Monday Miscellany: England won something!

Posted on August 1, 2022 by nicdempsey

Happy Monday!

If you’re English, into football and not sexist, you’re probably feeling quite chuffed about last night’s result. I am, it’s great to see the woman’s team get the kudos they deserve and the football league started this weekend too, with the Premiership starting next weekend – happy birthday to me!

Aside from football related news, last week was a difficult week for me because I’m riding the PMT train, HRT helps even it out but my hormones are still working and they hate me. So migraines, vomiting and general yuck including being ridiculously tired but unable to stay asleep. It’s not been great and it’s not over yet. Which is a problem because I’m on leave next week so I need to be super productive this week because there is a ton to do.

So this weekend, I spent some time getting myself and the flat ready for a working week, when I have to be in office for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I food prepped, I’m up to date on the laundry and most of the housework (I’ve still not hoovered!), so I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.

Because it’s really dry, I’m also going to water every night, I’m hoping that giving myself some exercise every night before bed, I’ll be tired enough to sleep and let’s face it the plot could do with the attention because it’s so dry.

The only other thing I did this week that wasn’t work, was meet Jo for coffee, always good to catch up but it was short and sweet hopefully, I’ll see her before the end of the year but she might not be able to get back.

Have a good week!

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Sunday Music: Right Said Fred – Bernard Cribbins

Posted on July 31, 2022 by nicdempsey

Bernard Cribbins died this week. Some people will know him from Doctor Who. But for people my age it was The Wombles and Right Said Fred.

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Friday Links: Summer

Posted on July 29, 2022 by nicdempsey

Happy Friday!

‘The council tenants weren’t going to be allowed back’: how Britain’s ‘ugliest building’ was gentrified

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

Edwardian morals, Thatcher and bad design – why Britain’s homes are so hot

Fifth of UK households now have ‘negative disposable income’.

What the absurd class cosplay of Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss tells us about Britain

The most crushing thing about getting Covid so late? Knowing I’m not a medical marvel. I feel a bit like this, I’ve still not had it (that I know of!) I’m the last man standing in my family too.

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Monday Miscellany:

Posted on July 25, 2022 by nicdempsey

Happy Monday!

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.

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Friday Links: Boris still isn’t gone

Posted on July 22, 2022 by nicdempsey

Happy Friday!

It’s been a while, here are this week’s links, please bear in mind that some of them are a couple of weeks old…

From Thatcher to Johnson: how right to buy has fuelled a 40-year housing crisis

Cancelled flight? Shoddy clothing? Disappointing meal? Blame skimpflation, the hidden curse of 2022

‘Eight arms pulling you down’: octopus boom prompts joy and unease in Cornwall

The Tories should hang their heads in shame: Boris Johnson is the worst leader we have known

Johnson is going – but he won’t leave until he’s dragged everyone down with him

Tory MPs indulge in a mawkish farewell for their poundshop Arnie

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.

How a great English city sold itself to Abu Dhabi’s elite – and not even for a good price

England Can’t Take the Heat

Metropolis meltdown: the urgent steps we need to take to cool our sweltering cities

I just moved to a four-day week, without losing any pay. It’s changed everything. I would so love for my company to adopt a 4 day working week!

‘It starts as a line of light, then works its way across my vision’: the disorienting mystery of migraine auras. I sometimes get auras and my are either a massive white circle in the middle of my vision in my right eye or black and white zigzags in my vision. Neither are fun. I did used to get tunnel vision, which was horrific but that hasn’t happened for a while.

‘They couldn’t even scream any more. They were just sobbing’: the amateur investors ruined by the crypto crash. I don’t really understand bitcoin but it was gambling, like the stock market, it’s just like putting your money on the horses.

The Spiders That Choose Death

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Allotment Adventures: Trying to keep everything from getting crispy

Posted on July 20, 2022 by nicdempsey

It’s still too darn hot.

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!

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Preserving the Plot: Rhubarb Cordial

Posted on July 14, 2022 by nicdempsey

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!

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Allotment Adventures: Heatwave

Posted on July 13, 2022 by nicdempsey

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.

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Monday Miscellany: Been a while

Posted on July 11, 2022 by nicdempsey

Happy Monday!

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.

So that’s us all caught up, have a good week…

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Allotment Adventures: Berries

Posted on June 29, 2022 by nicdempsey

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.

Jasmine ‘clotted cream’
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