Merry Christmas to you all

If you look in the "links" column on the right of the screen there is a new addition. The blog belongs to the Butcher and the Baker. He's the Butcher and she is the Baker. There are some smashing recipes. They are people after my own heart.

Christmas is upon us. H has done a splendid job of getting everything ready. The weather is crispy white and helping the festive spirit. I have a few things to finish tonight and tomorrow I finish work at 2pm, then it is down to the lottie to gather in Christmas dinner...well the veggie bit.

Merry Christmas from Me, H and Miss L. We hope Santa brings you your heart's delight.

It is nice to be home

This week I have mainly been eating out. I have been lucky enough to have a Christmas do to go to every evening, Wednesday to Saturday. I even had two on Wednesday! I can highly recommend The Hurcules at Sutton Cheney [click HERE for the website] and The Gelsmore at Griffydam [click HERE for the website. Beware the site is slow to load.]. This has curtailed my festive preparation. I did, however, get a chance to taste my air dried Ham. It is best cut wafer thin. It is melt in the mouth moist and salty.

Saturday morning was the only time I had for the lottie this week because I was going up to Manchester. I did the trailer early. Degsy started quite easily even being stood for a week in the cold. There was ice on the inside of the roof and it never melted whilst I was out and about. The car said the air temperature was -2 at 10am. Cold then. I went back to the lottie. The place was crispy white with the air Gin clear. I cut down a couple of stalks of Sprouts, dug up half a dozen Parsnips and a dozen Leeks. All the veg were frozen solid. The surface of the soil was frozen about an inch and half deep. It just broke like a crust on a pie. Even dressed for the weather, hat included, I could still feel Jack Frost nipping my ears. Whilst I was fettling about I opened the compo bin to accept the trimmings off the veg. When my back was turned the Robin's moved in. They were like brown and red tennis balls hopping around. When I left the bin they were in that. When I left the soil to clean off the veg they were in there. The Dunnock and Wren were also rummaging about. I did not have much time to spend so packed up Degsy with the goodies, wished the lottie and birds a Merry Christmas and came away.

I ran H up to the cheese shop/bakers at Staunton Harold. It is a new addition to the courtyard. The owner is best suited to baking but his cheeses and bread are smashing.

It was an uneventful drive up to Manchester but that cannot be said for the drive back. It snowed overnight in the city. Just a couple of inches but on top of the previous days thaw which had then frozen it was a slippy combination. I had to run across to the other side of the city to collect H and Miss L. It was just a series of really heavy snow showers for about twenty minutes then a little respite and then another white-out snow shower. Not fun on the motorway. We set off from Manchester a little after 1pm and got caught in an extended snow shower. Within minutes the snow was a couple of inches thick on the motorway. Luckily folks kept moving which kept the lanes clear-ish. There are some folks that have no business being out in poor driving conditions. There were lots of terrified faces peering out of the windshields. When we got as far as mid Cheshire the clouds parted, the Sun shone and the roads cleared of snow and cars and it was a clear run home. As we picked up the Ashby sign H said "its nice to be home".

Christmas prep

This evening after work and a nice tea and a walk to Jazz's and back in the rain. I commandeered the kitchen. I had to peel and juice six lemons and put the results in a demi-john. In with the peel went a litre of Vodka. Guess what it is yet? You'll find out at Christmas.

I got the air dried ham down and cut into it for the first time. It weighs in at 12 lbs [6 kilos] so it has lost nearly half it's weight since it was made in the New Year of 2009. The colour is good and it is still quite moist. It always looks suspect from the outside but the inside is what counts. I cut a third off the Ham and it looks even better in the middle. I will have to get the slicer out for thin, prosciutto style wafers.

I made a start on the Bacon. I just put the frozen sides in a plastic box and smothered them in dry cure and put the lot in the shed fridge. I will turn the sides over later in the week. The sides will have dried out and the cure will be doing its thing.

Pot of Gold

I was happy to find that my back was fine even after yesterday's digging. I had to collect the trailer but did find time to have a nice fried breakfast. Just a couple of rashers of Bacon, Egg, a couple of Toms, couple of rounds of lightly toasted....er um..toast and a hot mug of tea. That put me a good order for being out in the cold. Degsy complained about starting up whilst it was so cold but once cranked he ran without further ado. I ran out to the stables, bagged the trailer took to the lottie to find Dave G had the same idea and had his trailer i the way so I could not get mine down to the heap. I let him finish. Rather I let his friend finish whilst Dave stood chatting to his friends missus. When he had gone I back ed the trailer up to the bin and emptied it out. I ran the trailer straight back to the stables then on to get some petrol for Degsy and to give him a bit of a spin to charge the battery.

By the time I got to the lottie the second time the day was not so bright. I was determined to get some Lime on the ground this year. After putting a finger in the air to judge the wind direction I flung handfuls of Lime about Bed2. Bed2 will be the Cabbage patch for next year. The soil being damp grabbed the powdered Lime on contact. I have had a couple of small trays of Seedling cabbages plonked at the lottie for a few weeks. As soon as I got the plank I use for a straight edge the rain came on. Just a vicious shower to catch me at the far end of the plot with my hands full. I had a ten minute shut eye whilst the rain bounced off the roof of Degsy and dripped in here and there. Degsy is not comfortable for snoozing. I will have to do something about that. When the shower was over the soil was wetter than ever. I could not bring myself to start digging spuds so I finished off planting the seedlings. No need to water these in. Having tidied up, I pondered the idea of forcing Rhubarb for next year. I think I have to get some straw. I have a tall bucket to cover them. Whatever I do I better get a move on. Since Degsy was cold again and on a level bit of ground I dipped the oil. The dip stick was long enough so ther is plenty of the black stuff inside the motor.

When I got home it was nice and warm. The contrast with outside made my cheeks burn. Miss L was up and looking expectant. I had promised to get the Christmas decs down from the attic. Before I could have a brew I was pestered into the attic. It is Miss L's job to dress the tree and H's job to tackle to house. We do not have many decs it is just something we do not go mad for. I still have to make the wreath for the door although I have cut Willow for the circular base of the wreath. Miss L extract full value of Christmas cheers setting up the tree. It took her ages. Everything had to be judged for artistic impact. Gawd 'elp me.

I had a little time on my hands from the cut short lottie expedition so set about assembling the staging I bought for the greenhouse. It was a bargain and that should have rung alarm bells. An hour and a bit later the staging was assembled but it must be for midgets. The legs are dead short. It looks like a trip to B&Q is required for proper length legs. The winter solstice is nearly here so the days are short and the sun, when it appears is low in the sky. In the shower the low sun lit up a full rainbow in the field next to the lottie. I was tempted to look for the pot of gold.

A Fine Day

Saturday dawned bright and clear. I had everything ready in Degsy so I had just had to sort breakfast and go to the the lottie. H got me some nice smoked bacon. I had a couple of bacon butties and a brew for breakfast and went a digging. Once again the lottie was all mine. I put my wellies and overalls on and rolled my barrow up the path. I stopped to check out the Brussels. They are coming on well. I decided to pull out a few Docks but got carries away and cleared the area between the Sprouts and Broccoli. It yielded a small barrow load of weeds and spent brassicas. The weeds went in the bins and the brassicas in the big compo bin. I rolled the barrow back up to the potato bed and set about spud harvesting. The soil was quite wet but again because of the raised bed the soil was in fine condition for digging. I dug and weeded two rows of spuds and made a good job of furttling through the soil to get all the spuds. The spuds in this bit of the patch are Cara. They have withstood the blight quite well so two rows yielded big tubers and lots of them. So much so I filled the trays I had brought with me.

Half way through the spud digging I stopped for a brew. It was lovely sitting in the back of Degsy, out of the wind with a scalding brew. I watched the Robin's checking out my work and bagging a few morsels. The Wren was keeping an eye on me whilst piping and ferreting about the hedgerow. I keep looking at he poo bin and wondering how I am going to stop the sides splaying out. I keep propping them up but the fix never lasts. The muck in the bin must be really heavy after all this rain. By the time a had filled the trays and did a bit of titivating I was knackered so I took myself home please with a job well done.

Diggin'

Saturday dawned clear although it had been raining on and off all week. I first drove over to Coalville and get a load of 2"square x 18" pegs. I will be using them later for securing the border round the lottie and the Strawberry patch at home. I eventually got to the lottie with the idea of digging up the spuds but before that a got the spade out. I cleared off the worst chickweed and dropped it in the compo bin. One small area gave me a full wheelbarrow of weed. I dug over the plot. The soil was a touch wet but not too bad. It made pulling out the weeds very easy and turned over without difficultly. I dug up a row of Cara spuds. It was a good crop and no blight. I did a bit of assorted weeding on the path. I got the Mattock out and cleared out the drain in front of the plot to clear the gathering pond. It was good to spend the day in the wind and sun. As we get closer to the winter solstice the sun does not get very far above the horizon. The sun was blazing but had no heat in it but it did shine in your eyes. I had my Trangie with me so I had a brew and a mince pie whilst sitting out of the wind in the back of Degsy, as a break, during the course of the day. The cue to go home was that the sky was getting dim and as soon as sun dropped the temperature dropped significantly.

I was woken up very early Sunday morning to sound a rain bouncing off the bedroom window. I still had the poo run to do, luckily it had stopped by then. When I got to the lottie I found, not surprisingly that the ground was sodden. I found the rain had washed a few spuds out of the face of the trench. I dug a few Leeks up as well. They went in the basket with spuds for Angie. I marked out the position for the new path. That will be a job for later in the winter. Since the lottie was sodden I went home and resolved to fettle the back garden.

The Willows that I planted a few years ago are about 20 foot high. The end Willow is a bit unruly so that got sawn down. I trimmed back the straggly Willow wands and hopefully they will root and provide more hedging for the lottie . Next off was the prune the Apple and Pear trees. I got down on the my hands and knees and weeded the paths between the fruit beds. The greenhouse needed tidying up. I got the trays out that have the onions drying. The binned the rotting and sprouting bulbs. The remainder were stored in the shed.

Whilst I was fettling Steve dropped by to show off his new landy [It is Lightweight or Airportable]. His girls are very excited. He gave me a box of his random home made wines. I figured I would try them. So stood by the table on the decking, having pulled the corks, I had a sip from each bottle. As I expected the Elderberry was, like mine, unpalatable. The Gooseberry and Pear wines were a triumph. I put away the re-corked bottles in the shed. The shed is ready for Christmas, wines, honey and preserves shelved, vegetables in trays and meats hanging. I have to admit that a few "sips" to the tasting slipped down my gullet. Feeling a growing warmth spreading into my limbs and the failing light signalled the end of the day and a very fine day it was too.

First frost

It was cold yesterday. The proper damp, winter cold. At bedtime the roofs of the cars were starting to twinkle in the lamp light. This morning everything was white and crispy. At 7.30am the temperature sensor on the car said it was -2 degrees C. That is will slow the weeds up. It is Tuesday today. What will the weather have in store for me a Saturday morning?

Oink little piggy

Friday was the Allotment Society AGM. We got a a few things agreed and moved the Society forward. A few us stayed on after the meeting to assist the local economy by having a few beers. Nothing much happened Saturday mainly because of helping the local economy. I had hoped the ground would dry out but it has rained on and off all week. This weekend it is starting to turn cold as well. Not before time. The weeds can get by in cool and wet conditions so have continued to grow throughout the autumn. Cold and wet should slow them down.

Steve bought round the half pig sourced from a local supplier. The chops where really thick and meaty. I gave Steve back some of the shoulder and hand for the chorizo man, who for the swap of some honey will make the pork into.....well.....chorizo. The bagged up all the butchered pieces for freezing, chop, joints, hocks and some belly. The pig came with the a complete hind quarter. I separated the hock. I intend to make a hearty and winter-warming soup out of this. I boned out the leg and cut into two portions, one for a glazed ham for this Christmas and the other for air drying for next Christmas. With everything safely packed away a tackled the current air drying ham. I took it out of its home in the shed fridge and cleaned it up. It was still a bit wet on the surface for daubing on grease but I manged to get a coating on then covered it with ground pepper. Then on with the muslin cloth and then to the hook in the shed to dry in the cool air. This joint has been on the go since this time last year or there abouts. The joint is really dense since the salt has drawn the water out of the meat. I will give it a couple weeks and cut myself a sample.

Miss L was out so after a brew and a good clean up in the kitchen H and I went for a short walk round Calke Abbey. It was getting late and the wind had an edge to it which probably kept the hoards at home. With the place mostly to ourselves we wandered round watching the Grebes and Tufted ducks on the lake. The deer could be clearly seen amongst the trees. Calke have introduce Longhorn cattle to the park who wander about the trees mowing the bracken and other vegetation. They a vet little on their feet yet they are big buggers close up especially with those huge horns but quite docile.

I have busy week travelling but I can only hope the ground dries out and it does not freeze just yet before a can get to do a bunch of digging.

Plimsoll

I have just finished reading a biography of Samuel Plimsoll by Nicolette Jones called The Plimsoll Sensation. For those that do not know, every ship that now goes to sea has a marker on the side of ship to indicate the depth to which the ship can be safely loaded. During the late 1800's the loss of life was enormous from ship going to sea and floundering even in very moderate seas, not even storms. Ship owners over insured the ships and had a callous disregard for the life of the seamen. Merchant seaman had no choice but to put to sea even if they knew the vessel was a coffin ship. They risked six weeks or more in jail if they did embark once they had signed on. This was in a time when you could still starve to death in England. Six weeks was a sentence for the family as well as the sailor. Not all ship owners were rascals but many were. Plimsoll was a Liberal MP for Derby, he and his wife were devoted to improving the condition of the working poor.

Click HERE for more info.

Tarts for the Bees

Anybody living in the UK cannot have helped but notice the wind and rain we have had this week. Our friends live in Cockermouth which was badly ht by the weather. The River Derwent which runs through the town burst it's banks and flooded the town. The sister of our friend was one of those affected. Her shop and house are right in the middle of the worst affect parts of town. The shop was flooded chest deep. It still raining up there but less heavily than before. The river levels are beginning to subside. Our friends live on the hills just outside the town. I expect the next few weeks will be busy for them.

On Saturday we had to take Miss L to look at another uni. Anglia Ruskin this time. It was a easy journey if a little boring. We listened to what they had to say, visited the accommodation and had a look round town and lunch. Miss L was very impressed with the town. Miss L noted that everyone had nice shoes. The drive home was a little less boring. One hundred miles in the dark, pouring rain and howling gale. We made it without incident but I was cream crackered.

Sunday dawn with clear skies and bright sunshine although the wind was still blowing quite hard. I had a few jobs to do before S&J came down from Chapel-en-le-Firth for dinner. First job, collect the muck trailer. The real first job was to load up Degsy and start him up. I should not have worried. Choke out, turn the key with a slight dab on the gas pedal and he sprung into life. Thereafter he never missed a beat. When I got back the lottie and checked around for storm damage but found none. The trailer contents were tipped. I took a look round the plot. The chickweed has gone mad. You may recall I bought a scythe handle and built up a full scythe. Since I had it in Degsy I thought I would give it a go on the Chickweed. It did a fantastic job. In a very few minutes I had cleared away a great portion of the weed. Some areas are better than others as I learned now to get the best action. The most effective action came to me quite quickly. It must be something in the genes. With this triumph under my belt I checked the ground. It is too wet for digging but if the wind keeping blowing and it does not rain too much the soil should be in good order for digging next weekend.

I had a look round the crops that were still in. I was under instruction from H to get Leeks, which I did. I can vouch for the planting scheme that says plant the Leeks seedling six inches deep and plant them close together. My Leeks, although they got a touch of rust, have long white shafts. I bagged a few Beetroot and a couple of Turnips. I was happy to find that a Cauli had flowered as well a some side shoots of previously harvested Calabrese and Broccoli. There was enough for a side order at dinner. They made a nice winter posy. See below.



To paraphrase Uncle Monty, in the film Withnail and I, "Flowers are simply tarts; prostitutes for the bee, you should never underestimate the decorative potential of vegetables". I also noticed that the over wintering onions were making a start. I packed up Degsy and set off back to the stables. When I got there I found the Angie was back from walking out her new horse, Zara. I dropped the trailer in it's usual spot and we had a chat about Zara who was very interested in what was being said. With Zara installed at the stables the trailer duty will go back to a weekly ritual.

Next a went round to have a look at the bees. To be precise to see the hive. For some reason I have not been worried about the hive in the high winds. When I got to the apiary I found that I was right not to worry. The hive was in one piece and where I left it. The hedges had died back and the trees had lost their leaves back but the hive location was still sheltered. I shone the torch through the bottom of the hive and saw that the bees were still moving about. The weather is not bothering them too much. As I finished my inspection the rain came on. Cold, wet and driven by a stiff breeze. I did not mind since I had been cooped up in my office all week. I like being out in wild weather. After the bees Degsy and I sauntered home just in time to get washed and changed to meet S&J. We had a nice relaxing dinner. In the end S&J had to go home but it was nice whilst it lasted.

Billy's here

The daughter (Claire) and boyfriend (Clarkie) of our neighbours are leaving soon to go travelling. They are not at home at Christmas so Christmas was brought forward to Sunday. We have a tradition of having a few drinks with our neighbours on Christmas morning. I had a smashing breakfast of locally smoked bacon, mushrooms and eggs with tea and toast on the side. Suitably protected we presented ourselves at 11 o'clock only to find that C&C did not know about the pseudo-Christmas. They did turn up, if a little late, and were surprised to find all the usual suspects sitting round sipping Kia Royale's in our Christmas best.

Graham, Dad of Claire, likes a beer. In Woodville a micro-brewery has been established. It does bottles and kegs in different types or styles of beer. They rent the hand pump to go with the keg. Their stock in trade beer is Billy's Best. It is a bit hoppy for me but with a few Kia's inside me Billy's went down quietly. Just as well really as Graham had bought a pin, a 36 pint keg. We were supposed to leave at 2pm but the party was still flowing at two. We got away just before 4pm. We said our goodbye's and gave our best wishes for the future to C&C. More or less as soon as we got home and sat down with a brew we fell asleep.

Next year has begun

Next year has begun with the placing of my bulk seed order with Kings. They will probably turn up before Christmas. My special thing for next year is a defence against potato blight. I cannot find seed Garlic in the shops. I will probably have to get it on-line. I have decided what I am going to do with my scaffold boards. I just need some pegs and more screws.

H has run mad at home tidying up the back garden. We even have an idea what we might do. I think Mr Mattock will be busy through the winter.

The lottie still has plenty of produce growing, Sprouts, Leeks, Beets, Broccoli, Carrots, Parsnip, Cabbage, oh and weeds. A superfluity weeds. If only the edible plants were so vigorous!

A new milestone

This post is the double century. Two hundred posts of assorted ramblings interspersed with bits of useful infomation......I would like to hope.

Rememberance Sunday 2009

H and Miss L were up early as Miss L had to be in town to take charge of the Brownies at the town's Remembrance parade. In the meantime I popped round the Steve's to collect my scaffold boards and take them over to the lottie. I parked them at the lottie in a safe place. The planks are good value. I cannot believe how long they are. I just have to get some pegs then we are in business to make some new edgings over the winter. Whilst I was loading the car outside Steve's, a thin little voice caught my attention. "Young man...young man". One of Steve's elderly neighbours could not get the top of her new jar of coffee. I obliged with the cap removal. Whatever I did moving the boards my lower back is killing.

I went home, had a shower, a shave and a change of clothes then together with H went to Ashby for the parade. Just as we got into town the procession, headed by the drums and bugles of the Donisthorpe Scout Band, marched past. The youth military cohorts marched past in fair order followed by the various shuffling youth organisations such as the Scouts. Guides, Rangers and Brownies, fund raisers such as the Roundtable and the church groups. The Scout Band is peopled by ex-Scouts. I think the youngest member is at least thirty. The youngest of the drum corp must be at least fifty. They do make a stirring sound as the drum corp thunders and volley complimented by cascading bugle calls. There was a very good turn out. As usual the organising group got the timing all wrong. The minister from St Helen's had to fill for five minutes. He said some poignant things. Hymms sung, religious words said, silence observed, wreaths laid, and the national anthem sung with gusto, even the tricky second verse, all under a blue sky and the biting chill of a November day. Once the officer of the day bellowed his dismissal of the parade the assembled couple of hundred people dissolved into small groups. Miss L popped up having handed over her charges to their parents. We passed the time of day with friends then went home for a hot cuppa. Miss L was frozen through despite layers of clothing. I was as warm as toast. As I was told when I was a lad, there is no such thing as bad weather....just the wrong clothing.

Whilst having lunch I was channel hopping on the TV only to spot the MotoGP was about to start. Today was the last round. Valentino Rossi had already won the title so the racing was all about the minor places. Having experienced the end of a couple of racing seasons I could empathise with the winners and losers and the general relief that it is over for another year. After the GP which Danni Pedrosa won, Rossi second and Lorenzo third, I went to the lottie. Degsy was a bit poorly but with time short I parked him up with a promise to look at him next weekend. I took the few bits I needed in the Vauxhall. I harvested the French Beans, dismantled the frame and cleared away the debris. It took a whole hour since the bean vines had tangled themselves in the overhead netting.. The bean pods filled my big green tray. That is going to be a lot of podding! I found a big Butterhut squash that I missed from the harvest yesterday. The cold weather has killed off the vines of the squashes revealing the hidden fruits of Pumpkin [although being big and orange they are hard to miss], Butternut squash and Gherkin. I pulled up the empty stalks of the Sweet Corn and left them on the ground to continue drying. The vines of the French beans went into the compost heap. I tidied up and went home even though the sun was still above the horizon. I did a bit of fettling in the garden and then was distracted by tea. I spent sometime pondering what is to be done over the winter. And that was more or less it for the weekend. Back to work to work in the morning. I still have five day holidays to use up before the end of December so if the weather holds I might have a chance to catch up on the digging.

Happy as a pig in..........

I have had a very busy fortnight, travelling here and there, seeing people. There was the promise of an outing to the Railway on Friday night to discus Dave P's plans for his plot. We might have a drop of the black stuff too. Just for medicinal purposes you undestand and as as part of our civic duty to support local businesses.A couple of hours talk nonsense and slurping the black stuff was a nice antidote to the couple of weeks of charging about. Steve told me that that the secondhand scafforld boards had been delivered. We resolved to meet up the next day and sort out the scaffold boards and Steve's muck pile.

I had a list of things to do Saturday morning including dropping off my Potato order to the Newall chaps. I tried two places for Garlic bulbs but came up empty handed. I had to accompany H to Tamworth. Whilst there I picked up some artist supplies for Miss L. I got home in time to get changed, nip over to collect my muck trailer from Netherseal, chat to Angie [she is getting a new horse to replace the one that died so that means more muck for me] and get back to the lottie to meet Steve and Dave.I had emptied my trailer by the time they turned up.They had been over to Steve's poo source and turned up with a trailer full of muck and a couple of kids in tow, one from each family.

We emptied Steve's trailer onto Dave's plot and set off, in convoy, to Steve's muck source in Hartshorn. At Steve's stables they have a big trailer into which they dump the mucking out. We filled both our trailers to the brim which, by luck rather then judgement, emptied their big trailer. I went to get into Degsy only to find the kids had made themselves comfortable in the passenger seats, strapped in and ready to go.There is not much you can do when faced with such an emphatic decision. They were as good as gold whilst I wrestled Degsy and the ton weight trailer up the long hill from Hartshorn. We got back to the lottie and tipped the muck. I had half a dozen barrow loads of muck dropped on the Asgaragus bed. I am not sure that is the right thing to do but it is done now. With luck it will smother the weed seeds. The sun was sliding towards the horizon and the temperature was dropping too. We parted company with me resolving to see Steve the next day to collect me scaffold boards.I ran my trailer back to Netherseal. Then home for tea.

   

Bright n breezy

I got a text yesterday to say the muck trailer was full. Off I went after a quick breakfast. Having collected the trailer I went to the lottie. There I set about digging up more spuds. The chick weed is getting me down. It grows at an extrordinery rate. Having got my tools together, I plugged in my Ipod and tuned into Radio 4, and set about digging spuds and weeding as I went. The breezy weather had blown away the clouds that had kept the skys grey for the last week. The scattered clouds did not shield the sun in it's big blue sky. The clocks went back this weekend to GMT and with the heat so the sun it would seem. Already the sun looks lower in the sky at its zenith. The wind did not have an edge to it so it very pleasant. I managed to dig six foot of spuds, which is about two rows and came away with a tray full of Cara. The gave a them a wash in the wheelbarrow and left them drying in sun whilst a tided up and looked at what needed doing. The legume bed looks terrible but once the Pumpkins, Peas, Beans and Corn harvested the transfarmation will be quick and extensive.

Perfect Pete came for a chat as did Dave & Harry. Dave is made up with his new plot which he has just taken possesion of. Harry was just interested in lunch. Sue had a chat and asked a couple of questions. Since I am soon to stop being the Secretary of the Society I hedged the question in favour of the Chairman. I have been Secretary for six years and having being trying to get rid of the job for two of those six years.

Spuds dried and with aching back I loaded up Degsy. That just left me to empty the trailer into the muck bin. That I did a set off, back to the stables to drop the trailer. I had a chat with Angie then trundled over to see the bees. They are still flying and looking quite active in the hive. All's well there so I took a little tour of the meadow, checked out the hedgerow and resolved to get some Sloe Gin made.

Degsy's big day out

I had to go up to Manchester last weekend. So I thought I would Degsy a good run. The MOT chaps said that he exhaust was blowing so I figured I could get someone to give me a hand with fixing it. I chose to go early on Friday evening. Degsy does not go fast but we still did the journey just over two hours. No dramas but I bit noisy even with the Ipod turned up.

I did the other jobs I went to Manchester for and then set about Degsy. After some faffing about I decided that the engine to exhaust manifold joint was not leaking. However the manifold to exhaust joint was. I had bought a nice new exhaust bracket for the back end of the exhaust. It took more than half an hour to get the old, bent, rusted, mud caked bracket off and ten minutes to put the new one on. With back of the exhaust secured the manifold to exhaust joint was more stable. I managed to get a few turns on the nuts which made a big difference. The joint still leaks a bit but it is hardly noticeable.

Running home the next evening was a delight. Degsy was much quieter and run and bit better. Probably because the air was cold. The main bean spot lights are amazing. I had a chance to stop en route and train the spot lamps to the best focus. I noticed lately that many drivers just don't dip their headlights when approaching one another. Even truckers dipped their headlights when they got the benefit of Degsy main beam.

I had filled Degsy up with petrol before I left home. It was a 180 mile round trip and I used a little over half a tank so I reckon I am getting about 30MPG on a run. I will check my sums again. Sound too good to be true. All that way and Degsy did not miss a beat. However the vents under windscreen are not air tight so I ended up with one freezing hand and a cold knee. Looks like I have found another little thing to fix.

I have been thinking about the lottie. The night have drawn in and I busy at the weekends so I think I will have to have a word with Chairman about my current timetable. I still have five day holidays to use before Christmas so a couple of those will sort the lottie. It has been raining a bit so the ground will be easier to dig. I find myself missing the digging. I think I need to see a doctor!

Mmmmmm Pie

Today, I went to our offices in Nantwich. Nothing new in that. The office is out of town. A butty van comes round about 11 0'clock. I trooped out with the others just to have a see what folks were having. I spotted a hot cabinet full of pies, better still meat and potato pies. I had to have one. I took my turn, paid the price and took my pie inside. I got a brew and sat down in the canteen.

It was just the right temperature, not too hot. A nice short crust pastry with an egg wash on top. Just the weight of it showed it was really well filled. I tucked into the crisp pastry and soft, unctuous filling. As expected a quality filling with a nice balance of seasoning. Some pie makers bung in loads of seasoning to make up for the lack of tasty or down right nasty ingredients. I munched through the pie enjoying the unexpected delight.

Odd feelings

I have had a few days off to visit with my brother Adam and his missus Tracy. They came down on Wednesday afternoon by bus to Derby. I picked them up and took them home. We went to Burton on Wednesday evening. Miss L picked the venue for tea. She suggested Wing Wahs. It is a buffet style Chinese. It was packed and no wonder at £8.99 for all you can eat. It was packed out which tells you everything you need to know about the quality then onto the Cooper Arms for a few beers. It was quiet in there so we were able to catch up. We had all day together on Thursday whilst H and Miss L were at work and school, respectively. We took in the usual sites and a couple of garden centres. Tracey is a keen gardener.

Friday afternoon I drove Ad, Tracey, H and Miss L up to Manchester partly to drop Ad and T back to Manchester as they were to fly home the Fueteventura on Saturday. And to take Miss L to Manchester Metropolitan University. Man Met, as it is called, had an open day. Miss L is hoping to go there. We had a tour of the accommodation and a tour of the University. It was a bit of a shock for me. The University campus is All Saints which is an area of the city I used to live in when I was about seven. The area is completely different, only the roads remain the same and the occasional building. Although All Saints has been redeveloped twice since my time but was strangely familiar and a very odd feeling. The facade of the Town Hall in All Saints was the first building to have it's facade retained whilst the building plot behind was redeveloped. It proved the concept and was used all over Manchester in the following years.

It was home again on Saturday. I got a text on Friday saying the muck trailer was full. I had to collect the trailer on Sunday morning. H had to go to Donnington le Heath to work at a Medieval re-enactment fair. I went to the lottie after collecting the trailer. I dug up the remaining cabbages, dumped eight barrow loads of muck onto the area and turned it in. The weather has remained calm and relatively warm for October but today it decided to rain, well drizzle. I managed to get the area cleared and prepared before the I was soaked through and retired home for sandwiches and dry clothes. I went back to the lottie later in the afternoon once it had brightened up. The drizzle made very little impression on the soil. It was still dust dry. I planted 70+ white and 40+ red over wintering onions. I am hoping for some more rain....soon. I harvested some more beets. I even had time to weed the Asparagus bed. That was enough for the day. That was it for the day so Degsy and I trundled home.

Getting Busy

Work has been mad for a while but I seem to have weathered the storm. On Wednesday evening I met Steve at the lottie. I just happened to have a bottle of home made wine in Degsy. We watched the sunset whilst chat over the business of the lottie. 9am Saturday Steve, Perfect and I met at the lottie and waited for lottie member for whom the meeting was arranged. They did not turn up! Then went to Melton Mowbray on Saturday to finish a plumbing job for a friend. On the way way back I went to nursery to pick up some over wintering Onions and Garlic. I got a call from Steve to meet at the lottie as the plot holder was available. It was the usual type of thing. They had not been looking after their plot. We came to an amicable arrangement and we are still all friends.

Sunday dawned clear and bright but for once I had a long and good night sleep. I made a very nice omelette for breakfast. Miss L was off out for the day with the boyfriend so she was hogging the bathroom. Whilst she was titavating herself I bottled up the last of the honey. When Miss L had gone I fitted a shelf in her room. Next up was along outstanding job. The upstand at the back of the kitchen has come adrift. It has taken sometime to figure out how to resolve it. In the end we decided to replace the timber upstand with a tiles. H and I had picked the tiles and the gubbins to fix, edge, space and seal the tiles. I cleared the tops and removed the old upstand. Then was just a question of fixing the tiles remembering the to use the spacer and edging strip. It took a hour or so. I will do the grouting in the week when the tiles are set.

H made a nice light lunch. After lunch and watching the end of the MotoGP. I went out to look at Degsy. Last time a set the ignition timing I did not do a very good job however I did spot a few things that were worn. A tenners worth of bits [spark plugs, distributor cap, points, rotor & condenser] where ordered from the t'interweb a few weeks ago. I popped the bonnet on Degsy and replaced all the bits. I was able to reset the timing more exactly than before. I turned the ignition key and after a couple of pops Degsy fired up. He ticked over slowly as it should. H needed some bits so we took Degsy to Swad. Then onto the farmers from whom I borrow the meadow. I dropped off a few jars of honey, the traditional payment of rent for an apiary, then home. That, more or less, was my day beside running out to pick Miss L up.

Bros

Last weekend my brother Adam flew in from Fuerteventura. Another brother was in Coventry for a reunion on Saturday night. He came over to my house on Sunday morning and then I drove him up to Manchester. Wet up my other brother Derek's house together his family and Mum and Dad. Derek has discovered a new talent....cooking. His son is a chef so I thing he has been having lessons.

Mum and Dad went home in the early evening but the rest of us stayed on for a few drinks. Then a few more and then a few more. Very much later we went to bed. Luckily we had all booked the Monday off work. We all pitched up at Mum and Dad's and spent the day. It was the first time the six of us had been together for years. Sitting round the living room of the house we grew up in it was noticeable how much room four grow up lads take up.

Early Monday evening Alan and I drove home. H had tea waiting for us. Then the long drive home for Alan, back home to Devon.

Cool of the night

This week I had to go to a corporate Golf day sponsored by the company I work for. The past few weeks of practise has been killing me. Golf is not my natural game and just add a bit of pressure there was everyone looking on and the scoring. It was a wonderful day to be out in the countryside, manicured and clipped. Sunny and bright with a cool breeze. I finished in the bottom third but near the top of the third. So not too shabby.

When I got back to the hotel after Golf and taking the clients out I sat out on the veranda with a glass of red wine at two in the morning of a very clear night. The sky was black, no Moon, but punctuated at regular intervals with the flashing strobes lights of distant aeroplanes. From the veranda I was able to see the planes moving in and out along the flight paths of two centres just over the horizon. One was Stanstead and Gatwick.

Landys, Landys Everywhere

I got up early on Sunday last, which is unusual enough to report. I made a couple of bacon butties and a brew, one of me and one for H. The reason for this madness was a show that was staged at the East of England Showground in Peterborough. I was at the showground about quarter past nine. As I pulled into the vast, well organised and appointed car park. The content of the car park was a clue to the reason for the event. Nine out of ten vehicles in the car park were Land Rovers of one sort or another. The event was the Land Rover Owners Magazine autumn show.

Having been mugged at the ticket office I went through the showground gates. I was very impressed with the facilities at the Showground. The event was quite small or was it that showground is so vast. In any case there must have been a thousand Land Rovers. I only saw four vehicles that were not an LR or one of the derivatives. There were stalls and clubs in attendance. Some of the stalls were more like an auto-jumble. You really have to know your stuff to identify one piece of grubby metal from another. It was all scrap to me. There were army surplus stalls. Lots of things you never knew you needed and all painted green. Then the specialist stalls, off road suspension and all the individual parts. Others stalls with special stainless steel panels and exhausts. Yet other suppliers of touring tents that fold into roof racks and yet others with storage solutions to fit out the back of the landy.

Then there were all the clubs. One for every marque and interest. Individual clubs; for Series 1, 2 and 3, Defenders, V8s, Forward control 101s, Paris Dakar, Lightweights, ex-military, Freelander, Range Rover, G4 and Camel rally and monster land rovers. Then clubs based on districts or geographical areas, off roading, green laning and over landing.

Later in the day, and on another part of the venue, there was a proper auto-jumble called the Sodbury Sortout. It was a bit of a disappointing turn out. However I did get a wheel brace for less than half price. I had a list of things to buy but it was as if the list was written upside down. The things I really needed, at the top of the list, were not to be had. The low priority items were found, a hasp for the filler cap, spring clips for the trailer and, of course, the wheel brace. I just need a length of scaffold tube to be a extension handle to the wheel brace.

In the main arena there was the usual parades, a bike stunt rider and bird of pray flying display. I went round lots of times, this way and that. Everything got a good coat of looking at......twice. Perhaps the best thing I got was not a Land Rover item. One of the stall sold tools. One of the gadgets was a "finger ratchet". Imagine a the ratchet that you use on sockets then saw off the handle. It is the handiest thing. There are lots of times when the room to swing the ratchet handle is restricted or you just need the spin a nut with a socket. the finger ratchet is just the job and cheap as chips. Coming across the finger ratchet just about clinched the day to justify the cost and getting early on a Sunday.

25 things in 21 days

It has been a while since I blogged. I just have not had time since came from holidays. So here is an an abbreviated catch up.

1. I had to do an all nighter at a client site, implementing a new server. It's a big deal.
2. Stayed at a odd, but nice place, in the West End
3. Took a look at the lottie. French Beans and Squashes have gone mad
4. The Potatoes where blighted whilst I was away and the weeds have gone berserk
5. Checked out the bees. Huzzah the new queen is viable and busy
6. Checked the other hive. It will die off.
7. Harvested the onions and shallots
8. Harvested some Honey and extracted it
   
9. Outing to the Railway Inn to organised the summer bash at he lottie
10. Started to lift the spuds
11. Attended the Summer bash. Very good if a trifle staid
12. H and Miss L had to go a Brownies bash. 100 years of Girl Guides.
    
13. Went to Steve's after the summer bash, much better
14. Went to a seminar in Manchester then went to see Mum and Dad
15. Checked out the bees. One hive is thriving and one is dead
16. Cleaned up the dead hive
17. It was our 23rd wedding anniversary at the end of August, so we had a nice meal
    
18. Went Fencing on the 1st Sept. It was the first day back after the summer break
19. Saw the farmers and now have permission to have a few more hives in the meadows
20. Went to the lottie to weed, tidy up and to harvest the last of the onions and the garlic
21. Cleared out the greenhouses. Lots of Toms
22. Went to the Land Rover show in Peterborough
23. In between times I have getting out on the bike whenever I have 35 minutes spare
    
24. I have to go to a corporate Golf day in few weeks so I have been getting out on the driving range.
25. I got a sun burned back on Saturday whilst digging the spuds

If I get a mo I might blog about certain particular events.

Holiday time

I have been on holiday for the past few week. Week one of the holiday was H and me walking the Cumbrian Way [click HERE] for a information courtesy of Dik. H will update her blog in due course. Miss L spent the week in Manchester being spoilt rotten by the grand-parents. The second week we spent together in a cottage in Cornwall. It was a classic journey. Solid traffic from a hundred miles out, eight hours sat in the car.

We toured about checking out the towns of Cornwall. We have never been in that neck of the woods before. We went all the way down to Porthen Leven which is right on the very end of the Cornwall, next stop America. We found a smashing restaurant called Kota [Click HERE] Very fresh food in stylish surroundings. Most of Cornwall seems to be pub food and Fish & Chips. Kota was different. Another evening we got the makings of a picnic, a nice bottle of wine and went to Trebarwith Strand. We sat on the cliffs and watched the surfers in the tide as the sun slowly sank in the west. It was a moment. I long moment but a moment. H wants to go back, that says it all.

At the end of the week we dropped Miss L off in Tiverton with her cousins to spend a week. H and I went back to work. Just before I went on holiday I decided that I needed to get aerobically fit and maybe lose a bit of weight in the process. Work has been getting in the way of Fencing and it has been telling. Whilst away I ate smaller portions and lots of fish. Well Cornwall is the place for fresh fish. I got a push bike just before my hols and whilst away bagged some cheap cycle shoes, pedals and cleats. When I got home it only took quarter of an hour the fit everything to the bike. I go out every evening for a six mile circuit. The first circuit was a killer. Luckily I need to stop to adjust the cleats, "a hem". Since then it has got a little easier.

Wednesday evening was the first warm evening with free time since I got back. H and I went up to the apiary. H installed herself by the river in the shade of the Willow tree with a book and left me to the bee fettling. It has been weighing on my mind whether or not the new Queen, introduced just before the hols, is viable. I happy to say she is. I was really chuffed. The other hive is in poor shape. I had put the clearer boards on to isolate the honey in the super before the holidays. I was able extract the honey and with a bit of luck there might be some more.

I had to go to Bournemouth on business on Thursday and was treated to lunch on the prom and to watch part of the air display of the Bournemouth air show. I was able to get back in time to meet Steve and Dave P to meet them in the Railway for the chat and a pint.

Saturday was a drag. We had to collect Miss L from Devon. We were to meet my brother and sister in law at Gardano services, on the m5 at a Avonmouth, to pass over Miss L. Brover and Ali were going to see U2 at Cardiff so it was should have been straight forward. However on the way down we discovered the M5 was suffering heavy traffic south bound due to an accident. We changed plans via the mobile to meet at Magor services on the M48, just a few miles from Newport. Our drive down the M50 was easy but the "A" road from Monmouth to Chepstow was beautiful. H was moved. The journey that should have took brov and Ali 45 minutes took more than two hours. The M5 was suffering from holiday makers going and returning from Devon and Cornwall, the "V" festival and 80,000 folk going to U2. The drive home from Magor was in heavy traffic but it was at least it was moving. We set off at 10am and get home at 18.00 so another eight hours in the car. As an antidote to the travelling we had been invited to a "do" at our neighbours Sheila and Graham on Saturday evening. Miss L's young man was invited too so the "love birds" were inseparable all evening, sweet really. We had a great time. I caved in at 1am. H came home much later but paid the price the next day.

On Sunday afternoon I had decided to exchange the contents of one the hives as it was on loan and has to go back soon. Fettling the bees on Sunday meant driving Degsey. It is a treat every time I have a spin in it but thank god I don't have to travel in it all the time. Max speed 40mph and vague steering and we will say nothing about the fuel consumption.

A quick thanks to Steve for watering the Toms whilst I was away.

Happy Birthday Times Three

I could not go the do the bees too early as the air temperature would not be high enough for what I had in mind. I had to do the trailer duty and the lottie first. The trailer duty gave me some bad news. Ali, one of the horses that provided the contents for the trailer has had to be put down. Sad but she had been very poorly and in terrible pain with a damaged hip and back for several months. Nevertheless trailering needed to be done. Her companion is still producing.

The lottie got a good hoeing and I planted some more Peas, Beetroot and Swede. I harvested some more spuds and cabbage. The onion look like they are ready to come up as is the garlic. I pulled one and it is really fat. A good year for Onions and Garlic. I pulled a few cabbage that had gone over and chopped them up into the compo bin. It is quiet soothing chopping cabbages with a machete. The French climbing Beans are looking good as are the Sweet Corn.

Next off was the Bees but you will find all about that if you read the blog entry "Queens in the Post". I am holiday next weeks so holiday preparation has been in full swing for a few weeks. The car was serviced last week and this week was a good cleaning of the interior. The interior was a real state. The mud from the winter and straw from the bees were allover the inside of the car. Having finished with the bees and grabbed a quick bite to eat I positioned the car on the drive and took out everything that was not bolted, screwed or glued down. Every surface was hoovered within and inch of its life. Then it was out with the polish. Again everything was scrubbed and polish within an inch of its life. I even did a bit of polishing with the lemon scented Mr Screen so the car smells nice too. All the mats got a good going over before refitting. Tools were rubbed within an oily rag to clean and protect them before being returned to their sub floor hidey holes. I even dusted the first aid kit and its hidey hole. That done I one more thing to do.

H's friend Luba is fifty and she does not care who knows it. She has embraced her birthday. Her party started at 3pm but I was still several hours from finishing my jobs. I managed to get everything done by 6pm and went for a shower. I took Luba a bagful of spuds. An unusual birthday present I grant you but I knew she would approve. Luba is mad about veg growing. She has a small greenhouse and grows a few Sweet Corn and Pumpkins in the boarders. Luba only lives at the other end of the street from us so travelling was not a problem. H and Miss L had gone over about 4pm. H rang me to chivvy me along so I did not miss the Salsa dancing! Luba's household is very cosmopolitan. Luba is Ukrainian, married to Antonio who is Venezuelan. Did I mention Luba grew up in Oldham near Manchester so her accent is a bit varied. All the aunties, uncles, brother, sisters, cousins, with the other halves and the kids, neighbours and friends all piled into Luba's garden party. A Venezuelan friend of Luba runs Salsa classes. You guessed it, we had a Salsa session. It was really fun. The cake came out so we sung Happy Birthday, first in English, then in Spanish and finally in Ukrainian. Then rounds of toasts, no, not the crispy bread sort, the ones that end in cheers. The evening was warm but as the evening drew in and party dispersed the usual suspects remained. We pulled all the chairs together and sat round chatting. Luba's brother, Roman, kept us plied with drink and food. As he topped up our glasses he would remind us that it was a Ukrainian tradition, Drink and Food!

It was lucky it poured down for most of Sunday. I was a little sensitive. However by 3pm I was on an even keel and ready for the Moto GP on the TV, live from Donnington Park. Another masterful display and a win for Rossi. As usual the British weather had a hand to play in the result.

Queens in the Post

A couple of weeks ago I discovered that one of my hives had lost it Queen. I have been on the horns of a a dilemma over the past few weeks. Do I let the bees organise themselves and live with what they decided to do, even if it means they die off, or to intervene. I could not be sure that the Queen in the other hive was strong enough so I have let that hive continue to develop. I decided to intervene.

Believe it or not but you can buy a Queen. She comes by post with a few attendants. I placed the order on Tuesday for delivery Friday. H said the posty was amazed and had been showing all his posty mates what he had to deliver. H was not overly impressed with being collared by the posty to take delivery of a small package with a big yellow label announcing "Live Queen Bee". I asked H to bring the Queen to my office so I could look after her, the Queen Bee not H. H's face was a picture when she handed over the package. She had summoned all her strength to bring the little package in the car and pick it up to give it to me.

I was chuffed to receive the packaged and opened it carefully. I knew what to expect. H and Eddie, a colleague, were not so sure. Inside the envelope was a wooden box with a mesh front. Behind the mesh a Queen and a few attendant worker bees. At one end of the wooden cell some sugar fondant as food. The Bees were buzzing about but settled down once the cell was out of the envelop and sheltered from the bright lights in the office. I was distracted for the rest of Friday. I had decided that the Queen would be introduced to her new home that evening but the rain but paid to that plan. I would have to wait until Saturday.

Saturday afternoon, after lottie fettling I went to the apiary. I checked both hives. The blue one is OK but the cedar one definitely struggling. Lucky I had a Queen in my overalls pocket. I rearranged the frames so the frames with most empty cells were near each other. I shook the bees off the frames to stir them up a bit then when the brood box was reassembled of sprinkled a generous helping of sugar syrup over the frames. The idea was that the bees would start to fan the hive scent, as they always do when disturbed, as signal to collect the flying back to the hive. Slopping sugar syrup starts the bees tidying up by licking the syrup from the frames, comb and each other. The Queen would be covered in syrup to and to act of cleaning up would spread her pheromones throughout the hive. I dosed the Queen in syrup and opened the wooden cell. The Queen flew onto my finger for a moment. My heart stopped but before I could react she dived for the "safety" of the dark space between the frames. I a moment she was gone. I put the hive back together and sat in the long grass front of the hive for a worry. Would she be accepted or would she be killed and expelled from the hive. Both bad results since it would be a waste of money and the queenless hive would remain.

To distract myself I tidied up then took a walk up the meadow, found a spot and watched the river Mease rush by with the Damsel flies flitting this way and that way. Forty minutes had passed by so I went back to the hive and dismantled it. I pulled out the frames I thought it likely she would be on. To my dismay I saw a cluster of very agitated bees. The ball of bees was a clear sign they were killing something. Another frame another bee cluster. I brushed the bees aside with my finger to find at he centre of this ball of twenty bees was a very unhappy worker. She was different to the hive bees so I took her to be one of the attendants. I checked the other cluster, another worker as its centre. Having pulled a few frames out I saw more dead and dieing bees on the hive floor. The mortuary bees were heaving the bodies to the hive entrance. I all this chaos I did not find the Queen. I pulled out a few more frames and found a big cluster of several hundred bees under one of the ledges. I brushed the bees aside even so gently and caught a fleeting glimpses of the Queen. She was not being mobbed so I figure the workers were clustering as they do when they swarm. I am hopeful that when I check the hive midweek I will find eggs. That will mean she has been accepted. Fingers crossed.