Winter at the Duckpond

Not entirely sure how we're in February already but here we are. I've seen some daffodils and snowdrops and I'm writing this in the sunshine so fingers crossed spring is on its way :-)

A lot seems to have happened in the last few months!

• Carnival season took place properly for the first time since 2019. We went to watch some of the smaller ones in September and October and then during the big carnival season in November, both me and Lily took part in the processions with our carnival club. Our club had decided to take part with a walking entry rather than a cart and we wore our 'Alice in Wonderland' costumes from 2018. It was good fun and great opportunity for the children of the club to take part. Lily was going to be one of the Alices and I made her costume for her. We really enjoyed it but oh my gosh, it was busy! In all the years I've been taking part in carnivals, I've never seen the crowds so big. Which is good, of course - more people in theory means more people know about the processions and therefore more money for charity. A team from Bridgwater Carnival created a cart to take part in the Queen's Platinum Jubilee last year and I think the publicity worked!

• Good TV we've watched - 'Mayflies' on BBC iPlayer was excellent, heart-breaking but very well acted and put together. We also watched 'The Light in the Hall' on C4 which was also really good. And we've been enjoying 'Call the Midwife' as well (as we do every year).

• Good books I've read - 'Space Hopper' by Helen Fisher was a really intriguing tale and I liked 'Good Pop, Bad Pop' by Jarvis Cocker. 

• I didn't complete my GoodReads challenge for 2022 :-( After going well over my target in 2021 (target of 52, total read 70), last year's target was 52 and I didn't quite reach it, reading 47. Still a good amount though I think. 

• I had my 40th birthday back in December. We had a day out in Weymouth for my birthday, playing on the beach, getting a hot chocolate and ending the day with a festive chip supper from our favourite chip shop. 

• We also went to Edinburgh for Hogmanay - something I'd mentioned could be my 40th birthday present many years ago. We stayed in a lovely caravan at Mortonhall Park and managed to visit lots of our favourite places over the week. One bonus was the fact that I had to work on the Tuesday of the week but of course, the 'home' in "working from home" doesn't have to be your normal residence! So I had a nice day working from our caravan with a lovely view and a roaring fire. For New Year's Eve, we didn't want to be in the centre of Edinburgh (too busy with Covid still rampant, plus we couldn't take Lily) so we ended up on the seafront at Portobello watching the fireworks and saying 'Happy New Year' to the locals who were also out watching the displays. It was lovely. 

• Lily also turned 7 - which is part , "7, wow amazing" but also part, "7, how?". She picked a birthday day trip to the seaside to do one specific activity - play Jurassic Adventure Golf in Teignmouth, Devon. I think she enjoyed it!

• Photo an hour round up for the last few months can be found here - October, November, December and January. Feburary's photo an hour date is Saturday 18th, feel free to join in if you want to. 

• Oh and yeah, I was diagnosed with suspected kidney cancer. A week before my 40th birthday - which was not exactly the best birthday present ever. 'Twas only found because the GP ordered an MRI scan to do extra investigations into the high blood pressure I've had for years (it seems to run in my Dad's side of the family). Thankfully it doesn't seem to have spread anywhere which is good. The plan is to do a radical nephrectomy operation to remove the offending kidney and tumour so that's how the first half of 2023 is going to pan out for me. It's also going to involve lots of hot chocolates as that's the treat I give myself after every hospital appointment :-) 

Anyway, how was your winter/Christmas/New Year?