The first sign it's getting colder....

Normally the first success of the year with The Big Cheese is always an indicator of The Big Freeze......

I have dipped my toe......

..... into the Sonos revolution.

After a long time thinking about it I took up an offer to by a Sonos system, or the start of one at least.

Controlled by my iPad with a free App, it was a complete breeze to setup 20 minutes from start to finish.

I think more systems will be added in due course........

Autumn colours.....

I saw these in the beech hedge on my driveway earlier today, they looked stunning in the brilliant sunshine.

Amazing autumnal colours this year in the UK.

Pumpkin Pie tested on guests

Seeing the shops full of Halloween stuff & the crates of "Carving Pumpkins" I decided to buy one & make various things from it - starting with a Pumpkin Pie.

The recipe called for it to be packed full of sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger & allspice, basically to give the bland flesh of the pumpkin some flavour.

I saw a recipe for a meringue covered pie, so gave it a go. It turned out very well & dinner guests loved it.

A visit to Wisley Gardens

A grand day out was had at Wisley, it's a place I've driven past on hundreds of occassions, but never quite found the time to go there... until today.

I wasn't aware of the sheer scale of the 170+ acres of grounds, nor the diversity of it's planting.

The rain kept me in the amazing glasshouse for a while longer than I would normally have devoted to it, but an interesting place it was to wait for the rain to stop.

Lot's & lot's of fruit tree's bearing wonderful coloured apples, pears, quince as well as a wide variety of berries.

I shall go back in a different season.

Autumn is here.....

I noticed this view when out driving today. A carpet of leaves, undisturbed on a footpath close to my house.

Autumnal walk by the river

A beautiful sunny Sunday was enhanced by a walk by the river in Longparish today, the light on the clouds was amazing.

The first frost of the year made for lots of activity in the garden, getting everything in shape for the winter shut down. All the hanging baskets are down & the last remnants of veg from the garden are cleared away. The grass has slowed down, so the last few cuts with the mower are in sight.

Roast rack of lamb tonight will be a just reward!

The workshop interior takes shape......

The interior of the workshop is now starting to take shape, I built my own benches in the end as I could make them a bit taller than standard ones & this will save my back from aching, I normally have to lean over all the time on standard height ones. It also allows for better storage underneath for tool boxes etc.... I found some plans on the internet & used 3" x 2" treated timber & 3" screws with white kitchen worktops sourced from Homebase (they were damaged so reduced in price - I managed to cut off the damaged bits) in the hope it will reflect more light from the newly installed roof light. One side has been fitted out with shelving & storage boxes for materials & the garage is being emptied of tools\hobby material\clutter on a daily basis. A few more weekends work is ahead of me, but in the end I hope to have all the work-working tools & equipment in one place & accessible for the first time.

The inside of "The Ark".....

.... is now complete (all bar a beer fridge & maybe some wall art) as the corner sofa arrived on Friday & was installed on Saturday - another ebay bargain, a low offer from me & they accepted as they had loads in stock & the end of summer is upon us. A few days in the garden & all is looking tidy, the new buildings all now have insulated floors, all have gutters with water butts & various means of being secured. All the water features, pumps & lights are working. The last of the potato's were dug, so just carrots, runner beans & horseradish to harvest now. A satisfying Bank Holiday weekend.....

New roofs....

New roof #1 - I decided to replace the crap felt roof that came with the Summerhouse which was just nailed on. This one is heat bonded to the wooden roofing boards & I have been assured it should last 20+ years (assuming the Summerhouse lasts that long beneath it!). Guttering fixed on last night, just in time for the overnight rain.

New roof #2 - the workshop has been finished & is now dry & structurally complete. Just got to fit it out now! 

A weekends work.....

... putting up the workshop, the task made easier with help from some friends. The roof goes on later this week & should be waterproof for the light rain at the weekend. Then it will be fitted out with all the benches & power tools from the garage and a mid-life crisis vehicle can be purchased to reside in the available space in the garage!

The Swiss flag flying over Rice Towers as it does every year when Federer wins, particularly sweet when he has beaten such a dour, miserable, English hater.....

The fruits of my labour (literally)....

are starting to be had. Lot's of lovely strawberries, the first few raspberries, a whole load of rhubarb. In the other corner there are mange tout a plenty and the first new potato's should be had in a week or so. After that the carrots should be ready in a month or so.

I'll have to wait another year for the asparagus & the horseradish will wait until autumn, but by then I'll have some winter greens in ready for some roast beef!

The next phase of outbuildings will commence next week with the delivery of the workshop on Tuesday, construction will be a little slower than the summerhouse as I'm DIY'ing this one - 2 weeks off in August should help.

I may need to dust down the bats again....

After many years of not swinging a club at a small ball on the turf, I feel a longing to re-acquaint myself with the activity that some call a good walk ruined.

I spent a lovely day at Rowland's Castle today with friends, one of whom is the club pro - Peter Klepacz. I haven't explained to him yet that I have a left handed grip, but am a right handed player. I'm sure he has seen it all before in his 25+ year career.

A wander about with the Callaway's slung across my back might be had soon I think.....

I can't turn down a nice discount.....

Having said that I would wait a while before ordering a workshop for my garden having had the expense of the recent summerhouse acquisition, I found that I couldn't refuse 33% or £1,300 discount - so I have now ordered my workshop for delivery in a month. I will be putting this one up myself with a little help from some friends.

It's not quite my first choice, but at 3.55m x 4.15m it will fit perfectly onto my 3.6m x 4.2m base. It's got 44mm log walls and it comes double glazed.

Hosepipe ban....

There is no hosepipe ban in North Hampshire at the moment, but it appears that I can't use it anyway as a Robin has made the reel it's home. In fact, two out of the four reels I have around the house, garage & garden have been occupied in this way so far. Needless to say none of the nesting boxes I have put up show any sign of life.

The log cabin arrives....

The long awaited arrival of the log cabin finally happened today, 8 hours of labour by 3 people & it's complete - all bar a bit of tweaking & painting.

UPDATE 25/04/2012 : I think I might give the new arrival a name, I shall call it "The Ark" as I think it might float away after all the rain today! Still, it could be worse, if it had rained like this before or on the day I am sure it would have delayed the installation.

The decorators have been.....

After a few weeks of negotiation and preparation, the team of decorators have finally been in and worked their magic on a few rooms at Rice Towers, feature walls covered in wallpaper are back in apparently, muted colours and floral patterns. I'll take their word for it. It all looks good & the paper is still on the walls a few days after they started, so at least they got the pasting part right.

Hopefully this will continue....

A bit of good fortune, it appears that the hose pipe ban affecting most of the southern UK hasn't been imposed in Hampshire & IoW again. I don't know why this is, maybe the mighty River Test has something to do with it?

I shall continue to conserve water by collecting as much rainfall as possible in my 2,000 litre rainwater storage capacity - I still have 1,200 litres available.

The new East End windows...

Canary Wharf looks so much more complete now, still a way to go, but much better than when I first visited 15 years ago.

I hope the Olympic legacy of infrastructure will continue to operate after everyone has gone home. I watched on today & saw a group of youths destroy 2 Barclays Boris bikes they had stolen from the local docking station - I fear the infrastructure may not be there in future....

Slumming it in Mayfair....

Today I was mostly to be found in Westminster & Mayfair......

The day started in the Palace of Westminster for a tour & a bit of lunch. Then a bit of retail therapy in the land of St James's, dinner at Il Vicolo with host Giacomo Bonavita was fantastic, then onto Dukes Bar at Dukes Hotel where I was greeted by Bar Manager Alessandro Palazzi (who had been tipped off for my arrival by Giacomo) many of his legendary Cocktail's were had.

Longstock Water Gardens

A nice day was had visiting Longstock Park Water Gardens near Stockbridge. The first day they have been open in 2012 showed off the gardens in brilliant sunshine & the early sign's of Spring were apparent across the gardens. Some of the plants look pre-historic now & when they have grown will look even more impressive.

Tea & cake was taken at the Nursery Tea Room, where lovely ladies from the local churches had baked in order to raise funds. A worthwhile £3 investment on my part gave the return of coffee & walnut cake & a nice cup of tea!

The clocks go forward.....

..... and the To Do list grows ever longer.

Hopefully the longer daylight available in the evenings will help me plough through a few of the 28 on the current To Do list for the garden!

I had hoped to get a load of things done in my week off last week, but I just managed to get as many things done as I added in the end.

Log cabin - ordered!

I have finally ordered my log cabin summerhouse, after much deliberating, consideration & searching I went back to the first one I saw! It fits the bill perfectly.

I have negotiated pretty well I think & managed to get a good enough price that included delivery as well as construction, I had been told that the roof can be problematic, so I thought I could do more on the fitting out on the follow days if the workmen just came along & put the thing up in a day.

It should be with me in about a month. Fingers crossed!

Wall & roof repairs....

A couple of ridge tile repairs have been long overdue at Rice Towers, so when my next door neighbour had their gutters emptied & cleaned I enquired to the roofer whether he could undertake a couple of small jobs for me. He could he said & so I gainfully employed his services, whilst chatting to him it transpires he does chimney repairs & re-pointing & that he did his apprenticeship as a bricklayer - I've been looking for a decent brickie for ages to re-do the top course of bricks on a low wall with black engineering bricks, but couldn't find one that would commit to such a small job or do it for what I think is a reasonable amount. As it turned out Michael was free for a couple of days later in the week & could do it quickly & for a very competitive price. He has now done work for me & both my neighbours over the last couple of days, I would recommend him to anyone.

So if you live in Hampshire & need a good roofer who can turn his hand to a bit of remedial brickwork etc. the MB Roofing Contracts would be an excellent place to go. Michael Blake is a local business, he does what he says he will, he is completely trustworthy, he charges a fair price & the work is of an excellent standard. Visit his website for reviews & contact details - www.mbroofingcontracts.freeindex.co.uk He drinks tea, with milk & 3 1/2 sugars!

Luckily I had seen this before.....

So the first words to come out of my mouth weren't "What the f... is that!?" on seeing it this time.

A truly hideous example of stupidity, excess and bad taste (in my opinion). A normally serene, stately & beautiful car ruined by a colour scheme devised by a colour blind profligate egotist perhaps?

Spring cleaning.....

A later start than anticipated meant that a change of plan was required, I set about car cleaning, so please meet Mr Clean & Mr Cleaner! 4.5 hours in total spent cleaning 2 cars, they hadn't been done properly since before Christmas, so it was looong overdue. Both looking shiny now, so hopefully they will be easier to keep looking better now I've invested a bit of tlc & time on them.

Sadly the late start (although I was awake & ready to go at 08:00, but put head back on pillow until phone rang at 11:00!?) meant that I haven't done anything of any note in the garden, so the list is now 25 items long with nothing crossed off it today. This probably means a few little chorettes will have to be undertaken in the evenings this week to catch up, luckily the daylight is getting longer by the day as we move into summer.





The first cut of forced rhubarb was had tonight, I roasted the stalks with brown sugar & a vanilla pod. The resulting fantastic perfumed syrupy dessert was amazing......

I've had an idea for more raised beds as I think I may have a desire to grow more than my existing beds will allow, so a couple of 2.4 x 1.2 metre oaks beds are being planned with a view to making them dedicated strawberry beds, thus freeing up 1/3rd of each of the existing raised beds for more beans and maybe some asparagus. This also probably means that I will go ahead with the gravel pathways idea between the raised beds.

The first day of Spring?

Lawn raked & mowed, the normally trusty mower tried to die on me on the first day of use! Luckily it was an easy fix that took 5 mins - time to service the thing for the new season me thinks.

Raised bed #1 is now fully planted with berries, soft fruit & rhubarb, the cages have been installed to keep the birds off of the (expected) fruit. The black fibre membrane is a test to see what a gravel path might look like, I'm thinking that the grass will become compacted & worn as I tend the raised bed, so a gravel path might be an answer.... I am not 100% convinced, to do it properly will take a weekend or two, but I think it will be the solution I am looking for.









Raised be #2 has been fitted with cloches, the first 1/3rd has been dedicated to Strawberries as I had so many plants, the 2nd 1/3rd will be for potato's and the last 1/3rd will be for runner beans. That should be plenty to keep me going for the summer of 2012.

More to do tomorrow, the list is 20 long at the moment, if I can tick 5 off the list on Sunday I will be a happy man.

Where your money goes....

A fascinating insight by the Guardian on where the public purse is spent.

Some of the Government Departments seem disproportionately funded vs others - e.g. both Dept. of Education and HMRC getting more than MoD!?

I would have thought that the HMRC could have been at least part self funding, but I assume that all excise goes straight to the Treasury and not to HMRC?

20 minute project

The Mk 1 wheelie bin rhubarb forcer!

A quick zip around the middle of a redundant small wheelie bin with a jigsaw & then place the top half of the bin over the rhubarb crown. So in 6 weeks or so, some lovely pale pink forced rhubarb will be mine!

Another looong day in the garden.....

Another long day in garden, shifting soil, putting bark chippings on the borders, manure on the fruit tree bases, pruning & dividing Rhubarb & Raspberry plants from neighbours garden & replanting into mine.

An afternoon visit to a friend at their new allotment to give them a spare crown of rhubarb & to see their progress at digging over a long neglected & forgotten plot - lot's and lot's of digging still required!

I also saw the most brilliant idea for forcing Rhubarb so I am going to give it a try. Cut the bottom 1/3rd off a small wheelie bin & use the top 2/3rds to cover rhubarb plant, easy access with the lid & total darkness - perfect for forcing an early crop!

All finished off with a nice soak in the bath, a roast chicken dinner with apple pie & custard to finish.

I will sleep well tonight......

Let the planting start!

I have now filled both of my new raised beds with all manner of manure, soil & organic material, so now the planting starts....

Blueberries, Loganberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Rhubarb and Honeyberries (new to me, but I thought I'd give them a go) have all been selected and will be transferred into #1 bed by the end of the weekend. After that a couple of varities of Potato will be put in bed #2 with a couple of frames of french beans.

Carrots & peas are on the list to try & I may experiment with a couple of heads of Asparagus as well.

Oh what a lovely garden....

Sadly, not mine. Not even something I could aspire to in my garden workings, but very pleasant and tranquil nonetheless.