where art collides

Had my first experience of The Hay on Wye Book Festival yesterday. Must admit it was quite surreal. Hay is a lovely small town on the border of Wales and England. Gelli Gandryll in Welsh.

Found the Kilverts Inn easily enough. Attempted to park in front of it a couple of times but there was room enough for the car as long as you didn’t wantto get out of it. Eventually alighted on the perfect spot in the hotel car park at the rear. The car will now stay put until Wednesday.

Couple of beers with Rhys and Iwan then a stroll to the festival shuttle bus. The surreal bit was the people. Guardian readers one and all from an almost exclusively white middle class background, or so it seemed. Plenty of bookshops, which I like and will visit this morning.

Then we met Eirian and the rest of the family at the festival site. Eirian had managed to procure a ticket return for the Nick Cave session. Three quid. Bargain. We arrived at the marquee just in time.

Now I’d not heard of Nick Cave before I saw him yesterday. An Australian rockstar, apaz. He was entertaining enough. Just as entertaining were the poncey questions people in the audience asked him towards the end of the set. Pretentious in the extreme.

We ended up at the Black Lion for some great jazz. They played Round Midnight (for me) with the harmonica instead of trumpet. Twas brilliant. Surprisingly there weren’t many in. Maybe literary types get to bed early with a good book.

While I’m in Gelli Gandryll I’m going to see a few sessions but the main thing is to be here and enjoy the atmosphere. I’ve realised I’m not the book luvvie that most people here seem to be. I do read a lot of books but that is different from being a luvvie.

At breakfast there was a family of three who had all been reading the same book. Wot! It just ain’t me.

Felt quite relaxed at breakfast. Solo traveller but I am meeting Rhys and Eirian later and Steve Wildthing is coming down from Lincoln this pm.

Logistics Wirral weekend

Saturday

Tref takes Anne and Han to hairdressers for 10am and brings back

Tom and John need bringing back from Jug & Bottle after 11am checkout – either Tref or Joe depending on availability

Tref takes Anne and Han to Thornton Hough church for 12.30

6 of us need to get to Inglewood Manor for 7pm for evening do (10 min drive). 2 shuttles in mum’s car. Tom, Joe or Tref can drive there.

Freestyle timing for return from evening do with Tom driving, fair play

Sunday H/G/T/J

Taxi for H/G/T/J ship inn parkgate to Nags Head, Wilaston to arrive by 12 midday. Needs to be able to take luggage. Tref will book

Tref take mum to meadow lane by 11.30 – drops her stuff off there

Tref departs for Hay on Wye

Joe and Lucy take mum’s car to Nags Head for 12

H/G/T/J taxi from Nags Head to Chester train station in time to catch 14.32 – Tref will book. Less than 20 minute drive.

After Nags Head take Sarah back to Meadow Lane 

Joe and Lucy dropped off at Hooton station either by mum or Jan and Ieu

Anne loads her car up and drives to Lincoln

Haloumi cheese – 3 blocks

Chicken breasts – 8

Feta cheese

Big tomaytoes

Cucumber

Olives – nice ones

Lettuce cos

Parma ham

Mozzarella

Baguette

Fresh lemons

Booze

Basmatti rice 

Ham

Cheese

Tin of tomatoes

onions

And we’re off. The boat moves slowly away from the quay. The safety video is mildly irritating. Some bloke pretending to be a pirate. It’s almost on a par with that BA safety vid which really used to get on my tits. The one with lots of celebs. That was supposed to be funny. It was funny the first time I saw it. Fortunately BA appears to have stopped using that. Either that or they just don’t show it in first class 😀.

We are sitting in comfort in the Premium Lounge. Table service. Splendid views over the Wirral which is slowly moving to the rear. Actually that could be a misnomer. ‘Splendid views of the Wirral’. I suppose I could say that our viewing position is splendid irrespective of the quality of the actual view.

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The sea is very calm. Not quite a mill pond but nearly. This makes for a very comfortable voyage. I almost used the word journey there but voyage seems more appropriate. Earlier I had started using nautical terms such as ‘avast there’ and ‘ahoy’ with members of the crew but they all appear to be Phillipino or simlar and the terminology was lost on them. They are a great crew otherwise 🙂 

Other useful nautical terms include splice the mainbrace, cast off forrard (and aft), land ho and shiver me timbers. I’m sure there are others if I put my mind to it but do feel free to chip in. 

We are largely packed, though not loaded up. This is thanks to the Head Gardener’s insistence that the packing started a week ago. She is always right. Mostly.

Packing the car to go away was always a fraught time with family holidays. A high stress activity, especially when you thought it was all finished with every nook and cranny filled and you turn around to discover that more bags have appeared.

The pile of stuff to go in the car has grown over the week. It isn’t a pile per se. The jumbled array of goods being transported to the isle has spread out engulfing most available surfaces in the front room. At least we have a spare living room for this purpose. Almost as if by design. It is certainly a handy space for dumping all our gear when returning from a trip. Processing said gear could then be done at leisure.

In my mind the ideal scenario is that we fit everything into the boot of the defender leaving the back seats free to stick the odd coat and to accommodate any foot passengers catching the same ferry.

Reality is going to be v different. The baggage train includes bulky items such as duvets, three off,  and several kitchen bound trugs. As well as hiring a cottage on the prom we have our largely unfurnished house which is going to be occupied for the next few months, hence the gear.

It’s like going on a big camping expedition which actually was often the reality back in those stress filled days with four children’s worth of stuff to fit in plus the Gelert Zenith 6. The Zenith 6 was a huge family sized tent that would comfortably fit nine persons but was palatial for six of us. Two persons were needed to carry the tent and the whole team was well drilled for the erection, each with their own role in the process. Two hours was a good time from unpacking to moving the sleeping bags into position.

We eventually invested in a trailer which would take all the baggage leaving the interior of the car free for people and any entertainments needed to make the long journey more bearable. Nowadays the trailer sits in the corner of the front drive and is likely to be sold this summer.

For this family holiday all four now adult offspring will be flying from London leaving the HG and I to take the ferry, and the baggage in the car. The return trip will be without the bulky items but with more people as we are all Liverpool bound on the way back. Am hoping we will get everything in the boot. V shall c. 

Right now my condition is stress free and is expected to remain so even as I confront the task of loading up the car. I have already resigned myself to the fact that the back seats are going to come down. This is ok. This is one of the beauties of there being just the two of us.

Stay calm and if you are Belgian, enjoy your Ascension Day Bank Holiday.

Struggling to find something to watch to drown out Marsterchef on the pad of i. Quite tired tonight so will hit it early. Tomorrow is a day of sorting. A few workey bits and finishing packing for our jaunt to the Isle of Man. Dunno if it is all going to fit in the boot. Would prefer not to have to put the back seats down if at all possible. See howitgoze.

Busy busy busy today. Sort of. Preparing for our trip to the isle. Not going until the end of the week but don’t want to get there and find that we’ve left the kitchen sink behind. Schoolboy error. We won’t need the kitchen sink but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take it just in case. Be prepared. Dib dib dib.

Would do no harm to have another cup of tea before getting busy. Why do something straight away when you can put it off by having a cup of tea. Only problem is I’d have to get off my arse to make it. See how it goes. 

I also need to walk to Lidl to buy some wildflower seeds. I’ve left a strip of lawn in front of the shed unmown. It’s going to be a meadow. Expect to see deer grazing there within a short few years. Will have to leave a gap in the hedge or fence for the deer to slip through. Not that I’ve seen any in the neighbourhood mind you. Grow it and they will come.

I realise that the revelation of today being a busy day is at odds with my mantra of not doing any work on a sabbath but you have to bear in mind that my adherence to the rule is very selective. If I feel like toil I will toil. Suptome innit. 

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Back from buying seeds in Lidl. 29 pence a pack. What’s not to like? Only thing is they didn’t have a pack called “wild flower mix” so I bought a few random packs of flower seed and figured that would do the job. Then on my way out of the shop I found that there was another complete display of seeds at the back of the unit I’d been selecting from. Couldn’t reach them anyway and moreover couldn’t be bothered with queuing up again even if they did have the right pack which I doubt.

I’m going to mix them all up in a bowl and then add some compost before scattering randomly on my meadow. All subject to approval from the Head Gardener obvs. We’ve been in this house a good 25 years or more and it has to be said that the garden is still evolving but it is heading in the right direction.

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Seeds randomly scattered and watered in, hopefully. We must remain optimistic and I have no reason to think that the flowers will flourish. It’s a percentages game.

A gentle start to the day. Sat in the conservatory sans cup of tea. Not given breakfast any consideration yet. Plenty of time. No rush. What’s the hurry?

It’ll go quickly enough anyway, time. I feel as if I should be sat cross legged on the carpet meditating. Ommm. Ommm I say.

The sound of wood pigeons is mildly irritating. What would life be like without them? Can they not change their tune? Bang.

I’m hoping to be able to cut the grass this afternoon. Should be ok. Then it’s steak on the bbq tonight. Bit of salad. Simple fare. Might buy a bottle of wine. See how it goes.

Bloody cold again today innit. Have switched the heating on in the shed to take the edge off it. Outside everywhere is green and growing, benefitting from the not insubstantial amount of April showers that have spilled over into May. Lawn needs cutting but for that we need a dry spell. I am going to leave a strip in front of the shed unmowed in anycase.

Sunday morning and the rain has stopped. Looking out into the garden it feels as if the new grass has shot up significantly over the last couple of days. I’ll pop out to inspect the onions in a bit and feel confident of similar progress. Today should be dry but back to normal British summer weather tomorrow.

Had a surprise birthday party for the Head Gardener yesterday round the corner at Eve and Steve’s. THG thought it was a coronation party but that was just the front. Was a wet old afternoon but Steve’s double sized gazebo came in very handy. A good time was had – thanks to our excellent hosts.

It being the sabbath the morning will be spent avoiding work of any kind. I don’t think I could stand being excommunicated if I was found to have broken the law. The shame of it. I sense that time spent in quiet contemplation and introspection would be appropriate. Some focus on my own spirituality. Maybs.

The blackbirds are out hunter-gathering. Plenty of worms in that lawn. Mostly males so I imagine the ladies are sitting on their nests. Were I to take the lid off the compost bin the blackbirds would have a feast. Lots of worm and insect activity turning the waste into fine compost. I prefer to leave this worms to their excellent work.

Strawberries are fruiting, or at least in full flower. The grape vine is coming into leaf. All is well.

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Sunday Sunday, feels good to me.

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Stan Getz, Girl from Ipanema. Went to Brazil decades ago. I’d visit the Amazon but otherwise feel no compulsion to return.

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Halfway through the weekend. Interesting to observe how the BBC toes the royalist line. All wine and roses in the kingdom. The succession reassured. 

Tis indeed Saturday. I have broken the fast and am now enjoying a cup of hot water infused with tea in the TV room. Said device is in the off position. I already made the mistake of turning on the wireless after having recently advised everyone not to do so. The wireless is also now in the off position.

I do like Saturdays. In fact I like every day. It would not be right to favour one over another. I do prefer good days to bad days but I try not to have any of the latter. Seems to make sense.

The Head Gardener has left for her Saturday morning park run, in a park. Boultham Park. I have not. I do have something to look forward to though. I bought two packs of socks from Marks and Spencer and will break open one of them today. It is nice to wear new socks. 

Probably if I were a multi billionaire I would treat myself to new socks on a frequent basis. Some might think that were this the case I would be flaunting my wealth but discretion would be very possible. Nobody would need to know the socks were new and under those circumstances I certainly would not be broadcasting the fact on Facebook. Nosirreebob.

If you spot me in new socks there is no need to say anything. We can just exchange knowing nods and walk on by. Nothing to see here.

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Very happy with the progress of my onions. 

It’s actually a big weekend. Uncle Ted’s 80th birthday bash. I think it might be a surprise bash but Ted ain’t on Facebook so I don’t think I’m giving anything away.

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It does very much feel as if I could be getting on with some jobs but I’m too relaxed and it is a day of rest. The shed doors are flung wide open. I do need to finish tidying the shed but manana bebe manana.

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There’s a big event playing on an iPad in the kitchen. I don’t need to see it but there is some decent choral work being sung

This is a week for putting away the winter wardrobe. I’m having difficulty finding my trainer liners amongst the morass of winter woollies that will no longer be required. I suspect I will need to refresh the stock of trainer liners but will not really know until after the tidy up.

Of course one tidy up leads to another. We are off to the Isle of Man later this month and will be taking some stuff along to survive in a near empty house. The camping box, duvets etc. In doing all that I will need to clear out the trailer. We are going to sell the trailer so that needs sorting anyway.

The trailer was very useful when four kids filled the family car and we had to put the luggage/camping stuff somewhere else. Now the two of us either head off in one of our campervans or stay in nice hotels and we can chuck all our gear in the back of the Defender.

I also need to finish tidying up the shed. Non stop innit. When will it ever end 🙂

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Socks have been sorted. I defo need a new stock of summer socks although reality is when the heat of the British High Summer kicks in I won’t be wearing socks as sandals and flip flops will be more the norm.

Ordered ten pairs from Marks and Spencer.

Bank Holiday Monday. Quiet on the road in front of the hoose. Waiting for the tea to brew.

The Head Gardener has gone to the gym. I have broken the fast and am easing into the day. As momentum grows a job or two will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. There is no rush. Still more tidying to do in the shed and some more grass seed to sow.

The birds are in fine voice around the garden. Reminds me that I need to revamp the mostly old and manky feeders. I also need to add some wire runs between the posts where the plum tree is going to be trained. To do that I’ll need to find where I put the wire 🙂.

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Festoon lighting finished. Espalier framing done.