Fuchsia

When Derek and Rita visited unexpectedly ten says ago or so I promised that I'd visit them when Phase 2 on the reopening roadmap kicked in on 8th June. Ashbourne, where they live, is just 20km from me, so I was able to drive over to them today for the first since February.

The day began with renewal of my driving licence. I was originally due to do this on 6th April, but that appointment was cancelled, of course. The office was very well organised, and I was in and out in record time. The biggest surprise was not having to pay for the privilege, since this is the first time I've qualified for the free licence as an over-70.

We spent a lovely time together, beginning in D & R's back garden, which is a riot of bloom and colour. I especially liked the bed of campanula in the corner, and the vividly coloured dahlias, but the newly added fuchsia was perhaps the star of the show. It began to get chilly, so we went inside for a bit of lunch and a catch-up. It was wonderful to be able to visit them again and to spend time together.

Before heading out to the driving licence office I stopped a bit and pointed the camera (aka phone) at one of the grassy plants in my front garden. It had rained overnight, and the plant was rich in water droplets. I took a shot as a test really, to see what the camera on my new phone is capable of, and I went one further when I got home and decided to use the controls in the Photos app on the phone to do the editing I'd normally do in Lightroom or Photoshop. I must say the results are remarkably impressive.