“Life is a frail moth flying caught in the web of the years that pass.” - Sara Teasdale

We live quite to a park and there is other open space nearby too, perhaps that is why we get so many moths in our house during the summer months. They come into the bathroom, maybe they are attracted to the light, but I read somewhere that they like a humid atmosphere so perhaps that explains why they choose the bathroom. 

I rather like moths, they have beautiful markings and they don't really do any harm in the bathroom. I love having the chance to take a close look at their markings when they settle on the wall, they really are very beautiful in a more subtle and understated way than butterflies. The problem is that our cat Oreo has appointed himself moth catcher in chief and during 'moth season' he lurks in the vicinity of the bathroom ready to pounce on any unsuspecting moth which is careless enough to stray within his reach! I feel very sorry for the moths.

Since we have been back from holiday it seems as if the moths have a death wish, I gave found corpses in the bath damp and dying moths around the sink and moths turning up their toes on the window ledge. I don't know what is going on. On Friday I found the corpse of what I thought was a grasshopper in the bath. On closer inspection I found that it was a speckled bush cricket. The question is, how did it get there? Speckled bush crickets are flightless, they can jump but our bathroom is upstairs and only the small top window was open, so how could it possibly have got into the bathroom?

When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.

“When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.” – D. H. Lawrence

I found this quote while I was looking for something completely different. It stayed in my mind because it because it evokes an interesting image. It is self evident that a person who jumps over the edge will land somewhere, but it is not very reassuring. Most of us like a little more certainty, we need to know where we are heading. Taking a leap into the unknown is very scary but sometimes it is the right thing to do.


According to the National Trust young people are missing out on childhood adventures because they are not getting outside. In order to get children outdoors and to encourage a spirit of adventure they have come up with a list of 50 things to do before you are 11¾.

OK, I know it is a bit late for me, but it is an interesting list. I have done most of the things on the list and I had almost certainly ticked off most of them before the age of 11¾, I was a bit of a tomboy. There are a couple of things that I would add to the list. Shelling peas - and finding the occasional wriggling maggot inside. Making a den among the bales in the hay barn, that one is a lot harder these days because we don't have small bales any more, and it would almost certainly be contravene health and safety regulations.


The list led me to think of things that I should do before I get too old to manage it or too forgetful to remember it. I found all sorts of suggestions on the internet, but nothing really captured my imagination. Perhaps I have already got all the wacky, wild and weird things out of my system, or perhaps I am just plain boring. I think having Robbie in my life brings enough craziness to last a lifetime!I commented to my son that it would be fun to be an embarrassment to my children just once in my life. He gave me a long stare, raised one eyebrow and informed me that I could already tick that one off my list! 

I have no great desire to travel or to achieve anything spectacular. It would be nice to have a tidy house, that has been a work in progress for the last 20 years! Perhaps I will achieve it before I die. It would be nice to be debt free, another work in progress, at least the end of the mortgage is not too many years ahead. Robbie have always talked about having a VW camper van when we are older, it would give us the freedom to go wherever the mood takes us. Knowing Robbie we would never stray far from the railway. I have always dreamed of spending a whole summer (or even longer) by the sea. Perhaps that dream will come true one day, who knows. It is nice to dream, but long as my family are happy, healthy and safe I will be content. 

From Troubles of the World I Turn to Ducks - Frank W. Harvey

There will be few words in this article because the pictures can tell their own story. It is 2nd October but today was as hot and sunny as a day in July, so Robbie and I went to the park to enjoy the sunshine.

There are several exercise contraptions positioned around the park. Robbie decided to use the twisty one, I think it is designed to work on waist and tummy muscles. It was very entertaining but I am not sure if it did any good!

Robbie spent a long time stalking a squirrel in the hope of getting the perfect shot. The squirrel obliged and posed for a photo, but Robbie accidentally deleted it - the photo not the squirrel! As we walked back from the ice cream van I picked up a conker and slipped it into Robbie's pocket. At the time he was busy eating his ice cream but when he found it a few minutes later he decided to search under a tree for more conkers. There was just one problem - it wasn't a Horse Chestnut tree!!

I never tire of this view. I used to come here as a child to feed the ducks or to fish for tiddlers, So many memories.

You are never too old to feed the ducks. I don't think anyone can sit by the lake watching the antics of the ducks and still feel miserable.

All along the backwater, 

Through the rushes tall, 

Ducks are a-dabbling, 

Up tails all!

Kenneth Grahame

Last of the Summer Sun

When I went to the supermarket earlier this week, it felt as if I had taken a step back to early August. It was very hot with bright sunshine and and everyone was wearing short sleeved tops. To my surprise it has remained and sunny ever since. Of course looks can be deceiving, it may be hot in the middle of the day, but the early morning is dark and distinctly nippy and the long summer evenings have been chased away by the encroaching autumn darkness. I am always pleased to see the sun, but in a way the sunny days this week are a sad reminder of all that has gone. Was it really six weeks ago that we were on holiday in Norfolk? 

I love the summer, I don't need the weather to be too hot, just warm and comfortable, but mostly I love the long days and warm pleasant evenings. I think my favourite month is May when there are so many wild flowers and it warm with long lazy evenings and the summer stretches ahead of us. September is my least favourite month, it feels as if the darkness closes in around us with dark mornings and encroaching darkness in the evening with the promise of worse to come. We all have little triggers that remind us of past sadness and for me it is the sound of conkers falling to the ground from Horse Chestnut Trees. I remember the excitement of getting up early to go and collect conkers when I was little and I did the same when my children were little, so there are some good memories. However they are overshadowed by the memory of sitting in a hospital room, looking out at the beautiful grounds and hearing the conkers fall from the trees with a thud on to the grass below. In the quiet of the night the thud of the conkers falling seemed very loud. How odd that something so insignificant can sound so loud when a human life can slip away noiselessly.

My Favourite Holiday Photos

What Norfolk Means to Me - by Robbie

There comes a point when even 'Robbie' needs a holiday and to me Norfolk is my sanctuary. Open sea, long deserted beaches, and flat expanses of land as far as the eye can see. Even if the weather is not so wonderful I still love it, but to me it is one of the only times of the year when I can spend some REAL family time. Not worrying about my train being late, not worrying if I forgot to send that email to Network Rail.....just 'us' time!

Missed

The weather has been lovely over the last few days, I love this time of year when the whole summer stretches ahead of us. I'm not sure my children would agree with me, Sam is suffering badly with hay fever, Laura is just about to start exam leave for her AS Level exams and Emily has exams looming at university. Sam has started on his medication, so hopefully his hay fever will improve soon. The oil seed rape is in flower and the countryside around here is a mass of yellow, I hate the smell and the pollen upsets my asthma so I will be glad when the flowers are gone. It really annoys me that I have asthma, I didn't develop it until I was an adult and I don't understand why, I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.

I had to go to town yesterday to buy birthday presents for Imogen, the youngest (and probably the loudest) of our children, she will be 9 later this month. Imogen looks so much like Robbie, she can be very strong willed but she has a lovely side to he nature, when asked what she wants for her birthday or Christmas she doesn't provide a long list of desires, she just says that she will be happy with anything. So we have spent the last few weeks trying to think of things that she will really like. I can't tell you what we have bought, that's top secret, but it involved me trudging around town until my legs almost dropped off. It was a successful trip and now I have plenty of wrapping up to do.

For those who are wondering if Robbie was forgiven after yesterday's blog entry, yes, I never stay cross with him for long. There was another points failure yesterday so he was late home again, it is so frustrating. He was home just long enough to eat his meal before dashing out to sort out Marion's wayward router again, it was an AOL server problem - again!. When I picked him up from Marion's house he said "I missed ..." and just for a split second I thought he was going to tell me that he had missed me (we have hardly seen each other this week), but it was something far more important - he had missed one of his favourite TV programs! It was late so I went to bed and left him watching the repeat of his program. Oh well at least I had peace and quiet!