1   I have spent the entire afternoon sitting in the arbour, listening to the birds, an old fashioned lawn-mower and Radio 4,  knitting my fifth piece for Wool Against Weapons and reading the odd chapter. An afternoon full of peace and tranquility – bliss!

The Arbour, my knitting, the radio and a good book to read

2   On my way to the back of the garden, I spotted a beautiful Cornish Violet peeping through some Primroses. In all the years I was away from Cornwall, I always had Cornish violets and primroses in my garden.

Cornish violet

3   In the back wall serendipity has had a hand. The Primroses that I planted there have centres that exactly match the golden blossom on the Berberis Dawinii and the border is looking beautiful.

Berberis Darwinii

Cream Primroses with a golden centre

Today is also World Cancer Day. Most of us know of someone who has won the battle, someone who is fighting the battle and someone who has lost the battle … let’s remember them all, especially today …
My heart remembers my lovely Mum and Dad, my dear friend Kath, to whom I dedicate this blog and two dear friends we met while volunteering in Mapoch, Marnie and Pastor Peter. They were both remarkable people and you can read about them by clicking on the red links.

In the past, I have mentioned ‘going up to England’ and some readers have questioned this, saying but isn’t Cornwall part of England?  Today, The UK Government have announced that the Cornish people will be officially recognised as a national minority under the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cornish-people-formally-declared-a-national-minority-along-with-scots-welsh-and-irish-9278725.html