The morning weather looked unpromising so we tried to find a rainy day option for our adventures. This proved challenging because the things that inspired us were surprisingly all shut on Sunday’s! We opted to have lunch at home followed by a trip to a garden centre. On the way we stopped off for me to photograph local Jubilee ‘post box topper’.

After the photo shoot we set off on our afternoon excursion. The rain stopped and the sun came out lighting up the leafy trees that lined our route.  Our plans were short-lived, we failed to find the garden centre and on checking found that it was permanently closed. We quickly formulated a plan B and set off to the nearby Sugnall Walled Garden which is always a delight to visit. The in-car SatNav took us on a rather circuitous route but we got there eventually.

By the time we got there it was time for afternoon refreshments, we couldn’t resist the temptation of a ‘Naughty Cake’. Whilst we were waiting for the ladies to come back from delivering afternoon teas to a party in a garden room we got chatting to a regular visitor of the tea room. As we couldn’t decide on which cake to choose she suggested that we had two different ones and share them. We agreed this was a good idea and chose ‘ginger and rhubarb’ and ‘rosewater and pistachio’. The cake slices were split into two pieces and we were served our own individual portions. After the saga of our days adventure I wasn’t quite relaxed enough to remember to photograph the cake!

Naughty Cake consumed I enjoyed a walk around the walled garden whilst Mr C sat and kept tabs on what was happening in the Grand Prix. The garden was lush with vibrant green colours interspersed with the occasional flower. On the way back to the car I was treated with the unexpected delight of fluffy Moorhen chicks walking close to me.

more ‘My Work’ can be found in the gallery.

On Thursday 14th February Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology visited my workplace, the Defence Support Group (DSG), to hand out campaign medals to workers who have served in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, in recognition of the pivotal support they provided to the front line troops.

Ironically Philip Dunne is the Minister that is currently responsible for approving the potential sale of DSG. The sale was announced in October 2010 as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). If  it goes ahead it could mean that the people he was presenting medals to will be made redundant in the near future.

Members of staff joined together during their lunch break for an impromptu demonstration on the road outside their workplace. Their message was that selling off DSG to the private sector is the wrong decision. They hope their message would be heard and understood by the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology. Other workers driving past the demonstration on their way to and from work, showed their support by tooting their horns and waving.

• More detail on the event can be found here.
• More detail on the campaign can be found here.