Awful weather - typical Brits talk

wort

Morning, It’s sunny already and I’m hoping to peg out before work. I changed the beds yesterday in readiness.

Did a couple of hours weeding, found 2 of my concrete panels had fallen out😳 top two! I had heard a huge bang when it was windy the other day but hadn’t realized what it was. A quick text to db had him and reinforcements to put them back in, with some wood to wedge ,as it looks like the post has moved. He will add some brackets at some point.

With regard to references for jobs I heard you aren’t allowed to give bad references 🙄 not sure if this is correct, I queried once after someone who finished for dishonesty got a similar position elsewhere.

Enjoy the sun. Keep hydrated.

Dustyevsky

-taff: Glad you managed to get your oil in cheaper in the end Dusty, thumbs up for real people not bots. What a lovely colour on the yew sprouties. It really does look exotic, like a bit of red hot poker.

The oil buying decision is still in limbo as regards it's relative 'cheapness.' Awkwardly, I have someone else relying on my judgement to get a good deal too, but no one, including me, has any idea what will happen to the price later this year. I'll bet Martin doesn't weigh-in on this! 😉 The only thing I'm certain of, is some individuals and corporate entities making money from the situation, while the rest of us lose-out overall. 😢

That yew is a golden variety. It's slower-growing, but worth it for those with time on their side. We only have it as a stand-alone, and it's way behind our hedges, which are not so slow as people often imagine.

The elderly person who fell on Friday is fine, but I blame myself for not being there to supply the support they should have had. Falling in your 90s is serious, even if the impact is survived.

I suppose the coast was cooler yesterday, 2p. In middle Devon we had plenty of warm sunshine for a party to celebrate our 3rd GC's first birthday. 🍰 It was real barbecue weather, as evidenced by folks still in T-shirts at 20.00. Besides being the star of the event, our 3rd GC popped a huge balloon to signal whether their sibling, due in August, is to be another boy….. or a girl. Lots of pink sparkly bits flew everywhere! 🤩 Probably un-PC, but she'll get to wear her brother's cast-offs, regardless.😂

Today looks to become scorchio here…..27c. After early watering, I'm planning a quiet day with maybe another little sleep, or two!

This butterfly was still sleepy when I crept up a few days ago to get this shot in the wildlife area beside the stream.

Edit…..😉

Farway

Up early agin, too hot to sleep. Did I beat Taff, are you out watering? I read somewhere that morning, or evening, watering is best, seems plants retain it better, could be codswallop but sometimes spot of truth in tales

Thanks for the carnation info Taff, that would make sense, a failure I mean. Here's hoping my dog egg tom seedlings are better than the carnations.

Forgot to mention, as well as finding the Lost Trowel of Farway I also found a hidden horde of illicit blue slug sweets, the sort that actually work. A cunning plan completed, and given my age, I suspect I now, literally, have a lifetime's supply 😁

Taff bought myself one of those bulb planters but it has a raised edge like a spade at the top so you can stand on it and it won't snap. It is a revelation for putting anything in the ground, so much easier than on your knees with a trowel. It was not cheap either but so far, completely worth it.

Nice to know they work, I bought a bulb planter years ago, but the short one you force into ground, not using foot. Good idea but useless, you'd have to be World's strongest man to get it into a hard packed a lawn

2P, First raspberries eaten. Blimey, mine are just flowering now, as are my strawberries

Yesterday I was able to water my sad seedlings with some miracle grow and they've chirped up a bit already. That's good to hear, hope they make it before you have to buy some replacements

Wort With regard to references for jobs I heard you aren’t allowed to give bad references 🙄 not sure if this is correct, I queried once after someone who finished for dishonesty got a similar position elsewhere. I heard this to, but it was more to do with being sued for inaccuracies, data protection etc, so HR folks now cover bottoms by using anodyne phrases and skirting around facts, for instance introduce an Overnight visitor Levy not a Tourist Tax

Seems a clue, from AI, maybe a brief or terse reference. Job title, time served etc.

Dusty GS, Nice action shot, could also have Mrs Ts, No! No! No"! Did those pair ever meet? Anyone know [or No].

Jobs today, before the heat gets going, pot on some young shrubs, like acer and flowering sage, from next door's cuttings, it's a blue one, Cold Lips? 😂

If back is still working I may plant out some of the left over tomatoes

Pic today, two cousins, you can see the family likeness

-taff

Sunny here too wort, windows are open for a brief time to air the house before I shut it up again. Concrete panels, they're so heavy [ clue's in the name I suppose] but I'd prefer them to the flimsy stuff that comes in panels - you definitely need help with them though..I remember a video I saw years ago of some snotty kid trying to kick them in to be a vandal, unfortunately, he didn't know physics, and he managed to kick one in, then the one above slid down and trapped his leg. Instant karma.

Sorry Dusty, I wasn't trying to say I was laughing at the relative falling, just the whole raft of incidents occurring..hopefully you've got all that stuff out of the way now…I've got to say, I thought your gc had a very posh jelly and set custard menu on their table until I realised it was a toy…need some glasses to see the tv I think :) very funny juxtaposition…

No, I didn't beat you Farway, my one contribution this morning has been opening the greenhouse door..I'll go about six if it cools down, it's already to hot to be working in the sun [ I don't seem to have a slow down button at the lotment and it's all exposed, the only shade comes from my acquired umbrella..I need to start a list again this year of the free stuff I've had..that's a lot of job to be doing in this weather, lots of breaks I think..did you ever get one of your relatives to stand there with a palm fan over you?

Sorting out the greenhouse today until it gets proper scorchio, I need the toms in the beds and not in pots so I can see what can go to the lotment.

Dustyevsky

-taff: Sorry Dusty, I wasn't trying to say I was laughing at the relative falling, just the whole raft of incidents

Oh, I didn't take it that way. We all laughed a lot, afterwards. I bet if you took 10 nonagenarians, about 5' 10" tall, and made them fall backwards in a field, only a couple would walk away without even a bruise. But no excuses, I shouldn't have allowed it to happen.

Farway: Up early agin, too hot to sleep. Did I beat Taff, are you out watering?

Did I beat you both? Started 08.45 and finished 09.30, but left the oscillating sprinkler on the strawberries. Turning it off now. I think we shall have some this week…..if the slugs don't. 😟 Starting to put my precious 'blue pills' into sand now to eke them out. (no, not those blue pills! 🤪)

twopenny

You all sound very busy 😲

Unfortunately the leg and other bits went to useless and just recovering now so no pot watering. They are looking desperate so may have a go later Avec the trolley 😊

Yes I remember the old gardeners saying evening (I think) because it would stay damp and give the plants chance to drink before evaporation. Or it may have been morning 🤔

I know you should cut herbs between 10-11am because that's when the sap has risen and they are at their most flavoursome, potent.

I studied old herbal remedies. The best book for an easy read is The Magic of Herbs by David Conway. His mother grew them and they are her advice, recipes etc.The other is a huge encyclopedia which gives the science of plants but I read, understand and it goes straight out of my head 😵‍💫 I used a simple thyme tincture on my aged Collie when he had 'bed sores' on his elbows. No advice from anywhere scientific but it healed them for a few days then had to reapply.

One nice drink is elderflower ( Tea Pigs is the best and only real one) with grated ginger and honey. Lemon balm tea with a few lemon verbena leaves is delicious in hot weather and relaxing. My friends used to put lemon verbena leaves in with ordinary tea which was tasty. I wouldn't say further because I don't want to give medical advice.

So back to a lay down, book and coffee joining Dusty on the relaxing day and hoping to get better 🙂

Warming up here with no breeze so doors are open, blinds down on the sunny side. Not hot, just stuffy.

YoungBlueEyes

Afternoon all, on some sort of Football Nonsense Day 😈

I thought your gc's table held fancy desserts too Dusty, too much screen time is killing me 2 eyes 😟 Was a good time had by all? Fine head of hair on the little lad eh, not unlike the rev…

Your berries are coming on a treat Farway, will this be the year you taste boysenberries..?

Wort i think you're right re not being allowed to say bad things about bad people on their references but I don't know where I got it from. It's certainly working for he+she, she's got another job quickly and has posted on facefook/sershul meeeja how much she loves it and saying bad things things about us. Which can only be good for her 😶

I hope you're enjoying your relaxing day 2p. Any jobs sat looking at you today will still be sat there looking at you tomorrow, when hopefully your hip will be in again. I'm yet to make verbena tea (like you said I should, this time last year, and the year before 🙄)

It was a lovely soft morning here but it's too hot out there now. I'm dreading tomorrow - it'll either still be unnecessarily hot or ridiculously hot at 1800 depending on which 'forecaster' you believe.

No gardening or nuffin going on here. Well I had another round of bindweed and thistle removal first thing but that's all. Himself is out there now cutting the grass, because he's a moron who won't be told. Tbf we don't get anything lovely come up in No Mow May, we just get more thistles and bindweed and mare's tails and vetch cos they can all quietly get on with procreating while they're not being decapitated. Shipbags. I need to get back to weeding in the mornings really.

OT 23'c and cloudless out there, but thank god for the wee bit of breeze or it'd be an oven out there with no respite.

YoungBlueEyes

Anyway. Stories!

We had a fellah ring the other day, and his opening line was "So my lad's killed somebody at work and he doesn't know what to do." Ooh ermmmm 😮 "Well he didn't do it deliberate obviously but what should we do now?" Well I'd suggest you do nothing, the police and his employer probably have it all in hand. "No cos he won't get a fair trial will he!" I'm afraid we don't deal in that area of the law, you'll need one of the big boy firms in 'Ull. Shall I look up some numbers for you? "No point, I've got em all in me phone but they never bluddy help" Ok well thank you for calling, and good luck!

We had a very angry woman come in who wanted help to sue her solicitor, or wanted us to do it, or something (she wasn't the full shillling I suspect). She was selling a flat in …Glasgow…. but it wasn't selling, and there were other flats in the block that were dearer and not selling either. This was because she was Jewish and both her solicitor and estate agent were anti-semites who hated her and didn't want her flat to sell. Can I stop you there - Scotland is it's own jurisdiction so you'll need a Scottish lawyer to take on your case. But you're not listening to me! They hate me, and my daughter but only because she's extremely clever, so clever in fact she can't find a job because she's very over qualified for all the jobs!! I'm sorry but I can only repeat - you need a Scottish lawyer. Is your computer on the internet. ..Yes.. Look up my flat and tell me what you think the estate agent is playing at! No I can't I'm afraid, this computer is for my work and everything we do is logged. <insert more ranting here> She left in the end, after lots of threats of suing us, tears and quite a lot of bad language.

One for you 2p. A local man has died, and one of our sols is the executrix of his will, so the guy obviously knew what his family are like (it's one of those families) and everything went to his only child. I say child, she's about my age. Her partner is a right piece of work (they're well suited to each other). They came in for the will, and partner was very unhappy that some random woman is the exec. So as the will is obviously wrong he put the house on the market, sold the car and had a massive pi$h up for 200 of his nearest and dearest and presented us with the bill. We applied for probate and he lodged a caveat because "obviously everything should go to him, his partner is stupid and a waster but her father couldn't see it". Meanwhile the funeral was held, he presented us with another bill. They had a few drinks after, just him and some family and we're guessing around 500 of his closest friends, and a 3 week holiday for a dozen people. He brought it in to reception and expected me to give him the cash there and then (I was honestly a bit worried, let’s just say he isn't averse to the pharmasnorticals 😬). He must be telling people he got paid for it though cos next thing the late man's brother, who's not in the will, decided to pull the same trick. Brother is definitely scarier than daughter's partner, by a country mile. BBM came down, sent us out of reception, locked the door behind us and waited quietly with him while the police came. Which they did, really quickly. Sadly it wasn’t The Sweeney who turned up, or anyone else of the He Tripped Getting Into The Car Guv, Honest school of policing.
Edit - pressed post instead of save 🙄 So there you go, my brutal week. Well that’s the lovely bits of the past few weeks tbh. I really do need another job.

greenbee

But if you got another job YBE, where would we get our entertainment from?

I'm part of the way through pressure washing the acres of paving. As it's north-facing it goes green over winter, and it seems to take about a billion washes to get it clean. Maybe I need a different pressure washer?

twopenny

Greenbee, Wet and Forget.

The one on the left. I got mine from Wickes with a £4 delivery because it was the most straightforward. Lots of places do it.

https://wetandforget.co.uk/collections/all