After driving the five hundred miles back from St Andrews on Monday it was a busy week as we prepared for our favourite decorator Gerald Clements to come back and redecorate our lounge, kitchen, bathroom and ensuite. We've asked Gerald to do some work every year since we moved to Framlingham and he's always been extremely good.
On Friday we emptied the rooms out so that Gerald would have the clearest of starts to the work. With an empty kitchen it was a good job that we had booked to go to a communal meal at Brandeston Village Hall that evening.
The beautifully laid tables set the scene for the supper in aid of Suffolk Refugee Services and we enjoyed a wonderful Persian themed meal before listening to a talk on the good work done for the refugees in Ipswich.
After a relaxing day in Framlingham doing a bit of shopping and chatting with friends in The Dancing Goat it was time to get the car packed yet again to leave Gerald with an empty house.
It was Marion's birthday on Sunday and I don't think that driving another five hundred miles back to St Andrews will figure in her most memorable birthdays but our Scottish family made up for the tiring journey by welcoming us with a lovely birthday tea for Marion.
Rose and Melody were thrilled to have helped Sarah to make a birthday cake for their Nanny.
And they were so excited with the cards and presents that they showered Marion with.
With these beautiful flowers from granddaughter Catherine, Marion felt quite spoiled. The caravan is now looking very colourful with glorious floral displays.
We're having a quiet week while Gerald cracks on with the decorating. It's pretty cold up here in St Andrews this week and the caravan heating is working overtime but we've had a relaxing few days catching up on some old magazines and reading the papers in between visits to the family.
Speaking of the papers, we've been regular Times readers for a long time now but is it just me or is it dumbing down? This piece on page 3 a couple of days ago would have been more at home in Metro or The Star. I don't claim to be in any way intellectual. I hope I've got a sense of humour and I enjoy a wide range of stuff but this just isn't what I'd expect to be reading here.
Forgive me for mentioning my book Mr Pendergast's Fantastic Find again but I've only just published it (click on the picture at the top right to buy - you can also read several chapters free of charge). I should have proof copies of the paperback waiting for me when I get back to Framlingham .To coincide with the Kindle launch I made my first book Give Me Your Tomorrow free for a five day promotion. I was pleased with the results which saw GMYT hit number one in the Holidays category (sadly it was back to number four when I took this screenshot to put on the blog).
There are no reviews on Mr P yet - it's early days and, although it's a very quick read, I don't expect any for a while. I've got to work on promoting it as soon as we're back in Suffolk. I've got a few ideas and I hope that it will take off.
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