Not a good week for Bournemouth.

The Red Arrows

Up until Thursday, it had been a pretty good and normal week,on the whole uneventful. Thursday, the day that the famous Bournemouth Air Show begins four days of fly pasts, daredevil acrobatics and mid air stunts. And the day of my test at hospital.

Both the airshow and my test weren't until later in the day, and so I set off early in the morning to the cottages in Mudeford, as I figured that in the few hours I had, I could tackle a large amount of hedgecutting that needed doing. The weather forecast hadn't exactly been brilliant, but nobody expected quite what was about to happen in this little holiday town. A third of the way through the hedge and the heavens opened up, but being at such a point in the trimming I had to just grit the old teeth and finish the task in hand. Two and a half hours later and I climbed into the van, soaking wet and soon to be steaming away, and began what was to be one of the longest drives home I have had yet. The rain was torrential, and by torrential I mean...Torrential! Whole areas were closed to traffic by police, fire crews were rescuing people from basement flats, in one place the road lifted with the force of so much water passing underneath, that the road surface broke a hole through the floor of a bus passing overhead.

Lower Gardens - Bournemouth

Obviously I did get home, but only just in time to shower and change, hear that the airshow had been cancelled for that day, and then set off back where I had just been for the test. As it turned out, there was no way that the appointed time could be kept, and so an hour and a half late I turned up and had things about the procedure explained. Shortly afterwards I was directed into the room where the procedure was to take place and came face to face with IT! It was long, wriggly, and had a light and camera on the end. It laid there menacingly, light strobing away, and as I gingerly took up the position, had the image come to mind of the aliens tentacle exploring the cellar in War of the Worlds. The next twenty minutes weren't what I would call good, but the results were, and although I couldn't leave with a spring in my step, I am now more optimistic.

Friday saw a beautiful and sunny day. The airshow kicked off in all of it's glory, with everyone making up for lost time. Amanda came out to work with me, and we enjoyed a wonderful day of gardening, discussion, and tea at Sandbanks.

Tragically, one of the famous Red Arrow pilots, Flight Lietenant Jon Egging, lost his life when his plane crashed as it returned to Bournemouth Airport, and our thoughts are with his family at this time. Shortly before training for this season, some of these pilots had been on active service in Afghanistan.

Our weekend has been spent sorting out the global storage facility that is our home. How can sooo much rubbish build up? As for gardening, a new quote has to be worked out tonight.

 Not exactly a looker, but in this particular area of this business, it's where a proper living is to be made.

I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks for popping by.