We woke up late again, to sunshine and clouds, but no rain. It's Clare's birthday today, so I made porridge and then cooked pancakes for a long leisurely breakfast. Clare and Ann went to the Co-op, and I went to Tesco's to buy a bunch of flowers, wine, plus extra mushrooms and garlic to cook for a light lunch, given we're dining at Stefano's this evening, en famille. When I got back I composed a birthday haiku to write in a card I bought for her.
Then, a walk in the park for an hour. There was a RSPB promotional stand, and I stopped to chat to the guy who was looking after the stall and chatting up passers by. He told me that he works at the Newport wetland nature reserve, somewhere we've yet to visit. He'd been in the Algarve on a birding trip earlier this year, and we talked about birds we've seen in the Iberian Peninsula. I talked about my time in Nerja. Over by the stables I caught sight of a pair of ladybirds with big black spots on a yellow background. 14-spot ladybirds they're called. There are 22 spot ladybirds as well. These are not uncommon, but I guess we're more used to seeing red ones with black spots.
At a quarter past six, Kath and Anto arrived together with Owain, having picked him up from the station. We had a table booked at seven, so there was just enough time for a glass of Prosecco before arriving there for an excellent meal. Being a Saturday night, the place was packed but we had a corner table. The music wasn't too loud, nor was the buzz of conversation with fifty odd people eating together and talking, so we were able to converse too. We were back home by nine, drinking another bottle of wine and chatting, until it was time to turn in for the night, earlier than usual for us. A symptom of advancing age and weariness, sad to say.
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