@Heavenlyannie - I'll pass on your remarks to The Lady Wot Does The Garden at Our Place. She's mentioned hardy geraniums as a possibility, and some sort of low-growing ground cover (chamomile?). The hardy clematis and the asters might work, too.
I ordered, late on Monday, some plants from a nursery in Somerset. They were despatched the next day and arrived at lunchtime today, beautifully packed and in excellent condition.
A kind neighbour pointed out to me today that neither of the brake lights on the Episcopal Chariot are working...
Could just be the bulbs of course ... that has happened to me.
My old car bleeped annoyingly at me when the bulbs failed. That should have been helpful, except it quite often bleeped when they were fine, which was Annoying. In fact the whole car had dodgy electrics.
A kind neighbour pointed out to me today that neither of the brake lights on the Episcopal Chariot are working...
Could just be the bulbs of course ... that has happened to me.
My old car bleeped annoyingly at me when the bulbs failed. That should have been helpful, except it quite often bleeped when they were fine, which was Annoying. In fact the whole car had dodgy electrics.
I would have expected some warning or other to appear on the dash, but no. A dud fuse is the most likely cause of both lights failing, I'm told, but we shall see.
A kind neighbour pointed out to me today that neither of the brake lights on the Episcopal Chariot are working...
Could just be the bulbs of course ... that has happened to me.
My old car bleeped annoyingly at me when the bulbs failed. That should have been helpful, except it quite often bleeped when they were fine, which was Annoying. In fact the whole car had dodgy electrics.
Our van has headlights that turn on spontaneously. Better that than the opposite, I suppose!
Ah, the electronics in modern cars. My car door (passenger side) will only unlock automatically in the summer when it feels warm and comfy, but not in the winter when it obviously does not want to let all that cold air in. My husband has to open the door for me from inside.
Another light day for me, just some work admin this morning, possibly gardening later if the rain holds off.
Cars are going to be something to get used to again when we move. We've been car free since living here, just hiring them when needed. When you live ten minutes from a major shopping centre, wonderful parks, and train station and the buses are frequent there wasn't any need of one. Although our new place is also near the shops and station we think we'll need one more often so my husband is doing the research, As long as I can see over the dashboard I don't really mind what he choses.
Today is my writing class, so in a minute I'd better go and finish my homework. I don't seem to have changed in that regard since I was fourteen.
I guess I still ought to learn to drive at some point! But just like Sarasa I've always lived within walking or cycling distance to most places I need to go, or there are frequent bus and train services. That'll be interesting, being in class with all those young hormonal learner-drivers. Having the license might be useful at some point though, you never know.
Today is Friday, of the long Ascension Day weekend. The Feast of Ascension, a Thursday, is a public holiday here, and many businesses don't bother opening on Friday, and many schools are closed too. Thursday has been thoroughly miserable weatherwise, which is rare for Ascension. Today is fairly sunny and bright, but more showers and even lightning and thunder are forecast for the afternoon. I'm catching up with things that need doing, such as admin and marking for the schools, and some housework.
I ordered, late on Monday, some plants from a nursery in Somerset. They were despatched the next day and arrived at lunchtime today, beautifully packed and in excellent condition.
Having a driving licence has been my most useful form of photographic ID even though I rarely drive these days, (occasional car hire if needed and when staying with a friend who has always had me on the car insurance so we can share driving on holidays) and don't currently intend to have a car whilst I'm living somewhere where I don't need one on a regular basis
Given my last passport ran out about 15 years ago and have no intention of going abroad for the foreseeable future I'd rather go through the 3 yearly renewal of my driving licence (medical reasons for that one) so I maintain the photographic ID option as much as anything else.
A kind neighbour pointed out to me today that neither of the brake lights on the Episcopal Chariot are working...
Could just be the bulbs of course ... that has happened to me.
My old car bleeped annoyingly at me when the bulbs failed. That should have been helpful, except it quite often bleeped when they were fine, which was Annoying. In fact the whole car had dodgy electrics.
Our van has headlights that turn on spontaneously. Better that than the opposite, I suppose!
I hired a car which did this. I was impressed, and assumed that this was standard now on all cars.
The next time I hired a car, I drove 40 miles down the M6 in the dark on a wet Friday night before discovering that it wasn't, and that was why all the lorries had been flashing me from very close behind.
I love my automatic headlights and that they remember to beam and dip all by themselves (sometimes they beam when I would stay dipped because I know they are going to have to dip in a few seconds, so they kind of flash). Mr Cats, though, who likes to Be In Control (of something at least) turns off the automatic function when he drives. He still thinks that when driving though street-lit areas you should use only sidelights. I believe this was the custom in the dim past when he learned to drive. It’s just as well that he is so devoted to his bus pass.....
Just had a call from my Mechanical Man - it is indeed TWO bulbs that need replacing, and not a fuse. MM is also topping up oil and screen wash as part of his usual quick *health check* of the Chariot.
Meanwhile, I have the courtesy car - an ancient X-reg Suzuki Wagonette -which is an automatic. Fortunately, I've owned and/or driven a number of automatic vehicles, and have remembered to forget about my left foot...
I guess I still ought to learn to drive at some point! But just like Sarasa I've always lived within walking or cycling distance to most places I need to go, or there are frequent bus and train services. That'll be interesting, being in class with all those young hormonal learner-drivers. Having the license might be useful at some point though, you never know.
I take the point about the licence being useful ID, and driving is a useful skill, but it can be a bit of a curse if, like me, you're not confident. I much prefer to take public transport (though not at the moment) and it's hard sometimes when people know you drive and assume you can get yourself somewhere easily or, even worse, give them a lift somewhere.
I met a couple of friends for coffee this morning and it was quite pleasant sitting outside (as in, not wet or windy - everything is relative!) and a nice walk there and back. This afternoon I've got a monthly Zoom with friends and then our weekly wine drinking Zoom this evening.
I can't drive due to the anxiety issues related to my bipolar disorder (if I did drive I would have to register my bipolar disorder as manic people can be very unpredictable drivers!).
No, I remembered to put my foot back on before I got out...
All is well - the Mechanical Man checked the brake pads and the tyres, as well as topping up the oil and the screen wash. Yes, I realise that peeps can do all that sort of thing by themselves, but, with my quite limited mobility. it's much easier for me to pay someone (who also knows what they're about)!
Total bill came to £67, so not as Expensive an Expotition as it might have been, if there had been something more wrong with the electrics. I am now having a glass of BEER for lunch.
I am another person with a photocard driving licence although I don't have a car or drive these days, as I can't justify the environmental or financial costs when I live in an area well supplied with public transport. When I lived in deepest darkest Dorset I did drive from necessity. And as I said elsewhere, I still had a paper licence until I couldn't apply to work on the London Olympics as I didn't have photo ID, so converting my driving licence was the cheapest way of sourcing that ID. It's been really helpful for job applications since.
Today's walk was grey and dank and I came back with soaked feet and socks, but there were bluebells and a cuckoo, plus longhorn cattle. First time I've heard a cuckoo in quite some time.
Today keeps looking as if it will rain, but so far it hasn't. Doubtless, were I to hang the washing outside, a Cloud of Downpouring Wetness would arrive within minutes. A trip to the local farm shop is planned for the early afternoon, then recording Sunday's service and youth club at the church.
I refer to my Mechanical Man, but *he* is, in fact, a small repair/MOT business, with several Men (and a Lady) working there. The place is a bit off the main roads, in an awkward back street, and there's often little space in which to park or manoeuvre, but they do a Good Job.
It makes sense to keep going back to someone you can trust, of course.
My driving licence is so old it doesn't have a photograph ...
If I ever get round to trying to drive again I'll get a new one.
BF, your Mechanical Man was indeed very reasonable! If I do get a Porcine Chariot, it'll be automatic - David and I had automatics for almost all the time we were married, and I find them much easier to drive.
Speaking of driving licences, I was relieved this morning to receive a Noffishal Letter from the DVLA informing me that my licence is being renewed for a further 3 years.
It's short-term, owing to my having had Fits (not since May 2016, though) and being on anti-seizure medication. It actually expired last September, but it's taken this long for the DVLA and King's College Hospital to agree that it's still OK for me to drive.
In the intervening months, I've clung onto a Noffishal Letter telling me that, whilst medical enquiries were under way, the Road Traffic Act still permitted me to drive. Both the DVLA and King's have, of course, been under immense pressure during the pandemic - I think a large number of DVLA staff were actually off sick with Covid-19 at one time...
Nenya, nor have I heard a cuckoo for years. The private woods we were walking alongside, and had just watched a herd of fallow deer unhurriedly hop over the fence/ditch one by one to disappear within, was carpeted with bluebells and there was at least one cuckoo very close. It either was very busy calling or there were two in the woods either side of the private road. We would have walked the road, but the foot gate has been welded shut, so we had to resort to the footpath, which goes across the fields to cut a corner and meet the same road a bit further down, hence my wet feet.
Lockdown has meant so many cyclists abusing places they can access, legal or not, and this estate is one of those places where bicycles are not allowed as the roads cannot be used as a cut through. To access various bits of the estate by road means coming in by the right entrance, as so many of the original roads run through what are now the middle of gardens where there is no right of way and there is no way through on paved surfaces to travel across that area legally. The footpath regularly cuts across fields and leaves the residents with privacy. There have been quite a few attempts to prevent cyclists accessing the estate over the last year or so, but it's obvious they've all failed, hence the welded shut gate. The footpath is not bicycle accessible.
My husband got a notice about having his driving license renewed this week, which made me go and check on mine. I had a slight panic when I saw it had expired in November and I hadn't been reminded. A check of the DVLA site showed that anyone whose licence expired last year got an automatic eleven month extension, so I expect a letter sometime later this year.
Here in rural-ish France we have been hearing cuckoos for a few weeks. MrD and I went for a walk yesterday and there were two having a cuckooing contest.
There has been a brief appearance of swifts in the square, but they haven't reappeared. We hope they were a scouting party, and the main cohort will arrive shortly. The screaming of swifts as they swoop around the square is a great summer pleasure.
I had the pleasure of hearing a cuckoo a few days ago - it caught me by surprise! I haven't heard one since. Despite the deliciousness of their call, they really are nasty little sh*ts. For sure, it is survival instincts, but footage of a newly hatched cuckoo shoving other eggs out of the nest is a bit freaky!
Anyway, I'm nervously awaiting BoJo's update as I have plans next week ....
[...] I still had a paper licence until I couldn't apply to work on the London Olympics as I didn't have photo ID, so converting my driving licence was the cheapest way of sourcing that ID. [...]
Please remind me/us, dear Curiosity killed, did you actually manage to work at the Olympics, and if yes, what did you do? Thanks.
@Wesley J No, I couldn't apply as I didn't have any photo ID, and, implicit in that comment is, for anyone in the UK, who knows that the time scales for changing paperwork are not quick (minimum of three weeks for a driving licence, 4-8 minimum for sorting out my expired and stolen passport) there was no way I had time to organise any photo ID while the jobs were available.
David's sister was an Olympic Ambassador in 2012; I'm not quite sure what the application process was, but she thoroughly enjoyed herself. I think the athletes with whose wellbeing she was charged were from somewhere in the Caribbean*, but I couldn't be sure.
One of the perks was being invited to the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremony - and I can't remember if they saw the whole thing including 007 and HM and were sworn to secrecy, or if that bit wasn't actually rehearsed.
* I'm thinking not Jamaica, as I don't think Mr. Bolt (isn't that a wonderful name for the fastest man on the planet?) was one of them.
It was a glorious afternoon in Embra, and I celebrated its Fridayness by having a Chinese takeaway for supper - king prawns with green peppers and black bean sauce. They had a bit of a kick, but not too much, and were really quite nice. Now following up with another glass of WINE and some nuts and raisins (might have some CHEESE later).
I’m totally confused as to what day it is. We had our 2nd jabs last night, and as I’d had a bad reaction for about 48 hours after the first, we felt Darllenwr should take today off. I’ve been fine this time, except for a sore arm.
We went up to Merthyr to try and sort my phone out - see the prayer thread - but I can’t remember the security number on my old phone. I have all sorts of information on my old phone which I can’t access, so it’s really annoying.
That's good @priscilla, I hate technology sometimes.
I helped out at the 2012 games by working on the South Bank directing tourists. The atmosphere everywhere in the city was really great. Not quite sure about the pink and purple polo shirt though.
Tonight was pasta and pesto with added broccoli which was a change and rather nice. All washed down with chianti.
Tomorrow we are going to start thinking about the logistics of our move.
The Knotweed and I saw our first screaming party of swifts this evening - five of them tearing a yard or so over our heads as we walked down the road, day absolutely made!
Good to hear you got it sorted, Priscilla.
Tonight’s takeaway was Japanese. I had a nice pork belly ramen (noodle soup) with tea stained egg and we shared some chicken and duck gyoza (dumplings), chilli squid and edamame (soya beans in shells). Currently drinking some gin (hendrick’s lunar).
The Knotweed and I saw our first screaming party of swifts this evening - five of them tearing a yard or so over our heads as we walked down the road, day absolutely made!
Couldn't agree more! They look and sound so spectacular, an aestival aerial festival!
I was looking out of our kitchen window yesterday and saw two coal tits perching on the dry-stone wall round the courtyard. I blinked and they'd gone - but reappeared a moment later from a crack in the wall! I do hope they nest there...
We have loads of sparrows nesting round this place, they hop in and out of the hedge by our living room window and are lovely to see.
Not seen screaming swifts round here, but we get flocks of parakeets going over head in the late afternoon to congregate in the park down the road.
Tonight’s takeaway was Japanese. I had a nice pork belly ramen (noodle soup) with tea stained egg and we shared some chicken and duck gyoza (dumplings), chilli squid and edamame (soya beans in shells). Currently drinking some gin (hendrick’s lunar).
*Makes plans to head over to @Heavenlyannie 's place for Japanese Night as soon as restrictions allow*
We had curry as usual, washed down with a very nice Oxford Landing Sauvignon Blanc, and have stir fry this evening. I've got a number of things on the To Do list today, including visiting a local plant sale for supplies to prettify the Nen Garden Borders, the making of a lemon polenta cake and the reading of the next book for my real life book group. It's a thriller and I know I'm going to hate it but equally I'm determined not to be the person at the next meeting who hasn't read the book.
Most of the birds round here are either rooks or crows; I'm never sure which is which. David had a way of remembering that went something like "if there's only one, it's a rook, but if there are lots they're crows", but it could have been the other way around.
There are also seagulls from the loch and a couple of magpies (to whom I always say good morning/afternoon). I know they're not some people's favourite birds, but I do think they're very handsome.
It looks as if it's not going to be a bad day; an amble to Tessie's is in the offing, as I want to get a steak for supper and I'm getting short of WINE.
I think the phrase is "those crows are rooks; that rook's a crow". Having lived under a rookery when at university in Colchester - under the pines (I think they were) at the top of the campus of the University of Essex - I can vouch for their sociability, and the eeriness of the resulting sound.
Rooks roost in a tree in the park about 200 yards from our garden, you can see it from our kitchen. They arrive at dusk and chatter away for a while before settling down for the night.
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I am Impressed!
My old car bleeped annoyingly at me when the bulbs failed. That should have been helpful, except it quite often bleeped when they were fine, which was Annoying. In fact the whole car had dodgy electrics.
I would have expected some warning or other to appear on the dash, but no. A dud fuse is the most likely cause of both lights failing, I'm told, but we shall see.
Our van has headlights that turn on spontaneously. Better that than the opposite, I suppose!
Another light day for me, just some work admin this morning, possibly gardening later if the rain holds off.
Today is my writing class, so in a minute I'd better go and finish my homework. I don't seem to have changed in that regard since I was fourteen.
Today is Friday, of the long Ascension Day weekend. The Feast of Ascension, a Thursday, is a public holiday here, and many businesses don't bother opening on Friday, and many schools are closed too. Thursday has been thoroughly miserable weatherwise, which is rare for Ascension. Today is fairly sunny and bright, but more showers and even lightning and thunder are forecast for the afternoon. I'm catching up with things that need doing, such as admin and marking for the schools, and some housework.
Ah, Somerset is always best 😊😉!
Given my last passport ran out about 15 years ago and have no intention of going abroad for the foreseeable future I'd rather go through the 3 yearly renewal of my driving licence (medical reasons for that one) so I maintain the photographic ID option as much as anything else.
I hired a car which did this. I was impressed, and assumed that this was standard now on all cars.
The next time I hired a car, I drove 40 miles down the M6 in the dark on a wet Friday night before discovering that it wasn't, and that was why all the lorries had been flashing me from very close behind.
My Old Mum and Dad used calcium carbide lamps on their bikes, when they were young in the 1920s:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbide_lamp
Meanwhile, I have the courtesy car - an ancient X-reg Suzuki Wagonette -which is an automatic. Fortunately, I've owned and/or driven a number of automatic vehicles, and have remembered to forget about my left foot...
I met a couple of friends for coffee this morning and it was quite pleasant sitting outside (as in, not wet or windy - everything is relative!) and a nice walk there and back. This afternoon I've got a monthly Zoom with friends and then our weekly wine drinking Zoom this evening.
No, I remembered to put my foot back on before I got out...
All is well - the Mechanical Man checked the brake pads and the tyres, as well as topping up the oil and the screen wash. Yes, I realise that peeps can do all that sort of thing by themselves, but, with my quite limited mobility. it's much easier for me to pay someone (who also knows what they're about)!
Total bill came to £67, so not as Expensive an Expotition as it might have been, if there had been something more wrong with the electrics. I am now having a glass of BEER for lunch.
Today's walk was grey and dank and I came back with soaked feet and socks, but there were bluebells and a cuckoo, plus longhorn cattle. First time I've heard a cuckoo in quite some time.
Today keeps looking as if it will rain, but so far it hasn't. Doubtless, were I to hang the washing outside, a Cloud of Downpouring Wetness would arrive within minutes. A trip to the local farm shop is planned for the early afternoon, then recording Sunday's service and youth club at the church.
I refer to my Mechanical Man, but *he* is, in fact, a small repair/MOT business, with several Men (and a Lady) working there. The place is a bit off the main roads, in an awkward back street, and there's often little space in which to park or manoeuvre, but they do a Good Job.
It makes sense to keep going back to someone you can trust, of course.
If I ever get round to trying to drive again I'll get a new one.
BF, your Mechanical Man was indeed very reasonable! If I do get a Porcine Chariot, it'll be automatic - David and I had automatics for almost all the time we were married, and I find them much easier to drive.
It's short-term, owing to my having had Fits (not since May 2016, though) and being on anti-seizure medication. It actually expired last September, but it's taken this long for the DVLA and King's College Hospital to agree that it's still OK for me to drive.
In the intervening months, I've clung onto a Noffishal Letter telling me that, whilst medical enquiries were under way, the Road Traffic Act still permitted me to drive. Both the DVLA and King's have, of course, been under immense pressure during the pandemic - I think a large number of DVLA staff were actually off sick with Covid-19 at one time...
Glad the Episcopal Chariot has been sorted without making too much of a hole in the Episcopal Finances and the Episcopal Licence has been renewed.
Lockdown has meant so many cyclists abusing places they can access, legal or not, and this estate is one of those places where bicycles are not allowed as the roads cannot be used as a cut through. To access various bits of the estate by road means coming in by the right entrance, as so many of the original roads run through what are now the middle of gardens where there is no right of way and there is no way through on paved surfaces to travel across that area legally. The footpath regularly cuts across fields and leaves the residents with privacy. There have been quite a few attempts to prevent cyclists accessing the estate over the last year or so, but it's obvious they've all failed, hence the welded shut gate. The footpath is not bicycle accessible.
There has been a brief appearance of swifts in the square, but they haven't reappeared. We hope they were a scouting party, and the main cohort will arrive shortly. The screaming of swifts as they swoop around the square is a great summer pleasure.
Anyway, I'm nervously awaiting BoJo's update as I have plans next week ....
One of the perks was being invited to the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremony - and I can't remember if they saw the whole thing including 007 and HM and were sworn to secrecy, or if that bit wasn't actually rehearsed.
* I'm thinking not Jamaica, as I don't think Mr. Bolt (isn't that a wonderful name for the fastest man on the planet?) was one of them.
It was a glorious afternoon in Embra, and I celebrated its Fridayness by having a Chinese takeaway for supper - king prawns with green peppers and black bean sauce. They had a bit of a kick, but not too much, and were really quite nice. Now following up with another glass of WINE and some nuts and raisins (might have some CHEESE later).
We went up to Merthyr to try and sort my phone out - see the prayer thread - but I can’t remember the security number on my old phone. I have all sorts of information on my old phone which I can’t access, so it’s really annoying.
I helped out at the 2012 games by working on the South Bank directing tourists. The atmosphere everywhere in the city was really great. Not quite sure about the pink and purple polo shirt though.
Tonight was pasta and pesto with added broccoli which was a change and rather nice. All washed down with chianti.
Tomorrow we are going to start thinking about the logistics of our move.
Tonight’s takeaway was Japanese. I had a nice pork belly ramen (noodle soup) with tea stained egg and we shared some chicken and duck gyoza (dumplings), chilli squid and edamame (soya beans in shells). Currently drinking some gin (hendrick’s lunar).
Not seen screaming swifts round here, but we get flocks of parakeets going over head in the late afternoon to congregate in the park down the road.
We had curry as usual, washed down with a very nice Oxford Landing Sauvignon Blanc, and have stir fry this evening. I've got a number of things on the To Do list today, including visiting a local plant sale for supplies to prettify the Nen Garden Borders, the making of a lemon polenta cake and the reading of the next book for my real life book group. It's a thriller and I know I'm going to hate it but equally I'm determined not to be the person at the next meeting who hasn't read the book.
We used to get flocks of sparrows - but no longer - since our lovely Rowan tree blew down in the Beast from the East. I miss them a lot.
My son has an app which identifies birds by their tweets. I’m not sure if there’s one available in the U.K. but I shall enquire. 🙂
There are also seagulls from the loch and a couple of magpies (to whom I always say good morning/afternoon). I know they're not some people's favourite birds, but I do think they're very handsome.
It looks as if it's not going to be a bad day; an amble to Tessie's is in the offing, as I want to get a steak for supper and I'm getting short of WINE.
I love watching them.