Monday 9th October 2023 - Pleasant for October, Poppy Appeal and Overstrand Hall's Restored Entrance

We didn’t get the heatwave forecast over the weekend but it was undoubtedly very pleasant for October. We had a BBQ on Saturday evening, which hopefully won’t be the last of the season. Peter cooked chicken souvlaki (Greek kebabs) and long red Florina type peppers, to eat with the Greek potato salad (potatoes, onion, dill, yogurt and olive oil) and tzatziki (cucumber, garlic, yogurt and olive oil) I made, along with homemade bread cooked earlier in the week and then frozen. The light is fading fast now in the evenings; gone are the days when it was still light at ten. Still there is nothing we can do about it. Today the weather is even better than at the weekend, the covering of cloud has broken to reveal blue skies and sunshine and Tuesday looks to be even better – keeping my fingers crossed we can manage another BBQ tomorrow evening.

Going back to Friday, I received my delivery of Poppy Appeal items from the Royal British Legion, ready for the appeal which starts on 26th October and runs through to November 12th. I’ve had good positive responses from those who usually have trays of poppies and collecting tins as well as the clubs, school, churches etc who have wreaths. This year there will be three additional places in the village where you can donate and get a poppy; The Conservative Club, Ivy Farm Holiday Park and at the Thursday morning village coffee mornings, in the Sports Pavilion. Kingswood will also have poppies and trays for their visitors and when I asked, Sidestrand School have said they would like to have a wreath this year. Nearer the start of the appeal, I will ask the Parish Council to put up a notice, on their website, showing all the places in the village where poppies will be available. I will also put the notice here on my website and on my Facebook page too.

Peter noticed, the other day, the walls either side of the entrance to Overstrand Hall have been repaired. I understand they were knocked down by a large vehicle. We walked along, the other afternoon, to take a look. The work is not finished, there is still some brickwork to complete at the back and the pillars need capping. Whoever did the work on the cobbles did an excellent job, their skill can be appreciated in the photo below.

I have been experimenting with the camcorder, in the garden and recording one of our walks. I am now surrounded by various cables for my laptop, phone, camera and camcorder. I do wish there was ‘one for all’. Today’s photos were taken on my compact camera, looking down from the clifftop. It was dull at the time but warm and, as mentioned in the first paragraph, it improved during the day to give sun and blue skies.