Lilac, May and boats

Well howdy doody all, I'm sorry it's been so long without a post. I bet you've all got sick of nothing showing up here and are now happily ensconced over at Earwig Sandwich or Whoopee.

I've been busy since last Tuesday the 21st of May (when I arrived back in the Old dart) trying to fit in as much fun as possible. It's been easy as pie.

England in spring is worth almost all the shockingly bad weather that precedes it!

When I arrived to stay at my dear friend's Robyn and Rob's,

 

 

their daughter Tessa had put a jar of white lilac in my room. I was so tired I didn't notice the flowers beside the bed but as I turned out the light I smelt the most beautiful perfume.

It's peculiar indeed to leave one country in Autumn and arrive in spring. Somehow even more shocking than summer to winter.

It has been cold and wet though.
Here I am in a tent that I borrowed from Robyn. A brilliant piece of clothing that means you can wear anything at all underneath and still feel like a complete dag!

Thank goodness Robyn was wearing a hat that did the same thing!

We went walking the other day to an eerie place called East Wretham Heath. There is a mysterious body of water called Ringmere there that rises and falls contrary to what the rainfall does. There is a famous Viking battle called the Battle of Ringmere and even though I'm not sure if this IS the site, I swear I could hear clashing shields and bloodcurdling cries.

 

There is an old plantation of Scots pines that was planted at the time of the battle of Waterloo in 1815.

 Were these Beech trees there then too?

There were twitchers! 

 

What is it about Twitchers that makes them so comedic? They seriously ignored our giggling and kept their binoculars clamped to their eyes, looking for Redstarts.

The next exciting adventure was on Monday of the Bank holiday. The perfect English summer's day where there was no rough wind to shake those darling buds of May.

My lovely young friend Michael had finished his boat! Started a year ago, this was the perfect day to launch it.

 

The boat was so streamlined & speedy that poor Michael was constantly holding back and waiting for the rest of the gang as we zig-zagged our way up river to the picnic site.

Landing was a slight problem.

But some Pimms with ice & blueberries soon set us right. Along with pork pies, Stilton and biscuits, chocolate and Jane's rhubarb and orange cake.

Cheers to Michael Kelly and his incredibly successful boat launch.

It's exhausting all that fun and so very nice to lie in the sun just chewing the fat.

Then it was back to civilisation and William's fabulous boat. There's an older post here that shows more of this beautiful folly.

Will has named the shed by the river where his fiancé Cath writes, Tolstoy's retreat. Cute huh?