Page nineteen | gencurtis.co.uk

Welcome to Page Nineteen! Sunday May 5th. I’m over at mum and dads for the Bank Holiday Weekend. The weather is glorious today, was a mixed bag yesterday and is going to pour with rain tomorrow when the fair is on!

Last Saturday we had a party 🎉 for George’s birthday with a nice buffet which we all helped make. We had sausage rolls, pizza 🍕 and sandwiches, spring rolls and chicken 🍗 nuggets. I had shandy to drink 🍷 - all very nice!

At lunch club on Tuesday we had a local historian, Gerald for entertainment and he talked about the history of Longfield which was very 😊 good. I went to the bank with Beatrice and drew out my housekeeping 💵 money.

On Wednesday we met up with the guys from SEC at Bluewater and went window shopping then had a Chinese meal for lunch 🥙.

Dad rang me on Thursday before we went to Edenbridge to see Ian. We did our African Choir rehearsal with one of us falling asleep - can you guess who? - Matthew of course! In the afternoon we did computers with Lisa and I used the art app for drawing, which was interesting.

Friday was bits and bobs day which I did with Saran H and we went to the Co-op. I bought deodorant and ladies things.

On Saturday mum, dad and I went to Polhill garden centre to buy a peony and honeysuckle to replace those inadvertently trampled on by David, mum and dad’s gardener! We had a really nice lunch and bought sausages and mince in the butchers section.

Tomorrow Sam, Lucy and Ethan are coming over to go to the fair with us, please don’t let it rain…!

The next time I’m over will be the 18th of May (Saturday week) and I’ll tell you all about the fair, rain or shine…!

Sunday May 19th We went to the ‘Beating the Bounds’ fair on The Green on Monday May 6th. It was busy but poured down with rain for most of the day. Sam, Lucy and Ethan were over and Lucy played for half and hour and drew the crowds in. Nevertheless we enjoyed ourselves and went to Jaquie’s tearoom ‘No 21’ for lunch. She is a good 😊 friend of dad’s so it was nice to meet her.

On Tuesday morning dad took me back to Longfield and the rest of the week was busy. On Friday I went with Jamie and Jennifer to see the latest ‘Planet of the Apes’ film called Last Kingdom. It was good but very violent. Apart from that we had a quiet weekend watching telly.
Then Monday was back to Edenbridge with Ian for art and games when we did ‘pairs’ with Lisa, Ian’s friend. In the evening we all went to Slimming World with Sarah H and good news! I’m still losing weight by keeping away from the dreaded chips!
Thursday was back at Edenbridge after my call from dad, when I discovered we were going to Sam and Lucy’s for lunch on Saturday. We carried on with rehearsals for ‘African Choir’ with Ian, and it’s going well.

On Friday I went to see ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ with George and Nana, one of the agency staff. If was very funny 😂.

Friday was another bits and bobs day and I went to the Co-op with George and Nana and bought my girlie magazine. George bought a bottle of coke. In the evening I helped Jean cook 👨‍🍳 poached salmon. Jamie, Gary, Dominic and Michael had fish cakes but we girls enjoyed our salmon!

Mum and dad picked me up on Saturday and we drove to Upminster to meet Sam, Lucy and Ethan at the cafe-grill. Mum and I had shepherd’s pie (with chips! Tut tut) and baked beans which was delicious! The boys had a cooked breakfast with bubble & squeak and Lucy had eggs and tomatoes on toast. We went back to theirs for tea then Sam was off to meet his mate Geoff to see a band gig, so mum, dad, Lucy, Ethan and I walked to the Windmill pub for a drink in the sunshine. When we drove back to mum and dad’s we were too blown out for a big evening meal so we just had cheese 🧀 on toast and watched ‘The Wheel and ‘Casualty’ on tv.

It’s sunny today so we’ll spend some time in the garden before the weekly shop on my way back to Longfield.

The next time I’m over will be 1st and 2nd of June! -where has that half of the year gone?

Its Sunday 2nd of June, Hurrah! Yesterday mum, dad and I went to Polhill Garden centre to buy plants for the hanging baskets. We got a good variety of trailers and upright plants and two huge bags of compost. Then mum and I set to emptying the old compost and filling the baskets with new compost. We planted 10 baskets and dad hung them on the brackets around the garden. It was not a brilliant day weather-wise but today is really hot and ☀️ 😎 sunny, so they’ll get off to a good start. Last Friday I went to the cinema with Alan and Jennifer to see ‘Garfield the Movie’ which was very funny 😂 . On Saturday we had a barbecue at the house and Sandra did the cooking 🍳 . We had sausages, chicken 🍗 chicken and burgers 🍔 and good healthy salad 🥗, and finished with a yoghurt.

The next time I'm over to mum and dads will be the 15th and 16th, and 16th is Father’s Day so we will meet Sam, Lucy & Ethan at the Pheasant Plucker pub for lunch - yum, 👅 yum! At SEC we made paper daffodils to celebrate Spring and watched some visiting Morris Dancers 💃 who were very good 😊. They rang bells and one of them had a squeeze 📦 box for the music. More on the 15th!

Mum and I get stuck in with the baskets...

Filling them with compost...

That's the first one hung, nine more to go...

Mum and dad's prized peony, the only one David the gardener has not trodden on!

And the rhododendron looks fab!

Welcome to Saturday 15th of June! Back at mum & dads for the weekend. Its been a good 😊 week at the house 🏡 . The 6th of June was Leah’s birthday and we celebrated with a Chinese take-away! I had chicken 🍗 in black bean sauce which was very nice 👍.
On Saturday Louise, Jamie and I went to the cinema with Sandra to see the new Mad Max film ‘Furiosa a Mad Max Saga’ which was pretty violent in places but I enjoyed it!
On Monday there was no Edenbridge because we had no drivers, so Nana took us to Rochester on the train 🚂 . We had lunch out at Subway, and I had a chicken 🍗 and curry sauce roll which was very nice but pretty spicy 🌶 !
On Tuesday we went to Lunch Club and had fish 🐠 and chips with peas. We played ‘Snap’ with playing cards which was good 😊 fun.
On Wednesday we went to Bluewater with SEC and we had another Chinese meal! In the evening we went to FAB club where there was a quiz night.
Thursday dad rang me first thing, but still no Edenbridge as no drivers, so Nana and her daughter Clara took Alan, George and me to Bromley on the train 🚂. We went clothes shopping and I bought a bracelet and George did the same!

Friday was my ‘bits & bobs’ day and Jean took me and Louise to the Coop where we bought a Dr Pepper drink each. In the evening Gary and Sharon cooked shepherds pie with beans, peas and cabbage which was yummy 😋 .
Tomorrow (Sunday 16th) is Fathers Day so we are meeting Sam, Lucy and Ethan for lunch at the White Rock pub in Underriver. They will come back to mum & dads for tea.

The next time I’m over will be 29th of June and we are still waiting for Summer!

my new bracelet...

the roses in Longfield front garden are looking rather gorgeous...

waiting in the car for our driver (mum!)

It’s 30th June and we’ve had bright sunshine every day for two weeks! Hurrah!

I’ve 🐝 been quite busy at Edenbridge with Megan making backdrops for our summer fete in July. We played ‘Rolling In It’ with Ian which was great 👍 fun 😁.

On Tuesday I went to the bank with Mel, then went to Lunch Club where Scott was doing his Elvis set ‘Uh hu hu’ he sang ‘don’t step on my blue suede shoes’ which we all liked! For lunch we had Gala Pie - that’s the one with the world’s longest egg.

On Wednesday we went to Bluewater with Mark and Angie from SEC and had a Chinese lunch which was very nice 👍. On Thursday dad rang me first thing, then it was off to Edenbridge for play rehearsals for African Choir and Pinocchio with Ian (very much awake) and Matthew (very much asleep 😴 zzz).

On Friday I cooked chicken pie for the guys with Jean. After a few mouthfuls, Gary put his dinner in the bin and Sandra told him off for wasting good food.
Friday was ‘bits and bobs’ day, so George and I went to the Co-op with Jean and I bought a chocolate bar to hide in my fridge from Jamie!

Mum and dad came over on Saturday and we went to Gail’s in Sevenoaks for lunch, then dad sat in the sun while mum and I went to Marks to buy me some sandals as my others have gone walkabouts…!

Today (Sunday) mum and I are going to get our hair done at Teajuns - hurrah!

The next time I’m over to mum and dads will be 13th July, Saturday-week, see you then!

Its Sunday 14th July, time for more blogging! Last week was my holiday in Lille with Dominic, Michael, Sandra and Sarah H. We got a taxi to Ebbsfleet on the Monday, then a train up to London where we caught the Eurostar to Paris, then a local train to Lille. Our hotel was lovely and so was my room. I had an en-suite shower and all the mod-cons! The food 🥘 was nice and they did a full English breakfast, though I had muesli and 🍌 fruit, thinking of slimming world! Michael had the same though Dominic was greedy and had two bacon sarnies with lashings of ketchup! On the first day we bought postcards and keyring for all at home. Then we went sight seeing and had a hot 🍫 chocolate. There wasn’t any entertainment in the evenings so we just went to the bar and had a drink or two!

On Wednesday the weather was nice so we took an open air bus ride around the town and saw the sights.

On Thursday morning I phone dad on Sarah’s mobile, but we had to ring him at 9 o'clock because of the time difference! After the stress of that, we went down to 🥞 breakfast and I had a chocolate croissant 🥐 with Sandra and Sarah H with a good old English cup of tea ☕️ ! We then went to the Zoo which was great! I saw monkeys 🐵, parrots, foxes and meerkats. I bought a pen as a souvenir, then went to Bon-Marche with Sarah to buy some more knickers.

On Friday after breakfast (I had 🍉 fruit) we packed our bags and caught the train 🚂 for our return journey. We got back in time for dinner and Sara S had cooked chicken 🍝 pasta which was very good 😊 .

We had a quiet weekend then the start of the next week with a trip to Bromley on the train 🚂 with George and Kelly because there were no drivers for Edenbridge.

Tuesday was Louise’s party so we went to the carvery in Dartford, where I had chicken pie with chips and peas (Yummy, but sorry slimming world !)

Wednesday was Jamies’ party and we went to Longfield Tandoori. I had a chicken korma which was very nice 👍.

On Thursday after dad had rung we went to Edenbridge where I had my nails done with George by Lisa, then we played pass the bomb with Ian, which was a great laugh, even Matthew stayed awake and enjoyed himself!

Friday was my bits and bobs day with Sarah H. She took George and me to the Coop and we bought chocolates 🍫 and coke - hands off Jamie! In the evening I cooked a stir-fry chicken 🐔 with Sandra, but fussy old Gary had a Kiev and chips…

In the evening I went to the cinema with Alan and Nana to see ‘Inside-out 2’ which was very good!

On Saturday mum and dad picked me up and we went shopping in Tunbridge Wells. We had lunch at Bill’s (Yum) then dad bought a sweat-shirt at Fat Face and pants at Marks, together with chicken, green pepper and cashew nuts for a light stir-fry for tea.

My next time over, we are meeting S, L and E at Polhill Garden Centre on 27th July, Saturday week. Bye for now…

Afternoon tea in Lille with my friend Sarah

The open-top bus ride with Michael...

Stoking up for another day, I think Dominic has had enough!

Waiting for our departure taxi after a good holiday

Sunday July 28th I’ve had a super couple of weeks and have seen 2 films. On Wednesday I saw the animation ‘If’ which was very 😂 funny, then on Saturday I went with Alan and Jennifer to see ‘Twister’ which was very good. This last week I went to the bank with Sara S and drew out £100 for my house 🏡 keeping.

On Tuesday morning we went to Lunch Club and had quiche, peas, sweetcorn, carrots and potatoes. We played a hilarious game called ‘Win the Headlines’.

On Wednesday we went to Westherspoons and Louise and I had jacket 🥔 potatoes, hers with tuna and mine with chilli. Dad rang me on Thursday and confirmed we were seeing S, L, and Ethan on Saturday at Polhill Garden Centre for lunch.

On the Saturday mum and dad picked me up and we all met in the restaurant. Sam and I had fish and chips and Lucy mum and dad had jackets. Ethan had a pizza 🍕. We played with Ethan in the playground which is super-safe with a spongy surface. He climbed and Sam helped him onto the big slide which he liked. In the evening mum, dad and I had drinks 🍹 in the garden, then Chicken 🍗 Kiev and 🥗 salad with new potatoes 🥔 which was very nice.

This is Sunday and its another sunny day. We’re writing the blog in the garden with a cup of tea☕️.

The next time I’m over will be 10th and 11th of August and we’re going to Sevenoaks, shopping. No doubt we’ll go to Gail’s for lunch, my treat!

Dad helps Ethan the young adventurer...

he's getting the hang of it...

anxious moments...

success, a great ride!

Sunday 11th August I’ve had a good fortnight with lots going on but I’ll cut to this week to keep it a bit shorter. Monday was Edenbridge and Ian was on holiday so the group was run by Megan and Lisa. In the morning we played ‘pairs’ - a money 💵 game which was very 😂 funny with prizes to be won! I won some money 💵 but it wasn’t real! In the afternoon I did art with Megan and we went back to the stained-glass windows project. I already had a circle prepared so I coloured it in with felt-tips.

Tuesday was banking and lunch-club. We had entertainment with Tim and Ruth who sing musicals. Jamie played up so he didn’t go and stayed at home!

On Wednesday we went bowling 🎳 with SEC which was very good 😊 !

On Thursday dad rang me first thing and we talked about going to Sevenoaks on Saturday - yippie!

On Friday afternoon I went to the cinema with Alan and Elena to see ‘Harold and the Purple Crayon’ which was very funny 😂.

On Saturday mum and dad came over and after a cup of ☕️ tea with Gary droning on, we drove to Sevenoaks and went to Gail’s for lunch. We wanted chicken and parmesan rolls but they had run out. The first bloke said 15 minutes, then half-an-hour then nearly an hour with mum harassing them, but it was worth the wait! Mum and I went to Seasalt and bought a dress then to Marks and bought some shorts as tomorrow is going to be very hot!

In the early evening we went to the George for a drink then mum cooked moussaka which was delicious!

The next time I’m over will be Saturday & Sunday August 24th & 25th and we are planning to go to the cinema to see ‘Despicable Me 4’.

Sunday 25th August I’ve had an excellent fortnight 10/10! Ian at Edenbridge is back from his holidays so business as usual! On Monday we played ‘Family Fortunes’ which was great fun. We then did our art class (my favourite) and we are painting boxes 📦 to go around our ‘Northern Lights’ picture which we made in chalk.

On Tuesday we did our banking for the week and went to Nancy’s for a bacon 🥓 sandwich, though Jamie had a smelly egg 🥚in his. George cooked the evening meal and we had salmon which was yummy 😋.

On Wednesday we went to the cinema in Dartford to see ‘Garfield - the movie’ - its my second time of seeing it, but I still found it very funny 😂. Gary cooked spag bol with garlic 🥖 bread for our evening meal with Jaquie and didn’t throw his in the bin!

On Thursday dad rang me first thing and the guys went off on their cruise to Holland and Germany. There was no Edenbridge as there were no drivers left, so we watched tv and lounged about.

On Friday it was ‘bits & bobs’ day but Jacqui took us to see ‘Inside out 2’ which was very funny 😂. In the evening Sandra and I cooked a 🍗 chicken korma with rice 🍚 and peas. It was, of course, gorgeous, even Dominic liked it!

On Saturday mum and dad picked me up and we went to see ‘Despicable Me 4’ which was barmy, but very 😂 funny! We had a yummy chicken 🍔 burger, and a big bowl of skinny chips, don’t tell slimming world!

Good weekends coming up, September 7th, Lyn and Dave are coming over as well as Sam & co, and we are all going to the George and Dragon to celebrate mum and dad’s 50th wedding anniversary! Then we are celebrating mum’s birthday 🎉 on the weekend of 21-22 September! Yippee!

Sunday 8th September It’s been a busy week with Banking, Lunch Club, Edenbridge, SEC and bits & bobs Friday as usual, but we invited St John’s house over for a barbecue as well! All of them came, so the house was packed! We provided heaps of food 🥘 including sausages, burgers 🍔 chicken 🍗 salad 🥗 and 🍝 pasta then 🍉 fruit salad and trifle to finish. Sandra ran the barbecue with Sarah H and Beatrice. Shirley had wine 🍷 , Alan had shandy, but the rest of us had coke or lemonade 🍋. There was good 😊 music and we all had a good time.

On Saturday 7th dad and mum came over to pick me up and go back to theirs to meet Lyn & Dave (mum & Dad’s friends from Australia) and Sam and co to celebrate mum & dad's 50th wedding anniversary. There were lots of gifts for mum & dad - I had bought them a large orchid and some wine, Sam & Lucy had bought them a rose 🌹 and tickets to see Jack Dee in stand-up next September!! Dad had bought mum a special vase with two gold rose-buds on it.

We then walked up for our celebration lunch at the George & Dragon which was fab! Dad, Sam and Dave had a ‘Bel burger’, mum had haddock (with its head still on uck!), Lyn had a veggie risotto, Lucy had Salmon and a green salad 🥗, I had fish 🐟 and chips and Ethan had chicken nuggets. For afters we all shared a large Tarte Tatin and I had rhubarb crumble, yum! Dad had a second glass of wine 🍷. We went back to mum & dad’s for tea then Sam & Lucy left and mum and I took Lyn and Dave back to Tunbridge Wells to catch their bus back to Brighton. See you next year Lyn and Dave!

We are seeing Sam, Lucy and Ethan on the 21st of September to celebrate mum’s birthday when I am treating everyone to birthday lunch at ‘Efsane’ in Longfield which is a posh Mediterranean/Turkish restaurant. Then I will go back to mum and dad’s for the rest of the weekend.