Not ....

... an African Violet.   Although you might be forgiven for thinking it was.   Niphaea oblonga is, like Saintpaulia, the African Violets, a member of Gesneriaceae.   The flowers are very much alike but the foliage and habit are quite different and while African Violets are year round windowsill favourites, often in flower,  Niphaea are rhizomatous, like Achimenes and a few others which die off in autumn and spend the winter in a dry dormancy.   These flowers also resemble the European genus Ramonda, which I have blipped a few times over the years but the plants come from Mexico and Guatemala.  They're not difficult to grow indoors but need relatively high humidity to flourish.  My plant filled porch seems to suit.

A nice goodbye, lunch meet-up with Clara and family as they headed home was the highlight of an otherwise quiet day.  Jamie is thankfully feeling more himself as the steroids work their way out of his system.  He and I are both still very tired after a difficult and stressful time since he came out of hospital.  I went for 'a little snooze' this afternoon and slept for an hour and a half!   I think a quiet few days are a necessity now.  I have asked to be taken off the work rota on Sunday, so only small commitments remain in the diary until midweek.