Maria and John live in a lovely "Semi" opposite Graves Park which was one of the special places of my childhood. It seemed huge as a child with its "forests" and lakes. And HUGE it is - 87 hectares. It was gifted to the city by Alderman JG Graves in 1925. In summer we would play tennis and cricket, go boating on the lake, enjoy family picnics with the inevitable game of cricket, play Put Put golf or simply explore the woods and heathlands. I have a dreadful memory of spending the day "fishing" with my brother where I was too scared to put the worm on the hook! Winter was a different again. There was the fear of ice skating on the boating lake, where the ice could crack at any moment and you would be "drownded" in the icy waters. I had wooden skates that my dad had made. They had a metal blade and thick black laces to fix them onto my shoes..."Oh what bliss!"
One of the first things Roger did was to get out his trusty sketch book. It was only later that we found out that Maria's street was named after Charles Ashmore... a painter of some renown
Not quite up to Roger's standard. Ha! Ha!
One of the lovely things about staying at Maria's is that it is close to where mum is staying and so we are able to go on little excursions.... one being a trip to the beauty salon where mum had her nails done. I explained it was my birthday gift to her. Unfortunately I didn't explain that mum's 99th birthday was the following month. They were fantastic! Everyone in the shop and the hairdressers next door came to wish her "Happy Birthday" - even the customers joined in the singing. Roses and birthday cake finished off the treat. Mum loved every minute, playing to the crowd with her usual gusto!
Another luxury of the week was that I was able to bring mum back to Maria's for her lunch. She loves to have a home made meal in a "house" rather than her care home. One treat was a relax in the swinging, cane chair.
Maria treated us to a superb dinner... a chance to meet her friends Jeanne and Adrian. A great night. 
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