The chicks emerge from under mother’s warm feathers as the temperature slowly rises

Purple sprouting is…….. sprouting

Stood with head bowed at grave sides, appreciated the beauty of the countryside and the cities. Now I am frightened to listen to the radio and worse still, watch the television. Just now I did watch a report about the wonderful neurosurgeon Henry Marsh and his colleague David Nott deliver online advice to 200 Ukrainian doctors and surgeons

In happier times, in what seems like another age, Henry Marsh and a visiting Ukrainian neurosurgeon atttended the annual fundraising concert in London that we used to hold to support the Jewish community in Lviv. Then we worried about raising enough funds to run the school, pay the salaries and feed the children. Now we just beg NATO to keep Ukrainians alive.

25 hours without watching the horrors of war. Now the sabbath has departed and I am once again glued to my screens

S and P brought Tufty and son, now named Theo, back today. They had borrowed Tufty to tup their three Jacob sheep (hopefully due in April). They drove into the field and then disaster struck. After so much recent rain the car sank into the mud and couldn’t get out

After many muddy attempts we decided to come on and have a cuppa whilst I telephoned a local farmer. Bless him he was here within 15 minutes, got them out of the muddy field and on their way !

And plenty more – aubergine gratin, red cabbage, leek snd celery soup, stewed blackcurrants and ice cream. I’m just about to make macaroni cheese as grandson and a friend are coming to stay tonight