ONE YEAR TODAY!

Birthday Party

On Saturday we had a little gruffalo party for own own little gruffalo. George was due to turn One on the Sunday and so we invited a few local friends - Graham and Poppy, Rach and Ben, Trevor and Sandra, our next door neighbours Pat and Ken, Sharon's parents Brian and Dot and of course Jon's parents to come over. We had lashings of ginger beer, gruffalo cupcakes, jam tarts, ham sandwiches, sausages of sticks, chocolate fingers and quiche. Poppy baked mini scones and mince pies and Rachael made Parkin. It was very sweet and people bought George the most beautiful presents, clothes and toys and cards and such loveliness. He seemed to thrive on the attention and tottered round babbling and squeaking.

I can't believe he is one.

Up in those hills

 

For Tomorrow

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England's, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Bonfire Night

A roaring blaze warms the bitter night air at St Peter's in Walsden...

...and we eat Pie and Peas - a truly Northern treat 

Fireworks light up the sky...

...and a mesmerised little boy gazes up from Daddy's arms

George's FIRST Guy Fawkes experience - this time last year he was five days overdue.

For The Pigeon

Goodbye to the softest dog - all my kindest thoughts to her lovely owner who let us ''dear readers'' share a little of her life.