Awful weather - typical Brits talk

pink_poppy

Our stove is a 6kW, Dusty and the temperature can reach the mid-20s when it gets going. When we open the living room door the cold comes into the room, rather than the warmth going out and warming the hallway. There are definitely draughts in the house, plus some single glazing (or very thin double glazing??). Apparently the previous owners weren't bothered by the cold, but we put the stove in and I do wonder how they managed, because any 'heat' from the storage heaters is long gone from late afternoon/early evening. Maybe they just had early nights.

AR, I tried the fan on top of the storage heater yesterday afternoon, but it didn't move, just not enough heat.

taff, the epicentre was in Kinloch, which DH and I had never heard of and I can't find it on my phone maps.

I would be happy to say goodbye to this garden, it's the worst one we've ever had (another thing I curse the previous owners about). I miss my last garden, or part of it anyway. I think I'll be using pots in this one, once the landscaping bit is finished.

No idea re keeping the fire going, I think we tried with coals once, but it didn't work. I've seen adverts on FB for overnight heat logs, but never tried them.

twopenny, good idea to start watching GW, I should maybe do that too.

We've had light snow overnight and it's very cold out there. I might go quiet for a while as something sad is happening in RL

Farway

Very frosty & cold. 

If it can make its mind up, there's a lot of rain out in the Channel & Western Approaches. Which may turn to snow over Dusty's Moors & my Downs, or more likely, just cold & wet rain later.

Either way, it's zero gardening

Nice snowdrops Dusty, I was only thinking about them yesterday, could it be an outing up the snowdrop heavy graveyard with my new old camera?

Not in this weather though, be way too muddy & slippy up there for my wobbly pins, probably cut out the middle man & topple into an open grave

Dustyevsky said:

The siren seed companies have been singing to me too, Farway, but I've resisted. I remember the problems I had last year with fickle composts and lack of sunshine. My approach this year will be to sow what I have, (not inconsiderable! ) and see how things play out with a more soil-based mix. If it hadn't been for the toms, experiences in '24 might have driven me to drink, or even golf!

I'm more or less on same path, plenty of seeds & hopefully stocked up with decent peat based compost while it was on legal & offer & delivered by my milkman

My garden is OK, sort of, if I were younger & fitter I'd revamp some of it, removing my useless red pear tree and the bird food cherry tree for instance

Here's my will they / won't they make it pelargoniums, in pots at the sort of sheltered, front

Until the recent frost, the flower was sort of out. It can join the sorry looking rose posted the other day.

I've nothing to put their place, so for the time being they are still under review

Dustyevsky

I've an oak leaf pelargonium and its baby overwintering in the conservatory, plus some 'geranium' pelargoniums from Morries that still flowered nearly into December outdoors. The oak leaf is tough and often used to survive in a sheltered spot in our last city garden, but it would be asking too much to do that here.

The reckless imbibers seem to think we'll have snow here by 1400. The important roads were fine this morning, but I imagine DD2 will be listening to the jungle drums and driving home from Exeter soon. Then, as Farway suggests, it'll probably just turn to rain. It's tomorrow morning that looks more dodgy. Back to double figures next week, though!

Thinking of you pp. We'll understand if you need time out.

twopenny

They look healthy considering Farway. Mine are ok out the back. The ones in the side alley have got rust but I'm leaving there until spring and see what price the new ones are. Usually about £2.50 but who knows this year. I've taken a cutting or two which is on the kitchen window sill.

Dusty we had snow on the Quantocks I saw yesterday but so far none around here.

Those snow drops, lovely pic, are cheery. Not long now. Mine have poked there heads up.

Do you remember Snowdrop Valley? This is from a previous year. The opening doesn't start till end of Feb.

When I was a child we would drive down and pick some to take to the hospital.

Now it gets so crowded with the trail down deep mud or an expensive bookable landrover but you can buy some pots of them from the tea van which I did pre pandemic. So I went out looking for other places last year and found them all down the road to the villages. Just as lovely and you can stay in the warm of the car  

Nothing much on today. 2c, dry no wind but it gets right into the old muscles out there so maybe a brief walk to see what's in peoples gardens.

Poppy, sorry to hear you have more troubles. Hope you have somewhere warm to cuddle up with some mulled wine after.

twopenny

Spoke too soon. Thought that might be the case!

Wet snow falling all afternoon, not settling here but 1c and wet.

I've worked out what the heating problem is but then finding someone to do it. Been gaslighted again by the heating guys but at least I know what's happening. Now I have to find someone to deal with it. So thermal blinds up, have to keep turning the heating off so I'm almost in Poppys situation.

Car booked in for next week to see what the grating noise is from possibily the brakes and an oil change.

So no gardening on the horizon. But a lot of Gardeners World/Beechgrove seems likely and early nights.

Rolll on SPRING!!!!!!!!!

wort

Good morning, I’m way behind reading posts so apologies. I enjoy seeing your pics and catching up with you all.

We had snow Saturday into Sunday , the roads hadn’t been gritted and we had never ending frost so still icy, coupled with foggy morning and some evenings. Got up to more snow today🥶 I’m supposed to be going for a walk today but will see what my friend thinks. The other friend yesterday postponed and we had a very slow drive to a local cafe for a catch up instead. As the paths were treacherous with black ice. Funnily enough PP she mentioned did you hear thunder the other night😳 but we are quite a way from Scotland in the NW England.

My weekend in work was horrid as the heating is now broken again as it does every winter. My house has been around 11 or 12 degrees in the warmest room, I can keep warm under throws and with lots of layers but does anyone know where to buy nose warmers 😂 
In my bedroom, I don’t like it warm and once I’m in bed under my 13 tog duvet and warm that’s fine but there again it’s the nose and any time an arm ends up above the cover it’s chilled.

It’s looking bright now and I don’t mind walking , just the worry of ice so waiting for friend to text. I must go to get ready.

Dustyevsky

twopenny said:

Car booked in for next week to see what the grating noise is from possibily the brakes and an oil change.

No guarantee? No service/new MoT before you parted with your cash?

The brakes might just be a stone wedged, but always negotiate when buying a car. If it's a trader, you can be sure they paid less than half of what they're asking, assuming they've taken on responsibilities that should go with being in the trade.

Good that you know the cause of your heating malaise at last, though I appreciate the problems with finding a reliable engineer. If it's any consolation, yesterday, I finally persuaded a lady who did some survey work for us in October to send me a report, due ever since!

On a completely different tack, I cannot praise L&S engineers enough for their care in making sure spares for my chainsaw I ordered would fit it.

I understand frosts were much more severe up where you are, wort. My friend and I aren't walking either, but it's the mud here that puts us off. Our supposed -4c last night was downgraded to -2c, and the snow which fell didn't 'pitch' as we say here. Apparently, things were different down, t'other side of Dartmoor, but that's virtually another country! 

Bright and sunny now, so off goes the wood burner and the heating. We'll get plenty of warmth from the conservatory until 15.00. You'll read elsewhere conservatories are useless, especially in winter, but we'd not be without ours.   It's all due to global boiling. We even have crocodiles in the streams here now, hunting the beavers!

Farway

Cold blue sky with cold sunshine, ideal outside if wrapped up warm I guess

My “snow” was just wet thick rain, nothing stuck and as mentioned, a lovely, cold, sunny day now

Hope the car & heating is soon sorted OK 2P.

I concur with Dusty re car, but grating brakes usually results in new discs these days, due to the discs being made from milk bottle tops & not proper steel girders like wot they used to be.

I would expect the garage to cough up for that in this short time, unless of course it was part of the deal on pricing

A friend has just had front discs / brakes done at K..kFit [I know ] £300

Partly self-inflicted, ignored the grating noises because “The noise stopped when I braked"

No gardening today, pleasant enough but a bit too cold for my wimpy fingers

I like the croc pic Dusty, closest I have is a Hippo at Wisley, which I can't find now

However, to celebrate today's sunshine & things to come, here's one from 2009

These crocus are one of the local Wonders, a sure sign of spring because it's so sheltered & mild there

twopenny

Bright and sunny but cold and the sun has just gone into hiding.

Sorry about your heating Taff - seems like that's 3 of us so at least we have company. Hot water bottles are a blessing.

Personally I'd ditch the walk for coffee. Don't want to slip.

Love the croc in the water    A garden should have some humour in it imo. I know in a place near me where there is half a ghostly plaster man sticking out of the ground, waving. May try and get a pic if it's not too crispy out there

Years MOT on the car but it is by their garage Family business through 5 generations and I mentioned this grating noise on starting when I took it for a test drive and again last week so they are going to check for corrosion when they do the oil change.

They are pretty good. I got an extra key, road tax, a tiny bit of paintwork done and they took all the paperwork off my hands. Being local they need local customers to be happy.

Of course they had a little red car in, just what I wanted but I think I'll wait and have a break from the eternal dismalness of the last couple of months before I take on anything else.

Looks like this cold, bone chilling weather is here for the rest of the week then we get respite. Weird my fountain keeps spurting when the sun comes out. But I'm letting the garden get on with it during this. Don't think anything would thank me for interfering with the ground so cold.

Watched a bit of GW last night on winter flowering shrubs. I was envious of the huge Daphne when mine sits down close to the ground.

I think I made a mistake with the garden - the winter flowerings should be close to the house but it's too hot there. I can sit inside and mull that over.

Working_Mum

Hello everyone and Happy New Year!
I've been reading along and loving everyone's pics. Sending big hugs to you PP - it's a tough start to 2025 for you.

I had an expensive start to my year as I hit a pothole on Monday coming home from my Mum's. It resulted in a scary wait on a 40mph dual carriageway for the mobile tyre man to rescue me - he was brilliant but as I set off there was this horrid grating noise and upon inspection a spring had gone as well when I'd hit the pothole. He kindly replaced the bust tyre and followed me as I drove at 2mph to the safety of a bus stop to wait the recovery truck! My 17 year old 1 series costs me very little but I am now £500 lighter getting him back on the road grrrrrrr.

I thought I'd share signs of life in my garden (well by my west facing front porch). I spotted these little shoot peeping
through in a pot - I planted this up a couple of years ago so am happy it's still delivering!


I also have an old Belfast sink by my front door which is filled with succulents - there is a plant there which is growing like topsy even in this weather! I have no idea what it is called but produces the most beautiful cerise daisy type flowers and they survive in the baking heat of the front of my house.



I think I'll have to add a few more plants to fill the bare patch in the middle during the early summer months.

OT it is 2', crisp and bright here today. I've just wandered down the garden to fill the bird feeding stations and the ground is hard as rock and crisp with frost and ice. I can see some green shoots of daffs and tulips peeking through but the rest is quite sludgy and looking half dead. So depressing as there is not pint in doing anything at the minute is there. My onions and garlic have started growing .....I'm pleased with this as I've never grown them before so it's going to be interesting to keep an eye on their progress.

I hope everyone stays safe and warm - it seems quite brutal in certain areas (looking at you Dusty and Farway).

I'm not one for resolutions but I am aiming to post more frequently but real life keeps getting in the way! 

WM