Impromptu cheer

Today had all the hallmarks of the kind of day that drives the spirits down - an early start, a depleted Morrison's so that I felt like a Soviet housewife or a Handmaid, weather than was more February than March, with a blasting wind for added excitement ... except that almost out of the blue I had a lovely visit from Blipper Elspeth Anne who rocked up just after lunch, right on the dot of when she'd promised to arrive, giving Himself and me enough time to fit in a sing-through of Sunday's music (me still struggling with my 4th and 5ths!).

I shared her with Himself for long enough to have a cuppa, then whisked her off for a promised walk by the sea, fitting in a quick visit to Holy Trinity (selfie in mid-collage) en route. We actually had sun as well as the wind, but even the wind seemed less annoying when it was being used to fly an impressive kite held on to by one of a family of adults, children and dogs on the beach. The friendly black beasts with the velvety ears and the becoming earrings were lying by the fence to shelter from the wind, and we talked to a couple with an endearing small dog with ears like a butterfly. We also talked to each other, lots, as if we'd known each other for decades instead of the few years since Blip took over my late evenings. 

As I waved her off on her drive home, I reflected on how lucky I was to have had an afternoon with someone who took the trouble to drive for 90 minutes each way to accomplish the visit. Elspeth is the first blipper I met in RL, well before Covid, but this was only our fourth get-together, a situation I intend to remedy before we're much older.

Now I'm going to have a last look at the election programme before I go to bed - I still miss going to the polling station, which in my day I have picketed (is that the word for this situation) under various guises - red roses and SCND badges came into it - but which I haven't used since the one time we had to have a postal vote because of a holiday. I went out for a brief walk before dinner with Himself, just to pass and photograph our local polling station, which looked deserted (bottom left of collage).

At least we should have a break from Tory faces on the telly-box for a while after tonight - though I have bad feelings about Nigel F, and Anne Widdicombe, whom I saw on a panel on the C4 programme, seems to have whooping cough as well as a new political allegiance. 

See you on the other side ... and thanks, Elspeth, for a lovely visit!