Just pootling

Friday and Saturday were those days when you don’t really do much, but just pootle around the house.

Mum had a hair appointment booked, so I drove her to that, and then thought I could do with a trim myself. Mum’s hairdresser, Kylie, (in a rather shabby, down-at-heel salon) didn’t think she could fit me in immediately, so I trotted over to the rivals (in a shinier, cleaner salon). They also couldn’t fit me in immediately but had an appointment in the afternoon. I booked myself in, then went back to mum. Whereat Kylie said “Oh, go on, I think I can do you now…” I had to protest, and say “No, no, it’s fine…I don’t think I’ll bother…” several times before she relented! I finally got my cut at the Rivals’ place – and I was very pleased with it – and the cost, which is cheaper than here in France!

During the afternoon mum did some gardening, I read and puzzled over the cryptic crossword. As Judy was busy with her local councillor-ing & canvassing, I cooked dinner – an easy but very nice dish..Creamy chicken, bean & leek traybake I recommend it. Afterwards, I introduced mum to The Great British Sewing Bee, which she enjoyed watching. My nephew who lives in Edinburgh was due that evening, to meet his mates for a stag do, but hadn’t arrived by the time I went to bed!

On Saturday morning, we sat in the garden with Kieran and chatted, and then Conor, his brother, and his girlfriend Hattie arrived as a surprise. It was lovely o see them, and mum enjoyed the sunshine, and her grandsons being there. I popped to the local Hobbycraft store in the afternoon and bought a few crafting supplies.

For dinner Judy and I prepared a hybrid curry with a leftover lamb dish, a cauliflower dish for one and some anonymous spices. It was reasonably tasty, and used up leftovers which is always good! Then I introduced mum to “The Piano” TV series, which she also enjoyed!

On Sunday we went to church – it’s always nice to go back, as it’s the church where I grew up. People still say Hello, and remember all the terrible things I got up to when I was young. Mum has been a stalwart there since she moved to the area before I was born!

On Sunday afternoon we visited Norton Priory, in Runcorn, a place that I didn’t know existed, but which was really interesting. We arrived at 15.00 to discover that the walled garden closed at 16.00 so we went there first. It was lovely!

We spent a good 30 minutes or so wandering around; Judy was particularly interested in the vegetable plot, as she has one of her own. I just enjoyed the flowers that were there. We were fascinated by some of the soft fruits that were growing, especially the jostaberry, which I had never heard of. Mr FD would hate it, as it was a cross between the two fruits he refuses to eat: a blackcurrant and a gooseberry. There were also whitecurrants, loganberries, and other soft fruits which I only vaguely knew of.

There were lots of little “rooms” in the garden, each with a different type of flower – roses, an orchard with quince and medlar fruit, a herb garden, a sculpture of a pig and her piglets…it was so pleasant to wander in the sunshine.

Mum did need to pause and rest now and then, but did very well. After the garden, we headed back to the main museum. The remains that were there were the Victorian porch, which had been added to the house that had been built using the remains of the original Priory (since demolished) and the Undercroft of the Priory which was absolutely splendid. There were also still the walls of the Priory, which had been excavated after the demolition of the house. Norton Priory was a home for nearly 900 years for the medieval Augustinian Canons who lived, worked and prayed here, and for the wealthy Brooke family who made Norton their home for nearly 400 years. The house became derelict in the 1920s

Time for a rest

For dinner Judy prepared lamb shanks, which were very delicious, with asparagus and green beans, and then we had blackcurrant pies (not jostaberry tarts!) for dessert. A very satisfactory day!