An afternoon off

I'd booked the afternoon off on Thursday for an interview and decided to leave it as a holiday as I didn't need to go to the interview any more... So I came home and let the cat out and set to work on the garden. There's a trench down the side that needs sorting out, it's been filled with cement and sand and bricks from when they built the extension and it's something we just never got around to sorting out. So I made headway and added to the pile that Alex had created the day before on his day off. I worked away in the sunshine and got covered in sand and clay, and I decided at about 5pm to take the rubbish out to the front as they'd collect it the next morning. Because it was a very windless day, hot and calm, I didn't put the latch on and pulled the door to behind me to stop the cat going out the front. Pads however had other ideas. She has learned to nose open the door and must have been trying out this new technique when she pushed the door shut.

I was locked out!

The little girls and boys on the close were watching and followed me around the back as I tried vaguely to climb the fence. I was wearing flip flops and there was no way I was going to get over. The children had other ideas...

"No you do it like this, see? Paige, Paige, pass me that pole over there!"
As the 8 year old deftly hung over my back fence she assured me she'd helped the last man who lived here break in too! His wife had locked him out once, I knew this from some other neighbours. She unhooked the back gate, jumped down and let me in!

So I made all 4 of them orange squashes, we chatted, they played around and showed off and I distracted them by teaching them words in Spanish. In the end they left with lists of words, arguing over who could have what... "no Paige you can't have that word, that's MINE!"

And I promised them they'd have their moment of fame on my blog in return for their help, so here they are the Ashbury Covert 'possie'















Paige, the one in pink trying to look well-behaved, is nine and lives next door with her mum Sharon and older brother and sister. They are all lovely kids, really sweet. And they like Pads too, which means I always have people out in the close looking out for her! The other three are eight, seven and six and are two sisters and the little brother. The live on our close and they are best of friends. They've grown up together, the four children and they tend to invite every other kid on the close into their group, including it seems the children of the family who lived here before me. They used to have a paddling pool and they'd all Jump around flooding my garden. It's taken the lawn over a year to recover but never mind!

Yesterday Paige waved and ran over. She said:
"Gemma, I can remember some words! Naranha, pina and limo, and gracias and si!!!"
So Proud...!

Jueves terminaba el trabajo a la 1 d ela tarde por que lo habia organizado medio dia vacacion para una entrevista. Ya que no necesitaba la entrevista me fui a casa y hice mi trabajo en el jardin. Estaba cubierta con polvo y arena y tierra cuando decidi llevar la bolsa de basura al frente de la casa, pero olvide de asegurar que la puerta no podia cerrar bien y quede cerrado afuerra de la casa sin poder entrar otra vez. Que desastre!

Afortunadamente habia las chicas y chocos vecinos vigilando como siempre, e interesados, me preguntaban si me podian ayudar. Segundos mas tarde tenia una chica de ocho anos escalando la cerca de mi jardin, liberando el gancho con un palo largo, y saltando al otro lado para degarme entrar! Claro, tenia que darles las gracias, y les di gotas de jugo de naranja, y les entreteno con clases de espanol. Les explico algunas palabras y parece ser que han recordado algo ya que la mas grande, mi vecina Paige, me dijo ayer
"Gemma! recuerdo unas palabras! Naranha, pina and limo, and gracias and si!!!"
Que orgullo..!