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Awful weather - typical Brits talk
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I remember that Beechgrove episode - or maybe GW one. Interesting. They used to do more experiments like this but now it's how many presenters can you cram in an episode.Poppy, I see some Aquilegias in there tooHaving put all the blinds etc in place for the heat I come home to cloud and chill. I think there was a smattering of tiny drops on the windscreen but it's still blooming hot with no breeze.There are ants everywhere. You can't put the washing out or put anything down but it's running with ants.I may go out and water the desperate plants again because like the last 2yrs I don't see this heat dropping and no rain forcast for the next 7 days.So the cottages, perhaps not what you expect but it's the bridges and location. There was more colour but it didn't come out
And this is the local supermarket
I got a nice dark blue iris there a couple of year back. I'll be going back for some preserves. Seville, orange/grapefruit marmalade, raspberry jam 1.20-1.40 a jar. Cheaper than the supermarkets and no iffy ingredients.I can rise and shine - just not at the same time!
viral kindness .....kindness is contageous pass it on
The only normal people you know are the ones you don’t know very well
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-taff said:Also, I'm wondering, is there a need for alcohol before 10am?
) but when I want to it's a pain to have to hang around. It's funny when I do hang around though, because I can tell certain other customers are doing the exact same thing as me - then it's a dash to the checkout at 10am
'A watched potato will never chit'...7 -
I have to post this before I loose it!Potato varieties are discussed here - a most unlikely place.Remember that some of the suggestions were in 2011 so flavours etc may have changedI was looking because the Jerseys in supermarkets are now meah which for the price is not good enough.And this which I can't see will help.There's more info on varieties in the first link but the Jerseys that were getting more disappointing the last 3yrs or so I've found the variety - International Kidney potato but looking their not the small flakey potatoes and more like the ones they sell now.So more research needed.But it also reminded me of some other tastey varieties .I can see the rest of the lawn being dug up
I can rise and shine - just not at the same time!
viral kindness .....kindness is contageous pass it on
The only normal people you know are the ones you don’t know very well
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PP, ahhhh, not an alocohlic then2P, I like your supermarket and the cottage garden cottage. I have grown international kidney before, a long time ago, I recall not being that impressed. I've just dug up the rest of the potatoes, cooked a few this morning [ and I can't remember the variety except it was a first early ] and they taste like proper potatoes, so I've been munching on them all day and they're gone now. These will be nice in a salad or with some lemon zest and butter [ never juice, tried it, not good] so I'm very pleased with them. They are white, clean [ due to lack of rain] and so very crispy when you cut them.I do think you have to have the seaweed to make them tatse like wot they did before though. Maybe tha's a foraging idea before next year. Trip to the proper seaside anyone?Arb, that's some proper impressive healthy looking plants, your courgettes are massive!So I've hoiked everything out and replanted it where the potatoes were, we'll see how they respond...and a gc trip for some cabbagey things tomorrow. I've got seeds but it's a bit late for some now...
Non me fac calcitrare tuum culi7 -
I think potato flavour is very much related to local growing conditions - for instance several years ago I tried growing Winston, supposed to be fine flavour, but found them almost tasteless. Also, time from ground to cooking pot - Monty Don always suggests (and will be again this weekend I suspect) having your water on the boil before digging your first new potatoes...8
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You make a good point Les.I grow potatoes on the compost heap, just ones that have sprouted in th fridge. Even those are tastey compared to the ones you buy.Though the CoOp used to have Jersey Royals in first, loose and unwashed and vanished off the shelves. Absoloutely delicious. Now they come big, round and clean. Seems they have a chilling system when removing the eyes then stored in plastic in the fridge section where they linger.Nuff said.
I can rise and shine - just not at the same time!
viral kindness .....kindness is contageous pass it on
The only normal people you know are the ones you don’t know very well
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In either Lidl or Aldi I've seen "seaweed enriched" growbags, I'm sure I have. Not big bags like compost but flat skinny things. If that's a help to anyone. I'd say prolly the seaweed would make a bit of difference but I reckon it's the whole environment that makes the flavour. Having said all that - if anyone grows Proper Jerseys like wot they used to be, then I have any excess off ya, I still really truly mean that
And count me in for a trip to the beach (as long as it's in the cool of the early morning/late evening ha haa).
Your pics were worth waiting for 2p, I'll take the second one pleaseIsn't that shop dinky, I love that! As for ants - have you tried a band of vaseline round the washing line pole/s? That worked for me. My grass is still running with them like but my washing is safe. Completely agree about the number of presenters on Beechgrove now. I didn't want to say this before in case it came across as mean and ungrateful when I'm only new to it, but hasn't it gone down hill? Can't it just be George and the woman and possibly a couple of spares doing good interesting gardening things..? I never know now who's (yet another) presenter and who's a member of the public
Sort it out BBC! It wasn't broke so stop fixing it!
Hot here, again. 19' and climbing. Cooler tomorrow thank god or I wouldn't have got up to mum and dad.
Oh and whoever it was who recommended the Merlin Bird ID app, thank you ever so very much. I've had a bird here these last few days that sings non-stop and I thought it might be something swish cos it's quite a song he's got. Turns out it's a Common ChaffinchIt turns out I've got a lot more birds within hearing range than I've seen. Most of them are plain ones - blackies and swifts and jackdaws and pigeons etc, but a couple are a bit more special. Possibly. Spotted Flycatcher and Grey-headed Bulbul thankyouplease dontchaknow. I've certainly never knowingly seen them, so without the app I'd never have known they're there. It's my new obsession
I oppose genocide. I support freedom of speech. I support freedom of assembly.9 -
-taff said:PP, ahhhh, not an alocohlic then
Mmm, Jersey Royals from years ago were lush. Would boiling in seaweed infused water give tatties a nice flavour?? Just a random early morning thought...
Agree with Beechgrove - I'm never sure who's who. And one of the female presenters talks like a robot... drives me mad and I usually mute her and read the subtitles.
Forecast doesn't look good for today, so I think it's a domestic nonsense kinda day for me.'A watched potato will never chit'...7 -
Sorry, not keeping up well at present; too much outdoor nonsense here, like mowing and strimming!
I forget now who else has a siesta in the middle of the day, but when it's hot, like yesterday, I do. It lasted till 16.00!
In the relative cool of yesterday evening, we did a trip to enjoy some fish & chips and gaze at the scenery for an hour. This was one of our views through the haze:There was a partridge, but he/she vanished from the foreground before I could get the camera going. Back at home, it was a similar story; no owl showing up before dark.By then, the weather had changed, and it was very grey.
This morning we're back to normal temperatures. There was a brief shower around 06.30, but now we're in a nice breezy mix of sunshine & cloud.As Farway's beaten me to it with the Veranda Reds, I shall give you my plum-shaped Datlo toms, which I read about on some East European/Russian tomato chat site (where they must've used English!)I'm not sure if you'll actually see the Grey-headed Bulbul, Bluey, even if your app is hearing it. According to my sources, it hangs out mostly in South India and Goa! I think it does sound like some of the tit family, though.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zZy3I_0vbA
"There is no such thing as a low-energy rich country." Dr Chris Martenson. Peak Prosperity8 -
I'm sat here laughing away to meself
Imagine it telling me I've got a Goan bird ! Well I spose that explains my poor quality pics - all the strength in my phone is in the microphone ha haa!
Any Scots that are about to read that bag of bread flower for the nth time, don't worry it's nearly 10am
Gawd I love this place, I really truly doI oppose genocide. I support freedom of speech. I support freedom of assembly.5
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