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.
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