where art collides philosoperontap

Shortly after five ey em it is twenty degrees. It is actually a good time of day to be up. The birds are all chattering away contentedly. Shed doors open. Another good day ahead.

Yesterday was very much a Wimbledon watching day. We got our respective exercise out of the way in the morning and by mid afternoon were back watching the action. Don’t really look at tennis any other time of year but that is ok. I won’t have any purists look down their noses and say I’m not really a tennis fan. I’m not but I do like a bit of Wimbledon.

Time was our John would win Wimbledon tickets in the ballot at the Eastgate Tennis Club of which he was a member. THG and I would take it in turns to go with the lad. The tickets were almost always Centre Court. We would take a picnic and gorge ourselves on strawberries and cream. 

The latter was very much not sourced inside the All England Lawn Tennis Club itself, not at a pound a strawberry, or whatever it was. I’d buy a large punnet from a supermarket and a large pot of double cream. Then I’d whip a couple of plastic pint glasses from a bar at the tennis and some sachets of sugar and we were away. A pint of strawberries and cream each.

Harry Dunn met us  there once. Harry always had a temporary job there during Wimbledon fortnight. He would look after Rafael Nadal while he was at the ground. Harry brought us bars of chocolate from the men’s changing rooms.

We would always have to leave before the end of the action to catch a train back north. The one exception to this was in John’s last year of membership where THG and I both went leaving the lad at home to watch it on the telly. On that occasion we stayed in a hotel somewhere in Kensington. We were too knackered after a long day in the sun to have much of a night out but at least we didn’t have to rush to catch a train.

Back in the pool this morning. I’m trying to make it a regular morning activity. Still fine tuning the best time to get there. Eleven thirty is looking sensible.

…

10:06 E11. Just the two of us on the table. Headphones on. Fave tunes entertaining. Lovely start to the day in the metropolis although somewhat sluggish on a personal level having been to two parties and finishing off with a somewhat nondescript curry. Was at a party on the Middle Lawn of Middle Temple last night. Amazing place. Never been before. V historic. Oozed money. Used the gents only to find that that particular convenience was reserved for judges only 🙂 huh 🙂 

Uber driver’s name was Abelrahman. Don’t think that’s how he spells it but hey. Talked non stop. Doesn’t like to drive in London but you have to earn a crust. My words not his. His sentiment. At least the conversation only had to last until Kings Cross.

Bloke pushes a bike along platform 7. Looks like he fell off it decently, I mean recently.

Woman sat diagonally across on the same table had up until Peterborough been unobtrusive enough. I’d taken my headphones off for a break but had to put them back on after a while as she started typing on her phone and she had it making a noise every time she touched the keypad.

THG and I listened to the shipping forecast this morning. I’d like to say it’s one of the things we ”do together” but twould not be the case. We are rarely both awake for it and I have not tuned in since the heady days of my convalescence from the hip op when I was often awake at night due to having to kip on my back.

The shipping forecast came immediately after the weather forecast. A several things stuck in my mind. First of all there were gale warnings, despite it being high summer. There always seems to be a gale somewhere. Then the wind direction almost everywhere was sou’westerly. The prevailing wind around these shores. We are in for another scorcher and I guess this is ably assisted by a southerly oriented wind, blowing, no doubt, in from the Azores. 

Made me think I need to get booking another trip. Got tons of Avios and a premium cabin companion voucher that want using.

The final observation from the shipping forecast was the absence of a mention of temperatures. The SF is all about wind with observations on the likelihood of rain thrown in for good measure. After the SF it was prayer for the day which was definitely the cue for me to get up.

I’m now in the shed. It has rained overnight in the garden which is good but I don’t think it was all that much of a downpour. Still, we’ll take it innit.

Today I’m off on a bit of a jolly to town. The annual Summer Forum of the Comms Council UK. A goodly crowd and this year and a get together in celebration of our 20th Anniversary as an industry trade association. I remember the first meeting!!! These occasions are v good networking events and a chance to catch up with pals.

Some of us are off to Danny Prieskel’s Summer Party which is on the Middle Temple Main Lawn. Danny also has a Christmas bash. I get invited to both every year but have never been able to go. The Christmas one is always the week after trefbash. Takes too long to recover from a trefbash and another trip to London so soon after doesn’t work.

Anyway, should be a good day ahead. With soaring temperatures in prospect everyone will need to keep their fluid intakes up. My normal business attire of Hawaiian shirt and shorts should also work to my advantage. I recall that one year the Summer Forum was held in the conservatory at the Barbican. It was the hottest day of the year and everyone was wearing suits except me. I felt v superior stood there in my shorts and Hawaiian shirt. I was even able to crack open a beer before the talkie bits had finished.

Anyway, gotta go. The tea tray doesn’t carry itself upstairs yanow.

…

Sat opposite my booked seat on the London train. There is method here. The seat next to mine is booked from Newark but the one next to where I am now sat only has a booking from Peterborough to Stevenage which is only a 25 mins or so leg of the journey. This means I will have most of the table to myself for most of the journey and the peterborough to Stevenage person might decide it is easier to sit in the empty single seat across the aisle. The little games we play eh? I often sit in E2 which is never reserved because it has no window but is a snug little spot at the front of the train. It’s too nice a day today not to have a window. 

Someone has come on who was booked from Newark to London in E4. E4 was also booked by some scruffy oik from Lincoln to Newark. There was method in his madness. He happily accepted the ploughmans lunch, crisps and the chocolate pud before getting off the train at Newark.

Listening to my faves playlist set to random. Very much in a holiday spirit. All work and no play and all that. I try not to do any work at all though yesterday I spent half an hour chopping kindling in preparation for the winter that lies ahead. Preparation is everything. Not work work anyway.

During our tidying session last night I came across a load of maps which now just about fit in the shed map box. An old Eley Ammunition box I picked up from an antique warehouse in Stamford last year. We must go back to Stamford. We stayed at The George and had a nice time. Also found some books and there is a map shop though I’m not really in the market for an more maps unless they were very specific to the commote of Mabudrud in Sir Gâr. I still like to have paper maps even though everything is now available in digital format.

Went to see Sting last night. Met the boys in the Castle Hill Club which was practically empty and which is conveniently located just outside the castle’s Eastgate. The queues to get in to the gig were mahoosive and it made a lot of sense to sit sipping cold ones until just before Sting came on. We skipped the support acts which I’m sure were v good. Probs. Was a good gig. Sting observed that he had never played Lincoln Castle before and that he lived in a castle but it was “bigger than this one” 🙂 

In consequence I am taking a relaxed approach to the start of the day. Tea has been consumed and the shed doors are open to the benevolent elements of summer. Birds flit by and butterflies flutter.

I’ve discovered that the optimum time to get to the pool is around 11.30 so there is no urgency to the day. I do plan to do a short gym session in future concentrating on upper body strength. Went through it with “trainer Dave” yesterday. Today is not the right day to start however. Not after a night out. The hard core amongst you will disagree and say that after a night out is absolutely the right time to get to the gym. I am not hard core. 

I do like to get in the pool though. Get in a rhythm. I will go for a walk before driving to the pool. Need to do more of that. Found out yesterday that the jacuzzi is actually called the “hydrotherapy pool” You learn something new every day. I spend ten minutes or so in said hydrotherapy pool. Trainer Dave recommended it and I was pleased to inform him that I this already did. Had to wait to get a spot on one of the recliners though. You lie there with the bubbles gently massaging your, presumably, aching muscles after a hard session of physical activity.

In the meantime got a few bits to do and it’s looking like a beautiful day.

Out and about early running an errand or two and because I was already there nipped in to Waitrose to buy bread and a packet of fish fingers. I’m sure I have previously mentioned my penchant for a fish finger sandwich and tonight I am indulging myself before going out to see Sting in Lincoln Castle. Don’t want a big meal as there is a distinct likelihood that a beer or two will be on offer.

There was, conveniently, an entire end of aisle section dedicated to fish fingers with a large sign indicating the fact. V handy I thought and proceeded to said end of aisle. Now the thing is I hadn’t quite realised how many different types of fish fingers there are on offer. After a brief moment of confusion I opted for the safe bet of 32 Birds Eye cod fish fingers (ic 2 free) for £9.75. Then I thought to meself when am I ever going to eat thirty two fish fingers. I put the packet back in the freezer and took out a smaller pack of ten Waitrose Essential cod fish fingers for £2.60. Result.

Said fish fingers are now safely in the freezer in the garage and I have repaired to the shed to let you know all this. As I got home the green bin lorry was about fifty metres from our house and will by now have consumed the contents of our own green bin. I will bring it into the drive just before I set off for the gym this morning. I have an introductory session with trained David before I have a swim. I have discovered that around eleven thirty is the optimum time to get in the pool as most of the morning dippers, if I can call them that, will have got out or will be wallowing in the jacuzzi. There is a very big jacuzzi in the gym.

The only thing left to tell you is that THG and I cleared out the right hand cupboard in the snug last night. There is a lot of stuff to chuck but we also found a few “lost” nuggets, one of which was my custom OS map of the Davies family heartland in Sir Gaerfyrddin.

Hwyl.

Dawn, summer solstice. No meaningless arbitrary numbered date but a day to mark time. The druids have gathered outside the shed to watch the sunrise over the rooftops of the Tesco superstore at the far end of the Wragby Road allotments. Lincoln archaeologists believe that the ancient ceremony that accompanies the solstice predates even the building of the Tesco on its present site. We shall likely never know for sure as the vast tarmac carpark that surrounds the emporium prevents any serious investigative dig.

Last night a wild boar was sacrificed for the feast that always accompanies the solstice celebrations. The meat was steeped in a barbecue marinate using a recipe as ancient as the ceremony itself and reconstructed after much painstaking research with the help of the great god google. The resultant kebab, assembled with locally grown ingredients since identified as onion, mushroom, tomayto and red pepper, ingredients still to this day to be found in the fruit and vegetable section of Tesco, was roasted in the traditional way over fire.

The skills required to perform the sacred cooking ceremony are handed down through male druidic lines. The culinary task is accompanied by the consumption of, sometimes, large quantities of an alcoholic beverage. Two variants of this beverage have been identified as a type of beer known to have been brewed using the finest local hops, and a drink produced out of grapes grown on south facing Lincolnshire slopes and left for years to mature in wooden barrels built from specially selected oaken boughs.

The resultant dish has a slightly charred outside with a perfectly moist interior that together with a nice bit of salad is consumed with serious intent on the deck in front of the shed.

Revelries continue late into the night with the partygoers finally going to their beds after the ten pm conclusion of a rugby game, in which one team is dressed as lions, is broadcast across the Sky to practitioners of the ancient religion. The feasting will continue for weeks until the nights begin to draw in and folks withdraw to their home areas to prepare for the next round of ceremonials, the Autumn Internationals.

At this point, on the morning of the solstice, a druid is dispatched to make the tea. This ritual is celebrated all year round in households across the land. The tips of tender leaves of the tea plant are picked at dawn, dried and left to rehydrate in boiling water in a traditional ceremonial vessel known as the teapot.

The pot is then reverentially carried on a special tray for presenting to The Head Gardener for a blessing before being mixed with semi skimmed milk and sipped slowly in purposely procured mugs to the satisfaction of all concerned.

Ciao druidos.

Oh five fifteen. Shed doors are open wide. I woke up at three forty to the dawn chorus and dropped off to sleep again. Woke again an hour later. The birds had quietened down a bit. Figured I might as well get up and get on with the day. Slooking like thirty one degrees this pm. Hotter than yesterday. Not complaining.

Didn’t play golf yesterday. Laughterton was closed due to drought conditions affecting the course so a small hard core group switched and played Pottergate. I didn’t. Spent some quality time with ma daught. Threw a bit of protein on the griddle. We have a great barbecue set up. Will do the same tonight.

Nice to be back home after a few full on days away. Yes I count lounging by the pool as full on 🙂 Will be back in London for one night next Thursday but a chilled time up until then. Oh apart from the Sting gig at Lincoln Castle on Tuesday. 

If we had a pool I’d probably jump in for an early morning dip. We haven’t got a pool. It ain’t worth it where we live. I think I’ll go and water the garden. 

Ciao.

The birds started their chorale at twenty to four this morning. May have been even earlier but I wasn’t awake. Nodded off again, lulled to sleep by sweet blackbirds singing in the dead of night.

Off on a bit of a jaunt today. Site visit to a conference location in Sorrento. You have to put your best people onto jobs like this so after much deliberation I chose myself. It will be quite warm in Sorrento so I’ve packed a few Tommy Bahama silk shirts and a pair of swimming trunks. Good job I have the shirts innit.

It’s warm enough in Lincoln. Ordinarily I wouldn’t bother arranging a trip like this at this time of year but it has to be done so I’m going. I’ll be back in time for dinner in London on Wednesday evening and golf in Lincoln on Thursday.

I’m currently en route to Newark where I change trains.  Don’t often get a train that involves a change these days but the direct ones weren’t at the right times for me. Want to be in Gatwick by about one thirty. The train is not particularly full. In fact Lincoln seemed quite empty on the way down to the station. Not much traffic. Maybe everyone has gone on holiday. Or Skegness for the day.

As we approach Swinderby we pass a massive field full of potato plants. I wonder how many portions of chips you get to the acre. Standard sized portion. Not large. Usually large portions are so large they do for two or three people. Trying to think when I last had a chippy tea. After golf sometime I think, poss when TGH was away.

Most fields are still very green but the wheatfields look quite ripe and ready to harvest and one hayfield had been cut leaving the hay to dry on the floor. Was recently reading about eighteenth century farming methods and specifically the art of building haystacks. It isn’t just a question of stacking the hay in a big pile. The centre of a  haystack can get very hot to the point that fires can self ignite. Obvs this is not good so the technique is to get enough airflow through the stack to keep the centre cool enough. Makes sense innit.

Didn’t bring a book with me on this trip which with hindsight was a mistake. No matter. It is extremely doubtful that there will be anything I want to buy at the airport bookshop. These places usually only stock best sellers. Gawd knows who reads that stuff. Ditto magazines.

Early up to the sound of birds in our hedge. Outside the conservatory the runner beans are shooting up the canes. Roses abound. We are entering peak summertime. Grass needs cutting.

The week ahead looks to be hot hot hot. I am off to Sorrento for a couple of nights to check out a conference venue for a shindig I’m organising next spring. Couple of nights, Monday and Tuesday, back in London for dinner on Wednesday and then back to Lincoln for golf on Thursday. Sorrento will be hotter than the UK. The hotel, it is noted, has six outdoor pools. At least there will be somewhere to cool down from time to time. Aaarrghhh.

Lovely time at OIeOle last night. Amador knows how to run a restaurant. He and his family are lovely folk. We had a swift un in the Vic before dinner. Took longer to queue to buy the beer than it did to drink it. Gig on at the castle so the place was rammed with punters loading up before going in. I’m off there meself with the lads on the 24th to see Sting. Saw him last summer at Forest Pines. He was seriously good, fair play. Music from my teens. Ditto ELO’s last ever gig in Hyde Park in July.

It’s my turn to make the tea. However am sat very comfortably in the conservatory right now so will need to force myself up to stick the kettle on.

Thought for the day this morning is the rev Roy Jenkins. Didn’t switch off immediately as his delivery tone was most acceptable. Must be the Welsh accent. Used to know someone called Roy. Supervisor at Downwards pop factory in Douglas, IoM where I worked one Easter Holiday. We called him Roy the Boy.

Prepared avocado on toast with a poached egg for breakfast but only ate some of it. There was something a bit iffy about the avo. In the end I just had a slice of toast and marmalade with a cup of tea.

Now enjoying the morning in the shed, doors wide open as is possible at this time of year. The blackbirds sound a little agitated this morning. Might be something near their nest they don’t like. Last year I saw one being attacked by a magpie. Not nice birds. Bullies. They are still around but seem to spend more time in someone else’s garden.

Early to the shed. Doors wide open a beautiful morning. Something not quite right though. One of my screens seems a bit skeewiff but I can’t quite nail why. Don’t have the spirit evel with me which would be the solution. Usually I line the top of the screen with the top of the tv which I know is dead level as someone else did the mounting 🙂 but today it feels a little askew. It’s probs just me.

Golf last night can not be deemed a success. I played terribly, my one redemption being winning the nearest the pin on the last hole which funded all the owings to the others for their successes. We got to the woodcocks afterwards to discover a 1hr wait for food. After slaking our thirst we departed, the others for Pizza Express at the bottom of Steep Hill and I for home and a small ham salad. Had a busy day including a swim in Woodhall Spa so didn’t feel up to heading to the downtown melee. The ham was deelish. Bought some from the deli in Woodhall Spa.

A pot of tea brews on the barrel next to the desk and I am all set to explore the relationship between the Jones family of Maesnoni and the Prices of Abergwenlais.

Dull monotone thought for the day (as usual) on the wireless. Time to get up! I’d suggest to the BBC that they ditched this slot and replaced it with something more interesting like the shipping forecast but it does serve as my alarm clock.

Why people go on holiday abroad at this time of year beats me. Shed doors are wide open. I do have to keep an eye open though as the other day I shooed a black cat away that was thinking of coming in for a peek. I’m not a cat person. I don’t mind other people having them but they ain’t for me. I quite like dogs but they are far too much hassle. Not to mention the vets bills (I just did but I think I got away with it).

Yes I realise the British weather is extremely unreliable and when it is cold and pissing it down then the sound of waves lapping gently on the beach a few feet away from the bar could be quite an attractive proposition. The thing to do is to leave it until the last minute and decide whether to book a holiday in the sun or not based on the weather forecast.

Now the sensible amongst you will tell me that doing it that way means all the best places have gone and you are probably mostly right. I’m already planning a French trip for August 2026. I wanted to make sure we had the pick of the villas, reserve good cabins on the boat etc. Also we are taking kids and partners so they have to get the dates in their diaries far enough ahead to make sure everyone is available.

It may be that the summer holidays become the time we can all get together. As they start to get married and have inlaws with whom to spend every other Christmas, the big family Christmas lunch could well become a thing of the past. Unless we arrange it so that they are all away every other year, in which case THG and I would need to figure out which posh hotel to go and spend ours in. I can see it happening.

This morning I had one slice of bacon, grilled and one slice of sourdough, toasted in the new Dualit long slot toaster. On this occasion I didn’t really make use of the capacity of the toaster as it was only a small loaf but the toast came out fine. Add a splodge of HP sauce and I am now set up for the day. Not the full English of old but the new regime proscribes that. Will set off for Total Fitness at 10am for a swim, maybe swinging by Antonios for a haircut en route.

Had a bit of a breakthrough on the family tree yesterday. Having trawled through zillions of wills I found one where my 7g grandfather’s farm Maesnonni, was given to him in 1707 in the will of his mother’s brother who was a Hughes. It will explain why I haven’t been able to find a Jones of Maesnonni going back any later than 1731. Doesn’t particularly help as I now have to find Hugheses and Joneses. Also Davieses and Evanses and, in another scoop yesterday evening, Prices who apparently were descended from Brychan Brycheiniog. My sister Sue looked him up and reported that BB reputedly had 63 offspring (worralad) which means that most of the people in Wales are probably descendants of his. Elinor Price married my 6g grandfather David Jones.

So in total we are paret Davies, Evans, Jones, Hughes and Price. Just need to find a Williams and a Griffiths now to make up the whole set. The biggest problem from now on, not even taking into consideration the lack of written records is that I am now back to 1680 where people were using patronymic naming, so no surnames. I am reliant on farm names to identify people. It is even quite interesting to see how these names change. I’ve seen Maesnoni written as Maes Noni, Maesnonni (which is what is on the farm gate today), Maesnoney, Maesnony and last night old R Huges had it down as Maes Ty Nonni which is the oldest version and quite revealing as it means the field of the house of the nuns.

It is believed that the farm stands on the site of a now defunct nunnery but there is not much evidence of this that is anything other than circumstantial. There’s the name and there is a field called Maes Capel, – chapel field where in the early 10th Century an engraved gravestone was found notionally dating back to the ninth century. There was almost certainly a building on the site because when I invited the farmer, Hefin, took me to the field which sloped but clearly had a flattened section in the middle which would probably be where the nunnery or chapel stood. Needs an archaeological dig to find out more.

Anyway gorra go. Total Fitness beckons. Ciao amigos.

Had a shave this morning. Uhuh Tref do I hear you say? Well it is important to stay smart innit. That isn’t really why I had the shave though (ok well not the whole reason). Firstly when I go swimming I tend not to have a shave. I guess there is nothing to stop me from taking my gear but I don’t typically and I’ve been swimming a fair bit of late. Then last weekend we were off gallivanting to Yorkshire for the weekend. Who shaves when they are in Yorkshire? Nobody, right?

Anyway today I had a shave, in the sink, in front of the mirror. This is significant. I normally shave by feel when showering, without the use of a mirror. A mirror wouldn’t be much use in the shower anyway. When shaving by feel one tends to miss bits. So today, stood in front of the mirror, I had a good shave.

Now in the shed, feeling refreshed and sorting out my tax return. My accountant actually does the return but I have to provide them with the info which is quite time consuming. I suppose I could do it as I go along in the year, and I do to some extent, but I usually leave a pile of stuff to do in one go. I scan in the invoices/receipts and store them in a folder where said accountant can get hold of them.

There may come a time when I won’t need an accountant but we aren’t there yet.

…

Dropped by Antonio’s Barbershop after my swim. However there was a queue and only one barber working, the slow guy who is Antonio’s son in law. Retreated to return another day and as I was getting in to the car I noticed three somewhat large blokes leaving the Tesco car park with some shopping. They were also stealing two trolleys. I wasn’t going to do the citizen arrest thing but as my car passed the traffic lights I noticed an unmarked police car, blue lights flashing like mad, making its way towards the aforementioned thieves. With a bit of luck it will have stopped and sorted them out although I doubt that was why it had the blue lights on.

Raining again. Wasn’t so long ago we were complaining there hadn’t been any rain for ages. I’m not complaining now. Saves having to water the plants innit. I like the sound of the rain on the conservatory roof.

Need to get a wiggle on though. Got a bit of packing to do.

Rainy day blues. Not really. Just sounded right. It has been raining again of which I make no complaint. Being fairweather golfers we don’t play golf in the rain but the consensus was we weren’t going to play today anyway and head straight for the Strugglers for 5pm.

Doesn’t seem too windy right now although the forecast is for gusts up to 24mph. Souwesterly hence the rain I guess. Is that how it works? I quite like a gentle summer’s rain. 

I’ll be off for a swim again at around 11am. Getting my money’s worth out of Total Fitness. Being an off peak member I can go anytime between 10am and 4pm. It is observed that almost everyone in the pool at that time is no longer in the first flush of youth. It is what it is. I should even manage a swim tomorrow morning before we head north to Atwick. See how it goze.

Moved operations to the conservatory with a cup of tea in tow. Noticed I left my towel and swimming trunks on the line. They had dried but are now wet again. Don’t worry I have spares.

The conservatory is full of “junk”. It’s all the stuff that was stored in the “play room”. This month we are having some work done to the play room. It was the old garage. Single brick so was always a little damp but we have a specialist coming in to sort that. Already had the roof sorted. 

The debate that has yet to happen is what we use that room for. Yes storage but I also quite like the idea of putting a workbench in at the end. I already have one in the garage but there is no natural light in there. The main issue is whether I’d ever get round to using it. In theory the shed is a multipurpose building that could, if I so choose, accommodate a workbench. However it is currently set up as an office and a place of relaxation and repose and I can see no near term driver to change this. THG also wants to put the rowing machine in that room which does make sense. Time will tell. Fugit.