different techniques and tools. It is also a lot cleaner and needs less muscle power, especially when working with a soft wood such as lime, which we are. Jenny is working on a formal design, whilst I am trying to copy a shepherd scene from a pew end in Beverley Minster in East Yorkshire. We are making slow progress, as the photos show - just in case you are confused our work is in the lower half of each photo!

Village hall floor

The new floor in our village hall had its first real test on Tuesday evening when 128 people paid £10 each to see and hear the Budapest Cafe Orchestra playing their marvellous music on violin, guitar, double bass, accordian, balalaika and more (http://www.budapestcafeorchestra.co.uk/). Feet stamped to the rhythm of the music but no chair legs went through the floor, as happened at an event earlier in the year. The village hall building is a First World War Army hut moved to its present location from Salisbury Plain in 1923. Over the 95 years of its life the floor had rotted in parts as had some of the wall plate timbers under the floor which support the vertical beams holding up the roof joists. So in August the committee and friends (including Jenny) stripped out the old floor, replaced the rotten parts of the wall plates, fitted new joists and floor boards and sealed them. The photo shows the job half done.

English Country Dancing

Last week Jenny and I attended a four day residential English Country Dancing course at a Tudor manor house in north Somerset (www.halswaymanor.org.uk. To my surprise we very much enjoyed ourselves and have already booked for another course next year. We danced in the morning, had the afternoon free, then danced again after dinner, all with experienced callers and a small band comprising accordian, fiddle and flute. Sorry no photos, we did not take our camera.

Photos of our day out with the kids

Day out with the grandchildren

Last week Jenny and I took Noah, Anna and Libby out for the day. First we went to Glastonbury where we visited the excellent Museum of Rural Life. Amongst many other things the children sat on the Victorian "lavatory for three" and made appropriate noises. Then, after climbing a mulberry tree to eat the ripe berries, we walked up Glastonbury Tor and had our photo taken at the top. Next we had a picnic in the Museum grounds before going on to scramble over the tanks and other strange items at Wells Reclamation where we bought one or two nicnacs. Finally we explored the magnificent Wells Cathedral and finished with an ice cream in the refectory. On the way home we played "animal, vegetable or mineral" but Libby fell asleep - we were all a bit tired after our fun day out together.

Great weekend

Jenny and I recently enjoyed a long weekend with two good friends at the Bodelwyddan Castle Hotel in North Wales. The hotel provided fine food, good service, generous and comfortable accommodation, excellent live music and entertainment and a host of leisure activities in the grounds and fitness centre. Although we have known Elaine and Graham for 45 years we had not seen them for about 8 years so there was a lot to talk about. In between talking and laughing we managed to visit the castle museum, play croquet and miniature golf, take part in the general knowledge quiz and "name that tune" competition, visit the nearby "marble church", Colwyn Bay and Conway, with its ancient castle. The weather was fine, if a little chilly at times, and we really enjoyed the weekend.

Seeing is Believing

"Seeing is Believing" (registered charity number 1100559) is a collaboration between the International Association for the Prevention of Blindness and Standard Chartered Bank. Our younger son, Ben, works at the head office of Standard Chartered Bank in London and is very involved in the bank's fund raising for Seeing is Believing. The photo shows him and some of his work colleagues recently raising sponsorship money by running a strenuous course round the streets of London - he's the one third from the left, the guy second from the left is blind and is being guided by the others. Many of the people whose sight is saved by the charity live in Africa and Ben's work sometimes takes him there. Just today he returned from a business trip which took him to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

Busy Weekend

The weekend before last we went to stay with Ben, Claire, Thomas and Sophie at their home in Bedfordshire. Saturday was a very busy day. In the morning we watched Thomas play football with his school team, then the school team played a match against their fathers, including Ben, which the fathers won - surprise, surprise. It rained hard throughout the morning and both players and spectators got very wet. In the afternoon we watched Sophie dancing and singing in her dance club's summer show and in the evening we watched Clare doing both ballet and tap dancing in the adults' dance class show. Both of them danced beautifully and the shows were very professional. Unfortunately photography was not allowed so no photos this time - even of the football (too wet).

Back in England

At 8.30am on 1 July, Olly, Sally, Noah, Anna and Libby pushed trolleys holding their 10 huge suitcases out of the arrivals area at Heathrow Airport. They were smiling, despite a 24 hour journey which had involved a two hour ferry ride to Freetown Airport, a long flight to Brussels (via Banjul in the Gambia) and another flight from Brussels to Heathrow. Waiting for them in the arrivals area were Jenny and I, Ben, Claire, Thomas and Sophie and Wendy (Sally's mum) and Dave (Sally's stepfather). Two hours later we were all back at Pippin Cottage where a weekend of celebrations and feasting began. Photos show Olly and family coming through the arrivals area, a group photo of most of us (Olly and family towards the right, Thomas, Sophie and Dave towards the left) and some of us having breakfast the next morning. Olly and family are staying with us at Pippin Cottage until they find a place of their own in Dorset and the children will be going to school in Sherborne. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they make the difficult transition from the poverty of West Africa to the relative affluence of the UK.

Only a few more hours

In 11 hours time Olly, Sally, Noah, Anna and Libby will be landing a Heathrow Airport after a long journey from Freetown, Sierra Leone via Banjul (Gambia) and Brussels, Belgium. We will be there to meet them, along with Ben, Claire, Thomas and Sophie and Wendy and Dave (Sally's Mum and stepfather). Then we will all drive in convoy to Pippin Cottage for a weekend of re-union and celebration. Claire, Thomas and Sophie have not seen Olly and his family for five years so there will be much to talk about. Jenny has been cooking for weeks and the larder and deep freeze are full of lovely meals. We've made the landing into a small bedroom for Noah (see photos) and a local craftsman has built a big wardrobe in the bedroom where Anna and Sophie will sleep - Jenny has wanted another wardrobe for some time and the return of the family was a good reason for finally having one. It was only finished a week ago since when I've given it three coats of paint, as the photos show.

More excitement

Extracts from Olly's recent email:

"We are so excited (to be returning to the UK) ... the kids are talking about about nothing else. Anna asked this afternoon if England is beautiful ... obviously they can't remember much.

We are looking forward to doing normal things - playing in the garden, going to the supermarket, watching Britain's Got Talent. And buying sweets. And fresh fruit. And milk. And soft bread. To think, CH village shop has probably got more fresh fruit and bread in stock than every supermarket in Freetown combined."

Many of the ordinary things we things we take for granted, sweets, fresh fruit, fresh milk, good bread and watching TV and much more are not readily available in West Africa. And you can't play in the garden (or play football or any ball game) on a ship, even the largest charity hospital ship in the world, the Africa Mercy.

These photos of a market in Liberia, West Africa, give an idea of what "shopping opportunities" there are there.

Exciting news

Jenny and I are just about coming down to earth after hearing two weeks ago that our Mercy Ships family is returning to the UK in July. For nearly 8 years Olly, Sally, Noah and Anna have been Mercy Ships volunteers, living, working and going to school on hospital ships. They have served in 14 countries on three continents and are currently in Sierra Leone. Libby joined them when she was adopted from a Liberian orphanage in 2005. Please think about them, and pray for them, as they prepare to return to the relative affluence of the UK after the poverty of West Africa. Photo shows the family (and Jenny) together in South Africa last Christmas. If you would like to know more about Mercy Ships, or to volunteer yourself, log on to http://www.mercyships.org.uk/