I spent most of a very wet Tuesday in and out the polytunnel potting up my perennials, watering, making cuttings and dividing plants and look at blogs and my own Northsider blog on my mobile phone.
Meanwhile back at the ranch or bungalow even. Wifey was busy baking two loaves.
Two many cooks make too many loaves. She had followed her bread making book instructions and ended up with enough bread mix to make two loaves. Don't they look good?
They tasted good too. The aroma of fresh bread is something up there with the aroma of the orange blossom we experienced one gorgeous April in the Algarve.
I believe in countries like France. Bread makers bake new loaves every day. So much nicer than the sliced stuff you get from the supermarkets and freshly baked. I hinted that we haven't had homemade scones with jam and cream for yonks, is there anything more quintessentially English than that?
It was around tea time on a Sunday evening last August. I had spent the week in Kent and the weekend at A New Day Festival at Mount Ephraim Gardens near Faversham. It had been fantastic weather and I had met up with two great mates. One of them I hadn't seen for about thirty years.
The festival is aimed at the over fifties Rockers and its capacity is only about 5000. It's a beautiful rural setting close to Canterbury.
One artist who I was finally going to see was Ulri Jon Roth and his band. I had seen the Scorpions at Birmingham Nec years ago but not with the guitar legend himself. He didn't disappoint.
I wish my wife was like the vocalist on this track. She (the singer) grew up singing into the upright vacuum cleaner. I am more of an air guitarist myself. It's also a requisite in our house that one wears headphones when listening to 'my' music. It's different when I have to listen to the Hoover. I go outside and look at my plants and polytunnel. Why not just use the brush and I can improvise it for an electric guitar? Snooker or pool cues make good guitars too😊.
Ulri is wearing the red shirt. Perhaps he's a United fan? Gosh how I miss the football and Rock concerts.
Hope you enjoy the Scorpions classic. Type Ulri Jon Roth into the blog search to see my photo of the great man and his band and a post I wrote about the gig. I was close to the front and it was a wonderful last day of a great week and festival weekend in Kent.
I am sure there must be people on here who remember this Scorpions classic?
Tuesday night 6.50 and I am stood in a field planting Dogwood twigs in the soil in the rain. Here's the latest photo of my new garden here in West Cork in the countryside by the sea:
Bank Holiday Monday morning I spent three hours listening to my petrol strimmer cutting grass. The borders are starting to fill up with perennials, phormiums and Cornus.
Expenditure on the new garden up to now= 9 Euros for petrol and 2 stroke oil and 4 Euros for diesel for micro digger. Thats 13 Euros. Not bad!
I dug it all over yesterday with my long handled four prong pike. I am going to plant some Myrtle trees today in the rain.
Might even go a walk. It's a while since I went walking.
Here a daft walking joke for you:
Two packets of crisps walking down the road. A Police car pulls up and the officer says:
We've been a watching a new antique programme on the free channel Blaze on Thursday nights called Irish Pickers.
Last week they went to Manchester United and filmed the Trinity statue that is Best, Law and Charlton. I wish I had a replica statue for the new Northsider garden.
Any road. It's about an antique dealer from Dublinand his pal going round Ireland with cash and making some great antique purchases and then selling them on at a profit.
Being a collector (Womble) myself. I find the programme fascinating, especially when Ali the girl on the left, researches their new found treasures provenance. The only difference with them and me is I can only buy things I like and then I don't like or wish to part with them.
You can even download load the Blaze app and watch all the series today. In the first episode they visit Bantry market near where we live. Then he goes to Blackwater Antiques. We have met Michael the dealer who also owns a Del boy Robin Reliant,. Here's a snippet to whet your appetite.
Enjoy:
Two more videos follow the one above.
I can't wait for the charity shops and carboot sales to be open again for business.
It sounds like the name of some posh Home Counties town in Blighty.
"I live in Puddling In LEEKS".
" Do they have sex there?"
"I think so. One rings up the coal merchant and says I will have sex bags of coal please good man."
"Yes sir". Pulling forelock, doffing cap.
Perhaps it should be Puddling On Leeks?
Any road. Yonder cold frame was wanted (needed) to put some Brussel sprouts in. So I planted some small Leeks with the wooden dibber next to the degging can. That's a Lancashire word for a watering can. A Manchester screwdriver is another name for a claw hammer I might add.
"If in doubt, give it a clout".
Is one of my adages folks.
To those of you who have never planted Leeks before. You make an hole with a dibber, drop your Leek in and water in the soil around them. This way Mr or Mrs Leek end up with a nice white sock so they can grow to the thickness of the hole you made with your dibber.
The water or watter if you come from up North soon dissipated and the Leeks settled in very nicely.😊 That was part of my Sunday morning.
It was a struggle to get into the new polytunnel. I had to crawl in it! Nah that's a new Cloche from the German garden centre in town. It's stops the flickers and nasty wee beasties from devouring my cabbages. It makes them grow too. I think it only cost 5 Euros?
Not long before we eat our first new spudatoes and cab cab or cabbage and we say " Is it hot or is it me?"
The new long border is starting to fill up nicely. You can see the bay and Hungry Hill over on Beara peninsula. We live on Sheepshead in between Mizen and Beara peninsulas.
'Portugal' my polytunnel and the potatoes and my perennials nursery. I even managed to capture my Wellington boot when I took the photo sitting on the newly painted bench.
Inside 'Portugal'my polytunnel. I put some soil round the new potatoes yesterday.
The perennials and shrubs nursery. Want to buy any cheap plants? Or I will swap you some for some English bitter like Newcastle Brown or Thwaites..?
The new potatoes covered in soil. There's even perennials next to the spudatoes.
Inside 'Portugal' my office, potting shed and polytunnel.
Domino our cat was up early the other morning. He was looking at my baby plant nursery. That's getting full like my main perennials and shrubs nursery. I planted another twenty of them yesterday in the new Northsider garden.
I got up early this morning(7) and was out earthing up the spudatoes in the veg plot and polytunnel. Watered everywhere and now I am having a brew.
I am thinking of strimming for the morning or maybe do some perennial dividing and potting up? It's a beautiful day. Shall we have a sing song?
