Wednesday.

Up at six this morning for early service at 7.30. Ann read both lessons and I 'deaconed'. Went fairly well, I think. Stayed on for a bite of breakfast in church, then home to prepare for our lunch party. Above picture shows our table set ready. We gave them a choice of carrot and ginger soup or mushroom soup, both of which Ann made yesterday. The main course was a choice of chicken breasts in a pesto, pine kernel and basil dressing, or a pheasant casserole. Rather to our surprise (because, as Ann said, not everyone likes pheasant) only one of our guests chose chicken. The vegetables were red cabbage, sweet potato with nutmeg, roast potatoes and mashed potatoes. The pudding was raspberries and blueberries with a meringue and cream. We followed this with a cheeseboard and coffee, and lingered over the meal, which I do enjoy as it's so much easier to hear what people are saying when sitting round a table. We sat down at one p.m. and eventually rose from table at around four thirty.

The below photo shows our guests, who live fairly near us (well, within a mile of us). The couple on the left and right of the picture are John and Maude, and the couple in the centre of the picture are Gloria and John. When Maude and John first moved into our town four or five years ago and we were introduced I remarked to Maude on what a nice unusual name Maude is these days, Maude replied -"Well, it's easy to remember because everyone used to have an Aunt Maude, and I'm everyone's Aunt Maude". I'm not always good at remembering names but after that I've always remembered hers. She's a quiet lady with a lovely, dry, sense of humour. Gloria and John have a daughter and grandchildren in Norway, and as we have a daughter and grandchildren in Sweden, it gives us a common interest. Both Johns are very widely travelled in Europe, so had plenty to talk about, and I think I can safely say that a very good time was had by all.