A short week in Bér

On Monday, 29th we left just before 8am to travel down to Bér via Tesco. Just before Aszód we discovered a roadside fruit and veg. stall and bought some gorgeous strawberries, cherries and apricots. Unfortunately, the guy who runs it told me that the landowner is forcing them out, so no idea where (if anywhere) they will carry on trading.  Shame, as his stuff was pretty good.

The blue rose is back after a bad year

Arriving home we discovered that the roses and the herb garden have come along very well in our absence. So have the weeds, unfortunately, so a busy week beckoned. The other discovery did not happen until I was trying to take my meds in the evening.  They were left behind in town. Ahhhhhh!!!

The climber by the gate

So, the rest of Monday was spent with weeding and watering those bits of the garden that really needed it and using the tractor and later the strimmer to mow the grass. Between us we managed to weed most of the rose beds, all of the herb and veg. patch and around the rhubarb.  Roy took a couple of days to mow with the tractor and is currently working with the strimmer to do the rest.

Dill, parsley, sorrel, chives with thyme and peas in the back

The raspberries have gone barmy this year.  Total jungle, you can't even walk between the rows they are that thick and that high.  I really hope that the fruit will just come into its own when Callum is around.  He remembers picking peas and cherries 4 years ago, this time I don't think the peas will be ripe by the time he comes and the cherry trees are having a rest this year, so the  raspberries will have to take over pleasing Callum in the garden.

Roy mowing the grass

On Tuesday I caught the 4.40am bus to get into town for my medicines and a few other jobs. We almost forgot that the 1st of June is upon us and that our bank account is a bit low.  So I went to the bank to put some money in for the standing orders and direct debits and also bought a beautiful large marrow and a cauliflower. Latter was not available in Tesco on Monday the former, because I love it. I was back by 11am via Hatvan, which meant a dreadful bus journey in the high heat in a bus with no air-con or windows that open. I did promise Roy I would refuse travelling by bus in the heat, but I am doing it again. Ahhhhhh!!!

One of the dark reds, the mainstay of the rose garden

The rest of the day was spent gardening again, mowing, watering, weeding and this time I also got round to do something I have been planning for months. My good friend Klári gave me a cactus last summer and you may recall that it produced a gorgeous flower. It also had a few babies all round it, which over the winter and spring got bigger and bigger. The mother cactus also needed re-potting as it looked very uncomfortable in that small pot Klári put it in, so there I was potting cacti. Ouch!!! Thankfully the babies were very easily parted from their mother plant and we also had lots of lovely pots and specialist cactus compost to put them in. I felt really good about them and hope they all take and will thrive.

The moiree rose with yellow and pink in it

Wednesday I needed a rest from my long travelling/gardening day and spent it mostly catching up on TV shows I got behind with. I started with the Monaco Grand Prix, but as soon as I worked out that Lewis was not likely to win it, starting from 13th on the grid, I lost interest.  I know this is bad, but I really like that young man and am not interested in anybody else doing well, even if they deserve it.  2017 is shaping up to be Vettel's year and I have nothing against him, I think he is a brilliant driver too, just I don't like him like I do Hamilton. That's that!!

Lewis sitting behind his red 44 at Monaco

Before the Grand Prix started, however, I watched the preamble bit and enjoyed the spectacle of the lunch with the Monaco royals. That was fascinating, if somewhat disconcerting how rich some people are. Afterwards I had a look who won and it was Vettel and Lewis fought his way up to 7th place, which on the winding, lethal streets of Monte Carlo is a brilliant achievement, but now Vettel is 25 points ahead of him again.  I am not a happy bunny!

Gorgeous, dishy James Norton with a dog collar on

I caught up with the second half of Grantchester as I got three episodes behind there. I love it as I enjoy Archbishop Runcie's stories as well as James Norton's and Robson Green's acting. I hope they have written Amanda out, because she was awful and I hope Green is back with his missis, as I like those too as well. I watched a few episodes of Joanna Lumley's postcards, which I enjoy, not just because I like travel programs, but because I am inordinately fond of the old girl herself. Others on the menu included The Good Fight, which is needless to say is as good, if not better, than The Good Wife was plus Kevin McCloud's Grand Designs, which is still, even after this many years, is one of our favourites.

I am glad to see the yellows brilliant again

And now I have come to the one unpleasant event of the week. I don't have too many friends, which has a variety of explanations, including that I am a difficult person. You may or may not agree with this and admittedly, over the years I have terminated friendships with a few people, as I thought I had enough of their neglect, rudeness or nastiness towards me. Unfortunately, this has happened again. I have known Andor since 2005. We were quite close to start with, travelled together to orienteering and hiking trips, even abroad - France and Scotland being two instances. But in the last few years we drifted apart.  He has been unwell, found other (male) friends whose company he enjoyed more and there was one occasion when he didn't talk to me for about a year.  No idea what I have done, but such is life.  However, recently he got more friendly again and I thought all was well, until this week he really upset me. He promised to come and teach me how to use Photo Shop about a year ago. In the meantime he did pop up about 6 months ago with his son-in-law and loaded PS onto one of my computers. Nothing since. I asked a few times, but no joy. Until this week he said he could do it on Friday at the flat and how about in the morning? I said that we are still in the village and the bus doesn't get into town until midday, so we agreed that time. I was on my way to catch the bus into town this morning when I thought (how lucky!) to ring him to check if everything was still OK? The bugger answered that he got a day's work and he is gardening somewhere. I asked why he didn't let me know, he could have saved me a wasted journey into town, when along came the usual excuses of how busy he is. A half line of an e-mail could not have been too much of an effort, I said. Then he let it slip in his embarrassment that the gardening is until 12 midday. Oh, I said, then we can meet just after.  Oh no, he said because Zoli is coming to discuss their trip next week, so it is all off.

Glorious girlie pink

I didn't slam the telephone down, just put it down gently. I am not upset that he has accepted a day's work, that is obviously more important than our meeting.  I am not even upset that he didn't let me know, he could be really busy and getting old and forgetful.  It was the actual meeting fixed up with someone else for exactly the same time he was supposed to come up to the flat, and that without a word to me, was the straw that broke the camel's back. How contemptuous, how rude, how bad mannered can you get? That's it, the end of yet another beautiful friendship.  No, actually this was never a beautiful friendship, but at least the normal standards of social airs and graces were initially observed, but no longer. Roy is apparently very pleased, he has never liked him and has been campaigning for me to drop the friendship for years.  I should know better than to ignore his marvellous gut sense about people!!

Mummy cactus in the back with babies in front and below

Now I am still at home, but catching the bus at 3.55pm, as I have arranged to see Ros and Ian at 9.30am tomorrow morning at the flat, so I have to be there. I have an opera ticket for Saturday and another for Tuesday night, so I am staying in town, while Roy is staying in the village.  Hopefully, I will be able to stick a couple of days of geocaching into my stay in town on Sunday and Monday. Next post sometime next week, by which time we will know who won the parliamentary elections in the UK. I have stayed off politics this time round because the doctor said I need to stay calm to keep my heart and blood pressure under control.  However, now that I think of it, I will conclude this post with a YouGov poll that was published yesterday. May it be the harbinger of better things to come!