M25 rocks. If someone else is driving.

We had a good visit. Frangelita and HF came for dinner and Barney's brother was there too. We took the dog who became besotted by BiL (possibly because BiL took him out for 3 walks). It seemed to be mutual.
The skies were WONDERFUL all the way to and from Braintree...all vast clouds and huge shadows and brilliant sun. Lots of showers. The M25 is undoubtedly a blot on the landscape but it does do some marvellous skies. And all along the motorways, blackthorn was in flower. White froth on black lace. I tried not to think about all the pictures I would have been taking at home.
I get town-house fever (as in gaol) when we're staying in Braintree...there just isn't enough room to move about and you can hear everyone breathing at night (which means I might wake them up when I am going to bed an hour later than they do)...Except when Barney is snoring. I am just not a town person. And when you look out of the window, all you can see is another house full of breathing people. no world!!!!
Barney's Mum's garden is lovely though. This is approxiamtely the first anniversary of her death and nearly the date of her birthday. she loved her garden. It occurs to me that my mother died on the first of April. (I'm really not good at dates, but you couldn't forget that). She loved her garden too. But in a different way. She would have let it grow wild and would have loved wandering in long grasses and trees. Barney's mum nurtured and weeded and planted. There was something very similar about the way they brought up their children too. Not much pruning though :)

And she loved to watch the birds feeding outside the window. These are African Ring Doves. Very common in England. Funny, sharp, mindless eyes they've got.

I finished the Time Traveller's Wife. It's wonderful. Original (what a delight), clever, a love story and a time travel story like no other I've ever read. Heartbreaking.
Today we went to Freeport (retail outlet), me and the three men. I abandoned them immediately saying blithely, you've got my mob number haven't you?
Well yes but Barney left his mob behind, Dad switched his off and I haven't got BiL's number on my mob.
But they did look sweet trailing off together like a group of (somewhat aged) schoolboys!
So after I'd had a short but productive gallop round the site, I was spotted by a lost husband (mine). Tried to phone his Dad to say I'd found one of his children lost and wandering around Freeport on his own. Left a message. Tried to phone BiL to say his brother wanted to go home now...hadn't got the number. Meanwhile, Dad had tried to phone Barney. Upshot being, instead of a cup of coffee, I got to sit on a cold bench watching out for BiL and Dad while Barney looked at some shoes. And it turned out Dad was in Coffee Nation like two feet away from here I was sitting!
when we got back, Nutmeg was sitting up on an arnchair with his front feet over the back so he could look out of the window.

And on the way home I took pictures (in spite of comments aboout snap happiness). These are two of them, pasted together.