Jim and gym

Well, another whole week here in sunny Dunnington. Mr B got back from his little Copenhagen trip last saturday, in time for a blitz on the garden. We dug out the tools and soon realised that most of them were quite blunt, but used them anyway.

Lo and behold, the next day there is a green card through the door advertising the services of Jim the Grinder (made me think of Mack the Knife...) and the next day he's here on our drive in all his tattooed glory sharpening our knives, scissors, lawnmower and edging shears. We enjoyed his tales of early family life in a gaily paited caravan pulled by Rosie horse (and he showed us the tattoo of them on one arm) as he did the work. He's still a traveller but the caravan is towed behind his pick-up these days.

Further purchases arrived (mostly in flat pack form) this week. The Mancub got a new bed, which cunningly transforms into a double or two singles for visitors (so come and visit!) The trampoline arrived and was erected over the course of a few evenings and a morning. And some second hand bookcases and chests of drawers arrived and have aided the decluttering process in the house.

Other excitement this week was the first session at gym club, at the secondary school 10 mins drive away. Would have taken photos but I was fully involved in jumping over the vault and swinging on the bars... it was the only way I could persuade the kids to try it out. Great reluctance, tears and "I won't!"s gave way over the couse of 45 mins and they were both keen to be signed up for the term by the end. Phew.

Today we started by hanging pictures on the walls, reading long-lost books etc, but the sunshine was too much for us and we abandoned it all to drive to the nearby village of Wheldrake to visit Wheldrake Ings, a National Nature Reserve. It's clearly going to be better later in the autumn, after the rains have flooded the fields and provided habitat for waders and wildfowl, but we had a nice walk, complete with blackberries, and one hide afforded a view over a lake with a variety of ducks and other birds.

Our first visitors from the south arrived for lunch and a walking tour of the village before heading further north, and then we gardened until dinnertime. We still let the rest of the village down (it wins Britain in Bloom prizes regularly) but it's starting to look slightly more civilised. Must be time for a day of rest tomorrow!