Ann loves trees

Lebanon Cedar Tree in Winter sunrise 

Hardwick Heath Park in Bury St Edmunds is commanded by a number of great Lebanese cedars, planted 200 years ago when the Park was part of a great estate. We often park there when visiting the hospital, as the carparking is much cheaper, and it is but a short walk through the grounds to Bury Hospital. Also, its vast acreage is a paradise for dog walkers, where they can run free of the leash to their heart's content.

I was there a few weeks ago, having dropped Ann off at the hospital for an early 8:00 a.m. outpatient eye appointment. It was the moment of sunrise, seen against a clear blue sky through the trees, with heavy frost upon the ground, the sun reflecting fiery red off the trunk and branches of the great cedar. It was a rare, memorable sight in a deep winter January morning that I felt compelled to capture in paint. I was there for two hours while Ann was being examined, and gave the dogs two long walks that cheered them considerably.  I am quite pleased with the final picture, and will present it to Ann framed, as a testament to her love of trees and her bravery in facing a very difficult cataract operation. 

After the cataract surgery the immediate effect was to leave her blind with the eye weeping. Happily her sight has finally improved, the eye is less sore, and she is beginning to see more clearly through that eye, though still only with peripheral vision due to the central hole.

We enjoy the Globe's hospitality

In more up-to-date news, after visiting Waitrose yesterday we stopped at The Globe in Clare, a wonderful old-fashioned pub that has resisted all temptations to modernise or serve food. It is a pure drinking emporium, now privately owned so not tied to Green King. We had not been in since before the lockdowns, and it was good to see it packed, with a wonderful fire in the hearth. Most people there were on first-name terms with each other and with the landlord (whose name is Andy). They were mostly young, and many were just standing chatting despite a number of empty seats. Ann enjoyed her usual wine, while I sampled a fine Dalwhinnie, one of a number of whiskeys on the shelf. It is a good landlord who favours a selection of whiskeys rather than boasting of fifty weird gins just to be in fashion.

Edwin and Andre have finally signed the agreement on a rental house in Bury St Edmunds, and have been given the keys. They plan to move in next weekend. Unfortunately, Edwin has now developed Covid, and is quite ill with it. He wasn't able to get the keys with Andre, or meet the landlord at the house, but she left them a card and bottle of bubbly to welcome them. They hoped to have us round for a final meal with them before they move, but that too is now not happening. 

We will be away next weekend, going to stay with Ben and Kaz in Wales. We had planned to stay in a hotel en route to break the journey, but brother Richard and Chris have just invited us to stay a night with them, the first time we will have seen them for two years, so we look forward to meeting up again. Just sorry we are missing Edwin's new start in a new home.