I've still go the Honda to do

The morning I got the Enfield tucked away for the winter. I even remembered to put a note on it, reminding me of the recommissioning tasks that need to be completed, before I attempt to start it next year.

With less than an hour before lunch, I headed to the bookcase and sought out a replacement for the tedious tome I abandoned yesterday. I selected Dark Fire by C J Sansom.  I read it many years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Within a few pages I was absorbed in this tale of a Tudor Lawyer.

In the afternoon we headed out for a walk with the dogs. The weather was quite lovely today. It was mild and there was a blue sky with only a few clouds.

The rest of the afternoon was spent pottering around the house. I have realised that I am running short of supplies for my little stall, and I will need to bottle honey tomorrow. I seem to be bottling every couple of weeks at the moment and really need Pete to drop off another tub of honey. I am down to the last few pounds of my 2025 crop.

This evening the Tai Chi class resumed and I spent a pleasant hour participating in the Autumn sequence and the Dao Ying Yan Shen exercises. As I have become more familiar with these sequences I am really enjoying the sense of calm as one makes their way through the choreography.

So, that was Wednesday. 

The only other thing to report is that 30% has booked our 2026 Narrow Boat holiday with B&H.  We're off to explore the Llangollen Canal next June. 

Sometimes being told isn't enough

 30% had arranged to visit her old friend Pinky today.

Her condition has much improved. At one point it was a case of "prepare for the worst". Now they are talking about a "complete recovery, taking six to twelve months." She is still in intensive care, but the periods of ventilation and sedation are being reduced. Her eyes are open and she can respond to verbal prompts to squeeze one's hand.  Her slow recovery begins.

What I haven't mentioned is that Pinky moved to Rhayader a few years back, so is ensconced in the Intensive Care Unit of Aberystwyth Hospital.  That is a a fair trek from these parts, so today I was left home alone to keep the dogs company, whilst 30% headed out on the train to deepest Wales.

I dropped her off at the station just before nine, and spent the morning mostly pottering. I read a little, but became increasingly frustrated with the book I had selected.* 

I took delivery of the Enfield's Vac Bag this afternoon, and headed out to the garage to finish cleaning the front wheel. I have found that a gently rub with wire wool and metal polish work wonders on the tarnished spokes.

I returned to the house to keep the dogs company, lighting a fire in the late afternoon. 30% called just before seven to advise that she would be in Redditch at "half past."

I collected her from the station and listened as she recounted her day. She was exhausted by the travelling and the experience of the hospital visit, but buoyed by the fact that her friend's condition is greatly improved. I think she needed the reassurance of seeing Pinky with her own eyes.

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* I say "selected," in reality it was more a case of it being forced upon me.  It is the fifth instalment of a fantasy series, and, being a completer/finisher, I felt compelled to read the entire series.  The first two volumes were a great read, but three and four were repetitive, and filled with page after page of nothing. There were occasional bouts of excitement that were just enough to keep the dedicated reader interested, but I admit to skipping large chunks frequently. The final volume was the final straw. I got about one hundred and fifty pages in and couldn't bear reading another sentence. It has been replaced in the bookcase and I will never take it out again.

The Lexicon of Love

 Today started with a trip in to Redditch's Kingfisher Centre.

30% was due for a hearing test and my trusted wristwatch needed a new battery. She popped in to Specsavers and I headed to Timpson to have a new battery installed.*

A trip to the supermarket followed and that consumed the morning.

In the afternoon we took the dogs out for a walk and then I headed in to the garage to resume the cleaning the Enfield. A Vac Bag has been ordered, and I would really like to get it tucked away for the winter in the next few days.  I made a start on cleaning the spokes of the front wheel and found that a light rub with steel wool works wonders. I also constructed a virtual list of maintenance tasks that will be needed before I attempt to start it in the spring.**

This evening we took the train from Redditch in to Birmingham for an evening at the Symphony Hall. ABC were in concert, with a Symphony Orchestra, performing their first album; The Lexicon of Love.

I have had a copy of this LP since it was first released in 1985, and have never tired of it. I have a playlist on my phone that provides the soundtrack to most of my car journeys. Several ABC tracks appear on the it, and they never fail to delight.

ABC opened with When Smokey Sings and the rest of the first half was comprised of later works. After the intermission the Lexicon of Love was performed in its entirety with a 30 piece orchestra performing alongside the band.

It was a splendid evening, and we both loved it. We did comment that we could have arrived, listened to the first track and then popped out for a light bite to eat, before returning for the main event. That is not to say that the first half of the concert wasn't good, it was. It was just that the second half was just fabulous.

ABC have definitely set the benchmark high, let's see how Bad Manners do on Friday.

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* A new battery for a Tag watch will cost in the region of ninety pounds. They last a four or five years, but they are still rather expensive.  Many years ago I called in to a branch of Timpson to get my watch battery replaced, and they advised that, for a small fee, I could get a lifetime guarantee on the battery.  I paid the fee and carefully stowed the guarantee card in my wallet. You can see the Timpson staff smile when you ask for a new battery to be fitted, and then groan when you pull out the golden ticket.

** The list: 

• Adjust Chain, 
• Check oil level (it looks high), 
• Replace chain case gasket (there is a small leak), 
• Pray (the bike hasn't been ridden since early 2021 and the carb could well be gummed up)

Day of rest

It was close to two o'clock this morning before we got to bed, so today really wasn't going to be very productive.

It was a late start, and, eventually, the chickens were let out and our Sunday began.  

A chap called round in the morning to give us a quote for cutting the hedges.  I have done it in previous years, and am still quite capable of doing it. 

The thing is, it is a bit of a mission, and, if I can get someone else to do it for a reasonable price, I'll outsource it.

In the afternoon a snooze was mandated to catch up on some sleep, and then we walked the dogs down the lane.

I then settled down with a book and did little else for the rest of the day.

Out for dinner

I met up with Bubbles and Ben at the Cotswold Shooting Ground in Childswickham this morning, for a round of sporting clays.

The weather was wet and windy, neither of which are ideal conditions for clay pigeon shooting.  The wind caused the clay trajectories to be erratic, and the rain on my spectacles made it challenging to follow their flight.

If I am honest I didn't really try that hard, so I can't complain with a score of 39/80. I'm not making out that it is a good score, but it could have been a lot worse ... and I didn't use the big coat excuse.*

My gun got wet this morning, so the first job, when I got home, was to clean it.  It is now sat back in the gun cabinet and, being clean, if I don't fancy shooting during cold and damp months, it will be fine until the spring.**

In the afternoon we took the dogs out for a walk down the lane, and in the evening we headed over to Evesham for dinner with Rosie & Jim and Gizzie & Jules.  

We had a splendid time, some lovely food, and the conversation never faltered. It was a great evening. One observation I will make is that, now we are all in our sixties, the first part of the evening was spent discussing our latest aches and pains!

We didn't make it to bed until close to two o'clock, so I am expecting that Sunday will be a quiet one.

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* It was cold this morning and I wore my shooting coat. It is well made, but it does restrict one's movement when shouldering the gun and sighting on the clay.  After a summer of shooting in a tee or sweatshirt, it takes a while to adjust. It is a standing joke that there are hundreds of excuses for poor performance at the clay shooting ground. It is always best to come prepared with a list!

** Much like my motorcycles.

The Dog Whisperer?

Friday turned out to be a very lazy day.

After a very leisurely start to the day, the only thing I achieved in the morning was to pick up a prescription from a local chemist.  

On the way to pick up the drugs, I decided to pop in to see Pete the Beekeeper.  I wanted to order a 30lb bucket of honey as my supplies are running short.* I also wanted to pay him for the two queens that he supplied back in the late summer of 2024. 

I actually bumped in to Pete about half a mile down the lane, where the bridge crosses the little stream.  He has an apiary there and was performing a late season check. I managed to order a bucket of honey but totally failed to get him to accept any money for either the honey or the queens. His reluctance to work out how much I owe him for the queens is getting ridiculous. I must have attempted to pay him half a dozen times, and he keeps declining payment "until he works out how much I owe him."

Anyway, on to this afternoon ... we walked the dogs down the lane and then I returned to cleaning the Enfield in the garage. The peeling vinyl stickers were removed from the tank and it was given a good polish. I also settled to cleaning the front wheel spokes. I didn't get very far before I decided to head indoors, light a fire and warm my bones.

And now to the title of today's Journal entry. 

Since Traitorous Bastard has come to live with us he has shown a rather annoying personality trait. At the sight of any animal on the television,** he lunges towards the set barking. He gets so excited that he actually headbutts the screen and has come close to knocking it off its stand.

None of our other dogs do this. Dog #4 aka The Rat does enjoy a wildlife programme, but she simply settles in the chair and enjoys the show. Whiffler and Hobson show no interest in the television at all. It is just TB that thinks we are being invaded by strange beasts.

So, for the past few days, I have been attempting to dissuade him from this behaviour by putting him outside the room, and shutting the door, each time he does this.  He is only left in the hall for a couple of minutes, before he is let back in.

He seems to have caught on very quickly. If he starts to lunge at the TV, we call him and point to the lounge door. He stops, returns to 30%, and reluctantly sits.

Neither of us can believe how quickly he has caught on, and we are wondering whether it a fluke? The cynic in me thinks we need to continue with this training approach for a while longer.

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* I harvested about 140 lb at the end of May this year, and I am down to my last 30lb bucket. Sales have been, and continue to be, very good.

** You would be amazed how many advertisements have dogs and cats in them.

There is hope

The day has finally arrived for my appointment with an NHS Cornea Specialist.

I have had a problem with recurring corneal abrasions for many years. This problem stems from a number of minor eye injuries. These range from TP poking his finger in my eye, when he was a toddler, to Marauder scratching my eye with one of her whiskers; when I was playing with her many years ago.  I also picked up another scratch trimming Mrs Tweedy's bush, but I shudder at any mention of that!

These injuries have taken their toll. A few times a year I will suffer a corneal abrasion that is very painful, and can take a week or two to heal. My dry eye condition does not help, in fact it exacerbates the problem. Over night the surface of my eye will dry out and the lid will partially adhere to the cornea. When I open my eyes in morning the lifting of the lid removes an area of my cornea and I have another corneal abrasion.

I use a greasy ointment at night to control this. It works well, but it is like trying to see through a film of petroleum jelly once it has been applied. 

I have waited a long time for this appointment following a referral from CHEC at the beginning of the year. I walked in to the clinic hopefully that I would finally get a treatment that would actually work, rather than the CHEC approach, which always seems to be a combination of formulaic, ineffective and generally disinterested.

The pessimist in me kept bringing up the niggling thought that I was stuck with painful, sore, itchy eyes for the remainder of my years.

The Specialist at the clinic was a delight. She listened carefully to my history, and was thorough in her examinations and questions. She advised that I had been managing my eye conditions appropriately, but there were other, and additional, treatment options that are available to me. It is very much a case of trying the various options to see which ones work best.*

I left with a prescription for some new treatments, a follow-up appointment in four months time and clarification that I should not be purchasing Hycosan Night. In future it is to be provided, without charge, on prescription.

I left the consultation feeling quite positive, after three years of handling a quite miserable condition.

I also submitted my tax return this afternoon, and can report that I am due a healthy tax rebate for the year 2024/25.  I really do not know why I put off doing the damned thing. It is never as complicated as I expect,** and, generally, takes less than a day to sort out.

I wish that my eye condition could be resolved as quickly!

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* One of them sounded horrific. Google Corneal Alcohol Delamination, it doesn't sound like fun!

** Even less so, now I have retired 

Busy, busy!

First job this morning was to take TB* in to Stratford to be groomed.

Hobson was not impressed that he was to be left at home and could be heard expressing his feelings as we drove off.  Just in case you weren't aware, the Grooming Salon decided that Hobson was not sufficiently well behaved, to be a model for their academy. It has been home haircuts for him ever since.

Anyway, bright and early we all got in to the car and headed over towards Stratford on Avon. As we reached the top of Red Hill the traffic was crawling, and didn't improve until we reached our destination. It was stop/start all the way, and every single traffic light was on red. A handful of road works had been thrown in to the mix, and the inward journey was a complete and utter bastard. A twenty minute drive took the best part of an hour!

We dropped TB off and headed out of town on the Bidford road. That wasn't much better.

The reason for the alternative route was that 30% wanted to check out an oak refectory table at a local auction house. It wasn't really open for viewing lots, but we persuaded the staff to allow is to take a peek.  The table was rather lovely, but it was a little on the narrow side. I think we just need to be patient and wait for the right one to turn up. It's not as though we don't have a decent dining table at the moment.**

That little trip out took up all of the morning. In the afternoon I finally made a start on completing my tax return for 2024/25.*** Accessing His Majesty's Customs and Revenue software was a breeze, but the pre-populated data wasn't quite right and I couldn't find a way to correct it. A twenty minute wait followed by text exchanges involving a chatbot, an artificial intelligence entity referring to itself as Philippa,**** and a real person called Sharon eventually got me sorted.

I made reasonable headway thereafter, and got a good way through the process. By the time I hit [SAVE], in order to go and collect TB, I had come to the conclusion that I could well be due for another tax rebate. If ever there was motivation to finish the job, that was it.

The trip in to collect TB was an absolute breeze. We were there and back in the same time as our inward journey this morning. I should mention that TB looked fantastic and had behaved beautifully, again.

I will just return to my tax return briefly. Clearly I need to get it completed, but yesterday we received a delivery of three new curtain poles and some new light fittings for the living room. As soon as I've done my tax return, I have one less reason to delay installing these fittings.

Perhaps I need to slow down the rate of progress on the Enfield?

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* TB aka Traitorous Bastard, Hobson's litter mate

** I should clarify that the picture of the dining table in the linked entry was taken at The Pile, our previous home,

*** It has only taken me 272 days to get around to starting it!

**** It might have been a real person, but the response time and actual responses seemed more like an AI. I suppose she might have been working from home and cooking something lovely for dinner at the same time? That might explain why my problem wasn't resolved by her?

Great Company

At some point last week 30% was loitering, virtually, in the realm of Facebook.  She noticed that Grandad Jack was on line, so she pinged him and invited him over for lunch. 

She also invited her ex-frolleague Jules, and TP was in residence too.

Basically we had a houseful today and we had a quite splendid day filled with chatter, social updates and good food.

Grandad Jack mentioned that his wife rather fancied dropping in too, so we may be hosting Jacqui next time.*

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* That'll be interesting, as Jacqui is the complete antithesis to Jack. He is witty, bawdy, relaxed, delightful company, and definitely worldly wise.  She is much more restrained and uptight. One wonders what he saw in her? Great legs, perhaps?

TP drops in

As the day length has reduced over the past few weeks, I have got used to being able to wake, drink coffee and start the day at a leisurely pace, before it is sufficiently light to put out my honey stall and release the chickens.

I therefore find it somewhat annoying that the switch to GMT has buggered up my relaxed start to the day. I now need to haul my backside from my bed and head straight out in to the garden to perform my early morning duties. This is not acceptable, and it will be another few weeks before I can have lazy mornings again.

This morning I returned to the garage and continued with the spruce up of the Enfield. I can now report that the rear wheel has been cleaned in its entirety, spokes and all. I haven't counted them, but I know that I have individually polished forty tarnished spokes back to something that looks presentable. I still have the front wheel to address. That's another forty spokes and some of those have started to rust. I'm really trying to put that off for a day or two.

In the early afternoon I sorted out the last of the holes that TB had dug in the lawn over the summer.  A neat section of turf has been inserted and the lawn in front of the ornamental greenhouse now looks slightly more presentable.

Later in the afternoon TP turned up for an overnight stay.* He had kindly delivered a rather nice leather Stressless reclining chair that 30% had found on Facebook marketplace. **

After catching up with each others' news we all headed out for a short walk across the field with the dogs. We had a lovely evening and 30% tried really hard to avoid interrogating him about his new girlfriend. 

Note: I did say, "30% tried," I didn't say "30% succeeded"

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* There has been a week long break in his shooting schedule, and he has spent the time catching up with friends and us. He even had a mini break with his new lady friend.

** It was being sold a few miles away from his home in North Cardiff, so the poor lad was persuaded to go over, check it out and buy it, if it was in good condition.  He did a great job and even managed to get them to reduce their price by thirty pounds ... It's a bargain!

What time is it?

I woke this morning totally confused by the clocks being put back last night.

My phone indicated that it was approaching quarter to six, but when I checked my watch it was close to seven o'clock.* It took a few moments for my brain to catch up with events, and I then adjusted my timepiece and started the day at a gentle pace.

30% appeared later in the morning and, after a while, presented me with her wristwatch, requesting that I adjust it for her.  She has had the watch since 2013, and has yet to learn how to adjust it. I attended to the task and noticed that it seemed to need to be reset by two hours, rather than the expected one.  I asked about this and was informed that she hadn't bothered resetting it since our trip to Egypt last November!

Right, on to today's accomplishments.

First task of the day was to extract the mower from the shed and tidy up the roadside verges and the small area of lawn around the garage.  The front lawn was ignored, as it really needed a few hours of sun to dry out the early morning dew.

I then spent the next few hours in the garage cleaning the Enfield. I must be making progress and I now seem to be considering attending to some of the minor mechanical issues that have arisen.** Shall I do them before I put it to bed for the winter, or leave them until next spring?

In the afternoon I put aside motorcycle maintenance and mowed the front lawn. On completion I decided that I was actually quite tired, so I had a short kip before lighting the fire and settling down on the sofa for the rest of the afternoon.

Here endeth Sunday's Journal entry.

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* I know its battery needs replacing, but gaining time isn't a normal symptom.

** The chain case seeps a little oil and the head gasket is leaky too.

The weather was better than expected

As has become the norm of recent weeks, I headed out to the garage this morning and continued with the clean up of my little Royal Enfield. 

The new battery was connected up and the electrics were tested. All seems to be working well, and the new battery is a sealed unit, so I will be able to use an Optimate charger to  keep it charged in future.

After lunch 30% and I headed up the lane with the dogs for a walk. The weather is blustery with sunny spells and, as we walked, I noticed that the grass was quite dry.  This prompted me to consider my plans for this afternoon.*

The lawns were definitely due for a cut, and I didn't think I would get a better conditions for mowing than today, so the mower was dragged from the shed.

A couple of hours were spent mowing the lawns at the back of the house, and it all looks rather tidy now. The neatly clipped sward. will also mean that my feet are less likely to get soaked on my early morning walks up to the chicken coop. 

I will finish today's Journal entry with one more poultry related comment. The clocks go back one hour tonight and we will move from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time. As the days have shortened the chickens have slowly stopped laying and their egg production is now intermittent, at best. It won't be long until we have to resort to tasteless commercial eggs to keep us going through until next spring.

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* Should I mention that the hedges really need cutting and I have yet to submit my tax return.

That's just the job

The autumn leaves are starting to fall, and within a few weeks the Ash tree by the gate will have covered the drive and front lawn with leaves.

Last year, for the first time, I collected up the fallen leaves to make leaf mould. We had three large wooden crates* and I lined them with chicken wire, before relocating them to the orchard, behind Rose Cottage.  

Last year's leaves were deposited in the crates and I can report that they are breaking down nicely. My expectation is that we will have a decent quantity of leaf mould by next spring.

I had another of these crates,** so, this morning, I spent a happy hour lining it with some left over plastic mesh. The crate has been moved up to the orchard and I am ready for this autumn's sweep up.

In the afternoon I returned to the garage and spent a happy few hours underneath the Enfield. I can also report that its new battery arrived this morning, and is now sat on the bench connected to a charger.

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*The stone tiles laid in the kitchen and utility room were delivered in them.

** It has been annoyingly abandoned up the side of the garage. It is sufficiently out of sight to avoid being referred to as an eye sore, but an irritating obstacle when I mow the small area of lawn by the garage.

A Break

A couple of orders have come in for batches of honey. An ex-colleague of 30% reached out and requested half a dozen jars, and another acquaintance requested four jars, two of which were set.

With the dishwasher out-of-order I had delayed fulfilling these orders, until I had proper washing facilities for jars and jugs and bowls and honey buckets and god knows what other paraphernalia is needed to bottle honey.

We now have a working dishwasher, so I stepped away from motorcycle cleaning and settled to bottling a couple of batches of honey. This job extended over most of the day, but in the intervals, when the honey was melting, I did find twenty minutes to fit the replacement rear indicator to the Enfield.

In other news, a chap turned up to repair the scratch that had appeared on the rear door of 30%'s car. Fortunately it could be polished out, as the original colour would be challenging to match.*

Today's worrying news was that Whiffler managed to knock the Sky remote control in to a full cup of black coffee. He demonstrated some skill, as the cup remained upright with the remote poking out of the top. As I type this, the remote is sat in a sealed plastic bag with a large quantity of moisture absorbing crystals. I have also learnt that the Sky Go app has provided me with basis remote control functionality from my phone ... phew!

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* It is a very unusual metallic brown that changes as the light falls across it, showing flecks of gold and red. When the car is clean and the sun is shining on it it looks amazing.