I am so sorry for the radio silence this last three weeks, especially as I had promised to let you know my granddaughter’s name as soon as I did! It was just after I posted the last blog that Sam and Elise named their baby girl Florence Marie, which we all agree is absolutely beautiful, and was one of three names they had originally suggested. I think it’s lovely that some of us know the name of our child the minute we meet them, although others need to get to know their baby before they feel a name fits.

Well, I had every intention of writing this blog five days ago, when, after a somewhat stressful week waiting for the imminent arrival of Sam and Elise’s baby, my son called me to say that he and Elise were now mum and dad to a beautiful baby girl! Delivered safely by Cesarean section on the 19th February and weighing just 7lbs 9ozs (not the vast weight that had been suggested) she was finally here – another dear little soul for our family to love and cherish. I am over the moon, and both Colin and I feel extraordinarily blessed.

So how was your New Year? Last time I wrote to you I was knee deep in grated carrot while making a cake for my friend Jo’s birthday on the 1st of January.  Luckily this time I remembered to put in the sunflower oil… Previously I’ve had to add it to the mixture already in the cake tin!  I think it’s called being distracted, or maybe just getting older ☺️  That said,  I do hope you and yours were glad to wave goodbye to 2024 and have found the first fortnight of 2025 to be welcoming?

So, how was it for you? I can’t believe it’s nine days since I last wrote to you, and thank you so much for responding and bringing me up to speed with your Christmas plans. I know some of you have been poorly with this wretched flu that’s been doing the rounds, so I hope that you were feeling 100% better by Christmas Day. I treated myself to a copy of the Radio Times this year – my mum always used to buy it and we’d spend hours poring over it and circling all the programmes we wanted to watch! Of course in those days there were only three channels and no TV overnight, unlike now where we have so much choice it can make your head spin! So, Wallace and Gromit, Gavin and Stacey, Call The Midwife and Notting Hill were our choices, and were all equally entertaining. Reeves and Mortimer Gone Fishing is also a favourite as is Strike, so they’ve been recorded, and I’m onto the final ever two episodes of the BBC Drama The Split with Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan. It’s riveting! Can’t wait to see what happens at the end. What did you enjoy?

I think I’ve driven over 500 miles in the last few days and as always I’m very thankful for my somewhat boring but reliable car! From Dorset to Ditchling Common, Winchester, Salisbury Milton Keynes and Swindon! Phew! Do you remember the days when we used to have to pull the choke out before turning the ignition and then pray that our car would start, especially in the cold weather? My kids still find it hard to believe we used to drive without seatbelts and that drink-driving wasn’t even a thing! How times – mercifully – have changed!

I am SO sorry that I’ve not kept you up-to-date with everything but we’ve had rather a month of it here at home and in spite of my best intentions, I’ve only just had a chance to sit down in front of my computer! The last 30 days have been eventful with some wonderful news, but also worrying times.  Both my son Sam and my daughter Lucy are now recovering from surgery – they had different but planned procedures that left both of them unable to walk without crutches – more on that in a moment, after I’ve thanked you for your lovely comments not just here but on all the social media posts I dedicated to the Medical Detection Dogs charity.  There was quite a buildup to the day itself and as promised I thought you might like to hear what happened.

Hello there, and thanks so much for your kindness, generosity and response to my invitation to the Medical Detection Dogs Afternoon Tea. I’m sorry I can’t magically air lift you all there, but I am very much looking forward to meeting the four of you who can make it, and I promise to share photos and memories of the day on the next blog.   I talked to my old QVC friend Kathy Tayler when we were out on a walk earlier this week, and she is now also coming along on the day. It makes absolute sense that she’s there as she was diagnosed as Type One diabetic two years ago and is managing her symptoms really well but is intrigued to learn more about the detection dogs and their work.  We’re going to drive up together so we can have a good old natter on the way and then it will be a joy to see our old friends from QVC and to meet our new friends too!

I’m sitting at my makeshift desk with the Dyson fan directed at my feet so at least the bottom half of me feels warm!  What a weird day of weather… bucketing rain for at least half of it, then blinding sunshine and now a decided downturn in the temperature, but looking back over the photographs I’ve taken this last few week or so has definitely warmed my soul. As did your lovely comments on the last blog – great to hear from you and to know where you’ve been, who’s been celebrating what and what you’ve been reading and watching. Thank you! I’ve got a few suggestions to swap with you and I’ll do that before I finish here… ☺️