Easter weekend

Friday afternoon went for a walk over Painswick Beacon with Jenny and Monty - a balmy sunny afternoon. Picked up Will and Ross from the station - it's lovely to have Will back home for a couple of weeks. Ross is a friend of Wills from University who is staying for the weekend.

On Saturday Ross joined the boys; Will, Jerry and myself for a blast around the FOD cycle trails. A fabulous day boys - thanks. A first trip to the Forest for Ross - he did incredibly well.

On Easter Sunday the Midland contingent came down for a very restful day. Jane and Jess started the Roses jigsaw puzzle, Tim played guitar, mum slept quite a lot (which is understandable the house move is taking it out of her), William and Ross went to Luke's for a couple of hours, then to Trinity and then played Uno with Jess and Tim. A lovely day.

On Monday William and Ross went for a cycle over Lecky - coming back for a roast dinner. A lovely weekend - thanks folks.

Taunton weekend

A wonderful few days - spent with friends. On Friday Jerry and Claire picked me up to go to Devon for a long weekend. We loaded the car with wetsuits and boards and headed straight to the Ho!. On arrival it was a bit choppy and breezy. Not a problem, we went in for what we thought would be a quick dip.  The hot afternoon sun kept out the chill breeze and we stayed in for four and half hours - great fun.

By Saturday the wind had increased and blown out the waves. So a quick change of plans saw us drive around Exmoor and do the fabulous Watersmeet to Lynmouth woodland walk. The walk follows the East Lyn River as it tumbles its way down to the sea. The roar of the water rang in our ears all the way. The hill sides were dappled in colour as the trees were in various stages of spring - some bare, some with red buds and some with small crisp green leaves.   Thank you Claire, Jerry, Claudia and Simo for your kindness.

On Sunday, back in Cheltenham, myself and Jerry took the opportunity to round the weekend off with a superb long ride around Winchcombe and Andoversford - what a beautiful county.

It was a lovely weekend spent in the company of patient and kind friends.  Love, family and friends are gifts that I have been given and I cherish them.  I always cry when I get home and I miss Christine, but her soul is with me and helps me all the time.

Haresfield Beacon

Dale came down for the day.  We went for a gentle walk, on a glorious spring day, around the Haresfield Beacon horseshoe. We lost the path twice, but made it back to the car park in time to get an ice cream before driving back home. The views from the topo are marvellous: to the west Sugarloaf and Blorenge could just be made out, to the south The Tyndale Monument stood proud on the escarpment nine and half miles away - thanks Dale for an enjoyable day.

In the evening I packed my bags for a long weekend to the coast. I shed a few tears in the evening - but that's OK.

The week

I found March extremely hard emotionally, spring was Christine's favourite time of the year and March also holds very bad memories from last year. As I move into April I am putting March behind me and remembering what Chris said to me - she wanted me to find some joy and happiness, these words jump into my mind and urge me on. Christine's unconditional love for me gives me life even after she has gone.

Wednesday 2nd I met up with Lance, a guy I met when Chris was in Sue Ryder - he was also going through the same journey as me.  It was good to talk to someone who understood.

Thursday 3rd went for a meal with our neighbours to mark the sale of Betty's house - Betty was our wonderful neighbour who sadly passed away eighteen months ago. Betty's daughter arranged it as a thank you to us all for being Betty's friend.

Friday 4th went for an enjoyable walk with an old work colleague Jenny and dog Monty, across Painswick Beacon.

Saturday 5th. A watershed day for me. Chris and myself had spoken many times about what I would do in the future and joining Cheltenham Cycle Club was something we discussed.  Chris thought this was a good idea and said I should do it.  It's taken four months, but today I felt strong enough and went along and joined a group of Cheltenham Cycle Club members on a sixteen mile an hour route. It was quite tough as it was the hilly route - taking about four hours with a stop for tea and cakes.

I enjoyed it and everyone was very friendly.  This was the first time I have done something on my own without the support of friends and family by my side.

Sunday 6th. Popped up to the Midlands. In the morning I dropped in on Bron and Ade and had a tour of their wonderful house, a house full of beautiful things. A work in progress I was informed - it looked good to me. In the afternoon I went to Jane's for a lovely meal. It was all going well until I got home. As soon as I got through the door at about 10.00 pm I really felt the loss of Christine and cried for hours, trawling through old cards and memories.  It just overwhelms you - you've just got to go with it.

It all came back again when I got back from work on Monday 7th - Mondays are always tough.  Tears of joy for what we had, tears of sadness for what we'll both miss.