Thursday 17th November 2022 - Delayed Blog and Recap

For anyone who has spotted I am late posting and not keeping to my usual four days for my blogs, then it is not a case of forgetting – it was planned. I wanted to hold back until after the Poppy Appeal count. Four of us met at the Methodist Church yesterday morning for the count. Once this was completed and the money bagged, checked and logged, Peter and I headed to the Post Office to pay this in. It was lunch time by then, after which we had a short walk before I started reconciling, packing away collecting tins, writing thank you cards and emailing the schools with a poster showing the total amounts in their collecting tins. I still have the official returns to lodge with the British Legion and packaging all the stock of trays, poppy tins etc. ready to return. I will hold back announcing the total amount raised, pending the receipt of one final promised donation. Once I have this, I will be able to put up posters in the village and will also record the total amount raised, here in my blog. All I will say is, given how costs are rising and people are having to cut back, Overstrand raised an impressive sum. Before I move on, I would like to thank Lesley, Martin and Peter who helped with the count and who will verify what a pain counting those tiny 5p’s are, Gordon who arranged for us to use the Methodist Church, Nicki at the Post Office for patiently counting the bags of coins and of course everyone who donated to this very worthy charity.

Going back to last Saturday (12th), it was a sunny day, perfect for strolling in the village and visiting the various venues, which together formed Overstrand Together’s Christmas Bazaar. A series of photos have been posted on their Facebook page showing a selection of the stalls, as well as the refreshments available. Judging by the numbers of people we saw in the village in the afternoon this must have been, once again, a successful event. The good weather continued with scarves, gloves and jackets not needed on our Monday afternoon walk but it has been all change since then. We all knew we would have to face a drop in temperature before long but with it has come rain and last night some very feisty winds which did no damage and only blew over one of our garden chairs and most of the leaves off our peach tree. Cooler temperatures have resulted in a change in the meals we eat. I have made a batch of Bolognese sauce for the freezer, cooked roasted root vegetables with sausages and last night we had a lamb casserole I made the day before, adding dumplings as it reheated. As we like to eat with the seasons, we haven’t eaten any of these during the warmer months. They return to our table, like old friends, but no doubt come next March I will be bored with cooking them and hankering for summer vegetables and their accompanying dishes.

Today’s photo shows what we can expect to see on a typical November morning – a bit grey and misty.