Travelling.

Yesterday I went to Grantham, in general to see my Sisters as my eldest Sister has a Birthday on Sunday. On the way I listened to the radio and just before 8.00am. the weather forecast was on. The weatherman stated that apart from the occasional light rian or drizzle it would be predominately dry. No soon er had he said that when the heavens open up and very heavy rain lasted about 20 minutes and on the Sleaford By Pass the traffic was as slow as I have seen it but it did stop raining as I approached Grantham.
 I called at Morrison's and managed to get a couple of small Herrings. When I was young it was one of the cheapest fish available and plentiful too.
 I went to Boots as I had a £20 voucher to spend courtesy of AA. for my roadside assistance. I thought that boots was expensive but it must be remembered I don't call at Chemists very often.
 Then it was off to fill up with fuel 31.5 litres of petrol which isn't bad as it would be before Christmas last year when I last filled up and the price was good £112.7 a litre just the same as the Shop and filling Station at the Village between here and Alford which is a great surprise. I wonder how long they will keep the prices so keen.
 Off I went to my youngest Sister's place. She greeted me with the news that her Husband would not be here to see me and my Eldest Sister was finding it hard to walk as she has hip problems so would not be calling to see me. She then told me that she was taking her to Lincoln Hospital in the afternoon for an update on her Bowel cancer, she then told me she was going into Hospital next week but hoped to be out of Hospital at the week end. Naturally I told he I would ring to see how things were next Sunday.
I guess that is one of the joys of getting older. My other Sister who lives in Scotland has memory problems to be honest I think she has dementia. It seems to run in the family as my Aunt had Dementia. I guess there is not a lot to look forward to then. To be honest I live in a dream world doing what I want to do.
 Today with the weather being warm I first decided to get the fruit cage covered which I did taking about 40 minutes which I was pleased with. This afternoon I did  a little more digging of the raised bed where the runner beans will go, also did a little where the peas will be sown. I also notice that if all goes well I will have a few more plums this year but I'm not holding my breath. More soon.

No lapse in memory

On Friday morning soon after I rose I checked to see if I had in fact omitted to tick all the boxes in my repeat medication. I have 3 pages so naturally I thought perhaps I had missed a page but according to the next repeat prescription I had in fact ordered the medications. So off I went soon after 9.00am. to the Chemist who delivers my prescription.
 Entering the Chemists shop I was met by a pleasant lass who asked if she could help. I, naturally told her I hoped she could and explained that I had a delivery the day before but 3 items were missing. I showed her the next repeat prescription. Off she went and i could see her wandering from place to place but after about 3 minutes she came back with the news that the Medical Centre who issues the repeat prescriptions had sent the repeat medications in 2 separate sheets, she added that this does happen occasionally. Anyway I was relieved and she told me that if I wished to take a seat she would get the remaining items for me.
  Whilst I was waiting several customers came for prescriptions and each time they were asked to give the address on the medication. Eventually a lady who was not english came to me with my medication, I guessed she was the pharmacist, she asked me to confirm my address. I then pointed out to her that it was on the packages that she was giving me. She smiled and wished me to have a nice day. Incidentally I went with a spare bag because I knew that the packages would be  a rather bulky item  and was easier to carry in a bag.
 This morning I went to pay my credit card and get my pension. I could see the lass behind the counter counting out my money and could see some brand new £1 coins. As my eyesight is not perfect I asked her if the £1 coins were the new sort. She told me that they were indeed new but they had a date of 2015. I presume that the mint is using those just to say they were in circulation but what a waste. So no new coins in circulation here yet.
 Tomorrow I intend to go to Grantham to see my Sisters, my eldest Sister has her Birthday on April 2nd. she is just over 4 years older than me so she does very well. No doubt I will get to know the latest news when I get there. It will also give the car a decent run for since I get the car on September 2nd. I have only managed to do less than 700 miles and have not filled up with fuel since I went over to Grantham in December last year. I must admit that the fuel gauge will be less than 1/4 full when I get to the filling station in Grantham. More soon.

Memory lapse

Late this afternoon the delivery Man bought my repeat medication. As soon as I saw the small packet I asked him if that was all. He assured me it was so I guess I didn't tick the relevant boxes for my repeat medication. What disappoints me most is that I have omitted several items of medication, I wonder whether anyone notices such things. So tomorrow morning I will go to the surgery and ask for a prescription for those things that I omitted to tick the box.
 Yesterday I went for a haircut, as she doesn't open until 10.00am. I arrived soon after only to find there were 3 more before me. Eventually it came to my turn. She then told me that she was getting busy. I, naturally told her I was pleased that she was but she told me that on a Friday and saturday it was getting too busy for her so she was looking to employ someone to help her. She then let me know that one lady who was 31 was very interested but as she was only 25 she didn't know just how the older lady would react. I told her that she was employing her and that if the lady really wanted the job her young age would make no difference at all.
 No doubt I will get to know more when I next go to have my hair cut.
 Yesterday I ordered for Sainsbury's and it duly arrived, it was a young man who had delivered before so he bought the vehicle on the driveway. It didn't take long for us to get the goods off and I soon saw him off the property and closed the gates.
 Today fared better than yesterday weatherwise but the very strong Northeasterly wind meant it was cold but it was nice to see the sun. More soon.

Pleasant Surprise

Yesterday morning while it was raining I had a phone call, it was from my Best pal who had come down to get his Tourer Caravan in situ and ready for the coming season.
 Around 2.30pm. the usual time he arrived. To be honest he looked a lot better than he did last time I saw him in October last year. Naturally we had a good old talk and as always the time flew. He told me that he was only staying for a couple of days, mind you it didn't surprise me as in the late afternoon the rain relented and the sun began to put in an appearance but it turned very cold. In any caravan when it is cold outside it is cold in the van.
 All too soon the time came for him to get back to his Wife telling me he would be down before too long.
 I later covered the tomato plants I have in the greenhouse because it talked of a frost however I don't think we had a frost although when I looked at the thermometer it showed the outside temperature was 3.5c.
 I went down to the Surgery which is about 3 miles maximum to put in my repeat prescription. I did notice that the outside temperature had risen to 6c. This was a little before 9.00am.
 later in the morning I decided to plant my seed potatoes, the earlies only. I do have a few late varieties called Maris Piper, those especially selected by the Fish Shops for they make the best chips.
 As I now have an Air Fryer I set aside 6 potatoes for me to set some time in April or early May.
 My broccoli is coming on but this cold weather will set it back a little,I have had a taste the other day but this year it is slow to come to production. After that it will be about 2 months before I will be able to pick my own vegetables. More soon.

Hose pipe

With a lovely day yesterday I took these photos in the morning. If one enlarges the photos it is just possible to see the Czar plum tree is beginning to get ready.
 My mate called yesterday and bought 50 metres of hose pipe, he had a problem fitting the end of the hose to the tap, but as usual he will not be beaten and was eventually successful. As soon as he arrived I took him round next door to see if my fence was in a reasonable state. He confirmed that it was. The next port of call was the greenhouse where I had the pane of glass slip down to the ground. I asked him how he would have managed to get the pane back in it's place. It made me feel good for he told me he would have done just what I had done, the only thing different was that he would have tried to put some washing up liquid to make the pane move up easier. He then told me that how I had kept the window pane in place by putting screws in the wood and leaving them proud was an ideal situation. He suggested that I do the remaining windows so that they will not slip.
 Today I decided to try and finish off the power wash the paths but at first I had great difficulty in getting the water to flow but after about 5 minutes of coaxing the water eventually started to flow. After an hour which the time flew I stopped to get my dinner ready and immediately after my meal I was outside continuing the cleaning. It took a lot of messing about but eventually finished soon after 2.30.pm.
 When I got inside I noticed that the bottoms of my overalls and trousers were soaked. I checked my socks and shoes they also were wet through so apart from the shoes they will be dried and then in the washing machine ready to be washed hopefully on Sunday. Anyway the cleaning of my paths has now been completed. More soon.

Problem.

The weather according to London was nice over the week end but here we didn't see any sun at all. Although it was not wet it was very dull although not cold. Yesterday started out to be a lovely day but around 1.30pm. it suddenly turned cloudy and we didn't see the sunshine no more. Today has been mild and rather hazy but at least it hasn't rained. I went to go to the Post office and on my return I noticed several fields in a poor state, there were many areas of the fields still standing in water.

 yesterday afternoon I decided to check on my garden to see if the ground was drying up. I noticed that a glass panel on my greenhouse had slipped completely down to the ground. I had a good look and immediately noticed that the clips holding the glass panes were beginning to rot. They are made of some sort of plastic and have small sort of panel pins to hold the glass in place. Originally I was offered picture glass size panes but I asked for a strengthened glass, although it cost a lot more I felt happy that I had chosen a more solid pane of glass. Anyway I tried to move the glass but had no joy. I thought about the problem for a little and went indoors to first get my gardening gloves and a large screwdriver. I then tried to prize the end up from the ground, I didn't expect it to move but it did a little. I then looked for some pieces of wood, very thin at first and gradually looking for larger thicker pieces. I surprised myself at the success I had and although it took well over an hour to get the pane in place, I then got the wood to hold it in situ. I went and got my electric screwdriver and a few screws. I then put the screws in the wood leaving them proud enough so the the pane of glass rested on the screws. Tomorrow when my mate comes I will ask him if he can to get some more of those clips so that I can replace the old ones. Hopefully that will do the trick.

I gave him the news that I set a couple of cucumber seeds and put them in the airing cupboard. As my mate told me that they were a bit temperamental  I didn't check them for nearly a week. When I did, I was surprised for that were up and certainly ready to be taken out of the darkness as they were looking very pale. I also have dug him up some raspberries as I can no longer enjoy them because of my dentures. He had previously informed me that most of his had died. I did tell him the they do not like the lime soil that we have in this location. They prefer an acid soil but they will survive in the soil we have, I just told him to give them a taste of ericaceous liquid occasionally. To grow such as Blueberries it is suggested that on plants them in a pot with ericaceous compost, this way they will thrive for several years although not grow as good as in an acid soil. 

Finally the photos show that the polyanthus are beginning to flower. Also the seed potatoes I set on February 19th. and covered with twin wall polycarbonate sheeting some are just poking through so I will leave them covered up for some time yet. More soon.

Delivery

With the weather being sunny but windy as you can see my daffodils are showing signs of the windy conditions.
I ordered once again from Sainsbury and was given a time slot from Noon to 1.00pm. which was acceptable but I would have preferred an hour earlier. I had just come in from doing a little in the garden when the phone rang. It was the driver from Sainsbury@s and asked me if it was possible to drop my goods off within the next 20 minutes. I naturally told him that it was alright.
 He duly arrived and was happy I had accepted his earlier delivery. He told me that he had to go to Alford but it would be quicker to deliver to me then go on to Alford to make his delivery. I told him that it suited me, he told me not as much as it suited him. He then told me his Brother-in-Law was waiting for a vacancy to join Sainsbury's but was working at ASDA. He just said to me that sainsbury's was a better Company to work for. It didn't take him long to drop off my goods and then he was on his way.
 Early this morning I saw the lad from next door and told him that as it was a nice day we would plant his broad beans later. He finishes work early on a Monday and Thursday. I went to meet him off the bus at 2.45pm. and told him it would only take about 20 minutes maximum also I asked him if he would like come twine cut into pieces or on a roll. He told me he didn't mind. I also told him I had found a spray bottle and had put some Roundup for his weeds. He told me he would be round later. I waited for ages but he didn't come round.
Well over an hour passed by when I decided to see where he was, he was on his XBox playing a game. I told him in that I would not help him again and all I would give him was the 2 tomato plants and that would be all and next year I would do nothing for him.
 I had told him to get the broad beans planted with my help because he is going to respite next week so I doubt if they will stand at least another week in the small pots I gave him. MInd you he had not got the ground prepared for planting. He only has a piece something like 9 feet by 10 feet so it is tiny.
 To be honest he seems to have more interest in playing games and on Facebook than gardening so I presume he won't miss gardening too much. Still it save me time and money as I paid for everything I gave him. More soon.

Accountant

I don't think I have mentioned it before but my Accountant used to visit me every Boxing Day. He used to see me after going to see his friend who used to run a Business in Mablethorpe.
 This particular time he called, I guess it was in the 80s. Anyway it was about the second year that the Christmas Market was held at Lincoln. Of course it was nothing like it is now for it has grown to be a popular Market with traders coming from Europe.
 Now to the story. My Accountant came in and I made him the usual coffee, he then told me that I was in the wrong business. I told him that I knew that. He then went on to tell me about a guy who went to Lincoln Market selling the Father Christmas hats. They were all the rage, they were red bobbly hats with a white edge. He told me that this guy had decide to get a stall for a couple of nights and sell these wooly type hats and that he had done a roaring trade selling the hats at 50p each and took £5000. I immediately asked him how long he was there, on that my Accountant told me that he only went for about 3 hours for a couple of nights.
 I immediately told him "Never on your life". He then said that what he was told. I told him that it was impossible for a sole trader to sell that amount of gear in that time. I then told him that I would give him 10 hours over 2 days, not the 6 hours that he was told. I then told him that it meant he had to sell 1000 hats every hour and broke it down to to every minute which meant he had to sell a hat in less than 16 seconds and it was not possible to give out the change in that time let alone sell hats.
 After a couple of minutes working it out for himself he finally decided that the information he was given was incorrect.
  When he left I sat down and thought to myself, what sort of an Accountant would believe such figures. When my Best Pal called to see me I told him of the episode I had with my Accountant and suggested to him that I was the biggest fool for employing him. He told me that every Accountant he had met was only happy when confronted with figures, they, as he put it were in their element.
 We had discussed before the necessary evils. The three were Estate Agents, Accountants and Solicitors because they produced NOTHING but charged extortionate prices. Unfortunately when one was in Business one had to employ an Accountant. I don't know if that is so today for I retired from my Business well over 25 years ago.
 My daffodils are coming out nicely but unfortunately with the gale force winds they are not looking good. More soon.

More rain

Yesterday my Postman friend bought me some guttering mesh, it is fitted over the gutters to reduce the leaves and debris from collecting in the gutter. I had, beforehand cleaned and removed the old guards which had been there for a few years but it had served it's purpose, so yesterday afternoon I fitted the new mesh. I just did it in time for this morning when I looked out at my garden I once again noticed that there were plenty of standing water. I checked my water gauge and saw that last night we had another 1/2" of rain, more unfortunately is forecast and the next few days don't sound great.

I took these photos this morning once it brightened up, it shows the emerging daffodils just about to flower. I did tell the Postman not to try to do any digging yet. I tried to do a little digging on one of my raised beds but even using a garden fork, the earth was sticking to the fork.

This morning I decided to go round next door where the lad had stood on one of my bars on my fence, naturally it could not stand his weight, mainly because it was not new. To be honest it was not in great form and although it would have lasted a few more years it was beginning to rot. It didn't take long as the base board was soon removed. I did have a replacement piece of wood, not that this one was in great shape but it will last me for a while. I didn't take that long as it to me was cold.

I did check in my polytunnel and noticed my peas which I set on February 16th. I did let them soak for a day so it did make a lot of difference. I also checked my potatoes, covering them up with a little more compost. My broad beans are slowly growing, as the Postman told me that the odd piece of growth is beginning to show in the hedge rows, not that I have noticed any yet but to be honest I have not been looking . I have been looking at the fruit trees and I will admit that some are beginning to show signs of life but it is the beginning of March, known as March manyweathers. More soon.