Visitors from Overseas

Over the last few days, as a family, we have hosted two members of a rugby team from a school in Vancouver, Canada. The team are in the UK for ten days and left yesterday for Wimbledon, where they play their fourth and final match before flying home next week.

It was really nice to meet them and find out all about their life in Canada, although neither were Canadian born. One was from New Zealand and the other from Cornwall, having moved to France before going to Canada.



Before they left they gave my children rugby shirts with their school logo on and maple syrup sweets, a book about Canada and a bottle of maple syrup. I just have to make some pancakes to go with that!



So now all the dirty rugby kits have been washed and taxi duties have dropped to a normal level I can get back to doing some writing.

Taking Time Out

We have all but finished lambing, so I took myself off last Saturday to Ceridwen Centre, not far from where I live and had an enjoyable day meeting other writers and publishers at the Writers' Day. The centre is nestled in the Welsh countryside on a 40 acre organic farm.

Then on Monday I found myself in Aberystwyth running an errand, but I was totally unable to resist the urge to stop and take a little bit more time out on the seafront.

The warm sun was lovely and the view so nice I just had to snap this photograph as I enjoyed a quiet few minutes listening to the waves washing over the pebbles. On the drive home I noticed that the daffodils are finally emerging, normally the hedgerows are full of splashes of gold by now.

Signs of Spring

Today is St David's Day or Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant and I wanted to share with you the signs that spring is just around the corner, despite the ever recurring snow we have experienced this winter.

As I took this photograph earlier, birds were singing and a woodpecker was relentlessly tapping away. The sun was warm, banishing the frost to the shadows of the hedgerows and all around I could hear the bleating of lambs.

I couldn't resist taking this photograph either, of a lamb soaking up the early morning sunshine.

Much to my disappointment, the daffodils around the farm haven't flowered yet. Usually they are out for St David's Day, although the snowdrops and crocuses have been a little braver. Have you seen any daffodils in flower yet?