Rainbows and teddy bears

With social distancing and lots of places, including schools closing because of coronavirus, children are connecting with each other by painting colourful rainbows and putting them in their windows for others to see.

It's thought the rainbow trend started in Italy, but has rapidly caught on in other countries, including the US, Canada, Spain and now the UK.

Thank you NHS, Stay at home, or Keep smiling,  are some of the messages that accompany the rainbows.

Finally, one on a drive.

A mass teddy bear hunt is also under way around the world to help distract the millions of children locked down. Stuffed toys are being placed in windows to give children a fun and safe activity while walking around their neighbourhood with parents. The hunt is inspired by the children's book We're Going on a Bear Hunt, written by Michael Rosen.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has also joined in, putting two bears in the window of her family home.

Magnolia

With large, fragrant, fleshy flowers, magnolias are everywhere at the moment. A real sign of spring.

Loge chair

Our new Loge chair and ottoman have arrived all the way from Holland. There is a little recess in our sitting room where I like to sit and read, surrounded by books and my ceramics, and the chair is perfect there.





Designed by Gerard Van Den Berg and manufactured by Montis, it's is a design classic. I love the form, and it's very comfortable.

This is the one we already owned. I bought this when I retired from work, using some of the money from my lump sum.

The parks

Regular readers of this blog will know what I love going for walks in the Jephson and Mill Gardens. Yesterday, was the first day I was able to go back, given how compromised my mobility has been since my operation. There were not many people about, and everyone kept a safe distance of 2m, so it all good.

We walked past the bridge and into the Mill Gardens.


 

The river on our left.

It was a glorious, sunny day and the trees looked magnificent.

Nice reflections in the water.

We reached the end of the path and the bridge was facing us on the left.

View from the bridge.

We entered Jephson Gardens and took the path that leads to the pond and the fountains.

The blossom is out

Looking across the river onto the Mill Gardens. The straw on the island is placed there for the swans to nest.

Nice splash of colour

We entered the sensory garden

Bright red border

The pond with the water features on our left

and the formal flower borders on our right

looking closer

We circled the pond

said hello to two mallards

who immediately jumped into the water

Retraced our steps, over the bridge

view of the Parish Church on our right

and views of Jephson Gardens and Mill Gardens on our right. It was wonderful.