Showers.

We've had sunshine and heavy rain today. While you expect to have showers in April what I wasn't expecting was an intense hail shower. My poor plants.

Knowing that rain was due later I got straight out into the garden this morning. I needed to move two plants, an azalea and a spirea. The spirea had already reached its promised height of 1m and was blocking out the small azalea that was behind it. 

The azalea wasn't hard to dig out with all its roots but the poor spirea got rather rougher treatment so will need some tlc in its new position nearer the wall.

I had enough time before the rain came to carry on thinning the escallonia hedge and the first section is now cut back to the width I want.

 

Then came the showers, lots of them with sunny spells between when I stood out on the terrace enjoying the warmth. That was my cue to work indoors carrying on with sanding the paint from the knots in another doorframe. Because my hands and knees can only take so much I have to do the sanding a bit at a time. Hopefully I only need to do one more sanding session.

I've also done all my usual routine including piano practice and washing the blue loo floor so I'm feeling satisfied with my day.

A house sparrow drying himself off after the hailstorm.

Now as promised here are some photos of the chapel at Salem. Originally built in 1821 then rebuilt in 1850 and extended in 1864 for the miners coming to work the new mines.

The Grade II listed chapel has recently been sold and despite objections by local residents planning permission has been given to convert it to a four bedroom home with a small extension.

I wondered why they need an extension as the building is large and high enough to make a second floor but perhaps it would be easier to have drains going to an extension rather than into the listed building.

And what will they do with the graveyard which has 308 graves? In some places the headstones are placed around the perimeter but then all you could is have grass or a wildflower meadow. 

This family grave is relatively recent (1975). The parents lived to 81 and 83 but their son died in 1941 aged 21. How sad.