Old men playing golf - nearly!

Wareham Golf Club

Bad Driving?

"If you think that was bad you should see what he did to the golf couse with his buggy!"

"Don't know what you are up to over there John, but you can be seen!"

"I'm not moving from behind this tree unless I can drive the buggy!"

Gardeners Delight

These are a few pictures of the relatively small but unusual Knoll Gardens near to Wimborne in Dorset.

The garden set in woodland, of which the owners have won gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show for many years, is filled with plants, grasses and flowers; some unusual, others that are common in Dorset at this time of the year like rhododenrons and azaleas.

Erect aliums 

in contrast to this great fallen eucalyptus which has been nurtured to keep growing. You may see the branches growing from the top horizontal part of the trunk.












Wouldn't you just love a garden pond like this?











or rhododenrons this colour



















or even like this?

Here is my favourite



 If you want to see and learn more go to

www.knollgardens.co.uk/

A tree filled with Angels

This is Upton House in Upton Park at Poole in Dorset.

No-one lives there now, but it is used by all sorts of people for all kinds of recreational purposes.

The park is a truly wonderful place for people of all ages from the very young to the very old.

If you feel active you can ride on a two-wheeled self-balancing scooter like this.

Got your attention now lads have I?

You can sit and watch children play their favourite games; like jumping on Dad. 

Or you can wander through the park admiring the trees and flowers.

Or you can gaze in awe at this tree  filled with angels.

Now you know what I know:  heaven is in Dorset!

When you're smiling

Why would a weather picture like this make you smile?

Because it's a golf course.

And what sort of golfers wouldn't be happy when their their old golf course was sold for building houses on and it has been six months since they played and they don't know if they can still hit a golf ball straight and they don't care any way as long as they can try. And to be honest this is the sky when they finished and the rain had held off and they had played quite well and they had laughed all the way round and here they are just about to set off, John and me.

And here is the view down the first fairway

and a bit further on

Crowded isn't it? 

This is John executing a very tricky shot.

 More glorious Dorset countryside: almost home.






Probably not of great interest to non- golfers,

but paradise for the rest of us.

Down on Upton Heath

It's May, it's Dorset, it's Upton Heath, it's ten minutes from home, it's green again and the sun is shining.

I expect it's green in other places, but the rain wasn't half coming down when Leicester were playing football yesterday.
I don't imagine the Leicester supporters knew it was raining.

The rain comes down here sometimes; here's some water to prove it.

Thought you might like to see the blue sky.
If your eyesight is good you may be able to see the helicopter or,











 if you are looking down, a few weeds which would look good in a garden.













But wherever you look the scenery is good.
If you have magination, or believe in stories about what goes on down in the wood, you may see strange creatures like the one here on the top right of the picture, with hands on hips, arms akimbo, bushy green eyebrows and a large round green eye!

Or, you may just want to look and see what you came to see:
tranquility and peace.

Away from it all

It is a Bank Holiday weekend. If you want to get away from it all, including the seaside holidaymakers, turn towards the countryside where you know everything will be calm and orderly just half an hour from home.




You come to see landscapes like this looking north towards Compton Abbas airfield from near Witchampton, not all that far from Wimborne.







Or, the places you come upon by chance which no-one seems to have discovered; certainly not this morning.







If you are going to keep a home in the country you may as well do things properly, especially the flower beds down the garden path that will be the first thing to impress the visitors.





Of course, you could go the whole hog and buy a decent house. This is Crichel House at Moor Crichel, somewhere at the end of the flowery drive.  I didn't take this picture because you can't see it from the road.
I missed the chance to buy it: an American billionaire acquired it a couple of years ago for a reputed £100 milllion.






To really get away from it all you have to find yourself a traffic free narrow road: like this.

And you can park in peace and quiet and enjoy your thermos of coffee and chocolate biscuits feeling you have gone back in time.







Suddenly you know you have.

From nowhere comes a horde of racing ladies of years gone by  -  with cars to match"!

Even when the last one is heading into the distance it is a job to believe what you have just seen.







What is the correct expression for a horde of Austin Sevens  -  a clutch?

Happy Birthday

When people say "Happy Birthday", are they just following form or do they envisage what type of birthday would make you really happy?






Her is an example of a birthday surprise I received in the eighties! That's me drooling on the right, never believing that at last I have had something(s?) jumping out of a cake.





At that dinner was another colleague and friend, Graham Keay, who has always remembered my birthday ever since. This year he was a week or two late because the Queen's 90th birthday clashed with mine.








He sent me this patriotic tea towel, but only because, as he wrote in the card he enclosed, he could not get the one he really wanted'.

In case you can't read the writing, it says:










"Went into the shop in Birmingham and said to the girl:
Have you got one of these with 90th Birthday Philip Goodwin?"
and she said
"No! Sorry, they sold out on the first day!

Keep smiling and enjoy lots of Happy Days!

Christine & Graham


How can you not be happy when you receive a message like that.
We tended to be happy when we worked together.
Here we are in Venice working hard at a conference!  
That's Graham in the back row under the arrow. You'll have to search for me.

For Anne, you will recognise Barry.