There are various memes going about on Facebook at present and, if I’m tagged, I tend to go along – though if it’s a ‘pass it on’ thing, I don’t – so I’ve been putting down music and books at present. I’ve also been invited to write about favourite films, which I haven’t done yet, though I probably will, mainly because I can say why and am not invited to do a picture without an explanation.

I’m quite wordy, I realise. If a picture paints a thousand words, I’ll probably go with the words. This isn’t a boast, just how it is. I remember once at school, we were asked to do a piece on Brazil. I dutifully wrote a page of information. I’ve no idea what I wrote, but it wouldn’t have been laboured, I wasn’t a dull writer. Another girl took three felt pens at the last minute, did a few sweeps and wrote “Amazon parrot” – and it was, she had a gift and it was very good. But it took her seconds and my hour of work got a lower mark than her casual nothing and, I’m sorry to say, I resent the teacher to this day. Not that I can remember which teacher it was.

But there. Never mind. The most recent book I’ve read is called The Huntingfield Paintress, by Pamela Holmes and it engrossed me. Huntingfield is a village not far from here and I didn’t know that, back in the 1850s and 60s, some beautiful ceiling paintings were done by the Rector’s wife. There were also stained glass windows and wood carvings done at much the same time and, though little is known about the Rector and his wife, Pamela has written a book with the imagined story.

Someone chose it for our book club book and we were going to visit the church next month, because the decorations have been looked after carefully for the last 150 years. But that’s not on for now. One day, it might happen. I don’t say better than ‘might’ nowadays, though I do allow myself to wish.

Lovely spring vegetables now. Yesterday’s order from Simon included new potatoes, asparagus, broad beans, cos lettuce, radishes and strawberries, all of them local. The taste is quite different from the stuff grown all the year round, probably hydroponically, certainly forced and vaguely disappointing. But I appreciate all vegetable and fruit growers and don’t mean to knock them. Still, it’s getting to the really good times now. Not that I’ll be buying much in the summer, because we grow it – lots of plants waiting until after tomorrow night, when 1ºC is forecast and that undoubtedly means a ground frost. Z is too old not to have learned a modicum of sense.

My new battery-driven strimmer arrived the other day. I don’t expect it to do lots but the gentle trimming I ask of it is keeping us so much less ragged than usual. I miss Wince a lot but I’m going to make it tacitly clear that we’re not falling apart and can cope, when he eventually feels able to turn up. I wonder if it’ll be tomorrow. Hope so. There’s rather a lot of grass to wallow through. Not the lawn and smaller areas though, I’ve done that too.