Some More

These photos are what I took of the roads over the last couple of days. The top two, I hope are the first half and the seond two are of the remainder. The foreground is the layby. The next door neighbour was complaining to me that he thought they should do that also. I told him that the amount of traffic that used the layby was almost nil compared to the road. Anyway, when I went to fetch my garden watse bin in after it had been emptied. I saw a workman and asked him a few quesiions. He told me that there was going to be a top surface put on that at 40mm. He also told me that there would be a large contraption which stretched almost the width of the road and that would put some chippings down. He also told me that it was being done to the standards of the Motorways. Also they would be back the week after the Jubilee week but did not know just how long it would be before they had completed their work.

We had some rain today and to be honest for a period of time it was very haevy. So much so that my Satellite was not transmitting any signal to most of my channels. I think it was rain stopped play with the workmen as they didn't seem to be doing anything during the heavy rain only sitting in their cabs.

At least we have just over a week free from disruption. I have made an appointment to have my eyes tested. I have to go every tear. I will see my Sister at the same time. Also I will try tomorrow to go to the Vauxhall Dealership and see if I can book the car in for the safety recall. More soon.

Updates.

Rang my mate up last night just to see if he was O.K. Mind you he does have a girlfriend. I personally wouldn't give her te time of day but he seems to accept her. I asked him also how old his Mum was. He told me what I had guessed. she was 86 and would have been 87 in October.This morning I went out to get my Pension, also to make an appointment for a blood test and get my haircut. I went to the diversion and asked the man there if it was possible to carry on the main road toSutton.He told me that there would be no problem, I just had to be a little careful as there were cones in some places. I decided to ask him what was going on. Surprisingly enough he told me all I wished to know. On Thursday this week work will stop and although they wanted to recommence next Wednesday the Council had forbidden them to do anymore work until the following Monday 11th. June. I asked him then just how long would this be for nd he told me that unfortunately he didn't have any answers. He then went into some detail finishing up with the white lines had to be repainted so it could be some time.  Anyway I went to Sutton without any trouble. With this being easy I decided to return the same way home. I was surprised when some other motorist at a junction decided to follow me. When I reached where the workmen were, there was a different guy on duty. He asked me where I was going and I informed him that I only lived a 100 yards or so from where I was. He then told me that this was no problem and he asked the man who was in charge of the diversions to let me through. All he asked me to do was put my hazard warning lights on. The guy behind me had no such luck. What happened I do not know but he didn't follow me. I went about 30 yards and had to wait for a minute before they made way for me and I arrived safely home.
 This afternoon they were scraping the road outside my place. Not just mine but about 50 yards. I just wondered what was going to happen next.
 This evening I had my answer. Pushed through my letterbox was a note informing me that if I wished to get my car out, it must be done before 9.30am as they were going to do replaning and resurfacing. Parts of the planing would be going to depths of 170mm. As it happens, I will not, hopefully be needing to go out until Friday.
 As for getting my Blood Test and B.P. I knew the receptionist well and when she knew it was for Hospital, she told me she would have to ring up and unblock the system. Obviously there are too many people wanting Blood Tests for the available slots. I could not get a slot until June 13th. More soon.                              

Sad News

On Friday my mate rung me up with the sad news that his Mother had died. To be honest, I was  surprised that she had lingered on for so long. I would guess she weighed no more than 5 stone but she was a very small woman and would think in her heyday would have only weighed less than 8 stone.
 As mentioned in my blog, I used to think of things to remind her of the years gone by. It gave me pleasure to see her smile and she would remember what I had told her. I guess that she would be in her late 80s. If I find out I will of course write it on my blog.
 Now with the weather being so warm these last few days, the May blossom(Hawthorn blossom) has started to flower, not in full bloom yet but plenty of flowers.

 In my greenhouse and polytunnel, things have started to grow. My peas are coming on nicely and already I have had 3 meals of strawberries but the kingpin is a cauliflower. It is great. Mind you, the other ones have been nowhere as good as this one. Heaven alone knows what has happened to my photos of the strawberries. To be honest I thought I had sent my American friend one of the strawberries but sadly not.
 To be candid, I have spent several minutes trying to upload these then  get them on my blog. Google has a lot to answer for me. I hope they will read some of the comments I have made. Shame on them. More soon.

The very latest

This morning I saw some of the contractors preparing the road. They were removing the cats eyes. In a while there was a lorry draw up at the side of my home. I decided to go out and see just what was happening. I first of all asked him if everything was going according to schedule. He told me that it was just about on course. He then said to me that the traffic went by very fast. I concurred saying that it was supposed to be a 40mph. speed limit. I did remind him though that where the 30 mph stsrted the z bend meant that vehicles did have to slow down a lot. I guessed he was in charge of the singnage as in his lorry were plenty of signs. It rather confirmed this when he made the comment that folks were using the Jolly Common short cut. He told me that he kept telling them that the road was not suitable as it is just wide enough for one vehicle. I then told him that the Sea Lane road was also not good which he readily agreed. He then asked me if the A52 went through Grantham. I told him that it came from Derby and it was the main route to Skegness via Grantham. I also told him that the A52 ended at the traffic light s on Victoria Road opposite the Book in Hand Public House.
 I asked him if he was local. He told me he was not but came from Doncaster. Well not Doncaster really but Selby but he told me most had never heard of selby. I immediately infirmed him that I knew where Selby was and it was about 10 miles from York. As a Fireman on British Rail we had plenty of jobs to York and sometimes we did stop at Selby. He seemed impressed.
 Anyway I asked him what was going to happen next week and if the road to Skegness would be open next Friday. He assured me that the road would be open because the Council had refused permission for them to work after Thursday next week due to the Bank Holiday. He told me it was because of the caravans being towed. He told me that they wished to perhaps go back on Wednesday after the Bank Holiday but he thought that also would not be possible. I then asked him if the back road to Alford would be open. He told me that they hoped it would.
 What he told me then was what had been rumoured for a while. He told me that as far as he coul see most of the repairswere where the Olympic Torch was being carried. I did tell him that I thought no Torch was passing here but was not sure. I thought it was going to Thurlby. He did tell me that the Torch was going through Mumby. We will wait and see, it is going through Mumby though. More soon.

Better

The weather has been better these last couple of days, yes it has been dull at times but the sun has also shone so I am not complaining especially as it hasd been much warmer.
 I managed to get to Sutton to get my Pension and my weekly gear. I noticed that on my travels to the diversion the road had several markings. I guessed that this meant that the A52 is NOT being resurfaced but is only goig to be patched up. Fancy, closing the road for nearly 3 weeks just to do several patches. If this is so, I will be writing to the Highways Department and tell them just what I think.
 Mind you this is nothing compared to my mate in Skegness. I guess that the winter population is approaching 20.000 and in the summer months up to 200.000. My mate has informed me that the Post Office in the Co-op in the Hildreds Centre has given notice that the Post Office will close by December 31st. 2012 at the latest. There is just one other Post Office and that is on Burgh Road. My mate has informed me that the shop is increasing it's capacity to cope with the increase of business.  I just can't believe it. I told my mate that with the demise of the Post Office the shops in Hildreds would almost certainly see their income fall as people would normally get their money and generally spend a little in the nearby shops. we will have to wait and see.
 I have taken a couple of photos of the peas and strawberries in my polytunnel. I hope to post them tomorrow. More soon.

Reprieve

Today we have had a sunny day, it was sunny all day fromfirst light until now which is after 6.00pm.
 I had every intention of doing my washing tomorrow but then at lunchtime the weather man came on and informed us that tomorrow and tghursday would be mainly cloudy on or near to the East Coast. Oh well I thought, I will do my washing immediately then. Without delay I collected all that wanted washing and put the machine on. The cycle takes about 1 hour to complete. I managed to get the clothes pegged out by 3.00pm and some of it was dry within the hour. All was dry and bought in by 5.30pm. My old Railway overalls being the last to dry.
 I was surprised to notice that I had three strawberries in my polytunnel. Although not completely ripe, I tasted one and it was nice and sweet.
 The tomatoes enjoyed the warm weather today and thank goodness, I have at last another 2 courgettes just showing. With the cold weather they have taken ages. Mind you, they have made a showing, more than can be said about my carrots. Still no showing yat.
 It also has been slow going with my Asparagus, today with the sun and warmer weather I did pick 6 spears. All I have been picking is the odd one. I have promised the neighbour with the chickens some Asparagus and I hope within the next few days to hjave a picking for her. I will be getting a few more eggs off her on Thursday. Let us hope I can give hera few spears of Asparagus.
 Regarding the road closure, I have been told that it is possible to get to the next Town so tomorrow, I will try to get into Sutton and get my State Pension, my T.V paper and some skimmed milk.
By the way, I have produced more solar power todat than the last 3 days put together. Don't suppose I will do 1/2 as much over the next 2 days. Such is life. More soon.

More dull weather

My best Pal called to see me the other day. He told me he was changing his Caravan from a 2 Berth to a 3 Berth. The reason he gave me was that 2 Berth was not really big enough for him to have a shower in comfort. He told me he used to go to the local shower on the Camp Site but it was too cold  for him. I certainly I would readily agree with him as it has been so cold and windy as well as being so dull. These last 3 days we have not seen any sun whatsoever. My Pal told me that he had kept a diary for most of his life and this year, apart from March has beeh one of the dullest and coolest for many years. I must admit that the Hawthorn trees which the blossom is commonly known as May blossom is not in flower yet and it is coming to the end of May. If it suddenly gets sunny and warm, things will catch up though.
  The next door neighbour has just come back from a holiday in Cyprus. She complained of the cold and very windy weather. North easterly off the sea so it is cold. She told me that she managed to get to the local town but there was quite a detour.
 The Postman also saw me and told me that he had to turn round and go a long way to get to the village. I suppose we will have to get used to this until the end of May. I may try tomorrow to go for some food, drink and my Pension. More soon.

New date

Today I saw the Postman, he told me that because of the work further up the road had taken longer than originally thought, the work would not start here until Monday at the earliest, therefore the road is not closed. Just as well really as my best Pal came to see me this afternoon. He told me that he was changing his caravan, originally he had a 2 berth tourer but is changing it for a 3 berth. He told me that the firm would bring the New Caravan and site it, take the old one away and if everything was packed up in the old van, they would transfer all to the new one so that the disruption would be minimal. No doubt he will tell me all when he calls next time.
 I had a letter from Vauxhall informing me that a vehicle recall was necessary for my car. I went down to my local garage and saw the owner and showed him the letter. I did not think he could do the alterations nad he confirmed this. He told me that Thurlby Motors was the nearest. I said to hm I was not impressed with the. Surprisingly he agreed with me and told me that he dealt with a Dealership from Grimsby. This really is too far for me. The work carried out, will be free of charge but would take approximately 4 hours. As the road closure means that a normal trip to the Dealership would only be less than 3 miles but with the road closure the distance and time would be almost 5 times further. I thereforehave decided to wait until the roads are once again open.
 As Spring Bank holiday is now the first week in June this year to coincide with the Queens Jubilee, I hope that the work will be completed before the end of May. The date is the 31st and to be honest I don't expect it to be completed any earlier.
 I saw Richard the Farmer, he was spraying his wheat field. He waved to me and then pulled up and we had 10 minutes talk. He told me that although the wheat was looking good, what we wanted was some warm dry weather. Just then a tractor pulled up on the pull in outside my home. Richard told me it was his Brother and suggested I go and talk with him for a few minutes. We had a pleasant chat for 10 minutes or so. They are two very nice Farmers. His Brother, I think has more to do with pigs while Richard is the arable man. Mind you, they will trim next doors hedge for them. They are truly helpful country Farmers. More soon.

Update on road closure

This morning I went to get my Pension called in and got my What's On T.V. then went shopping. I was a little early for my skimmed milk so went to LIDL for some bits and bobs then went back to the place where I get my milk. I know most of the peolple who work there so went straight to the man who stacks the milk on the refrigerated shelves. He was having is morning snack. I told him that as I had been earlier and the fridge counter was almost empty, I guess the milk had been delivered. He told me he was still waiting for the delivery. We talked for about 10 minutes and one subject was the closure of the A52 in several places this year. I told him I couldn't understand why in 2012 the road would be closed for almost 3 weeks. I did tell him that the roads were closed from 9.00am to 5.00pm. Mondy to Friday. In years gone by, there were a team of guys following up with the materials needed and no roads were closed at all. He told me that this was due to Health and Safety. I just looked at him and muttered that the Country had gone mad. He went to see if the milk had been delivered, yes it had so I had 4x2 litres. That only left 2x2 litres as they only deliver 6 cartons maximum any day. Still I now have enough to see me through until late next week. When I see my neighbours I will ask them if it is possible to get into the local Town for essential foods. More soon.

Are things worse?

I have been wanting to see my Postman for these last few days because I had some plants for him. By a stroke of good fortune, as I went out the front door he was outside delivering mail. He told me that last week the delivery to his sorting office was late, but he didn't know what was going to happen this week as the Main Road was being closed.
 This afternoon there was a letter pushed throught my letter box stating that the Main A52 in our village was closed to all traffic from May 17th. to May 31st. The closure will be from 9.00am until 5.00pm Monday to Friday. Heaven alone knows what we will be able to do. The reason for closing the road is Resurfacing the carriageway. The reason given is Highway surface failure.
 I just can't believe it. Several years ago it  was the normal practice for a vehicle to spray tar on the worn surface, stone chippings were then spread on and then were pressed into a loose position. It was then up to the vehicles to drive at no more that 20mph. to give the chippings a solid base. I will ask my neighbour tomorrow, or when I see them next as to what will happen to us? It ststes that every effort will be taken to minimise the disruption and inconvenience. I don't think they realise that living in the country there are almost no facilities at all.
 Of course I will keep anyone who is interested updated. More soon.                    

One of those days

I knew it was going to be one of those days when I started to travel to my mate's home in Skegness. As I went by the end of my village, I noticed that a road leading to Alford was closed. I went on another 2 miles or so when there was a road closed sign. It must be remembered that this is the A52. It stated that the road was closed from Mumby to Ingoldmells that is about 9 miles of closure. The diversion took me to Bilsby, there were road works and some delay. The diversion was to make my journey almost double and where it normally takes me around 25 minutes. This morning took me almost 45 minutes. I eventually arrived and mentioned to his Mum about Jam Roly Poly and The bit about the blue sky and Navy Blue trousers. She remembered them well. Unfortunately her other Son came in. I don't really know him so I made my excuses and paid my mate for the goods he got me, he carried them out to my car then it was off home via the diversion.
  Not the same as I travelled to Skegness but a more direct route, I did have to travel to Sutton on Sea and I decided to do a little shopping. On the outskirts of Sutton there is a Filling Station that is attended. Yes it is not as cheap as Supermarkets, but where I live it is very competitive. I told her to fill it up but would not cost much. When she had filled it up she told me that it was more than I had expected. I thought it would be about £20. It was £21.02p I told her that I had used every penny on paying mate for the goods he got me, I told her that it would have to be £21.50. She looked at me and gave me the 50p back and told me that £21 would be enough. That was nice because the profit on fuel is not much.
 I then decided to go and park in the Town, get my What's On T.V weekly paper, then went to the local Supermarket for some Gammon and a few odds and ends. The total was £6.10. I told him it would be £6.50. He told me that was fine and gave me two 20p pieces change. As I walked from the Supermarket I noticed a Wet Fish Van in a sort of courtyard. I had noticed it before so I went to see if  he had a Herring for sale. As I was waiting this Woman spoke to me. I recognised her but couldn't remember where I knew her from. Then it was my turn. I asked the man if he had a Herring, he told me that he hadn't had any Herrings for a month or more. I then noticed there was some smoked Haddock fillets. I told him I would have a small one. When he picked it up, I didn't think it looked nice so I told him I would have another and pointed it out to him. He weighed it then put it in a bag and sealed it. I was staggered when he told me that the cost was £4.36p. There is just enough for 2 meals. I worked it out, I had just spent in less than 2 hours, over 50% of my weekly State Pension. I don't think I will be going there again.
 It bothered me all the way home that Woman who spoke to me. She had called me by my Christian name and asked me if I was still gardening. After  I guess 10 minutes of hard thinking I remembered who she was. She was an Assistant at the old Post Office Stores that lost it's Post Office about 3 years ago so obviously I hardly ever go there anymore. Mind you, I have never seen her whenever I have been in the shop. Still I can rest  knowing that I have finally remembered her. More soon.

Bank Holiday Weather

We have had an awful lot of rain over these last few days, but it did give me a thought as I am going to see my mate tomorrow. His Mum is always pleased to see me and I try to think of something different to talk to her about. With the rain reminded me of when us children, when allowed to, went out to play. If it was raining though, no play at all. What my elder Sister used to ask my Mother regular was this if the rain was about done. "Is there enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of Navy Blue trousers." My Mother would look and nearly always be correct with her decision. I have not heard of anything like this in recent years. It will be interesting to see if my mate's Mum ever heard of this saying.
 Another thing that used to happen was that my Aunty's second Husband. She wasn't my Aunty really as she married my Mother's Brother but they were divorced. Anyway we always called her Aunty and she was nice. Her Husband would try to go poaching and occasionally we would have a rabbit. This by the way, was either during the War or just after. My Mother would gut and skin the rabbit, taking great care of the fur, she would then stuff the rabbit and sew the rabbit up then roast it. As kids we thought it was beautiful. The rabbit skin(fur) was then taken to a local rags and bones firm and sold for 6d. We would save anything that was of no use at all and take them down to the rag and bone firm. As every home had different bins or tins to save everything that could be recycled. I bet everyone over the age of 70 will have a button tin. We had a button tin a paper bag tin, a string bin a greased proof paper bin these were used for wrapping steamed puddings and the old fashioned jam roly poly. This was actually boiled, not baked as they think it was. It was wrapped in lots of greased proof papers. These were saved from butter, margarine and lard packets. They were all served in 1/2lb packets.  I know that my mate's Mum used to save enerything up. If I remember I will ask if she had jam roly poly. To finish I must tell you this. When I was in the restaurant trade we had a customer and we had Baked Jam Roll on the menu. He told us about when he was young he used to have Jam Roly Poly on a Monday. He told us his Mother used to boil one in a copper after boiling the white clothes as there were 7 in his family. We only used a large saucepan. By the way it was served with cold milk. It may sound awful but I can assure you with the Jam Roly Poly coming out of a boiling saucepan of water it cooled the red hot jam down a treat. More soon.

Italian friend called

This morning I had a phone call from my Italian friend asking if he could call to see me. I, of course told him he was welcome. He told me his wife would be with him. Unfortunately his wife suffers from problems relating to mental health. Well nerves really.
 They duy arrived and when I went out to meet them, they were looking at the car. She told him that he had caught my driveway gates. I looked and could plainly see that there was some damage done but I told them that with a bit of luck Tcut would get rid of the scratch. When they left I decided to measure the widthof the opening of the gates. Each gate was 69" wide making it 11.5ft wide. Plenty wide enough for his small Fiat Punto to get through.
 That got me thinking. When I was in the Army they taught me to drive. Mind you in a 5 ton vehicle which was bought down to 3 ton so that we could drive them at 18.
 When I left the Army, I was given a small document and was told that if I sent it off to the Department of Transport, I would for a sum of 5/- get a full driving licence. I didn't bother for about 3 years but then applied for my Licence. Yes it cost me 25p and it lasted for 3 years. It was automatically renewed for the same sum of 25p. I bought my first motor. A 100E side valve Ford Thames van. It had 3 forward gears ans a reverse. I can say with certainty that I was not capable of driving a van or car for that matter. I used to go into the country to practice and eventually improved. That was in 1960. In 1964 I gave the van to my then Brother-in- Law and bought a Ford Anglia. It was about 2 years old. Unfortunately when I went into business I had to sell my car. For about a year I had no transport at all. I then bought a second hand Bedford Van. I think it was about 4 years old. The good thing was that the mileometer did  not work it had registered mileage of 10900 so that when I traded it in for a New Vauxhall Van the Salesman said that the mileage was good so gave me a decent trade in price. This was in October 1974. I kept the Van until I managed to save a little more money. I decided to buy a Datsun120Y. Now called Nissan. It was an Estate. This was in December 1976. It must me remembered that there were no such things as rear wipers so you can imagine what the rear window was like in the autumn and winter wet days. I might just have well had kept  the Van.  I was so fed up that in September 1978 I swapped it for a Toyota Liftback. It really was a  lovely looking car but to be honest a rust bucket. I kept the car until 1984 when I gave it to my ex employee. He saw this Jaguar XJS Auto Sports. H.E. a V12. 5343cc. The most prestigous motor I have ever had. Anyay I kept it until 1988 when I bought a Citroen AX. GT. I sold the Jaguar private to a young man from Sheffield. He came to visit me much later and told me he was happy and that I had been honest with him.
 While I was in business at the Car Park I had a piece of equipment fall on the side of the car. As it was metallic paint it looked a mess so I decided to get a cheap Citroen and traded it in. I didn't care much for the cheap Citroen which incidentally was diesel so I decided to go for a better car.I think it was in 1998 I bought a Peugeot 206 Turbo Diesel. It was the cheapest car to run considering it was also a high performance car. I kept it for 4 years and sold it to my Sister and bought a Honda Civic. I only bought that car because my Mother was having difficulty getting in the car. This Civic had much more room. That was the only good thing about it. This would be in about 2002. When my Mother was  taken seriously ill and I knew that it was highly unlikely that she would ever return home. In the meantime I had an operation and finally decided in 2006 to get a different car. I went for a Hyundai Coupe. The trouble was that as the car was a coupe I had great difficulty in getting in and out of the car after my operation so in less than 2 years I decided to trade it in and buy another Peugeot. This time a 207 GT. I had leather seats and it was a nice car. Had it until February last year when I finally decide that spped was not my thing at my time of life so I went for my Vauxhall Corsa Ecoflex. It is a diesel and has  a zero Road Tax. It will do somewhere around 70mpg so it is economical fuel wise. More useless information soon.                                               

This morning I went into the local town for some skimmed milk. I had to go by the local Chemist and the delivery man was in the van and just about to leave. He noticed me and waved. his surprised me as he has only seen me twice. Then I suddenly thought to myself. Of course he would recognise me. Who else would be in overalls that are about 50 years old? Mind you I often wonder how many men would be able to get into their working overalls when they last wore them in the early 60s.
 I have got used to them and to be honest will miss them when they eventually wear out. I will try not to wear then during the summer months, thus hopefully making them last longer.
 The weather today has been better but the cold easterly wind kept the temperatures down. The talk is that it will get colder, to be candid, I don't expect it to make much difference because it has been generally cool. The exception was on Monday, the wind was cool but not strong and in general it was much as one would expect the weather to be in early May.
 I noticed in the local paper that my best Pal left me that the old Public House will once again go up for Auction. It was Auctioned off I guess 18 months ago. It was refurbished then put back on the Open Market. I presume that there were no offers at all. The Auction will take place after the last viewing date which is on May 12th. I have noticed that the Auction will take place in Lincoln on Wednesday May 16th. It will be interesting to see if anyone will be prepared to re-open the Public House and restaurant. More soon.