Today I shall be Mainly...

[Sue]

Arrived a chez nous. The lawn has been cut three times as requested but everything else is either overgrown or dried out. First job is to prune the wisteria creeping along the ground so we can get our garden bench under the pergola in the shade! Well actually the first job was to tackle a new neighbour who, in our abscence , had cut a hole in our new fence that we only put up last summer. He says it was to retrieve his chickens from our garden, we told him to mend it immediately. It wasn’t a surprise, another neighbour had told us what they had done. These new neighbours are not liked in the hamlet...can you guess. MORE local politics. I sometimes wish we had bought in a village rather than in the country.....only sometimes

[StoneRoad]

Having had a few days in the TLC of Wales (visiting my father, now 99 1/4 yrs old) and attending the Hunslet 125 gala (Blanche & Linda are 125 yrs old so they had a party, inviting lots of other Hunslet locomotives, even a couple of diesels came). Great fun !

Now I'm back, with a pile of laundry and some "paperwork" to do.

However, the weather is splendid, so I've decided to spend a lot of time in the garden today (and hopefully most of this week)

[Stanley]

That's a bit of a bummer Sue.....
I shall be in the shed but not working hard, it was over 80F in there yesterday.

[Sue]

Very hot, gardened first thing whilst the veggie plot was on the shade, now off to see our English friends ( the builder and his wife who sews like me) .We have a bagful of Tesco goodies for them. I doubt I will get any more gardening done today. It was over32 degrees yesterday and the same today. At least yesterday I managed to prune the hedging plants and the wisteria which between them were taking over the paths, but couldn’t sweep up till about 8.00 pm.

Thunderstorms due at the end of the week so I want all my plants in by then, and hopefully the rest tidied up as we are only here for the week. It looks like our veggie crops will be good this year. It makes for a self sufficient summer. This year I have put runner beans up the posts of tbe pergola, I did it last May and yesterday we had quite a picking with our meal last night.

I wrote all of this at 8.00 this morning but somehow my message isn’t here. I must have forgotten to post it!

[PanBiker]

Delivered the last of the local Labour Party membership survey questionnaires this morning. A quick 2 mile circular around Coates Estate. Back for lunch then I have to run the car round the front and unload the 25kg bag of mortar from the boot ready for front boundary wall repair. Wont have time to do it today as I have an early tea tonight and have inherited the taxi job for one lot of comrades who along with myself and many others will be attending the meeting tonight at Nelson Town Hall which will decide on the revised planning application for building on the greenfield site opposite Greenberfield Locks. Second application with a reduced house count but if this goes through it will just lead to the rest being built later, common ploy by the developers as demonstrated with the development at Salterforth. We don't need the houses and certainly not there, directly opposite listed heritage assets and what is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful stretches of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. If we did need the houses we have brownfield sites where they could be built.

[StoneRoad]

It's 'OT, with a capital HO ...

Tidy up in the greenhouse (bit of bandage for the tomato plants)
Clip off some dead leaves etc off the roses - the out-of-season transplanted ones, which will need watering tonight.

Having had one lay-out in the sun, decided to sort out a set of steps and flagstones that have got very un-even in the last few years. I must be nuts doing this amount of work on one of the hottest days ... however, the worksite in in heavily dappled shade !
Got most of the steps done and about half the flags are done. Need some more sand to finish off and then lay some real turf.

The work on the allotment is proceeding - currently extending the greenhouse base.

May cut the grass tomorrow.

[Stanley]

Everyon's busy! I shall be quietly striving in the shed but not raising a sweat!

[Sue]

Another early start to beat the sun. Todays task is to tie in the tomatoes and plant the rest of my runner beans and may be beetroot. This afternoon will be an indoor sewing activity, finishing Brionys dress or Julias top. Too hot to think.

[Stanley]

It saps the energy doesn't it Sue..... I take it very easy....

[PanBiker]

Doing repairs to my front path boundary wall, damaged by kids and the posties climbing over it.

[Big Kev]

Doing repairs to my front path boundary wall, damaged by kids and the posties climbing over it.

Can you raise it up at all Ian?

[PanBiker]

Not really Kev. Its the retaining wall for the front path that runs in front of all the front gardens on our row, top of Ash Grove. The wall is about 5ft high at road level, supporting the path which is about 3ft deep with 2ft of wall above. Random stone construction with quite big block capping stones along the top. Its a portion in the top (above ground level) that is bellying out. There has been settlement along the whole row frontages over the 130 years or so that the terrace has been up and this is reflected in the front boundary wall. Strictly speaking to do the job right the whole length should be pulled down and rebuilt but that would need everyone in the row to be in agreement and would cost a bob or two without doubt. I last had our section knocked back into shape about 20 years ago. It's more a case of making it safe. I will knock all the loose ones out, excavate a bit of the infill from the back and then re bed them in new mortar on a better line and make good the pointing where required. It's a funny shape but won't fall down.

[Stanley]

Pity you can't get everyone on board, it would pay because it would raise the market value of the houses.....
I shall be in the shed enjoying sharp cutters on my horizontal mill.....

[Sue]

2 hours gardening in the morning and another hour after 8 in the evning got a fair bit of my planting done. I finished Brionys dress in the afternoon. We are both exhausted and have little to show for our effots. Bob has been hedge cutting and mowing the field. At least we know that they do not grow much after the end of June as it is too dry so its one job done for the summer.

Today we are going to the local market town and having lunch out. There will be a bit more sewing afterwards and later some more planting...nearly finished both. Its an intensive week to prepare for our summer stay but we could have done without all this heat.

[Stanley]

No respite in sight when you get back here Sue. No change in sight either..... Could be hotter and dryer than 1976......

[Wendyf]

Trying to persuade Colin that we should invest in a borehole.

[Sue]

No respite in sight when you get back here Sue. No change in sight either..... Could be hotter and dryer than 1976......

I remember 1976 only too well. I was pregnant and suffering from morning ( afternoon and evening ) sickness and had an 18 month old toddler

[Tizer]

Since moving into town Mrs Tiz has taken the opportunity to more easily be active in societies. Recently she learned to crochet and this is her first poppy for inclusion in a local WI event for the upcoming centenary of the 1918 Arimistice. There are going to be hundreds of poppies by the time the event starts!

[Sue]

Since moving into town Mrs Tiz has taken the opportunity to more easily be active in societies. Recently she learned to crochet and this is her first poppy for inclusion in a local WI event for the upcoming centenary of the 1918 Arimistice. There are going to be hundreds of poppies by the time the event starts!

Excellent. The U3A craft group did a wreath in crochet poppies on the anniversary of the sart of WW1. They look very good all together

[Stanley]

"Trying to persuade Colin that we should invest in a borehole." It would make the farm a lot more attractive to buyers Wendy and you'd recoup the cost.
Shopping day and a bit of light slide valve manufacture.

[Wendyf]

Trying to persuade Colin that we should invest in a borehole.

No sooner said than done. 2 phone enquiries in the morning resulted in 2 visits and quotes yesterday afternoon. It turns out that our neighbours at the farm are having one drilled next week so we will go with that company and they can do ours at the same time.

[Stanley]

Good, that makes so much sense Wendy. Good luck with the bore!

[Wendyf]

If I'm brave enough to come out from my hiding place behind the settee I will take photos!

[Stanley]

I caN REMEMBER IN THE 1960S MANY OUTLYING FARMS PUT BORES IN AND A FIRM FROM Harrogate were one of the leading contractors. [Bugger caps lock....)
It'll be interesting!

[Sue]

A little tidying of the flower borders this morning before the sun is too hot then that is as much as the garden is getting this visit. This afternoon Bob wants some electrical bits and pieces to wire up the lights in the new ensuite so it will be a trip to a cool DIY store. We are out at Paul and Joannes ( the builder and wife) for a meal this evening, so that is today sorted!

I finished Julias top yesterday and that just leaves cutting out the second one ie the last requested summer garment . I may even get it started over the next couple of days, although Sunday will be cleaning and packing ready for the ferry on Monday. Its been a quick week