A Few Ramblings…
Forty-six year old Christian happily negotiating the world with a wife and three daughters
Jury Service – 14th to 24th May 2012
A few weeks ago, I received a summons to complete my second batch of Jury Service at Reading Crown Court – my first time was in 2004.
Reading Crown Court (Wikipedia)
Whilst I’m clearly not at liberty to discuss any of the cases covered, I can reveal that there was a large amount of time waiting around for trials to begin.
Below are a few of my tweets during my time on Jury Service:
Overall, despite all the waiting around, I found the whole experience enjoyable. I met a number of interesting people (Jamie, Liz, Debra, Stuart, Obed etc) from all walks of life and it was great to play a small role in the British legal system.
On my final full day of Jury Service, whilst sitting and waiting in the Jury Lounge, I wrote the following:
The trial of waiting
A murmur of chatter fills the room
All ages sit with varying degrees of patience
Some pass the hours with head buried in a good book
Older folk tend to chat
Youngsters remain largely in their own world – attached to technology
A few try to work, tapping away on laptops
All wait for inevitable news to arrive
The Jury Officer duly appears, a young man whose presence cheers the room
Sometimes he brings no news
Other times his telling of cancelled trials is greeted with silent glee
In silence the masses sit
A list of names is read aloud
‘No longer needed’, the lucky few collect their meagre possessions and depart
Eventually, names are announced for a new trial
Mobiles are placed in lockers in silence
Those selected depart to play their role in English justice
For those who remain the trial of waiting continues
Pirate Day – 25th May 2012
Holly had a Pirate themed day at school.
Holly as a pirate
Maidenhead Duck Derby – 20th May 2012
We didn’t make it along to the Maidenhead Duck Derby last year, but decided to don our winter coats and brave the chilly afternoon for the visit to Ray Mill Island.
There were the usual stalls set out on the island along with the Lions Club train, which the girls enjoyed riding on.
Sarah, Emily and Holly on the train
We also spotted Brian and Judith on the island, who had come to investigate the festivities.
Judith and Brian watching the train go by
After the train ride, Holly decided to get her face painted.
Excited!
The finished butterfly
Emily had a ride on a duck.
Emily
We wandered around the rest of the stalls, but, with over an hour to wait until the start of the actual Duck Derby race, we decided to head home for a welcome hot drink, pausing only to watch the performing Morris Dancers as we left the island.
A violin accompaniment to the Morris Dancers
Arms aloft
Visit to Old Thatch – 19th May 2012
This afternoon we paid our second visit to Old Thatch and Bourne End, the former home of Enid Blyton.
The previous time we had visited was in August 2009, when we’d had both Dad and Grandma with us. It made the return trip, on our own, to be tinged with some sadness.
Happy times in Summer 2009
Rebekah particularly remembered the previous visit as she had enjoyed eating some cake with her Great-Grandma.
Tea and cake
Old Thatch has a large and rambling garden which is ideal for young children to explore. It contains areas of formal planting as well as parts where nature has been allowed more freedom.
The girls began by studying plans of the garden before we walked around.
Holly and Rebekah
The first part of the garden is relatively formal, with box hedges separating out squares of planting.
Walking through the Formal Garden
The left side of the formal garden
Neatly clipped hedges and holly trees with Old Thatch behind
Around the corner of the house the gardens become more informal with long borders of cottage-garden flowers.
Walking in the cottage garden
Bluebells
Eventually, around another couple of bends, we reached the white bench at the bottom of the garden.
On the long bench
This section of the garden has more chairs in, as well as the Rose Walk.
Emily enjoying her first visit to the garden.
The Rose Walk
In another area of the garden is the fountain – something Emily was keen to try and explore!
Holly and Rebekah
Emily and Sarah beyond the fountain
The fountain with Old Thatch in the background
The gardens end, as all good gardens should do, with a tea shop selling freshly made slices of cake – they’re not the cheapest, but are worth every penny!
The girls with giant pencils
Afternoon tea and coffee cake
After enjoying our al fresco tea and cakes we began to walk back to the entrance of the garden, passing the Rose Walk on the way.
Looking down the other end of the Rose Walk
I’ve been reading some of the Enid Blyton books with Rebekah and Holly and we’ve recently been working through the Faraway Tree series. In the series, the trees in the Enchanted Wood are able to talk to each other with whispering voices that go Wisha Wisha Wisha. The children are able to listen to what they’re saying by putting their left ear to the tree. Needless to say, when we found a big tree, the girls wanted to try it out.
Holly listening
Rebekah
We spent about an hour at Old Thatch and hope to go back later in the year when the flowers will be more advanced. It’s well worth a visit.
I’ve in process of adding a few more photos from Old Thatch onto my new Photo Blog.
Holly outside Old Thatch
A Few Ramblings... 