Posted on

Pumpkins and plans

Pic of the week 26/7/20

Not a lot has happened this week – but unlike the groundhog weeks of earlier, its been quite nice to have had a reasonably chilled week.

Possibly the most exciting thing to happen is the emergence of a couple of baby pumpkins, one each on self seeded plants. Its always a nervous few days to see if the pumpkin has actually been fertilised and grows on to be a big daddy – I’ve had too many disappointments in the past when the swelling “seed” has clearly not been fertilised and then drops off after a few days. But a quick inspection leaves me encouraged, and a least one of them appears to be almost visibly growing.

In other news, Sam went away to Poole for a few days with some pals. He had a nice time.

I had a scare on Thursday.

7 Km into my morning run, I felt tweak at the base of my left hamstring. Kept going, 10 metres later I felt it again. I turned round and jogged gingerly home (0.5 k) I rested for the next two days, this morning embarking on my standard Sunday 10Km which was all good.

Posted on

Sophie’s new car

Pic of the week 19/7/20

Sophie has bought a car!

After much trawling through Facebook and eBay, we found this 2006 Nissan Micra (in blue) 1.2 petrol, went and had a look at it and she bought it on Thursday.

Its a good little runner, has done about 96K miles, a couple of months MOT (due 5th Oct) and cost £650.  She also paid £280 insurance (+ £45 for breakdown cover)

She is delighted with it. It drives really well, easy to handle, the perfect first car and she is certainly (and quite rightly) proud of it.

(In one of the pics above you can just about make out the new gravel on the front drive,  a job completed that I am rather proud of.)

 

Posted on

Burton Bradstock

Pic of the week 12/7/20

We should have been waking up today in our Majorcan villa, the first day of a week of sun, sea and sangria (and me attempting to speak Spanish.)

But, due to coronavirus, it was not to be, so Becky & I had a day trip to Burton Bradstock.

After some pretty “meh” weather of late, yesterday and today have seen the sun shine and it was blue skys all day. The sea was an inviting aqua-marine, with oh so gentle breakers lapping the shore. But slipping beneath the waves, one was not greeted with the warm bath embrace of the Mediterranean sea, but the frigid, icy sting that brutally reminds you that you are swimming in the English Channel.

But once you got used it, it was wonderful. Just slowly ambling my way through the water along the beach was – quite possibly – the best thing I have done since March. It was certainly the most novel experience I have had since lockdown began, and I drank in the sights, sounds and sensations that only swimming in the sea can provide.

I don’t know how long I was in for – perhaps 20 minutes – before getting out to warm my now frozen bones in the glorious sunshine.

Initially, the beach wasn’t too busy, but enough people to provide interest. As the day wore on, it got busier, but not crowded. We sat in the sun, read, ate lunch and felt a sense of normality had returned to our bizarre, Covid dominated world.

Of course, I’d prefer to be writing this  from a Spanish villa, but today was a special day, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Posted on

June/July

Pic of the week (I) 5/7/20

(My) hols have begun, but the weather has not been brilliant – quite showery – but on Friday I decided to tackle the box bush out front. It does a look neater, and therefore much better, and I had a bit of a tidy up of one of the adjacent shrubs. Today, I begun moving some of the gravel from the front (although you might be hard pushed to notice) with the view to gravelling the whole area with decorative gravel.

Pic of the week (II)

Many of the plants are now in full flower and looking good, and the veg plants planted are putting on quite a spurt. All is looking green and healthy in the garden (even the lawn looks quite lush right now. Probably indicative of all the rain we have had.)

Pic of the week (III)

Ran my 600th Km this week, on 3rd July.  Ran 125 Km’s total in June.