ONE MORE WEEK

This entry is a difficult one ………….. we are so much closer to moving in to No 6, yet there seem to be so many little things that still need doing. They will get done I know - but things about us seem to contrive to slow the process down. Yesterday they came in to fumigate - part of the sales process ……….. borer was found so the seller had to do it, but it means two days lost. Two of the bathrooms are fully plumbed and operational, and hopefully by Saturday afternoon the other two will be complete - the external drainage as well. I plan to have both bedrooms complete as well by Saturday afternoon, which will mean that we can dedicate most of next week to touch-ups and getting a part-time kitchen in place …………. the finished units I can complete as we move forward, just so long as we can prep and cook. After the virtual camping that we have been doing over the past four months the new stove, washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher, microwaves, icemaker, mixers and blenders, double bowl sink, fridge and freezer  and various other bits and pieces one has managed without these past four months should make everything a doddle. Isn’t it simply amazing what we take for granted in our everyday homes, yet cope more than adequately without when forced to do so by circumstance?

Here and there we have to fix and finish spots that we have missed over the past 3 months with furniture and plastic stacked everywhere, but in real terms these items are minimal in respect of the overall picture, and as soon as they are all done we can concentrate on finishing certain outside aspects that need to be tackled to complete ………. the deck, deck roof and east side stairs - but we will get there sooner rather than later.

Having Peter (Davidson) down here for the last week has been a jol ……….. some great meals, mixers with new and old friends - and the odd piss-up that we somehow always manage to put together …………. sharing feelings, moments, when-we’s and everything that 67 years of friendship affords us and allows us to share. He goes back to the Big Smoke on Saturday - I will miss him - until next time.

Two days of good rain have managed to really muddy up Bathurst’s roads and one has to be pretty careful not to get stuck or to skid off in some unwanted direction - but it is all very welcome and the gardens and countryside are loving every drop. The birds too seem to come out in force in our garden and take advantage of the cleaning process that surrounds them. Olive Thrushes, Speckled Mousebirds, Sunbirds of many descriptions, Cape Weavers, White Eyes, Robins, Bul Buls and Ha Da Da’s are simply everywhere, with half a dozen Drongos trying all the time to exert their supremacy - but without much success …….. all of the others far too content within the ambit of their surrounds to give them too much notice.

On a slightly more ‘cultural’ note, we went last week to see “Two Blue Ticks” ……. a One Woman show by Bathurst local Corinne Willoughby. What a laugh - somewhat naughty and irreverent, her very humorous and thought provoking collection of skits and stories were really a breath of fresh air in every respect ……… well done Corinne! (It is on again this coming Sunday evening - the 26th August - at the Bistro at 5.30pm ………. don’t miss it if you haven’t seen it). We also went off to the movies on Sunday to see ‘The Guernsey Book Club and Potato Peel Pie Society’ - a really beautifully made and delightful movie that I would recommend to people of all ages.

One of the three donkeys on the farm where we have been living while re-furbing the house has become a good, if somewhat cheeky, friend of mine and Pat’s - and also of Jesse’s. He walks with us occasionally and him and Jesse have conversations and interactions of sorts that make me wonder if they really do have a mutual understanding. He comes regularly to beg a carrot at the garden gate, and if the gate isn’t hooked pushes his way into the garden from whence he has to be really pushed out again with force. Upon occasion he gets slap bang in front of the car, and no amount of hooting or edging forward will displace him - he has to be conned around to the drivers window with the promise of a tit-bit, and only then can you make your way. However he behaves though, he always provides a pleasant diversion that makes the day that little bit better.

This weeks No. 6 York Road bird is the Greater Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris afer), of which we have far more than we can ever hope to identify as individuals ….. or ever hope to photograph individually …………….. but you never, ever know!!!!!

Greater Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris afer) in the large Coral Tree