Today’s Brain of Britain contestants find quiz harder, says host. I consistently win the work team quizzes and I find Brain of Britain hard, but if they remove it from the schedule I will be devastated, I’m still not over Radio 2 axing the Russell Davies music hour on Sunday nights
This post is a bit belated because I’ve been busy, life is still feeling over full. I’ve been ‘out, out’ every weekend so far in July and I think it’s broken my little introvert brain!
Last week was surprisingly busy, it was hot at the beginning of the week, I’m not built for hot weather but 35C in my living room is too much, when I wasn’t watering the plot, I was working whilst wrapped in wet towels! I know that people in countries where it regularly hits 40C were wondering what the fuss is about but that kind of temperature in England is different, we’re not used to it and so our built environment and infrastructure is designed to cope with temperatures that are below 35C (and when most of it was built 35C was considered to be extreme weather). It’s different.
Back into the office once the weather had cooled and the tube was working, to say goodbye to old boss formally and while I am pretty resilient, I’m really going to miss working with him, so it was a bit sad and I felt a bit flat. I’ve learned to cope with change but I don’t really enjoy it. Even when it’s good change or I’ve instigated the change, it takes me a while to bed in. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) I didn’t really have time to be sad or flats as Thursday and Friday were full of shenanigans, On Thursday, Transport for London, sent an email shutting down the Central Line from 5:30 pm, I and several of my colleagues, rushed home, only to find when I’d got home that they changed their mind! On Thursday evening, I discovered that I wasn’t having my haircut on 29thJuly but the 22nd. Cue my having to re-arrange leave and so on.
So I had Friday off to have my haircut and do some chores. The weekend was allotment and then dinner at Christelle and Mike’s, which was lovely!
And so to this week, which apart from work, which is still crazy to a quieter week. Which I need, I’m very tired and need to get back to a proper routine for work days and generally re-group. I have a list of things I need to sort out at home, and I really want to get on that so my focus is on doing the things I have to do (that mostly involve cleaning and prep) and then having early nights, more doing, less woolgathering.
Demand for debt services by Lloyds customers jumps 30%. So people who can are consolidating debt and re-organising finances, which is sensible. Most of the people who can are doing this, I have. If everyone at this level is feeling it, then further down it’s going to be really biting.
I feel like all I do at the plot is water. Although we did get some rain yesterday night so I probably won’t water this evening!
Other than the constant watering, we harvested our first beans and the summer squash and cucumbers aren’t far behind. We also have our first teeny, tiny melon!
We’ve also got to planting out kale, cauliflowers, brussels sprouts and some basil that had been languishing in the polytunnel. Next week, we need to plant out the broccoli, extra basil and leeks and then finally, that’s every food bed filled!
I also planted up some of the stray verbena and another self sown rosemary and they are in the polytunnel with the other self sown rosemary and the lavender, the camomile and the plants that Deborah gave me a couple of weeks ago.
This weekend we’re going to buy some shelves for the polytunnel because I’ve got too many plants and plans to grow more! Not big plans but as I have somewhere to put plants that isn’t my house, I’m going to sow some things to replace things that come to an end, I’m thinking of it as autumn prep, although as yet, I’m not sure what to grow, probably pak choi, chard, turnips, radishes and winter salads (the usual winter selection!). I also want to have a go at sowing some flowers, like foxgloves and hollyhocks we’ll see if I actually manage that!
We’re pretty much at the end of the rhubarb season. This year we had six crowns, which is a lot but four of them need some time so were only lightly harvested, having said that, I didn’t do a lot of preserving this year because we are still going through last year’s jars of compote.
So we gave some away, we ate some fresh, I make rhubarb cake and new for this year rhubarb cordial. I made three batches of this for the allotment open day bar and it went down very well.
It’s very simple and although I haven’t done it, I think you could make it and can it like compote (water bath canning for 20 minutes) and it would keep, it’s something I’m going try next year when the rhubarb overwhelm is high.
I mostly drink it diluted with water (fizzy for preference) and lots of ice, although it also works with tonic and a crémant or prosecco (which is how we sold it at the open day!)
I used this recipe but added the ginger, orange and lemon as I fancied, each version was still lovely!
It’s been a while since I posted an Allotment Adventures post (I’ve heard all about from the weeder in chief!) and it’s not because we haven’t been there, it’s just because I haven’t had the wherewithal to write a post. So let’s catch up.
I had godchild with me on Friday 1st July, Ma and I did most of the work, while they ate berries, the harvest was still great given how behind I was with the summer planting, so I am not complaining. We had the Open Day on 3 July and I won a silver for the state of the plot, as did my plot neighbour, Tana, maybe they were blinded by all the verbena flowers on our plots, it’s possible. 842 people visited and the comments about the site were lovely, I did the whole four hours behind the bar and I poured a lot of Pimm’s.
At the end of last week, it started to get really hot again (still is) and my visits to the plot to open the polytunnel and water have increased.
Early prolific straightneck being early (for my summer squash) and prolific
On Saturday, we had so much to do and it was so hot, Ma and I really surprised ourselves by how much we managed, especially as during a heatwave, I concentrate on harvest and watering, frankly the weeds can grow, I’ll deal with them when it’s less hot. Ma started by collecting her gooseberries and my plan was to attend to my tomato babies (those plants are wayward and headstrong!) I got to the polytunnel tomatoes, at which point Ma fell into the gooseberry bushes. It was decided that she’d collect the blueberries and I’d get scratched by the gooseberry bushes! After I’d picked them I went back to my tomatoes and Ma started cutting up the chard that had gone to seed.
Then it was time for the epic watering, we watered the entire plot, collected beetroot and potatoes as well and then started to think about the brassicas that had arrived that morning. We got 20 cabbages in the ground and the rest are in the polytunnel trying to avoid melting or being eaten by slugs, until next Saturday when we plant them out.
Cabbages are planted and netted
At the moment, I’m just trying to keep everything going through the heatwave.
A little while ago I was chatting to a friend who said that she wished “life would stop happening all at once”. That has been me in the last couple of weeks. It’s been a lot.
So let’s start with the bad, my Aunt Jude died. It was a shock and while there is a lot I could say, I’m aware that while I cared about her, I’ve lost an aunt, not a parent and I’m very sad for my uncle and my cousins.
The good, allotment open day, I manned the bar and won a silver medal for the plot, time with youngest godchild and dinner at Sue’s for her birthday, also a cherry tree for the plot and just general engagement with the world, I do like people but I’m still an introvert, people are exhausting..
The intermediate, some changes at work – good changes I ‘lose’ a boss (although the company doesn’t) and gain another one, who I also like a lot but there is a lot to do to make it all work and diary jenga doesn’t even begin to cover it.
It’s not all terrible but it is busy and as ever, it all comes at once and this week is supposed to have several days that are 30C or hotter. I’ve also yet, again, been bitten and am dealing with my bodies outsize reaction to them, so chewing on anti-histamines like it’s my job.
Which means this week, my key things are work and watering. I’m in the office for three and half days this week because I need to work on the big monitors. I’m going in Wednesday morning to be in the right place to catch a train to Ben and Laura’s because I’m going to work from theirs for the afternoon and have the boys in the evening, which should be fun. Then back to the office on Thursday, because it’s easier to get to the office from their house than it is to get home! I’m also on the hook to do a presentation to the team about our reports on Tuesday. I’m going to be pretty busy!
The allotment was deeply watered over the weekend and I have a plan to water tomorrow and Thursday night, which should stop it from getting too crispy while I’m away.
This week, I’ve been solo on the plot and we’re at the stage of the year when I’m all about watering, collecting fruit and tending to my tomatoes.
All the berries
At the weekends, especially when I’m on my own, I start with watering the front. So the rhubarb, gooseberries, summer squash, cucumbers, beetroot, carrots, mint pots and beans. Then I pick the berries, then I water and feed the berries. Half a kilo of blackcurrants, 750g of blueberries and some alpine strawberries, raspberries and boysenberries. Took a while to pick.
That done, I watered the rest and then it was tomato time. This time of year they tend to need attention every two weeks, so I did that, stripping the leaves, taking the shoulders out, tying them up. That also took a while because there are a lot of them (four beds outside, eight in the polytunnel. They are all in flower too, even the littlest ones in the hospital bed and the ones in the polytunnel that I was convinced would die. So they got a feed and I got to get excited by the first teeny tiny tomatoes.
Hello, little tomato
That done, I harvested a pot of potatoes and watered the potatoes and winter squash. There isn’t a huge amount of produce coming in right now, because I’m behind due to a colder spring and my inability to organise and sow earlier. Maybe with the poly, I’ll sow summer squash earlier next year. Overall, I’m not mad about this, it’s nice not to have too much washing and processing of veg – in a month or so’s time, I’ll be busy enough!
Winter squash and beans
What’s on my mind at the moment is the weeds, it’s summer, the paths are full of weeds. I’ve been looking at grass alternatives for the side of the raised beds next to the dividing path because the woodchip isn’t working, maybe thyme or irish moss, it’s something to think about.
I have Friday off and a big chunk of that day is going to be spent weeding. I also need to pull up the peas, mulch the rest of the back bed, strim the grass on the path dividing my plot from Dennis’, planting out the basil and sowing fennel.
It really is a case of some of that should get done but I’m really not sure how much!
On Sunday, it’s the Open Day, so if you’re in Ealing, come and admire our site.
Last week was weird, I was only in the office for the day because of the rail strike, relatively busy at work and in that period of time when I’m really on top of home things…even the ironing. Welcome to mid summer, that period of the year when I am on fire with productivity.
I was out Friday night, it was a leaving do, I had to go into the office on Friday with the most obnoxious gift bag ever!
I spent most of Saturday on buses trying to get to my mum’s house. Ma had just tested negative for Covid after a week (and you need two before you can go about in the world again) and she’d run out of food. Some days the buses work and it’s fine, other times and Saturday was one of them, they are just a nightmare, I spent roughly 6 hours on a bus or waiting for a bus on Saturday.
On Sunday I had a slow morning and was at the plot at 12-ish with the idea that I’d do a couple of hours and go home, six hours later, I went home.
I’m actually heading for a couple of overly social weeks, I’m taking some leave on Friday so I can work on the plot before being out on Saturday and manning the drinks stall at the Allotment Open Day on Sunday. The following weekend, Sue is having a belated birthday party. Then I think I’m probably refusing to do any socialising until August!
And that’s pretty much it for what I’m up to. Have a good week.
It’s been a week. I’m ok, still surrounded by the infected, still not infected. Completely fed up with the way the rail strikes are being reported and (at time of writing) hopeful that the Wakefield and Honiton and Tiverton by-election results will give Johnson a bloody nose. I live in hope…
Here are this week’s links..
Look around, the Great Conservative Experiment has failed in the UK. But don’t you dare point out that life is objectively worse for most of the population because apparently that’s wishing us back to the ’70’s and that was really bad. (One of my early memories is the 1979 election – I was 6, so I can’t say I remember the 70’s but I grew up in the 80’s and it was pretty grim..)
A third of UK ‘buy now, pay later’ users say they can’t handle payments. This feels like it’s going to be the new payday loans scandal. The FCA are going to step in and make it difficult for people who can use this responsibly, while not actually helping the people who are in real trouble.
Nic Dempsey 