Bob ventures out for the first time in a year

'Went out on my scooter', I wrote in my diary today: Tuesday 30 March. Mundane? No, historic. One of the most memorable days in my long life; the day I drove out from Sunrise into Cyncoed Road and into a new world. 

It was the first time I had driven anywhere except in the Sunrise garden for over a year. Yesterday I had tentatively asked Sara, the Sunrise head, when I could drive out and was surprised when she said, tomorrow. I charged up the scooter overnight and at 10am on this lovely sunny morning I set off on my historic ride to Roath Park, less than half a mile away. 

Our old home. Bigger than in our day!

There was one stop I had to make en-route, in Winnipeg Drive. I drew up outside number nine, looked at our old home and sat, thinking of our life there over almost three decades. So many memories, from the first day, in 1971, when I came to our new home after travelling around the world for three months.  I sat on my scooter in the warm sunshine seeing in my mind's eye Robert growing up, Beverley, off on her wedding day, and later driving Robert to university at Leicester. Family celebrations, garden parties and barbecues. Rosemary, always a marvellous host at special events and welcoming our friends from Germany and the USA. 

I remembered the happy band of neighbours, Lou and Rita, Jean and Roy, Jennie and Harry, Darrell and Gizelle, from Germany.

Roath Park Lake

Just a few minutes of reflection, the inevitable sadness relieved by the love and happiness of my life with Rosemary and the family, Mum living just down the road with Dorothy and George. Then down to lovely Roath Park where little has changed over the years. The old fashioned tea house has been demolished, replaced by a restaurant beside the lake, still waiting for permission to reopen, the wooden public shelters around the lake, once lovers' delights, long gone. There are more swans than ever, hundreds of them. 

Enjoying the spring sunshine

The big surprise was the crowds of people, more than I imagined possible on a weekday morning; sitting, basking in the now warm sunshine or queueing, safely spaced, for ice creams, feeding the swans. 

The gardens are a blaze of spring colour. A festive, holiday mood. On my homeward journey I passed the Discovery Public House, still two weeks away from opening after months of lockdown. it was a pleasant surprise to see the parade of shops flourishing again. A year ago it was a sorry sight with just three businesses still going, the rest boarded up. Now there are new enterprises, including a garden shop, an arts and crafts store, even a craft beer mini brewery and a takeaway. 

I resisted the temptation to go into Tesco to buy a celebratory mini bottle of sparkling wine but was bold enough to extract some money from their 'hole in the wall' machine. 

Back to my new home, Sunrise, for lunch. and now to try to describe adequately my feelings on this amazing, wonderful day. How can I be so fortunate to have such a store of happy memories and still have time, I hope, for many more.