It has been a while

I can't believe it's so long since I did a blog. Last one was dated 2nd August and so much has happened since then. I need to do a quick blast through the main events.

August continued to be dominated by arrangements with the letting agents in Brighton - signing contracts and then getting all the compliance done on the flat. Bex and Matt moved out mid August and we got the entire flat repainted and carpets cleaned.

In Laos, rainy season brought sudden storms followed by floods in the village and dangerously high river levels, but nothing compared to later storms that happened in September while we were away.

We flew back to the UK on the 3rd September and had a busy month, visiting Brighton, friends and family, doctors, dentist, audiologist, opticians, accountant, covid/flu jabs etc. Spending loads of money on bits and pieces, getting the car MOTed, boiler serviced ... The endless "to do" lists that come with the responsibilities of house ownership.

Our new tenants, Jonah and Anna, moved into the flat on the 10th Sept and only had a couple of initial complaints (loose toilet seat and stained washing machine seal) so they're settled for 6 months and we hope they stay longer.

Then back to Laos, arriving Monday 7th October. The weather is noticeably different from when we left. The sun is lower in the sky and sets earlier, and the hills are misty all day. Much softer air, slightly cooler but no rain so far.

Oh dear - far too many photos and in completely random order!

We purchased a fountain on Lazarda (like Asian Amazon). It works when the sun shines!

In Poole, autumn was just putting in an appearance. It seemed to rain non-stop!

Good to catch up with old friend Sarah and her garden (Poole).

Our visit to family in Yorkshire went well. Dawn and Al are getting ready to put their big house on the market in spring. In the mean time they are kindly looking after our campervan.

Dawn explains the plans for Clair's (niece) house alterations to Helen and Harvey from the Lake District.

Clair in story-telling mode.

Lovely to see Harvey (and Helen). It's been 4 or 5 years.

On the Saturday Holly produced luncheon.

While Beanie entertained.

Trevann relaxing in Holly's flat.

The crochet and cat woman of Yorkshire in her native habitat.

Good to see Graham looking relaxed, despite the terminal prognosis. Morphine helps I guess.

And Chris and Jill were well - despite Jill coming out of hospital the day before this following surgery.

Trevann's sister Jen and John in Nottinghamshire.

I didn't get to spend much time at Tatnam Organic Patch this time but I picked up a few fruit and veg.

The grapes did well this year.

Compound didn't get completed while I was away. Good to have Mum's old wheelbarrow still in action.

Tatnam newt.

Playing with the new camera and learning how to use the settings.

I hadn't seen a jay in our garden before.

He was after the rowan berries.

Part of the photo order issue is that we both bought secondhand DSLR cameras this month - for fun. My phone and camera have different numbering systems and Blogger makes it incredibly difficult to re-order the pix.

It was so wonderful to see this Atlas moth flapping around our garden one day in August. Fully 9 inches across! 

Mekong sunset - again!

The little stream running through our village becomes a raging torrent within minutes after a rainstorm. These houses on the bank were flooded at the end of August.

Just for interest - this is our monthly water bill. It gets stapled to our garden gate - but we pay it online using an app! About £1.10.

I went to the opening of a new exhibition at the UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) Centre in LP. These bomb casing artworks are spectacular - and desperately sad. Two million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos by the Americans during the Vietnam War. Much of the countryside is still contaminated by them 60 years later.

The bridge over the stream didn't fare well during the rains. Fortunately we have another route to our house.

Teah came to photograph Trevann's paintings.

Sometimes we make "comfort food"! There's a German butcher in LP who sells rather delicious sausages and ham.

These boys were hanging out on the High Street. Just a very typical scene in the centre of town.

The Nam Khan river burst its banks in places. This boat is towing a pile of debris along the river out of the way.

Storms arrive suddenly and can be ferocious. Blue sky one minute; black the next!

Our view disappears within seconds.

And then the bridge was gone. You don't want to be riding your bike along that road in the dark.

Damian and Da, the owners of our house, came for a meal before we left for England.

And the Boat Racing Festival - highlight of the LP year - happened in early September. We just managed to catch it.

It was absolutely baking so we didn't stay long. The implausibly elongated canoes race in pairs along the Nam Khan. Each has 50 paddlers. Competition between villages is fierce, but I don't know who won!

A well-earned mango shake for a hot afternoon.

Next day we were off back to this. The front garden in Poole looked very colourful if a bit overgrown.

And the planters at Turner's Nursery still lovely.

Amazingly, Four-Legs is still alive and well. Back legs very weak but he seems happy enough.

Ben and Ellie displaying gifts from Holly, the crochet queen.

Just a glimpse of Yorkshire.

We have a new guest living under the shed. Four-Legs tolerates.

Packing essentials for the return trip.

I even did some cooking when Brian and Sally came for a meal. Farinata and quiche.

Here's the traditional "waiting for the coach at St Johns" pic. We had a longer wait than usual this time. It was 50 minutes late! Fortunately we had left plenty of time before our flight.

I ordered two of these little tables for social enterprise PatiHoub before we left LP and they were ready for us when we got back. Single-use plastics are a huge problem in Laos because recycling facilities are limited. PatiHoub are turning a "problem into a solution" in true Permaculture style by collecting waste and turning it into a range of useful and decorative things for home and business.

Someone has built a temporary bridge across the stream.