where art collides philosoperontap

Sbeen a great summer of test crikit innit. Ordinarily I head to the pool at around 11ish but am going to delay it today to catch the end of the game. It’s reignin ere but I think the forecast is clear for the Oval so we should see a conclusion this morning.

It’s one of those dilemmas. The game could go either way today and we only need a draw to win the series but I guess both sides would prefer a win so we do need the rain to stay off the Oval. Exciting eh?

Got a nice quiet week ahead of us. A couple of quiet ones actually which is good. Get some swimming in. Bit of golf. Stuff like that….

Raining again, just after I hung my swimming trunks and towel on the line. It’s quite nice rain and I don’t particularly have anything on this pm so a relaxing afternoon in prospect. Bit of reading, bit of research. Also need to make a fresh batch of vinaigrette as I finished off the last of the previous batch over the weekend. Bought some more vinegar speshully.

Had a bacon sarnie for breakfast and am now sat in the snug with a cuppa. Figured, with it being a Sunday, I’d sit and read the paper just like we used to do in the good old days. The paper is on my laptop but the principle is still the same.

The only problem is there is bugger all of interest. Didn’t take long to read the sporting news. Not particularly positive coverage of the British and Irish Lions nor the cricket. At least the Imps got the season off to a good start with a two nil win at home against Reading. Far too early to start the football season though.

So this morning I think I’ll ease into some more jobs. Firstly I’m going to dismantle the compost bin I started yesterday. Turns out you aren’t supposed to use blue pallets as the paint is not good for the compost, apaz. Will be easy enough to find more pallets. The blue one can go in the skip. Also going to have another look around in the attic to see what else we might be able to discard.

At some stage I need to stuff the chicken. I do a good stuffing. A skill learnt from me dear old mammaa. Bought a white sliced loaf on Friday especially. It was reduced to 85 pence and I had a 50 pence off voucher so it only cost 35 pee. Barg, especially as it didn’t matter how fresh it was, going as it is into the cavity of a chicken. There is no rush for any of this although a few drops of rain are forecast for this morning so it might do to get the compost bin sorted before then.

Too late. It’s started to rain. I heard it before I saw it as the conservatory roof began making pitter patter raindrop sounds. Quite relaxing. It is the sabbath so I shouldn’t come down too hard on meself if I don’t get some jobs done. Manãna Tref, manãna. The forecast is nice for this afternoon anyway. 

We in the UK seem to spend an inordinate amount of time talking about the weather. Makes you wonder what they have to talk about in places where it is always sunny. “Apparently it is going to be sunny this afternoon,” or “I wonder what the weather is going to be like today? Can I hang the washing out?”. V boring I’m sure 🙂 

Ciao amigos.

The tidying at the bottom of the garden continues. You know, the bit behind the greenhouse, next to the side of the shed. My objective is to have a compost heap in place by the time THG gets home tomorrow. Lots of old crap to extract from the ground. Rotting bits of fence that need to go on the skip whilst we still have it. I have two pallets, one old hardwood garden table top and a bit of fence panel to use. The fence panel is a bit flimsy but we’ll have to see how we get on with it. The biggest ball ache is carting the rotting old bits of wood to the skip. Will be foine. Taking a short break to consume a can of diet coke and watch some cricket.

We used to have a compost heap in the corner where the shed now stands. It eventually made way for the wendy house that became a garden store when the kids stopped playing with it. The wendy house made way for the shed. We still have one of the panels, now used as a wall for the “secret” garden. For a number of years now the compost heap has been one of those plastic jobs purchased from B&Q but we really need one that will take all the garden detritus, much of which goes in the green bin.

Found some useful slabs of York stone in the ground with the rotting fence which is a result. You can’t have too much York stone. A few years ago we bought a load leftover from a job on Facebook Marketplace. I had just taken delivery of the brand new Land Rover Defender and one of its first jobs was to bring back half a ton of stone with the rear seats laid flat. What’s not to like?

Felt like a Saturday morning again although I’m sure most of you know it is a Friday. Nipped out at around eight thirty ish to Fosters for some protein and noticed workers streaming towards the County Hospital. Gotta keep the machinery of the National Health Service oiled and working. Having sourced the meat I followed up with a visit to Waitrose to purchase essential supplies not sold by Fosters. Belazu white wine condiment and other such useful storecupboard ingredients. Got a loaf of cheapo white sliced bread for thirty five pence. This is to use for the stuffing for the chichen that is going to be spit roasted on the bbq on Sunday.

Now in the shed supposedly on a conference call but the other party didn’t rock up so I am no longer on the conference call. Whilst I was waiting I dipped into Ancestry to browse the family tree and came across some interesting hints from someone else’s tree. Hints that went back a few generations. Unfortunately when I drilled into the hints they turned out to be drivel. People link ancestors based on very poor proof, adding sources that are clearly nothing to do with the person being studied. Ya gotta be clinical with this stuff.

Now waiting for THG to return from weight training so that we can take the campervan back to Coops’ garage. Next use is in three weeks time or so followed by the weekend of 13th September which is our Hannah’s wedding. Exciting times ahead.

Now tuning in to TMS for the second day of the fifth test. Going to be more rain apaz. We only need to draw this game so that ain’t too bad. Mind you Woakes has knackered his shoulder and is unlikely to be able to bowl any more. I might split some logs during the rain stop play periods, assuming the rain keeps to the Oval and doesn’t fall on Wragby Road, Lincoln.

Years ago I was at the Oval for the last game of the famous Flintoff Ashes series. We only needed a draw to regain the Ashes. After half an hour’s play it started to rain. The whole crowd cheered and went to the bar. We were sat in the debenture holders’ area and had a great bar with panoramic windows behind the bowler’s arm. Someone had just got the fourth round of beers in (there were four of us) when play started again and we took the beers back to our seats.

En route to the seats we attempted, out of curiosity, to go up a staircase but the steward wouldn’t let us up as it was the corporate hospitality area and we didn’t have the right badges. 

When it was my turn to buy the next round I walked back past the staircase and the steward had gone so up I went. There was a guard at the top of the staircase who must have assumed the bloke at the bottom had let me through. I strode confidently up to the bar and, with my hand on a twenty pound note in my pocket, ordered two pints of lager and two pints of bitter. The barman gave me four pints and walked off. Result!

I called the others and we spent the whole of the rest of the day freeloading in the corporate hospitality area. The genuine guests were all dressed poshly but all I had was a pair of shorts, a VOIP tshirt and a leather Australian bush hat. I ended up having to get the drinks each time because one of the lads was refused service. We even had a lovely afternoon tea – smoked salmon sarnies, scones etc. None of the hospitality guests could fit any more food in having already had breakfast and a good lunch.

Happy days.

We now have stepping stones across the meadow. Next to the lake in front of the decking by the shed. Visitors have been taking a shortcut across the meadow to get to the shed ignoring the sign that says please keep to the path. Actually there isn’t a sign but when I see people taking the short cut I call out (shout) to them but they don’t always take any notice, especially if they’ve had a beer or two. 

I did once spot THG doing the same when I was stood in the kitchen window. I had a quiet word after that incident but have bowed to the inevitable and put down a couple of small slabs of york stone. It’s all about managing the environment.

The stone which has simply been laid on top of the meadow grass should bed down nicely in time. Merge into the landscape. It will be as if they have always been there. I am under some pressure to build THG a couple of raised beds just in front of the existing one. That can wait until the workshop has been finished. She needs to let me have a spec anyway.

Our friend Jen from Geralds Close over the back has promised THG some aquatic plants to populate the lake. She has seen some degree of success with her pond (as they like to call these things in Geralds Close). I wonder whether at one time it was Gerald’s Close and has suffered from dumbing down at the council. I refer you to The Jamjar of Apostrophes.

This morning we are going to reattempt to deliver books to the Oxfam Bookshop in the Cornhill. Yesterday’s post 4pm attempt was called off by THG who reported hordes of the great unwashed public milling around the pedestrian areas in front of the shop. They are perfectly at liberty to do this despite vehicular access being allowed after 4pm (and before 10am hence this morning’s trip) but I have never been able to understand why anyone would want to go there.

I guess without the apparent public enthusiasm to walk around the shops, drink coffee, eat lunch etc the very existence of the Oxfam bookshop would be under threat. Second hand bookshops are one of the few types of shop I like to visit. The trouble is I struggle to find anything on my specialist subject of interest in Lincolnshire, to whit Carmarthenshire local history.

Had a bit of a result yesterday when flicking through a book on “Welsh Methodism and the International Evangelical Revival, 1735-1750” I came across a letter written by Hywel Harris whilst staying on our farm Maesnonni in 1748. HH was gushing about the fact that he had raised a load of dosh for an orphanage after preaching at the farm. Fair play. At the time we had 12 “members” gathering there for meetings. My 6g gf David Jones had died in 1743 so the meetings would have been hosted by my 6g gm Elinor, widowed at quite a young age. Strong woman.

Gorrago. Books to deliver.

…

Mission accomplished re books. There are more to go but THG has informed me that the rest of the sorting can wait as “we have lots of other stuff to sort out that are of higher priority”. Rome wasn’t built in a day you know.

Up bright and early and breakfasted on a deelishus slice of granary toast and grilled bacon washed down with a glass of milk. I’ve started grilling the bacon just because it is easier although you do then need to clean out the grill pan (occasionally!).

It is an overcast day and I have a few jobs lined up that include doing some campervan related stuff, mowing the lawn (we can still just about call it that) and some admin. I’ll also be heading to the pool at around eleven. The optimum time to get in the water seems to be around eleven thirty.

We have had notification from the council that Yarborough is reopening in August under new management. However the jury is out on that one. At Total Fitness the pool does not need booking which is not the case at Yarborough plus we punters have to fit around school swimming times. On the plus side it is only a mile or so away cf six miles. I’m gonna wait until the new school term starts and look at the timetables before deciding. Can’t see meself moving back. The facilities are a lot better at TF.

In the meantime I read this morning in Tir Yr Abad (D.G. Lloyd Hughes 1996) that the main inheritor of a Welsh estate used by convention to be the youngest son or the youngest daughter if there were no sons. Interesting. There was a time where the estate was divvied up equally but I think that changed when the Welsh were conquered by the accursed English, at least in law if not in common practice. I would like to validate this but will also take a look at what happened in my own family. The problem is I don’t have birth years for some ancestors as we go back into the dim and distant past (before 1961). The reason we have the death years is because they left wills. I’ll let you know if I find owt obvs.

Proper zonked after a couple of nights away in the campervan. It isn’t so much the nights in the van. It’s the full on nature of the weekend away with our pals. Gawd knows what time we finished last night. I keep an eyeshade in the van so that the light mornings don’t wake me up. Although the van has curtains we ain’t talking blackout grade here.

THG is now on her way back from the metropolis and last night’s Oasis gig. Trains are all up the spout due to an electrical problem somewhere between London and Stevenage. I watched a Robbie Williams/Take That tribute band. I did recognise some of the tunes but not really my thang. The audience had a good time. Lots of people up boogying.

This morning a very kind pal did me a bacon sarnie and we eased into the day. Campervan Betty has had her engine reconditioned and did us proud although we found a few bits and bobs that need sorting. We haven’t used Betty for three years.

Somewhat sluggish start to the day. Had a great night out last night at The Phoenix Arts Club where our son Tom put on a quiz. It was a hilarious evening. We did badly on the music section where the answers mostly seemed to be artists still in their twenties. Not a single question about the Beatles. When I looked up it was twenty to midnight. Waaay past my bedtime. Taxi back to the hotel in Angel.

Bussed it this morning to Kings Cross. It’s one of those lovely mornings that announce a hot day ahead. Now on the train home. THG picking me up from the stayshun then it’s packing to go to the Heckington Show in campervan Betty. If you are going let’s meet up.

Bit bleary eyed this morning. Catching the seven thirty to London. Whenever I catch this train, which ain’t that often these days without any compelling reasons to get to London early in the day, I never sleep well. Sorrite. A bacon roll and a cuppa will perk me up.

I’m in London as I’ve entered a team for our Tom’s Fairly Substantial Quiz. A few tix left if you are in London and fancy a fun evening. The quiz is on tonight but I’ve booked a table at the National Archives in Kew for the day. Got some old docs relating to Llanllwni I want to take a look at. V interesting hopefully.

I’m trying to establish the pattern of Landownership in the Parish. Some of it will have been owned by the Prince of Deheubarth at the time, some by the church and some by freemen. In 1291 a guy called Walter Wynter gave half his stake in Llanllwni church to the Bishop of St Davids. In 1330 Walter gave his half to the prior and canons of Carmarthen Priory. In the process, 44 local “comportioners” or the freemen who had a stake in the gaff had to be sorted out. Walter was Archdeacon of Carmarthen and a crony of the English king.

I can’t see that the archives will give me the detail I’m after, ideally names of freemen and their farms, but you never know and if you don’t ask… The people’s names themselves are of secondary importance as in those days they would probably not have had surnames so almost impossible to tie to my own family. However the farm names could be interesting. I doubt people would have moved farms in those days.

I’ll stop there but be assured if I find anything interesting I will let you know asap :).

It’s quite miserable out there. I put on a fleece at the last minute just in case although all I’ve packed is a clean pair of pants and a shirt. The fleece is handy for keeping wallet and phone in zipped pocket. We are talking London. Big bad city. Eyes in the back of your head etc.

Sat in the Farmers Arms in Moreton. I guess it would have been near to countryside at some point in time and frequented by folk engaged in the business of agriculture. Norranymore. It’s a Greene King pub and I am indulging in a fine pint of lime and soda whilst watching the last round of the Open. THG is visiting family. I popped in to say hello but makes sense to me to leave them to it.

These golfers annoy the hell out of me. They are that good. Mind you I don’t practice and have just had a hipop. It’s the putting. I’m not the best putter in the world. My irons used to be passable and I could hit a drive a long way though not always in the right direction.

Looks to me as if there’s been a bit of a wedding going on in another bit of the pub. Or a birthday party. Can’t tell. Sunday is an unusual day for a wedding. Won’t be able to watch all of Rory’s round though I might catch the end later on in Liverpool. He has just teed off. We are staying at the Doubletree in Sir Thomas Street. Might be on in the bar. 

Will defo be on in the Veron Arms over the road. I like the Vernon Arms. A down to earth Liverpool pub. My fave pub in the pool is The Bridewell behind John Lewis. It can get busy there but there is a turnover of punters so if you hang around long enough a table becomes free. My normal strategy is to perch at the end of someone’s table and move around when they depart for destinations unknown. When THG has finished her retail activity (ie John Lewis) I then normally have a seat for her. Won’t be hitting the Bridewell today though won’t discount tomorrow.

The downside of sitting watching the golf in The Farmer’s Arms is the background noise. Parents bring their kids along and leave them with ipads or similar to play games whilst they get on with the business of the day. We’ve all done it I’m sure. Mind you we didn’t have ipads when I were a kid. Maybe my parents didn’t spend Sunday afternoons int pub. I’m pretty sure they didn’t. Kids also periodically escape and run around until they are eventually brought under control with noticeable levels of dissent.

THG est arrivée.

The phone rang at precisely 07.07 this morning. It was our John. I feigned semiconsciousness although I had been awake for some time perusing the Laws of Hywel Dda. John announced that he was cooking a full English and would I like some, fair play to im. I placed an order and requested a further call when it was ready 🙂 The phone rang again at 07.24. I was already up and on my way down.

Had a v pleasant breakfast with my lad. A cut down full English only, for me. One sausage, a piece of bacon and a slice of toast as opposed to his works. Shortly after 7.30 breakfast was over.

I am now sat in the snug pondering the day ahead. The weather forecast is v wet with thunderstorms around tea time. The very time I am planning to light the bbq. This is norraproblem as the Weber has a lid and I do have the option of a waterproof coat or umbrella.

 Before we can do this THG needs to purchayse some honey which she will do later this morning from a local food market. The honey is for the bbq marinade: soy sayce, worcestershire sayce, garlic, ketchup, cider vinegar, olive oil, honey and sugar. A winning recipe.I typically don’t include the sugar but a sticky sauce has been requested and this is what the sugar does. Might even slip a chilli in there.

We had planned to mosey along to the Lindum this pm to watch cricket but I can’t see the game happening. We don’t have a plan B. This morning the first Lions test is taking place and some of the lads are off the the rugby club to watch but as it’s John’s last day with us I figured I’d spend the time in his company. We can watch the game in the shed. The golf can be on a second screen.

Right I’m off to squeeze in some log splitting before the deluge.

Bore da, as we say. Up and at it. No idea if any larks are involved. Certainly a few blackbirds and the odd robin. Downstairs to make the tea but it is a bit early yet so taking the opportunity to tap away on’t laptop for a few mins.

A good day yesterday. Today is a day for getting things done before the skies open at the weekend. Last few bits chucking on the skip, filling in down the sides of the new pond liner, filling the pond itself. Stuff like that. 

I am irrationally excited about having a pond. At 85cm x 65cm isn’t a very big pond but a pond it certainly is. A place for water loving plants and hopefully a frog or two. Slug devourers.

Quite a bit of topsoil left over from the dig for redistribution elsewhere in the garden. A decision regarding where will have to be taken at the highest level. Only THG is really properly qualified to take such a decis. That is fine. I am confident in the outcome.

I won the best gross at golf yesterday though unfortunately there is no dosh involved there. We have a bandit amongst us who will need an adjustment at the next handicap review. I did get nearest the pin and almost took the longest drive were it not for the fact that Ashley duffed his and it ended up being a good drive which would not have been the case had he hit it as intended. As his normal shot would suggest. I ended a quid up.

Seeing as our John is over we are off to the Duke William tonight. Couldn’t get in to OleOle (1st choice) or the Castle View (Indian). We ate at the Duke after the golf a few weeks back so it will be ok. Gonna be a scorcher so hopefully we can sit outside.

It will be nice to be back in the pool in the gym this morning. Jubilee Park outdoor pool is great but does come with hazards. Mostly on this occasion people of a certain age wallowing along whilst chatting to their mates. The 2ft 6 shallow end also doesn’t help. Total Fitness does have wallowers but far fewer. I did 25 mins yesterday and called it quits.

My book research is slowly moving into a different phase. I’ve gone back as far as I can using available online documentary research, church records plus items kept at the National Library of Wales to trying to understand who owned lands historically, By this I mean which princes and the modes by which their lands were divided up.

For example roughly a fifth of the acreage of Llanllwni in the eighteenth century was owned by Herbert Evans of the nearby Highmead Estate. Herbert was a descendant of the Lloyds of Castell Hywel who can notionally trace their ancestry back to The Lord Rhys. Ole Rhys had a lot of land which was gradually divided up between various offspring. The Lloyds themselves were big landowners but it is also possible to see how their lands were also divided across the generations.

I am not aware that we are related to the Lloyds or Lord Rhys, though everything is possible, but how did we come to acquire our own land? Some of it was by marriage but really it must initially have been as a result of land enclosures in the post manorial era.

The Welsh maenorial system was different to that of England in that the land not specifically owned by “the king” was communally owned. I suspect that it will not be possible to trace the ownership of this land with time over the period in question but I’m having a go. Llanllwni is about as remote and insignificant as it comes which makes it even less likely that I will find documentary evidence. V shall c.

I love you baaaby. Just a bit of a tune that came into my head. Not mine obvs. Was in the hit parade many spins of a Long Player ago. Just thought I’d let you know. Anyway werrup and breakfasted and I’m sat at the kitchen table awaiting a steaming hot cawfee currently in preparation over there in the corner on the worktop. Near the dishwasher. You know, the corner that everyone seems to migrate to even though we have a large kitchen with plenty of worktop. The toaster is over there as well…

Overcast this morning after yesterday’s rain but not cold and it ain’t going to stop any outside jobs being done. Back in the pool just after eleven and then need to swing by the IBCC on an errand on the way home. Then a bit of shopping with our John this pm.

Today is Tuesday. Ordinarily it would be a Monday but that was yesterday. I say this because it feels like the start of the week but yesterday we were at the cricket and it felt like a Sunday even though it was the last day of the test match.

Twas a wonderful day’s cricket. Cricket as it is meant to be. John and I enjoyed every minute without a drop of beer passing our lips until the tea interval and that started 30 mins later than planned as India were by then down to nine wickets. As you know in those circumstances tea can be delayed for up to thirty minutes to give the bowling side a chance to finish the job.

In the event it took longer and in the meantime John and I treated ourselves to a pint. What an ending. Even THG joined in as she called to find out which train we would be on and whilst we were talking Bashir took the last wicket. I can remember seeing it happen almost in slow motion at which point Bumrah collapsed over his bat.

It is a long walk from Lords to Baker Street tube and with no chance of finding an Uber we made a start. We did stop for a mo at bus stop P but the first bus that went by did not stop as it was already rammed. At that point a black cab rolled miraculously by and having flagged him down we were deposited at Kings Cross Station whereupon we repaired to the Parcel Yard for sustenance and refreshment.

I was reminded that the food there is crap but it was in a handy spot. The crap food was accompanied by a glass of sauvignon blanc as they were running down beer stocks in advance of a month’s closure for refurbishment. I didn’t think the place particularly needed refurbishing. They are bound to put up their prices even more as a result.

The train back was tres confortable. We had a table to ourselves and the staff kept plying us with gin in recognition of the fact that we were celebrating a famous victory at the home of criquet. I had made a point of mentioning this to ensure they had the opportunity of recognising the fact.

All in all a good day out. A good weekend in fact, what with George’s stag do and then watching our Joe’s jazz gig in Regents Park for which I shelled out £16.50 for the hire of three deck chairs. Worth every penny. We periodically moved the deck chairs as the sun moved around and we lost our bit of shade. Each time we did this the girl taking the money came up to us to try and charge us again. Good job I’d kept the receipt.

The week ahead is more what you might call a normal week. Our John is home for a few days so I’ll have an assistant to help get some jobs done. Log chopping, shed spraying, pond digging. Stuff like that.

I’ve started the week with what some of you might consider to be the mundane domestic chore that is switching on the washing machine. This is not as straightforward as you might think and involves staring at the control panel for some time and experimenting with a few button presses before alighting on the right setting for washing my extremely smelly sandals. I’m sure they will be like new when they emerge with one of those gleams you see in the adverts (one imagines that to be the case – don’t recall the last time I saw an ad for Square Deal Surf or Persil Automatic etc).

No swimming today as I don’t have the car but will be glad to get back in the pool tomorrow innit. Also you do sometimes need time to come down from a weekend such as the one just past.

Mustn’t forget to mention that our pal Martin Levy joined us for breakfast yesterday at Flemings. Was great to see him again. He was in town for his mother’s book launch. Breakfast at Flemings was high quality fair play. I judge a hotel by their breakfast. After brekkie THG departed for Kings Cross and I to Lords.

Tharrldofornow. My tea needs pouring. Ciao amigos.

Busy, busy, busy day. We have a skip in the drive and Darryl the plasterer has mostly finished putting his stuff in so the rest of the space is ours. We have been having a sort out. 

The Kadai firebowl is being chucked. I began emptying the sand, ashes and various bits of metal into a couple of buckets and it was clear that the Kadai has seen its last evening of singing around the campfire. A load of miscellaneous rubbish is also being disposed of although some of the old paint tins are being put to one side to be taken to the tip.

We will defo want to replace the Kadai. Not with another Kadai methinks. Am thinking stainless steel or similar and perhaps a slightly smaller footprint to make winter storage in the wood shed a possibility.

Then off to Total Fitness for a swim. Upon arrival I decided to chill out in the caff for a while as the pool was rammed. People tend not to stay in the pool for that long and I knew the sitch would improve. Ordinarily 11.15 is a good time to get in there but today it was after 11.30. I think the sunny weather has brought people out of the woodwork. After a few lengths Ajax rocked up and when we had finished our swim chilled out in the spa for a bit.

Needed to dash off after the swim to pop to Hackthorn to pick up my framed antique map of Carmarthenshire which is going to hang in the shed. Only issue is that the label telling me about the map/date is hidden under the backing of the frame. I’ll be able to work it out. 1738 or simlar. Bit of salad and a bit of sport later I carried on with sorting the crap for the skip and we are now mostly finished until after the weekend. Busy weekend ahead with no possibility of skip loading.

See you in the Morning Star for early doors?