where art collides philosoperontap

As part of the “sorting out” of my book collection I have not only been making multiple trips to Oxfam but the process of categorisation has started. This is not a quick job. I have a number of themes of interest: Carmarthenshire history, WW2 history, Manx interest, general British history and everything else. If a general history book is relevant for my Welsh research it gets put in that category. Yesterday I began grouping these on different shelves. 

This is not a quick job. The shelves are mostly already full with random titles although Oxfam has helped me free up some space. So when a WW2 book gets put next to their WW2 pals others are displaced and have to be rehomed. This is going to be a long iterative process that can be done a little bit at a time. When I have spare five minutes every now and again 🙂 The Shed is going to be the repository of the Carmarthenshire works. I have an empty bookcase that needs moving across. The desk and sofa have already been moved forwards a few inches to free up some space behind.

Last night Lincoln were for the first time ever on University Challenge and they won. Had THG and I not been sitting on comfortable low level sofas we might have fallen off. Well done. They had a bloke sat at the end who knew most of the answers but that seems to be the case for many teams. There’s always one superstar/swot.

Mark the joiner is coming this morning. A lot of jobs lined up for him. There’s two or three days worth of work but he is just here for the morning today to get started. We seem to be going through a phase of spending on the house. Needs doing every now and again. It’s one of the reasons we aren’t interested in a holiday home. A house needs to be lived in to be properly maintained. It’s a continuous process really. There are other reasons for my stance on holiday homes. It’s just that one fitted into the theme of the paragraph.

Deconstructed bacon sandwich for brekkie. One slice of ordinary and one slice of smoked. Two slices of sourdough toast. Number five on the dial. That’s the last of the drycured unsmoked back bacon. I can source more when required to do so (by me).

Gotta go. Mark will be here soon.

Locksmith Steve rocked up at ten to eight this morning. He had fitted a new front door lock but it had a dodgy “curtain” or similar so came and replaced it. Good bloke. There is a side to being a locksmith that people perhaps don’t see. They occasionally get called out to a house where it is likely that the person inside has died and people can’t otherwise gain access. Not nice. This can involve hanging around for hours whilst the cops come and take statements. Happened to us when he was originally due to swing by and we deferred his visit as he didn’t know how long it would be before he was done.

The first day of autumn. The song doesn’t quite work for today does it? “If I ruled the world then every day would be the first day of autumn!” I don’t dislike the first day of autumn. Pinch and a punch. Busyish day ahead. Need to nip to the tailors and then to the gym before coming back for a conference call. Yes you heard, a conference call. Just a quickie hopefully. Then I have to be on hand to pick THG up from the hairdressers in case it is raining. There is a seventy percent chance of rain at two pm.

With a bit of luck I’ll also be able to make a start on my next project which is the construction of a jetty for the lake. Need to be able to safely moor the Saucy Sue rescue boat so that she doesn’t drift far out into the middle of the water, or even worse into the reeds at the far end where nobody ever goes. The rough design has already been done. Will also need to construct a cleat and glue it to the prow of the boat. Intricate stuff. Leave it with me.

My new trailcam also needs installing. I have to knock in a post in a suitable spot in order to mount it. The positioning needs to be such that it gets some sun. The corner I have in mind should just about be ok. None of the garden is in full sun for the whole day which I ordinarily consider to be a good thing except when it comes to solar charging 🙂 I have the post ready. Just needs sawing down to size. All good stuff.

St Peter’s church Woodhall Spa was built in 1838. We were nobbut a stones throw away at a caff on The Parade and I had considered making an inspection. However my suspicions were aroused when it revealed itself as a red brick building and google told me about the 1838 bit.

I like visiting churches but my curiosity relates to their historical interest rather than anything specifically religious. This does include whether they have sold off the pews in favour of using seats that offer a more flexible use of the space. I get the fact that churches feel the need to modernise to keep the bums on seats but that’s not my problem. It would be a problem if the churches had to close due to lack of attendance as there would then be a risk of the building is sold for alternative non-religious uses.

This happened at capel Penybont near Llandysul. The building originally used by my 4g grandfather the Rev Daviel Davies (circa 1766 – 1843) was replaced at the beginning of the last century by a lovely new build. The old church was kept as a vestry and a mezzanine floor added to provide separate spaces for Sunday school, meetings etc. When I visited in April this year the “vestry” had been sold off and was now someone’s house, slap bang in the middle of the graveyard! 

The point being you can’t just poke your head through the door of someone’s house to eyeball the pews, list of past vicars or hymn numbers. Apart from anything else none of the above are still likely to be in place.  The colour of the three piece suite in their living room and whether they have Laura Ashley wallpaper is of no interest.

Brian, you will be glad to hear, is still perched securely at the waters edge, fishing rod extended, reeling in a fine trout. Actually I don’t really (geddit?) know what flavour/brand fish he has caught. There aren’t any in the lake. Yet. Brian doesn’t know this but I don’t want to tell him as I don’t want to risk dampening his enthusiasm. That cheery smile of his raises everyone’s spirits first thing in the morning.

Tis a lovely autumn morning despite being the last day of meteorological summer. Where did that go? Lots going on in the house of Tref & THG. Makes the time fly by. Slow down, don’t go too fast. Autumn is early this year.

Today we are taking my sister Sue on a jaunt to the Bomber Command Memorial Centre. Then we will stick the telly on in the shed to watch Liverpool v Arse, enal. At half time I’ll fire up the barbie as it’s butterflied leg of lamb for dindins. Make barbecue whilst the sun shines.

The trail cam is also arriving today so will need to get that setup asap. Its purpose is not only to catch the culprit knocking Brian into the water but to record all the night time visitors to the side of the lake. Deer, foxes, hedgehogs, giraffes. That sort of thing.

Gotta go. Tea doesn’t just pour itself yanow.

I have decided that the fishing gnome’s name is Brian. It is only right that he has a name. To keep calling him “the fishing gnome” is not only impersonal but denies the fact that the lad has personality, character. 

The one problem that we, that is Brian, THG and I, have is that he keeps falling in the lake. Knowing Brian as I do I can confidently state that this cannot possibly have been accidental. Experienced fishermen know how to act when close to water. No, Brian must have been pushed. The time has come to buy that trail cam and find the culprit.

This now gives me a real problem. Which one to buy. “The best trail cam to buy” comes up with the Bushnell Core DS-4K No Glow but this one has no wireless connectivity. What I really need (want) is solar powered, wireless and 4k video. Once in place I don’t want to be messing around with the darn thing. Fire and forget. Unless I want to move it that is. I’ll let you know how I get on but if anyone has helpful pointers by all means point away.

The other thing these falling in the lake incidents have highlighted is the absolute need for a rescue boat. In an amazing coincidence my sister Sue is visiting us for the weekend and has brought with her such a vessel. Sue volunteers in the RNLI shop in Penarth and purchaysed said rescue boat as a pressie. Clearly her RNLI training has created awareness of the dangers associated with a large body of water. Boy is she right. 

I’m hoping that we will be able to post a video of the launching of the rescue boat, hereafter known as the Saucy Sue. Today is a day for names.

The arrival of the Saucy Sue has created a bit of work for me. We are going to need a jetty and Sue is not yet in possession of a cleat that can be used to attach the rope that will tie her to said Jetty. I’m going to either have to improvise one out of a bit of plastic or source one online. I’ll have a go at improvisation first but if I feel it doesn’t do justice to the job I’ll buy one. Gonna need plastic glue come what may.

Stay tuned.

Nice cheery waitress at breakfast this morning. She is in the right job. A bit of a contrast with last night’s waiter at dinner. Totally lacking in personality. They must find it hard to get staff. Not only had a personality deficiency but lacked attentiveness. Never mind. We had a good time anyway.

This morning we are off to Knaresborough for a shufty but not before THG has had her fix of Betty’s. We had also planned to nip in to M&S as a 20% discount code had magically appeared in THG’s inbox just as I discovered that the last pair of socks I thought I had were actually too small for me and belonged to the woman in my life. M&S sell socks yanow.

Fortunately I was saved from the experience as a pair of green socks rolled out from underneath my bag as I was zipping it up. There is a god. Reality is I don’t need more socks at the moment. Whenever I open the cupboard a pair of socks falls out as there are so many piled in there. The game is to catch the socks before they hit the bedroom floor. They are all nicely paired. Natch.

V nice night out with the Fordyces. Starr Inn The City. It was warm enough to sit out on the terrace. Moving on to Harrogate today. After breakfast.

Harlow Carr. Nice morning out. The arrival of rain hastened our exit. THG bought a box of Fat Rascals from Betty’s as a prezzie for our friend Deb who we are seeing tomorrow. Arrived at Hotel du Vin as the rain restarted. Room not ready so we sat in the car for a while until it eased off and then headed into Harrogate. 

Mahoosive queue for Betty’s which I don’t understand. We found a nearby caff called Jenny’s which had no queue and where lunch was half the price. I was given a v cute tiny jug with just enough vinaigrette for the otherwise dry salad garnish that accompanied my tuna sandwich on white. THG set off for shops, charitable whilst I failed to gain entry to the locked St Nicholas church and returned disappointed to l’otel where our room was by then ready. We shall never find out the names of past vicars of St Nicks nor the list of last Sunday’s hymns. Doubt they were on display anyway.

Our suite was spacious with two baths and two side by side rainfall showers. No doubt v handy. Refreshed we met Ian and Lisa in the bar for refreshment before moving into the restaurant. A nice evening was had by all with restraint being shown by not ordering a second bottle of red. Nice enough chateaubriand. Seignant.

Now back in’t room watching Grimsby v Man U with the mariners ahead by two goals to one in torrential rain.

A pleasant rain has a relaxing effect whilst simultaneously cooling and watering the empire of THG. The lake will not need topping up by hosepipe today. It isn’t a job I do every day anyway and as an interim measure and until a permanent irrigation system is put in place I was considering running a pipe from the base of one of the greenhouse waterbutts. Although it has on occasion felt like it, this is not Southern California.

All is calm in the house. The sound of smashed avocado on toasted sourdough filters through the kitchen door. Really this is the sound of iron on porcelain. The implements of breakfast. Avocado makes no noise. The noiseless avocado, coming to a kitchen near you.

The bright red fruit on the nearest apple tree to the house feel as if all they need is one vigorous shake for the whole lot to drop. I did imagine one of us holding a sheet underneath while the other shook the tree but it is too early for us to harvest them yet. We need to get Hannah’s wedding out of the way before engaging the cider making process.

Gemini add three more paragraphs that are in keeping with the first three:

We also have the brambles that have provided a great harvest already this year and still look like they have more to give. Not a job for the faint-hearted though, as despite wearing protective clothing the thorns still manage to get through. I’ve ended up looking like a contestant on Robot Wars after wrestling them into submission.

The vegetable patch is thriving. The runner beans are reaching for the sky, and the courgettes are producing more than we can eat, leading to a delightful culinary challenge of finding new ways to incorporate them into every meal. It’s a good problem to have.

Out beyond the garden, the fields are a patchwork of green and gold, waiting for the combine harvester to make its annual pass. The air is still, carrying the scent of damp earth and distant woodsmoke. It feels like autumn is just around the corner, bringing with it the promise of crisp walks and evenings by the fire.

Thanks Gemini. Not too bad although most of the fields have already been harvested and the allotments out the back of our house don’t really qualify.

…

Did the NRM in York. This is always the first on the agenda when we come to York. Then drove around to the hotel. Traffic chaos not helped by the fact that google maps wasn’t aware that the city council had closed off the road to the Grand Hotel and forgot to tell google. What should have been a thirty second detour around the block took ages.

When we did finally arrive I left the car keys with the bellman and checked in. Room not ready. No problemo. We were early. THG strolled off to Duttons for Buttons and I tracked down a branch of Blak Bear barbers where Sinead did a job on my increasingly unmanageable mop.

After that I met THG in the M&S caff. I had wandered in on the off chance of finding a suitable shirt but came away empty handed. They didn’t do it for me although it was pleasing to note that I had gone down two collar sizes from my historical maximum. I think I’m just going to take the easy route and go back to Chesters in Lincoln. He can order something in for me.

Today is a Monday. Yay (rhymes with Monday). Must be a day of poetry and romance. I imagine. Not sure any more poetry will be forthcoming though but we are planning on doing things together this afternoon. Mainly moving one of the freezers from next to the garage door into the utility room. It will make it a lot easier to access bags of frozen peas and ice cubes. I daresay other things as well. Frozen fish for example.

My golf clubs are moving to the space vacated by the freezer which will make it a lot easier to tidy the rest of the garage as you might imagine 🙂 The only thing about keeping the golf clubs in the garage is that I don’t keep a garage key on my keyring which I like to keep minimalist. Front door key, Anne’s spare car key, the Total Fitness fob and similarly the Coop fob. I’ve never understood the big bunch of keys concept. It would make sense to have the fobs on phone apps but I’ve never got round to doing it. I assume it is possible.

Latterly whilst the workshop was being built/renovated we’ve been using the front room and conservatory for storage so the golf clubs have been happily living next to one of the sofas. That is a state of play unlikely to remain acceptable to THG who runs a tidy ship (and garden). Today the clubs move to their new home by the garage door. Right next to where they used to be. Tidier.

On the wireless the bloke doing the weather forecast billed today as the last day of summer. Hurricane someone or other is lashing its tail bringing rain to some parts for the rest of the week. Hopefully the harvest will by then have been safely gathered in. We have had a good summer. I am minded to watch the Dad’s Army episode where they help Godfrey’s friend bring in the harvest. There is also a big football game on the telly. Nuke-arstle v Liverpool. Shud be gud. It was noted by THG that it clashed with University Challenge but the wonders of modern media tech means that we can watch both. Yay (rhymes with Monday).

…

Three twenty and the jobs for the day completed. Can’t add “ahead of schedule” to that as there wasn’t a schedule but I’ve received the metaphoric pat on the head/cursory acknowledgement that that’s the lot for the day and am now chillin on the deck with a cold drink. The weather, as foretold, is luvly. Poifect.

The garage has had a bit of a makeover. Not a complete makeover but a sufficient swing on the tidyometer to warrant postponing the rest of the job until after Hannah’s wedding which is starting to come to the fore of management thinking. All I need to do there is buy a shirt and practise my speech. After all, we don’t want to have to use notes do we? I also need a haircut which is planned for when I am in London a week on Tuesday. I am actually desperate for a haircut but it is all about timing innit.

Now playing Stubby Kaye, Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat. One of the all time musical greats. 

Will do some packing in a bit. Not much to do. Just taking a short three centre break in Yorkshire. Will need to brush up on my Yorkshire thanose. Need to be able to make myself understood and similarly know what the locals are saying when they ask me what I’d like for a starter etc. I wonder what’s Yorkshire for poppadoms.

Duttons for Buttons is the name of a shop in York that sells, you guessed it, buttons. What’s not to like? Also, and I’m going to have to tell you this because you’ll never guess it right, we’ve moved the salt pot to be next to the pepper that we keep in the mortar and pestle. I like to freshly grind my pepper in small quantities.

Now I can already hear the “uhuh Tref what’s such a big deal about that”. After all salt goes with pepper just like love and marriage and horse and carriage. Ish. Well the salt has always been up on the shelf next to the garlic  pot. Not for any particular reason. It’s just always been there.

The salt pot is not yer typical pot with a hole in the top out of which pours salt when upended. Provided the salt isn’t too damp, obvs. Neither is it a grinder that is suitable for flakes or granules (?) of sea salt. No it’s a white pot with an open front that contains a little wooden scoop for spooning out quantities of salt as required. In our case currently Halen Môn or Anglesey Sea Salt. 

I often don’t bother with the wooden scoop and simply resort to a finger and thumb as typically one doesn’t need much salt. It only gets used on tomatoes, chips, asparagus and barbecued corn on the cob. I do eat other foods and very rarely have chips at home. Usually when THG is away. With a bit of steak. Seignant.

So anyway I am now going to have to get used to the salt pot being in a different place. This won’t be as big an issue as blokes might think as it will be next to the pepper which as you already know pairs well with salt.

Breakfast this morning will be brunch. There is no rush. I will need the pepper but perhaps not the salt, fwiw. I have a sausage in mind together with a couple of bits of bacon, one unsmoked and one smoked, and a slice of sourdough toast. I noticed a bottle of Mr Vikki’s brown sauce in the fridge which will do nicely.

There we go then. And I’ve only just sat down. At the kitchen table which I didn’t mention earlier but quite relevant considering the nature of my earlier discourse.

My “problem” now is that being only eight thirty (ey em) it is too early to start preparing the brunch which won’t need much in the way of sorting. I’ll just stick the grill on and pop a slice of bread in the toaster. I used to always fry my bacon which I still consider to be the best mode of cooking but cleaning up afterwards is a little more hassle than grilling. Probably only a phase I’m going through.

THG has already polished off her two banana pancakes with maple syrup and home grown raspberries, made a tour of her garden empire and is now sitting in the snug with a freshly brewed cup of coffee. I have poured my tea.

This is all life as we know it. A start to a Sunday morning repeated all around the country, ish. Not everyone has a garden, likes banana pancakes and makes fresh coffee but ya knowworramean.

We have an exciting day ahead of us. The annual hog roast at the Burton Estate Club. The weather is, I believe, going to perk up a little just in time for the do. I did for a while yesterday afternoon don a jumper. My pink LONAP sweatshirt to be more precise. Should not be needed today although I will leave a fleece in the car just in case. THG has volunteered to drive which is good as it can be a very boozy afternoon and she doesn’t mind staying off the pop.

This morning I have more tidying up to do in the workshop. Having moved all my boxes of tools, screws, nails and miscellaneous bits of hardware onto the racking it is clear that it now needs properly sorting out. For example the storage boxes that only have a few nuts and bolts, miscellaneous nails and screws are going. The red one I’ve had since we first got married and is no longer suitable for use in a modern workshop. Storage tech has moved on. I want to be able to see what’s in a compartment without having to pull out the drawers.

The act of doing all this sorting in the workshop is very relaxing. It’s a bit like standing at a photocopier. Not done that for many years but I seem to remember it as being relaxing. The rhythmic whoosh of the copier. Nowadays I just scan something at my desk and print it from my computer screen. Fishing is the same.

There is also work to be done in the garage. Lots of stuff on the shelves that could well be chucked. Quite a few Christmas decs that we don’t need. I have no idea how we collected so many artificial trees. They never get used. I don’t even know if the lights work. Much of this has to be done under the watchful supervision of THG who is the ultimate arbiter of such issues and she goes to church on a Sunday which as you know is today so it will probs be a job for the morrow. Hooray for Bank Holidays.

I only recently realised that Monday was a public holiday as I had suggested to someone we could meet for lunch in town but they couldn’t make it. Happened with two different people. Now I know. Every Monday should be a holiday. And Tuesdays etc. When I worked full time I always thought we should celebrate every public holiday in Europe. The world even. And then chuck in a few saints days that might not be a holiday anywhere but should be. As it is I only work a three day month which is probably the same.

Right. Bacon and sausages don’t cook themselves yanow. Ciao bebes.

A quiet start to the day. Granola, yoghurt and strawberries with, when I get around to making it, another cup of tea. THG is off to the park run and I will, in due course, start clearing the space in the garage that had been taken up by the bench in readiness for moving the plastic storage crates currently stored in/filling up the conservatory. All go innit?

Was a slightly unusual day yesterday as we were greeted with the sad news of the passing away of a good friend. Chris Weston was one of our much loved camping buddies (well mostly motorhomes and campervans but we still call it camping) and had been ill for some time. It still hits hard when things like this happen and our hearts reach out to his wife Karen.

It significantly affected our crowd and we all got together in the Waggon & Horses in Branston for a couple of hours or so of intensive consoling with some bright (gaudy) shirts on show in memory of the lad. The intensive beer drinking that goes with such an event meant that when we got home we had to change our eating plans from chicken on the barbecue to a quicker to assemble beans on toast with sausage and bacon. There will be more drinking in his memory before we are all done. We are now having the barbecued chicken tonight.

Fairly still out in the garden. Just the smallest movement in the apple trees. Looking like a good crop this year, albeit smallish fruit with a significant amount of pruning needed over the next winter.

In other news it was noted that our fishing gnome had strayed too close to the edge and fallen into the lake. I have no idea whether there was wildlife involved in this incident but the lake had to be dredged and the gnome fished out. THG has made his seating position more secure which will hopefully avoid a repeat of the “accident”. I’ll have to put a sign up warning people not to get too close to the edge as the water is deep, if you are a gnome.

Might also stick a trail cam down as it will be quite interesting to see what wildlife is attracted to the water. I’m not expecting wildebeest or lions and their ilk but the occasional fox and hedgehog maybe.

…

Somewhat zonked now. Busy day on the tidying front. We moved umpteen plastic storage crates into the space in the garage formerly occupied by the bench. V tidy. Bit more left to do in the garage but it is definitely heading in the right direction. A load more books sorted to take to Oxfam. Even used my workbench to saw some MDF to put under the crates on the garage floor. Hitting the road running 🙂

THG was watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Clarkson so I stuck my headphones on and am listening to some tunes. You don’t need  to hear Clarkson to be able to join in the quiz. Got a few right but didn’t know who wrote the Batman stories.

Golf was totally sh!te yesterday. Ajax took all the money. Ah well. We do it for the craic not the high quality sport. Coops joined us for the back nine just as we finished on the ninth.

Woke up to bad news this morning. Chris Weston, who was the only social member of our little golf society, passed away. He had been unwell for some time and we had planned to go and see him this afternoon but too late now. The Westons were part of our camping crowd and his death will have an impact on us all.

Today is going to be busy as I try to get the workshop sorted. Got to finish assembling the racking and then start moving stuff into place. We were going to be away in the campervan this weekend but it was cancelled as Chris’ health deteriorated.

A grand day out in London yesterday. Did have a bit of sorting to do when we arrived at the restaurant as someone was sat at our table. I’d booked a table for five in the window for one pm and a different five people had rocked up at twelve thirty and plonked themselves down. The waitress just assumed we had turned up early. Fortunately she was able to move them to another table downstairs. Downstairs is no good. No windows. Turned out ok in the end. My steak was a bit on the tough side but a good time was had by all. 

Busy busy busy today. Got a carpet fitter coming at ten to put down the vinyl flooring in the workshop. Could have done it myself but figured that for the sake of a few quid we might as well get it done professionally. After that we can start making it look like a workshop. Exciting eh? Don’t worry, pic to follow.

This pm is if it’s Thursday it must be golf. Not everyone can make it but we should have three of us there. We do sometimes have up to six of us which makes it quite a lot longer a round. At the end of one summer we played the top course as an eightball. We were last to tee off so didn’t hold anyone up. Problem was it got dark before we managed to finish. It wasn’t helped by the fact that on one hole we played down the wrong fairway and ended up playing a couple of holes twice. Then we took a short cut to the eighteenth where I then appeared to have lost my ball. I stuck another one down but when we got to the green found that someone else had played mine by mistake. I just played my first ball from where it lay on the green. He he he.

Very autumnal feel out there. Still shorts weather but I have a fleece on in the shed. I like the way that nature eases us from summer into autumn. This year we have a few outdoor bits that still need doing before the full force of winter arrives. One of the potting shed windows needs replacing and another needs a new sill splicing in. At least it’s dry. I should be able to finish off putting away the gazebo. Need to wipe the bird poo off the canopy first! The biggest question is will the canopy fit in the pocket of the bag? It looks as if it is supposed to but not sure I’ll be able to pack it up compactly enough. Soon find out innit.

Ee five on the oh seven thirty London bound express. Not yet left the stayshun. I’m looking forward to me bacon roll. Hopefully they will bring the tea in a timely manner. It is a bit annoying if you’ve finished the bacon roll and have nowt to wash it down with.

They’ve printed new menus, I note. Same food. The menu does tell me that in twenty twenty five we are celebrating two hundred years of train travel. Reminds me that we are off on a jaunt to Yorkshire next week and will be stopping by the railway museum there. They have a research library there that THG wants to visit. Her grandad was a fireman on the railways and she is hoping that they will have a record of this. Whenever we’ve been there in the past the library section has been closed.

So today is my annual jolly day out in town whereby I meet some pals and we indulge in a longish lunch. Need to be back in Kings Cross to catch the sixteen oh six. The restaurant is near Green Park tube station which is just a few stops away so we shouldn’t have to rush.

I’ll be v early into town. This is deliberate as it gives me time to buy a shirt and get a haircut. However I am back in early September so that may be better timing. Needed for Hannah & George’s wedding on the thirteenth. If I had the haircut today It would be long again by the thirteenth.

In theory I have to do some work and had kind of planned to do this on the train down. Weelave to see. I find it hard to get motivated these days. Once I get going I’ll be alright.

The train is leaving the stayshun…

Monday yanow. The clock on top right hand side of my monitor says Mon therefore it must be so. Got to force myself to do some work today but not until I’ve been for a swim. Typically leave to go to the pool at around eleven or ten past.

Bit overcast today and you feel that it is threatening to rain. Obvs I’d be happy were it so but the metoffice computer says no which means it might well now rain. I particularly need it to be dry this pm as we want to pack away the gazebos whilst we have Hannah and George still here. They are cooking us a wedding anniversary meal tonight. Tomorrow we are celebrating thirty seven glorious years of marriage. Not yet decided what form that celebration will take. Maybe even beans on toast and an early night 🙂 

We have done a lot of eating and drinking over the past few days. What’s more I have my annual long lunch in town to look forward to on Wednesday! I some time ago set a “tradition” rolling whereby I meet a bunch of mates in London in August for a serious business discussion over lunch. August was always a dead month anyway. Half the population goes on holiday for the first two weeks and the other half for the second two. Means you could get sod all done in August so I then started to take the whole month off.

Did rain a bit but all dried off now. Met Ajax in the pool and had a good catchup. Sue was at a Body Balance class. Cup of tea afterwards.

Sitting on the deck after breakfast and a down feather floated in front of me. It showed no interest in landing so I reached for my camera to catch it on video. It chose that moment to drop into my empty tea cup. Missed another photo opportunity. Had I been wearing a pair of specs with inbuilt camera I’d have caught it and the bytes would now be streaming in front of you as you read this post.

The lake has begun to attract woodpigeons that stand on the stony edge and lean right down dipping their beaks fully in the water. Woodpigeons ain’t my thang. If I’m patient enough maybe a kingfisher or two might drop by. They would be disappointed as the lake is not (yet) stocked with fish but that’s not my problem. 

In reality I can’t see me getting any fish for the lake although I do like the concept of sitting on the deck while dangling a rod and line into the water. Not really interested in catching a fish but the act of fishing is very relaxing. Perhaps I’ll get meself a cheap fishing rod for the purpose. We’ve just flogged a load of fishing gear on Facebook Marketplace! No rod though. THG suggested I invest in a fishing gnome which sounds like a good idea to me. I looked and there are loads to choose from. Watch this space.

I think I’m going to start collecting the windfall apples. It’s a few weeks yet before this year’s zoider making session commences but the apples are coming down in serious numbers. We haven’t yet started on last year’s batch. My cider adviser Adie tells me we do that the same day as making the next lot. We will this year also be able to use apples from the tree at the bottom of the garden. This was inaccessible last year because of all the logs around its base but the log pile has now been tidied. That tree produces nicer eaters.