M is for...

A trip on a UK motorway is not something to look forward out of choice but this journey on the M5 and M4 was nice and easy. 

Not too much traffic and not frantic.

Until the M25.

What a dreadful motorway. Whatever bonehead decided that a concrete surface was a good idea should be made to drive it 12 hours a day at different times in the morning, afternoon, evening and night, every day of the year for the rest of their working life.

There is an old saying - If you want to work get a job, if you don't want to work get a job with the council.

I would change that to If you don't want to work and you are completely useless in everything, get a job in a highways engineering.

Tidy times

 There is something very rewarding about tidying up. It is also an opportunity to get rid of those items that take up space but are not used/played with or will ever be missed.

The same goes for the garden, hedge trimming, pruning and generally cutting back. It is a never ending task of keeping everythng in check.

Flamin' June

 What a wet day, again. June is a real hit or miss month and never seems to live up to its reputation.

Still it is a good opportunity to do jobs around the house.

Wales

 One of the satisfying things in cooking is to make something with simple ingredients, then cook them and eat them all quite quickly.

Welsh cakes are very good to make - and eat. It is nice to vary the recipe too. Using different dried fruit and/or spices means that they are always a treat.

Washing blues

 I enjoy washing clothes and particularly like the challenge of removing stains of any sort. I have tried various liquids/powders temperatures and types of programmes.

Most stains will come out especially if they are still wet. 

But the worst stain of all is mould. Because it is a living stain it is very hard to get rid of but it can be done as long as the material is not too delicate.

Bouncing back

 One of the dispiriting things that I think that councils always do wrong is spending on the future. And for me that is children. Our local parks are barely adequate and really do need much more investment. It would be wonderful to see great play equipment and plenty for children to do rather than the money wasted on yet another idiotic scheme for cyclists.

Stone me

 I previously painted some stones and put the names of the trees/bushes/plants on. I used exterior primer/undercoat then gloss paint but unless they were very sheltered, they have not weathered very well at all.

So now I am trying with acrylic paint and covering with PVA. there is some PVA on the sandstones and it has not come off since it was spilt there quite a few years ago, so let's see.

It's a wind up

 One of the annoying things about living on the coast is the winds, often very strong. They do seem to be almost continual. Too strong to be of any use for drying washing but always irritating. Anything above 5mph is a nuisance.

Eating out

 Having a restricted diet means that eating out can be very difficult. But fortunately many restaurants/cafes/pubs are well aware and cater extremely successfully for us.

But it is also great to see that they are fully able to alter their menus with minimum fuss.

Topped off with generous proportions means that eating out locally is a pleasure not a chore.

Hands up

 I do think that there is something rather satisfying about volunteering. It makes one feel part of a community and puts something back as well.

Some volunteering is done because the local council is simply spending too much money on diversity officers and training as well as gold plated pensions.

Often the volunteering relates to an interest and may help support a local club by drastically reducing any cost.

However someone volunteers, I genuinely believe that not only does it help mental wellbeing but also physically. 

Feathered friends

 We have always fed the birds during winter when their food is scarce.

Loose seeds/suet etc. is not so good as it attracted wood pigeons, grey squirrels and probably other unwelcome vermin.

We tried a block of suet/seeds and grains in a special metal holder. That was okay but we think we have found the best and most popular idea - it is a half coconut packed with suet/fat/seeds/ etc.

Cheap to buy and it attracts the local blue tits, great tits and robins and because of its location on a bendy branch there is no chance for the larger birds to gobble it all, nor any possible rodents. I don't think that the grey squirrel has bothered either. So all in all a great success.

Viruses, what are they?

 A month of wet, damp weather doesn't help get rid of viruses/colds etc but encourages them surely.

I read about the amount of viruses there are in the oceans. So it is no surprise that the evaporation. clouds and precipitation may contribute to the continual bombardment of viruses.

Viruses like computer viruses are destructive and simply replicate. Again I have read that viruses are not alive but are a halfway between inorganic and organic and that they can never make that transition to a life form.

Suffice to say that we have the lurgy, it is not Covid but a bad, very bad cold type virus.

Oily Day

 What do people go on holidays for? Relaxation, cultural, discovery family etc?

Obviously different holidays satisfy different people but I have always thought that when abroad it is a big opportunity to go off the beaten track and see and sample the real way the local people live.

A great experience to be sitting in a remote small rural restaurant alongside local farmers on a dinnertime and eat superb simple locally cooked food. A choice of tow mains - meat, chipped potatoes and salad and bowls of olives or fish, chipped potatoes and salad and cowls of olives. Wonderful.

Christmas Day

Question - What is better than a Christmas dinner?

Answer - A Christmas dinner cooked for you. So a great opportunity to play games/toys etc and simply sit down and enjoy a wonderful meal with all the extras.

It was a lovely service at church which started the whole day.

What is the special part for you? Surely family is the main focus.

That time of the year

 One of the biggest joys of the whole Christmastime is to watch a school nativity play.

It is such a busy full term for those that had started school for the first time and after a breather of a half term holiday, the focus is on Christmas.

The excitement of the young children coupled with the seriousness they took their roles was a sheer joy.

Such unique unrepeatable times.

Tidying

 There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained from tidying up. Whether it is because you make an even worse mess which then gets neatly arranged or the surprise when you find a long lost item it is a job well done.

Meddling about

 A bumper crop of apples this year and a bumper crop of medlars.

Not many people seem to have heard about medlars and fewer have tasted them.

They cannot be eaten until they are bletted.

It is an unusual fruit and a different taste, if you get an opportunity to try one it is well worth it.

Step back in time

 The Clifton train station always seems to be a throwback to calmer times. The library nearby has very helpful staff, always much appreciated.

I don't mean to plug a particular company but the Everyman theatre is marvellous and to be able to watch a film in elegant comfort.

Apple bobbing

 I decided to prepare, cook then sieve the last bowls of apples this year. There were rather more than I gauged and by the end of the day I don't want to see another apple again for a while!

With the nights starting earlier and dark overcast days we decided to get the fire going again, particularly as it is not worth or necessary to put the central heating on. It still fascinates me to watch how wood glows and seems to light up from within.

Harvest

 As the days get gloomier and the weather get worse, what a delightful counter to that is to watch the children in their Harvest Festival. There were some lovely songs and it always amazes me how confident some of the children are.

A lovely traditionn and one that I hope will carry on.