60th Birthday, FEVA and Denman

Early July brought two milestones:
My 60th birthday and four days later the 4th anniversary of my stroke.

I was determined to mark my birthday and I held a small gathering for family and friends who have been tremendously supportive over the last four years. The entire weekend was beautiful, hot and sunny weather.
Friends helped me to shop for the occasion and others assisted on the day. After the lunchtime gathering we had a family barbeque at home - and yes I was spoilt all weekend. It was particularly good to have all our family with us, something which does not happen too often as we are scatterd.

At the end of July we travelled to London to stay with one of our sons for a few days - this was to revel in two of my birthday presents: tickets to see Les Miserables which is something that I have longed to do for years
 http://www.theatrepeople.com/shows/les-miserables/photos

. . . . and to see the Lowry exhibition at Tate art gallery.
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/lowry-and-painting-modern-life?gclid=CLm0qsKrhLoCFY7HtAodWHwAiA
The exhibition did not disappoint, but at times I struggled with the crowds and heat.

I had a huge surprise on the Sunday when it had been secretly organised for me to meet up with a group of friends that I had known for 30 years and more. I had no idea where we were travelling to when we set off, and on our arrival our friends followed us in. Truely wonderful and something that I will never forget.
http://www.shenleypark.co.uk/orchardtearoom_e.html

No sooner had all these celebrations finished then it was August and FEVA festival: Festival of Entertainment and Visual Arts, where we live. The town comes alive for ten days during August with street entertainers, exhibitions and concerts. Before my Stroke I used to take a more active role in this, but now support whenever and wherever I can.I still miss the buzz of being actively involved but hopefully I will be able to find a niche at some future moment in time.
Inbetween all of this I visited the W.I. college at Abingdon along with eleven more members from my local Institute. Denman College was formally established in 1948, and named after Lady Denman, the first chairwoman of the WI federation. Today, students attending Denman do not have to be members of the WI, and the college accepts both male and female learners.
Residential courses at Denman last between one and four nights, although non-residential day courses are also offered. Course subject areas include the arts, crafts, music, history, sport and technology. Denman is also the home of the WI Cookery School.

Cookery School

The Denman visit was particulary demanding: We left by coach at 9.00am on the Sunday and were back home by 7.00pm the following day. We had afternoon tea on our arrival whuch was followed by a tour of the house and craft rooms. After dinner we had a talk on antiques - by 10.00 I was in my bedroom totally tired after a punishing day's schedule. After breakfast the following morning we walked around some of the grounds before our first course of the day. Next was lunch, followed by our second course and I opted to take part in the singing. Then, all too quickly it was time to set off on our return trip home. A very hectic schedule, but thoroughly enjoyable.
I coped well away on my own but knowing that I had plenty of people who were keeping a watchful eye on me.
Needless to say, after all of this I needed plenty of rest to recover from all the activities that July and August brought about. As you can now read I am much more able to partake of events, but it can and does sometimes come at a price.

I can have days where my legs simply do not want to work and putting one foot in front of the other can be a big expectation! Overtiredness can make my fingers claw and my arm stiff and painful. I just have to completely take a break from everything until I am "back on track".