A tale of two cities

Life has certainly been busy since the cancellation of our Greek holiday. Just a few days back from my walking holiday in Wales, we set off to County Durham, for a couple of days with my sister K & husband A. They had planned a surprise for us and it kept us guessing until the very last minute. The weather was perfect for lunch in their beautiful garden (see photo) before it was time to change into suitable clothing (we asked for a few tips, beforehand, just in case). I'd suspected it could have been Newcastle, as our nephew and girlfriend live there, but I wasn't entirely correct about the final venue. We did, in fact, meet up with A & S who were to join us for an early meal, and all six of us entered a tapas bar, alongside the river. Leaving Newcastle, we crossed the amazing Millenium Bridge to Gateshead, and headed for The Sage. Sitting inside with our drinks, waiting for the 'surprise' to begin, Mike's guess about flamenco dancers (possibly because we'd just left the tapas bar) couldn't have been closer to the truth. A few moments later there was an announcement for those who had come to see Paco Pena and his flamenco dancers to take their seats in the theatre. That certainly made us all laugh. At the same time Mike and I were absolutely delighted with K & A's choice - Paco Pena and his Flamenco sin Fronteras, a mixture of Spanish, Latin American and Afro-Caribbean music and dancing. What a wonderful show and what a fantastic surprise. To end a perfect evening, we all walked back across the bridge, with its ever-changing colours, looking back at The Sage. Now in darkness, the riverside was ablaze with light and colour, all reflected in the water. Quite stunning. It was good for us all to get together. Thanks to K & A.

I've been trying to keep ahead of things on the plot, between my adventures (and there are more to follow!). Weeds, weeds, weeds! Just when I think I've achieved a weed-free plot, I return a day or two later, and they are back. We've been enjoying lots of freshly-picked salad leaves, but they are bolting (as are the radishes) very quickly in this hot and wet weather, so my next job is to set more seed in the salad bed. Most things are coming on reasonably well, but the shallots don't look to good - and it's obvious that on some of the other plots, members of the onion family are looking a bit sick. Onion fly? However, the chives (originally from Marion) have never looked better. Along with the clematis, possibly the best looking plants on the plot. I did find the label from the other clematis, by the way, but it's not to hand so can't include the name just now. It was time to defend the tayberries from the birds, and with some difficulty, because of the confined space , I finally spread some netting over the prickly stems. So now the soft fruit is reasonably well protected - that is, apart from the slugs and snails and other creepy crawlies!

Back home, the garden is alive with the chatter and chirrups of parent and baby birds, and the constant to-ing and fro-ing of nest builders and food searchers. As I started my blog, a robin perched on the open conservatory door. Ebb & Flo are still visiting the garden to drink from the pond and bird bath - and to leave their evil droppings, just where I walk when I hang out the washing! The big, red poppies are now flowering - the first flowers of the summer perennials.