Another grey start to the day, though a little warmer overnight. Clare made pancakes for breakfast again, and then late morning we drove out to Dyffryn Gardens for our first visit of the year. Cloud over Cardiff turned into thin mist over the fields of the Vale of Glamorgan, as we drove through St Nicholas, but by the time we reached Dyffryn the mist had evaporated, the sun came through the clouds and it became warmer. The house has been completely closed since last autumn and is wreathed in scaffolding for the exterior stonework to be cleaned, repaired and for weatherproofing work. Nevertheless, there were over a hundred cars parked, and lost of family groups out enjoying the arboretum and gardens. Both cafes were busy too. So good to see it's as popular as ever. Our membership card still says we're family members (accompanied children under sixteen get in free), although Clare has cancelled the family part, as our grandchildren are both over sixteen, and sadly there's no prospect of having any other young children to visit with us.
Sections of the garden are still closed to tackle issues caused by dominant plant root systems restricting the growth potential of other species. The beds at the front of the house are crammed with dozens of tulip varieties, and it's a spectacular riot of colour.
We had a light lunch in the garden cafe (at the far side of the house in the photo above) and walked around the grounds for an hour. Clare and I got separated, and I waited for her on a seat beneath a tree where I was joined by a robin, which sat on the arm of the seat and stared at me with indignation before flying off, a ritual repeated several times. Robins are very territorial! On its last visit I got a couple of decent photos at about a metre away from the camera. I don't think I've ever taken a photo of a bird at such short range.
Both of us were feeling tired by this time, so we drove home and had a short siesta to recover. Then I went out again for a circuit of the park before cooking supper, with a sauce of butter beans, onions and mushrooms with vegan chorizo for Clare and the same sauce with tomatoes added plus half of the Mercadona chorizo I brought home with me from Fuengirola. Delicious!
I spent the rest of the evening watching more episodes of 'Non me lasciare'. Quite apart from its setting in contemporary Venice, and romantic relationships with its origins in the city, it tells the story of an investigation into an organised criminal gang with paedophile perpetrators and clients, operating on the 'dark web' and gives an interesting insight into the kind of teamwork necessary to get the job done. The speed and efficiency with which the technology works does stretch the imagination a little, however.
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