January in the garden

It has been a glorious crisp, sunny day today, a wonderful change from the recent winter gloom.I went out into the garden to see how well the spring flowers are progressing. There are lots of shoots to be seen.

I can't remember the name of this little shrub but it provides this lovely splash of colour all year round.

I think this hebe is putting out its flowers unseasonably early. I hope it won't suffer in the next cold snap.

I have several varieties of euonymus in the garden but this Silver Queen is my favourite.

I missed the first of the snowdrops, they obviously don't mind being out in the wind and rain as much as I do.

This camellia is called Little Bit. It has been showing off its lovely flowers since the end of November but has lots more buds ready to open.

Debbie is much more sensible, just peeping out to see if the time is right yet.

And, of course, there are the hellebores. They look far too fragile to be in bloom in the middle of winter but it is very cheering to see them. This one is actually a much deeper shade of lilac than appears in the photograph.

The forecast is for a return of wintry gloom tomorrow so it was good to have this glimpse of spring.

January in the Caribbean

Andrew and Anna on their wedding day in Jamaica. We are looking forward to celebrating with them next month when everyone is invited to share the cake!

January in the English Riviera

Torquay advertises itself to tourists as the "English Riviera". That description may apply in the summer but it took a huge stretch of imagination at the weekend, when the beaches were deserted, the sea grey and shrouded in mist, the wind howled and the rain never stopped. It wasn't quite a Mediterranean weekend but we Brits like our bracing walks and I defied the elements and spent Saturday afternoon walking along the seafront. I've had to take this picture from the tourist board as it was too grey and grim for me to use my camera. My hotel was on the clifftop above the second cove in this picture, with stunning views across the bay.

My conference turned out to be far more interesting than I had anticipated and,if I thought anyone concerned with it might ever read RD, I would apologise profusely for suggesting I might be reading about Mma Ramotswe instead of listening. I met lots of old friends, made many new ones, heard some brilliant speakers, attended seminars and discussions and generally had an interesting and informative weekend. It was good to have the little grey cells stimulated after more than a year in retirement.

Of course the high point of such gatherings is THE FOOD. My good cyberfriend, erp, has asked me for details so, just to make you all envious, I must say that the food was excellent. We ate in the beautiful, candlelit Edwardian dining room to the accompaniment of a selection of popular classics played on the grand piano. I did have a little dilemna because I have bought lots of new clothes for the wedding party we will all be attending a couple of weeks from now and I had to work my way round the menu very carefully so as not to pile on the pounds. Even so, I had two fantastic evening meals: on Friday I chose melon, followed by sorbet and then a beautiful steak with vegetables. I skipped the bread, soup and potatoes but no-one would expect me to miss out on the dessert trolley now would they? I did choose the smallest confection with no added cream! On Saturday I kept to the same wardrobe-conscious routine but with sea bass as my main course. It was all cooked and presented superbly. I hope you are impressed, e!