This week Edward decided that we should have a virtual Teddy Bears’ Picnic. This is a bit more involved than Peter’s request that we should all wear particular socks. Always up for a challenge we went into the garden, bashed the dust of ages off four generations worth of teddy bears and struggled to get them to sit up in the wind. We brought out plates, cups, food, drink and arranged them perfectly on an attractive daisy-strewn lawn. The occasion was snapped from all angles. We reversed the process, returning all the picnickers to their homes and various foodstuffs to the larder. It was then I realised that the memory card was not firmly in place in the camera and that I had no photos. My camera usually warns me but in the bright sun I couldn’t see the screen. The pictures may be preserved in the camera’s internal memory. I am sure I should still have the lead to connect camera to laptop. I unearthed every lead in the house but none would fit. There was nothing for it but to repeat the process once again. By this time the sun had moved round so the teddies moved to the patio. This did mean I could prop some of the wobbliest of their number up against a wall and Lovely Boy could toast invisible marshmallows, courtesy of part of our C17th kit. I won’t apologise for Gladly (the cross-eyed bear)’s inebriated state, at 95 I feel she can be excused! No social distancing as they are all from the same household. This is just a selection of the many photographs. Edward was thrilled that so many people joined in.

Lovely Boy toasts an invisible marshmallow

Gladly, aged 95, a little worse for wear

A request went out on Facebook for a picture of a dusty stone demi-john to use in a film shoot. Well my house is full of random stuff, so I was able to oblige, complete with an impressive amount of antique dust (I am pretty sure this hadn’t been dusted since before Christmas). I am now using that as an excuse, ‘of course I can’t possibly dust any of my possessions in case anyone wants to use them in a photo shoot’.

In other matters, the zooming continues. Last night our local history group took the meeting online. Considering we were all still familiarising ourselves with the technology, it went quite well. The added advantage was that two members who did not live locally, one from Hampshire and one from New Zealand, were able to attend, even though it was 6am in New Zealand.

The latest gardening project is reinstating the gravel path that had becoming overgrown. This involves hand picking the stones from a mat of grass roots and weeds. This is startlingly reminiscent of the kind of tasks that might be required of workhouse residents in the past. It might be preferable to picking oakum but it is a close run thing.

On the subject of gardening, remember that family tree that I pruned a couple of weeks ago? Well, after careful reassessment, I have reinstated 9x great granddad. 9x great granny has been exchanged for a more plausible alternative (one who wasn’t dead when her child was born).

The novel is nearing completion. Hopefully, next time I post, I will be able to report that it is finished. If I am not distracted by gardening, zooming and piano playing of course (don’t mention the Cornish). A clue? You are welcome – the historical thread is set firmly in Mistress Agnes’ era, from the 1640s-1680s. The full list of clues revealed so far can be found here.