Good times in BlenheimIt has been great getting back into work here and meeting up with all the team. Ruth held a 'welcome home' party for me at the new house.Morag and Kezz were included in everything and top marks to Tony for inviting them to his aircraft workshop. Happy-hour- Friday night- after work-someone hosts this in their back yard. Various members of the staff and their families gather with a bottle or three and pot luck food. The gathering starts at around 6pm and often is still going at around ten. Eventually we are driven indoors because of the cold but we sit around chatting and laughing and the stories get taller and taller. Wonderful- being able to sit outside of an evening. At Ruth and Jim's new house up on the hill you need your cardi because of the wind- the one coming up the valley that is- not the other kind! I keep forgetting this (spending all day, every day in shirt sleeves) and have been known to borrow one of the boss's cardigans when visiting.The farmer's market is held every Sunday morning-lots of home grown fruit and veg- (the cherries are more or less over but the apricots are in season), home baking, nuts, plants etc. It is like a giant combination of a WRI sale and the Mid-Argyll show but with olives and wine thrown in --but it is more than the sum of it's parts. There is always live music and a couple of stalls selling a very good 'brunch' menu- so folk tend to treat it as a social event and have breakfast together while they shop. Donna and I went this week. I had an omelette with fresh herbs and tomatoes while Donna had a crepe stuffed with apricots (home grown of course) all washed down with really good coffee. We sat beside a woman and her two boys. Her little boy was saying that basil and olive oil were the best flavours in the world!! She had just arrived in Blenheim from Portsmouth 5 days previously. She was emigrating and I guess her boys might not be so enthusiastic about basil and olive oil once they get to school. I have always loved the atmosphere -wandering about in the sun, people watching, all the wonderful fresh produce and the fact that it is all grown within a few miles of Blenheim.