where art collides philosoperontap

I have decided that constructing the raised beds is not an urgent job. I was helped with this decision by the Royal Horticultural Society who I had resorted to for advice on the filling of said raised beds and clocked an off the cuff remark on their website that this is typically a job left for winter time. The dark winter months. I have the scaffold planks ready down the side of the house. 

Ideally I would make a start on the new compost bins but time is running short before we head away on our next trip and I need to get some packing done. Not that it will take long to do the packing, once the decision on which underpants/tshirt/trousers etc has been made. Decisions decisions. Half thinking of taking my love and peace leather jacket but it might be too warm for that. Will let you know obvs. Natch.

Taking one suitcase between us. My red one. THGs is yellow but we aren’t taking that one. Will be away five nights. Ordinarily I try to avoid hold baggage but it makes sense on this occasion. We have an allowance of 3 x 32kg suitcases each! Don’t think I could fit 32kg worth of stuff into mine unless I was smuggling gold bars. Do you need to smuggle gold nowadays? Don’t have any gold anyway so this is a bit of a red herring. A pointless thread. If I did I certainly wouldn’t put it in a hold bag. Kiss that gold goodbye. Could be iron bars I suppose but I don’t have any of them either, afaik.

Today is therefore going to be a gentle day of preparation. I do envisage finishing off the DANGER DEEP WATER sign. It just needs the words painting on it. I’m not a signwriter but if I practise a bit I’m sure it will be foine. Gonna be red writing and I’ll use the same red to finish off the lifebelt which will then be ready to put in place by the lake. The set of acrylic paints came with a variety of brushes, one of which is very thin and ideal for delicate sign writing jobs like this. Keep you posted.

This acrylic paint has already had more use than the watercolours I bought to fill the shuttered empty void of lockdown. I am going to need one of those small plastic paint pallets with little wells to hold different colours. Only realised that when I saw that the small tubes of paint have a hole in the top through which you squeeze the paint. I already have a tropical trefbash tiki can to hand for use when washing the brushes and the brushes themselves are already proudly standing in another, pink tiki can. Gotta keep your workspace tidy innit.

Ok guys Monday it is. Yay. Good. Brill. Made it. Again. Would be terrible if I went to bed on Sunday and woke up on Tuesday. What a waste of a Monday. It isn’t as if I’m hibernating or owt. Did stick the heating on in the shed for an hour or so yesterday evening whilst I was watching more ww2 documentaries on the tube. Heating and a fridge = not having to hibernate. If grizzly bears had a fridge to keep them going in their caves through the winter they would probably spend the time doing something more productive than sleeping. Knitting for example. No, I’m only joking. Jigsaws. Philosophising.

Over the weekend I assembled all the hawaiian shirts in my possession for moving into hibernation for the winter. Except for the Tropical Trefbash one which I’ve only just remembered is in the wardrobe. That can stay there. I do need to sort through these shirts as some of them are waaay past their best including quite a few Tommy Bahama numbers which have seen good service over the years. I have a shirt spree in mind for the spring. Not sure what sort of shirt yet. Plenty of time to research that over the long winter months ahead. In the shed. 

When I bought a shirt from Chesters to wear for Hannah’s wedding the bloke in the shop mentioned that he got a stock of flowery shirts in for the summer. Not sure that flowery is where I’m gonna be. Maybe the time of loud shirts has passed. So yesterday. Maybe simplicity is the way forward. Like I said I have the winter to mull it over. The long winter.

Because I could I asked Gemini to write the next paragraph for me:

“On Sunday evening, I finally managed to finish a book I’d started reading quite a while ago. It was a thriller, one of those where you think you have it all figured out, and then the last few chapters pull the rug out from under you. Definitely a good read for a cold, dark evening. It’s rare I get to finish a book these days, so that was a minor victory. Now to find a new one to start before the truly deep winter sets in. I’ve got a few lined up, mostly historical fiction, which seems appropriate for the shed, somehow.”

Gemini clearly doesn’t know me. I don’t think I want Gemini to know me well enough to have written a paragraph I’d be satisfied with. Most of my stuff is random drivel that just appears on the page. I know not whence it came.

Good day yesterday. Made some progress with the lifebelt and the DANGER DEEP WATER sign and results on the field of play with wins for both the imps and the peul. The three points from their early kickoff momentarily left Lincoln top of Division 3 before results from matches played at three pe em brought them back to third which still ain’t too bad. 

After that we moved on to watching the England laydees beat the French demoiselles. I was sat amongst a crowd of mad keen rugby supporting English folk including THG who isn’t really a fan of the game but does like the craic. There ya go. Now you don’t need to nip out to buy a paper as I’ve told you everything you need to know.

When we got home a parcel was waiting. My acrylic paints have arrived yay. Once I’ve finished a couple of high priority THG requested jobs I’ll be able to get on with the arty bits of the lifebelt and sign. I’ll need to wait for the background layer of the sign to dry before painting the text. Signwriting. Sign of the times. Of its time. The important thing is it will save lives.

Mildly disappointed this morning to learn that I am not eligible for the Hilton for Business offer of diamond status in exchange for ten stays before 15th December as I already am diamond. I had seven nights already planned before that date and it was easy enough to book three cheap hotel nights as “burners” just to get the requisite number of nights. I’m now going to cancel them. They were all booked semi flex just in case. This really marks the end of my corporate travel life. Down to blue with BA and likely silver at best with Hilton. I am ok with this. Comfortable in my own skin. Before the end of this year I will spend any points I may have with both airline and hotel chain and be done with it.

A list of the finest drinks according to Tref:

Water
Timothy Taylors Landlord as long as it’s well kept
Lager shandy after a hot round of golf
A nicely brewed cup of tea at the right moment
A cold glass of milk, particularly with a sandwich

My chosen life partner (CLP – rhymes with THG) has a different selection:

Water
Green tea
Lime and soda
Occasional glass of prosecco

I don’t include any wines in my list. None of them stand out enough in my mind. Not even Pol Roger which is my fave champagne but as drinks go doesn’t rank as highly as those listed. I do quite like a cocktail of freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juices at breakfast. Rarely have it and doesn’t make the top tier. 

I rarely have coffee. I like the smell but the drink itself often doesn’t live up to its aroma. I certainly can’t drink instant coffee as I overdosed on the stuff when swotting for my first year university exams. Every fifteen minutes I’d get up from my desk to make a cup “for a break”.

I guess a drink is all about the moment. Milk not beer with breakfast. At uni I’d consume three pints of milk a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’d also drink several pints of beer a day. If you weren’t in the pub by seven pm you didn’t get a seat. It’s different nowadays. Beer is too expensive for students who seem to load up on vodka before going out at ten pm. In my day it was forty pence a pint. The cheapest I paid was twenty nine pence.

Usually I have two cups of tea before getting up and a third with breakfast. I seem to have throttled back on making tea during the day but will take one if it is offered. 

This morning I have the prospect of a cooked breakfast. Not started it yet. Not even got as far as getting the ingreds out of the fridge. There is no rush. THG informs me we have a nice new sourdough load in the breadbin which will make nice toast. She has already eaten. Saturday is Park Run day. Book early. I am told that we have some cooked potatoes. One of those will do very nicely fried with bacon and sausage. Was going to grill but the presence of a spud changes the plan. You can’t really grill a potato.

These days every day feels like a Saturday and funnily enough today is a Saturday. The sabbath. Football at twelve thirty followed by women’s rugby at three thirty. I don’t normally watch women’s rugby but there is a gathering of our camping pals for the game so we are going along more for the craic. I don’t watch women’s football either. Not because I think it is rubbish. Based on the various tournaments that appear on the telly from time to time, which I do sometimes watch, the women’s game is generally more entertaining than the men’s. Certainly less cheating which annoys the heck out of me with men’s professional football. It doesn’t serve as a good example to kids. This is a bit of a generalisation and not every footballer should be tarred with the same brush but it happens often enough for me to have made the mental note.

…

In other news, Operation Cobra is happening at RAF Waddington. Thought I heard loud jet sounds in the garden the other day. Lots of plane spotters gathering on the road outside the base making a nuisance of themselves for traffic apaz. Probs the occasional spy as well. You can spot them. They wear capes and a funny shaped hats and carry a cane and have a miniature camera hidden in their buttonhole. Should be easy enough for the Military Police to round em up innit. Speak with foreign accents too.

I am now sat with a cup of char in the conservatory. It will interest you to know that I’ve finally straightened the Cezanne print on the wall above the radiator. Been bugging me for ages. Got up off my arse this time and sorted it. Wasn’t even on the jobs list. Neither is replacing the spent lightbulbs in the kitchen but it has to be done. Not sure the picture is completely straight. I’m going to have to get the spirit level out to check. Better than it was anyway. It isn’t much of a print. Well faded, being in the conservatory.

Seven ey em. Eight ey em. There was a gap of one hour between the composition of those two sentences. If you can call them sentences. I thought it was a good idea to start today’s post in bed at the time mentioned but after writing it down ran out of inspiration. Probs decided it wasn’t such a good idea still being a tad dozy. A cup of tea was on its way. Now I am downstairs getting on with the day.

I have a day of doing stuff in prospect. THG is out all day at various functions, weight training, walk with the girls, charity coffee morning, lunch, afternoon craft session in the community room at Waitrose. That kind of thing. It leaves me with a free rein to potter. 

There are no doubt a few jobs I can get on with. Painting the windowsill of the workshop for one. Shifting some planters another and putting the rest of the glasses away in the garage. We have a few boxes of party glasses that are occasionally put to use. Used to borrow them from Waitrose or Tesco but it is a lot easier if you have your own. I think there was one year where we didn’t reserve them early enough and they were out of stock of the glasses we needed for a particular bash.

I also want to get on with making the lifebelt holder for the lake and the DANGER DEEP WATER sign. With lake ownership comes responsibility. Those hedgehogs need to be warned about the watery perils that lie before them. Get it done before winter sets in. I daresay there will be other things that grab my attention.

Feels good being now into autumn. When I went out for dinner in the Woodcocks with the boys last night I threw on a sports coat. I was already wearing jeans. I got there early and sat at our reserved table. It’s a good job J had booked it as a steady stream of punters were turned away as the place was full. 

The Woodcocks is rubbish really but it is conveniently on the way back from the golf course so that’s where we go. 40% off mains last night. I got their discount code off the website earlier in exchange for my email address. Needn’t have bothered as they didn’t ask for the code and gave us the discount anyway. It’s ok though. I use my hotmail address for such purposes. They can spam me until the cows come home and I’ll never see it.

Don’t want to hurry time any more than it is already going but I’m quite looking forward to seeing the first winter at the lake. Rising mists, frosty reed beds and trees around the edge. All v atmospheric. Yet to see my first kingfisher. Bit of competition for Brian. I foresee an afternoon in January or February where we can light a fire pit and gather on the deck looking out over the lake to watch the seasonal winter action. Would be a good excuse to buy a fire pit now that the kadai firebowl is kaput. It served us well.

The kids are all back where they belong. John Berlin, Hannah on honeymoon with George in Morocco and Tom and Joe in Laandan. All is well. It feels like a Saturday but really it is not.

Ciao bebes.

…

Made some good progress with the lifebelt. I reckon it will be Sunday before the reveal. Maybe Monday. Got some acrylic paints coming tomorrow. It will probably be erected with no fuss. No fanfare. It isn’t the sort of thing you invite the press to. A lifebelt is quietly put in place and left there for the benefit of all. Walk away once the job is done and permit yourself a quiet sense of satisfaction. I may yet add a sign that says LIFEBELT.

Simon the plumber arrived at quarter to eight. Slightly earlier than expected occasioning a mad dash (well sort of) to don tee shirt and trousers and get the hell out of the bedroom. We are having one of the radiators removed prior to redecorating. We’ve arrived at that part of the Forth Bridge whose turn it is to be painted again. If they ever take the Forth Bridge down, and it won’t happen in my lifetime, “we” will no longer be able to use that analogy.

Some excellent sourdough toast has been consumed and I have repaired to the conservatoire where I shall shortly take a second cup of tea.

Today our fourth born, John, is heading back to Berlin. It’s been good having him home for a few days. We’ve had a few laughs, been to a wedding, done a few jobs, watched a couple of footie games and today I’ll set off with him to Nottingham East Midlands International Airport whereupon he will be dropped off and left in the care of Ryanair for onward transportation. I have a corporate policy of not flying Ryanair but for John it makes sense. Convenient.

Otherwise, and apart from my usual midday swim, today will be devoted to seeing what jobs THG has in mind for me. See what’s on the jobslist. Maybe nothing. Le weekend is, after all, not so far away. Not that I do jobs on the weekend in particular. Certainly not on the sabbath which is both Saturday and Sunday depending on your perspective on these things. In any case this Saturday is a big day of sport wot with the Liverpool derby at twelve thirty and the England laydees v French demoiselles rugby at three thirty, both of which THG is particularly keen to watch.

A gentle rain has started. With the chance of precipitation at only 30% this must be a good day to get a bet on. At least Dean the window cleaner did some gutter clearing and drainpipe unblocking yesterday. There will be no spectacular waterfalls descending onto the conservatory roof today and in reality the rain is only a few measly drops. In walking to the shed I’d be able to sidestep the raindrops, probs. The humidity detecting extractor fan in the workshop is spinning away. As I speak the few drops have turned into a steady, relaxing light drumming.

Simon the plumber has just appeared in the garden with a yellow hosepipe. He is just about to drain the system. The name Simon the plumber sounds like the English equivalent of Maxim le Forestier. Completely different I know but the thought just came to me. 

Years ago when we only had two small kids we were staying with friends Sarah and Didier in Paris. I had been on tour to Le Mans with Lincoln RFC and joined the family in Paris by train after that leaving the lads to slum it on coach and ferry.

That first night in Paris I asked whether they had any Maxim le Forestier records they could play. They did not but they did put on Ne Me Quittez pas by Jacques Brell which has since made me a lifelong fan. Just playing a bit of Maxim right now. 

On the way home we got to CDG an hour before the flight only to find a huge queue at check in. When we got to the front they told me that the flight was full and that I should have checked in on time. “We would have to catch the next flight at four pm”. I pointed out that we had arrived at the required time but their queue was mahoosive. The reason we wanted the lunchtime flight was in order to get the kids home at a sensible time and that they should bump someone else. They had clearly given our seats away. The attendant totes understood, disappeared behind a screen and returned saying we could go in business class where not everyone had turned up yet. She then spent the next half an hour trying to get us checked in but the “line to London” was down. More likely the BA system. 

Anyway after this it was too late for us to board and she offered us £25 per adult compensation to catch the next flight. I declined this less than generous offer and settled for one hundred and fifty GBP in used notes plus a restaurant voucher with no upper limit. This cheered THG up no end (she wasn’t known as THG in those days) and we spent two out of the four hours we had to wait feeding on fifty quids worth of pizza and orange juice. Remember this was about thirty years ago. Fifty pounds was a fair old wodge at the time.

When we arrived in Manchester my name was called out and Tom and I were met by a member of the BA staff who took us to the office to hand us a brown envelope full of the aforementioned moolah. I trained Tom to respond “take the money” when I said “open the box”.

The delay was not a killer and the compensation was well received especially taking into consideration the fact that the flights had all been booked using air miles.

Right, tea consumed, Simon le plombier has finished and it is time to get on with le jour.

It is totes chucking it down and, father I cannot tell a lie, I like this weather. Sat in the conservatory the roof sounds like a drum and rivers of water are hammering against the glass windows. Well not quite that bad but it does sound as if the gutter is overflowing onto the conservatory roof. Just put on my Tilley hat and went out to check and yes indeed the gutter is overflowing. The drainpipe just isn’t coping. Will need to get Dean the window cleaner to unblock it next time he comes. 

Also checked the shed drainpipe and whilst there is water coming down through it there is just as much overflowing down the outside. I had already decided yesterday that it needed unblocking. To do this I need to unscrew the brackets and completely remove it as it is blocked to about three quarters of its height. That is not a job for this morning.

Hoping to get a swim in today. Was too busy Monday and Tuesday. Lunchtime. Before that I have a few jobs THG wants me to get on with together with half an hour or so of work work.

The shed is brightly lit and from the inside I can see waves of rain descending on the garden. The lake is as full as it has ever been. I am looking forward to its first overflow and subsequently the flooding of the surrounding meadows. The natural silting that occurs when this happens is a great help towards the production of new flowers in the meadows. Well ordinarily it is but this being a new lake there isn’t any silt. That will come in time. Perhaps hundreds of years. We have to be patient. Sometimes you make an investment knowing that it is the next generation who will benefit.

The Tilley has provides the right level of protection against the rain. It is mostly worn to keep raindrops off my glasses but has a wide enough rim to keep much of the body dry. Assuming there isn’t much wind which there ain’t at the mo. Rain is best enjoyed on a windless day. There is a fair bit of movement in the tall trees bordering Lincoln Christs Hospital School over the road. There are now more windfalls than apples left on the tree. They all need gathering. Manãna.

…

Not only has Dean been and cleared the blockage in the drainpipe but he’s cleared the gulley behind the chimney stack and unblocked the shed drainpipe. Result. Also managed 30 mins front crawl and ten mins in the spa/jacuzzi.

A day of rolling up the sleeves in prospect. Borrowing a van and heading to the farm to dismantle some old festival infrastructure. The wood is going to be repurposed, now that I have a workshop. Need to pick up some pallets as well to get going on the compost bins for THG. I envisage two of them side by side and we can then ditch the existing plastic job bought from some diy gaff yonks ago.

Meanwhile all is quiet in the kitchen. My next pot of tea is brewing and THG is finishing off the yoghurt mixed up with some of her very fine granola before tucking in to a couple of croissants. V sophis in this ouse. Tres continentale. I will at some point need to get up and fetch a clean mug as coffee was accidentally poured into my tea mug. Norrabiggie.

Woke up in the middle of the night and must have made a noise as THG asked if I was ok. Said I couldn’t get back to sleep so we put on the shipping forecast on a fifteen minute timer. THG soon dropped off again but I made it through to the end. Can’t remember anything about it though. Gales no doubt, westerly veering southerly later.

Need to pick up a load of windfalls today as next weekend is cider making weekend. If you have any going spare, preferably already picked, feel free to shove them our way. No idea if we have enough manufacturing capacity but we can address that as we get nearer the weekend.

Discovered last night that the panel heater in the shed is kaput. The control panel light comes on but not the heat. There is time to sort it and I have a Dyson fan heater as a backup but it will need to be fixed before we go into hibernation for the winter. It’s the only way we survive the harsh conditions that prevail in the badlands of Lincolnshire where we are exposed to the east winds blowing in from the Siberian tundra. Or is it taiga? Matters not. The log pile has been accumulated and the wood shed has kindling a plenty all tidily (ish) packed in plastic crates that we needed to find something to do with. We should be warm enough.

…

Just nipped in to the shed before picking up the van to find that I’d fixed the heater. Tested it by ramping up the temp and it came on. Did the same thing yesterday but nowt happened. Just hadn’t set the temperature high enough. Turns out it is already quite warm in’t shed. Result.

A beautiful walk to the shed this morning. Stopped by the lake cam but nothing of interest. Did have a couple of vulpine visits over the weekend plus the mum and kid deer were back. See vids. I’ll need to delete the media sometime as most of the pics and vids are of people going back and forth to the shed.

Got my “work” jeans on. I quite like the idea of buying a pair of overalls, especially now that I have a workshop. Brown ones maybe. Will look into that. Might ask Santa for some for Christmas. Or should they be blue? Hmmm. I associate blue overalls with mechanical engineering whereas the workshop is biassed towards wood. Doesn’t preclude the occasional bit of metalwork but were I ever to buy a lathe it would be one of the wood turning variety. I am a million miles away from that right now. Too much else to be getting on with.

The confetti has settled after a wonderful wedding weekend. Ecologically friendly dried rose petals natch. The bride and groom set off contentedly after lunch on Sunday for the first night of their honeymoon. The rest of us collapsed in a smiling exhausted heap. Bath and early to bed.

The bash could not have been better with Hannah’s brothers Tom (poetry), Joe (trumpet and keyboards) and John (sax and keys) playing an active part and George’s brother Harry doing a good job in the best man role. New suits abounded. Don’t think I’ve worn a suit in over thirty years. I have one now that should last the duration. THG looked stunning in her new dress and Hannah took gorgeousness to the next level.

People laughed at all the right moments during the speeches and I was given space to “gush” a little at the achievements of my girl. The one aspect of the wedding over which Hannah had no control.

We had a family meal on the Friday night followed by a singsong which reached a crescendo with a full blown and slightly modified take on Hey Jude where Jude was replaced by George. Against all the odds and recent form I stayed up until the end on both nights until lights out.

The dance band was terrific and had practically all the guests on their feet all evening for non stop bopping. Even aunty Pat and uncle Ted who had just celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary got up and danced. Ties found new homes as bandanas. Even my new “wildflower” bow tie with a matching pocket square. The square stayed firmly in the pocket.

Other than fantastic memories I don’t think we left anything behind but we have come across some specs. If anyone has lost a pair let me know.

…

Two trips to the railway stayshun later and I’m sitting in on a conf call. Back to earth with a bang. Not having to do owt. Just listening. Shed is brightly lit and whilst I’m not yet at the stage of switching on the heat I have to confess I am sporting a pair of jeans and a jumper. Both are fairly tattered. Two of the belt loops on the jeans plus one of the button holes are broken and the jumper is a tattered Fat Face sweater. Yanow what, it’s all about comfort innit.

THG has gone out for a spot of lunch with some pals. They will have plenty to chat about after the weekend. While she is out I have an architect coming for a looksee. Looking at a project for next year. 

In the meantime I’ve put the conf call on mute, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and brought the recycling bin around the back. Blimmin eck I didn’t realise we had so many coffee cups.

The morning before the big event. We had a v pleasant team breakfast. Roughly thirty of us stayed the night. Then Terry and I shot off in campervan Betty for a quick spin to the Hemswell Antiques Centre. There was a vintage vehicle gathering going on and they waved at us to come in but we didn’t have time to hang around.

Now chillin in the room before it is time to get ready. Going to put a new blade in the razor. Really pushing the boat out here. There is a tree directly outside the window covered in white blossom. Good timing for a wedding.

…

Had my shower and shave and I must say the tension is starting to build. I need to be ready in an hour. Easy enough. It is all very exciting. I’ll be happier when I get the speech out of the way. In my experience there is only so much practising you can do. The adrenaline once you stand up on that stage makes the speech an entirely different prospect. If you get the flow right the speech will look after itself. The practise is to iron out kinks in the flow. The biggest issue is the one off nature of every speech I do nowadays. They take a lot of sorting.

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.