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Hi friends and relations,
We hope you and the family
are all well. we are ok.
Claire visited the Physio dept at St Albans city hospital this month
and they were very pleased with her mobility and congratulated her
for doing her daily leg exercises.
Weather this month started poorly with rain and cold winds then
improved after the first week with warm sunny days with temperatures
in the mid 25c.
Spring is at last here, a little late this year but the flowers and
blossom have been at there best. Our Lilac across the bottom of our
garden has been a real picture.
I have been enjoying playing outdoor bowls this month for the
Batchwood Hall Bowling Club, although we lost to Hatfield, Owls,
Potten End and Townsend, but won against De Havilland and Kings
Langley.
Philip and i went to see a football league play off final at
Borehamwood where they won the match 2 - 0 against Kingstonian, we
now look forward to seeing them play against our St Albans saints
next season.
It was May bank holiday on Monday May 3rd and we were invited to
visit Patrick and Ann in Kimpton Village. In the afternoon we walked
to the ancient church where we admired all the wonderful paintings,
sculpture, works of glass etc on display in the village annual Art
Show. Relaxing music from a string quintet was appreciated by all
the visitors.
On returning to their house we admired their colourful garden full
of flowers and shrubs. Ann provided a lovely salad tea for us with
various cheese and meats followed by homemade cakes, so tasty.
The following day we visited Claire's sister June and husband Derek
in their new apartment in Potters Bar, about 8 miles from St Albans.
It was great to see them again and they have furnished it so
tastefully, we are so pleased for them and they seem settled at last
from their ordeal in Zimbabwe.
I have enjoyed rehearsals with the Singing For Pleasure Choir and
Quorum Singers. The next Concert with Quorum and the South Wales
Male Voice Choir is on June the 5th in St Albans Cathedral, that
should be a wonderful experience.
We watched three excellent football matches on television this month
where my favourite team Spurs won 1 - 0 against Manchester City,
Chelsea won 8 - 0 against Wigan and Oxford beat York 3 - 1 at
Wembley in the conference league play off final.
I went to the Probus Verulamium Club meeting on Thursday May 6th and
gave a 15 minute talk about the Singing for Pleasure Choir's visit
to Paris and Gif in France in April. All members congratulated me
for such an interesting talk which pleased me.
We visited Rosemary and John at Flaunden village home on Monday 10th
may and were joined by friends Helen and Basil. We were all treated
with a wonderful 4 course lunch cooked by Rosemary on her Aga oven,
it was delicious. Later in the afternoon we had a walk through their
woods with all the trees now in full leaf, so fresh and green.
On Thursday 13th I journeyed in the car to London Heathrow to meet
our American friends Joan and Ernie from Diamond Springs near
Placerville. California. It was great to see them again and we were
home in St Albans in 45 minutes which was a good time for the
notorious M25 Motorway.
We had lots to talk about over dinner and in the evening I took them
on a local walk across the fields up to the woods where there were
carpets of Bluebells, a wonderful sight in the evening sunlight.
The following day we took them for a car ride to Whipsnade, Marston
Lakes and Canal where we had a good walk to the locks and saw a few
barges pass bye. Then we went to the Crows Nest Restaurant and had a
good 2 course lunch with splendid views from our table across the
Vale of Aylesbury.
In the afternoon we went to the top of Ivinghoe Beacon and
enjoyed the views, then to Ashridge Woods and a walk through the
carpets of bluebells, a wonder of nature.
It was a great day out for all of us.
On Saturday I took them for a walk through Verulamium Park, the
Roman Walls, the Fighting Cocks Pub, the lake where we saw several
Herons nesting on one of the islands. Then up the hill to the 1060
year old St Albans Cathedral where Ernie and Joan were captivated by
this majestic building full of history. We continued our
walk through alleys up to the Saturday street market which they
were fascinated by. Then home on the local bus for dinner. In the
evening we watched the semi final of the "over the rainbow" talent
show on television. It started with over 1000 girls auditioning for
the lead in a new production of The Wizard of Oz to be in a London
Theatre and the talent of the last ten was simply amazing.
The following day our friends had to leave us, so i took them to
Stevenage Railway station where they caught a train to York for a
visit to friends. There next location was Leeds followed by the Isle
of Arran in Scotland. We had such an enjoyable time with Joan and
Ernie and hope to see them again one day.
The following Saturday evening we watched the final of "Over the
Rainbow" show on television, it was fantastic and the winner was
our favourite, Danielle Hope a very talented Singer and Dancer.
On Sunday 23rd we planted summer bedding plants into pots for the
patio and into the garden in the morning and after lunch relaxed at
Redbourn Village Common watching the local cricket team in action
against Chenies. Plenty of runs, fours and sixes, a very
entertaining afternoon out.
Towards the end of the month we watched on television two warm up
matches for the World Cup. Where England beat Mexico 3 - 1 and also
winning 2 - 1 against Japan.
On Tuesday 25th May we visited Sylvia and Dennis at Dunstable, the
weather was very good so we travelled up to Ashridge Woods and a
walk through the blue bells. We had a nice lunch in a public house
at Little Gaddesdon, later continued our journey over Ivinghoe
Beacon to Dunstable and home for tea, a very pleasant day out.
The last day of the month was Spring Bank Holiday, so I arranged for
Philip, Les, Keith, Trevor, Adrian and I to go on a hike over
Ivinghoe Beacon. We parked our cars and climbed to the top in about
30 minutes, with good visibility we could see for miles. There were
two men flying radio controlled gliders which was fascinating to
watch. Then we continued along the ridge of soft green grass for
half a mile before descending to the fields below where sheep were
grazing. Continued for 2 miles then up the very steep hill to our
cars. It was great exercise for us all and the weather was just
perfect.
We had lunch and a pint of local ale in the Crows Nest restaurant at
Tring and in the afternoon we walked around Wilstone Lake to the
bird hide where we were able to see close up to the many ducks,
swans and herons. It was a great fun day out for all of us and to
finish the month on a high.
Well I hope you enjoyed our news,
We wish you all the best,
Regards from John and Claire.
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