Janet's Blog – June 2023

As I write this, I’m sitting on the top step of the bridge over the marina entrance – we called it the Jubilee Bridge when we built it, as it was Diamond Jubilee year. We did invite HM to officially open it, and got very excited to received a Buckingham Palace embossed envelope – but it was just a lovely letter explaining that she was a bit too busy, so the honour of cutting the ribbon fell to my father in law, Richard.

It’s a lovely sunny day, with a gentle breeze, and a great place to sit and watch the wonderful array of birdlife we have at the marina. The swallows are darting back and forth across the water, there’s a tree sparrow and a chaffinch on the fence and a grebe spending the afternoon diving for fish in the open water in front of reception. Yesterday as I walked home, the resident swan family were cruising back into the marina, one adult in front, one behind and 6 rapidly growing cygnets ushered in between. We started off with eight of them, but sadly Mother Nature seems to have picked a couple off. They’re definitely creatures of habit – most mornings they bring the whole lot out up the wheelyboat slipway and waddle them all the way down to the ponds in Lakeview. It’s a funny sight to see – mum in front, cygnets waddling along as fast as their little webbed feet can go and dad behind pushing them on. They brake for no one – even the bin lorry just has to wait! Every now and then the brood get tired and flop down for a rest until Dad chivvies them on and then when they reach the grass by the lake they quicken up in an excited little flurry of fluffy grey feathers.

At home my brood have also been busy. Daughter No1 has just ridden her first competitive prix St George (PSG) dressage test – a very proud mum moment watching her compete in a tailcoat, and Daughter No 2 has finally finished the dreaded A Levels, so the pressures now off and the summer can truly begin!