Today I was thankful for a very small thing: the ability to spend the afternoon in the garden doing some last-minute re-potting and sorting of the plants into their place for the winter whilst I'm away in NZ. It's not all finished but the majority of the work is done and the garage has been sorted as well so that the Nighthawk can be put into it. Of course it doesn't stay there for the whole of the six months. Dave takes it out for a run occasionally just to keep everything ticking and to make sure nothing seizes up. Mind you so far as the battery is concerned ever since I invested in a CTEK MXS battery charger, which remains attached to the battery whenever it is garaged, the old problem of the alarm draining the battery no longer applies.
Being thankful for that doesn't make for an even vaguely interesting post though so I thought I'd post a few pictures from CJ's and my Liverpool visit to the gardens and recreation area adjoining Liverpool One.
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| Doesn't everyone play table tennis after shopping? |
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| Entertainment for the littlies (and their parents/grandparents) |
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| This reminded me of days in Berlin where chess-in-the-park seemed common |
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| Relaxing in the sun (everyone seems to be wearing Tilly Hats now) |
A nice reminder of warm sunny days! Of course I scrutinized the background of each picture, just in case I could have spotted my niece somewhere. That is not so absurd as it may sound: My uncle and aunt live in the south of France and divide their time between a small Provence village at the foot of Mont Ventoux and their flat in Nice. Some years ago, my Mum and Dad were watching a documentary on telly about Nice. And who should walk right through the Nice market scene but my uncle and aunt, completely unaware of the filming going on.
ReplyDeleteI've found over the years Meike that it really is a very small world. Spesh's husband Dave always tells the story of a lady on one of his coach tours in the UK who tripped in the street and was caught by a person who happened to be her next door neighbour in Australia. Neither had any idea that the other was in England.
DeleteAt least the weather is cooperating for you to get last minute garden chores taken care of....can't say the same thing for me here.
ReplyDeleteIt's been raining so "off and on" recently, that it's impossible to get any outdoor work done.
Lovely photos..I like the little girl striking a pose as she plays table tennis....so cute.
Well it was for a day Virginia. Now it's turned and the forecast is not good at all. C'est la vie.
DeleteMum and Dad recently visited Liverpool when they were staying in Chester. They came back raving about how wonderful it was - how fantastic it looked - and your photos prove their point.
ReplyDeleteI stayed in the city years ago (1996) and was appalled and saddened by how it looked. It was derelict in many places and simply looked defeated, run-down, dangerous - consequence of Thatcher's economic policies... There must have been a massive regeneration programme?
Anyway - glad you're managing to do all those little last minute tasks. Safe journey!
I'm sorry to say Yvonne that it wasn't just, or perhaps even, Thatcher's economic policies per se that led to Liverpool's downfall. When I was young Liverpool still had thriving shipping, banking and insurance industries. The economic requirement for Liverpool geographically for shipping into and out of the country diminished and shipping itself altered dramatically. The banks and insurance companies could have kept their headquarters in Liverpool and with the increasing use of computerisation could have located anywhere. They did and they chose to move elsewhere. In many ways the extreme policies of the Derek Hatton (Millitant turned multi-millionaire) era of Liverpool scared business and did far more harm than Thatcher's neglect. 'My' Liverpool suffered greatly during that era. My politics were left of centre but I can no more forgive Hatton for what he and the Militants did than I can blame or forgive Thatcher for what she did.
DeleteI think I can safely say I never played table-tennis in connection with shopping. My parents used to have a table in the basement though (in the house where we lived in my teens, and they for another 18 years after that).
ReplyDeleteI love table-tennis but have never tried playing it outdoors either Monica.
DeleteIt's great to be thankful. Doesn't have to be anything big: just simple things, like "Thank goodness it didn't rain until the paint was dry!" "Thank goodness I made back to the petrol station without running out!" "Thank goodness X's trip ended safely." We all need to remind ourselves to be grateful more often. There's a lot of trouble and angst in the world, but there are a lot of good things too. Take care and God bless on your soon-to-be-taken journey back to NZ. xoxo
ReplyDeleteThank you Carol. One of the things that Thankful Thursday has done has focussed my thankful thoughts. I've been fortunate to have been born with an optimistic personality so playing the Glad Game and being thankful comes naturally. I can't say that it hasn't been tested occasionally but it's survived.
DeleteIt's so important to be thankful, even for the smallest things. :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Liz.
DeleteOh that chess in the park! - that reminds you of Berlin, and reminds me of a central square in Christchurch, before the earthquake - I know there's been much rebuilding, do you know if they've reinstated the chess?
ReplyDeleteHi Jo. Good to see you. I don't know whether they have re-instated the chess in Christchurch. I'll ask friends there.
DeleteThanks - it would be yet another reason to go back to NZ! (As if I need more reasons!)
DeleteHi again Jo. I've just asked, Fi, a friend in Christchurch and she is not aware of it - the square is open but she hasn't seen it or seen images of it anywhere so far. The war zone is not conducive to that, but Fi wouldn't be surprised if it hash't been used it as a gap filler on some of the empty blocks.
DeleteThanks for your persistence! It's such a small thing, but I had a lovely sunny morning in that square - oh well, I've still got the memories.
DeleteHi Jo. Just had information from Fi. The chess set has been resurrected: see here.
DeleteGB - you are a STAR!!!!!!!
DeleteJust to think I never knew what Tilly hats were till I saw your photo! :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful things Jenny. I've been wearing a Tilly Hat since I saw one in California in 2004. They are made in Canada but are now gaining popularity in the UK.
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