And the day is here – the building of our new garden patio is upon us. Mr H has taken it upon himself to be the master builder, roping lucky chum Jules and a young bit of muscle in the form of bronzed Callum.. mmm, bonus.
The delightful skip has arrived on the drive alongside tonnes of soil or whatever it is – I left the boys humping the old pathway slabs and a shedload of soil out of the garden into the skip, and then with the joyous task of reversing the process and schlepping the new stuff through the garage and utility, down two sets of steps and back into the garden. Made me rather glad I was merely heading off for a day of chemo!
Still, hopefully when it is done, we will have a nice little spot down by the shed (oh the glamour), to either take the shade with a cuppa in the morning, when the top terrace is baking, or to snatch the last rays of sun at the end of the day when it turns into sun trap corner. There will be a square patio that encompasses the two trees and goes to the fence on one side and just past the shed outer, into the garden, as well as a new path running up to the steps.
And it is to be known as Mum's Patio, as her legacy has helped us build it. Seems fitting as I can still see the day that Mum & Cathy were in our sun loungers on the terrace, Mum tipped back and loving the angle (having massively fretted her way down our steps to achieve getting there in the first place, bless her). Here's the 'before' shot – hopefully the 'after' will be much better!
And while the boys have been planning soil, wheelbarrows and support frames, I popped round to see my Twinny this week.
My what?
My Twinny!
I've known Caroline since we were about 15, playing hockey at Surbiton way back in the 1980's. And after various other clubs, we've ended up both playing for Aces, well, me in spirit these days if not in body. And for years, our umpire Dougie, who is now 82 I think, has found it impossible to tell the difference between us. Despite me being 2 inches taller, Caroline being a few years younger and obviously the fact that we are not identical! It's always quite hard to know how to reply when Dougie sidles up to me and thoughtfully asks 'So, how's Scotty doing?'…
Still, with our lockdown hair growth, we decided to take a picture from the back – made all the more amusing by Caro's husband popping out into the garden to say he hadn't been sure which of us was which – from behind – either!
Time for a Spot the Difference competition… x