Trish, Anne and Dina are the Whatever the Weather Girls; Long term friends in the early Autumn years of their lives, on a mission to explore the restaurants and vibe of Liverpool each month – whatever the weather, whatever our circumstances.
We’ve now survived over three months of lockdown, and finally, many restrictions are about to be lifted. We’re all pleased to see the number of cases gradually coming down and we have everything crossed that there won’t be a spike or a second wave.
Us gals have taken to zoom like fish to water and have enjoyed many a Saturday night chatting with our respective drinks. Sometimes we have competitions, i.e, the craziest hat or the fanciest drink. Zoom shuts us down every forty minutes, but we just keep dialing back in. We are constantly surprised by how quickly forty minutes goes by.
Given that people were now able to meet up, we decided that it was about time we got together and given the glorious weather recently, we did just that, on the hottest day of the year, when the mercury hit a glorious 33 degrees.
We were finally reunited in my [Dina’s] garden in Formby, where we could all safely self-distance around a table in my back garden.
Trish and Anne were most impressed by my installation of a porta potty which was shielded by a screen. Funnily enough, no-one used the toilet at all, as Trish said, because it was there nobody had the desire to go, although I think we sweated it out given it was such a hot day.
We all decided to bring our own picnic to keep things simple.
Anne brought salmon mousse sandwiches along with elderflower presse to drink as she was driving and shared a punnet of homegrown raspberries.
Trich brought cheese and spring onion sandwiches and enjoyed several glasses of white wine along with me.
I enjoyed a chilled pesto pasta made with broccoli, peas, green beans and spring onions.
The chit-chat
As always, time flew by and the conversation flowed while we relaxed beneath the shade of my enormous Beech trees.
There was a resounding and passionate discussion about Black Lives Matter; this is a subject close to our hearts, especially Trish’s.
We bemoaned the fact that older women lose their pubes during menopause, who knew! The things women have to put up with!
I loaned my wild life camera to Anne, as she is having a running battle with hedgehogs, and Meg, her Westie, who looks like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, until she sees a hedgehog hog that is. It was tricky trying to show Anne how to use it without getting too close.
After our lunch, we went for a brief walk, then I took the girls on a grand tour of my garden, showing them all the vegetables I’m growing. I did enjoy all the lovely compliments!
Before we said our goodbyes, Anne collected some Morello cherries from one of my trees which she made into a wonderful jam. She is keeping some for our next get-together when we visit her, there was also talk of baking scones for us.
Not to be outdone, Trish also harvested some fresh kale and bay leaves which she later added to a chicken broth, she said the kale was the sweetest she’s ever had.
Trish, Anne and Dina are ‘Whatever The Weather Girls’; three women in our fifties on a mission to explore the restaurants and vibe of Liverpool each month – whatever the weather, whatever our circumstances.
