Chris and Frances still being at The Firs this morning, we dropped in for a visit, just as they and Elizabeth were leaving the house for a visit to Chesapeake Mill. They all did an about turn, phoned Jacqueline who was at Mum’s, and very soon a Firs gathering was arranged. Jackie saw this as an opportunity. Seated on her garden bench, dangling legs working backwards and forwards as if getting a swing going, grin on her face, and excited tone in her voice, ‘can I go shopping?’, she cried, ‘can I? Can I?’
Off she went on one of her favourite activities. It was only fair that it turned out like this, because on the way to Elizabeth’s we had been to Sainsbury’s to obtain cash from the machine and to put bottles in the bank. Isn’t it strange how things have changed from the days when a bank was a bank and a shop was a shop? It had required some willpower for my lady to resist entering the aisles on that occasion.
While she was doing this I wandered around the garden without any need to be working on it. Naturally the forthcoming Open Studio was one of the topics of conversation. Elizabeth has taken a number of very imaginative photographs juxtaposing flowers and parts of instruments. 
Some of the best of these feature day lilies and the body of a guitar. Unfortunately, when taking these, she had inadvertently turned the date stamp facility on, which meant the dates appeared in a crucial corner of the pictures. Those who didn’t realise that, surprisingly, it is not yet possible to work absolute miracles with software suggested she should edit out the figures that sit across the grain of the guitar wood. Even if she were that skilled it would take far more time than she has available. Yesterday there were no lilies left, so she thought she could not repeat the exercise. Today there were a number of blooms flourishing, so she will now be able to.
In the scented bed that I created last year, a peacock butterfly demonstrated just why the buddleia is know as the butterfly bush.
Jackie returned laden, and we all sat down around the kitchen table and watched her, Elizabeth, and Danni fill it with goodies. Then we tucked into a vast array of food. A bottle of Roc des Chevaliers reserve bordeaux 2011 was also shared.
Unsurprisingly, Danni was rather tired. Last night’s performance of ‘Fame’, the second of the evening, was the last of the run, and a certain amount of celebration took place afterwards. 
She attempted to settle herself on her sun lounger in the garden, but received quite a number of, no doubt congratulatory, phone calls.
Early this evening we went on a house window-shopping drive, taking in properties in Ringwood, Hightown, and Matchams. The last of these was by no means the least. 
It is a beautiful lodge house in an idyllic setting, somewhat isolated, yet exposed to significant traffic noise. A gravelled path alongside it leads to an extremely high solidly gated fence, sporting a board announcing the BDOC. Wondering what the Bournemouth & District Outdoor Club might be, we looked it up after supper. It is a naturist organisation which has ensured there could be no peeking unless you happened to be about ten feet tall; have x-ray eyes; or invest in a pair of stilts. North Lodge is probably beyond our means.
I hadn’t expected to eat again after that lunch. However, our trip made us peckish and Jackie knocked up fried eggs, bacon and mushrooms, and baked beans. That answered our stomach’s call.
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