Author: Jeff

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Barbie and family

Pic of the week 6/8/23

On Friday we (Becky, Sophie & I) went to see Barbie, down at Strode cinema. A good film and I enjoyed the evening out,

The night before, we had been over to Wells for a gathering of the clan as Auntie Janet was down visiting

(I can’t be seen in the pic, but I was there!) Sophie was home (she had come back for her car’s MOT – it passed, but we did put on two new rear tyres – and she was going to 42nd Street with Becky on Saturday, Rog & Lisa also came over. A nice evening, and a chance to catch up.

Also on Thursday, it was our 27th wedding anniversary, hence the obligatory pic of some sunflowers. These are the ones in the back garden, which are fairing better than those in the front which continue to take a heavy beating from the strong winds that this dreadful summer is regularly producing.

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Croatia Calling

Pic of the week 30/7/23

On Thursday we (Becky & I) returned from a fantastic 8 days in Cavtat, Croatia.

I loved it – it is a beautiful place, the pace of life was suitably chilled, a melting pot of nationalities, the price was right, the food and drink delicious and the water – well the water perfect.

The sea was deep, calm and refreshing.

It didn’t matter whether it was “our” cove,

or over at beautiful Plat – a 15 minute bus ride to the other side of the bay:

The weather was hot (and the apartment air-con deliciously cool) and we woke on the Tuesday to smoke on the mountains opposite as bush fires took hold. All day, we watched aircraft scoop up water from the sea and then water bomb the mountains opposite us.

We were never in danger (in fact, it was a privilege to watch the planes in action) but a few days earlier we had read in the news of holidaymakers being evacuated from Rhodes as they fled forest fires. The scene that night was quite elemental as we watched the hills burn:

The fire just added to the drama and interest of the week. We also saw a spectacular lightening storm one night, water polo practice in the harbour, some local folk dancing and some varied bird life – I swam 5 metres from a cormorant,  saw a heron and kingfisher in plat and had swallows swoop within feet of me as I swam in the calm of the early morning. It really was a great holiday.

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Sunflowers

Sunflowers, 17 July 2023

Thought I should do a quick update for the records re: the sunflowers – they are growing well, as can be seen in the pic above.  The tallest currently measures 2m 8cm and I’ve needed to add the top “wire”.

The biggest challenge this year has been the wind – on the days before we went to Mallorca, and on the days since our return, it has been really windy and the sunflowers have need some extra support – I don’t think they would all have survived without it. In addition, where they were being blown left and right, their stalks were rubbing against the wire, causing scaring, and one was nearly cut in two, so I put some neoprene fish tank hose over the the supporting wire to make it a much less harsh surface. I also tied all the individual sunflowers to the wires to keep them upright,

They are looking good – we are off to Cavtat tomorrow, I hope they still look as good when we return in nine days time.

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Soller, Majorca

Pic of the week 16/7/23

On Friday, we returned from 10 lovely days -en famile- in Soller, Majorca.  We had a fantastic Finca a few minutes walk from the town centre, with a pool set in a lovely garden.  It was, however, hot! As the week wore on, we became embroiled (emboiled?!) in the heatwave Cerberus with temperatures hitting 36, 37 degrees, and not getting much cooler at night (which then exacerbated the omission of air con from the property, although ceiling fans dis their best to keep us cool.)

We did a lot (well, Becky & I did – Sophie really didn’t like the heat, and Sam didn’t like getting up in the morning!) Probably the highlight for me was on the Sunday when Sam & I went coastering of Deia, climbing rocks and leaping of cliffs (10m high?) into the sea. The best bit for me was entering the sea cave – in fact, it was exiting the sea cave! The water was so perfectly blue as I rounded the corner the enter the final passage. This was no grand cavern, the exit was not very big at all!

Other highlights included our trip to the orange grove Ecovinyassa, and on our final day when Becky and I took the bus to Fornalutx, explored it and then walked down to Biniaraix and back to the house. But the whole holiday was great – food, family and fun!

Day 0 – Arrival

Day 1 trip to the Eroski!

Day 2 – Deia

Day 3 – Market Day in Soller

Day 4 – Becky went to Valldemossa, whilst Sam & I went coastering

Day 6 – Becky & I walked to Port de Soller. Hot, hot, hot!

Day 7 – In the evening we got the bus to Port de Soller

Day 8 – Ecovinyassa

Day 8 – exploring Fornalutx and Biniaraix

Day 9 – Heading home

(For the record, our return flight was delayed by two hours)

 

 

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School’s out!

Pic of the week 2/7/23

School’s out for summer!

The term, for me, sort of fizzled out (not that I am complaining) – with most year 11s finishing their two weeks before the end of term, and all the week before, I’ve been on easy street as term drew to a close, but it was still great when it finally, officially, ended. To have the long summer hols stretching out in front of me is something to look forward.  I’ve kept myself busy and active so far: spinning on Thursday, swimming on Friday, Park Run yesterday and an 8K run today, with the intention of swimming tomorrow and spinning on Tuesday before I “let it all go” on holiday!  I’ve also spent some time pottering and tidying up in the garden.  The first sunflower has burst into bloom, which is nice to see, but now want them to slow down for a couple of weeks whilst we are away!

On the rat front, they have been consuming quite a bit of poison and I restocked all the blocks on Friday, but nothing more has been nibbled – beginning to hope that, perhaps, they’ve done their job …?

Had a doctors appointment on Tuesday to discuss my cholesterol – not really sure it was helpful or useful, he didn’t really know why I was their and needed me to him my results.  We then chatted about cholesterol for a bit, he suggested what I was doing was the right thing and wants to do a full blood test in September/October to see if the changes to my diet have had a positive effect.

Off to Majorca on Wednesday, so no post next week …

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Glastonbury 2023

Pic of the week 25/6/23

On Sunday I went to Glastonbury.

(It was me on my own this year as Becky had a 30 year uni reunion)

It was a hot day, the ground was baked dry (in fact, when I got home I realised that my t-shirt looked a hue of grubby yellow  – the white having become discoloured my the dust storms that whipped up as you walked along the pathways) Perfect conditions.

This year, I had a plan. I was on site by about 9.15 having caught my bus at Street, so early the litter pickers had not yet begun to clean the detritus from the night before. I headed straight up the hill to the “letters” and enjoyed the sweeping vista across the sprawling site.

After enjoy the sunshine and sights, I ambled down, taking in Glastonbury-on-Sea, pausing to have my photo taken:

I had wanted to see CarHenge, and I wasn’t disappointed:

before scooting over to the Pyramid stage to see the opening act of the day: The Bristol Windrush Choir and Reggae Orchestra

They were great. Really enjoyed them, and afterward I was interviewed by a journo and the piece was picked up by the Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/glastonbury-windrush-bristol-caribbean-essex-b2363827.html

I stayed in the “pig-pen” (the section right at the front of the Pyramid Stage) for Sophie Ellis-Bextor who was brilliant, the highlight being when she covered Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”. Her show was, possibly, my musical highlight of the day.

I then wandered some more before returning to the Pyramid for Cat Stevens who was good, but perhaps a little laid back, although I did miss the end of his set as I headed over to the acoustic stage to watch Toyah and Robert Fripp – they finished with a cover of Bowie’s “Heroes”, another musical highlight of the day.

Then I hot-footed it back to Blondie on the Pyramid. The crowd by now was immense, It was good, but too much filler and not enough Parallel Lines.

Now tired yet happy, I decided to head for home, getting the 7.30pm bus back to Glastonbury Town Hall, and then walking home, to watch Elton on the TV. A good decision I think – I would have been so far back in the crowd, and exiting the site afterwards would have taken some time.

So a great day at Glastonbury. Musically perhaps not the best (it didn’t top Diana Ross from last year) but I really, really enjoyed myself.

 

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Sub 13

Pic of the week 18/6/23

For the first time in a year I am under 13 stone! My official weight on Thursday was 12 stone 13 and one quarter, the last time I was under 13 stone was 23rd June ’22 – one of only four weeks in 2022 that I was sub 13.

I know that over the last 18 months I have allowed y weight to creep up and establish at about 13 and a half stone, so I am pleased with my weight loss following my new regime after my health MOT and discovery that my cholesterol is too high. I am being very disciplined with my no dairy diet and also not eating other than my three meals a day. It seems to be working!

Although it hasn’t helped my running – ran 7K today, whilst my splits were not reliable, I am still much slower, averaging about 5mins per K.  I thought my weight loss and regular spinning would see me improve, but it has yet to manifest itself on the road.  I think I just need to get more miles in (unlikely over the next month or so, with Glastonbury, Majorca & Cavtat to come)

The sunflowers out the front are growing rapidly, with a number already over a metre tall. The continued wall to wall sunshine has probably helped.  The ones in the back are a long way off this growth, but seem to be healthy – looking forward to a forest of sunflowers this year.

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Rata, and other wildlife!

Pic of the week 11/6/23

The long hot spell has continued and Wednesday afternoon found me home alone (Becky had gone to Cardiff to see Coldplay and Disney 100), sat outside, reading my book.  I heard a strange noise, looked up, and saw something darting from the top deck to the bottom of the garden.  I hoped, for a moment, that it was a squirrel, but, whilst its tail was long, it was not bushy – it was a rat.  I then saw another , a little more timid, poking its head out from the top deck – confirmation: we have rats.  On Friday, Becky saw one emerge from the same place, so a quick trip to Amazon and bait and a bait box was bought, arrived and installed on Saturday.  Looking this morning, I think the edge of one of the bait blocks has been nibbled so hopefully our infestation will be short lived.

Today, Sunday, was Becky’s first as not an employee of Sainsbury’s so instead of her working and me running, we went for a walk around Shapwick nature reserve. It was lovely.  Saw many, many dragonflies:

Damson flies mating:

Swans with their cygnets:

and a very impressive Marsh Harrier. It was a lovely way to spend the morning, before coming home to potter in the garden.

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Dancing queens, butter, and bikes

Pic of the week 4/6/23

Yesterday, Becky and I travelled to London to see Abba Voyage. It was brilliant! I’m not really sure how they do it – its as if the four members of the band were there performing live for us, but they weren’t, but it was so realistic. Anyway, the music was brilliant and the dancing fun as they belted out all their classics. It really was a fantastic show.

We had originally planned to travel to London by train, but a train strike put paid to that plan, so we drove up instead, parking in the (pre-booked) NCP Richmond car park (circa £25) A really easy and direct route, although we were then slightly stymied when I discovered the district line between Richmond and Earls Court was closed that day for engineering works. So we got an overland train to Waterloo and then entered the tube system from there.  On our way back, we travelled directly from Strafford (the site of the London Olympics) all the way to Richmond on the London over ground.

In addition to the show, we also spent an hour or two exploring Camden which was fun.

Half-term is often a time for self care and I had both a dental hygienist appointment (my check up was cancelled as they no longer have any NHS dentists)  and also my over 50s medical check up at the doctors surgery. All was going well until the final results from my blood test came in and told me that my cholesterol is too high.  My total cholesterol level is 6.74 mmol/L – needs to be below 5 – my serum HDL cholesterol level (good cholesterol) is 0.98 mmol/L – needs to be above 1.0 – and my ratio TC/HDL is 6.9 and needs to be less than 4.5. So I have an appointment to discuss this with the doctor in 4 weeks time, but in the meantime I’ve started cutting out stuff high in polyunsaturated, so that means no butter, milk, cheese, chocolate, red meat … Looking on the positive side, I am seeing it as an opportunity to try new foods and expand my palette, rather than thinking of what I can’t have.

On Tuesday and Thursday I went spinning at Strode leisure centre, and really enjoyed it, so have signed up again, with the view that I cancel at the end of the summer holidays. Having tweaked a calf muscle whilst running today, it may be that I need to move my exercise away from high impact running to lower impact spinning and swimming. We’ll see ….

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Half-term

Pic of the week

Half-term has arrived and, somewhat surprisingly, the sun is shinning, and promises to do so all week.

I’ve made little use of the day today, other than to run, rest and snooze – I have a bit of a summer cold (sore throat came on in the night on Friday) and now I have a bit of a cough and feel a little lethargic. I ran this morning, but was a little slow, and had looong snooze this afternoon – other than read and snooze, I’ve done little, but I probably needed today to recharge my batteries.

Plan to get busy in the garden for much of the week, some bushes need pruning back, geraniums need planting out and my latest batch of sunflower seeds – and six pumpkins – will need planting out before the week is done. Anyway, its nice to know I have some time ahead of me to potter and prune in the garden, snooze and read, and maybe also get in a little exercise.