Mr Cooper and I decided that we would decorate our new home combining a seaside theme whilst incorporating a cottage element too. Mr Cooper also decided that, to him, 'decorate' means helping to choose colours and fabrics, but not getting any more involved with the actual process other than carrying tins of paint to the car. I thought I had better stick to the more traditional meaning of the word, in order to make actual progress.
With our new scheme firmly in our minds, we went to choose curtains for our sitting room. This is the fabric that we chose, which really does work to combine both seaside and cottage elements!
Well, they are on a sandy background, and we could keep a couple in the cottage garden.....
Diane and Janeese came to visit on Friday, and they entered our house with much hilarity and relief to find that we lived in an actual house and not an old person's bungalow. This is because when you turn into our road, on one side there are only old people's bungalows, and our house is hiding at the very end, in all its two storey splendour.
After having said all the right things whilst looking totally fabulous (you will just have to take my word for that) we explored the high street, and then enjoyed lunch in the sunshine. And very good it all was too, courtesy of The Seal.
Friday evening saw me and Mr Cooper excitedly walking to the theatre for the first time in Selsey, to see Arts Dream Selsey's production of 'Journey's End', which was completed in 1928.
We were anxious to arrive early, as the seats were not allocated. Happily, we were shown to the centre of the front row, which could not have been better. The play was very moving and very well acted, and afterwards me and Mr Cooper went to The Seal, as two hours of life in the trenches does take it out of you, so gin was called for. We were not the only ones to feel that way, as we were closely followed by 8 members of the Infantry company plus one German prisoner of war. They were now in mufti, and two of them had even come back to life too, which was cheering to see!
The llamas got admired the next day too when Alan and Penny came over. The Seal was also visited again, but not for too long as it became very noisy when Mr Shouty Person came in to play pool. The good news was that we just decamped to, The Lifeboat, a far more quiet pub, where we were able to have that old fashioned thing called a conversation. And with us being the ages we are, with perhaps less sharp hearing than we once did have, we were also able to have conversations about two totally unrelated topics. This is a trick that you too can begin to perfect when you truly leave your forties behind.
On Sunday, me and Mr Cooper went to Sidlesham, to have lunch at the Crab and Lobster. This has been a favourite pub of mine for many years, particularly as the marshes near it remind me so much of the counrtyside of my childhood, particularly around Gedney Drove End. So much so that it is where we chose to have our first wedding reception, following on from our marriage at the registrars office in Chichester. Our second wedding reception was in our very own garden a few days later, where we had the marriage we wanted which was perfect but not strictly legal, hence the first one.
We chose to sit outside and enjoy the view as we ate our lunch. Mr Cooper had a packet of crisps whilst I enjoyed a bag of dry-roasted peanuts. We weren't able to eat more there as each time Mr Cooper popped inside for a tinkle, he cames out enraged, saying things like 'Twenty five pounds for a piece of fish!' and '£19 for a Sunday roast!' I would quite like to experience the delights of a more up-market Sunday roast as the last two I have had have been on the economy side. They also made me think back to my childhood, back to when beef was cooked till it was grey, and you didn't need any teeth with which to eat your vegetables.
Anyway, here is the view we enjoyed whilst sitting in the garden, one of us slightly enraged, and one of us dreaming of rare roast beef. however, we both wondered what the sheep were thinking about, as we had both recently read a brilliant book as recommended by my big brother Simon.
If you are a fan of detective stories and good writing, look no further. It might also mean that having read it, roast lamb might be a Sunday roast of the past. Do find a copy, then just enjoy!
For many years now, in fact since I was 18, I have been intrigued by Tibetan singing bowls. As the sale of our last house got closer, I said that when it happened, I would go to Glastonbury with Mr Cooper, Rose and Paul (owners of Dilly the caravan) to choose one of my own.
Me and Mr Cooper decided to be reckless and spend the night there, which we did, in the pub called 'Who'd a Thought It'. That is our room, just behind the writing. A curious name, we thought, and wondered why it was called that.
We spent the rest of Monday wandering around and, in my case, buying three dresses of the type you would find in Glastonbury and not Chichester, Winchester or Salisbury.
The second dress I chose because of its amazing fabric. Cats, kittens and moons, what's not to like!
I am not entirely sure that the dress actually suits me, but I just have the urge to be adorned with kittens wearing hats. Another hark back to my childhood, when dressing up your cat or dog and even putting them in a pram was not only acceptable but even expected. And then you found out that pets not only had a mind of their own, but teeth and claws too.
I did buy an accessory to go with the dress, but more of that later.
Keeping on the cat theme, after dining in Excalibur's, where one of us really enjoyed a vegan plate of food, and one of us didn't find it 'filling enough' we enjoyed a drink at a pub called 'Hawthorns'. Any pub with a tortoiseshell cat sitting on the table is onto a winner with me, and here is Millie.
After a glass of wine, we thought we would go back to where we were staying for another, or two, it being 9.55pm. We then found out where it got it's name from, as when we got there the lights were dimmed, and chairs were being put onto tables.
'Any chance of a drink as we are residents?' we asked.
We were told we could have 'One to take upstairs with us' so we went back to Hawthorns, saying 'Who'd a thought it' as we walked there. Once more inside 'Hawthorns' we had a night of chatting and Mead drinking. 'This is amazing' I said, about the Mead. (The conversation was pretty amazing too) 'Where could I get some?' Easy peasy, in Glastonbury you either buy it from the Co-op, or from the shop that sells Viking gear. Which I did the following day.
Here is a picture of Hawthorns in the sun, plus a part of a mural, and a rainbow painted bin.
I do love Glastonbury.
Buying a singing bowl must be very much like buying a magic wand. You try out many, but one of them chooses you. So it was in the singing bowl shop. Some looked perfect but were unresponsive, some you actually didn't even try as they were way beyond your budget, and then you found one whose sound you kept returning to. I made a choice on Monday, but asked for the bowl to be put aside for me until Rose and Paul were with us. It was a little larger than I had imagined it, and also more expensive, but it is not everyday that I will purchase one.
On Tuesday we had yet more fun just 'making sure' that I had the right one with Rose and Paul. There was one whose sound was so deep that it was fascinating, but so was the price. And it wasn't the right one for me.
Here is the right one for me, nestling on the first dress I bought, alongside some shoes that I was surprised to find there. Mr Cooper was also surprised that I had to buy them, but I think they will be the perfect addition to my cat and moon dress.
I really love my singing bowl, and am spending time each day exploring it. I think the more that they are 'played' the happier they will become. I will have to ask Mr Cooper what he thinks of this idea. Now where has he gone?
So the picture above makes me happy as it encapsulates my Glastonbury experiences, and the exciting time I had there. I wouldn't want to live there, but I do want to become a regular visitor.
The picture below also makes me happy as my beloved display cabinet has been sitting on the floor of the dining room since we moved in, with four boxes of china also sitting on the floor.
It took three people to get it down when we moved, and I was not sure how we were going to get it up, having moved.
Now enter Paul the carpenter, who spent Thursday and some of Friday boarding the loft. Just before he left, I showed him the cabinet and asked if he had any suggestions. Not only had he a suggestion but also a solution, and he returned on Saturday at ten to fasten it to the wall, aided by stools, the table, and blocks of wood. And here it is, resplendent, on Saturday afternoon.
What with singing bowls being purchased and my blue and white collection re-instated, what more could I need? A new chain for my dinosaur necklace, that's what!
This has become one of my most favourite items of jewellery, and is also very much admired, but sadly the chain lost its plating, and became very dark. Buying a proper silver chain for it was another thing I said would happen when we moved, and thanks to the jewellery shop in Selsey (it pays to shop local) my dinosaurs are now positively gleaming, as they were when they were new.
So here ends my blog almost, with the final animal picture. Yes, I know that dinosaurs are really reptiles, but the term 'animal' for me encompasses them too.
I am looking forward to taking them on their usual Sunday outing of lunch in a hostelry. (Large Shiraz, and a packet of plain crisps, they love it!)
So when I leave you this week, I think my thought to leave you with is that asking for help is a good thing to do. What seems very difficult for you to do on your own can be seen as easy by another. And similarly, don't forget to be there to help your friends too.
And, keeping on my animal theme, be kind to them, and if you allow your cat to sit on the table, do draw the line at letting them sit on the kitchen surfaces. Kindness does not mean removing all boundaries, the same applies to toddlers too!
I hope you have a lovely week ahead of you, and that a problem you have, becomes solved with help. I hope you manage to stroke a kitten too, just to make things just perfect.
See you all soon.
