Our next door neighbours, Peter and Dee, celebrate their golden wedding on Hallowe'en. Their children live in distant places so their celebrations took place during the long summer holidays. Today was the turn of friends, neighbours and nearby family. We were treated to a luncheon party at the Moat House, Acton Trussell, and sat down to a three course meal in a half timbered dining hall - very posh - we were spoilt! Thank you Peter and Dee.
Next weekend, they are travelling back to their honeymoon hotel in the Lake District, which is now rather expensive, but because the occasion is so special, the hotel are giving them favourable rates. I think the local press should get in on the act.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A fine day in Autumn
Being at home means I can take advantage of good weather days and Tuesday this week was such a day. I had arranged with Pearl, a colleague from many years ago, to meet on Cannock Chase and walk.
We met on the Commonwealth war cemetery car park situated in the middle of the Chase and started walking. We kept to paths and headed for the stepping stones a few miles ahead. Being so close to centres of population means that the Chase has thousands of visitors and can be crowded, but being a working day and well into Autumn we saw very few other people.
The signs of Autumn were all around and on this bright sunny day the colours were distinct. The Chase, an area of heathland, has gentle hills as well as moor like areas. We passed this lightly wooded hillside - tree growth is kept in check by rabbits and deers - Forestry Commision Rangers making sure that a balance is maintained.
Water collects in the valleys, small streams feeding shallow pools. We walked across the stepping stones through such a pool and started the return route. Although the temperature was supposed to be cool it felt gloriously warm - the walking helped to increase how warm we felt!
The fern on the hillsides prove that Autumn is well and truly here. In some parts of the Chase there is so much heather that the ground looks purple. The trees on the Chase are mainly deciduous, but there are great tracts of conifers planted by the Forestry Commission. We stayed away from those areas during this walk - they give the Chase quite a different feel.
The Chase is a very popular recreational area as well as the home to an array of wildlife. We didn't see any of the deer, although thare are several hundreds of them. They have the sense to keep out of sight during the day, but can be seen at the watery places in the evening. There was birdsong. There was also evidence that the Chase is a popular place for horse riding. I saw the evidence and thought of your blog B.
We had walked and talked for three hours by the time we got back to our cars, so we drove to a cafe, situated at another popular part of the Chase. We feasted on tea and scones to help revive our flagging energy levels. It was a very enjoyable day.
We met on the Commonwealth war cemetery car park situated in the middle of the Chase and started walking. We kept to paths and headed for the stepping stones a few miles ahead. Being so close to centres of population means that the Chase has thousands of visitors and can be crowded, but being a working day and well into Autumn we saw very few other people.
The signs of Autumn were all around and on this bright sunny day the colours were distinct. The Chase, an area of heathland, has gentle hills as well as moor like areas. We passed this lightly wooded hillside - tree growth is kept in check by rabbits and deers - Forestry Commision Rangers making sure that a balance is maintained.
Water collects in the valleys, small streams feeding shallow pools. We walked across the stepping stones through such a pool and started the return route. Although the temperature was supposed to be cool it felt gloriously warm - the walking helped to increase how warm we felt!
The fern on the hillsides prove that Autumn is well and truly here. In some parts of the Chase there is so much heather that the ground looks purple. The trees on the Chase are mainly deciduous, but there are great tracts of conifers planted by the Forestry Commission. We stayed away from those areas during this walk - they give the Chase quite a different feel.
The Chase is a very popular recreational area as well as the home to an array of wildlife. We didn't see any of the deer, although thare are several hundreds of them. They have the sense to keep out of sight during the day, but can be seen at the watery places in the evening. There was birdsong. There was also evidence that the Chase is a popular place for horse riding. I saw the evidence and thought of your blog B.
We had walked and talked for three hours by the time we got back to our cars, so we drove to a cafe, situated at another popular part of the Chase. We feasted on tea and scones to help revive our flagging energy levels. It was a very enjoyable day.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Goodbye to a colleague
Yesterday was the funeral of Pat Hemingsley, a colleague. Pat had battled with cancer for the past twenty-six years. In between treatments she lived life to the full and no-one would guess that she had been ill.
She had no relatives and so it was left to her friends to show their sorrow and appreciation on this day. The service was packed with former colleagues and friends, some had travelled thousands of miles to be there, many of the mourners had to stand around the edges of the room. There were tears but also admiration for this lovely lady.
She had no relatives and so it was left to her friends to show their sorrow and appreciation on this day. The service was packed with former colleagues and friends, some had travelled thousands of miles to be there, many of the mourners had to stand around the edges of the room. There were tears but also admiration for this lovely lady.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Tale of a Lawn
By definition a lawn is 'a piece of grass kept mown and smooth'. This isn't exactly the description that could apply to the grassy patches that are at the front and back of our home, and while I do not hanker after Wimbledon quality turf I would like there to be fewer weeds and much less moss. So now I am at home I have relieved Frank of the task of cutting the lawns and have taken their care upon myself.
A couple of birthdays ago, for a present I had a lawn spreader and two bags of lawn 'feed, weed and mosskill' granules. The opportunity to improve the quality of the grass was now at hand.
Having read the instructions carefully I made sure that when the granules were put into the spreader it was not standing on the grass. The spreader was standing on the patio and I decided it would be easier to fill with the granules if it was moved slightly. When it was moved there was a line of granules that had fallen through the holes at the base of the hopper. I checked that I had the spreader switched to the off position - just so. This should have rung alarm bells, but it didn't!
Having filled the spreader with the correct amount of granules I started to apply them, walking at the speed of one metre per second, as well as I could judge. I was careful to leave no gaps as I walked along , one spreader width at a time across the grass. The granules seemed to drop out at an uneven rate, but I thought that perhaps I was expecting too high a standard.
Half way through the job it decided to rain - not heavily - so I decided it best to finish what I had started. I moved to the edge of the grass nearest the patio and was about half way across when the bottom dropped out of the spreader, depositing the remaining granules in a heap and there seemed to be a lot of them - even though I had completed more than half of the area. Not to be deterred I turned the spreader upside down, refitted the spreader plate to the bottom of the hopper, and refilled it with the granules that were in a heap in one spot. They were not very co-operative clinging in their soggy state to the grass and it was obvious that this patch of lawn would definitely have no weeds or moss - or even grass - as the chemicals took effect.
Striding on, I had not got much further when the bottom dropped out of the spreader again - this time when I tried to fix it, the repair did not seem secure so I gave up using the spreader and gathering up the granules, now very soggy, I scattered them from a plastic trowel. I packed away the grass improvement pack and went inside the house.
The manufacturer had to be contacted and the inadequacies of the spreader communicated. I tried to find the company on line and decided to telephone about my experience. Having gone through a sequence of numbers to get through to the correct department I was directed to leave a message after the tone as all the helplines were busy, the assurance given that they would get back to me as soon as a helpline was available. After half an hour and no reply I decided to send an email. It was a long and detailed complaint and no sooner was the email sent than the phone rang. The telephone person was attentive and agreed that the spreader was faulty so he would post me some vouchers to buy a new spreader and some vouchers for grass seed to repair the dead patches that would undoubtedly result from the overdoses of lawn granules.
Within hours of applying the granules the lawn looks as though it has been a site of chemical warefare - it was much prettier when it was full of weeds and moss.
The job is not over. In about a fortnight's time the lawn will need to be raked to remove the dead moss. I shall continue to be busy in my quest to have a grassy lawn.
P.S. These are the last roses of summer - at least in my garden. And you might just spot fallen apples that keep the blackbirds fed and happy.
A couple of birthdays ago, for a present I had a lawn spreader and two bags of lawn 'feed, weed and mosskill' granules. The opportunity to improve the quality of the grass was now at hand.
Having read the instructions carefully I made sure that when the granules were put into the spreader it was not standing on the grass. The spreader was standing on the patio and I decided it would be easier to fill with the granules if it was moved slightly. When it was moved there was a line of granules that had fallen through the holes at the base of the hopper. I checked that I had the spreader switched to the off position - just so. This should have rung alarm bells, but it didn't!
Having filled the spreader with the correct amount of granules I started to apply them, walking at the speed of one metre per second, as well as I could judge. I was careful to leave no gaps as I walked along , one spreader width at a time across the grass. The granules seemed to drop out at an uneven rate, but I thought that perhaps I was expecting too high a standard.
Half way through the job it decided to rain - not heavily - so I decided it best to finish what I had started. I moved to the edge of the grass nearest the patio and was about half way across when the bottom dropped out of the spreader, depositing the remaining granules in a heap and there seemed to be a lot of them - even though I had completed more than half of the area. Not to be deterred I turned the spreader upside down, refitted the spreader plate to the bottom of the hopper, and refilled it with the granules that were in a heap in one spot. They were not very co-operative clinging in their soggy state to the grass and it was obvious that this patch of lawn would definitely have no weeds or moss - or even grass - as the chemicals took effect.
Striding on, I had not got much further when the bottom dropped out of the spreader again - this time when I tried to fix it, the repair did not seem secure so I gave up using the spreader and gathering up the granules, now very soggy, I scattered them from a plastic trowel. I packed away the grass improvement pack and went inside the house.
The manufacturer had to be contacted and the inadequacies of the spreader communicated. I tried to find the company on line and decided to telephone about my experience. Having gone through a sequence of numbers to get through to the correct department I was directed to leave a message after the tone as all the helplines were busy, the assurance given that they would get back to me as soon as a helpline was available. After half an hour and no reply I decided to send an email. It was a long and detailed complaint and no sooner was the email sent than the phone rang. The telephone person was attentive and agreed that the spreader was faulty so he would post me some vouchers to buy a new spreader and some vouchers for grass seed to repair the dead patches that would undoubtedly result from the overdoses of lawn granules.
Within hours of applying the granules the lawn looks as though it has been a site of chemical warefare - it was much prettier when it was full of weeds and moss.
The job is not over. In about a fortnight's time the lawn will need to be raked to remove the dead moss. I shall continue to be busy in my quest to have a grassy lawn.
P.S. These are the last roses of summer - at least in my garden. And you might just spot fallen apples that keep the blackbirds fed and happy.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A good time was 'ad by all - erratum
Today I put in a link for the very first time - posted the blog - then checked the link and it doesnn't work because I made a spelling mistake in the web address. Oops!!
Try this instead to find out about Soweto Gospel Choir.
This one definitely works -you learn by your mistakes - hopefully.
Try this instead to find out about Soweto Gospel Choir.
This one definitely works -you learn by your mistakes - hopefully.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A good time was 'ad by all
It's been a very busy week. In an effort to avoid mental deterioration I am indulging in some academic work.
I've attended the first session of an evening class at Walton High School. The course is called Science and Society - Looking at Contemporary Issues. It covers issues such as stem cell research, evolution, climate change etc. The same course is taken by the sixth formers and course tutor is Mr Hancock. He taught Physics to Andrew when he attended WHS.
The next day I went out with a group of my former colleagues. We went to the Symphony Hall in Birmingham to listen to Soweto Gospel choir. They enthralled the audience with their wonderful singing and their vibrant costumes. If you get the opportunity to go to one of their concerts it's worth the effort and expense ( personal opinion of course!)
At the weekend I went to an induction day for Open University students. This year I'll be tackling the beginner's course for Science. We were given lots of advice about distance learning and I managed to meet up with some of the people who have already completed this course and are ready to start on the first level Science course. OU students have left school some time ago and are now choosing to study for a degree in their spare time, so I wasn't surrounded by very youthful undergraduates. There will be more news about the joys of being an OU student as I get further into the course. I wasn't surprised to see that the arts and languages group and the management group had a lot more students attending their induction days. I think one complaint of the UK government is that not enough people want to study the Sciences.
I've attended the first session of an evening class at Walton High School. The course is called Science and Society - Looking at Contemporary Issues. It covers issues such as stem cell research, evolution, climate change etc. The same course is taken by the sixth formers and course tutor is Mr Hancock. He taught Physics to Andrew when he attended WHS.
The next day I went out with a group of my former colleagues. We went to the Symphony Hall in Birmingham to listen to Soweto Gospel choir. They enthralled the audience with their wonderful singing and their vibrant costumes. If you get the opportunity to go to one of their concerts it's worth the effort and expense ( personal opinion of course!)
At the weekend I went to an induction day for Open University students. This year I'll be tackling the beginner's course for Science. We were given lots of advice about distance learning and I managed to meet up with some of the people who have already completed this course and are ready to start on the first level Science course. OU students have left school some time ago and are now choosing to study for a degree in their spare time, so I wasn't surrounded by very youthful undergraduates. There will be more news about the joys of being an OU student as I get further into the course. I wasn't surprised to see that the arts and languages group and the management group had a lot more students attending their induction days. I think one complaint of the UK government is that not enough people want to study the Sciences.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Technology
I have decided since I am now at home all day and Frank works full time that I could take on the job of keeeping the grass cut. I don't like the electric mowers we have so Frank found out our very first mower - a Qualcast Panther Cylinder mower - and we've worked out that it is 35 years old. It's been buried in the depths of the garage and not used for many a year. After knocking off the cobwebs, to Frank's surprise and delight he found that it cuts better than the newer, and much more expensive electric mowers. He demonstrated how one uses a push mower and then I had a go at cutting the grass. His efforts looked a lot better than mine but he put that down to experience.
I think that my cutting skills will improve with practice. In the meantime I went inside and cooked the tea while Frank finished cutting the front 'lawn' and started on the back 'lawn'.
At sunset he couldn't see well enough to complete the job but the grass will wait for him till another day. This is the skyscape from the end of the road!
P.S. Leaf mould is very good for improving the texture of soil and this bag of leaf mould was spread at the base of one of the apple trees. It takes one to two years for leaves to break down into this rich looking mixture. This amount started as one bin bag full of autumn leaves and by the time it is ready to use it has reduced to about half a bucket. In another few decades I will have made enough leaf mould to put one layer over the borders, then I can start again.
I think that my cutting skills will improve with practice. In the meantime I went inside and cooked the tea while Frank finished cutting the front 'lawn' and started on the back 'lawn'.
At sunset he couldn't see well enough to complete the job but the grass will wait for him till another day. This is the skyscape from the end of the road!
P.S. Leaf mould is very good for improving the texture of soil and this bag of leaf mould was spread at the base of one of the apple trees. It takes one to two years for leaves to break down into this rich looking mixture. This amount started as one bin bag full of autumn leaves and by the time it is ready to use it has reduced to about half a bucket. In another few decades I will have made enough leaf mould to put one layer over the borders, then I can start again.
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