Christmas

 On Saturday I was in the garden when I heard a voice saying to me "Good Morning." It certainly wasn't a voice I recognised and the sun was also in my eyes. I walked closer to the voice and there was a man with some equipment for catching rabbits. My neighbour had told me ages ago that a man called regular to catch rabbits and pigeons. I was pleased because the rabbits eat much of my stuff that is not protected. This was the fist time I had seen him.
 Anyway the man had a large rabbit that he had caught. As it was windy, he told me that it wasn't good for catching rabbits as the nets kept blowing so the rabbits could get away.
 He told me he used ferrets that he and his wife bred them personally so they were very tame. With that he opened his box and pulled a lovely looking almost pure white ferret. It certainly did look fantastic. We talked for about 30 minutes, I was pleased it wasn't cold but also found him very interesting.
 Now so far my Sky box has been acting normal, thank goodness  so let us hope all is now well once more.
 On January 6th. I have a delivery of materials for the moving of my bulk LPG tank. The following day they will come and move the tank to it's new position, well that is what the lady on the phone told me. I suppose they will be delivering some pre cast concrete blocks the day before.
 I did ask the lady if there would be a minimum of delay after the siting of the tank as I would be dangerously low on LPG. She then told me that in general they did make sure that there was sufficient in and would make sure with an emergency amount that they carried with them. With this I was assured as I can't stand being cold.
 Christmas is once again here. Today I went out and bought a stick of brussel sprouts and a swede from the warehouse shop. Wished the man who I know the Season's Greetings. Then off to the Co-p and bought 3x4pints of skimmed milk together with 3 slices of cooked ham. This is all I will be getting for Christmas. I hope to make a trifle made with sugar free jelly some bananas in the jelly before it is set. It will be topped up with custard, made with skimmed milk and unsweetened of course. So much for a Christmas blow out.
 Season's Greetings to anyone who cares to read this.
 Let us hope that 2014 is a prosperous year for all. More not quite so soon.

Door trouble

Having had trouble with my door which was fitted at the end of March, today I had a phone call from a female Rep. stating that she would be calling to see me. Although she was later than she told me she did appear. I did show her the door which she took photos and then told me that it would probably be next year before the repair would be done. She then asked if I would like a quote for another window replacement as I was an existing customer. I pointed to one small window and what she told me surprised me. She told me that the minimum cost would be £500 as this was Company policy. She also told me that someone would be contacting me this afternoon with regard to the repair as it was serious. Needless to say, nobody contacted me.
 I have had trouble with my Sky box and called the service man out a couple of times. He told me that the next time he would change the box but I would lose all I had on  my hard disc.
 I had cause to call him out once again and deleted all I had on my hard disc. He came but did NOT change my box but updated it, I was disappointed  but if it works I suppose I won't mind. I am, of course keeping my fingers crossed as it was intermittent random faults, nothing that you could put your finger on. More soon.

Bits and bobs

As most will know, last week was a bad week for the East Coast. I was not involved at all in the flooding but the winds were very strong. Not as much damage though as the night when only the edge of the Coast had severe gales that blew the fence down on next door's property.
 I went to the Town to have my haircut and didn't notice anything out the ordinary. The winds were from a westerly direction so the prospect of sand blowing off the beach was nil.
  I didn't go anywhere else to see if the sea had done any damage so I just left it at that.
 Today the Lady from next door, the one with the chickens, came to tell me that if I wished to see the trophy's they had won this year I was welcome to go round as they were going to wrap them up because they take a lot of cleaning as they are silver. Well I think silver plated.
 I was surprised because they had 4 trophy's and one was HUGE. It was a similar size to the F.A Cup.  They also had a plate with the photo of the winning pigeon and a plaque also.
 I got round to asking him if there had been any damage done last week with the weather. He told me that they had been warned several times by the Floodline Agency but thank goodness all they had was spray coming over the top and although there was some water on the roads, nobody was flooded.
 Once again the conversation got round to pigeons and they told me that they had a few more trophy's to collect. This was going to be some time in the New Year. I suggested that it would be early when the weather ws not good. He agreed with me as he thought it was either January or early February.
 The new 12kg washing machine was on the go. Nice and quiet. they are both pleased with the machine as it saves washing several times less in a week.
 By the way, I received notification that Planning Permission had been sought to build the extension on the rear of their property. Retrospect as it happens. I told her I would not be contacting them as it didn't affect me at all. More soon.

Weather

I went to Grantham to see my Sisters, I noticed as I left the area that the cost of Diesel was 1 42.9p a litre. Anyway I went to Morrison's and managed to get a herring but there was no fresh yeast available. I asked one of the assistants and he went to enquire but soon came back informing me there was none. I told him I would go to the Bakery department to see if they would sell me any. He was not confident I would succeed. I went anyway and was surprised at the reception I received. Not only would the lady supply me but bought a large piece of yeast ans asked me how much I needed. She then proceeded to place the knife at different places on the block and when I said that was fine and she cut the piece off then went to wrap it and price it too. 42p. it cost me so I was thrilled to bits. I then went to fill up at the local ASDA Supermarket there the cost of diesel was 1 33.7p a litre. As I have always done, I converted it to gallons as I was bought up with pints and gallons. Over 40p a gallon more at the local filling station here. How can this be justified? The cost of living in  the Countryside.
 Yesterday I had to go to my Bank in Mablethorpe, it was just a little breezy but the weather was going to get much worse. I was back at home well before 11.00am. Not too long after the winds rose just as the weathermen said. Coastal flooding was forecast for later in the day, well early evening to be more precise. I decided to listen to the Local Radio Station, something I rarely do. From around 6.30pm. there were signs of what was to come. From around 7.00pm. the reports were of several road closures due to Coastal Flooding. One road in particular was the road into Mablethorpe, mind you nothing like the dreadful reports from Boston where the seas had breached some of the sea defences.
 I guess we were lucky here although I am about 2 miles from the sea but the coastal road was closed for a time. I would expect the local Golf Course would have been affected, but what is that compared to the plight of those people in Boston.
 Thank goodness the winds relented so the expected 2nd. flooding on the next high tide did not happen. Still there is much cleaning up to be done. More soon.

Apples

I rung my Sister up on Saturday letting her know I would be over this week and she should get the Christmas cards ready to save postage.
 I mentioned to her that I had the odd Bramley apple with a few spots in them. You can't tell it. Only when you start to peel the apple do you notice. I told her that I add the odd blackberry to the apples and that hides the brown bits.
 She then told me that she too had the odd one start to go and so peeled and cored the rest and froze them down. What she then told me made me wonder if it was the unseasonally weather we have had this year to cause this to happen.
 She goes to the Market each Saturday and there is a veg. man and she asked him if he had any Bramley cooking apples. He told her he would not be getting any more as the apples had brown spots in them. If he has had problems, it is no little wonder I too have had a few apples. It seems as if they wont keep much at all this winter. By the way, I have had several in my fridge in the salad tray but even the odd one of those has gone.
 I went to have my 3 monthly Blood Test and also my B.P. This was very high so I must go and have it checked again in a months time. Bother!!
 Finally for now, at least I did get my refund from my Internet Provider for the 3 months over charging so that is good. Mind you I still have heard nothing from the installer of  my door. I did ring up the SKY team as my Sky Box is still playing up. Had to laugh for last night tried to turn the T.V. off and found it would switch on again. Managed it eventually. Will wait and see what he has to say about that. More soon.

Losing it?

This morning I decided to fill my garden waste bin by cutting some of the leylandi on the side of my front driveway. I was out for about 30 minutes and filled the bin, not over filled but there was plenty in it. I then went inside to have a drink.
 I suddenly thought that the day to collect the garden waste bin is a Thursday. I began to wonder if the last collection had been made this year so I went Online and checked to see when the last delivery is. Well it was,  almost a fortnight ago, so now I have  my garden waste bin almost full and it will not be emptied again until April next year. Typical.
 Not everything went wrong although I have had trouble with my replacement door, the seal has come off the bottom of the door, thus letting in the draught. Needless to say, I rung up the Company but it was an answer phone, so far nobody has bothered to contact me. I will give them some time but if they fail me I will contact Trading Standards.
  The other day I received my monthly bill for my Internet. This is the third time it has been incorrect so I decide once more to give them a call. There was a wait of about 20 minutes but as it was a freephone so it didn't cost me anything. Eventually I informed the guy what had happened. He seemed to be a more senior guy for after asking me the usual security questions looked at my account and noticed that I had complained before. He noted the last guy's name and told me he would be contacting him. He then asked me if I wouldn't mind holding on as he was going to sort this out straight away.
 After about 5 minutes he came back full of apologies saying he couldn't access my account directly so if I was prepared to wait another couple of minutes he would ring them and get this sorted out. He wasn't long this time but assured me that everything would be fine from now and the money they owe me will be credited to my account within 2 weeks. We will see. More soon.

Forgetting

This is the first raised bed where I buried the leaves ready for the A. frame to be moved. I had used a junior hack saw to cut some of the screws that were holding the frame to the raised bed but couldn't get to them all.

This is where the present raised bed is situated. It has been there for about 4 years. Prior to that it was where I propose to move it back to it's original place. By the way, notice the solar panels on both of our properties.                            

Here it is now in the old place, my mate managed to get a small wrecking bar to loosen the remaining nails and screws hold  the frame in place. To be honest, I was thrilled to bits that it all went so well. We, well mainly he, managed to man handle the complete frame and lift it to it's present position. I had the brainwave, (unusually for me)to put a couple of battens across the frame trapping the frame so that the winds, hopefully would not do so much damage. Only time will tell of course. Anyway we were both satisfied how it had gone. Well! I was amazed.    

My mate then suggested that we look at the driveway gates. It didn't take him long to sort that lot out. They are probably the best they have ever been.           

To top it all, I had bought a shoulder of Pork, was going to get something different but the main road was closed, resurfacing. It turned out to be a blessing for the Pork was fantastic. My mate loves the crackling, I do also but with my diabetes I can't eat that sort of stuff, but I did have a very small taste.                

I went to Town today to find the main High Street open again. To my surprise I noticed that about 25 metres had been left undone. Well I went to see my colleague in the Supermarket!!! He then told me that they had run out of money so the rest had to be left. To save money they had even reused the kerb stones.

What a state of affairs we are in. It was very quiet in the store when the road was closed he did tell me. I wasn't surprised at all.                                                    

I have just forgotten to post a blog these last few days. I guess it is called either memory loss or just plain idleness. More soon, perhaps!!                                       

 

Late November 5th.

 

 

 

 

As it had been a little drier the few days before, on Saturday I decided to try to get rid of the wood that was strewn over part of my orchard. I checked to see if there was any sticks that were not too wet. I was surprised that I found just enough to get a bonfire started. The main lot of the wood was wet but decided to have a go.
 I had just a little cardboard box and a couple of newspapers. I was pleasantly surprised how well the first lot burnt so hurriedly went to fetch some of the rotting wood. Sure enough the heat generated soon dried the wood and the fire burned briskly.
 I decided to try to get rid of some of the branches that I had trimmed from my trees, sure enough they went well. I finally decided to get a couple of tree roots. One was an Elder that I had dug up several months ago so no problem there I thought. The other was a Laurel shrub. Plenty of waxy green leaves but to my surprise this also went. I don't know if you can see but I made the bonfire so that an Ash tree that I had cut would take the brunt of the heat. I was hoping to damage it sufficiently so that it would perhaps die.
 Well I am sure that this tree will die. It is my aim to have another bonfire in the early Spring near to a Hawthorn hoping that I can succeed with the demise of that too.
 After I had burnt all which took me nearly all day I thought I would take cuttings of my geraniums(pelargoniums) so on Sunday morning I took 48 cuttings, just in time really as we have had a few frosts. This morning being the worst. Although I got up at 7.30am. to rain I went out to feed the birds well before 8.00am. and noticed that there was ice in the bird bath, not a flimsy bit but quite thick. I went back inside to look at the outside temperature. 1.9c. This didn't surprise me but wondered why it was rain falling and not snow.
 So I have 4 dozen geraniums in pots, mind you I will lose a few as some just don't like it and gradually die. I will be happy with 3 dozen though. More soon.

Sun

With it being sunny on Thursday I decided to collect a few more leaves and dug a trench where the runner beans will be next year and bury a couple of bags of leaves.
 The A frame which has had the runner beans on for the last 3 seasons was damaged when along this coast  a month ago when we had severe gales so I decided to move the A frame to another plot. Anyway although the ground was very wet I managed to dig a trench each side and buried a black bin bag of leaves either side. It was a nice but a little windy day so managed to get it all done with before Noon.
 I came back inside and went to check mail, there was a little and thought I would check my LPG tank for fuel level. I have to do this because the Company wishes me to inform them when the fuel is down to 20%. It is still too full.
 When I tried to open the front door, there was some resistance, I managed to open the door and noticed that the Postman had left me a couple of Marrows. He had told me a couple of weeks earlier that he had 2 for me but as the time went by I thought he had forgotten but I am pleased he hadn't.
 I have been trying to catch him everyday since but keep missing him, it is that I just wish to thank him. To be honest, we do give each other gardening produce, whether it is seeds or vegetables, more likely that is what I give him, he will give me small plants that he grows from seed but these Marrows are great.
 I thought they would be hard to cut, not a bit of it, not as easy as a fresh young fruit but easy to cut all the same. I know this because today I had Marrow for my dinner, with other things obviously.
 My mate will be pleased because he loves a stuffed marrow and as my photo shows, they are large and quite a reasonable size too. Anyway they will certainly give me several meals in the next couple of weeks. More soon.

Satellite

I must admit I was somewhat surprised to see that posted through my letter box on Friday last week was a replacement remote control for my Sky.
 Anyway I decided not to do anything about it as on Wednesday this week an engineer would be calling.
 Last night I had a recorded message stating that the engineer would call between 8.00am. and 10.00am. The engineer would contact me before hand.
 Sure enough at 7.45am. the phone rang, the engineer informed me that he would be at mine in about 50 minutes. It was nearer an hour later that he contacted me again asking whereabouts I lived. Actually he was very near to where I was.
 The fist thing he told me was to look at my dish. I told him that it was fine, he then told me he was going to change it for a new one as it was getting a little rusty. Let's face it I have had that dish for around 20 years.
 He then went in and told me that he was sure that the dish was the problem as I was receiving a poor signal. I then told him that my mate had checked the signal strength and it was fine. He then said something that made me think. He told me that he didn't take a lot of notice at those  signal strengths.
 Anyway he did a few tests then went outside he told me he would have to drill into the wall because he had to attach a sort of rope to make the ladder which he had to reach the dish safe. I could see what he was doing and told him that in frosty weather it would be a great idea.
It didn't take too long for the replacement dish to be fitted. So once again he went inside to the box. I told him about the replacement remote and also told him that I could not use the mute or volume. He said that it was because it hadn't been set up and he would set the new remote up so that all was on Sky as normal.
 I was surprised because it seemed as if replacing the dish has made the set work properly.
 When I think of it I realise this gradual reduction in  the signal to the box would cause my system to be a little sluggish. Now all seems to be working well once more.
 He did give me his telephone number just in case my faults had not gone away for good so that means for now at least, no more waiting for Sky to put you on hold for 30 minutes or so.
 More soon.
P.S. Must admit I am thrilled at the spelling check I have because I have NEVER posted a blog without first correcting spelling mistakes.

Phone calls.

I don't often use the phone but these last few days I have.
 I went online at moneysupermarket.com to see what deals there were on Motor Insurance.
 A couple of years ago I got a good deal, moneysupermarket asked me if I  would like them to save my details which I agreed to. Well last year I went online and saw that my current Insurer had a quote a few £s cheaper than the current price I was paying. Naturally I thought there was no need to bother with another Insurer. Wrong. When my renewal documents came I noticed that the quote was in excess of 40% more expensive than the online quote. I immediately rung them up and asked them what their game was. The guy on the other end was a little embarrassed but told me that if the quote was, like for like, they must match the offer that was online. This they did.
  This year I was prepared in advance as to what might happen. Once more they gave me a quote even less than last years. It was not quite the cheapest but I thought if they could match that I would stay with them for a third year.
This time it was not a free phone number but an 0844 a 5p+ a minute call. After the initial options I was straight through to the right operator. I explained what had happened the previous year and expected that something similar would happen this year. She asked me what was online and wanted the details, sure enough the difference in price was over £90. Surprisingly enough she just told me that the price online was O.K. and as long as there was no material difference that price would be fine. I immediately paid up bu debit card.
 Today, I have received my policy documents together with the original quote of over £90 more, but I have also received my Motor Insurance Certificate valid until December 2014.
 Yesterday I also received  a note informing me that my Satellite protection was due and if I did nothing would continue for a further year. As I have had a little trouble with the system I decided to call them.
 After being on hold for about 25 minutes getting increasingly annoyed so that when the man on the other end asked if he could help. I let him have it with both barrels. I told him under no circumstances should he request me to re-boot the system. He could tell I was irate and tried to placate me but I kept on at him. Eventually he then informed me he would arrange for an Engineer to visit me but would have to connect me to another department. I warned him that it had better   not be long. It wasn't and I told the woman on the other end that I though the system was not working properly and this was probably in conjunction with my remote and the guy should have one just in case. She informed me that he would not carry a spare remote but would post one on to me within the next 5 days. We will see. The engineer should be here on Wednesday morning next week, More soon.

A visitor

 

 

 

I probably would not have bothered to post these photos if it hadn't been for my ex. neighbour calling on me yesterday. I was actually on the phone, my mate had called me and we had been talking for about 20 minutes when my door bell rang.

It put paid to our chat but I was pleasantly surprised to see the ex. neighbour. She had lost her Husband who died at an early age a few years ago. They had 2 Daughters and both of them had left home, one was married and moved to the next Town, the other decided to go into the Police Force so of course she was not at home either. They had a 4 bedroomed house with a parcel of land which they purchased from the local Farmer I guess it was about 4 acres. It was just a paddock for the horses which the 2 girls had. Naturally when they got a little older, boys were more important than horses. Anyway it was too large a home for her to live alone so she decided to sell the property, move to the next small Town just a few miles away. Her Mother and Father lived there so it was handy.

Unfortunately her Mother suddenly passed away, she was full of life but went suddenly, her Father was lost because he had told me previously that he had given up driving as his Wife drove so there was no point in him driving anymore.

Anyway when she was here talking she told me that her Father reminded her that the last time he saw me I was doing my block paving. I told her I had once more just done the paving for the winter. She did remark that it looked nice. She also commented on my bathroom as she used the toilet. That was nice of her. Generally folk never say anything about toilets, sinks etc. unless they are filthy then they make comments to other people about the state of the place.              

She stayed well over an hour talking about old times, to be honest the time flew and it was so nice to see her. I guess I will not see her soon because she wished me a Merry Christmas.                                                                                             

Now to the photos, I hope you will notice the before and after look. These had been done a few months earlier. It takes a long time to get the steel brush into each block. A tedious job, not only that but increasingly hard. I showed much of my driveway just to show how big an area there is to do. Still it will do until early Spring next year. More soon.                                                                      

Winds?

I guess we were lucky here for on Sunday night when high winds were expected, we had nothing at all. In fact the winds were far more lively on Sunday morning when I was cleaning my block paving. I will post photos another time.
 Block paving was  all the rage about 20 or so years ago. I certainly would never recommend it to anyone. It looks great for the first few years but then it is labour intensive cleaning out between the blocks. I was told by the guy who laid the blocks not to have them sealed as it was a waste of money. The only way to keep them clean is to daily sweep them with a yard brush. mechanical machines go round those public places that have block paving, hence no soil between the block and no weeds.
 On Monday morning although no gales, we did have heavy rain, many other places had  a similar downpour, now the ground is very wet indeed, what we could do with is a fortnights dry weather, not likely to get it though.
 Today, I had my old employee come to see me. he and his Wife were up from Devon, a very long way indeed. It was great to see them. I asked if they had managed to escape damage with the gales. I was somewhat surprised by their reaction. Yes it had been windy but nothing more than gales and they had escaped the bulk of the bad weather.
 Time passed so quickly, I had bought some ham from the Co-op deli counter and although it was cut a little too thin for  my liking, it was beautiful. They both agreed with me that it tasted great.
 When they left a gave them a few carrots, very dirty unfortunately because of all the rain we have had. Still they do taste very nice. More soon.

Memories

I wasn't going to post a blog tonight but instead read the back issues of the Grantham Journal. However when I started I saw there were a few issues with the news of Mallard, the A4 steam engine that broke the world record. My Brother-in-Law had told me there was quite a bit about Mallard in the Journals. He, incidentally built a couple of steam engines. One being a B1. I think 1 to 12 size. It was a fantastic steam engine with plenty of pulling power. He belonged for many years to a model steam society so is quite interested. I know that my Great Niece managed to get onto the cab of Mallard. I was told the wait was about 30 minutes.
 It bought back memories to me, it also reminded me just how important Grantham was it those days of steam. Grantham was strategically placed 105 miles from King's Cross and it was ideal to change steam engines, either going to King's Cross or coming from King's Cross to go to York. Newcastle or Edinburgh.
 One may wonder why Mallard was so popular at Grantham. Well Grantham was situated in a little vale and it is hard to believe but leaving Grantham going south about 5 miles away is Stoke signal box just through Stoke Tunnel. It is an uphill drag to there and it is the highest point on the Eastern Region for about 300 miles. From Stoke signal box it is all downhill to Peterborough and speeds in excess of 85mph were often achieved when I was working on express trains to King's Cross.  Incidentally just south of Stoke Signal Box were 2 signs about 50 yards apart. One read London 100 miles pointing south and the othe sign was Grantham 5 miles pointing north. I guess Grantham had a little importance then. Now there is only a sign stating that on this track is where Mallard broke the world record  of about 126 mph in 1938. So  it was on this stretch where Mallard broke the world record for steam which still stands to this day. When it broke the world record it was only pulling a few coaches. In general we had 13 coaches behind us. Now the electric trains have I think 9 and they are talking of spending Billions of £s to increase the volume of passengers. My answer would be get 50% more coaches on each train to start with and see if that helps.
 Grantham was a haven for young train spotter boys. There were many youngsters from around the late 40s to the mid 60s when steam was phased out. Not only Grantham also King's Cross, you would inevitably get a request from someone if they could "cab it" of course this was always denied. They would get as close as they could and peer in just to see what it was like insied the cab of ae express stem engine.
 I didn't expect to read that there was such a large following in fact it was on view for 2 days. Saturday when 7000 people came to see it and on Sunday even more, 8000 came. The picture s not great but it is the best I could do. The Church behind is St. John's Church and is featured in many photos of steam engines and trains in years gone by. Mallard was never based at Grantham, well not to my knowledge but Flying Scotsman was at some time when I was working.
 The A4s if you take a look at Mallards tender you can see it stands a little proud of the cab. Hence there was fitted a sort of tarpaulin this was a permanent fixture but made the footplate a lot hotter than the other express steam engines. To be honest I think I only fired about 3 times on the express trains on an A4. Mostly I fired on A3s. that is the same as Flying Scotsman. I can't remember if I ever fired that steam engine but certainly cleaned it and had been in the cab many times. It must be remembered that they were not icons like they are now. They were just work horses, dirty steam engines pulling express trains up and down the ECML. That is East Coast Main Line. Oh well I am getting old and nostalgic. One forgets the bad days and only remembers the good days. Long may it be so.. More soon.
P.S. Hope I have not bored anyone.

Nails

 

 

 

I do struggle with this computer and these settings. This is the second time and hopefully this is working well. The first attempt was a complete failure. Couldn't write anything at all but this seems to be O.K.
The photos show just how busy I, and my neighbour have been. He cut down the trees and he did tell his Wife that he was pleased I was there with him. As he started to cut the trees, I put pressure on them and we were very pleased how it went. Later that day the Fence man came and replaced the 10 panels. Good quality too. He had asked me before if he could just leave the old panels as he was charged money to dispose of them.
 I spent most of the week end taking out the nails, at least 6 in every panel. I must admit a lot of the panels are not good at all. If anything can be done to use them, my mate will have the answer. Anyway I now have all the looses panels out of the wet so they will gradually dry out.
 I do have a few more photos which I may post. I also hope that the young man next door will come round on Friday and with my help remove the cut down tree trunks next door. I have found out that she is haven't a wood burning stove fitted. They will certainly help fuel costs once they are fully dried out. It will take all this winter though.
 This morning I had my Central Heating boiler serviced. I was surprised to see the two men standing outside were the same couple who had checked my bulk tank earlier. they are very nice, the eldest was teaching the younger man the ropes. The younger man has been trained as a plumber but was made redundant a few months ago. Luckily for him he managed to get a job with the LPG firm. He told me that he should be qualified by January. This would then leave the elder guy to once again work alone although they both get on well together.
 Anyway they took a little more than an hour to complete their work. Very thorough they were too. I am well satisfied.  More soon.

Stiff as a board

After Thursday's fitting of the new fencing panels, I noticed that the weather forecast for the next week or so was more rain than dry weather. With that in mind I decided to crack on and get as many panels off the old fence panels I could.
 For the first time since I packed up work, over 20 years ago, I did 3 solid hours of work before dinner t8ime and another 2 hours after. Me working 5 hours in a day, I didn't think I had it in me. Mind you, I suffered for it. On Friday I didn't know how to move, every muscle in my body ached. Saturday was not much better so first thing Sunday morning I decided to have a good soak in the bath.
 I was much refreshed after the good soak but still did nothing at all in the morning. I felt better in the afternoon that I went and removed the nails from several panels, they don't look very good though. My mate will tell me if they can be salvaged, I think most will just about be O.K.
 I took a few photos of the mess and hopefully will post them soon.
 today has been another dreadful day, dark and very wet. I had intended to go and do some more nail removing but my Best Pal rung up and asked if he could call to see me. Naturally I told him I would love to see him.
 It was soon after dinner he came, bought me some plastic trays so now I have nearly all of my apples in the garage. He then told me that almost certainly he would be going back home to Chesterfield. So this is the last time we will meet this year. Sad of course but as I told him we both have something to look forward to. March next year. I took him to see the replacement panels and he agreed that they were of good quality and would probably last me my lifetime. Around 4.30pm.  we said our good byes and I then got my teatime meal. No sooner had I sat down when the door bell rang. It was the neighbour. I had told her that if she wanted any carrots, just ask, well she was now asking. I told her that I would take some round within 10 minutes. I went round and saw that workmen were still working on the new extension but she told me that hopefully soon all would be completed. It looked as if the men were fitting the new washing machine in place. It is a modern direct drive machine, very expensive with the motor having a 10 year warranty. It also has a 12 kg. load that will be great for she has a few staying in her home. Enough for now. More soon.

Hectic

These last few days has been a little busy.
 On Tuesday I went round to the neighbour and she told me that her Husband would be round to cut the trees down. I informed her that unfortunately I had made arrangements to go to Grantham.
 Off I went Wednesday morning calling at the local Supermarket only to find that what I looked forward to most, a fresh herring, they did not have any so I had to go without.
 I took my Sisters some fruit and vegetables, stayed there for about an hour then made my way back home, a journey of some 60 miles.
 No sooner had I entered my home when the telephone rang, it was the fence man, the one who was fitting 10 replacement fence panels. He asked me if it was possible to fit the replacements the next day(today). I told him that there was no problem.
 I wondered if I had enough money on me but I had just enough. I went round next door to tell her that the fence man would be round their rear garden to fit the replacement panels but no one was in. It had just started to rain and as it got heavier I did not bother to go round again.
 This morning I heard the waste bin being wheeled in. I got on a box and saw it was her Husband. He had a chainsaw with him. I shouted and told him that the fence man was coming today and would be fitting the replacement panels. immediately told me that he would come and cut the trees down. He
 I guess there would be about 15 altogether but I really don't know. What we did was as soon as he cut about half way through the trunk, I would start to add pressure and the trunk would then break off. We were both surprised just how easy things went. Within an hour we had all the tree trunks cut down. This would be just before Noon.
 I decided not to cook my meal as I was sure the fence man would be here before I would have time to eat my meal.
 I was right for about 1.15pm. he arrived. He was surprised and pleased that the place had been cleared so much. He had an assistant with him. I asked him to put the old panels together and my plan was to eventually, with my mate build a fence at the bottom of the garden, trying to stop the rabbits from coming in my garden to eat much of what I sow.
  Things went well and I asked if they wanted a drink, the answer was in the affirmative and he told me that at the last job, nothing was offered. They didn't stop for long and got on with the job. So much so that soon after 3.15pm. they had finished. I reminded him about a further job I needed when the bulk gas tank was moved to another  position. All he told me was just to let him know and he would come as soon as he could. I paid him and away they went. I am sure both of us were satisfied.
 To think that yesterday the Leylandi were in place with the old fencing panels too. Now today all the Leylandi `are down and 10 new panels are now in situe, I am well satisfied. More soon.

Severe gales

for the last few days it has been very poor weather. Thursday it was severe gales and heavy rain. For the first time since I have been here I was very concerned late Thursday evening. The noise was terrific. At first I thought the roof was being torn off my bungalow then after a few minuted thought I thought that it was perhaps the solar panels that were severely damaged. Still nothing I could do until first light in the morning so  went to bed and eventually fell asleep.
 As soon as it was light enough to see I went outside to look at the building and in particular the roof and the solar panels. I was surprised and delighted to see that all appeared to be O.K, Back I went inside and glanced at my side door, which is glazed. Something looked out of the ordinary so I went and got the key and opened the door.
 So that what all the noise was about. The fence adjoining my property had collapsed and had leaned against my old Beldray dust bin. The fence had fell on to that and knocked it over and was leaning very close to me door. The panels seemed to be fairly good but the posts which had rotted were snapped off completely. It was still rough and all I could do was to shove the panels back but no sooner had I done this when another gust of wind blew them over again. I shoved them further over and looked for them next door to tell them.
 Typical, nobody was about, not surprising as it was raining steadily and looked to be set in for the day. About 2 hours later I did catch the man in, when I told him he thought I was on about the fence the other side which also had failed in a couple of places. When I told him about this side, he did come and make them more secure but told me that nothing would be done until the winds dies down. Anyway he and his Wife were going away for a week starting today, so nothing has been done at all.
 the week end has been as bad as I can ever remember for an October. From Thursday, we did see a little sun but many squally heavy showers. Friday rain all day, Saturday rain for most of the day. Sunday rain in the morning  and more rain later. Today once again woke up to rain, it managed to stop but over the last  4 days I guess we have had less than 1 hours of sunshine with strong to gale force winds,. I managed to pick what remained of the Bramley cooking apples on Friday between the heavy rain.
 Actually the rain that we have had will do no harm at all as we have had little rain for quite some time so it will do some good, pity it has been so cold. It has  put paid to my runner beans, they are now ruined so will be going into the garden waste bin after Thursday that is when the bins are emptied. More soon.

True to form.

My mate called today and as expected bought me plenty of damsons from his Partner's tree which I am most grateful.
 I guess there were about 7lb or approximately 3 kilos. Some were a little over ripe but perfect for jam which is what I intended to use most of mine for.
 I selected about 1.5 lbs for the neighbour=r who he was going to see about fixing a plug, unfortunately he was a little later than the last time he came so missed the neighbour as the couple had to travel to Skegness on urgent business.
 I asked her prior to them leaving that he would like some eggs and he was bringing them a few damsons. My mate knew nothing of this however.
 When he arrived I gave him the news that although I had the key to the garage, they would not be in to answer any questions he wished to ask.
 My mate managed to pull a tree up that I had started, I can't manage anything hard anymore as I am getting weaker.
 Earlier I picked a few tomatoes for my mate's Partner as a thank you for the damsons. The majority were Shirley F1 hybrid tomatoes. One of the more expensive type, I only hope she likes them as I grow mostly plum tomatoes.
 I also picked several beetroot for my mate and a few carrots. Both have been good this year.
 We had our dinner and around 1.45pm. I suggested we go round to see if they had returned. A no was the answer, the joiner was working on their extension so we had a chat with him. After 10 minutes we went back and had a talk. I told him that if they didn't get back by 2.15pm. I would give him my 4 eggs and would then ask her for a few. I know she would give me the.
 Around 2.14pm. we went round once more, luckily to find that they had just arrived home once more. My mate went with her Husband to get some information. I asked her for some eggs and told her I would get the damsons. Off I went and by the time I got back there, my mate and her Husband were back too. She looked at the damsons and remarked they looked good, they should have been for I selected them myself from lots of over ripe damsons. Those over ripe ones being ideal for jam. She then went to get the eggs. 12 in all, I was pleasantly surprised, that meant 6  each to my mate and his Partner. Nice fresh eggs. Free range too. How nice. Hope they enjoy them. More soon.

Are we cattle?

On Thursday morning my Best pal rung me to ask if I would be in later, he usually calls around 2.30pm. I told him that I was having my flu jab at 2.00pm. so he would better make it 2.45 just to be sure.
 Just as well I told him because at 2.45 I still had not left the surgery, soon after though I did leave.
 On arriving there was a queue stretching to the main road, most were complaining bitterly and we were lucky with the weather, it was windy but warm and dry. Not that it stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon. After about 25 minutes we managed to get into the medical centre. It is very small ans I guess there were about 30 people in altogether. It was organised chaos, first we had to register then go to a Nurse who gave you a leaflet and details and soon after that was sent to a cubicle to have the jab. On leaving was given a number and told to wait, folks were milling round and the noise was great. One had to listen for the number and after about 10 minutes my number was called. I was ushered into a consulting room which was open there a Nurse took your B.P. and pulse and I presume a Doctor asked you to confirm who you was, asked if one smoked or had ever smoked. The Nurse told me my B.P. was very high I told her in no uncertain measures why it was so high being treated like we had been. Anyway she told me to have it checked in about 2 weeks. I was so angry, I informed her that my B.P. was checked every 3 months and left. Incidentally within 30 minutes of me leaving it started to rain, not too heavy but rain non the less.
 My mate rung me up on Sunday teatime asking me if I wished to have any damsons. I of course said yes. The last time I had any damsons was about 8 years ago. My Best pal had a tree in his garden, so I asked if he could bring me some. Well he did, not many and told me that it had been hard work picking them. Naturally I never asked him again. He has since moved house so there is no way he could get me any damsons.
 My mate will be calling on Wednesday and I bet he brings me far more damsons than my Best pal ever bought me. Will let you know.  More soon.

Rough weather

I have been a little fortunate really, the weather has been very very windy this last week or so but not cold.
 I went down to look at my fruit trees last week and was somewhat surprised because I noticed several eating apples had fallen on to the ground. I went to check the fruit and found that they were indeed ready, well the majority of them anyway.
 I got my plastic trays ready and went to pick the apples. It is surprising just how many apples can be on a small tree. I picked well over 150 apples then placed them that had no blemishes, well none that I could see, in the trays, making sure they do not touch. The variety of apple is called Sunset, a Cox variety that does better here in the North than Cox's Orange Pippin. They do keep well into the new year and if I am lucky they will keep until March. Not all of them but enough to keep me in apples for the majority of winter.
  My Bramley apples are very large and a lot have fallen off the tree because the woodlice have managed to get at them and eat a little at them. I will still have loads left and if I can find space, they will definitely last until April next year. 
 As I have mentioned I have had to purchase a new Fridge/Freezer and the storage space is not quite as large as the old one was. I have had  a Bramley in my old appliance in May last year, don't think this will happen in this one though.
 I am still getting a few runner beans but I can see the end is nigh with them. Still I am not going to grumble as I have had plenty off them.  More soon.

Work completed.

On Saturday morning I went as usual to let the chickens out. I noticed the water trough or whatever it is called was leaking water all over the place. It was his Father who filled it up last time, thank goodness it was doing the same as my filling seemed to do.
 IT would be about 10.30am. when I ventured out next door, I noticed that he car had been moved and some washing was out so I knew someone would be around.
 I went back to get the garage key and the eggs, 36 in all and took them round to the Lady She told me she had a present for me but she couldn't find it. I told her I didn't expect or want anything but it was nice of her to think about me.
 About 45 minutes later her Husband came round with the present, a posh Disney mug. Unfortunately it is so posh with the design that it is not microwave and dishwasher compatible.  I then took him to show what I wanted to be done, some trees cut down, not that they are large but there are well over 18 altogether.
 I told him about the water, he then told me that it was a little awkward to fill the reservoir up, so that eased my mind.
 I then told him I had met his Parents, a nice couple and his Father seemed to know about chickens. He told me that his Father had kept chickens years ago. I told him that I was a little disappointed at the quantity of eggs I got, he told me his Father had looked and found 19 eggs in a heap in the chicken run. I told him that he did say that he thought there would be some eggs being laid out of the hut. It didn't surprise me as the chicken poo was getting to be all over the place. At one time I told him I went into the run and picked as much straw as |I could and place it where the chickens generally laid their eggs. I think it helped a little because the last day I managed to collect 7 eggs.
 Well that is it for another year I presume. More soon.

Near the end

This week has been nice and dry, sometimes very dull but not cold.
 My routine was to let the chickens out around 7.30am. Go and check them later about 11.00am. again check and see if there were eggs around 3.00pm. then shut them in when it grew dark.
 The first day I waited for a while until all except one had roosted. My mate told me that I should wait until dark, then go and shut them in as all would then be in their boxes. It turned out to be true.
 A couple of days ago I decided to take some of my bird seed to see if they would like it. Not much, they mobbed me and hungrily tucked into the different food.
 Now as soon as they see me coming they all gather round the entrance knowing that I would bring some more goodies for them.
 Yesterday I was surprised to see that the water trough was empty. I was informed that there was sufficient water to last them but that was not the case.
 As I didn't know how it worked I was a little while working out just how to get water in the trough.
 I eventually managed to work it out, not properly though but there was water for them. They certainly needed a drink and all gathered round the trough and had their fill.
 This morning I looked and there was enough water but not a great amount. I thought I would check after dinner and make sure enough water was there for the chickens.
 I went and was surprised to see that the tank had been filled, just as I had, the water was running out of the tank, just as it did for me.
 It would he his Parents because when I last saw them on Wednesday they told me that it would be Friday when they would be here next. It was in the afternoon on Wednesday that they called. I was talking to the chickens and giving them the first taste of my bird seed. It was the Mother who spoke to me saying that she wondered where speech was coming from. Yes it was me talking to the chickens. We had quite a long talk and they travelled about 20 miles to feed the pigeons.
 I hope they appreciate what we have done for them. To be honest I certainly don't mind letting them out and feeding them. Shutting them up is not as attractive though. More soon.

Reinstated.

Late Friday afternoon, well just before 5.00pm. to be more precise the doorbell rang and it was the woman from next door.
 She asked me if it would be possible to let the chickens out each morning for a week and then for so many days could I also shut them in at night.
 I told her that it would be much easier for all if I just let them out in the morning, checked that they had sufficient food and water and then shut them up at night.
 As I had never shut them in at night I wondered just how easy it was. I rung my mate and asked him as he had chickens as a youngster.
 He told me that they mad3e their way in when it got dusk.
 Well, I went out just before dusk and all 14 were out scratching away. I waited for a few minutes but then decided to go back to mine and wait a little longer.
 Another 15 minutes passed and it was well dusk so off I went again.
 I stayed well clear and gradually in they went all bar one. There has to be the odd one that is different to the rest.
 Eventually it went and perched on the entrance, so I hurried in and pushed the chicken inside and closes the coops  and made them secure.
 About 7.30am. this morning I went and let them out. They were certainly ready for me to let them out.
 I had checked to see that there was sufficient food and water for them so I went back to mine to get my breakfast.
 Around 11.00am. I went to see if there were any eggs. I think there were 5 altogether, not a lot considering there are 14 chickens. While I was taking the eggs to put in a tray in the garage a car drew up. I wondered who that could be. It turned out to be her Husband's Parents. They come down each day to feed the pigeons. We had a chat for about 5 minutes then off I went.
 As is my want, I go and see if they are alright in the afternoon.  Another 2 eggs I stayed there for about 10 minutes then I came back home.
The final journey to next door should be around 7.30pm. to shut them up for the night.
 Pleased the weather has been nice so far, don't want to go round in pouring rain. More soon.

Quiet

It has been a quiet time for me lately so I have had nothing of interest to write about.
 The weather had changed suddenly from being very hot to an early Autumn. So much so that my french beans suddenly finished altogether. I am still getting runner beans although a lot of my neighbours say they have more or less had all the beans and that the plants look poor.
 I must say that the photos I took show the size of my Bramley cooking apples. I have had several lbs of windfalls. These two I found yesterday.
 This morning I looked at my carrots in the garden. I do grow plenty in my polytunnel. The ones outside have been great. As you see I just picked 4 this morning and these 3 were the best. I didn't go through the row to pick them either. I just picked a few up to eat.
 My best Pal called the other day, I have not seen him for some time. His Wife is suffering from the degeneration of the spine so it is affecting her walking and she is in pain too.
 I gave him some runner beans, a few plums, some blackberries that I picked that day and some windfall apples.
 He was making his way back home the next day. He did say that he hoped to be down a couple of times more this year. He admitted that it has been a bad year for the two of them being at their Caravan. Let us hope that after going to see a Specialist she will be a little  more mobile next year.
 On Sunday I had a man call about my fencing. My mate told me about him and all being well he will fit about 10 replacement panels but not before November. It gives me time to save up enough  to pay for the panels. More soon.

Poor weather

Yesterday we had a huge clap of thunder  soon after 5.30pm. You could see it coming for about 2 hours prior to it arriving. Heavy rain and then after the loud clap of thunder, we lost power for some time.
 Today has been a cool dreadful day, very dull, wet and windy for most of the day.
 yesterday I had to go to the Surgery for a Blood Test. I have my B.P. checked at the same time.
 Unusually the place was almost full. there were a couple of Nurses come out and announce that something to do with warfarin, the monitoring machine was playing up and there would be a delay. If anyone wished to cancel and re book for tomorrow, that would be fine.
 Whether it affected my Blood test, I had no idea but  my appointment was for 9.30am. but it was around 9.50am. when she called me in. Whilst I was waiting I saw a notice stating that there was an injection for people aged 70-79 to prevent shingles. As I have had shingles, and it isn't pleasant I decided I would have an injection.
 When I saw the Nurse S. I know her very well she told me she had no information on the vaccine at all. She had hardly finished when there was a knock on the door, another Nurse asked her to go and assist her. S. just looked at me and said that was short and sweet today. We normally have a good old natter. Next time I hope.
 Off I went to the receptionist to book a shingles jab. She told me she knew nothing about it, one of the assistants in the office heard me and told the receptionist that she would deal with it.
 she came out into the waiting room and asked me discreetly how old I was. With confidence I told her I was right in the middle of the 70-79 group and I was 76. She then told me I was not eligible as it was only for those aged wither 790 or 79. I started to laugh, I thought she was pulling my leg but I could see she was serious. She showed my the leaflet and told me that they were not issuing them at all because it was causing confusion.
 What she asked me next surprised me. She asked me if I had my pneumonia injection. I told her I had and this was about 6 years ago and was told at that time that I must not have another one at all. She then told me that after about 10 years, you have to go and get another injection. She then went on to my page on the computer, told me that it hadn't been flagged up so I was not due for another pneumonia jab yet. the last thing she told me was that the Government may be bringing different ages in next year. Perhaps 71-78. What a performance I thought. I couldn't believe it. More soon.

Conclusion

I went to Blackpool the following year and first thing on the Monday morning went to see my watchmaker friend.
As always he was pleased to see me and immediately informed me that tomorrow he would take me for dinner(lunch)to the Polish RAF. Association. He told me that a few friends started this up soon after the war.
I did mention that he came over a wealthy man with lots of sovereigns but he told me that over the ensuing years he helped less fortunate Polish immigrants and that he had nothing left.
 He had originally bought a house in Blackpool but as he had married a Woman from Bolton, they had their home there. He told me he sold his house cheaply to a fellow Polish guy, now he told me he was renting a room from Monday to Friday
going to Bolton for the week end.
 Anyway the next day he closed his shop early and off we went to this place. He pulled into the car park and parked it on a reserved place. We went to the door and a doorman was there sat just before the main entrance. Immediately he saw Josef, he stood up and called him Sir. Josef just informed him that I was his guest, the doorman let us in.
 As soon as he entered the room, there were about 4 people come to make a fuss of him. I was amazed at the place. It was beautiful. there seemed to be a sort of platform at one end on either side were 2 huge propellers, Josef told me which plane they were off but I must confess I forgot.
 there was a man who came in, Josef told me that this was his Landlord and he wanted to have a word. They spoke in Polish but eventually it was English so that I could understand. This man was a cabinet maker and he was making a case for this carriage clock and Josef told me that he had been making this for about 3 years, however it was almost complete.. He had a few men come to him but he told them all that I was his guest and he didn't wish to be disturbed.
 One of them told him that it was such a long time since he had been there and he wished to discuss things with him but he waved him away.
When it came to dinner he asked me if I liked Sauerkraut, I told him I had never tasted it, he told me not to worry as I would like it. he was correct it was nice.
 They started to serve dinner, the queue was forming at the table where the freshly cooked meal was being served. We, however just walked up to the platform. There was a table with about 8 chairs facing the auditorium. He told me to sit down and almost immediately a waiter came and showed him the menu for that lunch time.
He ordered for both of us and immediately told me that I was not allowed to spend anything as this was a Private club for Polish only but allowing to bring in an occasional guest.
  I can't remember what we had but it was very nice.
 On the way back he told me that he was a Founder Member and to be honest it was mainly because of him that the place was built.
 When he got back he got a photo album out and proceeded to show me Warsaw. He then told me that the place was just rubble but over the next 15 years they rebuilt the whole of Warsaw to as much of originality as possible. It looked fantastic.
 He then turned over a page and he told me that this showed Warsaw University and he pointed out a young man about my age or a little older. He just said that this was his Son who was a Professor at the University. He didn't dwell on it and I didn't pursue the matter.
 Over the coming days he told me more. On one occasion he told me that the Police would come to fetch him in the days after the war to act as an interpreter when some of the foreign people were up in court. He told me he could speak a little German, Russian and I think Lithuanian.
He told me that the following year he would have for me a skeleton clock.
 Unfortunately the following year, just before I was due to go on holiday my Father died. I never went there again.
P.S. We had a family. my Father used to call the Mother the Doll, this was because she never had a hair  out of place. She married a Polish man and she used to tell my Father how bad it was there in Poland, they couldn't get hold of soap and razor blades. Each year she used to send a parcel to his relatives stating that they were not allowed to visit them as it was forbidden.
 Finally this episode in my life was bought back to mind by a T.V programme stating that Warsaw was completely rebuilt after the war back to it's original features More soon.

Conflict

So now Poland was at war with Germany. He was now to become an enlisted fighter.
 As he had a University education he was drafted into the Polish RAF. He told me  that he was trained to be a fighter pilot, it didn't take long, there was not much time anyway.
 He was sent to a Squadron and started as a fighter pilot, he told me it wasn't long before he was a Squadron Leader. This was because all of the other original pilots had perished, lost or injured. It was sad when he told me that the Squadrons were amalgamated and soon almost the entire newly formed Squadron were Squadron Leaders from their old Squadron.
 His Father told him that the war was lost and he must leave the Country and make his way west.
 His Father was a rich man and he gave Josef, that was his name, lots of sovereigns to take with him on his journey.
 He didn't say much about his journey only to say that he travelled in forests and as it was winter there were wolves so he had be alert.
 He eventually arrived in England and found himself, with several other Polish evacuees in Blackpool.
He was not happy at the way all the Polish people were treated. He was immediately reduced to the rank of Private and it seemed as all the others  were treated similar.
 Although he was a trained fighter pilot he never flew in this Country.
 He seemed to spend much of his time in Preston, there I think he told me was an Aeroplane factory, if not something to do with aeronautics.
Eventually the war ended and with Poland, now under the control of Russia, he and all the other Polish fighters were allowed to stay in this Country.
 He told me that he had a Wife and a small Son but knew nothing about them or his Family. As there was no contact at all, he made a new life over here.
 He eventually got married to a Hairdresser, she had a business in Bolton but he wished to have a business in Blackpool.
 He had been after a shop in Church Street Blackpool and went to see the Estate Agent who sent him to a Solicitor.
 One of the stipulations was that he must be a true Christian as the property  was owned by the Church. He confirmed that he was an old fashioned Christian so eventually had his shop which is where I  found him.
 All of this information took place over the week and it would soon be time once again to leave and get back home.
 I told him I would be back the next year, it was with sadness that I went back to the East Coast but could look forward to the next meeting. More soon.

Early holiday

When I first went into Business at the end of the second year, my Parents insisted that I went away for a week so as to get a break from my work.
 I decided to go to Blackpool, although where I was on the East Coast, the Season had done, Blackpool was still busy.
 I decided to have a walk and discover some parts of Blackpool. I walked for miles, one day I found a Sweet Factory, I thought next time I get this way I will ask them to show me round. however I never did get that way again.
 Walking back into the town down Church Street. I think that was the name, I noticed a Watchmakers and Jewellers shop. I decided to enter and look round.
 To be honest it was a dingy looking shop and rather uninviting. An elderly gentleman came to see me and he took to me straight away. I told him that I could not stay too long as I had to go back to my Hotel for  my meal. He asked me to come back the next day to see him. I readily agreed  so off I went.
 The next day he was waiting for me and told me he was pleased that I had come back to see him. He showed me some of the clocks he had built and started to talk of his life in Blackpool. It was obvious that he had not been born in the U.K. for he had  a foreign accent.
 He told me that he had come from Poland and would tell me all about it one day.
 Unfortunately for me it was my last day in Blackpool and I told him so, but I did say to him that the following year I would come back and see him.
 He said he understood and was sorry I would not be there again this year. It was 1971.
 The following year, true to my word I went to his shop first thing on the Monday morning so I had the rest of the week available. He was once again happy to see me. After talking for an hour or so, he suggested that we go upstairs to his workshop and have a drink of coffee. I was amazed at the amount of old clocks he had there. He then started to talk of how he came to live in Blackpool.
 What a fascinating story it turned out to be.
 He told me that he was born in Poland with wealthy Parents. His Grandfather was a watch maker and he wanted to follow in his footsteps but his Father forbid this stating that when he was old enough he would go to Warsaw University.
 In the meantime he told me that on a Monday it was his job to collect the rents from the tenants in the blocks of flats they owned. He told me that he would often go to his Grandfather who would show him how to repair and build clocks.
 When he was 18 he went to University and gained a degree in Civil Engineering. He then got married and soon after his wife became pregnant.
 All of a sudden his world and that of all the Polish people was turned upside down. Germany had invaded Poland. He told me this came out of the blue for their true enemies were not the Germans but the Russians. More soon.

New supplier

Yesterday I was busy all afternoon with the prospective new supplier for my LPG.
 I went online a couple of months ago to a web site I have used before. Later that day I had a phone call from the Company. I told them what I required and this included a fixed price for at least 1 year. All the other suppliers give a low initial price for a litre of LPG but after the first delivery the price is never as low as that again.
 This guy told me that he had found a Company who was prepared to give a fixed price for 1 year. I told him that perhaps I was not out of contract for about a month. He told me not to worry, he would give my details to the Company and they would contact me.
 true to form, within a few days I had lots of forms to fill in, these I did and returned them to the Company.
 I thought I had better contact my current supplier to see when my contract expired. I was told it was on August 5th. just a week away.
 A couple of days later I received a phone call from the prospective supplier informing me that I was still under contract. I immediately let them know that I would be out of contract within less than a week. With this I was told that things would start to move.
 A week later I had an engineer to check the bulk tank. He then told me that with the regulations changing since I had the tank installed the site did not comply with current regulations. He then added that in all probability it would be alright.
 As time passed by and hearing nothing I just thought that the Company had decided that they would not proceed any further.
 I was surprised on Tuesday as I had another phone call informing me that the tank was not sited correctly but they were prepared to move the tank at their expense and a representative would visit me on Wednesday.
 It was not that day but the representative contacted me and said he would be here on Thursday afternoon.
 He duly arrived and together with a female colleague proceeded to measure up. He then told me that I would have to arrange for another base to be made so the the tank could sit on that. I immediately told him that according to the phone call, the work would be carried out and would cost me nothing.
 After several phone calls all was agreed. I would have to pay for some large tubs to put in front of the bulk tank. This would be so that if any vehicle backed it would hit the tubs and not the tank or it's piping's. To help me though he would arrange to give me a further 50 litres of gas and reduce the cost by almost 1p a litre of a year.
 I agreed to this but he told me that the tank must be no more than 25% full, as it is around 50% full this will not happen for well over a month.
 Still it looks as if I have a fixed price for 1 year, fingers crossed. More soon.

Eggs again

The next doors neighbour, the one with the chickens called today. She informed me that there had just been an increase of chickens. 10 to be precise. She told me that once again there would be eggs for me. As I am not greedy at all I just asked for 3 eggs. I told her I would go and look at the new batch. they certainly looked at home but the coop where they were kept was overgrown. She then said that it was going to be cleared a little. We then went to see if there were any eggs. I think there were 9 altogether the chickens had obviously used just one place to lay the eggs. Anyway they were certainly fresh.
 I asked her if she wanted any runner beans and she told me that although they had set some they were not producing many so I gave her what I had picked this morning, just over 1.5 lbs around 750 grammes. I also asked her if she wanted a few James Grieve apples. They are a dual apple, either eating or cooking, mind you the eating part is still tarty but the wasps love them so I tend to pick them early.
 I then told her I would look and see what the extension looked like. I must admit I was a little surprised. She told me the first part was to be a laundry room, there was also a small alcove where her washing machine was to be situated. there was a sort of lobby to the right, you walked a few paces and on the left was a shower room. further left was a single bedroom, well the modern houses would definitely call it a double bedroom. I suggested that this was where her Son was to sleep and that he would be there in 3 or so weeks.
 The reply surprised me for she told me that he would only be sleeping there sometimes as he liked it better in the local town.
 Earlier I had made an effort to visit the couple who took over my old business.Almost 16 years since I was there. They are always pleased to see me and his wife insists on giving me a good-bye kiss.
 I took them some runner beans. I had expected my best Pal to be here but last night he rung me to say his wife had a recurrence of sciatica and she was having an MRI scan today so they would not be down for a while. Anyway I was pleased to give the couple the runner beans. As of now I have no runner beans at all. I will though tomorrow morning when I next go and pick the latest beans that are ready. I guess at least another 1lb. Mustn't complain though. More soon.

Radio 4extra

I listen regular to digital radio. mainly Radio 4 extra. It used to be called Radio 7.
 Lat Saturday was a programme lasting several hours about the seaside between the wars. It was Brighton and interesting too.
 From the shows to the folks travelling from London for the day  it showed just how much life has changed. In general it was from the late 30s.
 What I did find out was the name of Lobby Lud. I was called that in an endearing name when it was time for me to go to bed. I would only be about 4 at the time. Anyway this man was talking about challenging a man called Lobby Lud from the News Chronicle daily newspaper. If you correctly challenged him carrying the News Chronicle you were given £5. A huge amount in those days. Only one winner a day was allowed. Anyway this man told about the time he followed this man for over an hour before plucking up the courage to challenge him only to be disappointed. The man was not Lobby Lud.
 I had asked my Mother many years later why I was occasionally called by that name. All she told me was that it came from a newspaper.
 Incidentally I can remember the newspaper News Chronicle. It was a broadsheet similar to the Daily Express and Daily Herald. the last two have disappeared and the Daily Express like the Daily Mail has gone to Tabloid size.
 I did, for a short time have a paper round and was left with the Daily Telegraph extra to my requirements. I told the man in charge but he told me that I was wrong. What I did was keep the newspaper  and read it. I liked it so much that when I got older I had delivered to me the daily Telegraph. I had it delivered until I moved here. As I live in the country there is no delivery. As I have lived here for over 20 years I have no got used to having no newspaper at all. More soon.

L.P.G

These last couple of days have been so very hot and humid, certainly not the sort of weather to think of heating.
 however my contract ran out with my current supplier about a fortnight ago. A while earlier I went online and wonder of wonders I had a telephone call from the Company and they told me that they had found a Supplier who would give me a fixed price for 1 year. If this was suitable they would forward my name and the  Supplier would contact me.
 This they did and I had to fill in several forms authorising a transfer of tank and business.
 I had a telephone call from them informing me that I was still under contract. I immediately informed them that my current contract runs out within a week.
 Anyway things proceeded and I had a visit from the Suppliers men to inspect my tank and fittings. They were a couple of nice guys and the senior one told me that the site of the tank did not conform with regulations. I told him that this was where I was told to site it from the original Supplier. He suggested that it should be O.K.
 Yesterday I had a telephone call from the new Supplier informing me that the Bulk Tank  site did not conform with current regulations but they were prepared to move the tank at their expense co conform.
 Later in the day I had another call stating that the Representative would call and discuss the options available to me.
 I wait with much interest to see what he will suggest. He will call next Thursday afternoon.
  Getting plenty of runner beans at the moment, which is good as I am eating them 3 times a day. More soon.

Wonder of wonders

 

 

This morning I had to go to my local Surgery and killed two birds with one stone. I took my repeat prescription in and put it in the box also I went to the receptionist and asked for a sample bottle. I have to take a sample of urine when I go to have my annual check for diabetes.. This was at about 9.10am.

I was sitting watching T.V this afternoon around 3.00pm. when the doorbell rang. I couldn't believe it, my prescription was here for me. I certainly have never had it delivered to me the same day ever since I have been receiving medication.

The photos are first of a bunch of grapes, they are a little larger this year and also ready a little earlier. very sweet too. I did remove lots of bunches though. 

 The other photos are of some of my eating apples The first are of James Grieve they are a dual purpose apple, either you can eat them or use them for cooking as they will tend to go gradually to mash. The other ones are of Laxton Superb. They look good and I have taken a photo of the base as I have them covered up because of the blackbirds. They love pecking apples and of course ruining them. As Laxton is the first year I have had fruit I am trying to look after them with a lot of care and attention. Let's us hope it is worthwhile.    More soon.                    

 

 

Surprised.

Today the workmen were once again working on next doors extension after the last 2 days of poor weather.
 I managed to catch the Postman the first time in a while, mind you he has been on holiday all last week.
 I wanted to give him a few grapes. They are a little larger this year but the skins are still tough.
 I took him some grapes out and saw a guy waiting to talk to me. I recognised him as a man who has done work for me over several years. He was working next door, replacing the block paving which had to be removed for the extension.
Talking away he told me that he now had a swimming pool in his garden. I immediately suggested that his water bill would be enormous. What he told me next made me wonder just how much some people get each week.
 He told me that it was not as much as you would think it would cost. I then asked him how much? His reply was "Only about £60 a week". I then told him that was over 50% of my weekly State Pension. All he told me was that it was different when one got old and retired.
 I just wonder if he will be able to rein in on his spending habits when he eventually retires. I guess he is in his early 50s.
Thank goodness I have always managed on a small budget money wise so I o not find it too hard to make ends meet. I pity some of the younger element when it is their turn to retire and live on a State pension. More soon.

Heavy showers

 

 

Over the last couple of days the morning was sunny but from lunch time it grew increasingly cloudy and we have had heavy rain. Yesterday it was so heavy that I had no signal to my satellite. Today was almost a copybook, the only difference was that the rain lasted much longer in fact it is raining again. What it has done though is make sure that my runner beans are still forming and producing plenty of beans. I decided to take a photo of some of the larger beans, I also put a couple of rulers one metric and the other in inches. That is what I always work on.  I guess that is because I was bought up with the old system not metric.

the other pictures are of cabbage white butterflies on some of my lavender, this was taken this morning when it was sunny. It is a long time since I have seen so many cabbage white butterflies. they are a real pest laying their eggs on my

winter greens and broccoli for the next spring. I keep checking them for eggs.

The other photo is of plum tomatoes and Shirley F1. Someone told me that they were the best tomato for the domestic grower, they are though expensive to buy as seeds and there are only about 6 or so seeds in each packet but worth it.  I used to grow Gardeners Delight a golf ball sizes tomato, in fact this year I grew some but to be honest, it is the seeds that get under my plate that cause me trouble so almost certainly will no longer grow them again. The plum tomatoes have far less seeds in them and are very nice. It was my Italian friend that suggested them to me. He grows them so that he can make his Pasta Sauce. He has a machine that throws out the skins and seeds just leaving the pulp. He then saves them in bottles and uses them during the winter. I use them as a cooked tomato. I cook them in a microwave and have them with generally cooked ham. The seeds cause me no trouble at all. Also Shirley have less seeds than Gardeners Delight so I have no trouble eating them. They also they have very little core in them.

More soon.