Joy Revisited

The weather improved after we passed through Yorkshire with terrible visibility and torrents bouncing off the motorway, crossed to Penrith and took the golden highway north to the drier, brighter afternoon.

We have had an absolutely joyful time with our family in Norfolk; being a grandparent is such a special privilege and we have it five times over! From teenager to toddler, they are our treasure! We accepted many years ago that crying into a tissue at Stansted Airport on a few Sunday evenings each year was doing no-one any good; we just had to work hard at being a "long-distance Grandma and Grandpa" and make sure every visit was packed with fun and laughter; it's different from the pleasure of seeing your grandchildren week in week out, but the relationships can be just as strong and the contacts all the more special for being irregular.

Not that I enjoy eight hours in a car!

Interesting to note again that rapeseed crop, trees and gardens are all much further behind north of the border, but although the fading daffs in our tubs are drooping, this delicate tulip has just opened.