Apart from a thunderstorm teatime yesterday, the weather has been good for all the of the days which really needed it! Sunday I got up bright and early (is there not a law against rising at 5am on a Sunday??!). Off we went to Castle Ashby, an hour and a half’s drive from here. We were in a bit of a panic because you’re supposed to arrive at country shows before a set time and if you’re late you don’t get in. The previous night we’d stayed up late drinking and watching LiveEarth and completely forgot that Dave needs his 7 hours of dialysis! So we’d ended up leaving later than we should and arrived at the showground 10 minutes late. Thankfully there was no problem…indeed some people arrived an hour late and still got in! Anyway, we quickly set up the gazebo and bar and then had to make up about 100 beerboxes (like wineboxes). We were only just ready in time for the crowds who were let in at 10am.

A slow start but as it got warmer we started to get a lot of interest. Just to explain, Dave works for the local brewery which makes real ale (prize winning at that!) and we were handing out samples for people to try, and then selling packs if they liked it. Well, everything was going great when Dave suddenly doubled up and said his hernia was really hurting (he’d been doing a lot of lifting which he really shouldn’t do!). He was in agony and couldn’t go on so I sent him to the van to lie down while I held the fort. For the next hour I worked my socks off! I was lifting off crates of beer, making up packs while selling and providing samples. I have never worked so hard in my life and although it was exhausting I really enjoyed it. Dave was able to return after a couple of hours thank goodness and we ended up having the most successful day ever….helped by the wonderful weather . We arrived home at nearly 8pm and yesterday I spent most of the day clutching my back which has been really painful ever since (what a pair we are!).

Yesterday and today we needed good weather again as our junior school next door put on a ‘World Day’ where musicians and dancers from around the world were putting on displays for schools in our area. It’s been beautiful both days and a huge success. My children were fascinated by the Indian and African dancing.

Well, only 8 more school days…..I can hardly wait as I’m a walking zombie at the moment! One sad note as I close, the parade on Saturday was marred by a drunken driver trying to overtake OUR float and crashing into the side which caused all the adults to fall over (how they managed to stay on I have no idea!). Thankfully every single child was fine as they were already sitting but some of the adults (teachers and assistants) sustained minor injuries. Although no one was badly hurt it certainly put a dampener on every one’s spirits