A Virtual Tour

There follows the missing post from

15th January 2019

We will be without internet until the faulty router is repaired. This is because the loaned device does not work. Now that I know that EE was bought by BT in 2016, I understand why their customer care is on a par with that of their new owner. Their equipment failed. They would repair it free of charge but not replace it without payment. Yet they still take my monthly subscription. I am stuck with them because they are the only feasible service to our location. And I don’t have the energy to waste on battling with them.

Elizabeth visited bearing flowers and chocolates. She stayed for lunch before setting off to West End to accompany Mum to an eye appointment at Southampton Hospital.

Whilst I slumped comfortably in my customary corner

Jackie took a trip round the garden

and brought me back a photographic record. Titles of the pictures in the gallery, which can be accessed by clicking on any image, will identify the plants on display. Many of these would not be expected in mid-January.

We dined on Jackie’s splendid chicken curry with brown savoury rice and vegetable samosas.

82 comments

  1. Glad to see you so comfortable in your corner. I am agog over the blooms in your garden. As I am sure you can imagine, ours our covered with snow with plenty more heading our way on Sunday.

  2. I’m relieved it’s ‘just’ EE that temporarily silenced you rather than an attack of ‘Oh! Oh!’ caused by the knee. The flowers look wonderfully spring-like, though perhaps we forget what winter this side of the new year is like and are surprised anew each year. I thought the picture of Clematis cirrhosa (or similar) was a hellebore at a first glance. It’s exciting, either way.

  3. We’ve been so concerned with your operation and successful recovery I almost forgot about the garden, Derrick. (Almost, Jackie, I said Almost forgot. 🙂 )

      1. All this time that i am following the posts of Derrick I saw also you Jackie!!! You are a person that i admire! God bless you and your lovely family!!!

  4. Clearly your winter has been extremely mild – just as ours was last year. I recall last winter here when the daffodils all came out in July. Then it rained and rained and rained non stop until a few weeks ago. I hope you won’t get that consequence! You two make a great team and I am pleased you are belatedly able to catch up with your posts. Your internet woes do make me very grateful for the good service we have here! xo

  5. I love those bright spots in the garden! Tell Jackie those are a welcome sight at this time of year.

    Sorry to hear of the Internet issues. It seems like many service companies these days do not provide reliable service anymore, and it is too much to fight.

  6. You are looking quite well, sir. Sending every wish for a speedy recovery. Hope you are out chasing ponies soon with both knees going strong.

    Tell Jackie that I love her photos and labels. I always like to guess what the plants are. The weather vane was a wonderful touch. Like Laurie, I am also agog at your abundant garden whilst we shiver under snow. It’s so good of you to share the beauty.

      1. I thought we English would say “Yes it bloody well is!”
        Have I been gone that long?
        Why apologize? With that invalid wallowing away, in agony, in the background, it’s very appropriate. Almost reduces me to tears. Almost 😛

  7. Love the virtual tour of your garden! My compliments to jackie for the camerawork – wonderful!

    I just can’t believe the flowers you have in mid winter in the UK! 😉

    Hope your internet issues are resolved soon!

  8. YAY for Jackie! She is a wonderful wonder! She is taking such good care of you and the garden, ETC! Please give Jackie a hug for me! 🙂
    All of the flowers bring smiles…but the pansies make me laugh! I love their sweet little faces! 🙂
    You are looking good, Derrick…even in slumping mode! 😉 😀
    HUGS!!! 🙂

  9. Love the plants.
    With our service provider in NY I had the option to rent or buy my router. I bought it for ~$100 rather than pay $20 a month. If it fails and I need a new one i can buy another and plug it in myself. I had to be sure to buy the right kind.

  10. You look comfy. Your fireplace tiles echo–or perhaps foreshadow–Jackie’s photos of your beautiful garden. It seems to look beautiful in every season.

  11. It’s wonderful to see you at home in your element! Is the season unusually warm this year, causing more blooms than typical in January? My hellebores are also putting out a bunch of buds, and it seems rather early. I hope they don’t get killed by a late-season freeze.

    I love all Jackie’s photos of your always-splendid garden. The variegated petals on both the clematis and the camelias really catch my eye. Just gorgeous.

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