where art collides philosoperontap

Milkman came at 05:04. Left two pints and the bill. Cost five pounds ninety four for six pints. First time I’ve seen how much it costs.

Wildthing’s funeral today. Steve Wildman, or Wildthing was a close friend and neighbour. We met at ante-natal classes thirty two years ago when we were both preparing for the birth of our first born children. Our wives were there as well obvs.

Our second born children, @Hannah and @Lois have been best buddies since the womb. Steve was a regular visitor to our house. We would have occasional jam sessions, he on trombone and me on geetar with Joe on trumpet and had a couple of public performances over the years at the various royal wedding and jubilee celebrations held around the corner on Curle Ave.

Steve retired a short few years ago from his job as Commercial Director of Siemens Energy, or Oil and Gas, or similar. They kept changing the name. I’m really not sure what his title was either but he did spend a lot of time overseas negotiating multi billion pound contracts.

Steve was one of the few people responsible for maintaining and being able to drive the Rustons Car, a vehicle manufactured in Lincoln circa 1922. He was a mechanical engineer by trade and a motocross enthusiast, sponsoring his pal Dick’s Team Tett racing outfit.

I went along to one race meet in Monmouthshire last summer where we both kipped in the awning they used to fix up the bikes. Steve owned a large collection of Husqvarna bikes and was an occasional visitor to the Isle of Man for the racing.

He was a larger than life character who lived life very much to the full. He was a volunteer at Joefest and he and I ran the bar at our daughters’ various joint birthday celebrations.

Steve was a regular visitor to the shed when lockdown restrictions eased. You could almost see the level of the gin in the bottle drop as you looked at it.

It is hard to believe that Steve is no longer with us. He is a big loss. He was a great guy and highly respected. Steve’s attitude to life was an example to us all.  

We plan to arrive an hour before the funeral to make sure we get a seat. Our thoughts are with his family, Eve, Lois and Kester.

Grey, grey, grey, grey, grey day today. Ain’t no sunshine and she ain’t even gone. Snormal British summer weather really. Sokay. 

Another day of progress with the garage, hopefully. Inshallah. There is so much crap in there. The accumulated detritus of the twenty seven years we have been in this house. Old, not quite finished tins of paint, a bag of sand (!), a huge paella dish that I bought in some market that we have never used. If anyone wants a party sized paella dish now is the time to ask. Ten telescopic flagpoles (yup), campervan ramps, never used, two bike stands, never used, or maybe used once.

This is just the stuff I can remember without having to look. My visualisation of the garage is one of those pristine tidy spaces with everything in its place. Clean shelving with contents in clearly labelled boxes. Ditto the playroom that was never really used as a playroom and is just a dumping ground. With a bit of work that could be a workshop. A lot of work. Unlikely.

Then there’s the potting shed…

So plenty to be getting on with.

In the meantime I’ve put my clean clothes away, tidied up the top of the chest of drawers next to my side of the bed, fitted the new thermometer to the gas bbq and pumped up my bike tyres.

The tyres were completely flat as the bike hasn’t been used for a couple of years but I am about to change all that. The inflation process wasn’t totes straightforward and I had to resort to YouTube for assistance. Turns out the valve has a little metal bit you have to unscrew before attaching the pump. Who knew? All my other bikes, well my other bike, had the same valve as you get on a car tyre. Sup now anyway and I’ll be picking a time to go on a bit of a ride.

…

taxi requirements for the cricket

Friday 19th 3 persons

Tref, Shannon and Max from 118 Wragby Road to Trent Bridge – 8am

Return pickup 7pm – drop off Max in Burton, Tref 118 Wragby Road Shannon Heighington

150 round trip

130 without drop offs

Sat 20th 4 persons

Pickup Wragby Road 8.am then Hamilton Road near South Common

Return 7pm

Drop off Skelly, Hamilton Road, Wragby Road and Welton

159 round trip

Tbh I’ll be quite glad when this election is over with. The bullshit they keep giving airtime to is getting quite tedious. My vote has already been cast. Will put some champagne in the fridge to chill.

I plan to practise some grave dancing. A glee fuelled frenzy, hopefully celebrating the political demise of some of the worst, self-serving, useless bunch of politicians we have ever been unfortunate enough to have in the job.

Moving on, THG is a lot happier this morning having watched her side come back from an early flight home from the European football competition with a stunner of an overhead goal by Jude Bellingham. Although I am only a mildly interested bystander the tension in the house was palpable. Disappointment seemed inevitable.

Also the Davies representatives at Glasto are now all on their way home or already back. The first left late last night and the second is now on the M4. A busy week ahead as they all converge on Lincoln tomorrow night. I will need to make two runs to the stayshun to pick up the party as they won’t all fit in THG’s car.

Twould appear to be much sunnier today than was the case yesterday. Our regular milkman reappeared at four fifty three this morning sporting a polo shirt. Surely a sign of good weather ahead? The met office says cold and cloudy but looking outside the garden is bathed in sunshine. Works for me.

A third plant has come into flower in my meadow. No idea what it is yet but as the blossom gets bigger, or is joined by others, I should be able to determine the make, so to speak.

This morning should also see me making more progress with the garage clearout. Freeing up a big space on one of the shelves by moving the tent on means it will be easier for me to move things around to sort. On the floor there are four large black crates that could do with not being there anymore. 

One of the crates is filled with bar kit left over from the festival and another with wetsuits, life jackets and other kayaking and snorkelling gear that were once a feature of Davies family life. 

The goal is to purge the garage of items unnecessary. Davies Surplus, as it might be said. We may have to have a bit of a Facebook Marketplace session. Some of it is probably good stuff but kid sized wetsuits and life preservers ain’t much use to us now.

Ditto the golf clubs. I have at least four sets in there, gathered over the years. Then there are four body boards and, I note, some pink and blue beach umbrellas that were presumably left over from the festival bar area. They ain’t staying.

The higher shelves are typically reserved for boxes of Christmas decorations. There are a lot of them! I saw that the “Santa Please Stop Here” signs had seen better days but I can’t see me being allowed to chuck them. You need to know your limits 🙂

…

Steve Wildman, or Wildthing as he was sometimes called was a close friend and neighbour. We met at ante-natal classes thirty two years ago when we were both preparing for the birth of our first born children. Our wives were there as well obvs.

Our second born children, @Hannah and @Lois have been best buddies since the womb. Steve was a regular visitor to our house. We would have occasional jam sessions, he on trombone and me on geetar with Joe on trumpet and had a couple of public performances over the years at the various royal wedding and jubilee celebrations held around the corner on Curle Ave.

Steve retired a short few years ago from his job as Commercial Director of Siemens Energy, or Oil and Gas, or similar. They kept changing the name. I’m really not sure what his title was either but he did spend a lot of time overseas negotiating multi billion pound contracts.

Steve was one of the few people responsible for maintaining and being able to drive the Rustons Car, a vehicle manufactured in Lincoln circa 1922. He was a mechanical engineer by trade and a moto cross enthusiast, sponsoring his pal Dick’s Team Tett racing outfit.

I went along to one race meet in Monmouthshire last summer where we both kipped in the awning they used to fix up the bikes. Steve owned a large collection of Husqvarna bikes and was an occasional visitor to the Isle of Man for the racing.

He was a larger than life character who lived life very much to the full. He was a volunteer at Joefest and he and I ran the bar at our daughters’ various joint birthday celebrations.

Steve was a regular visitor to the shed when lockdown restrictions eased. You could almost see the level of the gin in the bottle drop as you looked at it.

It is hard to believe that Steve is no longer with us.

Heavy dew on the ground this morning. Either that or it must have rained overnight. One of my jobs today whilst THG is out is to water the garden. It’s the church picnic so she will not be back until mid pm. Most people at her church think she is single. Not my thang. I feel uncomfortable going there.

Now drinking a cuppa on the deck. Whilst today is the sabbath I do feel motivated to continue with the garage clearance. In due course. When the time is right.

This is the height of the British summer. Wimbledon is about to start, the first test match is just around the corner and the grass needs cutting. The apple crop looks to be a good one this year and the strawberries have lasted a lot longer than we thought they would. Raspberries starting to come through now. The border looking more colourful than it has ever done.

This afternoon at five pee em we will be watching the footy. THG is both excited and somewhat filled with trepidation about the game. Her team, England hasn’t been playing to its full potential. This is normal for England football. Problem is the English fans always approach each tournament with extremely high levels of expectation and the team never delivers. Their reaction is then a combination of disappointment and anger. Woteva.

…

Dribble dribble dribble

Lots of high cloud this morning though a couple of vapour trails visible in the gaps. Five thirty. Woke at four thirty to the whoop of wood pigeons but must have nodded off again. They still whoop. I can also hear a siren but can’t see if it is a cop, ambulance or fire brigade.

The only other sound is the clock in the conservatory. It’s showing completely the wrong time. Thirteen minutes slow even allowing for the fact that we must have forgotten to change it when we moved to British Summer Time. Analogue clocks huh!

To the right of the clock is a Cezanne print of some apples in a bowl on a table. There is a jug with some sort of floral print. The bowl has five apples and there are four more on the table itself. 

I’m not really here to describe the pic itself. It’s just that every time I look at it I notice it is on a slight slant and keep meaning to correct that. Never got round to it. Perhaps it is destined to always be at a slant. It’s the sort of thing THG would sort without even thinking.

On the radiator shelf below Cezanne is a glass yellow oval shaped vase with a small neck. This is the first time I’ve noticed it! Gosh. Wonder how long it’s been there. Years probably. Feels right for a single long stemmed rose but it is empty.

The siren has faded away into the distance. Mission of mercy, or a mad dash to catch a thief. A crook, wrongdoer.

I feel this morning I might continue with the garage tidying. Made a start yesterday but this is not a quick job. It needs tidying before it can be tidied, if ya know what I mean. The bench was a real mess with stuff having just been dumped there over the course of last winter and spring. One of my containers of screws and nails needs sorting since it was accidentally dropped on the floor and its contents mixed up. Well…

This is a good opportunity to tidy things. There’s a load of stuff in there that should be taken to the tip. Old bodyboards and large plastic crates full of god knows what. One of them has all the bar gear from the festival. I also have three or four sets of golf clubs that to some extent have been handed down to the kids but which remain in our garage. The original Ping Eye irons need to be sold. They will be worth something.

One thing that really needs a decision making on its future is our old family tent, the Gelert Zenith Six. This is a huge beast that needs two people to carry it and the whole family to put up. It has three sleeping pods and a large central area where you could stand up and easily fit a table.

We are never going to use it again and by the time any of the kids has a family that might need it it will probably have disintegrated. I will need to discuss this as it won’t be just my decision having been an integral part of family holidays over the years. It does take up a lot of shelf space and I believe the pegs may have been repurposed. We still have a bag of pegs I could throw in with it.

For what it’s worth I’ve just read a biography of Barnes Wallis. They would also go on family camping holidays. Theirs would be a month long and require the digging of a latrine ditch. Talking nineteen thirties here. No campsites with shower blocks and electric hookups. I wouldn’t mind the absence of power but you do need loos. 

During one of our family camping holidays in Jubilee Park I recall the warden swinging by on the Sunday morning to report that he’d had a complaint about someone being seen urinating in the bushes overnight. Most probably some caravanning type hidden behind twitching curtains. Anyway when I asked people to fess up, seven out of the ten adults present raised their hands. I wasn’t even one of them. The toilet block was only eighty yards distant. Ya gorra laugh.

It must be said that even if the campsite does have a toilet block, which they always do nowadays, I would always look for a pitch near a hedge.

The wood pigeon continues to whoop and I must away to make the tea. Ciao amigos.

…

Taking tea on the deck in front of the shed. It isn’t cold but it’s not going to be one of the hot summer’s days we had last week. 

“The hot days of summer spent lazing in a shady hammock by a riverbank, dozing to the tune of the gentle dance of the water. An occasional cow calls from the far side of the hedge and the dragonflies buzz, flitting across the surface at the water’s edge.

The holidays have started, for some. Those lucky enough to stop for the whole summer and spend their time idling, recharging. A pair of shorts is the only clothing required. Late breakfast on the veranda after a walk along the beach. What to do today?”

Back on the deck the sound of great tits mingles with the resident blackbirds and a bee thuds into the glass door of the shed. A dunnock interjects tunelessly. Why was the dunnock not favoured with a nice voice?

One of the blackbirds has landed on the lawn in search of food. Feels quite late in the morning. He isn’t one of the early ones. We coexist, the birds and I.

The choir has been joined by a jay, blackcap, robin and sparrow. Wow what a team. The concert is reaching a crescendo. Good word that.

…

There is a point in the day when you decide to get off your backside and get on with some jobs. Not quite there yet and THG was somewhat sceptical when I made this observation.

…

The step ladders are in position under the eating apple tree. I’ve been thinning them out. Also trained a bit of grapevine further along the wire.

And the night is cold
I hug my coat tightly around my neck

…

Two hares race across the grass airstrip. Next a field of mown hay. The train trundles along steadily between Lincoln and Newark. Haste is not in the vocabulary. The growing season is in full swing.

Fishermen space themselves evenly along the banks of the river Trent. Day tents pitched near the water, vans parked a little further back. Good luck to them. Trout for supper.

Iron road meets iron road as we merge onto the main line and the train slows down to pull into Newark Northgate.  Scaffolding surrounds the station building. They are having some work done. Investing for the future. 

The carriage fills up at Newark. Mostly blokes now with their laptops open. Important meetings in London. I am listening to Meic Stevens on my ‘phones.

As we speed south some of the fields are already exhibiting a yellowish tinge although most are still very much green. A country church is surrounded by a large hamlet of mostly modern houses. Post war expansion. No idea which war 😀

…

Milkman came at three twenty ey em this morning. Not the usual bloke. The regular guy must be on holiday, or ill, or stopped doing the job, or been kidnapped though that’s unlikely as we would have heard it on the news. To be fair he doesn’t take much time off 🙂

…

Watching LCD Sound System on the Pyramid Stage at Glasto. This is their last track – very good fair play. Dunno what it’s called. Could look it up. The punters seem to know it. I suppose they would. I’ve only just found out they exist.

Now channel hopped to yesterday’s Gardeners World seeing as THG has entered the room. Seems like the thing to do having been sat near Adam Frost at the Parcel Yard pub in Kings Cross yesterday innit.

I say channel hop but this is all on the chromecast. Perhaps tab or window hop is a better way of putting it. Maybe not. Stream hop? I’ll stop now.

We have our own Glasto, of sorts happening in Lincoln Castle this weekend. Kaiser Chiefs tonight and Madness tomorrow. Seen Madness a couple of times. Great live band

Out and about early to take some books to the Oxfam store before the high street shuts to traffic. The dawn chorus was around 04:10. I’m not out and about that early. Just happened to hear the birds strike up, burst into song, greeting the new day, so to speak.

Avocado on sourdough toast with a slice of bacon for breakfast. Just happened to have the one slice left over from the weekend so it made sense.

Sold the trailer last night. It went within minutes of listing. One might argue that we made it too cheap but we are happy with how much we got for it. Better to get rid rather than hang around for the max price. It went to a family from Nottingham. Five kids. They really need a trailer and this is the perfect time of year to be shifting it.

Next up will be the bike rack I bought for the Land Rover Defender but never used! It’s a high quality job. Stay tuned.

Old white geezer with waist length white dreadlocks outside Lidl Boultham Park.

A sort of enjoyable evening for the David Briggs organ concert and talk at Lincoln Cathedral. Only thirty or so enthusiasts there. I went because it was a world famous organist playing at a world famous cathedral. 

Sat in the choir, St Hugh’s Choir. Over eight hundred years old. The wood had darkened with age and although not particularly comfortable the stalls were spacious. You felt a real sense of history sitting there.

The talk, about French organist Jean Langlais was interesting enough. I was sat next to some woman whose response to my humorous suggestion that the reason they had two screens was because they would be showing the football on one of them. Didn’t go down well. She was a snob. “Oh football no that would be terrible. I don’t watch stuff like that.”

Alright love. Not much of a sense of humour eh? I saw no reason to say anything to her after that. Her conversation with the bloke sat next to her, presumably her husband, gave the impression that they were serious organ buffs. Not my kind of people.

The concert after the talk was a mix of stuffI enjoyed and stuff I thought was just noise. Some of Jean Langlais’ own compositions were a bit grating. Anyway I thought I’d see it out. When Dave, (Briggsy?) finished he came out to a generally enthusiastic applause. 

The couple next to me decided to get the hell out of there “in case he decides to play another”. Says it all. Hey. I’m good.

Home now and rounding off the evening with a bit of football. There is a dead pigeon in the front drive and although on the CCTV I can see a magpie pecking at it I can’t see how it died in the first place. Usually around here it is a peregrine falcon.

Afore I go I should mention that on display in the cathedral is a long table made out of a five thousand year old tree that was discovered in a bog somewhere. V impressive. Historic. Go and see it if you can.

He came at 04:12 this morning. I was awake.

Normally Radio 4’s “thought for the day” gets me out of bed. This morning it caused me to fall asleep again! Some bishop or other. Read a bit of my Samuel Pepys book and then showered. Had to turn the temperature down on the shower. An indication of the hot weather ahead.

Pleasant walk to the shed. Cloudy right now but it’s going to be one of those hot summer days and the doors are already flung open in anticipation. Feels as if I should record the days where the shed doors are wide open in the same way that I record milkman arrival times (05:21 yesterday) but tbh I can’t be arsed and nobody would take note anyway 🙂 It would serve as an indication of temperatures for people looking back from centuries in the future although they could also look up the met office historical records. I suppose.

Road outside the house is still busy but it is before nine. Once the workers have made it to their offices and the chains clicked into place the traffic noise will abate. Won’t be too long before the schools break up for the summer hols which should further reduce the traffic. Not that I find traffic noise to be a problem but with the doors wide open maybe I’m hearing it more.

Just spent five minutes tidying up one of my Facebook groups. It’s called “Trefor” and is a forum for people of that name. We only have three members and never post anything but somehow fifteen others have joined or asked to join who are not called Trefor so I’ve made short shrift of them. Huh, interlopers. Considered closing the group but I can’t yet bring meself to going to that extreme.

I did invite sixty or seventy Trefors to join the group when I started it a few years back but none of them accepted. For some reason 🙂 It is quite an exclusive group.

When I rocked up for breakfast this morning THG took a deep breath and announced she had added to my jobslist. That is perfectly fine I replied. I am here to serve. The question is when will I fit it all in?

I’ve just done one of the jobs, or a part of it. I cut down the clump of bamboo with the hedge trimmer. The bit that is not done is the digging up the root ball. This is not a job for me. It needs the strength and fitness of an offspring.

The act of retrieving the trimmer from the potting shed has also prompted me to elevate the tidying of the potting shed to a higher priority on the list. Trouble is it is now starting to warm up to what I consider to  be a dangerous temperature for physical activity.

The other job I’ve decided to do today is to sort out selling our trailer. It’s a Daxara 158 with hard top, roof bars and spare wheel. The works. They go for over a grand new, £1,150 even. I’d be happy with four hundred. It is in good nick. Now that the kids have left home we don’t need it and Anne’s car doesn’t have a towbar anyway.

With the news being full of the bent betting habits of tory election candidates I thought I’d take a look at the various bets and odds available for the forthcoming General Election. Sky Bet tells me that the most likely outcome is for the Conservatives to lose between 275 and 299 seats (evens betting) and four to one that the number will be less than fifty. Aawww.

The list (not exhaustive) of those likely to not be around after the election includes Dishi Rishi, Matty Boy Hancock, Cruella Braverman, Jacob Rees Moggy, Jezzer (cough) Hunt, Lizzie Truss, the detestable Priti Patel, Govey Boy, Dancing Theresa May, Dom (I was quite useless) Raab, James not very Cleverly, Penny I am thick Mordant, and Failing Grayling, natch. I realise one or two of them are jumping ship anyway but they are all people for whom I have mostly had nothing but contempt over the last fourteen years and will be glad to see them go.

…

Great summer smell to the evening. It’s a smell I’ve observed now and again during the course of my life. The smell at the end of a hot day. A special smell.

Goodness me it is warm in the shire. Got to the shed around one thirty and the doors are now flung wide open. Tis a beautiful afternoon. The birds are chirping contentedly and a very gentle breeze is wafting the lilac coloured hostas in front of the deck.

Very good albeit as usual, exhausting weekend in Sherwood Pines with our camping buddies. Nile Rodgers was great. Sting was great. Both very different gigs. Weather turned out perfect.

Sting’s most streamed track is Every Breath You Take with over two billion downloads. Next one is Roxanne at three quarters of a billion. Not shabby. Nile Rodgers’ Get Lucky has nearly one point six billion streams between two versions.

Both artists were a big part of the musical wallpaper of my teens. There were many others. We are off to see Paul McCartney in December. Including the Eagles last month it is a big year for watching all time great acts.

Others on the list are Donna Summer, Bronski Beat, The Jam, The Clash, Madness, Squeeze, the Vapors, ELO, Joe Jackson, 10cc, Supertramp, Queen, Bob Dylan, Door, Simon and Garfunkel, The Crusaders, Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The list is endless.

…

Am now in the shed with an iced drink enjoying my fave tunes by some of the aforementioned artists. At some stage I will fire up the bbq as THG has requested salmon for dinner. I will be happy with a simple salad.

It is set to be hot all week. This is something to take note of as we have a planned day out in London on Thursday. A light silk shirt is called for with plenty of drink, a hat and maybe even some sunscreen. I quite like a day out in town on a nice summer’s day. I think the Panama hat that @Wayne brought me back from Ecuador will be perfect. Will be avoiding the tube. Bus or taxi.

Meeting the kids for beers later before we set the guidance computer north. Maybe have a small picnic on the return train. There is a handy Waitrose in Kings X Station and they serve sandwiches on the train. The beauty of the 19.06 is that it is one of the few direct trains home from London.

I have quite a few train home stories. There was the occasion when I must have been celebrating something and bought a bottle of Moet & Chandon on the train. It was a brand new Azuma train. The weather was atrocious and the train’s windscreen wiper was working overtime. Unfortunately it broke. New train teething troubles ?!?!

We were all turfed out onto the platform at Grantham and I still had half a bottle left. I finished the champagne on the platform and deposited it in a raised plant border. There were no bins.

The next train to arrive not only didn’t go to Lincoln meaning I’d have to change at Newark but it already had two trains worth of passengers due to another cancelled train. This meant standing room only in first class.

Fortunately when I got off at Newark I bumped into Ian Cleary who lives near Market Rasen and who offered me a lift home. Result. I’d have had to hang around for a connecting train or tried to get a taxi which ain’t necessarily straightforward at Newark Northgate.

Up at seven forty five to a cuppa. Sgonna be a scorcher. Already warm. One or two campers sat outside their vans/tents but none of our crowd. Sat outside the moho meself. The flag that yesterday flew brightly now hangs limp with barely a breath of wind to stir it.

Slight nuisance last night as our water pump stopped working. Nowt obvious but I have a message from CamperUk with a few things to try. Could be beyond the capabilities of a Tref but there are blokes in our party who are skilled at such things. See how it goze.

Chiffchaffs and robins chatter noisily, joined now by a wren, chaffinch and nuthatch. The latter is a new one for me and am quite pleased to hear it. Forest living. The occasional sound of a gunshot is heard. This was also evident yesterday but I suspect it is a bird scarer rather than an actual gun.

Anne Marie was apaz very good. Some of the ladies in our party went and returned just as I was hitting the hay. The mattress on the bed contains no hay. That turn of phrase presumably goes back a while. Sting tonight. Full turnout.

No shade on this side of the moho. Suppose I could move but the door is on this side. Not too warm yet. If it stayed this temperature all day I would be happy.

Today is Sunday.

In a break with camping tradition I had a shower before breakfast. Breakfast can wait. There is no rush. What’s the hurry? Relax and don’t you worry. THG is making a cuppa.

First night in the moho. This van sleeps six but really it is only comfortable for two. I wouldn’t try squeezing two of us into one of the double beds. Fortunately we have two of them. Slept ok I think, assisted ably by the fact that we cracked open the beer at around three o’clock yesterday afternoon.

Today, after the packing, travel and Nile Rodgers gig is a day of rest. It is already nine o’clock but no thought has yet been given to breakfast. I am sat outside the moho having consumed a cup of tea and am enjoying the morning. It is still very much shorts and tee shirt weather, at least for some of us hardened campers. Ah the life in the great outdoors.

The flag of Lincolnshire flutters brightly in the breeze above the moho next door. The flag is a relatively new creation, certainly since I moved to the county. Maybe in the last ten years or so. Twenty at most. There are five Lincolnshire vans in our party with another rocking up tomorrow for the Sting gig.

We don’t own our own moho. Hired ours for the weekend. Can’t say I’d see us buying one. Wouldn’t get enough use out of it, for the money. Don’t think I’d buy a Carado A464 anyway. I reckon hiring one a couple of weekends a year would be fine, if we were unable to find a suitable luxury lodge.

We are at Sherwood Pines, a Forestry England campsite. Spacious plots in a large open field surrounded by woods. The classic oak, pine and birch forest of the area. You can almost imagine Robin Hood and his merry men camping just over there. The smoke from their fires dispersed by the greenwoods,invisible to the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham. Nottingham is a fair way away in anycase. 

The others in the group have stirred. Dave is eating toast in front of his van. Karen has wandered off for a shower. Life in the great out doors begins again. Another day, another bbq. Before leaving home I made some bbq marinade for the chicken. So chicken it is tonight, with a bit of salad and gallons of red wine. Well, a glass or two, or three or four or more.

…

I can hear sound check type noises coming from the Forest Live venue. Anne Marie is on tonight. Not heard of her meself but looking at Spotify she gets a lot of plays so she must be popular/good. The campsite will empty, probs whilst she is on cept for us. Some of the girls in the party are going.

The milkman came at four thirty three this morning. I heard him. It was already light out. He was wearing a short sleeved shirt.

It is a mild source of dismay that the days are now getting shorter. This happens every year for some reason 🙂After the mid winter depression we rejoice that the days are lengthening and before we know it the process goes into reverse. The message here is that you need to enjoy them as much as possible while you can. Get that bbq going. Wear shorts. 

We will be eating al fresco this evening prior to the Nile Rodgers gig. Am taking the teppanyaki grill with us to Sherwood Pines. Not quite the same as a portable bbq but more generally useful as it can be used to cook breakfast and takes up less space. Hopefully someone will have a bbq with them. 

The space isn’t so important in a moho compared with a VW campervan but that’s why we don’t have a portable bbq. We have a small charcoal one but that isn’t quite as good as a gas job and a lot messier.

Before we go I have a few jobs to do. Need to make some salad dressing and some bbq marinade. Bought some nice olive oil and white wine vinegar yesterday so the dressing will be a good un. Makes a big difference using quality ingredients. I also bought a variety of salads and we will pick some lettuce from the greenhouse before setting off. 

Plus I have to pack the car as we are driving round to Camper UK to pick up the moho and don’t want to bring it back to ours. Too big for comfort to get it through the gateposts. Mahoosive, especially compared with THGs little Peugeot. I no longer have a car of my own.

The one car family bit has not been the slightest imposition. We live in town anyway and most places are walkable. Must get the tyres on my bike sorted – just need inflating.

It’s one of those summer mornings with a great smell to it. When you know it’s going to be a lovely day ahead. The birds are singing away happily. My wildflower strip is growing nicely, contrasted by the fact that yesterday I mowed the rest of the lawn. A mown lawn is a tidy lawn.

The day began with an energising granola, berries and yo’gurt. A mix or our own home grown strawberries and shop bought blueberries. THG makes a terrific granola. Now early to the shed to do some admin.

Busy enough day ahead getting ready to head off to Sherwood Pines tomoz. Stock up in Waitrose. A few basic essentials. Posh balsamic vinegar. Tomatoes. Stuff like that.

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Swung by to check out the motorhome we are hiring for the weekend. Dunno if you’ve ever driven one of thee things. It’s mahoosive. A first time for me. I’m not going to try and get it in our drive! Still it will provide us with a bit of comfort at the Forest Live festival and have enough space in the fridge and freezer for all the drinks, ice and bbq stuff.

Today is the joint third longest day, I assume, seeing as Friday the twenty first is the longest. Friday stands alone. We’ve never particularly celebrated the longest day, the midsummer solstice although I feel we should. It would help if the weather was nice, which I suspect it will be this year, at last.

On Friday we are off to Sherwood Pines campsite for the Forest Live festival. Nile Rodgers on the Friday and Sting on the Sunday. It is a year of gig watching like no other having seen The Eagles two weeks ago in Manchester. Nile is phenomenal.

Forest Live should be different to the last festival we went to in that part of the world. This was the Eighties Flashback festival in which practically all the eighties bands playing only contained one surviving member of the original line up. Hot Chocolate played despite the singer having died two weeks previous. They wheeled in a replacement pronto (as they say). Jimmy Sommerville stood out as by far the best act at that show and being a soloist represented himself otherwise he would have been a tribute band 🙂 

That weekend we had planned to pitch our tent next to our campervan owning pals but the security gestapo wouldn’t let us, saying we had to use the same campsite as the great unwashed, some distance away. We ended up kipping nearby in the back of the Jeep Commander which with the seats laid flat would take a full size double blow up bed.

Those days are over. These days we seek comfort and have hired a motorhome for the weekend seeing as the lodges were all booked up. Picking up the moho Friday morning. Most of our pals own MoHos but we wouldn’t get value for money if we bought one. It would be sixty grand just sat in the drive most of the time. Cheaper to stay in hotels and cottages or as is the case on this occasion, rent one. 

The traffic has just started on Wragby Road. Six fifteen. The lawn needs cutting, I notice. When you’ve been away for a while it takes a while to get back on top of the garden. Part of me thinks we shouldn’t bother going on holiday in the spring and summer and save it for times of the year when it is wet and orrible. Ok that’s most of the year 🙂.

My mind is starting to think about warm destination getaways in the winter. Not so much in the run up to Christmas as I really like that time of year in the UK but certainly in Jan/Feb/March. In those months we wouldn’t need to worry so much about the garden.

This morning the milkman came at oh three oh one. Wildly different to Monday’s five thirty. England weren’t playing the night before. Eat yer heart out Sherlock Holmes.

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In order of priority this afternoon’s jobs are mow the lawn. I’m not saying the grass is knee high, although this will certainly be the case for some, it isn’t for me but it does need doing. We have returned to perfect spring day weather, two days before the summer. This wouldn’t be bad as summer weather either.

In the garden the birds are happy and I’ve been able to do a few bits and bobs: thinning the apple tree (cooker) and putting a stick or two down for the peas to grow up.

You might have expected more than one job seeing as I was determining an order of priority but I won’t look at the next job until the lawn is done. Focus, Tref focus.

Just received an email telling me my ESTA will expire in 30 Days/ The last time my ESTA expired I only found out when trying to check in at the BA desk in T5. Spent an hour and a half at the check in desk applying for a new one. The SLA is 72 hours but fortunately mine came through quickly enough for me to grab a couple of swift cocktails in the Concorde lounge. Missed the massage though.

I have no immediate plans to travel to the USA on this occasion so it matters not. My Global Entry expires in November. I may never go to the USA again. Mind you the same can be said of Russia and China so I’m not picking on the Yanks in particular. Am off to France though. I like a nice croissant.

He’s back. He came at five thirty this morning, two pints clinched firmly in hand. I was awake and heard him. Forgot he was coming.

It’s been a month. We’ve been away. A lot. This is the latest he’s ever been, at least when delivering to us. I reckon he was late to bed last night watching the England football match. I assume he is English but have no basis for thinking this other than we live in England and the dairy is based in Newark.

Sat in the conservatory and the birds are quite vociferous this morning. The usual crowd: blackbird, robin and wren. Sgood. There is also a wood pigeon but I don’t count that one. Don’t like em. V noisy lot. 

It was light by four thirty. Not far off the longest day now. Doesn’t feel as if we have done much summery stuff yet. The Isle of Man was mostly freezing. This week is supposed to be warmer.

THG was v excited about the football. They did win but as usual you always felt they could have done better. I have only a passing interest in this but did sit with her through the game to provide moral support. Also it was part of the deal when I bailed out of going to see Lenny Henry at the Hay Festival and went to watch the FA Cup Final with Rhys instead.

In the back garden the grass is desperately in need of a cut. I’ll get that done today, probs. The towels we hung out after yesterday’s swim sway gently in the breeze. They will be dry by now.

Time to make the tea.