Pink parfait

RIP Sir Terry Pratchett

I can't write a post without including the sad news that Terry Pratchett died last week. He fought valiantly against his version of Alzheimer's but sadly there was only ever going to be one winner in that battle.

Terry was a fantastic ambassador for Alzheimer's Research UK and following his diagnosis back in 2008 he helped both financially and emotionally to spread the word about the need for research into this devastating disease. He always referred to his condition as "the embuggerence" which I think is such a wonderful word!

Hilary Evans, Director of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:

The loss of Sir Terry Pratchett will have a profound effect on both literature and the 850,000 people who live with dementia. Sir Terry’s uniquely witty and affecting announcement of his diagnosis with Alzheimer’s at our 2008 conference will be seen as a watershed moment for all people living with dementia. It engendered huge public awareness of Alzheimer’s and issued a call to arms for society to talk about dementia and take steps towards defeating it. 

Sir Terry’s legacy to dementia research is huge both financially and as an enormous motivation to our supporters and scientists. When he announced the inaugural Terry Pratchett research fellowship in 2010, he insisted on a single word to be engraved on the trophy: “strive”. Our scientists continue to act upon this powerful call, and push forwards with the research that will defeat the condition that took Sir Terry from us. We will miss him.

This is how I choose to remember him; wearing one of my marathon-knitted scarves outside 10 Downing Street on his way to speak to the Prime Minister.

Sophie's Universe grows apace

I've been crocheting like mad trying to catch up with the Sophie CAL (that's a Crochet ALong for those of you unfamiliar with the term). I'm up to week 7 and the CAL is on week 10 so nearly there!

The beauty of being a bit behind is I can see what's coming next which helps in my colour choices. If in doubt I try a small section in different colours. Here I'm deciding between cream and green for the next round - cream won.

I also like to stand back and look at it from a distance to see if the colour sequences please me. Here it is leaning against the small sofa with the curtains in the background.

More colour decisions:

This is where I'm up to now. I love how it's coming together with so much textural interest.

Close-up of a little green leaf.  A flower will be added soon.

In the pink

I've changed my header photo to make it more Spring-like and to remove the political associations as I think we're all going to be heartily fed-up with that soon enough with the election looming large!

The garden has been occupying a huge amount of my time as I try to get all the chores done - pruning back the apple trees/shrubs, tidying the grasses, weeding, checking for damage etc etc. Quite apart from the obvious yellow of the daffodils and white of the snowdrops I've been noticing just how much pink there is about at the moment.

Here's a selection from our garden:

Pretty pink buds of a rhododendron

Pink stems of a euphorbia

The buds on this Euphorbia myrsinnites are tinged with pink

Bergenia (aka Elephant Ears because of it's large glossy leaves!)

A cultivated primrose

Viburnam - the scent is amazing too

The deep pink shoots of Euphorbia Dulcis Chameleon

The marvellous serrated leaves of Melianthus Major

I have lots of running and gardening stuff to share but I'm afraid that will have to wait for another time.