April 23

Today is Shakespeare's birthday, although there is some question over this - and the day he died.  It is also St. George's Day, but there is hardly anything about this on the news or social media.  It is not PC to be proud of being English.

John goes off to work on his favourite Wolseley.  A few days ago, he disputed the fact that he can do whatever he wants, but I am continually hounded by Sian and Ellie if I try and squirrel myself away somewhere on my own.  He insists this is my doing and that I should be more strict.  When he announces he will be working on the car for a few hours, the response is:

'Enjoy yourself, Dad.'

'Have a wonderful time.  Take as long as you like.  As long as you are happy, dear father, we are happy, too.'

OK, this might be a slight exaggeration, but he certainly never gets accused of not spending enough time with them, neglecting them in their early childhood years or driving them to become drug addicts or alcoholics in later life.  I continually remind Sian and Ellie that Enid Blyton saw her two children for an hour a day when they were allowed to have tea with her.  Otherwise, they weren't allowed near her.  Agatha Christie toured the world when her daughter was very young and left her in the care of her mother and sister.  When she joined her husband on archaeological digs, her daughter was at boarding school so she could be gone for months at a time.

I decide we are going to have a morning of gardening and that this is a perfect way of spending time with my otherwise bored children.  However, as soon as I mention the idea, it's amazing how quickly both of them find something else to do.  I start on my own, clearing the flower beds and digging up old roots.  Ellie joins me and then Sian eventually does, having spent about half an hour doing some mysterious. but apparently vital, exercises to keep herself fit.  

The sun is hot, but it is a lovely day and we plant quite a few succulents.  We try to fill up the spaces in the flowerbeds.  It is going to be hard work without any water, but we do recycle all our bath and kitchen water so there some to go around.

In the afternoon, the girls make a cake by blending a whole lot of biscuits, adding baking powder and milk and then baking it in the oven. It comes out really nicely and so we have a reading hour: cake, tea and a book.  What could be a better way to spend an afternoon?