where art collides philosoperontap

We wake up with a full house. All the kids and partners are home, the last arrival from Berlin getting in from East Midlands Airport at twelve thirty ey em last night. What a great feeling. Thanks to Robbie Vashak for giving our John a lift from the airport. Bumped in to him at Berlin airport. Result. Saved Tom a trip.

Everyone is excited. Will be a relaxed start to the day, for most. THG is hitting the pool for a spot of lane swimming at seven thirty. At some stage breakfast will be taken. There is luggage and the guitar case to be retrieved from the attic. Joe restrung my geetar last night. He and Lucy made the nineteen oh six with three minutes to spare. Blimmin tube strikes!

Joe and I are picking up campervan Betty from Coops’ garage at eleven. A handy runaround and useful backdrop for some wedding photos. We also need it to supplement Anne’s Peugeot 208 which isn’t big enough to transport everything that has to be taken to Hemswell.

The wedding venue is Hemswell Court. The officers mess of RAF Hemswell, a ww2 Lancaster bomber base. There is video footage on youtube. Check it out. The venue has bags of character. Hannah is in a very relaxed state of mind having spent Wednesday evening and all day yesterday at a spa. The nuptials don’t happen until tomorrow but we get there this pm to do some prep. Right now, all is calm.

Up at the relatively sedate time of oh seven fifty eight. Actually I was dressed and down slightly earlier but I am now sat at the kitchen table, as I am won’t to do, at the aforementioned time, before embarking on breakfast. On this occasion I am going to indulge in some bacon and a slice of sourdough toast. It is not always thus. A second pot of tea has appeared, as if by magic but really due to the generous attentions of THG.

Just two days to go until our big family wedding. The speech has been practiced but will benefit from a couple more run throughs. Don’t want to have to resort to notes do we? It’s a bit like learning a song on the guitar. If you learn it off by heart you can put more feeling, emotion, into the finished article. I used to do quite a lot of public speaking. Conferences mostly. Nowadays if I ever do one it is a one off and such speeches don’t benefit from the fine tuning brought about by repetition. I have no interest in doing talks anymore but obvs one’s daughter’s wedding is different kettle of fish innit.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

The phrase “different kettle of fish” originated from the earlier expression “pretty kettle of fish” or “fine kettle of fish,” both referring to a muddled or messy situation, which likely came from the literal custom of preparing a variety of fish in a large cooking pot. The idiom “different kettle of fish” emerged later, in the 20th century, to denote an entirely distinct and separate matter from the previous one

Thought I’d look it up so that you don’t have to. In my case the 20th century version is the right one to choose.

In other news THG reports that the water butt by the potting shed is full to the brim after last night’s rain. This is good. The rain wasn’t such good news for the students back for the Lincoln University graduation ceremonies yesterday. Son in law in waiting, George and I popped out for a quick pint and clocked quite a number of proud but bedraggled looking sets of parents being dragged around the pubs by their offspring. By the time we finished, said parents were being dumped by their little darlings to head out into the night with their mates leaving mum and dad to go home for dinner/back to the hotel to change out of their restrictive glad rags and into something more comfortable (I daresay).

There is more other news. You hear it here as it happens. Our shower room shower has just conked out. Typical innit. There will be eight of us in the house tonight. Don’t worry. Lincoln Plumbing and Heating, Lincoln’s finest shower fixing specialists (ccSimon Forshaw) are on the case and someone will be on their way this afternoon.

Stay tuned…

The weather has changed this morning. I realise the weather is always changing where we are but I felt it was a significant enough change for me to mention it. I may even put on a pair of long trousers today, just for a change. I don’t think I’d like to live somewhere where the weather is constantly nice all year round. It isn’t that I don’t like warm weather. It’s just that I like change. The changes in the seasons.

We picked a load of apples yesterday. The nice ones will be properly stored to see us in vitamin c through the long winter months ahead. The manky ones will be crushed and squeezed for their juice to make cider.

The lake cam picked up a first for our garden last night. We had a couple of what appear to be muntjac deer appear through the fence. Doe with fawn. Don’t know where they exited the garden afterwards. Presumably there have been other deer visitations but before now we didn’t have the spy tech in place to record the event. What next I wonder? 🙂 What is quite pleasing is that the solar tech that powers the lake cam seems to work quite well. The internal battery does begin to drain overnight but by the time I look in the morning it is back up to 100%. 

The camera only has a 32GB memory which seems to be consumed at the rate of a gig a day but that is largely down to it picking up human activity in the garden. It is easy enough to download the media you want to keep and delete the rest and when we are away it should only detect wildlife. And burglars.

Was in the shed by eight this morning having breakfasted well on two excellent slices of toast. Seeded sourdough. The seeds pop in the toaster. We like the sound of them popping and it usually signals that the toast is ready. Sourdough, for me, is exclusively used for toasting. I prefer “ordinary” bread for sandwiches. My go to sarnie is ham or ham and mustard but cheese and onion or pickle is also good. Has to be strong cheddar. I don’t mind other fillings such as tuna or smoked salmon or even chicken with stuffing and, if available, a dribble of gravy.

All is now quiet.

Well it was quiet. I can hear a car somewhere. School dropping off time is upon us. Remember those days? Ah yes I remember it well.

PS the title is an in joke 🙂

Morning all. Granola gobbled. Not really. The phrase just seemed to roll off the tongue. One doesn’t gobble up THG’s very fine homemade granola. One savours it. Ya shouldn’t gobble your food anyway. You were told that as a kid.

Another fine day in prospect and indeed I am going to try my hand at some painting. Only a bit of primer though. Not fine art. Not even using the watercolour set, easel and posh cotton paper I bought as a project during lockdown but have never had out of the box. One day…

THG alerted me to the location of the masking tape which is a strong indication that I should use said decorating consumable when performing the task. Shouldn’t take me too long. Want to get two coats down this morning but see how it goze innit.

In other news I ordered some food grade lubricant for the apple press. Gotta look after your tools. It had a successful first outing of the season yesterday but the plan is to go full on cider making the weekend after next. A team of experts is being assembled. It is a fair bit of work and a job for at least two persons. That weekend is also when we sample the cider made last year. Our first attempt. Fingers crossed. Apaz Phil Clark has a treeful going spare to add to the fun/workload. I’m sure in times gone by the farmer would have thrown a party for all the helpers once all the apples were safely gathered, crushed and pressed.

My diary for today is totes clear. It does have the usual “go swimming” entry just before lunch but last night I got a text message from Total Fitness saying they were temporarily closed due to a power outage. Can’t find any more info on it and there is nowt online. You’d have thought they would at least have changed their answerphone message with details.

Thassitfernowciao

Nodded off in front of the tennis last night. THG had already gone in the house when I woke up. Didn’t wait until the end. He won. Alcaraz. But there again you probably already knew that. This isn’t a news channel. You probs saw it on the BBC. Or simlar. I dunno. A very likeable chap, Alcaraz.

Lovely autumn morning. This afternoon Tom and I are picking windfalls to press some apple juice. The zoider making can wait until after the wedding. Plenty more to come. In the meantime I have some admin to do. Bloomin tedious. I’ve printed the contract to better examine it. Sometimes it is easier to look at bits of paper than to see it on a screen. 

Was lying in bed in a semi awake haze. Two o’clock ish in the morning. Thought I heard a loud sound. A bit as if someone was dragging a table across an uncarpeted floor. I thought it was clear enough to get meself out of bed and go and investigate. No sign of anything in the house although I didn’t check the attic. Looked at the cameras outside. Nooothing. V odd. Maybe I imagined it. Maybe it was a car passing by on the road in front of the house. Just thought I’d share that with you.

This morning I am pushing the boat out regarding breakfast. THG has retrieved a sausage for me from a freezer in’t garej. I’ll be treating meself to that together with the last two bits of smoked bacon and a slice of sourdough toast. Maybe two slices. They aren’t particularly big. 

No rush though. I don’t need the sausage to defrost as that is what microwaves are for. We are running low on brown sauce but are ok for today and THG has an expedition to LIDL planned for after tomorrow’s weight lifting classes at the gym to restock.

Rediscovered an interesting read last night. I’ve been rearranging my bookshelves and came across The Episcopal Registers of St Davids 1397 – 1518. The latin originals plus, very handily, a translation made for The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion in the year 1917. You’d have thought they would have better, more pressing things to do in 1917 but there you go. I’m glad they went to the effort.

I had already flicked through this tome as a curiosity but I wasn’t sure what I’d do with it. However last night in scanning through its pages I realised that many of the entries were made on behalf of the Bishop from his Inn at the Strand in London. Moreover they often involved giving permissions to clergy to absent themselves from their Welsh parish for a year. For example on 17th November 1398 Sir Henry Cottesmore, Rector of the parish church of DYNAS IN KEMMES was given the year off in order to attend the services of the noble lady of Audley, whoever she was. Could probs look her up.

The point is that not only was the Bishop of St Davids absent from his diocese but he was happy for his pals in the clergy to do the same whilst still taking the rents and tithes raised to fund the presence of a pastor in that church. The bish in this instance was a chap called Guy, fwiw. You can imagine that a pub in central London held far more attractions for him than some remote god forsaken, or at least bishop forsaken, diocese in the far west of Wales. These people would bung a local curate a tenner a year or less to sit in on their behalf.

The diocese of St Davids was typically used as a stepping stone to get “better placed” jobs in English cathedrals and it was rare for the bishop to spend much time there as it was not a wealthy living. They rarely spoke Welsh.

On the other hand, and I don’t know if it is the same bishop, I read later that he was going through the process of sacking some rectors for never having been seen in their parishes.

I have volume one of a three volume set so I’ve now ordered the other two. These books don’t have an index of names in the back so I’ll be working my way through each page looking for mentions of places that interest me. Keep me busy innit. I’d be knackered if I didn’t have the translations.

I’ll obvs keep you informed when I find other exciting tidbits. Stay tuned 🙂

Great to be home again and having breakfast with THG. Bacon sarnie. Toasted. Been living on croissants this week in Brussels. No point in thinking about cooked breakfasts when in Yoorp. Will need to stock up on breakfast ingredients as the house is going to start filling up with visiting offspring as of tomorrow. Wedding week build up. V exciting tbh. Glad I have a week at home in the run up to the big day. Le grand jour as they say. Well I do anyway. Just did.

I feel a day of relaxation is in prospect. Appropriate. Bit of pottering about. Might buy a shirt, as one does. Chesters in the Bail. THG is keen to watch England play the mighty Andora. Could be good for a laugh. The only issue is whether I really want to subject myself to two hours of intense boredom. I could always have my book with me for some distraction. Not finished the one about the dissolution of the monasteries yet. Will let you know how it ends. Whodunnit innit!

Sat in da Eurostar lounge in Brussels Midi. Interesting to note how many people trying to blag their way in. Can’t actually see them as there is a wall between me and the receptionist but I can hear the conversation. “You can pay to upgrade to first class but only on the platform before you board ze trane”.

TBH whilst the lounge is handy and in all fairness fairly relaxing the reason for getting a first class ticket is to bypass the often lengthy queues for check in. In the afternoon the free champagne also helps while away the journey. The food is generally not worth the effort.

This morning it’s a ten thirty departure, brought forward from ten to eleven to accommodate slow running on parts of the line in France. This being the case I am on sparkling water instead of champagne. Will be boarding soon. Rewind. It’s now going at the normal time. I just checked with reception.

I’m back in shorts and tshirt. I’ve done the dapper bow tie already this trip. Next opportunity will be Hannah & George’s wedding. Eight days to go.

When I get to Kings Cross I have the usual two hour wait for the Lincoln train which is at fourteen oh six. Northbound express direct into the heart of the city.

Hi Gemini, if I was starting a tech startup now what area would have the greatest chance of success

Answer: Right now, the area with the greatest chance of success for a tech startup is Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially in its application to enterprise software (SaaS). This isn’t just a single trend but a foundational technology that’s driving innovation and investment across many other sectors.

Ya gorra laugh.

The lounge is full of people talking. To themselves. On their phones with headphones or buds. Not me. I do have my Bose phones with me to listen to some sounds on da trane.

Toddler sat opposite the aisle tucking in to a bit of cake whilst the parents stare into their devices. The mother is sporting white socks with HOT MOM written in red around the top.

Question: If you had a pet pig what would you call it?

Beautiful autumnal day. Raining. I’ve watered the greenhouse but that is all. I’m off on a jaunt to Brussels today and just have no idea what to wear 🙂 Shorts are perfect for when it is wet but there was one time I went and THG and I met the gaffer and his mrs in a posh restaurant. It was a hot summer and I was in shorts and Hawaiian shirt, natch. We were first to arrive but there was a problem. There was a dress code. This didn’t really become apparent until the others got there and it was then openly mentioned. I offered to nip back to our hotel to change but in the end they stuck me with my back to the wall and legs under the tablecloth.

I do quite fancy wearing one of my new bow ties but that means wearing a collared long sleeved shirt. The rain has muddied the waters so to speak. Were it not raining then a shirt and sports jacket with chinos would have been fine with the bow tie.

I think I’ve decided. Bow tie it is.

…

Coach E is empty. A few seats reserved further down the line. My table has no other reserved seats which is how we like it innit. The attendant just commented that it was obvious that the kids had gone back to school. V quiet.

Funny how life changes when the kids start school again. It’s as if someone has flicked a switch. Yay, school time again 🙂 Lots of larnin and hanging with your mates in the playground (ok yard). Homework yay. 

A large crowd is held up at the railway crossing barriers as the train rolls by.

For lunch I have opted for the ploughmans grazing box which is reasonably good train fare (geddit?). The only trouble is I am not in the least bit hungry although it is early for lunch. Upped the mounjaro dose on Friday which seems to be kicking in. Just had toast for brekkie. Grazing is the right approach for lunch. I’ll leave the lettuce and purple coleslaw or whatever it is. Gawd knows how I’m going to get on in Brussels. I’ll have to insist on designer meals where the portion size is miniscule and you are paying for the art on the plate rather than the bellyfull. I’ll leave the grazing until I get nearer to Kings Cross.

Just passed a field near Collingham full of some plant or other. Green stuff with white bits. Almost as if it is just weeds. Couple of dog walkers going in opposite directions. Train slows almost to a halt as we approach Newark Crossing East Jn (thanks RTT) but then picks up speed again turning on to the main line and past the water pumping works.

All is calm.

…

15.04 Eurostar direct into the heart of Brussels. Coach 16, seat 25. I’ve moved mind you to the table opposite. I was on one of those single seats but an empty table for four is much more comfortable. You can spread out and there is room to have your drink on the table at the same time as your laptop.

We get in to Midi at around six whereupon I’ll find my way to the Radisson Red to dump my gear before heading out into the night. The Radisson is not my usual pad in Brussels. I normally stay at a Hilton but this one is close to the office and more convenient for hobbling there in the morning.

Listening to Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and a few other Beatles faves. The day it came out John Peel played Sgt Pepper non stop back to back for the duration of his radio show. It was the first LP I bought as a sixteen year old (or simlar). I was only five when it was released. One of the greatest albums of all time. groundbreaking.

The portion of champagne they just dished out was derisory. I noticed they’d given the bloke in seat 31 a much fuller glass so I asked them to top it up. Honestly! 

As we hurtle south the rain seems to have stopped. It was raining in London before we entered the first tunnel and upon emerging blinking eyes into the daylight at the other end it was indeed sunny. We must now be in Kent. in fact we have just crossed the Medway. Bloomin zoomin.

The bald guy with the tattoos and a beard in seat 42 has just put his ipad away and has now opened his phone. It’s one of those folding screen jobs. I suspect he is looking at Spotify. Or a vid. He opted for one of those small bottles of red. I only have red when I’m eating and at three twenty three pm that ain’t apnin. Now he has two phones. One in each hand. That’s multitasking! 

31 has nearly finished his champagne. Steady on boy. Long day ahead. Maybe he’s an alc. His laptop is open. In my experience people are often looking at business plans or sales forecasts or simlar when they are on the Eurostar. The connectivity is almost non existent so it has to be on some local doc. He has now finished his champagne. In the space of a few sentences. It’s not a race you know!

I didn’t bring a book with me on this trip. Mistake really, bearing in mind the aforementioned crap connectivity. This is because my current read, which is about the dissolution of the monasteries, is quite heavy in both senses of the word. So much info to take on board I often find myself rereading paragraphs. I’m only about a quarter of the way through it. Very interesting though.

We must be in the channel tunnel. It’s gone dark out. Unless it is a solar eclipse I wasn’t aware of. I’d surely have read all about it. Would have been all over the news. Mind you I do try not to listen to the news. Did manage to catch the shipping forecast last night. With THG being away there’s nowt to stop me sticking the wireless on if I am awake in the night.

It is reassuring that the shipping forecast is always the same. There’s always a gale somewhere. Last night it was Viking, North Ouitsera and South Ouitsera. Becoming cyclonic later in Viking. This is good to know. Essential actually. Especially if you were thinking of heading to Viking in your small yatch. Or even your robust fishing smack that can take all weathers. I’d probs be feeling a touch of the mal de mêr meself.

Seats 42 and 35 are tucking in to the meal. Number 31, he of the necking of the champagne, has declined. Ditto. I have some cashews and cranberries.

The Eurostar traverses WW1 territory. Large open fields with the occasional wood or coppice. I have in the past noticed war graves but you have to be looking out of the window at the right time. The speed of the train is in marked contrast with the pace of advance of those in the trenches.

As we grow nearer to our final destination a mist has descended over the fields surrounding the train. It feels as if it is getting dark earlier, which of course it is. Bloke in seat 35 is now on a page entitled Executive Summary. The iit is Total divestmentsc and dividends vs prior assumptions. !! Tbh I’m glad I’m out of all that. Bring on the History of Carmarthenshire, lakes, sheds, workshops and other non executive summary related activities. Not forgetting my morning swim plus the Thursday afternoon golf.

We have arrived in Lille, characterised by driving rain and a full set of 4G bars on my phone. Most of this trip has near to zero data connectivity. So little it isn’t worth trying. Especially the on train wifi where all the passengers share one already pathetic cellular connection.

When I get to Brussels I’ll have to get some dosh. Moolah. Euros. Taxis can be hit and miss when it comes ot credit card payments Whilst they are probably trying it on I don’t mind handing over the folding stuff. It’s one of the few times I use cash. That and paying the window cleaner.

They have just brought me a champagne refill. When I was discussing this possibility with the staff I jokingly suggested the glass needed filling to the brim. Fair play this is exactly what they did.  A smile works wonders.

The area around Lille station looks a bit grim. Suspect this the case for many stations everywhere. Seat 31 got off at Lille btw. Someone has to I guess. The traffic on the motorway looks a bit on the heavy side, in one direction at least. Folk on their way home after a desk chained day.

All you need is love.

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.