Awful weather - typical Brits talk

Farway

Wet & windy morning, it was raining while on plumbing patrol  @ 0230, and it's still raining now, making up for the dry spell. 

YoungBlueEyes said:

If we'd forgotten to shake the bottle first daddy would make us jump and down or do star jumps or go outside and do handstands to recreate the shaking :rolleyes: #MoreStuffWotKidsTodayWouldNeverBelieve

A carrier bag full of apples Farway, bluddy nora. I bet your kitchen smells good though does it? Fingers crossed for your Santana apples According to Cissie you should eat an apple a day for your gums, they've something in them that helps your gums along. That is not legal advice etc. Anyway, speaking of GW, does anyone remember what Monty said about fig trees? I've more figs on my tree now, having removed the split-ersed ones, and I can't remember if he said we should remove them cos they'll not ripen now. Or will I leave them be..? 

We've a new girl started at work. I've be given the job of training her up as a phone answerer, and I've upset her already. I say "her", both she and her boyfriend use the pronoun 'they'. So. First question they asked me was - what's this company's policy on climate change? Me - ooh ummm is there anything about it in your contract? Not that they could see. Me - I'm not sure I can articulate it as well as OMM could, so nip through there and ask her. Isn't this something you should know, and be implementing every day!? Me - ooh ummmmm absolutely, most pertinent, very important, great question, I'll just answer this phone. FGS, I'm only on minimum wage, how much are you sposed to tolerate? Are you reading this, gummint? This is why the dole queue doesn't get any shorter. 

Had to laugh at the cough mixture, the things we fall for when young. 

I'll always remember the Man from the Pru who always found a penny behind my ear when he came to collect dosh from Mum.

Figs, still on iPlayer I bet, but basically come winter, remove any fig larger than a pea / thumbnail. I have some which could, maybe with super Indian Native American summer, just ripen, but unlikely.

Your newbie sounds like fun, just don't roll your eyes at her questions, or you'll have armed police bashing your door in at 0200.   

You may still have the door bashed in, with all the mis gendering. Have you told them you're a pan sexual cat yet? 

I'm very glad I retired yonks ago, don't think I could stand all this male bovine excrement, I thought it was bad enough in my day

My Santana apples, tried one, not quite ripe, but I can tell I'd like them, sharpish but juicy, with crispy flesh. If weather had been more appley this year, I think they would be great.

Love those Snow White apples, hope they are great eaters, or at least turn into a decent pie. 

And honeysuckle, I've some around, but blowed if I'm going out there to take a pic

Kitchen did smell nice stewing apples yesterday, but smells even better this morning, just made a fruit [my apples & pears] crumble. 

pink_poppy said:

Btw, we are having problems finding accommodation for our trip up North in October - ridiculously expensive (for self catering) and not much availability, considering it's supposedly not peak season. Ferries are booked, just nowhere to stay yet    

I've just spent nearly £4 on 12 smallish apples, Farway, so you're quids in with your homegrown ones

I've heard the 500 route is very popular, too popular some say.

I know with the apples, which is why I try to store somehow, frozen, jam, chutney etc. 

And trying to instil in the off spring the usefulness of fruit in the garden. I think DD is convinced, DS less so.

Dusty, had to look up Chinese artichokes, they sound similar in habit, both internal & garden, to Jerusalem ones. 

Just spotted your signature. 

No gardening with the wet, I've removed the manky tom plants from the conservatory

LessImpecunious

Re. the tomatillo Bluey, I think you could just as well use green tomatoes for the salsa, but (in theory anyhow) you could eat the tomatillos earlier in the year, whereas you might prefer to keep your green toms to the bitter end to see if they turn red... Only this year I've already had lots of red toms, and no decent-sized tomatillo yet... The flower of the bottle gourd was quite a surprise (I'd only looked at pics of the gourd) - v decorative, but it only managed those two before Norwegian gene kicked in...

Never tried growing Chinese artichokes, though I am very familiar with the other type...

Love your sunset Poppy, quite different from my fiery one of this evening, which is possibly foretelling thunderstorms (well, the Met are, but they foretold ones for today too, and they never showed up)...

YoungBlueEyes

Oof Double Diamond geranium is a belter Dusty! That's another one on my list. If my stoopid brain was quicker I'd have used your office temperatures line on they, but I didn't think of it. Mind I'm waiting for they to get a handle on all the offices and we actually do cos when they sees the amount of paper we get through a day, and how the kettle doesn't get a minute's rest, and we've got a water cooler machine, they'll shriek so loud you'll all be able to  hear it  

I'm having a pig of a job finding accommodation too pp. I've amended our trip so many times we may as well go somewhere else. I only wanted to do the NC500 cos I've a Swift again now and I love it, but even taking that out and just some of that road to visit interesting places isn't a winner. Last night I was looking up normal roads to go on to visit interesting things, which is all well and good but I can't get us nice accommodation nearby *sigh* Genuinely thinking of binning the idea and going to BottomLeftLandia instead, I like it down there. Worcester Gloucester Shrewsbury etc. We'll see. Anyway that's a lovely pinky cloudy pic I was thinking of you the other night when the news was on - did you see any northern lights up there? They could be seen all over the country apparently, but strongest round NW Scotland. They said.

Aww the old penny behind the ear routine Farway, classic Thanks for fig info, mine are deffo bigger than peas, they're more like golf balls so I'll nip them off. Pan sexual cat - christ I nearly spat coffee out BBM is on hols but I might keep that for when he gets back. He'll have enough on with Newbie (I don't think he interviewed her) so he has that treat awaiting him I think I'm safe from the police cos I'm not on twatter/facefook and I don't travel from London airports so I think I'm fine How did your apple and pear crumble turn out? I don't think I've ever seen those together, was it delish?  

That's good tom info, thanks Less. I'm not good at toms, I've kept green ones hoping they'll ripen but they don't... I'm hoping I've used up my bad luck on toms and next year will be a blinder. I've all my bum-smeared-on-kitchen-roll IOW seeds to try :fingerscrossed: I'll keep my eye out for tomatillo seeds if I see them, cos I do like a good sharp salsa Wow that is one fiery sky  

Forecast yesterday was for a bit of rain about 1800 ish and tbf it was raining then. But they didn't mention that that was the last of the rain cos the all-afternoon funder+lightning storm was moving out to sea. Jeez it was good - proper funder and quite a bit of lightning with the rain bouncing off the roads. Marvellous So that was either the one they forecasted for today a day early, or the one from the other day 3 days late. 13'c now and a high of 16' to come, but the feels like is below that. We've lost that wind though so it's not so chilly feeling but I don't think the sun will get out long enough to burn off that humidity before the rain clouds come in. We'll see.

YoungBlueEyes

Figs - they’re not far enough along to ripen this year are they

And here’s compostbag carparkii in all it’s glory - 

Does look well, whatever it is  

Dustyevsky

I dunno, your figs might make it Bluey.  They aren't weedy little 1p size things, like my second batch.  As Farway says, if we have a sudden summer revival, they might come good. As for the carparkii mystery plant, it's good to see someone cares enough to try, even if the rewards look less than spectacular so far.

Super, interesting sunsets, pp and Less. We've not had anything worth recording for a while in that line here, just more torrential rain. I managed to get the logs put away yesterday afternoon, but it was far too changeable to get the electrics set up for cutting more. Then, it was a quick dash to grab more blackberries before nightfall. There are still many to come if the weather cheers up.   

No sign yet of our stream. I wandered down yesterday, heard sawing noises, and spied on Mr Canute hacking away at the trees behind his 'privacy fence.' He seemed to be trying to get more light in. Since his blocking the stream antics, I've 'forgotten' to prune our old elderberry tree there. It's now huuge, and the area under it is like the Black Hole of Calcutta.    That's my way of telling him, “You've messed-up this bit, so I'm done with it.” He's lucky really. I did consider Russian vine, but that's too extreme! 

Farway

Overnight rain extending into morning, cleared now & sun's out. 

Bluey, I'm with Dusty, your figs may just make it, I think they are inside as well, aren't they? They look a different type to mine, rounder, mine are more pear shape.

The mixed crumble turned out well, a tad too sweet if I'm honest, but that's me being heavy-handed with the sugar, and not allowing for the sweetness of the pears. 

IF my memory still works, next year I'll use less sugar and add more at scoffing stage, or custard / ice cream

Hope your IOW bum smeared seeds work, mine were a disaster.   

The IOW toms, from G grocer, were a lovely yellow plum shaped cherry, but the subsequent plant was a tall straggling beast with tiny yellow round toms, not much larger than a raisin.

That's pot luck saving hybrids though, could've been a prize winner

Nice bowl of berries Dusty, like I said, mine are wizened & mouldy now. If it gets dry enough, I need to remove the old wood, but plenty of time yet.

My Boysenberry is growing nicely, training it along a garden wall, and hope to taste it next year.

Hot news, Number one DGS passed his driving test! 

Just in time, he starts at Bristol Uni next week, so at least he can drive over instead of the train.

Not sure if I'd fancy that type of journey as the first solo, but thinking back, I rode my "new" motorbike from Chatham to Hillingdon, including the ferry & South circular, a bit easier then of course, before motorways.

His digs are next to the Eco zone, his car is £12.50 a day, and he only needs to take a wrong turn to start clocking up serous dosh. Keep him alert at least.

His first time away & feeding & fending for himself, a steep learning curve ahead.

With the rain I decide to go to Morries, needed some freezer boxes for my next lot of apples. 

They have Spring bedding plants in now, 3 for 2, so three lots of yellow pansies came home, plus some mini daff bulbs & small globe alliums. Good squirrel & vine weevil food for £6

Another, still on offer, pork pie also found its way home 

pink_poppy

Mmm, apple & pear crumble I've been thinking about bramble & plum together, but I wouldn't have a clue where to start with the plums. To paraphrase, life's too short to peel a plum (if you have to)...
We're not 'doing' any of the NC500 this year. We've got accommodation for a couple of nights on one Outer Hebrides island, but it's the next island along that we're struggling to find anything. DH has suggested looking a wee bit further afield, so that's my job for today.

Talking of jobs, I've been offered another interview. Not the one I want though...

We had a fiery sunset last night too, Less, very similar looking to yours I thought DH was taking pics of it upstairs, so I went outside and took some.

I feel your pain with the accommodation, YBE, I don't remember it being so difficult to find something last year  
I did see the Aurora the other night, but it was too cloudy to get decent pics.
I've done the 'skidmark' tomato seeds on kitchen roll too Fingers crossed for next year, because mine (gifted from lovely neighbour) were gorgeous this year.
Your figs look good and that carparkii plant looks so healthy too - I see what you mean about it having made itself at home where it is.

Dusty, your brambles look much nicer than the ones I've picked. Funnily enough I was going to take a pic of mine, washed and in a colander, but I forgot and put them in the freezer   I was going to go brambling again this morning, but it's been raining on and off, so I made a chilli instead.

Well done to your DGS, Farway. Exciting times ahead for him.
I'm hankering after a pork pie now...

OT - sunshine and showers.

pink_poppy

Last night’s sunset… 😍

LessImpecunious

Better than my sunset I think Poppy, tho I was a bit late taking my pic perhaps - they move so darn fast these meteorological phenomena...

Is that a ladybird on your bramble leaf Dusty?

Dustyevsky

LessImpecunious said:

Is that a ladybird on your bramble leaf Dusty?

I think it's a hopper, or similar. I doubt if I go back this afternoon it will still be there!  Didn't notice it at the time of photo because it was dusk, and I was hurrying.

Much better weather today, with only one very sharp shower. All the plums are now picked, plus another haul of toms. Plenty more of those still to come.  Here's a photo taken before I removed the lower leaves, taking half the whitefly with 'em! 

The marigolds have done well. The ones taking up half the picture are called 'Legion of Honour,' an old variety. We'll grow those again! 

Another blooming lovely sunset  pp !