where art collides philosoperontap

Fox News: Reynard came at just after nine pm last night. Nine oh two to be precise. There is no real pattern here and he/she doesn’t wait until we’ve gone to bed. THG has seen him in the back garden in daylight. Otherwise all is calm. We are mostly ready for the decorating to begin in our room. Long overdue, I’m told. I am not an expert in these matters and it is good that I am married to a woman of style and taste who knows these things.

Now I am spending a few moments of repose in the snug having breakfasted royally on smashed avocado and toast with a drizzle of Belazu balsamic vinegar. The sourdough loaf you get from Waitrose in a packet with “wild seeds” or similar emblazoned on the cover. Don’t remember exactly but it is nice bread and worth paying the extra for. Great for toast.

Last night we watched University Challenge on iPlayer having missed the live broadcast. Answers came in quickfire progression in the snug and I’ve gotta tell you it wasn’t from me. I do get some answers but am not the house champion when it comes to this quiz. I am the scrabble ace mind you.

Today we are going to see some football play. I was told what it is but forget the name. It’s about wotsisname Southgate the former England manager. Gareth Southgate that’s im. I am not the England football fan in our house but I am a supportive husband and am happy to be the plus one when it comes to such occasions. No complaining whatsoever. I’m sure it will be good. Hopefully 🙂

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Wouldn’t bother buying Barbour socks if I were you. They look nice and feel nice but the toes wear out very quickly. Bought a pair last year and the toe had worn through within a couple of wears. They did replace them but I’ve just put on that replacement pair and they’ve worn through again. Binned em.

Bit of a result this morning. I was lying in bed browsing the world wide web when it occurred to me that we were staying in Liverpool this coming Friday. Doubletree Sir Thomas Street. Anyway I decided to look at our room rate and compare it with what I could get if I did a new booking. Lo and behold saved seventy quid and cancelled the old booking. Always v satisfying when you do that. 

I rarely book the pre pay rate as I like the flexibility of the flexible rate. In fact the one time I did book the advanced saver rate it was in London because the meeting had been arranged at short notice and London hotel prices are exorbitant at the best of times and can be even worse when booking only a week or two in advance. On that occasion and after I’d prepaid for the hotel, the customer cancelled the dinner and it was rearranged for a few weeks later. Still went to London and had a night out. After all, I’d already paid for the room. The things you have to do eh?

Off to see the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight today. Never been in all my forty odd years of living in Lincoln. We are usually only ever in the Conningsby at weekends at which time the BBMF is closed. The do displays all round the country innit. Won’t be any displays today as the weather is crap and I don’t think they do it on weekdays. Dunno. The Lancaster might well have taken off in all weathers in ww2 but these days it is far too precious to risk any conditions other than a pleasant light breeze. I like a pleasant light breeze 🙂 

Will report back, hopefully with lots of pics. We are lucky that the Lanc and the occasional Spit are oft to be seen gracing the skies above Lincolnshire. They fly through the air with the greatest of ease…

Breakfast this morning was a couple of slices of seeded sourdough toast with butter and marmalade washed down by a glass of milk and a cup of tea. Fox came at nineteen minutes past midnight and also twenty past seven this morning. I need to somehow find out whether we are talking a single individual or two different beasts.

It was very disappointing to see that Notts Forest manager Ange Postacoglou got the push yesterday. Ok ok his team are performing badly under him but the game can’t afford to lose people with such great names. I think Forest should have stuck with him for a few years for the sake of the rest of us. There would have been something truly beautiful about watching them slip down to a lower division every year. Pure art. Not sure how low they could go but I’d imagine it would be something like eight drops, maybe more. The best ground in the eighth division. Nothing against the football club per se.

Great day out yesterday. Our group had a party of walkers that set off shortly before eleven and Jezzer and I went for a mooch around Metheringham Airfield Visitors Centre. Those “short walks” always turn out a lot longer than they were supposed to be and I’m on the injured list at the mo so wouldn’t have gone anyway. MAVC is on the site of the WW2 106 Squadron Lancaster bombers, as was. RAF Metheringham. It has a C47 troop carrier that you can actually go into and sit in the pilot seat. V cool. We drove down the runway that the Lancasters used to take off, also v cool. Not sure there are many old airfields that you can just drive onto from a public road and do that. You do need to know that it is there. It isn’t obvious from the road.

This morning is all about packing up the expedition vehicle and going home. We leave the washing up until we get home. Easier to just stick it in the dishwasher. The van always ends up untidy as things get put down wherever there is a convenient space. The glove compartment is the repository for things you definitely need to be able to lay your hands on. Keys n stuff. 

Bacon rolls were prepared. This is almost compulsory when camping. Several cups of tea. Many cups of tea. There is no rush. We are forty minutes from home. An ideal distance for a weekend away in the campervan.

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Home now. Mostly unpacked and put away. Dishwasher washing dishes. Fire is set. Got the logs in just before le deluge. Heating and hot water switched on. Time to purge the accumulated grubbiness of a weekend out in the open.

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Fox came at 01:55 this morning.

There is something reassuring about the scene at the lake. A permanence. I realise that nothing is forever. Even lakes change over the millenia. Geological shift. From the perspective of our own microscopically short span on the planet nothing will change, other than that casued by the intervention of mankind.

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It is pleasingly autumnal out there. Rain has hit the shire and I am sat cosily on a sofa next to the fire. When you have a log fire you don’t need any other entertainment. It is company in itself. Talks to you. Not in the same way the sat nav person talks to you where I respond to instructions by talking back. No, the fire doesn’t ask for a response. A fire is happy to crackle away at this audience of one knowing that it has my full attention.

There are also noises off from the kitchen. Quiet food preparation on the go. I made the stew during the week but a bit of veg will go down well. Mash especially. The table has been laid.

The house of Tref and THG is at peace.

Rained overnight and the leaves have begun to fall in earnest. Interesting adjective that. The earnest leaf. Seriously folks. Those leaves are determined to descend, upon the lawn. Tis the time of year. Also the fox appeared in the front drive briefly at one fourteen ey em. Set off the floodlights and turned around and went back in the direction from whence he came which on this occasion was next door’s garden. I’ll check the lake cam later obvs.

It’s a shame the lake cam wifi range is not sufficient for me to download its media from the house. I can wake it up using bluetooth but the wifi is a bit sluggish. Oo rewind I’ve just tried and I’ve managed to pick up three “motions” so to speak. Maybe the rain improves the signal! It’s a cat though, not a fox and it came variously between a quarter to seven and five past – not long after I’d been downstairs to make the tea. Not really wildlife but still interesting I suppose. You could see it was raining.

Still waiting for that giraffe, wildebeest or lion. Any one of those would do although we would have to stay inside and out of the way if it was a lion. It would hit the news big time. “Lion caught on camera at local lake”. It is really why they invented the lake cam. Its main purpose in life. I’m not sure I would like all the attention. Not many people know about the lake and the publicity would almost certainly attract more visitors with the accompanying disruption and invasion of privacy. Litter, fires, over fishing. Overnight camping even. That kind of thing. 

Brian would be distraught. He might even be forced to leave to find a quieter spot, if the lion hadn’t already “got” him. If the crowds don’t drive him away the over fishing certainly might. Anyway it isn’t a problem, yet. If a lion did come I might have to keep quiet about it although that would be difficult, especially if I was in the shed at the time. I don’t have many provisions in the shed. Just a few packets of crisps and some g&t in the fridge. Man cannot live on crisps and g&t alone. Even if I did try I would soon be driven outside by the need to visit the loo and that would be dangerous with the lion there. Remember Albert and the Lion.

Lets face it there would probably already be an ongoing search for an escaped lion if he rocked up in our back garden. Where he would have escaped from I have no idea. A travelling circus maybe. Nellie did the same thing. Dunno if circuses have lions nowadays. Not v politically correct is it? The chances of a modern day Nellie the elephant appearing in our garden are remote in the extreme. Wouldn’t be able to fit through the gap in the hedge, obvs.

I am reluctant to do it but there could come a day when I might have to erect a PRIVATE KEEP OUT sign at the lake. This is something I don’t really want to have to do as the nice thing about the lake is the minimal signs of human interference. The rescue boat, jetty, Danger Deep Water sign and lifebelt station are pretty unobtrusive especially when you consider the vast expanse of open water of the lake itself.

One of these days I might see if I can walk around the circumference. Would probs need a packup. Have a picnic lunch when I reach the deck maybs. It is about half way around. Be nice to stop and chat with Brian. See how he is getting on. Share some wildlife stories. That kind of thing.

Anyway I must go. Things to do, leaves to gather.

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Set off early for my daily swim as I wanted to swing by Fosters to buy some meat. However there were no handy parking spots and some unneighbourly individual had parked across two spaces. I went around the block once to see if anywhere freed but but it didn’t so I carried on to Total Fitness and got there fifteen minutes earlier than planned.

The downside of this is that it is busier than I like it but in reality it was ok when I arrived. Just a couple of walkers and two swimmers, one of whose technique was so bad that she clearly wasn’t going to be in the water for very long. By the time I got changed she had gone but was replaced by a swimmer and three walkers, two of whom got in at the same time as me.

If you have never seen it, walking in the water is basically resistance walking and it is typically done by people recovering from illnesses or operations (eg me though I ain’t done it meself) or those who are desperately out of condition and for who walking in the pool is a sensible form of exercise.

My fave inside lane was already taken by someone we might consider to be a pro. This I don’t mind. She ploughed up and down and only got out five minutes before me. The lane next to her, the second best spot and one which allows you to easily slip into the best lane once it empties was taken by a walker. Sokay. I set off and worked around the walkers, eventually ending up in the second best spot once the walker had left the pool for the spa. 

The pro and I ploughed our furrows without interruption until some bloke got in and set off in her lane. This is v poor etiquette. Moreover he stopped for a rest after every length and was soon doing the same in my lane. Worraknob. Fortunately he didn’t stay the pace and left me and the pro in peace. After the pro had finished her quota she was replaced by a couple of ladies of a certain pace and it was with an element of relief that I completed my thirty mins and exited the water. 

Didn’t have time to hit the spa today. A decision helped by the fact that it was a lot fuller than is usual at that time of day. The spa users are normally a mix of body types. Those with sculptured frames who are just relaxing after a session in the gym and those, less toned individuals for whom the gym is a staircase too far but are pleased to be able to enjoy the healthgiving properties of the hot tub. I am somewhere in between. I’m not sure there is a pattern of pool and spa usage around which I can base my visit times. I guess a twelve fifteen arrival is as good as any.

Home now to find that THG (worrawoman) had already applied some primer to the new bits of woodwork that joiner Mark had fitted. Specifically to the bottom of the garage door. He does a good job. That’s all the external woodworking jobs done now in time for the onset of winter. Bring it on…

One other thing I did this morning, and this might strike a chord with some of you, is that I spent some time sorting out my screw collection. There is further work to do but good progress is being made. A bloke needs his screws to be tidy and orderly. It needs to be easy to find the right screw for the job. Ditto nails although I don’t use nails that often but I have a wide variety of them collected over forty or more years of adulting.

In 2025 I invested in a nut and bolt calibrating “tool”. It’s really a plastic card with lots of graded holes and slots which now that I think of it might come in handy for sorting my nails. It even helps you measure thread spacing. What’s not to like?

The workshop turns out to be a v cosy spot to spend time. It has excellent insulation and a small wall mounted panel heater that quickly brings the space up to a comfortable working temperature. The wifi access is much poorer than I had expected and this is something that will need working on. Either move the kitchen hotspot or stick a power line extension in. Not sure I have the mounting bracket for the hotspot which might be non optimal but lets see how we get on.

Today I shall mow the lawn. Cut that grass. Get the scythe out. Well, whatever we use in 2025 as an alternative. The electric lawn mower. I did see a gardener using a scythe when we visited RHS Harlow Carr. V impressive. She stopped periodically to sharpen the blade. The plan was to leave the mown hay, which also contained a variety of meadow flowers, for a day or two to allow any insects to drop off. The mowings would then be moved and left to dry across an area that had been newly landscaped and needed reseeding. As the seed heads dropped off the drying hay they would effectively be planting themselves on the cleared ground. Good stuff. Hard work but rewarding. Mowing the lawn is on my jobslist.

I am told by THG that it is a Monday. I already knew really. Being a Monday it is not the sabbath and therefore mowing the lawn is acceptable and I won’t be excommunicated for doing so. You might think I’m being overly melodramatic here but it happened to my great great great great (ie 4g) grandfather the Reverend Daniel Davies because he let his farmworkers work one of the hay meadows on a Sunday. They used scythes in those days. And pitchforks. Can’t remember when it was. 1807 or similar. Times have changed innit.

One man went to mow.

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FOX NEWS

Old Reynard the fox paid us two visits last night, unless there are two foxes which there could well be. The interesting thing is that he would appear to have stopped to drink lakewater at twelve minutes to one. This follows on from my observation last Saturday that no wild creature appears to have come to drink at the lake. This video evidence dispels that myth (is it really a myth? probs not).

On his second visit Reynard appears to be sniffing around the gap in the decking. We have taken one plank up for inspection before joiner Mark comes to do some repair work later this week. I have in the past seen a rat go under the deck and I suspect the fox can hear or smell this.  That’s a job for another day.

The final bit of news is that the lifebelt is now in situ at the entrance to the lake which is as you might imagine a weight off my mind. Simon Forshaw suggested we move the jetty to be nearer the lifebelt and I don’t disagree with him. Will mull it over.

That’s all folks. I have a lawn to mow.

Church harvest festival today, apaz. All is safely gathered in. Hopefully. I expect the flock at St Peter in Eastgate will be bringing in some of their own harvest to give to the poor of the parish. Bushels of wheat, wheels of cheese, a lamb, stuff like that. Very rural county, Lincolnshire. 

I daresay I’ll have a few jobs to do having been away with the lads for a few days.  Not looked at the list. Hey, I’ve been on holiday. Mind you it is the sabbath. Do I want to incur the wrath of the church elders? Difficult decision this, for THG. Whilst she is not officially a church elder her status as a respected member of the flock does suggest that she should probably toe the line and not insist on any of the jobs being done today. Do they have church elders in the C of E? Must do. Surely.

I may be being really unfair here. Maybe there are no jobs on the list for today. I do want to test the central heating in preparation for the long cold winter ahead. This can be a longer job than some may imagine. It isn’t just switching it on and feeling it warm up. It’s what you have to do when it doesn’t warm up. Go around each radiator, check if the thermostat is turned up or whether it needs bleeding. Bleedin radiators. It has to be done this morning as we are off out for lunch.

Otherwise all is calm in the Davies kitchen. The garden continues to supply us with fresh raspberries to go with the porridge. Coffee (THG) and tea (moi) is quietly being consumed. 

We did have a fox in the front garden overnight. Four thirty one eh em. You’ll have to wait until I’ve checked the lake cam to see if there was any lakeside activity. Later…

The wait is nearly over. Golf bag sorted. Overnight (s) bag packed. Sat in the window of the snug awaiting collection for onward carriage to Norfolk. Before heading out I checked the lake cam and cctv. Fox spotted in front drive during the night (11:26) and at 04:41 the pair of muntjac deer reappeared in the garden. They haven’t been seen in a while. It does concern me what might happen to the youngster if the fox happened by at the same time. They use the same bit of hedge for entry and exit.

A short while after I’d settled in to the shed this morning I heard a knock at the door. I had just finished doing my accounts and got up to see who it was as there was nobody immediately in view.

Upon opening said door a small high pitched voice drew my attention to the deck. It was Brian the fishing gnome. Brian was there to report that an intruder had entered the meadow area surrounding the lake and attempted to make off with the rescue boat. This is always the risk when you leave high value bits of capital equipment moored out in the open but it is also why we have invested in security measures around the water.

Brian and I immediately went to the lake cam and downloaded a number of videos that might reveal the culprit. I have to report that at six forty three last night a fox entered the garden and tried to steal the boat. It was lucky that Brian was sitting there as he usually does, doing a bit of fishing. Brian must have disturbed the fox because he dropped the boat and ran off (well strolled away).

Fortunately the fox left Brian alone. The outcome could have been a lot worse. For this we have to be grateful. We also have to be grateful to have neighbours like Brian who are willing to keep an eye on the lake for us. Moreover he does this with no fuss and no expectation of reward. Everyone should have a friend like Brian.

I’ve uploaded three bits of media. The first shows the boat out of the water where the fox had dropped it upon being alarmed. Then there is the video footage catching the bushy tailed culprit red handed. Finally a shot showing the launch back on the lake moored for the first time at the end of the jetty. (soz only available on Facebook – I need to change max uploadable file size).

This all happened in broad daylight whilst we were in eating our fish fingers.

Fortunately any damage to the jetty was easily repaired. Thank goodness we made that lake cam investment.

A quiet start to the day. Granola, yoghurt and strawberries with, when I get around to making it, another cup of tea. THG is off to the park run and I will, in due course, start clearing the space in the garage that had been taken up by the bench in readiness for moving the plastic storage crates currently stored in/filling up the conservatory. All go innit?

Was a slightly unusual day yesterday as we were greeted with the sad news of the passing away of a good friend. Chris Weston was one of our much loved camping buddies (well mostly motorhomes and campervans but we still call it camping) and had been ill for some time. It still hits hard when things like this happen and our hearts reach out to his wife Karen.

It significantly affected our crowd and we all got together in the Waggon & Horses in Branston for a couple of hours or so of intensive consoling with some bright (gaudy) shirts on show in memory of the lad. The intensive beer drinking that goes with such an event meant that when we got home we had to change our eating plans from chicken on the barbecue to a quicker to assemble beans on toast with sausage and bacon. There will be more drinking in his memory before we are all done. We are now having the barbecued chicken tonight.

Fairly still out in the garden. Just the smallest movement in the apple trees. Looking like a good crop this year, albeit smallish fruit with a significant amount of pruning needed over the next winter.

In other news it was noted that our fishing gnome had strayed too close to the edge and fallen into the lake. I have no idea whether there was wildlife involved in this incident but the lake had to be dredged and the gnome fished out. THG has made his seating position more secure which will hopefully avoid a repeat of the “accident”. I’ll have to put a sign up warning people not to get too close to the edge as the water is deep, if you are a gnome.

Might also stick a trail cam down as it will be quite interesting to see what wildlife is attracted to the water. I’m not expecting wildebeest or lions and their ilk but the occasional fox and hedgehog maybe.

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Somewhat zonked now. Busy day on the tidying front. We moved umpteen plastic storage crates into the space in the garage formerly occupied by the bench. V tidy. Bit more left to do in the garage but it is definitely heading in the right direction. A load more books sorted to take to Oxfam. Even used my workbench to saw some MDF to put under the crates on the garage floor. Hitting the road running 🙂

THG was watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Clarkson so I stuck my headphones on and am listening to some tunes. You don’t need  to hear Clarkson to be able to join in the quiz. Got a few right but didn’t know who wrote the Batman stories.

At 9.32am yesterday a fox came into the garden. Came through the beech hedge from next door, around the back of the shed, back between the shed and the greenhouse then around the back of the raised beds and through a hole in the bottom of the fence to the other next door.

I wasn’t in the shed at the time. And even had I been there I probs wouldn’t have noticed the fox. My desk faces in the wrong direction. Might have done. The fox may not have come had I been in the shed. Cunning.

Then two nights ago we had a hedgehog on the back lawn. Keep meaning to build a hedgehog house. It has been a long term item on my jobs list. Perhaps 2025 is the year of the hedgehog house.

Simple bacon and egg brekkie with a slice of toasted sourdough. I quite like the simple life. Some might not consider that breakfast to be a simple on. Porridge, Tref my son, that’s simple. Well I am not a porridge fan. I do eat THG’s very fine gran o’la with yo’ gurt and berries which is similar and perhaps slightly posher. Not today though, like I said.

Yet to cook said breakfast. Have settled onto a sofa in the snug. Too cosy man. On another sofa the talented THG is knitting a patchwork blanket. Fits in a row here and there when she can. We will be alright when the winter is at its worst. Oh that’ll be now. We have other blankets.

Makes me realise how different our lives are now compared to times gone by. Even when I was a kid, pre central heating days, you had to force yourself out from under the blankets. When you lived in a small farmhouse in Wales in the eighteenth century it would have been a tough one. They bred em hard in them days. 

I only mention it because that’s where I am at with the family tree research. THG’s side goes back a lot further – someone else has done the work. May get around to checking it someday. V time consuming. We are back to 1580 on her mum’s side, the Fletchers. Scotland.

I’ve been leaving the heating on in the shed so it is warm as soon as I get there. Otherwise it takes half an hour or so to get up to temperature and I’m sat there in a jumper with freezing cold hands. Ish. Only do this in the depths of winter.

It’s a big contrast to the height of summer where the shed doors are left wide open all day and I allow nature to enter into the picture. I have to shut the doors when going into the house for a cuppa or similar in case nature decides to go inside the shed. Had a bird do that in the past.

Anyway gotta go. There is bacon to cook.

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.

Bettany Hughes was entertaining enough but not so much that I felt I wanted to spend twenty five quid on her seven Wonders book. I did however blow a wodge on a variety of books in the Oxfam bookshop including the Saunders Lewis comedy play Amlyn ac Amig first broadcast on Christmas Day nineteen thirty nine and subsequently published in nineteen forty. It cost two and six when new but Oxfam were asking a fiver. I didn’t have two and six on me anyway.

Took in a couple more gigs after Bettany. A live recording of the Radio 4 show Sliced Bread where they discussed the relative merits of in-ear noise reduction gizmos and then, after lunch the Poetry Pharmacy with special Guest Tim Rice.

Chucked it down on and off all day but there is plenty of cover at the Hay Festival and didn’t really have to call on the services of my coat.

Our jaunt to the Hay on Wye literary festival has been a success. All we need to do now is visit the Old Cinema Bookshop and the stall in the square selling sheepskins for fifteen notes. The Old Cinema is a big bookshop apaz. I am particularly interested in historical books about West Wales. Hay on Wye isn’t really the best place to get that kind of material and I sense that one day we will need to arrange a visit to the Antiquarian Bookshop in Caerfyrddin.

We also need to hand some stuff over to Rhys and Eirian wot we brought down in the car. Water bottles and tees left over from the festival.

…

On da way home stopped at Hopwood Park services for a sandwich and for THG to take over the driving. Frees me up to do stuff. Had a bit of a snooze. Then checked the cctv and spotted a couple of muntjac deer meandering around the back garden at around dawn. Saw where they came in from next door but didn’t see them leave. Not seen deer there before. Foxes yes.

The holiday spirit very much continues. I have a few days to prepare for one night in Manchester and then another eleven on the Isle of Man. TT Week.

Another bright start to the day. Thought I heard some movement in the porch early on but it isn’t a day the milkman comes and nothing appeared on the cameras. Could have been a poltergeist I guess. Did see a cat in the wee small hours. Set off the light in the front. We often get a cat roaming the garden and sometimes a fox. 

It is early but THG has already been out for an inspection. Checking the progress of the stock. Plants don’t grow on their own yanow 🙂 Now chillaxing after breakfast pending the commencement of today’s proceedings. 

…

Am watching Great Coastal Journeys with former Tory MP Michael Portillo on the telly. It is on mute because I find his programmes so superficial they aren’t worth watching. So I’m not really watching it but it is the programme before the snooker is on and watching the snooker is something that THG and I do together 🙂 Having it on mute is my way of noticing when the sport starts.

It feels a bit strange having the snooker on TV when it is very much light out. As a game played in darkened halls, snooker should really be a winter activity. I’m rubbish at snooker meself. My youth wasn’t misspent enough.

I typically have the snooker on as wallpaper as opposed to something I focus on although if it starts to get exciting I’ll put my book down. Yes it can be exciting.

Milkman came at four thirty four this morning. We also had a visiting fox at around twenty one minutes past two. Both are regulars. The milk is now in the fridge. No idea where the fox is. In its den probs.

I woke up this morning having solved the meaning of life. Well at least the what shall Tref have for Christmas/birthday aspect of it. I’ve been after a model sailing ship for the shed for a while. It is the last accessory I ‘need’ to finish off the decor and will sit on the spare/project desk. Now I’m going to redouble my efforts.

The other idea is to get a decent log splitter. @Steve Jones has one and I have a lot of logs that need doing. Steve lives a long way from me though so I’m going to look into getting my own. Industrial job. Would only use it every once in a blue moon but I don’t know how people manage without one. Not sure THG totes approves of the idea 🙂

Popped to the docs surgery to get jabbed for my January trip. There was a sign on the door saying ‘please use the back door’. Walked all the way around the building but no back door open. Back at the main entrance lo and behold the front door opens as normal!! Didn’t do me any harm I guess. Mentioned it to the receptionist.  “Oh that was from Saturday, I’ll take it down”. Oh.

Next up a member of staff calls out the next patient’s name “Olly Adenbayie”. The only bloke it could possibly be is sat there oblivious to it all. Then realisation dawned. He mentioned his name at the desk but it didn’t really sound very similar to the one called out 😀. Understandable mix up I’d say.

The things you observe eh? Everyday goings on. It’s like yesterday. Enroute back from dropping Joe off at the station, I noticed that the multi storey car park downtown was full. Barriers across the entrance preventing any more cars getting in. Christmas shopping in full flow. 

I really can’t understand this. At all. In the nineteen seventies when I was a kid ok you had to go into town for this sort of activity. I have been into town when it is busy. You can’t walk in a straight line because someone continuously gets in your way. Wossthatallabout! Not my bag man.

Apparently people go to cafes with their partner/spouse when they are downtown. All part of the shopping experience. This is where you queue for twenty minutes to buy two lattes, a toasted teacake and a millionaire’s shortbread because there is only one person on the till. Then if you are lucky you find a table and then wave at a member of staff to come and clear the previous customer’s crap away. Even ordering through the QR code doesn’t particularly speed things up as it is the same person trying to serve the queue.

So I can’t understand the going to town to do a bit of shopping thing. THG likes it! It is not something we do as a couple. In fact we are totally incompatible when it comes to shopping.