Monday 22 April 2019

Morris
















Ah, bank holiday. It seemed as though everyone was out, everywhere. We cunningly avoided the M5 and went to the village with the big village green. The canal was bustling, with houseboats opened up and everyone kicking back and enjoying the sun. The bridge operators were opening and closing bridges non-stop, some of them still needing winding by hand - hot work on the hottest Easter Monday on record.

Outside the pub there was all sorts of traditional bank holiday stuff - Morris dancing, sausage rolls, ice-cream, lager, dogs underfoot, deckchairs, sunburn and cider ice-lollies (the littlest boy's choice - the closest he can get to actual cider, which he believes he may enjoy). St George was even cantering about the place lancing things, which added to the atmosphere. There was a mummer's play and some strange feathery, flappy black-clad Morris dancers which Bertie took a very decided dislike to. He'd already had a fright when the barrier at the swing bridge went up in the air and the scary people were, well, a bridge too far. We retreated to a shady tree to calm down.

I dutifully did the annual Easter egg treasure hunt yesterday. I always forget what utter chaos it is when people misinterpret the clue and empty out cupboards looking for something that isn't there. I love it really though, especially when they can't get one and I can stand there looking smug and enigmatic because I KNOW WHERE THE CHOCOLATE IS.

And so it is all over and normal life will resume within a day or two. I hope all had a good weekend. I have enjoyed having the little and not-so-little people home. The biggest boy and I had a conversation over pens and notebooks yesterday, which we both take very seriously. I have three nice refillable pens that I got secondhand as a job lot a while ago.

Him: Three?? You don't need three.

Me: I do. What if there is a Brexit pen shortage? Who'll be laughing then?

Him: Can I have one?

Me: NO! They're all mine.

Him: But you have three.

Me: Try some of this tea. Smell it first.

Him: IT SMELLS OF CARDIFF!

It doesn't actually. Cardiff smells lovely, and lapsang souchong does too, although in a very different and more of a burning rubber sort of a way.

Of course he squeezed a pen out of me in the end. Then he took it apart to see how it worked. What is it with boys and taking stuff apart? He also likes making 'improvements' to things. He has added about forty 'useful' apps to my laptop to streamline his existence. Unfortunately it takes so long there isn't usually much time left for homework at the end of it all. But it is all apparently very efficient and if only I would do it all as well, I too could be running smoothly.

Hope all is well out there? Smooth and energy efficient? Or slopping lapsang souchong on the laptop and hoping for the best?

13 comments:

  1. Definitely a tea slopper here - although, sadly, it has to be decaff! I love the Cardiff joke - I would have guessed Ireland, only because the one time I visited I was ill for most of it and the smell of the peat fires tipped me over the edge! You do have some lovely looking houses round your way and I love the Morris photos - I really enjoy all that traditional stuff. I'm not that keen on ice lollies though, but I think I could be tempted by a cider one! Love your son's enquiring, scientific mind. xx

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  2. Lovely photos! It looks very English which I love, so thank you for sharing.

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  3. Black Morris- I understand Bertie's reaction, I felt something similar myself! I think that photo of the Knight on the white horse casually meandering along the green as if it were perfectly normal is quite possibly my favourite yet. xx

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  4. I smiled reading this post and it's an interesting selection of pictures. I like the boats and gardens but I'm with Bertie as those Morris dancers look decidedly spooky.
    All's well here, and I'd like to think that I'm smooth and energy efficient. xx

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  5. They are rather evil looking Morris men. Clearly a scary part of the world. Lovely canal photos and great to be reminded of egg hunts. All three of my boys loved them. We were often staying in a holiday cottage over Easter when they were young and the hunt was all the more tricky because of unknown territory. B x

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  6. So nice to see pictures of canals and boats and that morris dance thing i've only read about :) absolutely love english gardens... looks like summer, we still got some snow here in finland...

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  7. Hello CJ, I found your blog from another blogger's site and so i spent time reading through previous posts and enjoyed the photos as well as the post text. The canal boats were interesting to see, but I must confess that the Morris dancers looked a bit frightening at first look. Egg hunts and egg coloring were also included in our Easter celebration and yes it is fun to know where the treats are hidden.

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  8. I always find Morris dancing a bit creepy. Not sure why but I am not surprised that Bertie finds them creepy, too. Particularly the feathery ones. Easter was uneventful with very little chocolate (because I forgot). I hope you are having a lovely week x

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  9. I love a good gawp at Morris dancing especially the raucous ones with sticks not the wafty ones with hankerchiefs. We lost our two year old dog at the end of March from something he ate - there have been a spate of badger poisonings by us so do be careful. Have a good week. Jo x

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  10. I had never heard of Morris dancing, but agree that it is a bit scary! Those are some beautiful homes in your photos. Looking at houses always makes me wonder about the people who live there. Loved the pen conversation. Knew at the beginning you were going to be at least one short at the end!

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  11. Now I have a yearning to se Morris too. I know that pen and notebook thing and despite being a girl, I've also taken a part a pen or two that were never the same again...

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  12. Bertie's absolutely right Morris dancers are scary. It's strange how they compare Easter weather as this Easter was one of the latest - if it had fallen a week or so earlier it would have been a much different story,

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  13. I think I need those apps as I am fr from running smoothly. Boys, no matter the age always want what you have. And frankly they get it from me too!

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