This little lot seem much better.

While, I sorted out their filthy bedroom, I let them out to play.  The wheelbarrow was not upright for long – thank you, Waffle, and they were into everything.

All three were racing around the school and I would say Waffle is certainly 100% again.

Albie and Tiddles may need a bit longer inside.

It was nice to see them playing too.

The minute a sense of humour appears, I know everything will probably be alright.  Today, they were very wicked.

I didn’t ask them to run – they just wanted to.  A lot.

Like every parent, I mucked out their bedroom (quite literally!) and they ran back in as I had also added two new haynets of soaked hay.

I am glad Waffle, Albie and Tiddles are brighter.  Everything feels almost back to normal.

Tomorrow, I might let Waffle go back outside.  On the track, all food has been cut right back to nothing and they only have what they can find to eat now.  There is much complaining.  I don’t want to go back to Square 1, but I do need to know if he could live outside.

I was in a rush this morning, so everyone got a bit of a lick and a promise, while breakfast was dished out and paddocks mucked out.

I was off to Turrifield to do seed planting all morning.

After sewing tiny lettuce seeds and then massive runner beans, I was given a tour to see the results of my previous planting work.

It is very satisfying and I kept saying to myself “I did this”, as well as many other folk who volunteer too.

And then there was the fruit tree polytunnel, where the trees have been cleverly grown into an espalier (a tree trained flat against a support with several tiers of branches).  I want to learn how to do this very much. It is an ancient art. 

I’m still keen on the polytunnel idea but I am beginning to realise that it is a lot of work and time is something I don’t have at the moment so mine would be full of weeds and badly neglected.

I am still transcribing my Great Great Aunt Kate’s diaries and, because today is a special day and one which she lived through, I dug out the 1944 diary to look at what she wrote.  I have only reached 1936 so I am jumping a few years on.

It’s another small diary – they all are tiny – and the writing is minute too but I mostly have my eye in by now and know her ways and shorthand.

It was also stuffed full of little bits of newspaper cuttings.

Anyway, I thought you might be interested in her entry for that week….

Some background: Kate is 65 years old.  Her sister, Alys (my great grandmother) is 60.  For the duration of the war, they have left the dangers of London to live at Layton Manor, Richmond, Yorkshire (left to Alys’ husband (my great grandfather), Dennis, a few years back).  Dennis is at Ashbridge Hospital, Berkhamsted working as a pathologist for the Army.  The sisters are looking after James, Alys’ grandson (my uncle).  My mother (Eve) is 4 years old and remains with her mother.

Allies enter Rome – June 4^th, 5^th
We land in France between Cherbourg and Le Havre
Airborne and seaborne. Fighting in Caen 6th

Tuesday 6^th June 1944
Windy. Cool.
Baden said Invasion started. Heard at 10 o’clock. Eisenhower speech to Europeans and troops. Dutch and Belgian; Prime Ministers Auctioneer’s men taking furniture all day. Alys gave them sausages and mash. I got tea. We had oxtail, red currants and raspberries and custard. To Dimmock, Holt, Barnes, Gell, Dob, O’Brin. Cake and water. James with Alan. Wrote Ella. Listened to news. To garden, pigs and lettuces, sausages and bacon. I late so no bath. Brains Tr; Meynell. King spoke.

Memo:
10^th Fete 6^th Auction men and 7^th
5^th James’ 7^th birthday
6^th INVASION started. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force – “SHAEF”.
10^th Rents
9^th Miss Brown with posters.

And I found tucked into the diary this little folded slip of paper.

I am very humbled by this.  Somehow words don’t seem enough.

From this……

To this…..

Via this…..

….  which is Scalloway, were Foxy Dog (Ted’s brilliant dog-groomers are).

Scalloway is a fishing port on the west side of the island that was the capital of Shetland until 1708, when it moved to Lerwick.

A lovely place with such huge character, including a monument to the Shetland Bus, the Norwegian resistance movement in WW2.

What I like most about Scalloway is that it’s very colourful …..

And full of character.

So Ted is now beautiful and I think we are all very happy for that. We tell ourselves he is less Greasy Muppet and more Handsome Prince, thankfully.

When I put Waffle, Tiddles and Albie into their paddock inside the shed for their laminitiss, I knew it was the paddock was a bit small but that was all the hurdles we had at the time.

So, today, I went to town armed with a pile of cash (from my sheep sales) and bought 12 hurdles to extend the paddock.  You don’t get many hurdles for a pile of cash but it was enough.

Once I had expertly rearranged, again, the car and trailer, I drove the van into the school and we let the boys out to play while we built their extension.

They were very happy and I think I will let them out to play on a daily basis.  They were cantering around giggling.

And investigated the whole set up getting into places they shouldn’t.

But the boys seemed happier even when I put them back in their new-and-improved paddock.  Not so small now.

OH also went around with pliers cutting off the loose chicken net ends and Tiddles “helped”.

I bought a gate for the big shed door that has to be chicken-proof because, if the door is open, they tend to come in and churn up the hay on the floor, which is annoying.

Later, this afternoon, I went in and brushed everyone.  They needed it.  Très bouffant.

I think the little boys felt better for being brushed, even Tiddles who hates being brushed.