Well that was fun!
The Builder went out this morning, dug the Vixen out, tied her back together with string, checked that the engine was working and made sure that the front wheel wasn’t rubbing against the crumpled bumper. All was well.
I, in the meantime, was inside in the warm, toasting crumpets.
Later, I drove into work. Very, very slowly. It had started raining, after quite a significant fall of snow last evening, so there was rainwater, slush, snow and meltwater all over the place. The car was making a very strange noise when I went over the speed humps, but it was hard to tell whether it was the wheel rubbing on the bumper, the roads misbehaving, the snow on the roof cracking or just the car thawing out after several days sat in frost, ice and snow. I drove more slowly and kept listening. Only one lane was clear of snow on the A61. It was worse when I got into Sheffield. Abbey Lane was ungritted and covered in sludge, slush and meltwater. Not fun! Actually that’s not true. It was rather fun. I was worried about the strange noise the car made going over bumps but otherwise I quite enjoyed driving through all of that to get here. I had left earlier than I usually do on a Saturday, when there is very little traffic, so there was no hurry and I could take my time. Slow and leisurely.
Arrived and reported in to The Builder. Tried to ring the insurance company to see what was happening about the car. After all, I can’t drive a car that is held together with string indefinitely. What if the string breaks? No joy. Kept getting cut off in the queue. Passed it all back to The Builder to sort out and went to turn on the printers and photocopiers.
Next thing I knew, I had someone on the phone from Drive Assist wanting my licence number. It seems that the insurance company doesn’t rate driving cars that are making strange noises and are held together with string very highly. What if the string should break? We are, apparently, getting a courtesy car from the other chap’s insurance company. It appears that he had told them all about it and (I believe) things are in train. Don’t know how long we’ve got the hire car for, though. I believe that they are delivering the car to The Sidings. All I have to do is get The Vixen safely back home again -- without the string breaking or the wheel falling off!!
Mind you, it’s no wonder there were so many minor (and a few not so minor) accidents over the last couple of days. I realise that 4 or so inches of snow isn’t a huge lot, but there’s still no reason to drive like maniacs. Most of us were driving nice and slowly but there have been some who have been dashing about like demented chooks. Not only is it dangerous, but it splashes water about like nobody’s business.
Later: Hmm. Thought it was all going remarkably smoothly. It seems that the car hire people don’t have a free car and can’t get one to us until Tuesday and that it will be all right, driving a car making strange noises and tied together with string. The Builder has sicked the insurance people onto them. I await the outcome with interest. I’ll keep you posted :-)
Sunday: Got home last evening and found the rhinoceros, who usually sits on the Vixen's dashboard, recuperating on the radiator. I think it must have been dislodged when the car collided into the VIxen and, unnoticed by us, fallen out when I opened the passenger door to get the insurance details out. The Builder found it lying in the snow in the gutter when he came back from the supermarket in the van. I hadn't noticed its absence in the car, being preoccupied with the hazardous driving conditions and the strange noise. It's dry now and sitting on my hat, waiting for the car to be fixed so it can resume car guarding duties.
So far there is no sign of the hire car. I decided on my way home last night that I actually didn’t much care for driving a car along a country highway in the dark while it was tied up with string and making a strange noise. The Builder and I took it round the block this morning before I came to work, and it was still making the strange noise and people who were out walking their dogs kept looking at us. I have a horrible feeling that the noise may be caused by a damaged suspension :-S We have parked the car, and parked it will stay until somebody comes and takes it away to mend it. The Builder brought me in to work in the van! I hope the hire company comes up with a car soon. It’s not entirely efficient getting The Builder to chauffeur me all about the place.
There is very little snow left, now, at least in and around Chesterfield. There is more in Sheffield but nothing like it was. A short, sharp snow event, followed by a very rapid thaw. The country is threatened with floods now!!!!!
Victoria Harbour, Docklands, Spring 2026
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
Snow Report
Thursday:
The meteorologists have been referring to today as a "snow event". So far, for us at least, it hasn't been all that eventful - though there is yet time; it's only half past eight! In the south of the country it has been very eventful already. The schools in Birmingham are closed. Some of the airports are closed. Trains are being disrupted. We are advised to travel with supplies of food and warm drinks. And a torch!
I went outside at around 07:00 to put the recycling in its bins. It was a balmy 0d (that is balmy when it has been -6.5!) and quite clear. I went upstairs to the loo and to brush my teeth,. The Builder yelled up that it was snowing quite hard. By the time we left at 07:10 it was settling. Fortunately, Derbyshire grits most of its roads. Not only was the A61 gritted, as you would expect, but so too was QVR. Sheffield only grits its main arterial roads. They're not very good here. It's snowing cheerfully in Sheffield at the moment. But nothing startling. Yet!
The Builder was supposed to be replacing some windows for my pal Sue today. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. Not today, anyway!
Lunchtime update:
Someone has skidded into the Vixen and crumpled her nose :-( While The Builder was measuring Sue’s windows and I was peacefully drinking my coffee at work, the other driver came around the corner into Ward Street (I assume too fast!) and couldn’t take the corner. At least he made great efforts to find out who belonged to the poor, crumpled red car. I believe his insurance is sorting it all out. I haven’t seen it (obviously, being still at work); The Builder says the front bumper is bent and the number plate doesn’t look all that cheerful, but he thinks it’s still driveable.
Snow report. It isn’t really snowing in the Sheffield city centre. Just the odd flurry. The Builder tells me it is still snowing properly in Tupton but the roads, are now more or less clear. There had been several centimetres of snow on Bridge Street and QVR but the grit is clearly doing its work. I think it’s those nesh, feeble, delicate flowers in the south Midlands and the home counties who are panicking because they’ve forgotten that winter does, sometimes, involve white stuff falling out of the sky and landing on the roads! Although, I suppose it *might* be that conditions are a tad worse on the southern and western part of the country.
They’re forecasting sleet and black ice for this evening. Weather is such fun! I think I might go home early. The only appointment I had in my diary for this afternoon was coffee with Peter-my-boss. We’ve cancelled that. He’s leaving early too! After all - the Met Office has issued severe weather warnings advising us not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Clearly I should go home in this lull!!
(Imagine if England and Wales were in Scandinavia. Or Russia. How on earth would they cope with the winters?!?!?!?!?)
Later:
So. I got home at around 2, The Builder having picked me up from the Chesterfield station. The local countryside looked absolutely beautiful, all glistening white. I really wouldn't have described it as particularly bad weather; it was just snow. I realise that it was worse in parts of the rest of the country, but to close 2500 schools seems a bit over the top to me. Wasn't that bad! Tupton looked glorious. The garden looked lovely. Probably around 3 inches of snow. We went down to inspect the orchard, The Builder carrying Marlo on his shoulder. Marlo jumped down to come back and see what I was up to (I had stopped to look at the "winter" garden) - and sank to his knees. He was a bit surprised!
The Vixen has had her front right hand bumper stowed in. The number plate is hanging loosely. The bonnet is dinted :-( I must ring our insurance company and make sure that Mr Other Driver's insurance company is actually doing something. I would have done it today but I've brought last year's insurance certificate in. I must remember to do it tomorrow. I hope the car is actually driveable. I'd quite like to use it to get to Collegiate tomorrow and Sunday!
Marlo GROWLED. Really, really GROWLED. He was sat on my shoulder watching out the kitchen window with me, when the grey tabby cat that I sometimes see ambling about in the orchard hoved into view. Clearly Marlo has not noticed this cat before. He was very, very unimpressed. I let him out the back door before he went through the (unopened!) kitchen window! By the time he got down the garden, the tabby had dropped into next door's garden. But he remained suspicious and vigilant for some time! Haven't ever heard him growl like that before, though. He sounded like a big, ferocious lion!
Friday:
It snowed on and off until early evening yesterday. We had cleared the driveway and side path so could get out easily enough this morning. It was cold and icy and foggy coming in today. Just grey and dank in Sheffield. At least, it is in the city centre. You still have to wonder, though. All that chaos yesterday, particularly in the south and centre of the country. When did the British forget about winter weather? It didn't used to come to a crashing halt whenever there was a light dusting of snow (I'm sorry, not by any definition does 3-4 inches of snow count as "heavy"!!)
The meteorologists have been referring to today as a "snow event". So far, for us at least, it hasn't been all that eventful - though there is yet time; it's only half past eight! In the south of the country it has been very eventful already. The schools in Birmingham are closed. Some of the airports are closed. Trains are being disrupted. We are advised to travel with supplies of food and warm drinks. And a torch!
I went outside at around 07:00 to put the recycling in its bins. It was a balmy 0d (that is balmy when it has been -6.5!) and quite clear. I went upstairs to the loo and to brush my teeth,. The Builder yelled up that it was snowing quite hard. By the time we left at 07:10 it was settling. Fortunately, Derbyshire grits most of its roads. Not only was the A61 gritted, as you would expect, but so too was QVR. Sheffield only grits its main arterial roads. They're not very good here. It's snowing cheerfully in Sheffield at the moment. But nothing startling. Yet!
The Builder was supposed to be replacing some windows for my pal Sue today. Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. Not today, anyway!
Lunchtime update:
Someone has skidded into the Vixen and crumpled her nose :-( While The Builder was measuring Sue’s windows and I was peacefully drinking my coffee at work, the other driver came around the corner into Ward Street (I assume too fast!) and couldn’t take the corner. At least he made great efforts to find out who belonged to the poor, crumpled red car. I believe his insurance is sorting it all out. I haven’t seen it (obviously, being still at work); The Builder says the front bumper is bent and the number plate doesn’t look all that cheerful, but he thinks it’s still driveable.
Snow report. It isn’t really snowing in the Sheffield city centre. Just the odd flurry. The Builder tells me it is still snowing properly in Tupton but the roads, are now more or less clear. There had been several centimetres of snow on Bridge Street and QVR but the grit is clearly doing its work. I think it’s those nesh, feeble, delicate flowers in the south Midlands and the home counties who are panicking because they’ve forgotten that winter does, sometimes, involve white stuff falling out of the sky and landing on the roads! Although, I suppose it *might* be that conditions are a tad worse on the southern and western part of the country.
They’re forecasting sleet and black ice for this evening. Weather is such fun! I think I might go home early. The only appointment I had in my diary for this afternoon was coffee with Peter-my-boss. We’ve cancelled that. He’s leaving early too! After all - the Met Office has issued severe weather warnings advising us not to travel unless absolutely necessary. Clearly I should go home in this lull!!
(Imagine if England and Wales were in Scandinavia. Or Russia. How on earth would they cope with the winters?!?!?!?!?)
Later:
So. I got home at around 2, The Builder having picked me up from the Chesterfield station. The local countryside looked absolutely beautiful, all glistening white. I really wouldn't have described it as particularly bad weather; it was just snow. I realise that it was worse in parts of the rest of the country, but to close 2500 schools seems a bit over the top to me. Wasn't that bad! Tupton looked glorious. The garden looked lovely. Probably around 3 inches of snow. We went down to inspect the orchard, The Builder carrying Marlo on his shoulder. Marlo jumped down to come back and see what I was up to (I had stopped to look at the "winter" garden) - and sank to his knees. He was a bit surprised!
The Vixen has had her front right hand bumper stowed in. The number plate is hanging loosely. The bonnet is dinted :-( I must ring our insurance company and make sure that Mr Other Driver's insurance company is actually doing something. I would have done it today but I've brought last year's insurance certificate in. I must remember to do it tomorrow. I hope the car is actually driveable. I'd quite like to use it to get to Collegiate tomorrow and Sunday!
Marlo GROWLED. Really, really GROWLED. He was sat on my shoulder watching out the kitchen window with me, when the grey tabby cat that I sometimes see ambling about in the orchard hoved into view. Clearly Marlo has not noticed this cat before. He was very, very unimpressed. I let him out the back door before he went through the (unopened!) kitchen window! By the time he got down the garden, the tabby had dropped into next door's garden. But he remained suspicious and vigilant for some time! Haven't ever heard him growl like that before, though. He sounded like a big, ferocious lion!
Friday:
It snowed on and off until early evening yesterday. We had cleared the driveway and side path so could get out easily enough this morning. It was cold and icy and foggy coming in today. Just grey and dank in Sheffield. At least, it is in the city centre. You still have to wonder, though. All that chaos yesterday, particularly in the south and centre of the country. When did the British forget about winter weather? It didn't used to come to a crashing halt whenever there was a light dusting of snow (I'm sorry, not by any definition does 3-4 inches of snow count as "heavy"!!)
It had just begun raining in an icy way when I walked up to Collegiate at lunchtime. The Builder picked me up from there at 5pm, when it was a kind of sleety snow. By the time we got home it was snowing really quite hard. The roads weren't recently gritted because the snow hadn't been forecast to get to us till much later. It was an interesting drive home for The Builder. I've don't think I've ever seen him drive the Dronfield Bypass so slowly! The gritters were just coming out as we passed through Chesterfield. The snow was settling on the paths we had cleared around the house, and on Bridge Street and QVR. Hope it doesn't do this all night or I'll have trouble getting in to work tomorrow. Does look really pretty, though. All shiny and glittery.
Tabitha reports that there were large drifts of snow in Cambridge, where schools were closed, traffic disrupted and public transport was affected. Freyja says it was properly snowing on Friday evening in the Sheffield City Centre. Kids all over the country vhave enjoyed an extra two days added to half term which is this coming week in most places. I suppose, in the end, that it was a snow event.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
It’s been cold. Very cold. VeryveryveryveryVERY cold. Yesterday at 07:10 it was minus, that’s MINUS 6.5d! The Vixen looked like an ice sculpture. It was, mind you, a glorious day. But cold.
It was cold again today too. I don’t know what the temperature was at 07:10 because I was not then properly up (evening duty today). But the fish pond is frozen over for the fifth day in a row (the fish are cheerily swimming around under the ice!), the grass was crisp and crunchy, the bird bath is frozen solid and everything was covered in white. At one point, after The Builder had poured hot water around the (plastic!!) duck to free a hole to let some air into the pond, I saw a blackbird hop down onto the side of the pond, then onto a flower pot, then onto the spout for the fountain and then gingerly onto the ice so he could hop around and get a drink! It was another glorious winter day.
I fear they may be over, though. The glorious bit, not the winter. The Met Office is forecasting snowy chaos and catastrophe for tomorrow. I wonder why they think Thursdays are a good day for weather chaos. The last great storm we had, three weeks ago, was on a Thursday too.
It’s no wonder I have turned into a Phatt Phrannie. I have been pondering how it is that I have failed to lose any of my excess kilos, despite a wholesome and healthy diet of chocolate, chips (no, no ¾ not together) and wine. Then it crossed my mind that I used to walk in from the Botanical Gardens, either when I lived there or after parking the car there once we’d moved. That gathered me 7000 steps if I walked both ways. Now I mostly come in by train, or with The Builder, Ecclesall Road being absolutely horrid to drive on after work at this time of year. Plus, Clarissa and I used to go out for a wander in town once or twice a week, which would garner me around 1 or 2000 steps. Then she buggered off to Leeds and I more or less stopped going out at lunchtime unless I had something I absolutely had to do. Hmmm. I bought a new pedometer. And for the first three days I had it, hardly troubled it at all. No wonder I put weight on that I’ve been unable to shift. Absolutely no exercise at all!
It was OK at the weekend, because I shifted all that rubbish. Yesterday I made myself go out for a walk at lunchtime, which gathered 1500 steps. Today, though, I have reached and even surpassed the target. I was looking out the windows at the back of the house and realised that there were men in yellow coats working up at the top of the Wetlands. The Builder and I kitted up and wandered off for a sticky. They are putting fences and observation hides along the top of the hill, on the path that leads to the derelict railway bridge. It was a lovely walk. The sun was shining very brightly. Most of the mud was frozen; that which wasn’t was very sticky! There were coots walking on the frozen wetlands and lots of seagulls drifting about in the unfrozen bit. There were people out walking their dogs and many, many birds darting about. Gathered me about 5000 steps (though some of them were quite small steps, going over the sticky, sticky mud, but still - a step is a step!). Must Do Better on the walking front. Haven’t done any proper walking for simply ages.
I have got my First Semester major assignment back, and I’ve passed it :-) I have been lying awake at 03:00 most mornings worrying that I had written a really good answer to an entirely different question and that I would therefore fail first semester and be treated with scorn and ridicule by my colleagues at work. Happily this awful fate has been averted *and* the lecturer said nice things about the essay part of the assignment. I did not wake up at 03:00 this morning. Grin!
And in honour of the family history of high blood pressure and my raised result before Christmas, I have bought a digital BP monitoring device. It’s amazing how much lower it is when I measure it in bed, first thing on a Saturday morning!!!!!!! (What do you mean, that’s cheating?)
The laptop, Marlo and the fruit bowl all tried to commit suicide on Saturday evening. The whole lot came crashing down off the dining room table. Made me jump, it did. Or, more accurately, The Builder yelling and shouting made me jump! All is well. Everything still works. Except the laptop lost its space bar, x key and alt key. I can live without the alt key. I can even live without the x key -- you can still get an x, if you push in the right place. But it's a bit inconvenient not having a space bar. The laptop has gone to computer hospital. £20 to reaffix the keys. £30 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) extra to get it done in 4 days rather than 14-21. Tsk! And I still won't have it for the weekend :-S
It was cold again today too. I don’t know what the temperature was at 07:10 because I was not then properly up (evening duty today). But the fish pond is frozen over for the fifth day in a row (the fish are cheerily swimming around under the ice!), the grass was crisp and crunchy, the bird bath is frozen solid and everything was covered in white. At one point, after The Builder had poured hot water around the (plastic!!) duck to free a hole to let some air into the pond, I saw a blackbird hop down onto the side of the pond, then onto a flower pot, then onto the spout for the fountain and then gingerly onto the ice so he could hop around and get a drink! It was another glorious winter day.
I fear they may be over, though. The glorious bit, not the winter. The Met Office is forecasting snowy chaos and catastrophe for tomorrow. I wonder why they think Thursdays are a good day for weather chaos. The last great storm we had, three weeks ago, was on a Thursday too.
It’s no wonder I have turned into a Phatt Phrannie. I have been pondering how it is that I have failed to lose any of my excess kilos, despite a wholesome and healthy diet of chocolate, chips (no, no ¾ not together) and wine. Then it crossed my mind that I used to walk in from the Botanical Gardens, either when I lived there or after parking the car there once we’d moved. That gathered me 7000 steps if I walked both ways. Now I mostly come in by train, or with The Builder, Ecclesall Road being absolutely horrid to drive on after work at this time of year. Plus, Clarissa and I used to go out for a wander in town once or twice a week, which would garner me around 1 or 2000 steps. Then she buggered off to Leeds and I more or less stopped going out at lunchtime unless I had something I absolutely had to do. Hmmm. I bought a new pedometer. And for the first three days I had it, hardly troubled it at all. No wonder I put weight on that I’ve been unable to shift. Absolutely no exercise at all!
It was OK at the weekend, because I shifted all that rubbish. Yesterday I made myself go out for a walk at lunchtime, which gathered 1500 steps. Today, though, I have reached and even surpassed the target. I was looking out the windows at the back of the house and realised that there were men in yellow coats working up at the top of the Wetlands. The Builder and I kitted up and wandered off for a sticky. They are putting fences and observation hides along the top of the hill, on the path that leads to the derelict railway bridge. It was a lovely walk. The sun was shining very brightly. Most of the mud was frozen; that which wasn’t was very sticky! There were coots walking on the frozen wetlands and lots of seagulls drifting about in the unfrozen bit. There were people out walking their dogs and many, many birds darting about. Gathered me about 5000 steps (though some of them were quite small steps, going over the sticky, sticky mud, but still - a step is a step!). Must Do Better on the walking front. Haven’t done any proper walking for simply ages.
I have got my First Semester major assignment back, and I’ve passed it :-) I have been lying awake at 03:00 most mornings worrying that I had written a really good answer to an entirely different question and that I would therefore fail first semester and be treated with scorn and ridicule by my colleagues at work. Happily this awful fate has been averted *and* the lecturer said nice things about the essay part of the assignment. I did not wake up at 03:00 this morning. Grin!
And in honour of the family history of high blood pressure and my raised result before Christmas, I have bought a digital BP monitoring device. It’s amazing how much lower it is when I measure it in bed, first thing on a Saturday morning!!!!!!! (What do you mean, that’s cheating?)
The laptop, Marlo and the fruit bowl all tried to commit suicide on Saturday evening. The whole lot came crashing down off the dining room table. Made me jump, it did. Or, more accurately, The Builder yelling and shouting made me jump! All is well. Everything still works. Except the laptop lost its space bar, x key and alt key. I can live without the alt key. I can even live without the x key -- you can still get an x, if you push in the right place. But it's a bit inconvenient not having a space bar. The laptop has gone to computer hospital. £20 to reaffix the keys. £30 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) extra to get it done in 4 days rather than 14-21. Tsk! And I still won't have it for the weekend :-S
Monday, February 05, 2007
A weekend off
That was fun. A whole weekend off. Not only that, a whole weekend off and At Home! Trouble is - I might get used to it!!
And boy did we have good weather for it. Cold and frosty overnight. Sunny and quite warm during the day. On both Saturday and Sunday morning the dawn sky was tinged with pink, the trees and grass were white and crisp and it was all very beautiful. The birds are certainly happy and in full song. March, really. It must be March!
A couple of weeks ago, I did a roast lamb for Sunday dinner, which produced a lot of clear white fat, which I drained off and kept. Eventually, I rolled it into a ball, rolled it around in the bird seed and put it out on the bird table. The Builder said nothing would eat it. But something has. Every last little bit is gone! Must acquire more.
So Saturday. No need to leap out of bed at 06:00. No need to rush about. A nice, steady start to the day is called for. Some gentle cleaning, a little ironing, a load of washing (which I hung outside, not with any expectation that it would dry, though it sort of did, but because I thought it would be nice to have some aired clothes for a change). Then off we pootled to Bakewell for lunch, a potter about and a visit to the tool shop. It was quite crowded, to say that it is February. It's normally a little less so in the winter. Come to that, there were loads of cars parked by the walking tracks on the Darley Dale Road. Must have been the sunshine.
We lunched in The Peacock. We always do. I wonder, sometimes, whether we shouldn't branch out and try one of the other pubs. It's not as though Bakewell is short of them! I quite enjoyed my scampi and chips, but I fear I have been spoiled by the excellent quality of the chips at our local chippy, not to mention the chippy in Bakewell. Pub chips taste over oily to me these days! The crowd outside the Bakewell chippy was about 20-30 minutes long. This is why we didn't go there - I knew it would be!!
A visit to the Bakewell Farmers' Market shop, then off we went to Pilsley to the Chatsworth farm shop for some vegetables. We were in dire need of veg and fruit, but not of much else. The freezer is full of stuff. We didn't even need bread. It was busy there too. Always is, mind, but even so.
Back at home, The Builder went down to look at the doomed laburnum trunk. It was hollow in the middle, which was making it awkward to chop down. Steve Next Door, leaning over the garden fence to watch what was going on, hollered down that he had some large metal chocks. The Builder set to with vigour. In the meantime, I was cautiously and carefully stepping down from the flower garden into the kitchen garden and tentatively making my way over the rubbish. I really wish that rubbish wasn't there. Makes it ever so awkward getting down to look at progress. Shining light bulb moment. If it makes it awkward - then MOVE IT! So I did. Sorted out the burnable stuff for the bonfire, recyclable stuff for recycling, re-usable stuff for re-using and the rest in a huge pile behind the fence. Makes a significant difference.
But oh boy, was I knackered. Absolutely knackered. Poured a restorative gin and tonic and retired for a National Trust Gardener's Bath salts bath. That was nice! But I was early to bed. And for the first time in several weeks, did not wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 03:00!!!
In fact, I didn't wake up at all until really quite late. Wasn't disturbed by the boiler kicking on at 05:30. Missed the radio coming on at the same time. Was peacefully oblivious to everything until well after the time I normally leave for work. Just as well it was a Sunday, then!
I do like Sundays. We took the plastic and electrical rubbish to the tip late-ish in the morning. Took half an hour from when we started to queue to get in until we came out, rubbish free. There's still quite a lot to bring; we are considering whether to take it ourselves in dribs and drabs, or whether to hire a skip. A skip would certainly be easier, but will cost about £150+ where the tip is more effort but cost free. Will ponder a while longer. Then we went out to Sunday lunch, at the Three Horse Shoes at the wonderfully named hamlet of Spitewinter. And oh boy, was it a find. It's more of a restaurant than a pub, the food is home cooked, the Yorkshire Puddings were crisp and fresh, the vegetables beautifully cooked and the view over the valley absolutely spectacular (though there was quite a lot of industrial pollution along the eastern horizon). It's a pretty building, too. And very popular. IT was quite full when we got there just before 1; we had to go into the overflow restaurant. By the time we left, even that was filling up. WE are very slowly beginning to build up a collection of places to eat. The three horse shoes comes at the top of the pub listing, so far, and very close to the top of the complete listing (The Old Post beats it, narrowly),
We came home along winding country lanes. I have finally been and looked at the Great Lake of Stubbings (though not yet the Stubbings Court). I'd hardly call it great, but it was rather fun. We found the Wingerworth Garden Centre, which I knew existed because I have seen ads for it. Didn't know where it was, though. An excellent trip out, all told.
We've been to the allotment. The overwintered broad beans are not really doing well. They never do. I don't know why I bother overwintering them. I don't think I will again. I realise that conventional wisdom says you should, but the spring sown seeds have a vastly superior germination rate and a better crop. Only seven seeds germinated from the November sowing. Learn, Frances, learn! I'm going to hoe them in as a green manure and use the bed for the shallots, which I have now found again. We won't get a bed dug for them in the next couple of weeks, I don't think, and they could do to go in. At least, they could if you follow the allotment books which say to sow in winter. The kitchen garden books say to sow in spring. Sigh!
Home made pea and ham soup for supper last evening. No need for another full meal after the roast beef followed by pannacotta and fruit I'd had at lunchtime. And early to bed for me and the cat. Knackered, I am. Knackered. Back to work today for a little rest and relaxation! I did wake at 3, I'm sorry to say. Drifted back to sleep around 4 and had a weird dream in which the VC had decided we were relocating proceedings to Leeds City Centre (but won't that annoy Leeds Met?) and Roger, Bea and I had been sent on a reconnaissance mission to suss out some vast, tumbledown building. For some reason Bea had taken her cat Archie and I was carrying around a miniature dachshund for the whole event. My arm doesn't half ache today!
And boy did we have good weather for it. Cold and frosty overnight. Sunny and quite warm during the day. On both Saturday and Sunday morning the dawn sky was tinged with pink, the trees and grass were white and crisp and it was all very beautiful. The birds are certainly happy and in full song. March, really. It must be March!
A couple of weeks ago, I did a roast lamb for Sunday dinner, which produced a lot of clear white fat, which I drained off and kept. Eventually, I rolled it into a ball, rolled it around in the bird seed and put it out on the bird table. The Builder said nothing would eat it. But something has. Every last little bit is gone! Must acquire more.
So Saturday. No need to leap out of bed at 06:00. No need to rush about. A nice, steady start to the day is called for. Some gentle cleaning, a little ironing, a load of washing (which I hung outside, not with any expectation that it would dry, though it sort of did, but because I thought it would be nice to have some aired clothes for a change). Then off we pootled to Bakewell for lunch, a potter about and a visit to the tool shop. It was quite crowded, to say that it is February. It's normally a little less so in the winter. Come to that, there were loads of cars parked by the walking tracks on the Darley Dale Road. Must have been the sunshine.
We lunched in The Peacock. We always do. I wonder, sometimes, whether we shouldn't branch out and try one of the other pubs. It's not as though Bakewell is short of them! I quite enjoyed my scampi and chips, but I fear I have been spoiled by the excellent quality of the chips at our local chippy, not to mention the chippy in Bakewell. Pub chips taste over oily to me these days! The crowd outside the Bakewell chippy was about 20-30 minutes long. This is why we didn't go there - I knew it would be!!
A visit to the Bakewell Farmers' Market shop, then off we went to Pilsley to the Chatsworth farm shop for some vegetables. We were in dire need of veg and fruit, but not of much else. The freezer is full of stuff. We didn't even need bread. It was busy there too. Always is, mind, but even so.
Back at home, The Builder went down to look at the doomed laburnum trunk. It was hollow in the middle, which was making it awkward to chop down. Steve Next Door, leaning over the garden fence to watch what was going on, hollered down that he had some large metal chocks. The Builder set to with vigour. In the meantime, I was cautiously and carefully stepping down from the flower garden into the kitchen garden and tentatively making my way over the rubbish. I really wish that rubbish wasn't there. Makes it ever so awkward getting down to look at progress. Shining light bulb moment. If it makes it awkward - then MOVE IT! So I did. Sorted out the burnable stuff for the bonfire, recyclable stuff for recycling, re-usable stuff for re-using and the rest in a huge pile behind the fence. Makes a significant difference.
But oh boy, was I knackered. Absolutely knackered. Poured a restorative gin and tonic and retired for a National Trust Gardener's Bath salts bath. That was nice! But I was early to bed. And for the first time in several weeks, did not wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 03:00!!!
In fact, I didn't wake up at all until really quite late. Wasn't disturbed by the boiler kicking on at 05:30. Missed the radio coming on at the same time. Was peacefully oblivious to everything until well after the time I normally leave for work. Just as well it was a Sunday, then!
I do like Sundays. We took the plastic and electrical rubbish to the tip late-ish in the morning. Took half an hour from when we started to queue to get in until we came out, rubbish free. There's still quite a lot to bring; we are considering whether to take it ourselves in dribs and drabs, or whether to hire a skip. A skip would certainly be easier, but will cost about £150+ where the tip is more effort but cost free. Will ponder a while longer. Then we went out to Sunday lunch, at the Three Horse Shoes at the wonderfully named hamlet of Spitewinter. And oh boy, was it a find. It's more of a restaurant than a pub, the food is home cooked, the Yorkshire Puddings were crisp and fresh, the vegetables beautifully cooked and the view over the valley absolutely spectacular (though there was quite a lot of industrial pollution along the eastern horizon). It's a pretty building, too. And very popular. IT was quite full when we got there just before 1; we had to go into the overflow restaurant. By the time we left, even that was filling up. WE are very slowly beginning to build up a collection of places to eat. The three horse shoes comes at the top of the pub listing, so far, and very close to the top of the complete listing (The Old Post beats it, narrowly),
We came home along winding country lanes. I have finally been and looked at the Great Lake of Stubbings (though not yet the Stubbings Court). I'd hardly call it great, but it was rather fun. We found the Wingerworth Garden Centre, which I knew existed because I have seen ads for it. Didn't know where it was, though. An excellent trip out, all told.
We've been to the allotment. The overwintered broad beans are not really doing well. They never do. I don't know why I bother overwintering them. I don't think I will again. I realise that conventional wisdom says you should, but the spring sown seeds have a vastly superior germination rate and a better crop. Only seven seeds germinated from the November sowing. Learn, Frances, learn! I'm going to hoe them in as a green manure and use the bed for the shallots, which I have now found again. We won't get a bed dug for them in the next couple of weeks, I don't think, and they could do to go in. At least, they could if you follow the allotment books which say to sow in winter. The kitchen garden books say to sow in spring. Sigh!
Home made pea and ham soup for supper last evening. No need for another full meal after the roast beef followed by pannacotta and fruit I'd had at lunchtime. And early to bed for me and the cat. Knackered, I am. Knackered. Back to work today for a little rest and relaxation! I did wake at 3, I'm sorry to say. Drifted back to sleep around 4 and had a weird dream in which the VC had decided we were relocating proceedings to Leeds City Centre (but won't that annoy Leeds Met?) and Roger, Bea and I had been sent on a reconnaissance mission to suss out some vast, tumbledown building. For some reason Bea had taken her cat Archie and I was carrying around a miniature dachshund for the whole event. My arm doesn't half ache today!
Friday, February 02, 2007
The Builder's been a-gardening
Well, The Builder has been having an exciting time. He’s been making the most of the unseasonably warm weather and has been playing in the garden. And he’s making steady progress.
He has finally managed to get the fence up at the bottom behind the shed, where the only thing keeping the sheep (where are the sheep? Haven’t seen them for weeks and weeks!) out was a large roll of wire. This was complicated by the presence of a very large holly tree just on the other side of the fence, but close enough to be in the way.
He has brought a brush cutter and cut the grass in the orchard. It now needs raking over and all the rubbish that is lying about hoiked out and sorted through. Then it needs cutting again and it will start to look faintly respectable.
And he’s started taking down the laburnum at the back. It needs to come out because it is slap bang where we want to put the chicken run eventually. Plus it doesn’t produce anything you can eat. Its flowers are, in fact, poisonous. Has to go. I need the space for food production. And we wouldn’t want to poison the chickens, when they eventually arrive! So, he’s chopped down, with his little saw, all the branches and half the trunk and has made a start chopping away at the base of the trunk. Then he lit a bonfire. It was burning smartly when I got home. A nice still day with a light breeze blowing in from the south west, so the smoke, such as it was, blew out into the fields rather than back to the neighbouring houses. Marlo was fascinated. He sat and watched it from the dining room window until I came home and went down to inspect proceedings in person, when he came down too.
We have also been investigating getting a skip to rid ourselves of the bulk of the rubbish. We reckon it will cost around £150. Best start saving, then!
I think The Builder is planning to turn his attention to the allotment now. As I said earlier, we need to get the beds up there up together for mid March for the potatoes (I’ve got 3 kg each of five different sorts of seed potatoes so will need lots of beds!), earlier if possible for the shallots. The weather is set fair for the next few days. Mild and sunny during the days and absolutely freezing overnight is what we are promised until Tuesday or so. And I am not working this weekend. Not either day. Two whole days off in a row. Gosh! I can supervise lots of digging!!!!!
Steve Next Door came round yesterday evening. He’d been to a farm up Temple Normanton way and bought some eggs. Bought half a dozen for us too. Very nice of him. We now have lots of eggs. I’d better make a cake :-)
He has finally managed to get the fence up at the bottom behind the shed, where the only thing keeping the sheep (where are the sheep? Haven’t seen them for weeks and weeks!) out was a large roll of wire. This was complicated by the presence of a very large holly tree just on the other side of the fence, but close enough to be in the way.
He has brought a brush cutter and cut the grass in the orchard. It now needs raking over and all the rubbish that is lying about hoiked out and sorted through. Then it needs cutting again and it will start to look faintly respectable.
And he’s started taking down the laburnum at the back. It needs to come out because it is slap bang where we want to put the chicken run eventually. Plus it doesn’t produce anything you can eat. Its flowers are, in fact, poisonous. Has to go. I need the space for food production. And we wouldn’t want to poison the chickens, when they eventually arrive! So, he’s chopped down, with his little saw, all the branches and half the trunk and has made a start chopping away at the base of the trunk. Then he lit a bonfire. It was burning smartly when I got home. A nice still day with a light breeze blowing in from the south west, so the smoke, such as it was, blew out into the fields rather than back to the neighbouring houses. Marlo was fascinated. He sat and watched it from the dining room window until I came home and went down to inspect proceedings in person, when he came down too.
We have also been investigating getting a skip to rid ourselves of the bulk of the rubbish. We reckon it will cost around £150. Best start saving, then!
I think The Builder is planning to turn his attention to the allotment now. As I said earlier, we need to get the beds up there up together for mid March for the potatoes (I’ve got 3 kg each of five different sorts of seed potatoes so will need lots of beds!), earlier if possible for the shallots. The weather is set fair for the next few days. Mild and sunny during the days and absolutely freezing overnight is what we are promised until Tuesday or so. And I am not working this weekend. Not either day. Two whole days off in a row. Gosh! I can supervise lots of digging!!!!!
Steve Next Door came round yesterday evening. He’d been to a farm up Temple Normanton way and bought some eggs. Bought half a dozen for us too. Very nice of him. We now have lots of eggs. I’d better make a cake :-)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
End of January Musing
Phew. All that blogging two weeks ago, and then nothing!
Not a great deal to report, really. I have been busy at work; lots of people off sick so lots of covering to do. Happily, people are starting to trickle back, including a couple of people who have been off for weeks and weeks and weeks. Eases the pressure a bit.
The old SE team went out for dinner last Friday evening. We went to a new “Italian” place on Ecclesall Road. The food was lovely, but it’s only notionally Italian. Mediterranean might be a better description. Mediterranean with a distinct Chinese influence. Crispy duck with hoisin sauce pizza, for heavens sake! Not that I had it -- but it was tempting!!! Felicini, it’s called. Excellent place to eat, as long as you are not, actually, wanting Italian. Fantastic pizza, mind. But with ham and mushroom rather than duck :-)
Actually, I’ve been doing quite a bit of eating. Last Thursday I was coming in for my evening duty early. I had a class of post grads at 1 and wanted to be in for 12 to get ready. The Builder said he would drive me in, and what about a spot of brunch. Excellent idea. We went to Caffé Uno where I had a vegetarian breakfast with poached eggs and loads of roasted vegetables. Then we hastened in to the Adsetts Centre, where I found an email sent from the tutor to say that the class had been cancelled because no students had turned up. She had sent it a mere ten minutes after we left home! Pity. Had she sent it just that wee bit earlier, we would have gone out for a leisurely lunch somewhere interesting rather than a hasty brunch!!
On Monday we did go out to lunch. Another evening duty, and I had the afternoon off as well. So we went into Chesterfield. I was looking for the shop which the Ecover website assured me refilled empty bottles (Ecover is a brand of allegedly environmentally friendly cleaning products.) Eventually found it tucked in a little laneway I had not previously noticed. There’s Organic Heaven (which refilled the bottles), a cookware shop, a card and craft shop and a bookshop. I do like Chesterfield. It has lots of little lanes tucked away with interesting things down them. Off the Shambles you will find the Royal Oak, which is a 14th century building, connected to a 17th century building. The 14th C bit was once two little butchers shops. The whole thing has been a pub since the 1700s. It was fortunate that we called in for lunch on Monday. It was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for refurbishment. The menu is not extensive, it must be said, but it’s a more than adequate pub menu; the food was cheap, filling and very tasty. You are always but always better off with a limited menu that is cooked on site than an ambitious menu which is shipped in from elsewhere and heated in a microwave! We will go there again. After we have tried the other pubs in town!!!!!
Garden news. The orchard is all but complete. The beds down the side of the path have been dug. One of the things we did on Monday morning was a visit to the Chatsworth Garden Centre, where we bought some more fruit bushes. Everything is now planted except the red currants which have just been moved from their “striking” pot into larger pots to continue rooting. I’ll plant them out in April or May. Here is the grand total of fruit, then:
3 x sweet cherry
1 x sour cherry
1 x sweet apple
2 x cooking apple
1 x pear
1 x plum
4 x black currant
3 x red currant
6 x gooseberry (4 green, 1 red, 1 yellow)
2 x blueberry
12 x raspberry canes
2 x tayberry canes
12 x wild strawberry in the garden
1 x rhubarb on the allotment
There is a peach tree coming and I'll put some proper strawberries in, in the spring. There will be room for another couple of bushes in the red currant bed. I might see if I can get a couple of white currants. The Builder, who is not in paid employment this week, will now turn his attention to the allotment. We need to crack on up there, ready for March sowings of onions, shallots and things. Potatoes and cabbages/sprouts/caulis/broccoli to follow in April, and the kitchen garden needs to be up together ready for May, I guess. Perhaps I should keep him at home digging until it is all done. After all, what do we need money for?
It is getting noticeably lighter in the mornings. The sky was lightening in the East when we left at 07:10 this morning. It won’t be long before I will be able to see the garden before I go! The weather this week has been stunning. Beautiful still, sunny days. Around 11d yesterday. Not exactly hot, I grant you. But strikingly warm for late January. Should be around 2 or 3d. I’ve put my thick winter coat and hats away and am wearing my spring stuff. I haven’t put my thick winter stuff very far away, though. I am confident I will have further need of them before very long. It’s cloudy today. But still quite mild.
Not a great deal to report, really. I have been busy at work; lots of people off sick so lots of covering to do. Happily, people are starting to trickle back, including a couple of people who have been off for weeks and weeks and weeks. Eases the pressure a bit.
The old SE team went out for dinner last Friday evening. We went to a new “Italian” place on Ecclesall Road. The food was lovely, but it’s only notionally Italian. Mediterranean might be a better description. Mediterranean with a distinct Chinese influence. Crispy duck with hoisin sauce pizza, for heavens sake! Not that I had it -- but it was tempting!!! Felicini, it’s called. Excellent place to eat, as long as you are not, actually, wanting Italian. Fantastic pizza, mind. But with ham and mushroom rather than duck :-)
Actually, I’ve been doing quite a bit of eating. Last Thursday I was coming in for my evening duty early. I had a class of post grads at 1 and wanted to be in for 12 to get ready. The Builder said he would drive me in, and what about a spot of brunch. Excellent idea. We went to Caffé Uno where I had a vegetarian breakfast with poached eggs and loads of roasted vegetables. Then we hastened in to the Adsetts Centre, where I found an email sent from the tutor to say that the class had been cancelled because no students had turned up. She had sent it a mere ten minutes after we left home! Pity. Had she sent it just that wee bit earlier, we would have gone out for a leisurely lunch somewhere interesting rather than a hasty brunch!!
On Monday we did go out to lunch. Another evening duty, and I had the afternoon off as well. So we went into Chesterfield. I was looking for the shop which the Ecover website assured me refilled empty bottles (Ecover is a brand of allegedly environmentally friendly cleaning products.) Eventually found it tucked in a little laneway I had not previously noticed. There’s Organic Heaven (which refilled the bottles), a cookware shop, a card and craft shop and a bookshop. I do like Chesterfield. It has lots of little lanes tucked away with interesting things down them. Off the Shambles you will find the Royal Oak, which is a 14th century building, connected to a 17th century building. The 14th C bit was once two little butchers shops. The whole thing has been a pub since the 1700s. It was fortunate that we called in for lunch on Monday. It was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday for refurbishment. The menu is not extensive, it must be said, but it’s a more than adequate pub menu; the food was cheap, filling and very tasty. You are always but always better off with a limited menu that is cooked on site than an ambitious menu which is shipped in from elsewhere and heated in a microwave! We will go there again. After we have tried the other pubs in town!!!!!
Garden news. The orchard is all but complete. The beds down the side of the path have been dug. One of the things we did on Monday morning was a visit to the Chatsworth Garden Centre, where we bought some more fruit bushes. Everything is now planted except the red currants which have just been moved from their “striking” pot into larger pots to continue rooting. I’ll plant them out in April or May. Here is the grand total of fruit, then:
3 x sweet cherry
1 x sour cherry
1 x sweet apple
2 x cooking apple
1 x pear
1 x plum
4 x black currant
3 x red currant
6 x gooseberry (4 green, 1 red, 1 yellow)
2 x blueberry
12 x raspberry canes
2 x tayberry canes
12 x wild strawberry in the garden
1 x rhubarb on the allotment
There is a peach tree coming and I'll put some proper strawberries in, in the spring. There will be room for another couple of bushes in the red currant bed. I might see if I can get a couple of white currants. The Builder, who is not in paid employment this week, will now turn his attention to the allotment. We need to crack on up there, ready for March sowings of onions, shallots and things. Potatoes and cabbages/sprouts/caulis/broccoli to follow in April, and the kitchen garden needs to be up together ready for May, I guess. Perhaps I should keep him at home digging until it is all done. After all, what do we need money for?
It is getting noticeably lighter in the mornings. The sky was lightening in the East when we left at 07:10 this morning. It won’t be long before I will be able to see the garden before I go! The weather this week has been stunning. Beautiful still, sunny days. Around 11d yesterday. Not exactly hot, I grant you. But strikingly warm for late January. Should be around 2 or 3d. I’ve put my thick winter coat and hats away and am wearing my spring stuff. I haven’t put my thick winter stuff very far away, though. I am confident I will have further need of them before very long. It’s cloudy today. But still quite mild.
PS I have this very day sent off my notice to quit the Hangingwater Allotment. End of an era. A bit sad, really. Will be mine until March 31st. Hope it gets someone who loves it. But who's going to tell Martin?
Monday, January 22, 2007
Another weather report
Well, I said there was winter weather on the way.
Left Collegiate yesterday at about 10 past five, to find it was raining heavily. There was snow in the rain. The pedant in me said "then that's sleet." But it wasn't. It was rain, which had snow in it. Got to the car. Jumped in. Couldn't see anything! Eventually, because of traffic on Collegiate Crescent headed up to Broomhill and came down Brocco Bank to Hunters Bar. By then it was properly snowing. Wipers were going nineteen to the dozen. I was peering carefully into the gloom.
Hunters Bar roundabout was flooded! Went round it very, very carefully.
Headed up Ecclesall Road and out towards Abbey Lane. Lots of snow. Eventually got to the Meadowhead roundabout, a bit worried. None of the roads had been gritted and the snow was settling. The bypass to Chesterfield was not going to be fun. Not fun at all.
Though, in fact it was rather. Once I got out of South Yorkshire and into North East Derbyshire, the roads were gritted. I drove very slowly and it was like driving through a shower of meteors. Very pretty. Bit scary too, though. And then by the time I got to the Sheepbridge slip road the snow had turned to heavy rain. By the time I got home the rain had reduced to just gentle rain. The Builder reported no exciting weather at all. Just a day of mostly rain with not enough dry spells to do anything useful.
The forecast for today was ice and snow and road misery. No snow or ice in Tupton. Or in Chesterfield. Quite a lot of standing snow in Sheffield, though. The roads are still not gritted. And the sun is shining.
At last, a beautiful winter's day
Left Collegiate yesterday at about 10 past five, to find it was raining heavily. There was snow in the rain. The pedant in me said "then that's sleet." But it wasn't. It was rain, which had snow in it. Got to the car. Jumped in. Couldn't see anything! Eventually, because of traffic on Collegiate Crescent headed up to Broomhill and came down Brocco Bank to Hunters Bar. By then it was properly snowing. Wipers were going nineteen to the dozen. I was peering carefully into the gloom.
Hunters Bar roundabout was flooded! Went round it very, very carefully.
Headed up Ecclesall Road and out towards Abbey Lane. Lots of snow. Eventually got to the Meadowhead roundabout, a bit worried. None of the roads had been gritted and the snow was settling. The bypass to Chesterfield was not going to be fun. Not fun at all.
Though, in fact it was rather. Once I got out of South Yorkshire and into North East Derbyshire, the roads were gritted. I drove very slowly and it was like driving through a shower of meteors. Very pretty. Bit scary too, though. And then by the time I got to the Sheepbridge slip road the snow had turned to heavy rain. By the time I got home the rain had reduced to just gentle rain. The Builder reported no exciting weather at all. Just a day of mostly rain with not enough dry spells to do anything useful.
The forecast for today was ice and snow and road misery. No snow or ice in Tupton. Or in Chesterfield. Quite a lot of standing snow in Sheffield, though. The roads are still not gritted. And the sun is shining.
At last, a beautiful winter's day
A blustery day
Goodness, but that was weather. Real weather.
The Met Office had been forecasting Armageddon-like weather for Thursday all week. Deep, dire warnings. Severe weather alerts issued for the whole of the United Kingdom. Storms and tempests of biblical proportions. If you don’t absolutely have to leave the house, then don’t.
So I didn’t. Not that there was all that much wind at 07:30 when I had intended to leave. Lots and lots of rain, it’s true, but no severe wind to speak of. Just your average winter gale, really. But I wasn’t feeling all that clever. My digestive system wasn’t feeling all that clever. In fact, I was engaged with a minor argument of sorts with the said digestive system. I really didn’t want to go out. Probably would have, had it not been for the weather, but I really, really didn’t want to. So I didn’t. After all, the weather man had said not to. (And probably it’s just as well, for shortly after I rang in sick I was accosted by a startlingly disagreeable headache which stayed with me resolutely until sometime mid-Saturday. Resisted all pain killers and made me feel distinctly sick. Not nice!). And then the wind hit.
So here is me, wrapped up warm, draped around a cup of tea, in the lounge room during one of the most spectacular storms that has hit the UK in decades. It was a bit alarming, watching the trees across the road bending and swaying and rattling in the wind gusts. The actual wind speed itself probably wasn’t much above 50 or 60 miles an hour, but the gusts were much stronger, and howwwwwwwwled in from the west. We have found where the leak in the lounge room window is – if the wind howled in from the west it blew rain in through an unsealed bit where the window frame meets the wall. The Builder was about to go out and fix it, when the weather convinced him that would be a bad idea! (It’s fixed now) The wind whistled and howled and whomped, and the rain fell and fell and fell.
But really, in Tupton we got off very lightly indeed. Very lightly. Some branches blew off various trees. My propagating tent got blown down the garden and all the recycling bins got blown over and fetched up down by the soon-to-be-dismantled raised beds, strewing recycling stuff all over the place. For some reason I thought it a good idea to go out and collect them. Didn’t bother the second time. But that was it, really. Elsewhere, 11 people were killed in Britain, by falling trees and branches, by flying walls and roofs, by toppling lorries. Many motorways were closed. Many places were flooded. Many roofs were ripped off. The Builder had to go into Chesterfield on the bus during the afternoon. Took 45 minutes to get there and perhaps 35 minutes to get home. Normally takes 10 minutes or so. The traffic on the A61 was at a standstill, because the M1 was closed due to trucks that had been blown over, and all the traffic had diverted down the A61. Clarissa took 3 hours to get to work in Leeds in the morning and as many to get home again in the evening. Tabitha was marooned in London after all the trains to Cambridge were cancelled and the coaches were running several hours late. Happily she has friends in London and went to stay with Alex.
And not just in Britain. The storms blew across us, took out France and the Netherlands, crossed into Germany and Austria and then made their way into Eastern Europe, spreading chaos, death and disaster in their wake. Rhona, who is a member of the email group I used to belong to (before I ran away with The Builder and was disowned!) was stranded in Nuremberg after trees fell onto the train line when she was trying to get home. Bavarian efficiency swung into action and all the people on the trains, and from the airport were diverted to emergency accommodation where the Red Cross and local emergency services provided blankets and pillows, soup and sandwiches, then breakfast in the morning.
I think in Tupton the worst of it was around 2pm. That was when the winds really picked up and became really quite exciting. Almost the eeriest bit was when the winds fell silent. Everything was completely, utterly silent for just a few seconds, until the winds whooshed back in. The birds had all vanished, apart from the seagulls who are over-wintering on the wetlands. I think they were quite enjoying it, having roller coaster rides up quite high, on the wind gusts. The wetlands were being blown about all over the place. You could see the spray from the kitchen, and very clearly from the bedroom.
I was at home again on Friday. Not a nice headache, not nice at all. And not getting any better. So now I have a headache, a sickly feeling and a bout of this-is-rubbish depression! And still it was windy. Actually, had it been any other day, we would have been discussing how windy it was. But in comparison ¾ a nice gentle breeze!! And not raining. And strangely mild for January. Another day spent in my lovely, light, cosy lounge room with the cat for company. The Builder went out in the morning and the afternoon. He’s got a bit of casual work lined up for next week.
Then on Saturday we went out and spent our Christmas money and vouchers, plus £10 left over from my birthday money. With the money we’ve bought two sweet cherry trees (one of them is a Stella!), one sweet apple tree, one bramley apple and a pear tree. Also, I have bought a Victoria plum to replace the one we had to leave on the allotment. It was one of the three trees (morello and apple being the other two, both of which are planted in the garden with a sweet cherry tree, also from the allotment) which Tabitha, Austin, Julia, Freyja and Alex gave me when we were all gathered for Christmas in 2002. So in its memory I have bought a new one which is nearly as tall, but nothing like as wide in the trunk! The Builder has now planted them all. So in the orchard we now have 9 fruit trees, with perhaps room for one more. The path is hedged at the top with blackcurrants to one side and raspberries to the other. It will be hedged lower down by red and white currants and by red, white and green gooseberries. The Builder had hoped to dig at least one of the hedging beds today, but it has continued to be very wet and rather windy. Yesterday was a really, really mild day. It felt a lot like March or even April when the planting was happening. I was beginning to think that I was running a bit late with the spring seed sowing!
They’re promising us some really proper winter weather next week. We can but hope.
Freyja reports that all the ducks on the weir she overlooks ran away during the storm. I wonder if they ever came back. She also reports a really exciting story about a concert she went to in Newcastle. Only I can’t remember the name of the artist she went to see so can’t tell you about it. If she emails it to me, I’ll post it here for us all to enjoy.
The Met Office had been forecasting Armageddon-like weather for Thursday all week. Deep, dire warnings. Severe weather alerts issued for the whole of the United Kingdom. Storms and tempests of biblical proportions. If you don’t absolutely have to leave the house, then don’t.
So I didn’t. Not that there was all that much wind at 07:30 when I had intended to leave. Lots and lots of rain, it’s true, but no severe wind to speak of. Just your average winter gale, really. But I wasn’t feeling all that clever. My digestive system wasn’t feeling all that clever. In fact, I was engaged with a minor argument of sorts with the said digestive system. I really didn’t want to go out. Probably would have, had it not been for the weather, but I really, really didn’t want to. So I didn’t. After all, the weather man had said not to. (And probably it’s just as well, for shortly after I rang in sick I was accosted by a startlingly disagreeable headache which stayed with me resolutely until sometime mid-Saturday. Resisted all pain killers and made me feel distinctly sick. Not nice!). And then the wind hit.
So here is me, wrapped up warm, draped around a cup of tea, in the lounge room during one of the most spectacular storms that has hit the UK in decades. It was a bit alarming, watching the trees across the road bending and swaying and rattling in the wind gusts. The actual wind speed itself probably wasn’t much above 50 or 60 miles an hour, but the gusts were much stronger, and howwwwwwwwled in from the west. We have found where the leak in the lounge room window is – if the wind howled in from the west it blew rain in through an unsealed bit where the window frame meets the wall. The Builder was about to go out and fix it, when the weather convinced him that would be a bad idea! (It’s fixed now) The wind whistled and howled and whomped, and the rain fell and fell and fell.
But really, in Tupton we got off very lightly indeed. Very lightly. Some branches blew off various trees. My propagating tent got blown down the garden and all the recycling bins got blown over and fetched up down by the soon-to-be-dismantled raised beds, strewing recycling stuff all over the place. For some reason I thought it a good idea to go out and collect them. Didn’t bother the second time. But that was it, really. Elsewhere, 11 people were killed in Britain, by falling trees and branches, by flying walls and roofs, by toppling lorries. Many motorways were closed. Many places were flooded. Many roofs were ripped off. The Builder had to go into Chesterfield on the bus during the afternoon. Took 45 minutes to get there and perhaps 35 minutes to get home. Normally takes 10 minutes or so. The traffic on the A61 was at a standstill, because the M1 was closed due to trucks that had been blown over, and all the traffic had diverted down the A61. Clarissa took 3 hours to get to work in Leeds in the morning and as many to get home again in the evening. Tabitha was marooned in London after all the trains to Cambridge were cancelled and the coaches were running several hours late. Happily she has friends in London and went to stay with Alex.
And not just in Britain. The storms blew across us, took out France and the Netherlands, crossed into Germany and Austria and then made their way into Eastern Europe, spreading chaos, death and disaster in their wake. Rhona, who is a member of the email group I used to belong to (before I ran away with The Builder and was disowned!) was stranded in Nuremberg after trees fell onto the train line when she was trying to get home. Bavarian efficiency swung into action and all the people on the trains, and from the airport were diverted to emergency accommodation where the Red Cross and local emergency services provided blankets and pillows, soup and sandwiches, then breakfast in the morning.
I think in Tupton the worst of it was around 2pm. That was when the winds really picked up and became really quite exciting. Almost the eeriest bit was when the winds fell silent. Everything was completely, utterly silent for just a few seconds, until the winds whooshed back in. The birds had all vanished, apart from the seagulls who are over-wintering on the wetlands. I think they were quite enjoying it, having roller coaster rides up quite high, on the wind gusts. The wetlands were being blown about all over the place. You could see the spray from the kitchen, and very clearly from the bedroom.
I was at home again on Friday. Not a nice headache, not nice at all. And not getting any better. So now I have a headache, a sickly feeling and a bout of this-is-rubbish depression! And still it was windy. Actually, had it been any other day, we would have been discussing how windy it was. But in comparison ¾ a nice gentle breeze!! And not raining. And strangely mild for January. Another day spent in my lovely, light, cosy lounge room with the cat for company. The Builder went out in the morning and the afternoon. He’s got a bit of casual work lined up for next week.
Then on Saturday we went out and spent our Christmas money and vouchers, plus £10 left over from my birthday money. With the money we’ve bought two sweet cherry trees (one of them is a Stella!), one sweet apple tree, one bramley apple and a pear tree. Also, I have bought a Victoria plum to replace the one we had to leave on the allotment. It was one of the three trees (morello and apple being the other two, both of which are planted in the garden with a sweet cherry tree, also from the allotment) which Tabitha, Austin, Julia, Freyja and Alex gave me when we were all gathered for Christmas in 2002. So in its memory I have bought a new one which is nearly as tall, but nothing like as wide in the trunk! The Builder has now planted them all. So in the orchard we now have 9 fruit trees, with perhaps room for one more. The path is hedged at the top with blackcurrants to one side and raspberries to the other. It will be hedged lower down by red and white currants and by red, white and green gooseberries. The Builder had hoped to dig at least one of the hedging beds today, but it has continued to be very wet and rather windy. Yesterday was a really, really mild day. It felt a lot like March or even April when the planting was happening. I was beginning to think that I was running a bit late with the spring seed sowing!
They’re promising us some really proper winter weather next week. We can but hope.
Freyja reports that all the ducks on the weir she overlooks ran away during the storm. I wonder if they ever came back. She also reports a really exciting story about a concert she went to in Newcastle. Only I can’t remember the name of the artist she went to see so can’t tell you about it. If she emails it to me, I’ll post it here for us all to enjoy.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Minor Excitements
Well. That was all a bit exciting.
I ambled into the Ladies’ yesterday at about lunchtime, to wash my cup and teaspoon. Wandered in and thought: that looks remarkably like a pony tail poking out under that cubicle door. Looked again. It *was* a ponytail. Not only that, it was attached to a head. A head which was reclining, entirely motionlessly, on the floor. Moved briskly out of the ladies into Roger’s office where I called for security. All our security people are first aid trained to the highest degree possible. They would know what to do. Not much I could do, not being able to get to the poor kollopsed body on account of the locked cubicle door.
Found Bea and Richard at the information desk. Told them all about it. Two students came to report a kollopsed body, just as the security people arrived. In they went. And in they stayed. It was simply ages before they came out again. This worried us a bit. Either she should have been trundled out in an ambulance, or she should have walked out, all within a few minutes. It seems, though, that she had fallen against the door and they were having trouble getting to her, although I think one of them clambered over the wall to administer basic first aid. Anyway, an ambulance did come and trundle her away. It seems she had fallen into a diabetic coma, was taken off to the hospital and came out today much better and (I hope) better able to manage her condition. It is distinctly disconcerting to find ponytails poking out underneath toilet cubicle doors when you are innocently intent upon washing your tea mug and spoon!
But it would seem that it was a day for kollopsing. Gwen, The Builder’s mother, rang us today to report that Peter-the-brother-who-didn’t-go-to-the-dinner had picked her up yesterday evening to take her to the supermarket, got out of the car when they got there, and promptly tipped over backwards, like a plank of wood and started frothing. Not only that, he hit his head quite hard and cut it open! A bit of a worry for poor Gwen. Fortunately, supermarkets have first aiders lurking within and quite fortuitously, there were some student nurses doing their shopping at the time. Peter was taken off to the hospital, where they apparently found nothing wrong with him at all other than symptoms of a migraine, and the student nurses sorted Gwen out and took her home. There is some complicated arrangement in play at the moment which involves Marie and Terry getting together and rescuing Peter’s car from the car park!
But I think that might be enough kollopsing. Two bodies in one day is quite sufficient.
In the meantime, I have had what was more or less a day off. I’m at work now, it’s true, but I didn’t get here till nearly 5. I passed a pleasant morning watching the drizzle turn to rain, and engaged in gentle domestic pursuits. I also did The Builder’s tax return, which wasn’t at all gentle and really quite confusing. The Builder took the car to the garage, for all Fiat Stilos have been recalled :-S. Something to do with the suspension. Anyway, that’s been fixed now. Then we pottered out into the garden in the rain and planted the raspberries and the blackcurrants in their new beds. Just as well I have waterproof, spotty gum boots! Cleaned up, dried off and changed into non-muddy clothes, we took ourselves off to the Chatsworth Farm shop for a magnificent lunch and some vegetables, for The Sidings was completely out of vegetable matter :-( Well, apart from the sprout tops and kale, but you can’t eat only sprout tops and kale. You’d end up dark green! Then home again for a cup of tea and so to work. The Builder brought me in. He’s just reported back that it took over an hour in driving rain to get home again. Oops!
So, a nice quiet evening with no excitements would be nice.
Oh - and we had a letter today from Mr Micawber containing, amongst other things, a title from the Land Registry showing that the garden is entirely ours. Good. Wouldn’t want anyone else laying claim to it. And certainly no to the orchard!!
I ambled into the Ladies’ yesterday at about lunchtime, to wash my cup and teaspoon. Wandered in and thought: that looks remarkably like a pony tail poking out under that cubicle door. Looked again. It *was* a ponytail. Not only that, it was attached to a head. A head which was reclining, entirely motionlessly, on the floor. Moved briskly out of the ladies into Roger’s office where I called for security. All our security people are first aid trained to the highest degree possible. They would know what to do. Not much I could do, not being able to get to the poor kollopsed body on account of the locked cubicle door.
Found Bea and Richard at the information desk. Told them all about it. Two students came to report a kollopsed body, just as the security people arrived. In they went. And in they stayed. It was simply ages before they came out again. This worried us a bit. Either she should have been trundled out in an ambulance, or she should have walked out, all within a few minutes. It seems, though, that she had fallen against the door and they were having trouble getting to her, although I think one of them clambered over the wall to administer basic first aid. Anyway, an ambulance did come and trundle her away. It seems she had fallen into a diabetic coma, was taken off to the hospital and came out today much better and (I hope) better able to manage her condition. It is distinctly disconcerting to find ponytails poking out underneath toilet cubicle doors when you are innocently intent upon washing your tea mug and spoon!
But it would seem that it was a day for kollopsing. Gwen, The Builder’s mother, rang us today to report that Peter-the-brother-who-didn’t-go-to-the-dinner had picked her up yesterday evening to take her to the supermarket, got out of the car when they got there, and promptly tipped over backwards, like a plank of wood and started frothing. Not only that, he hit his head quite hard and cut it open! A bit of a worry for poor Gwen. Fortunately, supermarkets have first aiders lurking within and quite fortuitously, there were some student nurses doing their shopping at the time. Peter was taken off to the hospital, where they apparently found nothing wrong with him at all other than symptoms of a migraine, and the student nurses sorted Gwen out and took her home. There is some complicated arrangement in play at the moment which involves Marie and Terry getting together and rescuing Peter’s car from the car park!
But I think that might be enough kollopsing. Two bodies in one day is quite sufficient.
In the meantime, I have had what was more or less a day off. I’m at work now, it’s true, but I didn’t get here till nearly 5. I passed a pleasant morning watching the drizzle turn to rain, and engaged in gentle domestic pursuits. I also did The Builder’s tax return, which wasn’t at all gentle and really quite confusing. The Builder took the car to the garage, for all Fiat Stilos have been recalled :-S. Something to do with the suspension. Anyway, that’s been fixed now. Then we pottered out into the garden in the rain and planted the raspberries and the blackcurrants in their new beds. Just as well I have waterproof, spotty gum boots! Cleaned up, dried off and changed into non-muddy clothes, we took ourselves off to the Chatsworth Farm shop for a magnificent lunch and some vegetables, for The Sidings was completely out of vegetable matter :-( Well, apart from the sprout tops and kale, but you can’t eat only sprout tops and kale. You’d end up dark green! Then home again for a cup of tea and so to work. The Builder brought me in. He’s just reported back that it took over an hour in driving rain to get home again. Oops!
So, a nice quiet evening with no excitements would be nice.
Oh - and we had a letter today from Mr Micawber containing, amongst other things, a title from the Land Registry showing that the garden is entirely ours. Good. Wouldn’t want anyone else laying claim to it. And certainly no to the orchard!!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Let the Orchard Commence
Under normal circumstances, you would have got up, at The Sidings, yesterday and complained about persistent drizzle and strong winds. Under prevailing circumstances, we got up and thought: Oh look! It's stopped raining. More or less. And the wind has finally dropped. Hooray. We can shift the fruit trees.
Fortunately, the weather had improved on one of my rare days off. We took a leisurely start to the day, ambled through a rather pleasant breakfast of tinned tomatoes and boiled eggs on toast, with orange juice and a coffee chaser, then off we went to Sheffield in the van, through intermittent drizzle and gusting rain. Taking with us the bottles, cans, foil and tins that won't fit in the blue recycling box which has been unemptied since Christmas. And the plastics. For some reason, our council refuses to collect plastic. We take it to Waitrose in Sheffield when we go and put it in their plastics recycling box. Anyway. Off we went. And then headed up to the allotment at Hangingwater to collect the fruit trees.
The rain sort of held off. Drifts of drizzle wafted in up the valley, but there was only one proper shower which didn’t last very long. No real wind, to speak of. I harvested the leeks and some of the kale, then dug up some raspberry canes, while The Builder dug up the trees. The apple tree was fine. Came up with no problems at all. The sweet cherry wasn’t too bad. The morello complained and fought and hissed and spat and really, really struggled! The Builder eventually prevailed, though it was a hard fought battle. We decided, reluctantly, not to attempt the Victoria plum. It has never fruited; the blossom blows off as fast as it is formed. It is true that that might be less of a problem in The Orchard, which is more sheltered, but the real problem is that it has grown into quite a substantial tree while we weren’t watching. I think you would need a JCB to shift it. And we haven’t got one!
Somehow, The Builder managed to get the trees, the wheelbarrow and all the tools and things into the back of the van. Not as easy a task as it sounds; the trees are taller than the van space, which is enough for The Builder to stand upright in. Then off we went, taking the trees to their new home; the start of The Orchard!
Was a bit sad, though, digging them up from the Hangingwater allotment. I’ve been thinking lately that I will be pleased to hand it back at the end of March, when my tenancy runs out. It’s not really convenient any more, having it there, and there is more than enough to do in the garden, the kitchen garden and on the new allotment. We did, briefly, consider hanging onto it for another year or two, but swiftly gave the idea up. I was reminded yesterday, though, of how very beautiful it is on the Hangingwater allotment. And I do miss Martin!
Anyway, that aside, it was very exciting to get The Orchard started. The Builder began digging the hole for the morello. Got it planted. The morello fought back and tried to scratch his nose! Marlo and I came down to watch and encourage, though Marlo seemed a bit worried by the process for some reason. And we now have all three trees planted and have plans for more. We’ve also decided to dismantle the raised beds on the bricked area. We would never have put them there had we had any idea that we would get the extra ground. We are going to use the fruit bushes and canes as hedging along the concrete path, and the boards as edgings for the vegetable beds. Then I think we will brick the area where the raised beds were, properly as a patio. The barbecue can live there!
And we woke today, after a stormy, stormy night, to find that the rain really has stopped and the wind finally has died away. The barometer is set fair. The sun is shining in a clear blue sky. It’s a beautiful day. And it’s absolutely freezing! We had to scrape the car windows before The Builder could bring me in to work this morning. Have barely had to do that at all this winter, so far. Will have to dig out my deep winter kit again!!
Fortunately, the weather had improved on one of my rare days off. We took a leisurely start to the day, ambled through a rather pleasant breakfast of tinned tomatoes and boiled eggs on toast, with orange juice and a coffee chaser, then off we went to Sheffield in the van, through intermittent drizzle and gusting rain. Taking with us the bottles, cans, foil and tins that won't fit in the blue recycling box which has been unemptied since Christmas. And the plastics. For some reason, our council refuses to collect plastic. We take it to Waitrose in Sheffield when we go and put it in their plastics recycling box. Anyway. Off we went. And then headed up to the allotment at Hangingwater to collect the fruit trees.
The rain sort of held off. Drifts of drizzle wafted in up the valley, but there was only one proper shower which didn’t last very long. No real wind, to speak of. I harvested the leeks and some of the kale, then dug up some raspberry canes, while The Builder dug up the trees. The apple tree was fine. Came up with no problems at all. The sweet cherry wasn’t too bad. The morello complained and fought and hissed and spat and really, really struggled! The Builder eventually prevailed, though it was a hard fought battle. We decided, reluctantly, not to attempt the Victoria plum. It has never fruited; the blossom blows off as fast as it is formed. It is true that that might be less of a problem in The Orchard, which is more sheltered, but the real problem is that it has grown into quite a substantial tree while we weren’t watching. I think you would need a JCB to shift it. And we haven’t got one!
Somehow, The Builder managed to get the trees, the wheelbarrow and all the tools and things into the back of the van. Not as easy a task as it sounds; the trees are taller than the van space, which is enough for The Builder to stand upright in. Then off we went, taking the trees to their new home; the start of The Orchard!
Was a bit sad, though, digging them up from the Hangingwater allotment. I’ve been thinking lately that I will be pleased to hand it back at the end of March, when my tenancy runs out. It’s not really convenient any more, having it there, and there is more than enough to do in the garden, the kitchen garden and on the new allotment. We did, briefly, consider hanging onto it for another year or two, but swiftly gave the idea up. I was reminded yesterday, though, of how very beautiful it is on the Hangingwater allotment. And I do miss Martin!
Anyway, that aside, it was very exciting to get The Orchard started. The Builder began digging the hole for the morello. Got it planted. The morello fought back and tried to scratch his nose! Marlo and I came down to watch and encourage, though Marlo seemed a bit worried by the process for some reason. And we now have all three trees planted and have plans for more. We’ve also decided to dismantle the raised beds on the bricked area. We would never have put them there had we had any idea that we would get the extra ground. We are going to use the fruit bushes and canes as hedging along the concrete path, and the boards as edgings for the vegetable beds. Then I think we will brick the area where the raised beds were, properly as a patio. The barbecue can live there!
And we woke today, after a stormy, stormy night, to find that the rain really has stopped and the wind finally has died away. The barometer is set fair. The sun is shining in a clear blue sky. It’s a beautiful day. And it’s absolutely freezing! We had to scrape the car windows before The Builder could bring me in to work this morning. Have barely had to do that at all this winter, so far. Will have to dig out my deep winter kit again!!
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