April in Review {2026}
Dear friends. Spring is getting into its stride as you can see from my joyful pictures of bluebells, tulips and blue skies.
Weds April 1
Warmer and the wind has dropped. Carol Kirkwood left Breakfast Time. Did bike ride. The garden refurb is nearly finished. The artificial grass was laid. Here the guys are assisting John (centre) in putting the garage alarm cover back in place.
Thurs April 2
Not a great start to the day: a glass jar of honey slipped as I was taking it out of the cupboard. Fortunately it fell into the open dishwasher door.
Rest day today. Did chores around the house.
The garden is finished! Looks great, a blank canvas for planting.
Went to Walthamstow for NHS health check. They measured cholesterol, weight/height, blood pressure and ask a few questions on your family history and your nutrition and fitness. You then get given a number out of 10 on the likelihood of having a heart attack. I looked up my stats later as the doctor didn't give me much detail. I wasn't happy with the result. See my post on Can I Lower My Cholesterol with Diet?
Friday April 3: Good Friday
Overcast and chilly. Woke up in night, jaw hurting. Had a pre-molar removed a few days ago, it will eventually be replaced with an implant. Took some paracetamol and rinsed mouth with saline. Good turnout at runners' Pilates. Did some book admin and wrote a books post. The tulips are out. Have three containers outside the front door. Here's one of them:
Sat April 4
Overcast with Storm Dave arriving later. Did a bike ride, 28 miles, Lee Valley. Been feeling very low the last couple of weeks. Hardly any energy. Flake out in the afternoon. I think it may be grief.
Easter Sun April 5
Storm heavy winds during night. Sunny intervals. Watched Easter Sunday service on TV as I can't go to a church as it makes me cry. Lunch at Royal Forest. V good. Had cheese souffle, at which they excel, followed by roast pork and coffee parfait.
Easter Mon April 6
Sun came out and was pleasantly warm. We did a forest walk, saw the cows. Got the teak garden furniture out. J sanded, I oiled. 2 chairs to go.
Started series 5 Yellowstone. On the homeward strait! Jaw pain flared up again in the evening.
Tues April 7
Sunny. J was out early, cycling with Rachel to show her the route to where she works. He was back by 9.30 and we did a walk with Rachel followed by lunch sitting outside the Royal Forest. Still a bit chilly.
Spent the afternoon sorting out some financial matters.
John cut finger and I had to drop everything but he did his usual tutting about not having the right size plasters. Can't win.
Weds April 8
Sunny and hot, more like summer. Good news: at 8am got an email saying probate for Mum has been granted. We can now move ahead on selling the house.
Did a different route to the Lee Valley, more hilly, via Abridge and Theydon Bois. 28 miles. Had the usual coffee at the White Water Centre Cafe. There's currently no white water on Wednesdays. My hastag: #NoWhiteWaterWednesday.
Thurs April 9
Still pleasant, not as hot. We went to the garden centre. I bought the first batch of plants, 2 clematis and a Hydrangea for the back plus some dianthus and lupins for the middle. 3 iberis for the small bed, which will be for spring bulbs. Trellis is being delivered.
Had a trendy new treatment called Baby Glow (Redensity) with Dr Martins in the afternoon, concentrating on the lines around my mouth.
Friday April 10
Went to Ideal Home. Got there just after it opened at 10. Much bigger than last year. Met Annemarie from My Fashion Life and we started with coffee then made our way round. Lunch was a Greek salad and Tzaziki. Didn't buy anything and no freebies. Annemarie made an appointment for a home visit with a stand supplying carpets.
I saw TV personality Clare Balding signing books.
Saturday April 11
Overcast morning. J did his fast walking while I waited in for a trellis delivery. I did a walk afterwards. We installed the trellis. I was just about to plant the first clematis when I realised we didn't have any grit. A quick trip to B&Q followed. Another first today was having first English asparagus of the season. Below: my new plants and J with the new trellis.
Sunday April 12
Did bike ride, Essex hills. Not a favourite. Lunch at Kings Head, which is closing for a week on 18th. Put 2 more plants in. The first rose of the year is out from one of my splendid Gertrude Jekylls.
Monday April 13
Busy day. Did Shellea workout (YouTube) and weights. Cleaning. Babysitting Olive. Started watching Lioness, Paramount. Decided after 2 episodes it's not for us.
Tuesday April 14
Sunny start. Bike ride 33 miles including those accursed Essex hills. Very tired later. Seems hard to regain my bike fitness. J is fettling with the bike to deliver more power on the economy setting.
Weds April 15
Overcast. Met Brenda to see Schiaparelli exhibition at the V&A. Neither of us were big fans but it's worth seeing, particularly for her collaborations. There was quite a lot of space devoted to one of her successors, Daniel Rosebery, which I thought was a bit excessive, although it showed how she still inspires. We had a delightful lunch at the V&A afterwards.
Below: Elsa Schiaparelli in one of her own dresses in a portrait by Jean Dunand, 1933.
Thurs April 16
Short ride to Lee Velley. Felt a lot fresher and lively on the bike. This be could down to my changed diet. Sunny intervals. Below: auriculas in my garden.
Fri April 17
Mixed weather but warm. Pilates. Spent some time on IG editing my profile and creating a carousel post to promote my book reviews. John bought our train tickets for Penzance for a few weeks' time when we embark on LEJOG again. Makes it very real!
Sat April 18
Sunny. Went for an additional bike ride. Olympic Park, first time this year. So many people out. Made the return trip a bit hazardous. It's not a very long ride, about 18 miles, which is why J doesn't like us to do it very often in our training.
Sunday April 19
Sunny, beautiful day. Busy. First to Lloyd Park for Olive's fourth birthday party. Very lavish spread. Then we had lunch at the Royal Forest.
Monday April 20
Sunny intervals, bit chilly. Rode to Olympic Park with Rachel and Olive. O had a balance bike session. I've never been in the Velodrome before.
Below: Grandad and Mum escort the future Olympian to her session.
Tuesday April 21
Sunny but a cold wind. I did a forest walk and went to one of the bluebell woods. I was the only one there. See top pic. I tried to take an arty shot with the bluebells and me, but only had my mobile so it was less than satisfactory.
Weds 22 April
Dodgy stomach first thing. Sunny but quite cold and windy. Went to M&S to get a few niceties. My new roses arrived. It amuses me that I have Princess Anne and Anne Boleyn in close proximity. Planted them.
Thurs 23 April
Sunny but still a bit chilly. Cycled to Olympic Park. Did a lot of spring cleaning. Started Marshalls, Paramount. Below: some of the later flowering tulips are now out.
Friday 24 April
Walk and Pilates. Unusually, the women are often outnumbered by the men (although it is a running club Pilates session).
Saturday 25 April
Lovely day. Went to National Gallery and saw the Wright of Derby exhibition. He was famous for his "candlelight" paintings, and how he used scientific developments in the 1700s as inspiration. Below: The Air Pump, a scientific demonstration of what happens to the bird trapped inside when air is pumped out of a glass flask, 1768.
The distress and horror of two young girls at the bird's fate is shown in a close-up.
Sunday 26 April
Not bad weather. We were up at 6 as J was off to help at a London Marathon water station. He and four fellow Orion Harriers cycled in together. Thrilled to have house to myself, very rare, so did a photo shoot of handbags. Had roast gammon.
While he was out, J was reviewing the shots from his new CCTV camera in the garden. He expected a few birds but instead saw a bag lady.
Mon 27 April
Lovely day. Did a bike ride which for the first time had no chilly breeze. I was full of energy but he wasn't after the marathon, so was a short ride. Below: some of the beautiful scenery at the Lee Valley Country Park.
Researching a 5 day cycling holiday on Orkney. Have been reading a couple of books set on the Mainland, and can't wait to see the Neolithic delights.
Tues 28 April
Chilly, mostly overcast. Walked to Waitrose to get salads. Started The Killing again (Prime). Our third time, but it's still incredibly good.
Weds 29 April
Very windy, although sunny. Was hoping to swerve a bike ride but no. Went to Lee Valley, 28 miles. Faster pace than usual, I'm getting stronger (wind was against us).
Thurs 30 April
Beautiful day. Did long walk, saw geese with goslings, longhorn cows. Delivered leaflets. After lunch did ironing while watching Trust Me: The False Prophet (Netflix). I am very interested in documentaries which go behind the scenes of cults like the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Scientologists.
Set up Teams on my PC and tablet as we have a call prior to the Scottish gravel holiday in a week's time. We don't want to come across as oldsters not au fait with latest technology!
That's a wrap for April. How was your month? Do tell in the comments.
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