Dogs and Doctors

This morning started with a walk, accompanied by Hobson and TB. We took our usual route out towards Pete the Beekeeper's house, where we did an about-turn and headed back home.

Although our walk only takes an hour, it seems to consume the entire morning. It must be the obligatory coffee on our return that fills the rest of the time before lunch ... and also the fact that I am rarely ready to start my day before ten o'clock!

30% headed out just before lunch with Dog #4 aka The Rat.  The Rat had been booked in for a bath and brush with Dot 'n Dave's daughter-in-law, Sarah.* 

The bath and brush would take a couple of hours so we lunched and then headed over to visit Dot 'n Dave. Unfortunately Dave has badly damaged his knee and is currently in plaster and fairly "out of it" on prescription painkillers.  He is in a lot of pain and, understandably, frustrated by the enforced immobility.  We did our best to cheer him a little and reinforced our previous offers to assist in any way we could.

Sarah called at around two o'clock, and we headed just down the road to collect The Rat.  She looked absolutely marvellous after her wash, and the big surprise was that Sarah had clipped her too ... I was expecting to have to give her a clip** over the next few days, but she's even had her claws clipped.  Hobson and Whiffler are also booked in for baths in a couple of weeks. It'll be interesting to see how she gets on with those two.

I wasn't able to crack on with oiling the gates as 30% had an appointment at the ROH in Birmingham this evening.  

We had an amazingly traffic free drive in, and she was seen early too. The consultation was inconclusive, but suggested that her spine is actually in very good condition. Blood samples were taken and another scan was arranged. Her GP has also been directed that she needs to be seen by other Specialists.

To take a glass half full perspective, there was no bad news.

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* Sarah learnt to groom at the same school that all of our dogs have attended as models. She absolutely adores Standard Poodles and was really keen to get her hands on them ... Her rates are also very reasonable

** I wasn't really looking forward to giving her a clip as my back is playing up at the moment and I generally clip her whilst kneeling or being over her. This can be quite painful after an hour , or so.  It is fair to say that I was very envious of Sarah's pneumatic grooming table.

What is it with bloody cyclists?

Sunday started with a trip down the road to the local Nursery. Three bags of rotted manure were purchased and two of them were dug in to the raised beds, as soon as I got home.

At this point I will make mention of the cyclists I encountered on this little trip. 

I met two groups within a hundred yards of leaving home, and pulled up on the verge to allow them to pass safely. Barely one of the ignorant fuckers could be bothered to acknowledge this courtesy.  I am well aware that cyclists should be given priority under the UK Highway Code, and I do follow this rule. However, it is rare that these Lycra clad buffoons ever acknowledge that someone has gone out of their way to allow them to proceed safely.  Fundamentally a lot of them are just fucking rude, and I have encountered others that are literally dangerous!*

Anyway, rant over, and now on to Sunday afternoon.  A couple of hours were spent applying a second coat of oil to the first of the new gates. 

Once that was done, I put on my bee suit, lit my smoker and added a pack of fondant to hive #1.  The bees are now flying regularly and it won't be long before I lift the crown boards and give the colonies their first inspection of the year.  I am hoping they will be needing supers in early April.

The final news for today is that I had a call with TP and Charlie, and we finally agreed dates for our motorcycle tour to France in July. I can now report that my Le Shuttle tickets** have been purchased and I will be away from 10th July, returning on the 19th.

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* Please don't misunderstand me. Most cyclists are well mannered and ride safely. However, as soon as they join an organised group, put on Lycra and start getting competitive they seem to loose any sense of personal responsibility, personal safety and good manners.  They ride like arrogant pricks, and will happily cause long queues, apparently, simply because they can!

** I cashed in my Tesco Clubcard vouchers and managed to reduce my ticket price by £94 ... Result!

Mostly mower related

It came as no surprise that the new gates had not dried sufficiently for a second coat of oil, so I spent the morning fixing the drive belt on the Mountfield mower.  This is the second time I have had to perform this minor repair, so it was reasonably straightforward to get it back up and running.

Having fixed the mower, I spent the first part of the afternoon mowing the lawns at the front. I can also report that the cowslips in the verge are finally starting to peep out from amongst the grass.

I was also brave enough to make a start on removing some of the smaller surface roots from the large conifer that blew down during Storm Darragh.  The large stump is a huge pain to mow around, and I inwardly curse each and every time I attend to the lawn. The only problem is that I am well aware of how hard it is to remove a large tree stump.

I have played this game several year ago and am in no rush to make my back worse than it already is.  My plan is to deal with it a little at a time.  My next objective is to dig out and level a few square feet of the ground lifted by the roots as the tree fell over.

I'll see how that goes before I start making any rash commitments about removing the rest of the stump.

Spring has certainly arrived

I woke up this morning in a fair degree of discomfort.* 

It is nowhere near as bad as it was back in 2023, when I could walk no further than about fifty yards. This morning it was just general discomfort in my lower back, and left hip with occasional twinges in my left shin. I'm no expert but these seem to be mild forms of the symptoms I experienced as a result of formainal stenosis.

I decided to cancel plans for a walk with the dogs, and made an appointment with the GP instead.

I then headed out to the garden and took the lawn mower out on to the back lawn. My thinking was along the lines of, "I can always abandon mowing if my back hurts too much."  I got the mower running and the bloody thing threw its drive belt within the first five minutes. This meant that I had no powered assistance, and had to push the mower up and down the sward.  It is a good sized lawn and I was pretty tired by the end of it.

Lunch was followed by a lengthy kip, and I then headed out to the store room. My afternoon was spent sorting through my collection of supers. I now have three piles; supers with no frames, supers with frames of foundation and supers with frames of drawn comb.  

My preference is always to give the bees supers with drawn comb. This means that they can start storing nectar with minimal effort spent building or repairing comb, as they would if given frames of foundation.

It's still a little early to be adding supers to the hives, but it won't be long before I open them up for their first inspection of the year.

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* I also woke after a night of very strange dreams. This was unusual, as I rarely remember my dreams, but could recall several from last night. I'm not going to recount them, as I am a strong believer in the view that there is nothing as boring as listening to someone else recount their dreams.

Have I overdone it?

Thursday was very similar to Wednesday. I started out with an early morning walk with Hobson and TB.  This time my blood glucose control was far better, and I made it home without having a hypo.

The recent fine weather has meant that the lawns have really started to grow, and they really need cutting. I used the spare time before lunch to mow the lawns and paths around the greenhouses and the veg patch. I also moved the tree ferns back to their shady spot* under the variegated maple, and relocated a couple of pots of tulips to sit outside the ornamental greenhouse.

In the afternoon I grabbed my brush and pot of timber treatment, and applied a first coat of oil to the second gate.  The instructions state that it should be applied thinly and should be dry within twenty four hours. When I oiled gate #1 yesterday I brushed the oil out as much as I possibly could, but it had tacky patches when I checked today. It seems that I am going to have to leave at least a couple of days between coats. Perhaps the weather could do with being a little warmer?

So that was Thursday. I must admit that my back was twinging after walking, mowing and applying a coat of oil to a large wooden gate ... where are my painkillers?

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* Actually not yet shady, as the maple hasn't yet come in to leaf

Oil and Water?

We were up and about early this morning and slightly concerned to note that our water pressure was very low. The kettle and a few jugs were filled, as a precautionary measure,* and we set about our day.

30% headed off towards Evesham to meet up with Jules and I set about my morning ablutions, only to find that we now had no water at all. Oh well!

I headed out down the lane with Hobson and TB, and we had a lovely walk in the spring sunshine until I noticed that I didn't feel quite right. Unfortunately my blood sugar had plummeted with a corresponding drop in my energy levels.  I had a snack and eventually made it home. The rest of the morning was spent doing very little.

I did make a cup of tea for the water engineer who had positioned himself by the water main access point just outside the cottage. Allegedly he was there to bleed any air locks from the main, following the repair of the burst. I think he had found himself a cushy little job in the sun and intended to have quite an easy day.  Anyway, the water supply was reinstated shortly after lunch.

In the afternoon I grabbed a paintbrush and applied the first coat of protective oil to one side of one of the new gates. It's not a particularly arduous task, but I do find painting quite tedious. I am also very aware that it is easy to see where I have applied the first coat of oil, but it is going to be a complete pig of a job to make sure I don't miss any spots when applying the second.

So I have two gates, and each one needs two coats of oil. I can only coat one side at a time, mainly because I can't stand the tedium of painting and the dogs need a walk. This means that I have eight sessions of painting before this job is finished ... another eight days!  I will also need to find someone strong enough to assist in turning the gates around at the mid point of the job ... each one is six feet wide, five feet high and made of hardwood. They weigh an absolute ton!

Final activity of the day was the regular trip to the Parish Education Centre for my Tai Chi class. There is not a huge amount to report, other than an interesting shamanic breathing meditation as the final exercise ... most unusual!

Perhaps I need to seek out a state of mindfulness when I am applying coats of oil to the gates?

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* I also reported the low pressure via Severn Trent's website

Preparations

Back in the autumn we ordered a new pair of gates for our drive. They eventually arrived early in the new year and have sat in the carport ever since. The reason for their extended sojourn is that they need two coats of UV resistant oil before they are exposed to the weather.

Now 30% is not the most patient of people and has been dropping stronger and stronger hints that the gates really need to be oiled, so that she can make arrangements for them to be installed.  I have delayed this job as long as possible, using cold, damp weather as my main excuse. However, the weather is forecast to be glorious this week, so it looks like I'll be wielding a paintbrush in the very near future.

Consequently my day panned out like this.

Hobson, Traitorous Bastard and I took a walk out as far as Pete's house this morning. It was a pleasant walk, but my stenosis symptoms are ever present. There are regular twinges in my lower back, hip and shin. It's not painful, uncomfortable is probably the most appropriate adjective, but it's not pleasant to have to endure it.  I suppose I should consult my GP, but the cynic realist in me has very low expectations of the NHS providing any relief.

In the afternoon I headed out to the carport and spent a few hours tidying up. I now have no excuse and plan to make a start on the gates tomorrow.

So that was my day. There was one weird moment of delight relief, that probably only makes sense to another dog lover.  On this morning's walk I was delighted to see that Hobson produced a normal poo for the first time in several days. We have been so worried about him and and are so happy that he is now recovering.

This should bring The Journal back up to date

I'm well aware that it's over a week since my last Journal entry. The problem was that, as each day slipped past, I became less and less inclined to wander upstairs and settle in front of my Mac.

However, I can no longer use that pathetic excuse, as in the past week we have purchased a MacBook Air.  The flimsy justification for this purchase was that I needed a decent laptop for an upcoming presentation.  I think the truth is that 30% does like to splurge the cash occasionally, and her aged HP is well past its sell-by-date.

So here I sit with a rather lovely machine on my lap, whilst the TV witters on in the background. 

So here is my attempt at summarising the news from the past week.

Let's start with TP.  Last week was TP's first week in his new job as an Acoustic Consultant.  It is his first salaried position after spending several years as a freelance Sound Engineer.  He had become disenamoured with the nature of the work, and was keen to explore career options.  He seems really excited and motivated by the new job and is looking forward to acquiring new qualifications. He is also quite keen on paid holidays and membership of a private health scheme.

We are both really proud of how he has applied himself to making changes to his career and wish him great success in the new job.

Next I will touch on the honey business.  Sales seem to have gone a little crazy recently. I bottled twenty jars on the 9th of March and all of them had been sold by Sunday the 15th. As a result I was bottling another batch today, and will be soon be popping down the road to get another bucket from Pete.

This week's drama was provided by Hobson.  Midway through last week I noticed that he had a touch of diarrhoea, but wasn't overly concerned. He seemed fine and wasn't subdued.  It was a little unfortunate that he seemed fine, as we had popped in to the Vet's on Friday to get him weighed.*

Over the course of Friday night Hobson had clearly not been well and I awoke to both puke and crap on the floor. A good while was spent clearing up the mess and cleaning the carpets. Hobson seemed a little subdued, but was still keen to come for a walk later on in the morning.  As we wandered homeward Hobson wandered onto the verge and arched his back. He then produced a stream of poo that contained a lot of blood and mucus. 

As soon as we were back home a call was made to the Vets. They had closed for the weekend and a stressful hour was spent trying to make contact with their emergency out-of-hours service. We eventually gave up and made contact with an associated Practice listed on their website. We were soon on our way towards Shirley with a very poorly dog in the back of the car.

The Veterinary Practice in Shirley was VERY different to the little country practice that we normally use. It was gleaming walls, eighteen consultation rooms, 24 x 7 service and free refreshments for customers. Our normal Vet's has two consultation rooms and is tiny by comparison.

Anyway, the Vet we saw was lovely and decided that an anti-emetic injection, combined with canine paracetamol and a pro-biotic paste should sort him out.

I can report that he is now back to normal, but we were both incredibly worried for a couple of days. This was the first time that he has ever been ill and neither of us could bear the thought of loosing him.

So that covers the main events from the past week. I can also report that we have split and repotted a waterlily that grows in one of our rainwater tanks. It has lived in the tank for a couple of years, and we were both amazed when an arm-sized rhizome floated to the surface, having totally outgrown its original pot. It has now been divided in to four, and we are now waiting to see whether the fragments of rhizome start to shoot.

I have also collected lawnmower #5 from a chap in the village and 30% has kindly purchased a lovely little four wheeled trolley that is the perfect size for carry hive components to and from the orchard. It will be a boon when we need to take heavy supers off the hives. 

I should also mention that I added a couple of packs of fondant to the hives at the weekend. I took a quick peek under the roofs on Saturday 14th, and two of the hives had emptied the previous packs. The bees are flying quite regularly now, but the spring flowers are still quite sparse, and the blossom is not yet out. I want them to have a reliable supply of food until they can rely on the local flora.

So that just about brings The Journal up to date. I'm sure I will have missed something ... Oh yes, 30% and I also had an appointment with a Solicitor on Tuesday to draw up our wills.

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* He now weighs 33.6 Kg, having lost 1.4 Kg since the beginning of February

Another busy day

Earlier in the week the bathroom basin plug mechanism came adrift, leaving the basin permanently plugged.

This has happened on a previous occasion, and, due to the basin's half pedestal, I was aware that it would be a bit of a faff to solve the problem.  Consequently a call was made to our friendly handy man, Matt.

A couple of days had passed, and nothing had been heard from Matt. Whilst not being able to use the bathroom basin isn't the biggest problem, by today it had become a little frustrating.

As a result I spent all of this morning disconnecting the half pedestal, removing the silicone sealant from the pedestal and tiles, and reconnecting the plug mechanism. Interestingly the plug mechanism took about 5 minutes to reconnect and test. The removal and replacement of the half pedestal took the best part of two hours!

Weirdly, the half pedestal is connected to the basin by a pair of velcro straps, and a bead of silicone is applied to hold it firmly to the tiled wall.

So, that was my morning. A few hours spent on something akin to plumbing. 

I was pleased to have solved the problem myself, as I am not a great fan of plumbing activities, and I regard silicone as the devil's own snot. Some people can apply the stuff with panache. When I use it, it goes everywhere, but where it is supposed to go, and looks like a pile of crap! But on this occasion, I am giving myself a commendable 8/10.

 Midway through the morning I was headed out to the workshop to pick up some tools, when I saw a couple of acquaintances passing by. They stopped to pass the time, and, as a result of this chat, I will be picking up a spare lawn mower early next week.*

I'm not sure that I need another mower, but the beast was a little temperamental towards the end of last year. If it dies I will have another on hand, for use up in the orchard.

Now on to this afternoon.

Early in the afternoon our friendly, but eccentric, horologist arrived to take a look at our two long case clocks. The short version of this story is that he quite confident that he can service and repair them, his quote was reasonable,** and they should be back with us in early April.

That was the short version. He was actually here for nearly two hours and, by Christ, that man can talk! We covered bees, dogs, underpinning foundations, every house he's ever lived in, and a problematic expensive Italian tap, in fact every subject under the sun. He just wouldn't shut up! 

I needed a lie-down after ha had gone ... and I'd had a kip before he arrived!

So that was it for Friday. The other news was that Carol turned up with the new curtains for the living room and TP arrived home for an overnight stay.

On reflection, it's been quite a busy day.

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* When this was discussed with 30% later in the day, she couldn't seem to comprehend that I need five lawn mowers ... even though mowers #4 and #5 were/will be free of charge.

** A while ago I called the chap who sold me a rather fine Swiss watch. I enquired about the price to inspect and service a single long case clock and was told it would be at least £1200.  Mr T's quote was £720 to attend to both of them!

Even more activity

Much like yesterday, today started with a dog walk, whilst the sun did its best to dry off the lawns. I also removed the mouse guards from the hives, as the bees are now flying regularly.

I was home well before lunch, and was actually on the hook to attend a memorial service for our neighbour, PG.  This was always going to be a strange event as, even by our standards, they are an odd couple.  Both are well in to their eighth decade and keep themselves to themselves. As a result, no relationship has developed in the five years were have lived just over the hill, other than the occasional "hello," and a superficial chat.

He was a deaf as a post and she is very churchy, with absolutely no sense of humour.  It's really hard to get a conversation going with people like that. To compound matters, they made it very clear that they planned to move over to Ludlow in the near future. As a result we simply just didn't invest time in building a relationship that was never going to go anywhere.

It will therefore come as no surprise that I wasn't particularly keen on going to the memorial service, but 30% reminded me that, "we really should." Fortunately fate gave me a get out of jail card, when ex frolleague, Tel had to rearrange a catch-up call to the very hour that the service was due to commence.

30% took one for the team and attended for us, and I had a rather pleasant chat with Terry. We hope to catch up with him and Deb in early April.

This afternoon I hauled the mower from the shed, once more, and spent a good couple of hours mowing all of the lawns at the front of the house. I even cut the narrow verge between us and the lane.

After all of that effort, I decided that I had definitely had sufficient exercise and did bugger all for the rest of the day.

The other big news was that the hens finally seem to have realised spring is here, and laid four eggs today ... I also need a plan to stop Traitorous Bastard from charging along the hedge line and wrecking the sward ... tying him to a heavy concrete block is an option!

Lots of activity

I certainly got my steps in today.

This morning started with a walk with Hobson and TB. We wandered as far as Pete's house and they had a splendid time trying to catch squirrels.  They have no chance, and all this really means is that they just tend to leap excitedly in to water-filled ditches, and stare up in to the branches of the trees.  Both dogs got absolutely filthy, and needed their feet washing before they were allowed back in the house.

The weather was, again, cooperative and the lawns had dried by the afternoon. The mower was wheeled from the shed and I spent forty minute mowing around the greenhouses and the vegetable patch. That is the lawns at the back of the house completed, just the ones at the front to do.

Unfortunately that was not going to happen today as my blood sugar plummeted. A slice of carrot cake and a long snooze on the sofa were required to restore me to health.

It's Wednesday, so this evening included an hour at the Parish Education Centre for this week's Tai Chi class. There were fewer attendees than normal, and the class included the usual warm up, the spring exercises, followed by the Shibashi 5 set. Unfortunately this term, Kung Po Fran is set on concluding each session with a guided meditation. 

For some reason I seem to have problems with these and simply could not manage to visualise myself wandering up a mountain path towards snowy summit.

I think I'd rather have completed another Shibashi set.

First cut

Most of today was spent bottling a couple of batches of honey. I now have twenty jars ready for sale, and can report that the "shop" will be open again tomorrow.

The weather was quite lovely today, and, by the time I had finished with the honey, the lawn at the rear of the house was quite dry.  I therefore did the gardening equivalent of making hay while the sun shines, dragged the mower from the shed, and gave it the first cut of the year.*

If the weather stays reasonable throughout the week, I may get the remainder of the lawns mowed before the weekend.

I can also report that I took a call from Mr T. Now Mr T is a rather eccentric horologist who lovingly attended to our 30 hour long-case clock when it needed some work about a decade ago. It now needs further attention, and the 8 day clock could also needs looking at too.  Hopefully Mr T will be here on Friday to give us a diagnosis and a quote ... and then take them away to be fixed.

I should point out that out that we both love the ticking and chiming of the two clocks and their sound is sorely missed. It is like the house's heartbeat, and I hope they can be restored to working order in the near future.

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* The dogs may not have been walked, but I certainly got my steps in today

Big news from TP

Today seemed to be focussed on the dogs and the bees.

First thing this morning I called PtBK and arranged to pick up a 30lb bucket of honey in the early afternoon. 

I then headed out with Hobson and TB for a walk. I wandered as far as Pete's house, and one might wonder why I didn't pick up the honey there and then? The succinct answer is that there was no bloody way I was going to lug a 30lb bucket of honey over a mile down the road,* and have to deal with potential wayward antics by the two dogs.

I lunched and then picked up the honey. This was never going to be a five minute job, and forty minutes were spent chatting, mostly about bees, over Pete's gate.

Back at home, I headed up in to the orchard and added a new pack of fondant to one of the hives.  The bees were flying well today, and I could see plenty of pollen being brought in. This indicates that the queens are now laying, and building up the strength of the colony.** I am looking forward to the point when the weather is warm enough to carry out a proper inspection of the hives.

The final news from today came from TP.  For the past couple of weeks he has been undertaking work experience with an Acoustic Consultancy company. He called to say that they had offered him a position and it is highly likely that he will be starting with them in the very near future. We are really pleased for him and will be watching with interest as this change in career trajectory develops.

Actually that is not the only news from today. I couldn't finish without mentioning that 30% has been contacted by the local constabulary about exceeding the speed limit in the vicinity of Leominster. I mention the location as I haven't driven anywhere near Leominster in several years, "there is no way I'm taking the wrap for this misdemeanour!"

Will it be an SP30 and three points, or a speed awareness course?

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* I should also point out that the handle on the honey buckets is not designed for carrying any distance. Think of supporting a thirty pound weight on a short plastic cylinder little wider than a biro ... not comfortable!

** The workers that have overwintered are nearing the end of their lives, and will be replaced by the new brood over the next few weeks.

This week seems to be mostly Lunches and Dinners

 It has been the best part of a week since my last Journal entry. I'd claim that it has been a busy week, but, on reflection, I'm not sure that it has.

When I was working I was forced to sit at a laptop for several hours each day, yet I still managed to cook, walk the dogs, socialise and complete various DIY and gardening tasks.  However, now I'm retired I have close to forty hours more free time, and am still claiming that I am far too busy to make a daily Journal entry.

So, what have I been up to?

Tuesday, 24th February

30% returned from Rhayader late in the morning and we were joined by Mr & Mrs Tweedy for lunch. We spent a couple of hours at the "Tuesday Afternoon Club" listening to a talk about the Gloucester and Warwickshire Steam Railway. 

The real reason for attending was so that I could have another attempt to connect 30%'s ancient laptop to the AV equipment in the Parish Education Centre, as I will need it for a talk I will be giving in April.

The laptop, once again, refused to cooperate, and I am now considering either borrowing, or purchasing a new machine.

Wednesday, 25th February

Virtually all of Wednesday was taken up with slicing and packing the bacon, that I have recently cured and smoked.

We did take an extended lunch break and joined Mr & Mrs Tweedy for lunch at the Redditch Catering college restaurant. We had a splendid three course lunch for the ridiculously low price of £8 per head. The food was lovely and the portions were huge. I was asked if I didn't care for my dessert, as I had only eaten half of it. I had to point out that it was lovely, and that I just couldn't manage it all.

Wednesday also included another equipment failure. Our vacuum packer has become very temperamental. This was bloody annoying as I had more than twenty packs of bacon to vacuum pack. I did manage other complete the job, but a new packer is now on order.

Thursday, 26th February

We have Rosie & Jim, and Gizzy & Jules coming over for dinner on Friday night. 

Our chosen menu has a Swedish influence; starting with gravlax served on rye bread with cream cheese, followed by meatballs in a cream sauce with mashed potatoes and green vegetables. The dessert will be carrot cake served with homemade vanilla ice cream.

This morning was spent making the carrot cake. Once that was set to cool, I attended to the gravlax. Half of it was vacuum packed and frozen and the other half was sliced thinly, wrapped and left in the fridge.

I think we may have managed a short walk with the dogs too.

Friday, 27th February

Most of today was spent preparing for our guests, which basically came down to tidying the house and laying the table. 30% focussed on the meatball dish. I was tasked with domestic ambience!

The party was great fun, and we had a lovely time. Our menu choices were complimented and both Gizzy and Rose were keen to have the recipes for the gravlax and carrot cake.

I should also point out that a fair amount of wine was consumed and it was gone midnight before we retired to bed.

Saturday, 28th February

It has felt like we have been rushing around all week, so Saturday was taken at a very gentle pace. We both had lengthy snoozes in the afternoon, before we headed out again!

This time we were out to see B&H for a catch up and to start planning our 2027 holiday. B is sixty next year and is very keen to go on safari. We were flattered and delighted to be asked to join them, and the evening was spent working out some high level requirements.

We were also entertained by their two granddaughters, and shared a lovely supper, before heading home at a reasonable hour.

Sunday, 1st March

After several food and entertainment focussed days, we did very little today.

I did manage to walk Hobson and TB as far as Pete's house, and that was about it. 

30%'s friend 'Chelle paid us a visit in the late afternoon ... basically the lure of a carrot cake could not be resisted!

So that brings me up to date.

Busy doing nothing?

 Today was one of those days when I don't recall doing much, but I seemed to be occupied for most of the day.

30% left the house early this morning, as she was having an overnight stay with her friend; Pinky. Pinky's recuperation is going well. Not as fast as she would like, but she is returning to a normal life ... Well, as normal as it can be without a stomach!

I was left home alone, and my day was filled with the various chores that keep the house going. 

I do seem to come across a variety of half completed jobs, that have been abandoned left by 30%. For example, I now always check the washing machine, as she, invariably, will have left a load of wet washing festering in there.

She didn't disappoint, and that load has now had a spell on the line, and in the tumble drier. As I type this, it is folded neatly in an ironing pile.

So that was my day. A series of domestic duties and pet care. I'm not complaining. I quite enjoyed myself, and the house does seem to be slightly tidier.

Day of rest?

Sunday used to be referred to as the day of rest.  That is a concept, of which I definitely approve. To be honest, I'd like to extend that definition to a few more days of the week too!

So, as today panned out, I was concerned to note that there wasn't a lot of resting to be had.

First job of the day was to remove the bacon from the smoker. This was cut in half,* wrapped up in clingfilm and left at the bottom of the fridge, to rest for a few days before slicing. I then tidied away the smoking paraphernalia and took a moment to appreciate the warm, sunny morning.

The bees had noticed too, and were flying for, probably, the first time this year. I could see them bringing pollen in to the hives, which suggests that the queens are starting to lay.

I decided to check whether the colonies had consumed all of their fondant, so I donned a bee suit, lit my smoker and returned to the orchard.  All three of the colonies are working their way through the packs of fondant. One of them was virtually empty, and was replaced. 

At that point I decided that it was warm enough to take a peek under the crown boards,** and assess the size of my overwintered colonies. I started with hive#2 and was amazed. All eleven frames seemed to be crammed with bees and the underside of the crown board was covered too. Hive#1 seemed to be a similar size too. The third hive was slightly smaller with seven or eight frames of bees, but this is still very good for a colony approaching the end of the winter.

Obviously I haven't checked the frames to ensure that my queens are laying, and that the colony is healthy, but I am reassured, if not delighted, by this brief check on progress.

In the afternoon I took the dogs out for a walk. We walked as far as Pete's house, and he appeared from his front door. Half an hour was spent chatting over the gate, before I turned and headed home. I did also remember to order another bucket of honey, as supplies are running low.

I made sure that we had plenty of logs and kindling available for a fire this evening, and then applied myself to the last of my planned activities ... We will be having friends over for dinner on Friday, and 30% decided that gravlax might be suitable as a starter. Consequently I spent a short while preparing the cure mixture and applying it to a pair of rather lovely pieces of salmon.

They will be ready to sample on Wednesday.

---

* Simply to make handling easier, as it was huge.

** This would be a quick look under the crown board. No frames would be removed, as I didn't want to chill the brood nest.

The Beekeeping Show 2026

I had an early start this morning.

Firstly I needed to refill and relight the smoke generator, to give my loin of bacon another twelve hours of smoke, before I made preparations for my day out.

Today is the annual Beekeeping Show up in Telford, and, several months ago, I had made the decision to attend. 

Over the past few weeks I have assessed my beekeeping equipment, checked on-line prices, and had drafted a shopping list.  The list covers the items I will need, to facilitate increasing the number of colonies in the apiary.

One of the more costly purchases was a large quantity of wax foundation.*  I had learnt that one of the Companies at the show offered a wax exchange service.**  I would be able to exchange my stores of beeswax for sheets of foundation at the show. This would be a considerable saving, as I estimate that I need about eighty sheets of foundation, which would cost well over one hundred pounds. I have about eighteen pounds of bees wax which, when exchanged, should supply the foundation needed.

So, shortly after eight o'clock this morning I loaded up the car and headed North towards Telford. It was a relatively easy drive and arrived at about nine thirty.

As I wandered across the carpark I was amazed at how many people were in attendance. The place was absolutely rammed with people and queuing seemed to be the order of the day. I queued to get in to the venue, every point of sale had a very long line of people waiting, and even the stock and exhibits were obscured by the hordes.

Fortunately the wax exchange was less busy, and I had soon offloaded my beeswax in exchange for sixty sheets of brood and twenty sheets of shallow foundation. I put the foundation in the car and then returned to the exhibition hall to continue my shopping.

I was glad that my list was relatively short and I soon had everything I needed, including some rhombus clearers and a new bee suit. By lunchtime I had had enough and was glad to head home.

In retrospect it was worthwhile visiting, as I had managed to offload my beeswax and I had also been able to try on my new bee suit before purchasing. But, generally, it is far easier to purchase on-line and endure the postage fees, especially as my visit incurred ticket and fuel costs.

I would only go again if there were fabulous show offers, or if I needed to physically assess a product before buying. 

---

* Foundation: a wax sheet that is impressed with a hexagonal pattern. The sheet also has a wire embedded in it to provide support. Foundation is fixed in to the hive frames to give the bees a foundation from which to build comb.

** They take in beeswax and will either offer a credit note for other goods, or will swap it for sheets of wax foundation.*** They use the wax to produce the foundation they sell.

*** At the rate of 3.75 sheets of wired, brood foundation in exchange for 1 Lb of wax

Smoking bacon

First job this morning was to retrieve the cured loin from the workshop, unwrap it, and hang it up in my tea chest smoker. 

I then filled the smoke generator with sawdust, lit it, and checked to ensure that it was producing a gentle stream of smoke. I closed up the smoker and left it in the carport to work its magic. 

The little smoke generator is amazingly efficient, and should continue to produce smoke for the next twelve or fourteen hours. I needed to do nothing further, apart from checking occasionally for a trickle of smoke coming from the smoker.

My only other activities were a shopping trip with 30% in the morning, and a walk with Hobson and TB in the afternoon.

 

I didn't do much

It was yet another soggy, grey day, and I did very little.

I did manage to clear some space in the store room, and, as a result, had a small bonfire to dispose of some cardboard boxes. 

I'm keen to keep the store room as tidy as possible, as the beekeeping season is nearly here. I will be regularly accessing my supply of hive components, as the colonies increase in size, bring in nectar, and start honey production. 

I will also need to get my hands on my bacon slicer in the next few days.

On the subject of bacon, the cured loin has been hanging from the workshop ceiling for the past week and is now just about ready to be smoked. I therefore spent some time gathering my smoking equipment together, in preparation to smoke the bacon tomorrow.

Daffs and Dogs

I keep forgetting to mention that the daffodils are finally starting to flower.

We planted well over one hundred bulbs back in October last year, and I noticed that the first signs of growth were visible on New Year's Day. I can now report that they seem to have done really well. There are lots and lots of buds and the first dozen flowers have just started to open. 

It'll be interesting to see how they look at the peak of flowering.

There is not a huge amount to report for today. The weather was cold and dry, and I got out for a walk with the two dogs* in the early afternoon. 

I use the walks as an informal training session, focussing on their recall and walking to heel, off the lead. These are the key behaviours that are needed so they become conditioned to returning when we see cars, horses or pedestrians, and that they walk alongside me as we approach blind bends and junctions.

I have to say that they are both doing really well. They still love to race ahead, exploring the hedges and fields, but are content to come and walk to heel, when conditions dictate. We have had a few tests recently, and, so far, they have responded perfectly.

I should state that these tests have all been where the car, person, or horse has been seen well in advance. We have yet to execute a recall in a close encounter scenario.

---

* We seem to have divided and conquered when it comes to dog walking. I walk Hobson and TB. They are the youngest and need most exercise. 30% now walks Whiffler and The Rat. They are the older dogs and need far less exercise. The reason for this division of labour is that 30% is less mobile than I, hence I get to complete the longer walks.

How long have you had that?

Over the past week, or so, 30% has been having a clear out of her dressing room.  She has made half hearted attempts at this over the five years we have been living here, but, this time, it seems to be a serious attempt to make the room look presentable.

Yesterday evening she wandered downstairs and presented me with a voucher. "I found this upstairs," she said, "You're going to be in the vicinity of Halfords tomorrow, why don't you use it?"

I looked at the voucher and it seemed voucher ish. It was clearly from Halfords and offered the owner £5 off any purchase. However, on closer examination there were many things you would expect on a voucher, that just weren't there. There was no QR or barcode. There was no expiry date, neither were there any detailed terms of use or limitations, just a reference number of eight or ten digits.

I said I'd give I a go, and that leads us on to today.

First activity this morning was a walk with Hobson & TB, once the painkillers had taken effect. This took up most of my morning, and any spare time was used to refill the log basket and chop some kindling.

After lunch I headed in to Redditch. I will need some plywood in the near future.* A quick visit to Wickes had plywood ticked off my list. I then drove around the corner, parked up, and wandered in to Halfords. I spent several minutes wandering around, and failing to be inspired by any of their stock. Yes, I could have purchased something shiny in chrome vanadium, but I have plenty of tools already.**

Eventually my eyes fell upon a little visor cleaning kit in the motorcycling section. "That'll do" I thought, so I picked it up, and wandered over to the tills. Eventually a member of the team ambled over and cheerfully scanned my purchase. I handed over the voucher and he looked a little puzzled. He made a couple of attempts to get the till to recognise it, before calling over his team leader.

The team leader looked equally puzzled and, was about to just create a manual discount, when the till seemed to recognise the voucher code and I was able to complete my purchase. The chap advised that he had worked for Halfords for over ten years and had never seen a voucher quite like the one I presented today.

God knows how long that voucher had been lurking in 30%'s belongings, but I happen to know that she does have a Co-op voucher that she received when she was first married, over thirty years ago.

Perhaps we should try that one next?

---

* I have a few clearer boards to make. These are used to get bees out of the supers, before the honey is extracted. They act as a one-way valve. Once the bees have exited the super, via the clearer board, they can't find their way back in. 

I also need to finish making a pair of cupboard doors for my carpenter's bench refurbishment.

* You can NEVER have too many tools!

A slight improvement

The forecast for this week looks almost pleasant after the preceding weeks of rain.

It should be noted that the weeks of continuous rain has meant that my definition of pleasant has been tempered, and is now satisfied by showers rather than downpours, and sunny spells rather than endless rain.

Today started with blue skies. It clouded somewhat later, and there was the occasional shower, but it was dry enough to get out with the dogs and walk out as far as Pete the beekeeper's house.*

I have learnt that I need to schedule these walks, as my back is much improved, but I need to dose up on paracetamol and ibuprofen about an hour before we set off.

I am reasonably confident that I am not making matters worse, as my back seems fine when I am walking and no worse when back at home, pottering around the house and gardens.

So that it is it for Monday.  The dogs got walked and I managed to tidy up the bits and pieces left over from yesterday's honey bottling.

---

* Today I established that this is actually about 2.6 miles in total. Consequently it is not my new three miler, but in fact just a pleasant walk with far fewer encounters with Townies. There is also always the chance that I will bump in to Pete, and can order another bucket of honey.

Sales report

Yesterday's sun was a brief reprieve, and today the rain is back.

Fortunately I was running low on bottled honey, so I was able to use that as an excuse to stay indoors and bottle a couple of batches, over the course of the day.

I thought that sales had slowed down,* but, on checking, my last bottling session was on 27th January, so I still seem to be shifting about ten pounds every fortnight.

That pretty much sums up Sunday. There was also a snooze the sofa, and a fire was lit early in the evening. There was also a rather nice bottle of Governo to go with this evening's dinner.

And I didn't get too wet shutting up the hens.

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* Hardly surprising considering the weather!

Fishing

Today we had a brief reprieve from the endless, soggy gloom.

The skies were blue and the sun shone down. There was even a light dusting of frost early this morning. Don't be mistaken, everywhere is still soaking wet, but it was lovely to have a bright sunny day after weeks and weeks of cloud and rain.

After a hefty dose of painkillers* I headed out along the lanes with Hobson and TB. We completed the new three miler, before the dogs were dunked in an icy bath to wash away the mud.

Late last night 30% happened to mention that an important document** had managed to slip in to the windscreen vent of her car.  After listening to a somewhat waffly explanation, I avoiding saying "FFS," and advised that she might like to use the long reach, locking forceps*** that I have in my fishing bag.

Let's now roll forward to this morning. 30% advised that she had tried to retrieve the document with her eyebrow tweezers, but had failed. I asked why she hadn't used my fishing forceps and was advised that she "didn't know where they were." I would have thought that the large,  and only, green bag in the store room, adjacent to the three rods and the landing nets would have given her a clue.

Again I avoided saying "FFS" and went to have a look for the forceps. I have to be fair and say that I totally failed to find them. I must have left them on the bank on our last angling excursion. I then tried and failed to retrieve the document with a pair of long nosed pliers. I eventually fished out the damned piece of card with a steel rule, tipped with a piece of gaffer tape.

Here endeth the tale of my first fishing trip of 2026 ... At least I had a catch!

This evening we headed in to Redditch to see the Dazzling Diamonds drag review at The Palace Theatre. We had a splendid time watching three queens sing, lip synch, bitch and take the rise out of the audience. The humour was, most definitely, fellatio focussed and absolutely brilliant.

There were moments of true drag genius, and particularly worthy of mention was the mash-up of Rod Hull and Emu with Bjork singing "It's Oh So Quiet."

We had so much fun that we have already booked tickets for their new show in April '27.

---

* My back is still not pain free, but I can now stand upright and walk, confident that things are on the mend.

** The arrival time recorder that accompanies her blue badge

*** Have you seen a pike's teeth!

I think I've watched as much curling as I can take!

The rain today was relentless.

It didn't stop at any point. The ground is now so soaked that it cannot absorb another drop, so it is collecting in huge puddles, and streaming on to the roads.

There was no way that I was going to walk the dogs in this weather so I limited my activities to those I could perform indoors.

The loin of pork, that I started curing last Friday,  was taken out the fridge, dried off, and wrapped in muslin. It is now hanging from a hook in the ceiling of the workshop. It will remain there for the best part of a week, before I take it down and smoke it.

I'm embarrassed to say that that was all I achieved today. I did watch more of the Winter Olympics, but have now reached the point where I am starting to come up with suggestions for new sports to be included in the French Alps Olympics of 2030.

I think snowmobile racing could be a big hit, as could dog sledding.  Wrestling polar bears is probably a little one sided to be taken seriously, but I'm pretty sure it would bring in the viewers.

"I'm not sure why you're here?"

 The only thing in the diary for today was a trip in to Worcester for a check up at the eye clinic.

I left home with plenty of time, as I expected to hit rush hour traffic. Instead I breezed through Worcester and was parked up forty minutes in advance of my appointment. I used the time to pick up some milk,* before I wandered in to the clinic ... I was still twenty minutes early.

After a short wait I was called in to an examination room and the first utterance from the practitioner was the title to today's Journal entry.

She was very pleasant and apologised for not getting in touch and cancelling the appointment. She pointed out that I was last seen in November, and didn't need to reviewed until May, at the earliest. We agreed that the CHEC service seems to just make random appointments, and she gave tacit agreement that the company operated in that fashion, as each appointment would result in revenue from the NHS. The more appointments they make, the more money they earn!

She measured my IOP's and both were fine. Shen then made me an appointment for May, and cheerily sent me on my way, with the warning to ignore any future requests to schedule appointments.

I didn't really do much for the rest of the day. The weather is still appalling, and the Winter Olympics are a reasonably interesting diversion.

---

* We always need milk, and I never drink the bloody stuff ... bleurgh!

Post Script:

We did have a quick chat with TP this evening. There is not much sound work available at the moment, so he has picked up a contract with Amazon to deliver parcels for three days each week. He is just completing his training and says, "it is actually nowhere near as bad as he expected." 

The reason for our call was to wish him luck for tomorrow. Back on the 20th January TP had mentioned that he was interested in a change in career direction and was looking at other areas of the sound engineering industry. 

He has reached out to a couple of companies to see if they would offer him some work experience and he now has offers from a couple of companies. It seems that they might be interested in offering him employment if they like what they see.

Post, Post Script:

I also had an "even better than that" moment this evening.

I briefly checked the notifications on my phone tis evening and noticed that I had received a payment into my bank account.

At this point I put on my reading glasses expecting something mundane. Instead I discovered that His Majesty's Revenue & Customs had refunded a significant amount of tax deducted from a pension drawdown payment ... Result!

Improvement?

 My back seemed slightly better this morning. 

As a consequence, I started to plan my day and a walk with the dogs was added to the schedule.

Midway through the morning the painkillers seemed to have kicked in, so I headed up the hill with Hobson and TB. I hadn't walked far before I realised that we would not be completing the new Three Miler. I could walk, but even dosed up with paracetamol, I was subject to regular twinges, particularly when going downhill.

I settled for about a mile. The dogs had emptied themselves and I had, at least, got out in the fresh air for half an hour.

A delivery in the post kept me busy for another hour ... A while back I repaired and cleaned up an old reading lamp. It is a lovely thing apart from one thing. It needs an in-line switch fitting to the cable. This simple addition would make a nice light into a perfect light.

An hour was spent fitting the switch, and I am really pleased that I have actually achieved something today.

A snooze was necessary in the afternoon ... obviously for medical purposes, and I lit the fire, before heading in to the village for this week's Tai Chi session.

I was a little apprehensive about some of the sequences. but I can report that it was relatively twinge free. I am hoping that the stretching and gentle exercise will assist in my back healing.

Mostly Sleeping

 My back seems to be slowly improving, but for most of today I have felt absolutely zonked.

I'm not sure whether it is the after effects of Tramadol,* but I felt completely out of it. 

I spent the morning dozing on the sofa and the afternoon included an hour of sleep.

I did manage to trim Whiffler's face, but that was it for the day ... Oh, and I did manage to fill the log basket.

---

* The pharmacological equivalent of a bottle of red wine

Thoughts on our bike tour route

Over the past few hours I have given some thought to this year's motorcycle tour, and I don't want to be in the same position as last year, when it seemed that Charlie dictated the route.

For many, many years I have been fascinated by the Palaeolithic cave paintings in France and Spain, and, if at all possible, I really fancied including some of these sites in our tour.  Hence, this morning I Googled the locations of these caves, and found that there were several sites in the Vézère Valley.* 

Now this region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is about a day's ride due East of the French Alps.  A quick look at the map suggests that we could take in some of the Massif Central en route to Vézère.

I have posted this route suggestion in our WhatsApp group chat to see how the others felt about it. So far, TP seems very keen, but I've not yet had a response from Rob** or Charlie.

The rest of the day wasn't particularly busy. I took the Hobson and TB out for a walk and we met and chatted to a couple of friendly dog walker. Hobson also found a dead squirrel and was absolutely delighted  with it. He promptly picked it up and carried it for about half an hour mile, before abandoning it by the roadside.

The dogs were washed on our return, and I then grabbed the clippers to trim Hobson's face. It is almost two months, to the day, since he was last clipped, and he is starting to look a little shaggy. He now looks much smarter, and, hopefully, it won't be too long before his topknot is restored.

The only other thing to report is that my back was twinging quite badly this afternoon. I'm not sure what I have done, but I may have pulled a muscle when I was cleaning my shotgun yesterday. I took a selection of painkillers in the hope that it will clear up over the next day or two.***

---

* In the Dordogne

** This is not particularly surprising, as Rob openly admits that he is "happy to go with the flow."

*** Having suffered from a slipped disk and foraminal stenosis back in 2023, I am now paranoid every time I have back ache. 

I had a plan/We had a plan

 So my plan for today was as follows, clean my shotgun and get the dogs walked.

It wasn't a complicated plan. It had two components, and each of them was easy to achieve.  The only slight complexity was that the dogs were likely to get filthy, so the end of my walk was planned to ensure that 30% was available to assist with washing them.*

The morning was spent pottering. I took a wander up to the hives, and lifted the roofs of each of them in turn. I can report that all three colonies are alive, and the bees could be seen working their way through the packs of fondant that are sat on the crown boards.**

As midday approached 30% headed off for an art class with Mummy Sheila, so I settled on the floor in front of the television and cleaned my gun.

Lunch followed and then there was the obligatory nap.

I woke at around two o'clock and noticed that the rain had started. I didn't fancy getting wet, so I filled the log basket, chopped kindling and occasionally peered out in hope of dry weather. 

Eventually I gave up on the idea of walking, lit the fire and settled in front of it.

This evening TP arranged a zoom call to start the planning for this year's motorcycle road trip. Charlie and Rob joined TP and I on the call, and it soon became apparent that there had been some pre-meeting decision making by TP and Charlie.

Our original intention was to take the Portsmouth to Santander ferry and take in the sights of North Portugal, but Charlie spouted out a set of inflated ferry prices and said he didn't want to spend that much money. A quick internet search found ferry tickets for two thirds of the price Charlie mentioned, so he then used the thirty hour sailing time and the need to eat on the boat as reasons not to go to Portugal by ferry ... it is clear that he is a bit of a tight-arse.

TP then mentioned that he and Charlie had had a preliminary chat and were keen to explore the French Alps around Grenoble ...it seems pretty obvious that this was probably Charlie's idea after seeing the price of ferry tickets.

Now I didn't particularly object, as, late last year, I took a look at touring options, and quite fancied the Massif Central in France. This mountainous area is en-route, so I suggested that we could include that too. This wasn't objected to, so we moved on to talking about potential dates. It seems likely that we will be going for nine days in the first half of July. My preference is for 10th - 19th.

A follow-on call is planned for next week, once Charlie has confirmed what dates he can take off work.

---

* I don't mind walking the dogs, but I really dislike having to wash and dry them afterwards. With the weather as it is at present, it is a rare treat for them to come home clean!

** I bumped in to Road-rage Ken this morning and it is sad to report that he has lost all of his hives this Winter. He's not sure what caused their demise, but thinks that it may be weather related. I offered genuine commiserations, and a nucleus colony, if I have one spare later on in the year.

The dining room comes together.

Saturday started with a drive over to Childswickham.  The morning was spent clay shooting with Bubbles, Ben, Little Miss Sunshine* and Adam.** After an indifferent start, I finally managed to start hitting clays and ended up with a score of 46/80.  (57.5%).

I can also report that we were incredibly lucky, and managed to avoid the showers that were forecast for the morning.***

I was home before midday, so had time to nip in to Alcester and pick up a roll of electrical insulating tape before lunch.

First job in the afternoon was to attend to the problematic light fitting. It was a matter of a few minutes work to insulate the light, and I can now report that we have fault free lighting downstairs.

Next on my list was a massive kip, before our friendly curtain lady arrived to fit the new curtains in the dining room. They look absolutely fantastic and most definitely worth every penny.

I now need to think about getting the dining room and the connecting lounge painted. I know that this is going to be quite an upheaval, as there are some large items of furniture to be moved, stored, or worked around. But, for the moment, I am able to ignore the less than perfect paintwork and enjoy the ambience of the new curtains, rug and lighting. 

It is going to look fabulous before the end of the year.

---

* Bobbyn has received a new alias, as she has such a cheerful disposition

** Bubb's colleague, better known as "Berko"

*** The BBC News website reports that a nearby village, Astwood Bank, has had rainfall on every day this year, so far.  We are only a few miles away and have had similar weather conditions.

Still raining

It comes as no surprise that I woke to yet another rainy day, although the rain did seem slightly less heavy than yesterday.

I was out of the house relatively early for a consultation at the local surgery. I have a recurrence of trigger finger in my right hand. It is not massively painful at the moment, but I know that it will become debilitating, if it is not attended to.*

Fortunately the GP was of the same opinion, and has referred me to a Specialist for a steroid injection. I am now wondering just how long I will have to wait.  If the NHS is as slow as expected I may well locate a private surgeon and pay to have it done.**

Once I was back at home I prepared a batch of cure, and spent the rest of the morning starting the cure of a huge loin of pork. This five kilo loin is now lurking in the bottom of the fridge, having been rubbed with several handfuls of an aromatic cure. It will be massaged and turned daily for the next six days.

I then had a look at the last light fitting that I put up yesterday. I think there may be an intermittent short between the connector block and the body of the light fitting. A couple of inches of insulating tape would sort this out, but I have none in the workshop.  It looks like I'll be nipping in to Alcester at some point to get some.

In the afternoon I headed off out for a walk with Hobson and TB. The lanes were soaking. Water is now flowing off the fields and streaming down the roads. The dogs had a splendid time and came back soaked and filthy. Usually I can get away with dipping their feet in a bucket and washing them off, but on this occasion the dog bath and a hose were required to get them clean.

The afternoon included a snooze on the sofa, and I spent the evening alone, as 30% was out to see an ABBA tribute band with the WI ... She was home just before ten o'clock. and wasn't in the best of moods. Apparently the band were dreadful.

From my perspective the words "ABBA" and "Tribute" should have been sufficient warning ... I keep these thoughts to myself.

---

* I last had trigger finger back in March 2021. This was treated privately under my work's insurance scheme. There is a comedy tale about having injections in each hand and not being able to feel or locate the gear stick on a Land Rover. It was an interesting drive back from Solihull.

** There used to be a GP at the surgery who would carry out this procedure "in-house". Now I need to be referred elsewhere and am definitely now on a waiting list. This is called progress.

A short?

The weather was equally vile again today. 

Fortunately I still had a couple of light fittings to replace in the dining room, so that kept me occupied for most of the morning.

I certainly seemed to have found my DIY Mojo, as I also dug out a picture,* which is now hung on the wall of the room.  It is now really coming together, and the new curtains will be delivered and hung on Saturday.

I felt I had earned a celebratory snooze, so that occupied an hour of the afternoon. I then filled the log basket, chopped kindling and got the fire lit.

I would like to say that I was chuffed with my accomplishments, BUT, as the afternoon turned to evening, we noticed that the downstairs lighting circuit would trip out occasionally. I have my suspicions that there may be an intermittent short circuit on the last light fitting I swapped out.

It looks like I'll be re-installing that one tomorrow.

---

* An old C18 print of a bucolic scene

Two more to do

Today I returned to my lighting project, and finished off the third, and final, light fitting in the hall. 

Neither of us can believe how much difference the new fittings make to the look and feel of the hall.

I then moved in to the seating area of the dining room, and started work in there. By lunchtime I had replaced another light fitting and was on a roll.

Today was much more pleasant than yesterday, so my afternoon started with a walk down the lane to Pete's house, and back, with Hobson and TB ... my new Three Miler.

I then treated myself to a restorative nap, before putting up a second light fitting in the dining room. There are two more to be replaced, but they can wait until tomorrow.

I needed to get myself tidied up for this evening's Tai Chi class.

Let there be light

The weather was miserable today. Cold rain poured from a grey sky, and my brief exposure to it, when letting out the hens, resulted in a decision to spend the day indoors.

I decided that the best thing I could do was to make a start on replacing the light fittings in the hall.  This decision did mean that I had to make multiple trips to the workshop to collect tools and fixings.  Each and every trip across the to the outbuildings reminded me just how vile the weather was.

The replacement of the wall lights went well, and I can report that two of the three in the hall have now been swapped.  

I can also report that two of the hens have started laying in the past week, so 30% and I were able to have poached eggs for lunch.*  They were cooked to perfection and tasted amazing.

So that was it for Tuesday. The hall is looking much smarter, and brighter, with its new wall lights, and I plan to get the others fitted before the weekend.

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* Since we first started keeping poultry we rapidly realised just how lacklustre commercial eggs can be. There is nothing to beat a fresh egg from a heritage breed of poultry.  We dislike commercial eggs so much, that we rarely eat eggs in the Winter, once our hens stop laying.  Coincidentally, Mummy Sheila said exactly the same thing when we saw her last week, so it's not just us being pretentious.

My new Three Miler?

Over the past few days we have taken receipt of the wall lights,* and an order of LED Squirrel Cage bulbs.  I now really need to get on and get them installed.  

The curtains for the dining room are currently being made, and I am well aware that 30% is keen to get that room looking a little more respectable.**

With that in mind, this morning I headed in to Alcester to pick up some choc block connectors. I now have everything I need to make a start.

At this point one might expect a tale of replacing light fittings, but, instead, I headed out down the lane with TB and Hobson.  We wandered as far as Pete the Beekeeper's house, before turning and heading back home.  The walk was pleasant and, apart from one passing car,*** we saw no-one at all.

Back at home I had a quick play with Google Maps and it seems that this walk is about one and a half miles each way. It seems that I may have an alternative Three Miler that avoids the Townies that seem to be infiltrating the village.

This afternoon I gathered together the various blocks of beeswax, that are scattered around the property. The final tally is just over eight kilogrammes, or eighteen pounds, which will be exchanged for brood foundation at the Beekeeping Show later on this month.

This evening also saw another trip out with Hobson and TB.  We are off on a boating holiday in June and the dogs will need to go to a local dog boarder.  She is a lovely lady that boards the dogs in her own home. There are no draughty kennels, just warm beds and sofas in a house filled with dog toys. The reason for this visit was that she had not had TB stay with her before, and she wanted to ensure that he was well behaved, and would get on with her own three dogs.

We spent over two hours chatting, and it was after nine o'clock before we finally made it home. I can report that TB was assessed as lovely, despite the fact that he peed up her footstool ... apparently scent marking is expected!

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* These were ordered at the back end of November. They are lovely, but are made to order, and the chap who makes them seems a little disorganised.

** as am I

*** Crazy Steve gave us a wave!

This is getting to be a habit

Yes, it's yet another three Journal entries in a single post.

Friday, 30th January

We have noticed that Hobson has put on a significant amount of weight recently, so has been on restricted rations for about a week.  He has also had his exercise regime increased.

Yesterday 30% popped in to the Vets and took Hobson along to be weighed. His weight has increased from 29kg to 35kg in the past twelve months.  Basically he has put on the best part of a stone!  Whiffler and Traitorous Bastard are around 30kg in weight. Both are slightly smaller than Hobson, and Whiffler is nearly twelve years old. Based on their weights it is clear that Tubby needs to loose at least four kilos ... The diet will continue.

This afternoon I took Hobson and TB out for a walk. I have changed my route after yesterday's encounter with a runner, and now cut off the Three Miler and continue along the lane. It is much quieter with very few cars, and other walkers are a rarity. It looks like this may be my new regular walk.*

This evening TP turned up, as we will be attending an Arena Motocross event tomorrow. He is currently having car problems, so I was required to pick him up from Shrub Hill station.

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* There are also bridleways and footpaths to explore, as soon as the ground dries out.

Saturday, 31st January

The morning saw another walk out along the lanes. TP accompanied me, and we walked as far as Pete the beekeeper's house, before we about-turned and headed back home.

The afternoon was relatively lazy. TP and I headed over to Birmingham in the early evening for three hours of Arena Motocross.  This was a Christmas gift from 30%, and neither of us was exactly sure what to expect. I can report that we had a great time. The BP arena had been turned in to a motocross track complete with berms, jumps, triples and "whoops". 

The track looked exceedingly narrow, so we were amazed when up to thirteen riders completed in each race. I can report that it was full blown racing with all the contact expected from a motocross race. The races were interspersed with some freestyle motocross demonstrations which featured huge jumps and somersaults. 

It was great entertainment, and I would definitely go again.

Equally entertaining was the carpark chaos, as we left the NEC. That also featured full body contact, fortunately not my car, and a significant amount of car horns and shouting!

Sunday, 1st February

Today I did bugger all. 

The only thing of note was that I dropped TP off at the station, and I had a moment of clarity.

Later this month I will be attending the British Beekeeping Show up in Telford. I have my shopping list prepared, and am very much aware that one of the most expensive items on it is sheets of foundation.* A sheet of premium foundation is about £2 and I need around sixty sheets.

My moment of clarity was when I remembered that one of the beekeeping suppliers will exchange foundation for clean beeswax. Now I have fairly large amount of beeswax stored away, and rarely use any of it.**  I realised that their wax exchange would significantly reduce my spending.

All I need to do now is gather the wax blocks together, weigh them and work out how much foundation I will receive.

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* Foundation: a wax sheet that is impressed with a hexagonal pattern. The sheet also has a wire embedded in it to provide support.  Foundation is fixed in to the hive frames to give the bees a foundation from which to build comb.

** The occasional batch of leather cream or furniture polish

I'm not doing very well ---

... with keeping the Journal up to date at the moment.  I'm not sure why? I'm certainly not very busy, and I can always find a few minutes to jot down my daily comings and goings, but, for some reason, I seem to find something else to do instead.

So here is yet another attempt to brings things up to date.

Tuesday, 27th January

The morning was spent bottling a batch of honey. I last bottled a batch on the 15th, so I seem to be shifting about 5lbs, or ten jars, every week. I really can't complain about how well the little stall seems to be doing.

In the afternoon 30% and I attended a local "Tea Club." This comprises a monthly get-together of villagers for a presentation, tea, cake and conversation.  The club has been running for over twenty years and was originally established as a community hub for conversation and friendship.

The reason for attending was that I have been volunteered to deliver a talk on bees and beekeeping later on in the Spring, and I wanted a) to get an idea of my audience, and b) to see if I could connect 30%'s laptop to the AV equipment in the Parish Education Centre.

I have to report that my potential audience didn't seem overly responsive to today's talk on an overland trip to Nepal,* and the laptop refused to cooperate.

It looks like I'll be there next month to have another go with the laptop.

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* The talk could have been brilliant, but unfortunately it was a tedious regurgitation of a travel itinerary, rather than tales of adventure in far flung places.

Wednesday, 28th January

Today I headed over to Bubbles place of work to get the 5 Series put through it's MOT. The car passed, but the workshop was incredibly busy, so I didn't get the chance to have a natter with Bubbs.

Back at home I bottled another five pound batch of honey, before Mummy Sheila joined us for afternoon tea. She had been informed that I had made a carrot cake and was here in her capacity as Quality Controller. 

She confirmed that the cake was better than the last one, and, when she headed home, she took a large slice "for Ron"**

It'll be interesting to see how this pans out. The last time she took a large slice of cake home, she carefully cut it in half. One half was to eat that evening and the second half was put aside for the following day. Later that evening the first slice was eaten, and Sheila promptly returned to the kitchen, got the second slice and ate that too!

I was also back at the Parish Education Centre for my weekly Tai Chi session. It was the usual routine, and I can report that we finally managed to work our way through the entire Shibashi five sequence.

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** "later on"

Thursday, 29th January

First job of the day was to drive Traitorous Bastard over to Stratford for a session at the grooming parlour. On the way back I detoured via the local feed store for a couple of sacks of layers pellets.

I then headed out on the Three Miler with Hobson and The Rat. The walk was quite pleasant until a local runner came up behind us and took exception to the dogs being off the lead. He was obviously in the mood for an argument, so I apologised and let him vent. I did try to explain that continuing to run did have a tendency to excite dogs, but that was the conversational equivalent of throwing petrol on a fire ... Ho hum!

Fortunately this episode was witnessed by an acquaintance who seemed to side with me. She advised that she had no concerns about our dogs and understood why I let them off the lead, "living where we do."

I am surprised and annoyed how much this encounter has disturbed and upset me.  

There are many people who walk their dogs off lead on the lanes, as we do. We are very careful to recall them and put them on the lead when we encounter other people, but the changing village population means that we now see a lot of Townies who are not happy with free running dogs.

It looks like most of my walks will now be on the lead"

The afternoon was spent in the company of Grandad Jack. He was in the vicinity and made a welcome visit. The afternoon was spent nattering and consuming tea and cake.

This evening saw us at Redditch Catering College restaurant for their Burns Night supper.  There were nine of us, with members of the local WI and 30%'s coven making up the numbers. We had a super meal and the mandatory piper and saluting of the haggis were all part of the evening.

We arrived home absolutely stuffed, after consuming five huge courses, topped off by coffee and shortbread.

A rude awakening

I rarely set an alarm to wake me. In fact it must be more than twenty five years since I regularly set an alarm to rouse me ... one of the benefits of a career based out of a home office.

So, you can imagine that being roused this morning by the dogs barking manically was definitely a rude awakening. My mental state went from slumber to absolute alertness in less than four seconds and I realised that our heating oil delivery had arrived.

A quick peek through the curtains confirmed this, and I rapidly threw on yesterday's clothes, so I could direct the tanker driver to our oil tank. I managed to be outside, dressed, and have the oil tank key in my hand as he started to pull the delivery hose down the length of the drive.  As he filled our tank, I attended to the chickens and put out the honey on my roadside stall.

It is fair to say that I generally prefer a more leisurely start to my day!

Once I had imbibed several cups of coffee and eaten breakfast, I restarted my day at a more reasonable rate. I pottered for a while before heading out for a walk with Hobson and Traitorous Bastard.  Within a few yards I bumped in to Andy*, and we walked together as far as the local sewerage works, before I did an about turn and headed back home.

The afternoon saw me chauffeur 30% in to Redditch for her diabetic eye screening appointment. On our return I retired to the sofa for a recuperative snooze.

Clearly, a restorative measure after this morning's jolt from my slumbers.

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* Recently retired IT consultant Andy, rather than shot blasting and powder coating Andy.

Bait?

 30% and 'Chelle had arranged a visit to the pantomime today.  Shortly after nine this morning they headed off leaving me home alone for most of the day.

As mentioned in yesterday's Journal entry, I had made a carrot cake as a surprise for 'Chelle, and I spent this morning preparing a cream cheese icing. This was applied in a thick layer between the two halves, and an equally thick coat of icing was spread over the top of the cake. The cake was then left in the fridge.

Now, you might wonder why I have chosen "Bait" as the title of today's nonsense. After all, I have already recounted that my preferred bait for chub is luncheon meat marinaded in garlic paste, and this entry would seem to be about baking rather than fishing.

Well, it seems that my carrot cake appears to be the most excellent bait for 30%'s friends.  They positively gush about how good it is, and 'Chelle described the large slice I offered this evening as "amazing." She headed off home with a third of the cake and we were all taking bets on how much of it would survive the five mile journey home.

Both Mummy Sheila and Jules are also fans of my cakes and will be here later in the week.

I think it's a case of "if I bake it, they will come!"*

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* You can always rely on my smutty wife to add, "in more ways than one" to that statement ... If I say so, myself, I can bake a very good carrot cake.

Kicking back

 The past few days have been very quiet. 

The weather is uninspiring, and there are very few pressing demands on my time, so I have been taking it easy ... well easier than I usually take things!  

Thursday did see me venture outside for more time than is required to let out the chickens and fill the log basket.  

When letting out the chickens, I happened to lift the roofs on the hives, and check on their consumption of fondant. Hive #1 was down to their last morsel, so, once the day had warmed a little, a replacement pack of fondant was placed on the crown board. Hive #3 is working their way through their first pack, and hive #2 doesn't appear to have made great inroads in to the fondant.*  I'll keep checking on a weekly basis to ensure they have enough food to keep them going.

Friday saw a trip over to Cheltenham to look at curtain fabric.  We had been posted a small sample of a fabric, but really wanted to see a large area of the material to get a better idea of how it would look as curtains in the dining room, hence the visit to a fabric retailer. We both agreed that it was fabulous, but was going to be far too busy in the same room as the rug we bought last weekend.

We have now developed plan b, which involves using a deep red jacquard fabric** in the dining room. Those curtains will be made with a triple pleat to give the curtains an additional element of visual interest. The fabric we originally chose is likely to be used in the lounge instead.

Saturday saw me to succumb to repeated, and good humoured nagging from 'Chelle.  She is a huge fan of my carrot cake and I really do owe her a cake, after she so kindly sat the dogs when we visited C&S a fortnight ago.

Consequently I spent most of the morning baking a carrot cake. I will ice it tomorrow, in preparation for a visit from 'Chelle.

Once the cake had bene set to cool, I headed out down the lanes with TB and Hobson. We had a lovely walk and and I was reasonably impressed by Hobson's recall.*** Something caught his attention, possibly a squirrel, but I did manage to break his attention, and get him to come back.

So that is pretty much it for the past three days. It is Winter. The weather is dismal and I am really enjoying kicking back and relaxing in the warm.

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* The packs are clear plastic, so one can see the bees as they start to consume the fondant.

** A roll of which has sat in 30%'s dressing room for more years than I care to remember. Apparently it was purchased to cover a pair of sofa's which have, long since, "left the building."

*** He has been a little obstinate recently.

I'm back

It's been a few days since I last jotted down a Journal entry, so here's a quick catch up on recent events.

Saturday, 17th January

Saturday was mostly filled with domestic activities. The coffee maker was descaled, the rodent traps in the store room were reset, the motorcycle trickle chargers were checked and so forth.

The exciting news was that we have bought a rather splendid Iranian rug from the auction and we also acquired a lovely wooden sledge too.

Now we don't get much snow in these parts, and I am way too large for a children's sledge, so why did we buy it?  

When I said I wanted it, 30% steadfastly refused to even engage the thought of bidding on it. I then played the trump card of, "it'll be perfect for when we have grandchildren."  As if by magic, she is bidding like a maniac and the sledge is ours.

I now have the perfect method of getting her to agree to anything I want. Next on my list is a pet camel to live up in the orchard.

Sunday, 18th January

Yesterday evening 30% shut the chickens up for the night. This is a key point, take note.

This morning I headed up the orchard to let them out and I noticed that two bedraggled and somewhat annoyed hens were wandering around the run. They were not happy and were wittering on about, "reckless endangerment." 

As I fed them and refreshed their water it transpired that 30% had callously left them outside all night. Even worse, a prowling fox had visited and scratched at the bottom of the run. They were most distressed and were demanding restitution. The hens in the coop were making similar demands, based on the fact that they had been separated from their flock mates, and had been emotionally damaged by the enforced and involuntary isolation.

I reassured my little flock that I was the chief judiciary, responsible for this serious matter and would ensure that their case was considered and dealt with appropriately ...  Later in the day 30% was found on her knees making sure that the hens had a lovely clean coop to sleep in this evening.

The only other news was that we were required to collect TP from Birmingham Airport, on his return from  his adventure in Vietnam.

Monday, 19th January

Obviously there were many conversations covering TP's tour of Vietnam today. It sounds like he had a splendid time, and I am certain that more will come to light over the next few weeks.

This morning 30% and I headed over to Littleton and collected the sledge and rug. A large part of this afternoon was spent shifting furniture, vacuuming, and getting the rug laid in the smug. It looks beautiful, and is the perfect size for the room. 

We have subsequently learnt that it appears to come from the Tabriz region of North West Iran, based on a Google Image translation of the Arabic text woven in to the border of the rug.

Tuesday, 20th January

This morning TP and I headed off for a walk with the dogs down the lane.  It was great to have a chat and hear about some potential plans for a slight change in career trajectory.  It will be interesting to see how this pans out. 

It was also nice to be able to walk at a decent pace, as 30%'s mobility issues mean that most of our walks are short, and have frequent halts for her to catch up. I don't mind, but, for me, they are a wander rather than a walk.

TP headed off back to Cardiff after lunch.  30% and I then hitched the trailer to the car, and finally took the broken dishwasher to the tip, along with a few other accumulated items.

Wednesday, 21st January

The weather was vile this morning. Rain was pouring from a leaden sky, and the forecast suggested that it was likely to stay that way for most of the day.

Unfortunately the heavy rain meant that the drain across the drive at the entrance to the property needed attention.  I spent a fun hour lifting the grating, clearing the accumulated debris, and rodding the clay pipes that lead on to the ditch.

I then did my best to stay inside for the rest of the day, although a trip was required to collect logs from Rose Cottage.

A massive hypoglycaemic event meant that much of the afternoon was spent on the sofa, although I managed to summon sufficient energy for this evening's Tai Chi session. A new member joined us this evening, a driving force in the local men in sheds group.*

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* Make of that what you will!

That's rather nice

 Friday morning was taken at a gentle pace. 

30% was hosting a sewing circle* this morning and had requested that I stuck around to ensure that the dogs didn't eat any of the guests. This resulted in an extended session of pottering. I read a little, but couldn't settle in to the book I had selected, so I headed out and tidied away the oxalic acid vapour treatment equipment that I had used on Wednesday.

The afternoon started with a snooze, before we headed over to North Littleton to view the lots to be sold at tomorrow's auction. I was interested in a pair of fighting spears and a couple of other bits and pieces, but was not overly enamoured, when I saw them in the flesh.

However, we were both really taken by a large rug, that we stepped over as we wandered through the sale room. On closer examination we could see that it was of beautiful quality** and we overheard that it had been previously sold, but there had been a cock-up with the courier service. The owner had decided that it should be re-sold rather than bother with arranging another collection.

Back at home we checked the size and agreed that it would be perfect in the dining room. We also learnt that it had previously sold for £250, so we had a guide price too.

Our final outing was to take Whiffler in to the Vet's to have the bandage on his foot changed.  The Vet was quite happy with his progress and, all being well, he will be dressing-free*** next Tuesday.

We also settled our account and will probably be eating value beans and items from the reduced price aisle for the next month, or two!

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* also know as a stitch 'n bitch morning

** The pile is unbelievable, you could get lost in it!

*** it is so embarrassing for him to have to wear a plastic bag on his foot, when he goes out for a pee!

Keeping dry

Having collected 30lbs of honey from Pete yesterday, there was only ever going to be one thing that dominated today ... honey bottling.*

My timing was fortuitous, as heavy rain was forecast for most of the day. It really was the perfect day to be occupied indoors.

I was just about to put the first batch in the hot water bath when Craig the roofer arrived for what now seems to be an annual occurrence.  30% had noticed a couple of slipped tiles just before Christmas and, I think, panicked, hence Craig's visit to have a look.

After a quick wander around the house his opinion was thus, "there are a few tiles that need refixing, and the chimney and flashing need some attention, but there is no need for re-roofing ... yet!"

The roof has clearly been replaced at some point in the past, as is evidenced by the presence of bituminous felt under the tiles, but this was obviously many, many years ago. It seems to be holding up well, and attending to a couple of weather worn areas will keep us watertight.

He advised that, if this is to be our forever home, it will need to be re-roofed and he gave me a ball park estimate, based on his quick visual appraisal. I was pleasantly surprised that it was well below twenty thousand pounds.  Even allowing for finding problems when the tiles, laths and felt are stripped off, it is likely to be nowhere near as expensive as we had expected.

I can see this job being scheduled in the next few years.

The honey bottling continued, and a local curtain maker called in to give us a quote for making new curtains in the dining room.

And that is how the day continued. In the intervals when the honey was melting, various domestic duties were progressed, and I now have a ten pound batch of honey, bottled and ready for sale.

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* It's been little more than a week since I ran out of honey, and passersby are already asking when it will be back on sale.

Mostly taken up with Beekeeping

I have been wittering on about giving my bees their Winter oxalic acid vapour treatment since the New Year. However, a combination of icy weather, rainy weather, snow storms and a weekend away with friends has meant that it has still not happened.

Today was to be the day!  I had checked the forecast and it seemed to be perfect. There had been a frost overnight, but by early afternoon it would be four or five degrees celsius ... just right for the treatment.

Obviously my morning was free, so I headed down the road to see Pete the Beekeeper. I ran out of honey about ten days ago, and desperately needed another bucket of honey. Fortunately Pete was at home and I soon had a 30lb tub sat in the back of the car. We then settled in his cosy kitchen and spent half an hour chatting about bees.

I think it's nice for Pete to have someone who he can talk to about bees without them glazing over. For me, I find him incredibly informative, and he is also very complimentary about my beekeeping skills and knowledge, despite the fact that he manages about fifty colonies and I only have three. He often makes a point or observation and then says, "but I don't need to tell you, you know this already."

He is far more skilled than me, and I have learnt an immense amount from our regular chats, particularly about when to intervene, and when to just leave the colony alone.

In the afternoon the weather warmed, as predicted, so I headed up to the orchard to attend to the bees.

It took just over an hour to treat the three colonies and I was delighted to see that each of my hives had healthy clusters of bees within. This was so much better than this time last year when I discovered that one of my two colonies had died. I am well aware that there are still a couple of months of cold weather yet to go, but, so far, I seem to have three strong colonies.

I have mentioned previously that I find beekeeping to be a very zen activity. The oxalic acid treatment is most definitely not zen. There is a lot of hanging around, and the bees really don't appreciate the disturbance. I appreciate that it is very good for the health of the colony, but I'm glad that it is now done.

A more zen activity was this evening's Tai Chi session at the Parish Education Centre.  It was a small group of seven of us that was taken through the Slapping Qigong, followed by Qigong Shibashi, set 5.  

It was our first time at attempting the Shibashi, set 5, and, as expected for a first attempt at a new routine, parts of it were completely baffling. It will take a few run throughs before it starts to make sense.