Month: September 2026

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The Blue Fleet

On Tuesday Sam came home with my Micra – it was last here in August with a brand new MOT and it returned with a chip in the windscreen and a howl when you reach 30mph – (possibly the rear right wheel bearing? A half term project, I think)

And on Friday he cam home again to show off his new wheels – a 1.4 Skoda Octavia TSI He’s happy with it, casting my eye over it, it looks a solid car, but it is very long! An executive car to suit the executive!

This week was both equinox and equilux which means, sadly, the nights are now longer than the days. The weather has been good this week, and we have been treated to some atmospheric evening skies

and Becky was delighted to find a few figs rippening up

It’s been exeat weekend for me, which has been nice and restful, but sadly Becky has had to work in the gallery Saturday, Sunday (and tomorrow, which I also have off)

The pic above is taken outside the Maths block at school. My garden is looking just as good with my geraniums in full bloom, grasses producing pretty seed heads at the back, and my sunflowers standing tall and bright, eeking out the September sun.

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Routine returns

So we’ve been back at school for two weeks, and the summer holidays seem a long time ago. We’ve been good and continued with our after tea walks on most days – on Monday, Becky had left some flowers at school so our post tea perambulation took us back up to school, but normally its just a quick whizz round the block, returning to spend a few minutes admiring the self seeded sunflowers that continue to bloom – and grow tall – in the front trugg.

This week we got Deacon Blue tickets for October ’27 – always good to have something to look forward to …

… and I’ve book to go and see two films at Strode cinema, on Wednesday 7 Oct …

and Friday 6th November …

I shall go on my own, Becky didn’t want to come, not a problem it feels like a personal indulgence to go the cinema on your own. And booking the tickets well in advance means I’ll go, rather than wait until nearer the time and then not get round to going.

Other news, today I gave the Ka some love, applying Neutrarust 661 to the rear axle and subframe (having wire brushed the flaky rust off first) and then applied a coat of Lanoguard to further protect it over the winter. It did have a MOT advisory for Rear Sub-frame corroded but not seriously weakened  so this should prevent this worsening. Was quite an easy job to do.

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Back to school

Term, and the new school year, began on Monday and its been swiftly back into the old routine. To be fair, thus far its not been a bad start to the year, although its back to being tired in the evening, and by Thursday my feet were killing me! Becky has also been working all this week (and will continue to do so until half-term) working in the Atkinson Gallery – a job she enjoys, but like me laments the lack of free time that results from full time work!

On Tuesday, Sam went to Luton (!) to buy himself a new car – a Skoda Octavia (£3,350) with which he is understandably pleased, I am now looking forward to the return of the Micra – I do feel worried for it, abandoned and unloved on some Bristol street!

The weather has been mixed – typical for early to mid September: sometime grey, damp, mizzlely and a little chilly, at other times bright and sunny and warm. But summer is definitely over. However, my front trugg continues to flourish, with several bright sunny sunflowers smiling back at me as I return home each day, the geraniums in full bloom,

Our mystery pumpkin/squash is slowly swelling

and pretty pink cyclamen are fringing the undergrowth both front and back

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HMS Millfield sets sail

After a wonderful, long, hot, dry summer, this week has been preparing for the return to work – after all the time off, not having to think about routine or time, it does feel like the ship is getting ready to set sail.

I was in school from Wednesday afternoon – I left school with the sun shinning brilliantly against a clear blue sky, sat in my classroom again the sky turned grey and the rain began to fall – a metaphor I think!

But earlier in the week the weather had been warm and sunny on Bank Holiday Monday and after tea Becky & I went for a lovely walk from the YHA to the Windmill in the evening sunshine.

And the cooler, and sometimes wetter, weather we have had has led the self seeded sunflowers and the geraniums in the front bed to flourish, giving a cheery burst of colour to wave me off in the morning, and more importantly, welcome me home in the evening.

Term starts properly tomorrow, I fear that, sadly, the wonderful summer is officially over!