With sleep filled eyes I walk slowly down the stairs.
The grass needs cutting and it is observed that the lemon tree in the pot in the conservatory has shed most of its leaves. We’ve never managed to grow a lemon. Google tells me we need to feed it regularly and change the top two inches of compost every spring. This we have not been doing, I’m sure. I need to head out this morning so will purchayse some citrus feed. Too late for this season but a lesson learnt. Perhaps.
The day grows brighter.
Today the shed is due a tidy. Gotta shift some stuff to the attic, a task made easier by the fact that John is home for a few days. He has to get back to London for a rehearsal on Monday. He is supporting Rag n Bone man at his Colwyn Bay gig the following weekend. Biggest gig so far. Exciting. Honk that saxophone.
I’ll be in London meself on Monday.
Got tickets for the 5th Prom at the Royal Albert Hall. Quite excited. Bruch’s violin concerto. I have it on vinyl. Dinner beforehand. Italian. Never been to a prom concert. The “last night” puts me off. I can’t cope with that jingoistic stuff. Should be good. We were at the RAH last October for a Pink Martini gig. Very different to Bruch but very fantastic.
There is a pigeon on the conservatory roof.
When you have a cup of tea is it accompanied by a drop of milk or a splash of milk? This thought came to mind this morning over breakfast as I accurately splashed a drop of milk into my cup. This is a skill developed over fifty years or so of drinking tea. I wasn’t an early starter on the tea front.
It isn’t a science although some nerdy boff or other might have a different view: ‘the ratio of milk to tea needs to be exactly x% for the perfect cup’. Rubbish of course. I mostly drink English breakfast tea but do occasionally stray to a milkless variety such as mint, green or camomile. Something different to add variety to life. We all like variety. A break in our otherwise humdrum existence. Bring back the Wheel Tappers and Shunters Social Club 🙂
Presumably they still have wheeltappers to this day. In the days of cost savings I imagine that drivers have to do their own shunting. Another lost profession. Skill. Wheel tapping is, however, all about health and safety innit. Can’t afford to cut corners there.
Takes years to properly train a wheeltapper. It’s all about training the ear. Not everyone can do it. You have to be born a wheeltapper. A job handed down through the generations. Wouldn’t surprise me to find that there is a Worshipful Company of Wheeltappers. They deserve that kind of recognition. Let me know if you come across it. Couldn’t be bothered to look meself 🙂