Mother’s Day at Pattisson towers

Good Morning from Pattisson Towers which is a hive of activity and helpfulness today!

It is of course Mothering Sunday and that basically means that ‘The Loons’ were read the riot act last night explaining that Mrs P should not be allowed to do a single thing today other than eat, drink, read her book and spend time in her garden!

It was also suggested, by their slightly over aggressive father, that bedrooms should be cleaned, clothes put away and any inevitable mess created cleared up afterwards.  In my ever over-optimistic state I truly believed that this had hit home and been not only heard, but entirely understood and digested.  I was half right.  As I write this at the kitchen table Nancy is peeling, chopping and preparing all the vegetables for the requested roast pork, Edith has made it possible to at least see some of her bedroom floor which is I’m afraid a triumph by her standards and the boys have decided that counting every single piece of Lego they own is somehow the stuff of their mother’s dreams and is likely to be one of the highlights of her year?  To say I nearly wept when I discovered the counting house of Lego they had created and had their philosophy behind it explained to me would be nothing but the truth!

We have had a wonderfully busy week here at The Smoke sending out all manner of orders for peoples mums, grannies and simply people they are fond of.  There has been a lovely buzz of busyness in the office as hopefully you have all now received our catalogue and my letter introducing the March Box and the Supper Box.  Both have been hugely popular and as promised we have also adapted the Supper Box so that it can be for one person not just for two.  This is now also available on the website as an option to be selected if so desired.  I must also mention to you that by some terrifying speed of time passing three weeks today is Easter Sunday?!  On that basis you really only have two weeks left in which to place any orders you would like to send in time to arrive for Easter as the last sending day is Wednesday 31st of March.  So whatever Easter feastings you may have already started planning, or even some family gatherings and picnics you are finally allowed to have, you only have a relatively  short time to ensure you get your sides of salmon, pots of pate, canapé hampers, whole baked hams and anything else you may need for your Easter weekend feastings.

As I have mentioned on a number of occasions Charlie (Mrs P) adores her gardening and her garden and having moved house rather too often in the last 12 months leaving her plants and borders behind is one of the worst parts of the whole process for her.  She always insists on taking as many of her much loved herbaceous menagerie with her as possible which can and has on occasion very nearly brought us to blows!  The main reason for this is that that like all good Sergeant Majors she becomes quite brilliant at giving the orders and equally gifted at not actually taking part in the carrying out of the said orders.  Most of the time this is of course fine BUT with one such plant back in the Summer ‘Edith’s Apple Tree’ limbs, eyes and sense of humours were very nearly all permanently lost.  So you can imagine my horror when I received a text at work yesterday lunchtime saying that the hole was dug and could I please collect the poor girls and go and dig up the apple tree from her parents’ house and bring it back to Pattisson Towers and re plant it!  We of course obeyed our orders and did our best not to suggest that Mothering Sunday may well be cancelled if she didn’t stop laughing at her freezing cold daughters rammed in the back of a truck with an apple tree during a gale whipped hail storm.  She didn’t stop and simply started taking pictures.  However,  she now has her apple tree back and like so many brilliant mums everywhere she entirely deserves whatever makes her happy.

My very, very best regards,

Jess