Possibly the final goodbye. But Tony will live on within me because I spent most of my life with him. I was 22 I think, when we got married.
So, today, we four girls ( and H is one) took him for his final walk along Lardon Chase and laid him to rest amongst the grasses, the brambles and the wilderness that lie about 400m along the hilltop. He, in turn, lies sheltered by hedgerows, bordering golf fairways, where people will pass by with their dogs, where cattle will graze in the summer months. He lies under open skies and by a bench where I can sit and keep him company and up to date with all our news.
From there he has the Ridgeway, the Thames Valley, the Coombe, and, in the far distance, Greenham to contemplate.
It had rained a few minutes before we set off at around 17.00. But things dried up and although the sun tried to join us as it disappeared below the horizon behind us, it was the moon that succeeded in keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings. Ali had brought a bottle of something chilled and sparkling to toast their Dad and I joined in with a zero alcohol variety.
High moon.
We returned just as dark settled over the landscape, having managed to avoid any sort of audience. H had enjoyed a second walk. My watch battery went flat.
We then went to the 5 Little Pigs in Wallingford where we had eaten with T a couple of years ago. They fed us a magnificent meal. I took Pen and Ali home and swapped them for H who had been at the Illis while we ate out.
Earlier in the day, I had swum in a quiet pool and then I had tortured the people of Cholsey by visiting Tesco in my dry robe on an unsuccessful walnut hunt . So I returned to shower, walk H, and take my walnut hunt to Waitrose where I picked some up along with a few other items.
I then set about making a frozen fruit pudding and a walnut and coffee cake. The pudding looks amazing. The coffee and walnut cakes were equally amazing.
That is … until the great icing disaster. It was more of a coffee sauce than icing. The top cake slid around on top of the bottom cake. The icing was was alive and spread all over the cake and cake box. The top cake went for a walk. The walnuts slid off the top of the cake.
It was because the butter was wrong. Melted rather than softened, so I tried to use spreadable butter instead. Disaster! I should really have gone and bought some more butter. But I was short of time, and the whole thing became a waste of time.
But do you know what? They ate it!
Pen arrived mid afternoon with a variety of plants which were eventually subtley placed near T, to flower in future springs. There were already some intrusive daffs up there. SSH! Don’t tell.
I was late to bed with no napping .
Thoughts for the Day
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