Josie and David came for lunch

Mum's very best friend for nearly all her life was Joan, who sadly died a few years ago. Today Joan's son, David and his wife, Josie, came to see us and to eat lunch with us.

They are a delightful couple and we love seeing them. Their elder son, Christopher, was married recently so we enjoyed seeing a slide show that Josie put together of wedding preparations and the wedding itself. The wedding was in Brancepeth Church and the reception in the castle next door. The castle needed a lot doing to make it into a good wedding venue, but Josie was completely on top of this. Lights and candles were used strategicallly to show off the rooms to their best. It was also a military wedding, so there were lots of uniforms and medals on show.

I made a spinach, bacon and avocado salad for the starter, from Seasonal Cooking  by Lady Macdonald of Skye. Then we had salmon, baked under a layer of yoghurt, topped with breadcrumbs, finely chopped peppers and herbs, with new potatoes and broccoli. There was a dark/red fruit salad of grapes, rasps, blueberries and strawberries and finally a cheese board. I enjoyed the preparation and the eating.

My blip is when J and D were leaving in J's open topped car. There can't be too many days in an English summer when the top can be down.

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed seeing Margaret on her 100th birthday yesterday. Thank you for your kind comments.