The past week has flown by, and spring seems to be finally on its way. Last Thursday, Andrew's parents came over, and Rita and I went in the afternoon to see Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, the famous production with the all-male swans. We loved it. It was beautiful, witty, funny, and entrancing. Surprisingly, it was Rita's first time in the Millennium Centre, and she loved the theatre. It was packed out, but as usual, I was impressed with the way the whole building effortlessly swallowed the crowd and made getting in and out, queuing for loos and so on, so easy and pleasureable. Having the all male swans added a very interesting dimension - they were wild, even menacing, and also quite vulnerable. If you haven't yet seen this production, I can heartily recommend it. Should also add that the costumes were fabulous - I coveted several of the dresses and a particularly dramatic black velvet cloak. Lighting and set design were also excellent.

On the Friday, Rita and I enjoyed a delightful day sampling the pleasures of the new John Lewis store and various bits of the new St Davids 2 centre. I had put off visiting JL as I guessed it would be rammed over Christmas, and then we just didn't have the weather for shopping in January and February. Anyway, I was mightily impressed. The store is enormous, and very well laid out, with plenty of room for getting about, and browsing without feeling crowded. Staff seemed plentiful, attentive, helpful and knowledgeable. I'd like to visit it again with Andrew to take a better look at the menswear section which looked promising from a distance, and I was very taken by the fragrances department, with a lovely selection for both men and women. We then went upstairs to fabrics and haberdashery, as I needed some Bondaweb (a certain greyhound with criminal delinquency tendancies had munched mine) and wanted a look at the fabric. I was not disappointed. As a special treat, they stock a wide range of Cath Kidston fabrics, and also lots of lovely Amy Butler designs - mmmmm, bliss! Had a nice chat to the lady in that dept, who again is very knowledgeable and was super helpful. I wish more shops could have staff like that.

After lunch, we continued a pleasant afternoon sauntering round L'Occitane and finished up with a quick visit to Lakeland. Most satisfactory. Home to relaxation, chat and a fish pie in the evening, followed by a wonderful lemon and polenta cake that Andrew made, which was fabulous.

Rita and Roger left after breakfast on Saturday, and I spent most of the rest of the weekend having a relaxing time doing some stitchy stuff. I finished up a quilt top I am making, which now needs basting, and I also started out on an apron I am making for a friend.

This week has been quiet - as usual, Andrew was away for a couple of days in London. While walking the dogs at Hamadryad Park near the station, on the banks of the Taff, we saw an oystercatcher in the park, feeding on the grass. During the week, we have also been having regular visits from a heron. Rita saw it first, on the roof of the garage, when she got up early one morning. Since then, we have seen it on a number of roofs around us, but thankfully not yet near the pond. I was working on the computer yesterday and looked out of the bedroom window, and there it was, practically a couple of yards away. I managed to get this quick shot of it, attached.