Photo diary: week 10, project 365

 The first week of school passed without a glitch. Sasha was happy to go to school every day of the week, Eddie was excited to see his mates live rather than on a Zoom screen. 

In the last weeks Eddie's been pestering begging me to get a cat. It doesn't help that my brother sends snaps of their cat regularly (see below), and that my Mum and in-laws have cats as well. We've been checking the local Blue Cross site, but there is no choice. Most are reserved, and a few that are left are cat pensioners, in their 10-12s, which is not an option for us. I also looked up if we can buy a kitten, but OMG, the prices for Siberian cats are over £1000, totally crazy. I'd rather have a rescue, hopefully a younger one, not necessarily a kitten, but not a geriatric cat.

It was the 8th of March on Monday, International Women's Day, a big celebration in Russia. My late Dad used to buy bunches of flowers for my Mum and me, tulips or mimosa. I couldn't find any mimosa locally, and didn't like the tulips which I found in the shops, so picked a little posy for myself from the garden. The snowdrops are almost all gone now.

My husband was invited to talk about Le Carré for the forthcoming documentary. He was in the studio for an hour and a half, but they said they would only use a few minutes of footage. The studio was set-up in the Bodleian Library. 

We were very sad to hear that David's wife Jane died on the 27 February, so soon after David. Their son Nick wrote a beautiful piece for the Guardian, if you have time, please read - it's called My father was famous as John Le Carrė. My mother was his crucial, covert collaborator. There is a wonderful photo of them both. Such tenderness and love.

Eddie's school has a new head, and as it often happens with new heads, they like to establish their own rules. On the first day of school all children were told that from that day on they introduce a new system of punishments, something called Fix-it lists, where your misdemeanors are recorded for posterity, and apparently they will be sent to the secondary schools. 

I am all for discipline, but to go on about punishments on the first day of school after the lockdown, and children having anxiety, was it really necessary to hit them with the announcement?! Could they not make going back to school a joyous occasion, something to celebrate?!

I'm running a Thompson & Morgan seeds giveaway - just in case you've missed it. There are not many entries, so if you want to replenish your seeds bank, here is your chance to win a dozen of packets (there are also two options). But hurry up, it ends on Wednesday the 17th at midnight.

I often see this little robin out of the kitchen window. The other day I was just walking in the garden, when I spotted it again. I didn't have time to run to the house for the proper camera, and my iPhone is not the latest model, so the Zoom is not particularly good, but I was still pleased with this photo. What a pretty bird!

The sharp-pointed cloud caught my eye on the way home.

On Saturday I got some mail from Sweden, from a lady who was a friend of my dearest friend Anne. She sent me some old photos which she found recently in her stash, while decluttering.

That's Anne, Sasha and me in our old Woodstock flat. Sasha is still a tot, and what a cutie he was. It will be six years soon, since Anne's gone, and I often think of her. She was such a wonderful caring friend. Dear, dear Anne... I miss you so much.

How was your week?

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter