where art collides philosoperontap

Set off for the Burton Club this morning at seven fifteen, maybe a minute or two later. Delivering a volunteer to help set up for the Macmillan Coffee Morning that starts at eight. Only a few people and cars around. Early starters, somewalking purposefully to work and the occasional kid headed for the school bus. We remember the days.

The drive along Burton Road past the roundabout is pleasantly leafy and in Burton itself only a couple of dog walkers were to be seen. They had stopped to chat. Probs excited about the Macmillan shindig at the club later on.

On the way home decided to get meself a bacon roll from the van outside Wickes and spilled a small of brown sauce or similar down my newly put on tshirt. Sigh. I’m such a messy eater. On the way back home from Wickes the traffic was noticeably busier with streams of cars headed towards the hospital and other places of employment, gainful or otherwise.

Now sat in the conservatoire waiting for the tea to brew. Busy day ahead. First of all I need to finish cleaning and prepping the deck in front of the shed prior to the application of two coats of preservative, four hours apart. Not been done for years and well overdue. In between this there is the gym session at ten thirty, a shopping trip to buy soft bread rolls and orange and marmalade ham for tomorrow’s expedition to Liverpool, marinating the chicken thighs for tonight’s barbecue and finally the picking up of the volunteer from the Macmillan coffee morning, whenever I get the call. May they have raised lots of dosh. Hopefully there will also be time for a lane swimming session between three and four. See how the jobs go. The boys are meeting in the Strugglers for early doors. Might drive round there and be a good boy before lighting up the grill.

So plenty to do on what looks to be a nice warm sunny day. Looks as if I might also need to cut the grass which has been slow growing over the last few weeks with not a lot of rain about. Outside the birds are chirping away happily. Yesterday we had a pair of long tailed tits calling to each other across the hedges. Not recorded that species before.

The mail this morning brought the news of a new Chief Scout, Dwayne Fields. Ole Bear Grylls did the job for fifteen years, fair play, and has decided to pass on the baton. I have a long service certificate signed by Bear that sits proudly on the dresser in the kitchen.
We are off to Liverpool to take part in the Run to Anfield. I am the support team. If anyone is interested in sponsoring THG let me know and I’ll send a link. https://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/lfc-foundation-launches-first-run-anfield-5k

Conveniently the wireless, which was on a 90 minute timer, switched itself off just as Thought For The Day came on.

Rained overnight here but looks set to be dry for the day which is good cos I’m playing golf later. This morning it is Stretch and Flex with Clare. S&F is much nicer than Body Balance which is seriously tough if you aren’t any good at yoga or pilates or Body Pump. The latter ain’t as bad as it sounds but they increased the length of the class from 45 mins to an hour which is too long in my book.

The one thing I didn’t like about S&F is the fact that because there is no clock in the studio you couldn’t tell how much longer there was to do. However now that I am a Fitbit user this problem has been solved.

In other news I have just been pushed an advert for a potato peeling machine, by the Guardian of all places. I clicked on it. A bargain at the discounted price of £1,679.98. Dang it I already have a potato peeler. One of those hand held metal jobs with a long slot that you scrape the spud with. That might also have been discounted. Probably £2.50. 

Worradilemma. No way am I going to buy a new one when I have a perfectly good one that I would effectively be making redundant and therefore wasting £2.50. Plenty of life left in it as well. The mechanical job has no reviews yet either. I don’t often buy things online without their having good reviews.

The wind is on the rise outside. This perhaps means that I’ll be in long trousers for the golf but S&F will definitely be shorts. I googled “is there a storm brewing” and it came up with The Storm Brewing Company in Macclesfield. Not quite what I was after though I’m sure it is very good, probs.

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As I get ready for golf I would appear to be v stiff pursuant to this morning’s stretch and flex class. Surely that is counterintuitive Tref, do I hear you say? Well it does sound like that innit. No pain no gain etc. Nothing that a stiff gin and tonic (pun intended) wouldn’t sort out, were it not for the fact that we haven’t got any gin in and I’m off to play golf.

Golf these days starts with a very civilised cup of tea before we tee off. Well they use UHT milk so not that civilised but it matters not. Doubt there will be many out tonight. It is cold and windy and I am not only wearing long trousers but my windcheater lined golfing jumper underneath a fleece. Worra wuss. At least it ain’t raining which would mean postponement or cancellation. The boys are very much fairweather golfers these days.

When I were a lad we would play in all weathers, course closure being the only thing that would stop us. Nutters, me and me dad 🙂 Well dad was. I’d just reluctantly go along but go along I would do.

I did invest in a new set of golfing waterproofs a year or three ago but I seem to have lost the jacket. WIll be around somewhere. I’ll need to find it before our boys golfing trip to Hexam in November. Can’t envisage anything other than horizontal driving rain up there at that time of year. Terrible when you are a wearer of spectacles. Hopefully the golf club has a snooker table 🙂

Off to the gym this morning, as opposed to the pool which I might do this afternoon. Worralife. In an ideal world I’d do the gym first then straight into the pool but the timetabling doesn’t work for that. Meeting a pal at the gym but swimming is a solitary activity. Annoys the heck out of me when two people clog up a lane chatting to each other instead of focussing on ploughing up and down.

Should also make some more progress with apple picking and perhaps the ivy behind the potting shed. Will need to get the ten foot step ladder to continue progress with the apples. Also need more crates for storage even though we only want to keep the majority of  them until the cider making session in October.

THG and I agreed the bare bones of a plan yesterday. We are going to move the water butt that is blocking access to the back of the potting shed. Just around the corner to the “lawn side”. Will get Phil to move the drainpipe when he comes to sort out the roofing felt.

There is more. The patch of lawn in front of the kitchen, next to the patio is going to become the kitchen garden. Gets the most sun out of anywhere in the garden so we are expecting lots of veg in the future.

Also I will clear some space around the outside of the granite worktop of the barbecue to put a couple of bar stools. There will also be a bar stool in front of the bbq itself for when I am there doing blokey stuff. This arrangement will be perfect for mates wanting to keep the pitmaster company during grilling sessions. Ideally would identify some all year round outdoors bar stools but will probs have to settle for ones I take inside when not in use. Unless anyone can point me in the right direction.

Not written half these jobs down yet. If not written down they are far less likely to be done.

The conservatory doors are open. There is very much a freshness to the morning. Gearing up for autumn. Yesterday I noticed one or two trees around the pool car park starting to change colour. Feels ok. We can’t have summer all year round. Life is good whatever the season.

At 3:07 this morning two cats wandered into the front drive. They looked very similar although the picture was greyscale so that could be misleading. I thought at first they might be foxes but on closer examination decided they were feline.

The milkman came at 04:12. Gonna cancel Friday’s delivery as we already have a few pints in the fridge.

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Out and about I saw a yoof on a scooter. Thought to meself you see these electric scooters everywhere these days. Then I realised the lad occasionally put his left foot on the floor. Blow me down it was an old fashioned leg powered scooter. Don’t see many of them around. Really not sure how many scooters I see anyway. Certainly not in Lincoln. More a big city thing perhaps. Could be wrong. It isn’t particularly important.

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35 mins swim this aft. Only three of us in my lane dwindling over twenty minutes to just me for the last fifteen. By the time the bell went I was the only one in the pool. Next week we will be back to a reduced afternoon lane swimming timetable as the schools are back and they seem to want to prioritise teaching kids to swim over my wants and desires 🙂I might squeeze in the occasional early swim. When I say early if you get in the pool by say eight fifteen it does start to empty out as the proletariat heads off to the treadmills.

Just looked up and it is ten to eight. This is good. I have finished breakfast and am now sat in the conservatory enjoying the morning. Sbeen raining. Might even be a bit of a mild drizzle out there now. It was always raining on Wragby Road, except when it was fine. THG has just brought in a pot of tea fair play to her.

I like the rain. Do need a dryish week though as I have a few outdoor jobs to do. Tie down a bit more grapevine, clear the ivy from the back of the potting shed and pick apples. The ivy is a bigger job than it might sound as I will need to empty a water butt to get at it. The everyday life of Tref in the twenty first century. Twenty first century man.

Despite the rain it is still shorts weather. Longs will have to be worn for the apple picking as this involves getting across some brambles near to our fence to the allotments. One apple tree has a fair few fruit hanging down into the allotments. Will need to get a step ladder out there.

We have three step ladders. Short medium and long if you like. The long ladder is a ten footer that I will probs get out for this activity. Funny how you accumulate things over a lifetime. Nowadays whenever I go to B&Q for something I always peruse the tools section but there is rarely a tool there that I either don’t already have or can think of a reason for buying.

My tools are in need of a good sort out mind you. An indoor job for the long winter months. I must have about fifty million screwdrivers that could do with rationalisation. Ok a slight exaggeration but you know what I mean. I have a red box where all screwdrivers are chucked. Whenever I need one I have to root around in the box until I find the right one. Screaming out for a system 🙂

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Back from a spot of lane swimming. Invigorated ish. Have hung the cozzies and towels on the line and now sipping a cuppa in the shed. Sun has come out.

Whilst THG and I were sitting in the lobby area of Yarborough leisure centre an Americun friend passed by wearing a Kamala hat and stopped to chat. When we complimented the hat some woman sat in a group of overweight pensioners at the next table jeered and shouted vote Trump. I’m not going to comment other than to say our friend is a highly intelligent retired foreign correspondent for Reuters whilst the overweight Trump supporter looked as if all she had to do was change her accent to fit perfectly into that demographic.

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Cup of tea on the deck. Made a fast 800 one egg omelette for lunch using one of the eggs we bought from a farm in Zummerzet. Oo arr. I think it was a step up from shop bought, older eggs but tbh it needs to be poached or fried to really tell the difference. Might make spinach mushrooms and egg for breakfast tomorrow.

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That time after lunch where your food is still settling and you are sat on the deck simply being outside. Looking up I see the sycamore tree is heavy with brown seeds all waiting to be dropped on our lawn for next spring’s invasion. Never noticed them before. 

You have to take time to notice the world in which we live. Life will have passed and the opportunity wasted.

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Strike a light luvaduck just downed tools. Sbeen an active afternoon with a bit of ivy clearing and a lot of apple picking. Two trugfulls of eaters, mostly in perfect nick. I didn’t see the point in picking the imperfect ones at this time as I may struggle with storage for the ones I’ve already picked. Waiting until the end of October for the zoider pressing. Still loads left on the trees. One of them is fairly difficult to get at as the logpile is underneath it. The other is fine.

I downed tools after two hours or so and was pleasantly surprised to find a cold diet coke at the back of the fridge in the shed. Hidden behind a can of pale ale it was. Much as I like pale ale I’m off it for the mo. Full of carbs. Been debating restocking the fridge with more diet coke but that stuff is crap really. I guess if it keeps me off the pale ale that is good. Pale ale is obviously jam packed full of nutrients as well as the carbs but that’s not enough of a reason for me to drink the stuff 🙂

Mahoosive breakfast at the Old Stocks Inn. V good quality. A step up from the Hollies in Martock. Letting the food go down now before taking a morning stroll around the market square, refuelling the Silver Bullet and setting the navigation computer coordinates for home.

Our room in the hotel faces directly onto the square with the old stocks themselves just to out right. When we arrived yesterday the square was rammed but it had emptied by five or so leaving a pleasant open space devoid of day trippers, Sunday drivers yeah.

Yesterday afternoon @Terry and I meandered around the square visiting a few ancient waterholes before meeting THG in the hotel bar for pre dinner cocktails. We had finished food by around eight thirty and retreated to our room. Sbeen a hectic three days. 

Hoping the traffic has died down for the journey home. The M5 yesterday was a bit tedious, frequently grinding to a halt due to the weight of traffic. THG is taking the reins today for the last leg of our trip. We are glad we broke the journey in Stow on The Wold. As you will know had we made the trip back in Roman times it would have taken two weeks not two days. Each way.

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Got home at 1pm. Had figured I’d do some apple picking this aft but it was a knackering weekend so am just chillin with some sounds. Quiet night tonight. University Challenge. Maybs a soak in the bath.

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Sat on a sofa in the TV room under one of THG’s quilts. She is listening to the Archers. Not my thang. Tonight is going to be very much a quiet one. A bath followed by a bit of University Challenge. The good things in life.

Can’t remember when I last had a bath. It ain’t a summery thing to do. A sign of the changing of the seasons. Although we like the summer the autumn does bring with it some nice things. Sunday roasts for example. Maybe a nice pork loin with crackling, a rich cider influenced gravy, bit of mustard and some veg. Roasties done in duck fat. Or lard seeing as it’s pork.

Ya don’t see lard being used much nowadays. Really if you are doing sausages and bacon lard is the right fat to cook em in. Also fried bread. Me mam used to use it. I asked for fried bread for breakfast at the hotel on Sunday morning. The waitress returned asking whether the fried bread was instead of toast or as well as. Doh. Then she only brought one slice of toast made with crappy cheapo sliced bread.

In contrast the hotel in Stow this morning provided two good quality pieces of toast. I didn’t ask for fried bread. Struggled to finish the cooked breakfast. This might well have been partly down to the fact that I’d previously consumed a croissant and a pain au choc and a bowl of high quality fruit and yo’gurt. Plus some milk and OJ, and tea. Not all in the same glass obvs.

That’s all finished now. Back on granola for the rest of the week. THG makes good granola fair play.

Rocked up in Bower Hinton for Kev Boyd’s 60th birthday bash. The Hollies Hotel kitchen doesn’t open until this evening so we were directed to The Old Dairy Caff for a spot of lunch. Great caff fair play. On a farm in the middle of the village. I had a lamb shawarma pitta and THG had the vegetarian equivalent. Also bought a dozen fresh eggs. Looking forward to farm fresh eggs. Much better than the less fresh supermarket ones. Funnily enough the farm was using Tesco branded egg boxes. Perhaps they supply Tesco.

Now back in the hotel watching the cricket on my laptop. The in room telly has Sky Sports but not the specific channel showing the cricket. I say room but it turned out to be an apartment. I booked a suite thinking it would be a bit bigger than a normal room but you could live here on a long term basis. It’s all about quality of life innit.

We stopped off at my sister Ann’s last night and mostly drove along the Fosseway this morning. We are very familiar with the Fosseway in Lincoln but I’d always thought it terminated in Bath. It carries on to Exeter apaz. 

Google tells me Lincoln to Exeter is 261 ish miles  along the Fosseway. Six hour drive plus pitstops. A full day basically. The Romans used to average 20 miles a day so for them it was a couple of weeks journey assuming they had a rest day which they probs didn’t. If I were them I’d have stopped off in Bath for a couple of days to enjoy the spa. Wash away the grime from the journey 🙂Freshen up for the last stretch to Exeter.

Yer average rank and file Roman soldier probs wouldn’t have been able to afford entry to the spa anyway. I doubt the spa management accepted salt as payment. It’s the same the whole world over…

Gotta go. Party to get ready for.

Bread rolls, apples and ham. All I have on my shopping list this morning fyi. Might spot something else I fancy as well but who knows. Dropping THG off at the gym and then nipping to Waitrose. Might grab a cawfee an all. See how it goze.

We awake to yet another beautiful late summer’s day and are heading off to Wiltshire today to see ma blood and blister @Ann. en route to Kev Boyd’s sixtieth in Zummerzet. A gathering of pals from the old Marconi days.

We went through weddings, fortieth and then fiftieth birthday parties and now it’s the round of sixtieths. There has also sadly been the occasional funeral but that’s life as we know it Jim.

Don’t have much time to dally this morning so I’ll make this a short post.

Quick cuppa after breakfast before getting ready to go to Nottingham. Bit of a day out at the criquet. Going on the train. £9.80 off peak day return with Senior Railcard. Parking at Trent Bridge is a tenner. No brainer. Bus from the railway station to the ground. Squeeze that lemon.

We, Notts, are playing Surrey. This will be challenging as the visitors are the stand out team in this year’s County Championships. It’s a day out. No doubt I’ll keep you posted.

Golf last night was cancelled due to non availability of everyone else so went for a couple of swift uns in the Strugglers with Ajax. A rare visit to a pub really.

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Had a good day out at Trent Bridge with @Keith. We sat in the seats in front of the pavilion and had the best view in the ground. Right behind the bowler’s arm. One observation: I’d say there were fewer than a thousand people at the game. Far fewer. This is pretty dire. Most of the folk in the members area were old and white. A few kids and younger people around but not many. V sad.

This morning the milkman came at three fifty one. I figured that today this is headline news as he was carrying a torch which is a rarity. He doesn’t really need one as our floodlight comes on as he approaches the house. Thought for a fleeting moment it might be a ciggy but no, it was a torch. He had six empty bottles to collect.

Back in the conservatory. It is a good habit at this time of year. Doors open. Enjoying a cuppa before a fullish day ahead. Trip to B&Q for some decking treatment, more apple picking and finishing off with golf with the lads.

Quite noisy out there with the doors open. Could be the wind direction. It is South Easterly as opposed to the more usual Souwesterly. Will get noisier next week as the kids go back to school. This is a good thing because the swimming pool timetable should revert back to normal with lane swimming in the afternoon. 

For most of the summer holidays it’s been mostly devoted to “family fun” sessions which ain’t no good if you are there to plough up and down. Been even considering a light session in the gym before hitting the pool. Nothing too onerous yanow.

As I sit here I hear a very light pitter patter of raindrops on the roof. This is not what was forecast by the Meteorological Office but I am not complaining as long as they deliver on the promised nice warm day. Shudbegud.

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Still raining so did an indoor job – I’ve just finished sorting a box of nails and screws that was dropped and they were all mixed together. The box was also cracked so I bought two new boxes with compartments and painstakingly separated hundreds of nails and screws. 

All done now with a few spare compartments for any new screws and nails of different sizes that I come across in my travels. I have several screw and nail “tidies”. I need to go through them all and decide whether I could do more sorting – all cross head screws in the same box for example. Perhaps that is a job for the long winter months as an alternative to hibernation.

I thought about joining the Dull Men’s Club group on Facebook. There are several, some of which have over a million members. However looking at the content it isn’t dull enough. People write stuff thinking they are trying to fit in with being dull but they just don’t have the natural gift, the understanding of what is truly dull. The mundane.

My Fitbit is charging. It was down to nineteen percent and is already after a few minutes up to forty six. I feel that it would make sense to wait another fifteen minutes or so until it is fully charged before heading out to buy the decking treatment. The battery has easily lasted a week which is good innit.

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Pressure washed the deck in advance of the application of any treatment. Got soaked and filthy as much of the crap on the planking ended up on my legs and shorts. Also didn’t manage to get 100% of all the dirt off as it takes so long. Maybe I needed a different end bit. It’ll do.

Thought I’d get up early for breakfast this morning as THG and I have booked a lane swim at nine fifteen. Something didn’t quite go to plan as in notice it is now already five to eight. Had my granola with yo’gurt and berries though. Home grown raspberries and blackberries with a few coop strawberries thrown in for good measure. Coop was selling a big box off for not very much dosh so was a no brainer. I’ve mentioned it before but THG does a great home made granola. The stuff you buy in the shops or have in hotels tastes very sweet in comparison.

Looks like another great end of summer’s day out there again. Perfect for getting some outdoor jobs done. A job that’s been on the list a while is sorting the deck out. Moss needs removing from the grooving and it needs a good stiff brush putting to it. 

Then I need to put down some preservative/treatment. Not done this for a few years. Tomorrow is the ideal time to apply the treatment as the weather forecast is good and I’m off to Trent Bridge to watch Notts v Surrey on Thursday with @keith. Apaz you have to leave it for 24 hours before using the deck so good timing. Might have some treatment in the potting shed. Will need to look

Have opened the conservatory door again whilst drinking my tea. Approaching one of the best times of year so you have to enjoy it while you can. 

Half suggested a meeting in London tomorrow but I think I’ll persuade them otherwise. It’s going to be such a nice day in the shire. Will be in town for a few days in September anyway. Gotta get my money’s worth out of the Tate membership. I also renewed my IET membership this year but I may kick that one into touch after this year. I rarely use the place and have never bothered using the MIET label. Not even had a business card for the last ten years and before then it just said @tref.

This morning after our swim I have a load of cooking apples to peel and prep for the freezer. When I said I would do this I didn’t quite appreciate how many apples there were but it’ll be foine 🙂 May do them tonight whilst avoiding the telly. It’s the kind of job you can do sat at the kitchen table of an evening. We have a good kitchen table with a church pew down one side of it.

As an aside, and I know a lot of this stuff is an aside, it is noted that the clock in the conservatory is running ten minutes slow. This is not a major issue as it is there more for decoration than timekeeping. The clock in the front room has stopped completely as has the one on my desk in the shed. The shed one is also definitely more for decoration as there are plenty of places in there telling me the time. It isn’t going to get sorted quickly as it has an unusual sized battery. Maybe never. The kitchen clock still works but something tells me that too is around five minutes slow. Woteva 🙂

Now that I’m on the subject the clock radio by the bed is three to four minutes fast. It gains two minutes every six months and usually I correct it when the clocks change for BST/GMT but this spring I didn’t bother. I should sort it out at the end of October. No rush. As long as you know how much correction to make in your mind it is fine.

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Everyday life in 2024

When I go swimming I jump in the car and turn left out of the house. Google tells me to turn right but that takes me through the traffic lights on Wragby Road. I turn right into Lee Road and then at the end do another right onto Nettleham Road. Then I turn left into Broadway and right on Newport after which it is straight across the roundabout and then Yarborough Leisure Centre is on the left.

Coming home you would think I’d just do this in reverse but instead going straight on I turn left at the aforementioned roundabout and carry straight on until I reach the Wragby Road at which point I turn right. The house is a couple of hundred metres or so on the left.

Washing Line Naming Conventions

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Spent the last hour peeling apples and bagging them for the freezer.

Trent bridge train options

Out
08:38 arr 09:27
09:35 arr 10:25
10:34 arr 11:25

Back
17:35 arr 18:33
18:33 arr 19:29
19:34 arr 20:35
20:32 arr 21:39
21:33 arr 22:36

Tis eight fifteen of a morning and I have moved operations to the conservatoire with a cuppa tea. The sun is streaming in through the open door highlighting the fact that the macbook screen needs cleaning. Later, later. The gubbins are in the shed.  The cleaning fluid and microfibre cloth that is.

We have breakfasted healthily ish on a large ripe Waitrose avocado on Lidl brown sourdough toast. I had a smear of unpasteurized Isigny Ste Mer salted butter and a rasher of Duchy Organic unsmoked organic bacon, both also from Waitrose. The smashed avocado included a chopped red chilli and some crushed walnuts with a squirt of lemon juice.

Apparently today is a public holiday. We know this because most of the gym classes at Yarborough Leisure Centre have been cancelled, not that I was down to attend any. THG would have been.

This morning a stroll to the Bailgate is in prospect. At eleven the massed marchers of the Asylum Steam Punk event will begin their parade, starting through the Castle Westgate, going round the outside and back in through the Eastgate, the main entrance. We plan to assemble in Castle Hill to watch with curiosity. Although not my bag it is harmless fun and Steam Punk aficionados do put in a lot of effort with their outfits fair play to them. Should get some pics.

In the meantime relaxation is called for. I do plan to try and squeeze in a swim and maybe even a bike ride later today. We aren’t talking many miles here or kilometers even. Perhaps the cycling equivalent of a stroll to the Bail. Cycling is slightly riskier than walking. Take care.

As I write THG has entered the conservatory to discuss dates in her calendar. To cut a long story short I discovered that the Fleetwood Town v Salford City match due to be played on 7th September is postponed. Wossgoinon? Google tells me it is because the home side has three players away on international duty that weekend. We are talking fourth division football here. Perhaps we can expect big things of Fleetwood Town this season. Wonder which countries the players are representing.

THG has no interest in Fleetwood Town but we are in Liverpool that weekend for her 5k at Anfield Stadium on the Sunday and we did wonder whether there was a home game the day before. No.

Being a man of leisure I’ve scanned the morning news for some good cheer. There is none, on the first screen in anycase, unless you count the fact that Australians have been given the right to ignore work emails when they finish their officially contracted hours. 

Of the bad news the most interesting is that fish and chips have seen the biggest inflationary price rises of all British takeaway types with a portion now averaging almost a tenner. Woot! Makes a family day out quite expensive dunnit. 

Even kebabs have gone up 44% apaz. I might have fish and chips once a year when on a day out at the coast. A kebab perhaps twice a year when out on the pop somewhere. Probs not even twice a year. I’ve never noticed the price. All I can say is that you always regret having a kebab after eating it.

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Saw the Steam Punk parade. Interesting enough but really not my thang. Went for a cawfee afterwards with THG who rushed on ahead to the cathedral coffee shop and bagsied us a table before the hordes of parade watchers flooded in looking for the same. In the caff it was really nice to see Lofty (Paul) Lowbridge who I used to work with back in the old Marconi days. Not seen him for years.

Coffee consumed THG set off to see the embroidery display in the chapter house and I set the coordinates for home. As I was leaving the cathedral gardens I noticed a traffic warden striding purposefully towards the line of on-street 1 hour parking spots on Eastgate. Rich pickings for him as most of the parked cars will have been there for the parade and thus likely to have been more than an hour.

As I passed him writing down number plate information I noticed that his cap had the words “Civil Enforcement Officer” (CEO!) or similar emblazoned on his hat band. Clearly the phrase Parking Warden has run its course. I wonder if they are on commission?

Back ome now.

Lovely sunny autumnal morning out there. I wandered early to the shed but only to procure a teabag. We’ve used all the ones in the kitchen and I happened to notice one on my desk yesterday when alerted to the low levels of supply. 

You might think this is a strange item to have on your desk but it just happens to be left over from a couple of days where I decided to make tea in the shed as opposed to the kitchen. That did not last long although the kettle is still there on the floor in the corner behind the desk. Camping kettle.

The teabag is being saved for when I cook breakfast. THG has coffee so no competition for it although we could probs eke out two cups from the small teapot I use.

Unsurprisingly one of my jobs for today is now to go to a shop that sells teabags and refresh our stock. I have two options. One is to walk to Tesco and the other is to drive or cycle to Waitrose. The problem with Tesco is it is too big and I don’t like shopping there. Also too many people. Decision made then. Bike to Waitrose. The weather is nice for it. Not particularly warm but not cold either.

There is no rush. Waitrose doesn’t open until ten anyway.

Today we are going to sort out the tins of paint in the garage and pick the cooking apples.

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Been to Waitrose and amazingly only got the three items on the shopping list: green beans, avocados and waitrose essential teabags. Was a bit worried for a while when in the tea aisle. They only seemed to have decaf essential teabags. Took me a while and a bit of staring to realise that I was actually in the decaff section. I cast my net around the corner and lo I beheld many boxes of the bags wot I sought.

Now I am back on the deck in front of the shed with a cup of newly sourced tea. There is plenty of entertainment on the deck this morning in the guise of falling leaves. I wrote a poem years ago entitled “I saw a leaf fall”. It is timeless. Never dates 🙂

I am wearing shorts but also a fleece just for that bit of comfort in the breeze. My shorts have taken a hammering over the summer months and I sense that some new pairs will need to be bought next year. The time to buy shorts is actually now in the end of season sales but there’s no point as I’ll be in a smaller size next year and don’t want to speculate or tempt fate. 

As far as I know the end of season sales could have already been anyway. They are probably getting their Christmas stuff out now. Aaargh.

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Tins of paint sorted though not as many thrown as I might have hoped for. Lots of associated crap also chucked. Somehow we ended up with ten or more paint rollers. Also a fullish trug of cooking apples picked. After our swim THG is going to stick em in trays for storage whilst we watch the Liverpool game.

It is raining. This is a good thing although the folk in Lincoln for this weekend’s Steam Punk Festival will be hoping for some sunshine. We are planning to trundle along and watch the parade on Monday. My swimming trunks and towel are still on the washing line from yesterday and still very wet. 

Sat in the conservatory waiting for my tea to brew. Absolutely no point in rushing a pot of tea. Most of you will know it isn’t just about the colour it is the depth of colour that brings with it the infused flavour. Effect. The conservatory is a relaxing place to be when it is raining. A good place for a cup of tea.

THG is off to the park run. Hard core. It’s a good job she doesn’t have to wear specs. Rain is always a hazard for us optically challenged individuals. She is preparing for a 5k run in Liverpool that ends in Anfield Stadium. Exciting. Problem is us support team are not allowed in the stadium itself. I’ll just have to shut my eyes and picture the scene. She will no doubt be able to imagine the roar of the crowd.

The day started with some of THG’s excellent homemade granola. Need to nip to a local market for some lunch supplies. The store cupboard is bare. Won’t need much. Some eggs, bit of cheese, ham. Simple things in life. Mind you I have some bacon to use up in the fridge (it wasn’t totally bare). Could chop a rasher up for an omelette.

You have to ignore the news. The other day it told me that having two slices of ham a day is bad for you. If you added all the things that are supposed to be bad for you up you wouldn’t eat anything which is also bad for you.

Yesterday I took delivery of a fruit crusher and cider press. Today is the first try out using some windfalls. The rain is an issue. I am likely to get soaked out there. I also don’t really have all the containers I need but we can work that one out as we go along. My technical adviser, a certain Adie Smith is away for a week so this weekend is very much going to be first toe dipped in the apple juice, so to speak.

Don’t typically drink cider or apple juice for that matter as I am on a keto diet and the stuff you get in the uk shops is nowhere near as good as it is in France, in my experience. However the home pressed juice will hopefully be an improvement. Soon find out.

Using a fitbit has been and interesting development. Lets me track things like sleep habits and resting pulse. I noticed that after a boozy lunch in London the pulse was a fair bit faster the next day. Back down now after a quiet night in. Information is power.

Btw the milkman came at oh four oh seven yesterday and left four pints as it is a Bank Holiday weekend and he won’t be coming on Monday. Fair enough. I wonder what he will do on his day off. Day out in Skeggy maybe? Or Cleethorpes. I keep thinking about doing a day out by train in Cleethorpes. If anyone is interested let me know.

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Still raining. Fortunately it is fine at the cricket in Manchester. Can’t find my Tilley hat which is my go to rainwear. Don’t bother with a coat at this time of year. I do have quite a few coats but the season for most of them seems to go quite quickly. Those lightweight ones that are only any good for temperatures where shorts are no longer in play but we haven’t reached the woolly pully stage yet. 

I have some nice gear in that bracket. At least I think so. The kids have whipped some of it. The lads. There was the cashmere overcoat that was very warm and which occasionally got some use in winter. That now resides in London as does the denim Timberland jacket with leather collar. The natural order of things.

Not a good day if your hobby is flying kites. It is v windy here in the shire. The back garden is covered with leaves and small sycamore branches and a load more apples have fallen. On a bank holiday weekend that traditionally sees the country take to the roads we are staying put and have determined it is going to be a time of harvest. 

In years gone by this would have been a critical time of year for folks. Getting the crops in safely to keep us going over winter. Nowadays we mostly outsource all of that. The apple masher and press arrive today. Good timing. Lots of blackberries already in the freezer.

I made it across to the shed, which remains a brightly lit haven. The only sound is that of the refrigerator and my fingers flying across the keyboard. Plus the wind. My desk is in need of a good tidy. Bits of paper strewn all over the place. It will be done, on earth.

Feels like another Saturday. Must do something about this. Can’t have every day feeling like a Saturday although if I had to choose one day for them to feel like I guess Saturday might well be it.

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My apple crusher and apple press has arrived yay.