where art collides philosoperontap

Very much nip in the air in my conservatory at five thirty this morning. Was cold enough last night for the heating to go on. Anyway up early, although we have no larks here to benchmark the time, so to speak.

Last night I went along to St Mary Le Wigford church to audition for a play that included rendition of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood. There were nine of us there for 8 roles but the director had yet to hear some others so we won’t know until perhaps June. The performances are at the end of October. Broadbent Theatre. It does require a Welsh speaker and I was the only such candidate so I’ve probably got a good chance. Fingers crossed eh?

Dyl is one of my fave poets and his prose is fantastic. If you’ve never read the play it is worth a skeet. He was a perfectionist and famously wrote 203 versions of Do not go gentle into that good night before he was happy with it. He liked his pop. Personally I can’t write anything creative if I’ve had a drink. Need a clear head.

Back home from Liverpool. Just over a week until our next jaunt which is going to be a biggie, Didn’t plan to go on all these trips this year. They just seem to come out of the woodwork. We are around for most, if not all of June and July. 

Ten years ago today it was Day 6 of the Coast to Coast. Kirby Stephen to Keld. At this point we were approaching the nicest bits of the walk and far easier going than the first few days of the walk. Swaledale was very beautiful and the Keld Lodge Hotel, which represented the half way point on the trip, was probably our fave of the fortnight. It wasn’t posh, just very friendly with everything we needed and in a lovely spot. You walked outside to a cacophony of birdsong and the bleating of sheep. We met a bloke who had just retired from the Police force and was treating himself to a walk from Lands End to John O’Groats. He carried everything in his pack and his wife would ring ahead and book accommodation for him en route as he progressed.

One fox visit last night at nine fifty eight and a few hedgehog. Downloaded the vids but not yet made a note of the times. If you do it every day it is easy to keep on top of but when you have to record a few days on the trot it is a bit more work.

V nice night out with THG to see Rocky Horror Picture Show starring Jason Donovan at the Liverpool Empire. Didn’t recognise Jase but there again I didn’t really know what he looks like. Good theaytre the Empire. V big but v well organised. No queues at the bar. They even had at seat service. Fair play. Back to watch the last frame of the snooker and catch some/lots of zeds. Hotel was quite close to the Empire.

We had intended to eat Lebanese food at Fattoush before the show but in the end decided to eat Lebanese food in the hotel bar. 

Fox had the run of the garden yesterday while we were away with four separate visits during daylight hours and already two this morning before seven ey em. I imagine there will also be plenty of overnight trail cam footage for me to pick up when we get home later today.

Ten years ago today, day 5, was a tough one on the Coast to Coast trail with a twenty miler between Shap and Kirby Stephen on a hot day. It very much lives in the memory not so much because we ran out of water and my feet ended up in a terrible state but because of the pub quiz at the Black Bull Hotel. I’m sure I must have told you this story before. I tell it a lot. However because it’s the tenth anniversary you are getting it again.

We sat outside rehydrating and then went in the Black Bull. All we wanted was steak and chips and then go to bed. Wasn’t that simple. If we were in the pub the rule was that we had to enter the quiz. We ordered food and did the first half of the quiz at which point we would depart for the sanctuary of the Fletcher House B&B and, having treated my feet, hit the hay. The last question in the first half of the quiz was the bonus question with a £30 prize. I was the only one in the pub who knew the answer which was British Philosopher Bertrand Russell. No idea what the question was. I’d just read Russel’s History of Western Philosophy.

We finished our steaks and I went to the bar to claim the prize before hitting the hay. The swines told me I’d have to come back at the end of the quiz to pick up the dosh. We walked out leaving that £30 behind the bar, never to return. I daresay it is still there to this day waiting for me to go and claim it. Obvs won’t buy as much beer nowadays as it would have then.

…

Sat outside in the car whilst THG visits her sister in Barnston Court Care Home. Lots of avian commotion started by a magpie chasing a robin or similar. Don’t think it got it but all the small birds around were sounding the alarm.

Woman just parked opposite and crossed the road to the care home carrying a punnet of grapes! Nothing new under the sun innit.

Whilst I am sat here I’m surfing. It is noted that one million three hundred thousand people have entered the ballot to run next year’s London Marathon. That is phenomenal. Must be around ten percent of the population of the place. Fit lot those Londoners. Obviously.

I note also, and I may be a little behind the game here, that the Celebrity Traitors line up for the next series has been announced. My response to this is “oh”.

V pleasant short stroll around some of the attractions of Lincoln History weekend yesterday afternoon. Met Ajax in front of the Cornhill and spent a minute or two looking at the Norman encampment. The lad had brought Monty the dog with him as wife Sue was away with their daughter on a luxury holiday in Tenerife, or Lanzarote, or somewhere like that. He did tell me. Monty was the champion of champions at last year’s Heckington show. This had a lot to do with the fact that when the judge had finished looking at all the section winners she admitted she could not choose and asked the audience. The hound with the loudest cheer would be declared winner. There were quite a number of our camping lot watching and Monty took the title by a country mile.

The Norman stuff only needed two minutes tbh. Then we mosied towards the Posterngate where we were meeting Jezzer. En route there was a queue forming outside the Stonebow which is a v historic building. As we were early we stopped with a view to quickly nipping in for a skeet. However the doors were locked and the people stood outside said that it was open at 10:30 and 2pm. Huh ok. Thought it would be open all day, it being History Weekend an all.

On we continued to our intended destination passing Jezzer on the way, sat on a bench along Saltergate. At the door to Posterngate Ajax was informed that Monty wasn’t allowed in. Jezzer, who had already been inside whilst he was waiting for us, offered to look after Monty whilst we went and did the history bit. Was interesting enough but really only a five minutes job. 7 mins max if you wanted to read all the fairly informational but clearly well past their best boards. One sign referred to something that was going to be updated in 2007 or 2014 or similar!

We climbed, blinking eyed back into the sunlight and as it was still not quite two decided to check out the Stonebow which should shortly be opening. There were more people waiting and we asked the old bloke in the council shirt and tie who was clearly an official what the scoop was. He didn’t understand “scoop” so I rephrased the question. The tour was free but you had to have booked and it was full. This surprised me as it didn’t seem to fit with the nature of all the other History Weekend attractions which were walk ins. 

Turned out the guide didn’t even know it was History Weekend and the 10:30 and 2 were their normal opening times. If we hung around we might have some noshows which would mean we could go in. However when he said it was a 45 minutes gig we decided that this didn’t fit with our extremely slack schedule and moved on.

It was at this point, when we were discussing the Steep Hill challenge ahead and why couldn’t we have arranged to meet at the top of the hill which would have better suited Jezzer and me, that Ajax declared that dog Monty being quite old wouldn’t make it up the hill and that we should repair to the Royal William IV pub on the Brayford to discuss. We spent the rest of the afternoon sat in pleasant sunshine outside the pub talking about things historical, I think.

At five thirty I declared a need to get home to cook dinner and left them to it. The Uber picked me up 100yds away at the corner of Lucy Tower Street and was already there waiting for me by the time I got there. The app had said it would be three minutes but once confirmed it said it really meant 1 minute which is the waiting time the expedited more expensive fare was going to be. I’ve got wise to that ruse. Anyway getting an Uber was a no brainer with the fare at £3.97 compared with the busfare of £3 and I wouldn’t have to walk to the bus station and stand around waiting. Uber driver Hassan got me home in plenty of time to season the steaks and warm up the grill.

This morning we are off to Wirral to see family and thence to Chester for a night out with @Barbara and George. Before we go will have to water the wildflower meadow even though it rained most of the night. Better safe than sorry innit.

Ciao amigos.

Oh, and no fox but seven separate visits over the whole night by the hedgehog at the Raised Beds and a couple of nattering Robins shortly after daybreak.

Coast to Coast Day 3 2016.

…

Fox came 09:35

This morning it was decreed (by me) that I would have a substantial breakfast. Breakfast is often said to be the most important meal setting you up for the rest of the day. This wasn’t the case in 18th century farming communities in Carmarthenshire where lunch was the biggie but there again I live in modern Lincolnshire in the 21st century. I digress. I had fried potatoes, mushrooms, tomato, fried bread, sausage, bacon and toast. Using some stuff up from the fridge. Will not need feeding again until I stick a steak on the barbie tonight.

Typically I only go full Lincolnshire these days at the weekend. Now I am sat in my conservatory, doors open, recording birdsong. Nothing too exotic at the moment. Sparrer, robin, blackbird, wren and blackcap. The latter is new this season. As I write a dove has appeared on the list. I don’t count wood-pigeon. Pests. THG has departed for her park run and I am pondering the day ahead. 

I was awake at dawn, 5ish, and by five thirty up and at it in the conservatoire looking at the butter industry in Carmarthenshire in the 1700s, fwiw. Then followed some additions to the list of documents to see when I am in West Wales at the end of the month. I’ll be calling in on a long lost cousin I never knew I had but who got in touch having seen my family tree stuff. We will be heading to some cemeteries looking at gravestones and also to the Felin Obaith woollen mill, now defunct, at Rhiwadar. On day two I’ll be in the National Library of Wales. I like doing this kind of stuff. Problem is Carmarthenshire is a long way away.

It is History Weekend in Lincoln. Last night THG and I went to the cathedral to hear a David Olusoga lecture. V good fair play. Gave some interesting insights including the fact that when a French division was allowed to lead the parade after the liberation of Paris in WW2 they took out any non white colonial troops and replaced them with any white soldier they could lay their hands on. Outrageous but shows you the attitudes of the times.

Today I am off to see the Roman Posterngate with Ajax. The Posterngate is rarely open to visitors but is the gate by which people entered Roman Lincoln from the south before they climbed the hill to the main bit. Afterwards we are indeed going to climb Steep Hill and peruse the attractions laid on for the weekend. Roman market, mediaeval encampments and that sort of thing. Stuff like that anyway.

Yesterday was the perfect spring day reaching 25 or 26 degrees centigrade. I set up the irrigation system in the greenhouse. Something that is an annual job as I take the solar powered pump in over winter. I also got the little water fountain back up and running in front of the deck. It kept slowing down but I realised this morning (actually whilst lying awake in bed – funny what you think about innit) the pump probably needs cleaning so that is a job for today. Today is a little cooler at nineteen and overcast but still comfortable. Supposed to rain tonight which is much needed. 

Finally, for now, we had a fox at 21:57 (Raised Beds) and hedgehog at various times between ten to nine and ten past four including once at the Lake.

…

Day 2 C2C 2016.

Bit of a dead rubber day tomorrow. Was looking at imps coverage in my facebook stream including the odds on various scores for the last game of the season away at port vale. Tis a little surprising that lincoln are only 6 to 1 to win one nil as opposed to lower odds considering they are runaway winners of the league title and port vale are relegated. Maybe there isn’t enough money being bet on the game. Maybe they think the team has been out on the lash celebrating since last weekend and will be on reduced capacity.

Rewind. Just looked it up to check and Lincoln are actually odds on faves to win. However having gone to the effort of typing that first paragraph on my phone I’m going to leave it there as it would otherwise have been a complete waste of effort 🙂 

I have an event free calendar today, yay. Do have a few bits and bobs to get on with. Then might meet a couple of the lads in the Bail for a coffee. Got to stay off the pop as we are off to see David Olusoga in the cathedral ce soir. THG doesn’t want me to nod off in the middle of his talk. Honestly as if I would do that.

Actually I do have form when it comes to nodding off. We went to see a history lecture at the Collection a few years back. It was so boring that two or three of us did nod off. There had been lunch beforehand and that might have involved a glass of wine.

Just finished a pleasant enough breakfast of a bacon sandwich and half a grapefruit. The bacon, Waitrose “extra thick” was in my mind really just about the minimum acceptable thickness for such a delicacy. The stuff you get in the supermarkets these days is often so thin you have to handle it very carefully to avoid it coming apart. Pathetic really. Pathetic that people will buy it even.You don’t actually get much choice in many emporia. It is often the case of just how thin do you want it?

Fox came at 19:38 last evening whilst I was just finishing golf and then the hedgehog variously from nine oh five pee em onwards. What was interesting is that the fox was caught again on camera at 04:55 (Raised Beds) and 05:00 (Lake). The earlier video is in darkness but only five minutes later in full daylight at the lake. This is either down to the differences in cameras or during the first vid it was very much in nighttime mode and in the second there was enough daylight to switch it over to daytime mode. Whatever the answer it tells us that dawn was at 5am or just before on this day, 1st May 2026 CE.

Pinch and a punch…

Magpies creating a racket in the holm oak behind the shed. Their call is very abrasive. Merlin picked up a siskin this morning. This is a new one and tbh I was somewhat suspicious that the app had made a mistake. However I googled it and indeed siskins are to be found in Lincoln so I’m inclined to add it to the flock of recorded avian species.

There is also big news from the lake. The one surviving aquatic plant we bought from the Wirral Aquatic Centre (or similar) for the then upside down dustbin lid pond is emerging from the deep. The lid lake was long since discarded in favour of the current magnificent watery expanse. The four plants procured cheaply in the end of season sale turned out to need much deeper water than the dustbin lid could provide and did not thrive. The one survivor was put in place in the deep water of the new lake and having died back has over wintered well and would appear to be thriving. The label is still in place and after wiping away the accumulated dirt has revealed itself to be a Butomus. The RHS has photos and I am excited that this will fit well into the natural environment. All the photos I can find require attribution or are copyrighted so I’ll wait until this one flowers to show you.

Lots happening. Off now to install the irrigation system in the greenhouse. Ciao amigos.

Quiet day on the wildlife front with one fox visit at around twenty past midnight this morning and a couple of hedgehog sightings at ten to eleven pm and twenty to two am. Interesting how some nights they can be very active but on others spend it all in someone else’s garden. Not seen a muntjac for a while. I wonder if it smells the scent of fox and stays clear.

Was discussing the fox with “Tony next door” and “Karen down the road” on the bus home from town. I’d been for lunch at the White Horse with @Phil and @Keith. A good pint of TT Landlord fair play although I made a mistake in ordering the spicy fries with the burger. Should have gone plain. £18 for burger and a beer was not bad with a £2 upgrade to the house special burger though tbh I’d probs have been fine with the regular cheese job. Settled for a simple fish finger sandwich for dinner later.

Not v often I join the great unwashed on the bus home from town. Had planned to walk but you know what it’s like once you’ve had a beer. That basically wrote the rest of the day off although I did squeeze in a conference call with Tracey and Manuel at four pm. You will be pleased to know that the guided tour of Pompeii has been sorted. Our man Marco from Milan gets all the credit.

Have removed to my conservatory before breaking the fast this morning as it is such a nice sunny day out. Bodes well for the golf this afternoon although it is no guarantee of a good score. Also great growing conditions for the meadow. It gets watered every day and the greenery is really starting to come along nicely.

My Facebook timeline reminded me that ten years ago today I had arrived in St Bees in Cumbria for the start of the coast to coast walk. Was a beautiful sunny day in total contrast with the next day which was a raging storm. Maybs I’ll share pics of that walk over the next fortnight.

…

Popped down to Antonio’s barbers but there was a queue so I thought I’d pass. I do need a haircut but will have some time to kill in Liverpool at the weekend and can get shorn there.

…

Full moon tonight driving back from golf. I got best gross and a birdie but won no coin. Being the end of the month the handicaps get reworked. Lost two balls which is unusual for me. Another fox visit at 19:38.

Bright and breezy morning in the shire. Sunny but an easterly wind adding a bit of an edge. I’m hoping to nail the Pompeii tour today having got Marco from Milano involved. If need be Carolina from Sorrento is available to help. THG has already been out to water the greenhouse plants and I shall liberally drench the meadow en route to the shed a little later on when I’ve finished my cup of tea. You can’t rush a cup of tea yanow.

A busy night on the wildlife front though nowt around the lake for which Brian must be quite relieved after the previous night incident where the fox is suspected to have kicked him over. No proof. Just circumstantial evidence. All the action was at the Raised Beds where five separate hedgehog visits were recorded starting at eleven pm and ending shortly after four in the morning. I suspect he made the garden his hunting ground for most of the night. Three fox visits between five to seven when I was actually in the shed and one in the morning.

Today I am doing lunch with @Phil and @Keith. White Horse on Hungate. Not been in since it was the Tap and Spile. Will be easy enough to get there but will be tackling Spring Hill on the way back. I’ll probs take the route through Michaelgate to Castle Hill. Might even wander into the chateau for a gander. No rush, as long as I get the Pompeii stuff sorted before I go plus a few other bits.

Btw the grapefruit spoon is back in action with a vengeance. Great to have it back 🙂

Bit of a rush on this morning. Someone organised a conference call for 08:30. AM. Honestly! Just chucked some clothes on and now finishing off the last bit of bacon under the grill. The simple things in life.

In the shed by ten past eight ish, cup of tea in hand. Each morning I now stop at the bottom of the wildflower meadow and take a photo. It will be good to be able to put together a timelapse video of the growing meadow. Won’t be perfect as the camera angle will change from day to day but it will be good enough.

Due to a North Easterly wind tis a little cooler today which suits THG as she is off out with the Pink Ladies Running Club. They meet every Tuesday morning in the Waitrose car park if yer interested. Yesterday’s forecast rain did not appear which was a bit of a shame. It must be a few weeks now since we’ve had rain. The farmers will be starting to get worried. No rain is, however, good for honey bees. One of the participants in the Monday afternoon pilates class is a beekeeper. She said the bees loved this time of year with so much apple blossom around. Rain ain’t good for apple blossom, apaz. Makes sense. I am optimistic that we will have a good crop this year.

My other farming activity is the grapevine which has very much started to sprout. We have never been very successful with growing grapes but last year I was given a tip that will hopefully sort it out. Once the new growth has reached a certain length you trim the ends off. The plant thinks it is under threat and pushes out lots of flowers and we all know what that means. I think these are eaters rather than drinkers but that will be good. We would never get enough grapes off our one vine to make wine anyway.I just hope the harvest will be after we get back from Malta in September. Would be just our luck for them all to ripen and get eaten by birds when we are away.

…

Just to let you know I’ve spent most of the afternoon so far trying to book group tickets for Pompeii. You can book ten tickets online but our group is 38 people so I need to do it differently. You also have to provide names of everyone in the group! Group bookings usually get faster entry so it is worth doing.

Now this is a lot harder than it sounds. First of all I have to sign a contract with an organisation in Florence that has nothing to do with selling tickets and exists solely to get you to sign a contract that effectively just tells you the ticket prices. Only one person in their office speaks a bit of English and is very difficult to get a message across to.

Anyway I signed the contract, with a little AI help as it wasn’t particularly obvious that there was anywhere to sign, sent it off together with my booking letter containing all the names and received an answer in Italian telling me to call a certain number (+39 081 5379358 < you have to keep the leading zero). That has an option for an English speaking attendant (yay) but when you click one to speak to said attendant you get a message saying “attention please, wrong number selected”.

I messaged our tour guide to say “I am really struggling to get through to parco pompeii to pay for the tickets” only to get the response “know it’s hellish”.

I don’t think they want visitors. Must have tried over ten times. Maybe fifteen. I’ve asked our Italian Sales Manager Marco to call and see if he gets any more joy with the Italian language option. Lo and behold Marco got through. We’re not there yet though. Fingers crossed eh?

In other news I found Brian flat on his back this morning, arms and legs in the air. I wonder if last night’s fox visitor did it. 20:45, 03:20 and 04:21. The lad is now back in position doing what he loves best but it must have been a shock to his system. At least he hadn’t landed in the lake which could have resulted in a rescue boat call out.

A night of snooker watching with THG beckons after chicken fajitas for din dins. What’s not to like?

Yay it is a Monday. On Mondays I go to a pilates class at 13:30 and then head to Yarborough to plough some watery lanes. A watery lane. I don’t dip from lane to lane. In fact today my day starts early with a conference call at 9am I wasn’t sure I knew about but hey. It got me out of bed. In fact I was showered, dressed and having breakfast by 09:10. THG’s finest gran o’lah with yo’gurt.

The fox was very active last night with eight separate visits starting at 18:21 and ending at 05:21. Gosh. Hedgehog and fox were around at the same time at 04:25.

Now in da shed, doors wide open. Tis going to be a beeootiful day begorra.

…

Just paid the APCOA fine for forgetting to pay to drop our John off at East Midlands Airport. Effin bastards. Totes forgot. I realise that there are signs every 2 m telling you to do so. Charging you to drop someone off is not a very friendly thing to do. It has reduced my interest in using that airport. Not that I’ve flown from there for yonks. It’s been convenient for our John when coming back from Berlin from time to time. In fact RyanAir is ditching Berlin in October so it might not happen after this year. His alternative is LCY which is a much better airport albeit further away. He can catch the train from LCY.

Good day out yesterday. Lincoln RFC totally walloped Ashby, de la Zouche. Something like 87 – 12. The ref called time half way through the 2nd half. Plenty of talk about arranging a day out at Spurs away next season. Assuming it’s Spurs wot goes down. They are favourites right now. It’s between them and West Aamm. You would think that tickets will be easy enough to get hold of but we shall have to wait and see. Lots of Imps fans will be wanting to go. Will need to book train tickets early. I quite like the idea of taking over a carriage. 07:30 down and 19:43 home. Would be a good day out.

Ended up in the Morning Star beer garden. I went home around eightish as it was getting a tad cold. We did start at twelve thirty. Had a chinese delivered. THG was out later than me! We ended up watching the snooker. Ronnie v John Higgins. 6 – 2 to Ronnie at the mo.

Slow start this morning but there is no rush. It’s overcast and I haven’t yet been out to check on the progress in the wildflower meadow. It’s one of those things where you’d like to be able to fast forward the growth. That, however, would mean fast forwarding life and that would not be good.

Recorded the hedgehog over a period of an hour and a half last night (01:20 – 02:50) in thirteen separate video clips. The fox was in the garden at the same time at the end and I wonder whether the hedgehog felt it expedient to lie low for a bit. Hedgehog was back at first light.

Busy night int jardin with two separate vulpine visits at ten past midnight and quarter past three and the hedgehog rooted around for ten minutes or so at dentist time. The observation of these visits has only been possible since the arrival of the trail cameras and I wonder how long they have been going on for. Part of me wants to think that the hedgehog is quite a new visitor and that its arrival heralds a reduction in the slug and snail population. It certainly only recently we’ve been seeing the fox in broad daylight.

Used the grapefruit spoon for the first time today – thanks Lils & Joe for the team effort to get it back to the shire. Also broke open the last of the bacon from the butcher in Peel. Top guy. Cures it himself. This was the smoked bacon. Really meaty. So now I’m resting in the conservatory, sun blazing through. Gonna be a warm un.

Another sporting day ahead with lunch at the Club Sporting de Lincoln RFC followed by a first team game against someone. I could look them up but I don’t think it matters much, Lincoln being mid-table or similar. This is good use of the afternoon seeing as the Imps game is not on telly despite this being the day where they will be presented with the League 1 winners trophy, win, lose or draw. A time of celebration.

THG has gone running.