End Of August Round Up

A very dry month again, virtually no rain and some very hot weather too. August has seemed like a long month, everyone has been away on holiday except me  - but I guess that's my fault! Some days have been a struggle - which I hate as I'm usually quite decisive and organised - but  'off' days are OK as long as they don't last and they didn't. 

I've been to car-boot sales, several churches, Grimes Graves, a ceramics festival and  a flower festival, looked after EGD a couple of days, and decided Not to buy a holiday caravan on a site near the coast! - With site fees between £4,000 and £7,000 a year it wasn't really feasible. 

On the financial side August income was the usual State Pension and Suffolk County Council spouses pension plus the bit of interest from savings.

The usual outgoings of council tax, phone/broadband and charity direct debits and monthly electric bill came to just over £300.  There were two lots of  diesel for the car totalling £68 as I was over  to YD's near the coast a few times.

 Personal spending on several second-hand books - oops, exercise group, entry to the Pottery Festival, one jigsaw puzzle for £2 plus a larger spend for my usual January Chocolate Liqueur Treat while it was still reduced on Amazon - price goes up nearer Christmas.

Garden spending was for one dahlia in a pot for the front door step and the pottery bird feeder. Some of the other spending was small:- sunflower hearts for the birds, storage boxes for 50p from boot sale, laundry capsules and dishwasher tabs from Smol,  antihistamine cream, toothpaste, drain cleaner, new jar lids for chutney and bits and bobs for grandchildren etc.etc.

But one big bill was for half year water/sewer charge. We were told to expect price increases per m³ this year and it certainly has increased.

 August had a few outgoings that I hadn't thought of in July and I spent far too much on food/ coffees out and treating grandchildren - don't mind that a jot! 

Any penny saving notes to make up for the bigger spending?

• Eating mini plum tomatoes from greenhouse
• Large plum tomatoes into freezer ready for chutney
• Cucumbers from greenhouse almost all  month
• Beetroot from BiL's garden all month
• Sweetcorn cobs - only a few
• Green beans until mid month
• Figs, one or two most days 'til mid month
• Few Courgettes on and off through month
• Dishwasher used only every other day
• Washing machine used only two or three times a week
• Car boot find of 8 hot chocolate drinks for 50p
• Bread from bread machine all month 50/50 wholemeal/white
• Tumble dryer not used - obviously!

Looking ahead there will definitely be less spent this September compared to last year as that was when I finished the living/dining room refurbishment. No plans to do anything similar this year.

Something has gone very weird with the stats - I suddenly had 2000 page views everyday this week and a dozen people reading back on old posts! Very odd.

Have a good weekend, I'll be back on Monday.

The Red Peppers are Yellow and the Red Relish Recipe

 Red pointy peppers and yellow bell peppers, that's what I thought I'd sown.

There's just one yellow bell so far the other 4  are still green - taking an age to turn this year, but some of the pointy peppers are turning yellow which was a mystery .................. until I went and got the packet out of the seed tin and found.......

Pepper (Sweet)

Bullhorn Mix

Beautifully long, red and yellow fruits 

which average 25cm in length

So that explains it!

The crop overall is poor - 1 plant has just one pepper , my fault as I  used smaller pots than usual this year because shifting and emptying huge pots at the end of the season is not so easy as it once was.

 I'm not sure they are worth growing really, what with heat needed for germination plus compost, feeding and watering because Aldi have big packs of 'wonky peppers' quite cheap and I can slice and freeze them for winter or bags of frozen sliced peppers aren't enormously expensive anyway.

There will be enough red peppers for the relish recipe so I'll be making that as soon as the peppers are ready. It would go against the grain to buy rather than grow but ............

I was asked about the Red Tomato Recipe that I use for chutney/relish with the giant plum tomatoes. It is on the separate recipe page , a long way down, but I've copied it here for anyone who wants a go at it. In recent years  I've used less than 4lb to make a half or three quarter amount. But back to 4lb this year.

Over time I've altered it a bit as red wine vinegar is now easy to find (even Aldi stock it) I use that for colour. 

Chopping the onions and peppers as small as possible makes a smooth relish, but very eye- watering!.

It needs the rather large amount of sugar for preserving as less vinegar is used than many chutney recipes. More vinegar would make it too runny as would using ordinary tomatoes I reckon, although I've never tried and have always used the large plum.

RED HOT AND SWEET RELISH

4lb Plum tomatoes, skinned and rough chopped. 
2 Very  Large red peppers, finely chopped
1lb Red onions chopped small
1 - 5 red chillies (depending how hot you want it) de-seeded and finely chopped ( gloves!)
2lb Granulated sugar
1 tsp each salt, ground ginger, allspice.
1 pint white vinegar.
( For the best colour this really does need the red onions and white vinegar, and it doesn't work well with normal tomatoes which have too many seeds and are more watery)

Put everything except the vinegar into a preserving pan.

Stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved

Bring to boil and cook gently for approx 1 hour until thick

Add the vinegar and cook for 30- 50 minutes until thick again.

 Put into  hot sterilised jars, cover, seal and label.

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A Dahlia

 When I first moved here I bought some perennials to add to the borders but that was before I knew that nothing does well in this garden. The soil is awful and the trees that the previous owners planted take all the moisture and it seems to be a frost pocket in winter. I don't want the trees removed as they block out the houses all around, so have given up hope of lovely colourful borders.

I hadn't bought anything for the garden, except for edibles, for ages but a lady at a recent boot sale had a huge selection of Dahlias - all colours and shapes and they looked so good that I bought one but it will be kept in a pot out on the front step. She told me to repot into a larger pot, which I did and I've got a much nicer pot for it that's a bit too big as yet.

The other instructions were to remove dead heads, feed in summer, cut back and keep in a frost proof place in winter. I seem to remember from the past ex-husbands father putting the tubers/corms (whichever) in a box of straw for winter?

Will I keep it alive? Think I need Dahlia advice.

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Tomatoes for Chutney

 I've grown plum tomatoes for many years for making chutney. The first were San Marzano and then over the years new varieties have appeared. There was 'Big Mama' and then for the last  few years 'Super Mama', F1 Hybrid for greenhouse growing or outside in a good year. They can be up to 5 inches long and my biggest this year weighed 8oz each, although according to information on websites they can weigh 1lb each- but I've never seem them that big.

They are good for chutney as they peel easily after being plunged in boiling water, have very little juice and hardly any seeds.

I've now got over 4lb in the freezer - plenty for making a big batch of chutney just in case I don't grow any next year although I probably will.

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All Saints' Church, Stuston

Another church on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, not far from busy roads but  up a narrow lane. It has a round tower but the top is octagonal which is a bit different.

As usual there was a lot of reconstruction and updating in Victorian times but very recently more repair work was funded by the heritage Lottery Fund, The Round Tower Church Society, Suffolk Historic Churches Trust and some private Foundation money.

The nave is quite narrow and there is pattered coloured brickwork around the chancel arch and around the entry to the north transept or is it a side chapel as there isn't a south transept.

The wood in the ceiling of the chancel looks quite recent.

This large memorial dates from 1727 is for Sir John Castleton, his wife and the  children who died young.

Stained glass in the East window

The organ is in an unusual place, just inside the door. It has a lever on the side so maybe it still has to be pumped as it's played

The bird-proof gates on the porch entrance are new and have a some interesting carving.

 

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Flower Festival

 My annual visit to Crowfield Church on their Flower Festival weekend, they also have a second-hand book stall. But this year, although there were dozens of books on the tables, I only picked up these two.

The gazebo on the left has hundreds of books while on the right they have dozens of jigsaw puzzles and a few children's books

The theme of the Flower Festival was 'Time' and there were some lovely arrangements and clever ideas.

'Time Rolls On'

"Time is like a toilet roll, the nearer you get to the end, the faster it goes"

                                                    The white rabbit in Wonderland

"I'm Late"

Time and Tide

"Time and Tide wait for no one"

Harvest Time

(I was interested to see the local produced sheep's cheese on this display, made not far from home for the last couple of years but first time I'd heard about it. I looked up the stockists and hope to buy some  soon for a cheese taste test)

'Past Present and Future'

"Yesterday is the past, Tomorrow is the future, but Today is a gift which is why it is called 'The Present'.

A stitch in time was a large display by the local craft club

'Once in a Blue Moon'

These were just a few of the lovely arrangements. I say it every year but there are some very talented people around.

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The August Library Book Photo

 Collected these books I'd reserved on-line from the mobile library.

An old Rumer Godden that I've not read plus 4 various Non Fiction. 

But, as usual, mostly crime fiction. Two are collections of short stories, two are by authors I've not read before and the rest are by tried and trusted authors.

They should keep me out of mischief for the next few weeks.

 

Four weeks ago I collected these below

I read nine of them. Details on the Books Read 2025 Page.  I've  still got the very fat R F Delderfield book. It's got so many people in the first few pages that I got lost. I have read it before - back in the 1970's - maybe I had more patience then -might try it again if I'm short of reading. 

For goodness sake don't read Nevil Shute's 'In The Wet' if you are offended by language in common use when the book was written in 1953. I looked on a review of it somewhere on line and a person was Horrified and counted how many times a certain word we no longer use was actually in the book! Which I thought rather strange for someone who was so disgusted!

Have a good Bank Holiday weekend - if you are in the UK. I'm doing nothing exciting which will give me plenty of time for reading.

Short Break

 Thanks to everyone for comments on yesterdays post.

Nothing much to write about, so having a few days off blogging. I'll be back with the August Library Book Photo in a few days.

Dragonflies

 It came in the wide open door and crashed around at the window, then it thought it was stuck (the window was just open a fraction) and stayed still for me to take a photo.

It went in a hurry when I opened the window fully.

They really are strange creatures. Years ago when I worked in Stowmarket old library we used to get them coming in all the time in summer. The library was surrounded by trees, cool and shaded in summer. Sometimes people in the library were terrified, no idea why as they aren't dangerous all we could do was  to open all the windows and hope the dragonflies would find their way out.

Did you know there are around 3,000  species, most live in tropical regions with 36 species in the UK. Such an ancient creature that their ancestors were around even earlier than the dinosaurs. Some are incredibly colourful - all that beauty for a lifespan of 7 - 56 days.

 I think this one is quite common -  Ophiogomphus cecilia or green snake-tail (once I started looking at all the dragonfly pictures on different websites, things got very confusing). If I've identified correctly it says the species is viable and stable - there is no concern for population decrease. Although apparently in the last 60 years two other species have vanished from the UK.

More Info HERE on one of the many websites I looked at.

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Boxes, Lids and Coincidences

If you read crime fiction then you will know that at sometime the detective always says  "I don't believe in coincidences".

And I wouldn't have believed this, but it did happen.

This is a blog post I'd written last week right ready for posting sometime this week.

 I've been using these boxes from Lakeland for many, many years. They are so handy as the lids fit all three sizes . They've lasted ages and I've occasionally bought a new pack of one or other of the three sizes over the years when some have split or got discoloured.

But how have I ended up with 9 various sized  boxes in the drawer at the moment but 17 lids??

If they're used to  give away cheese scones to BiL for instance or are in the freezer they would be box and lid.

I know where three boxes are in use without lids.  One large one I use to knock the used coffee grounds into and one medium size is in the cupboard holding the little bottles of food colourings and essences, and another is in the fridge with the latest picking of my mini plum tomatoes. But that still leaves 5 spare lids.

So do I throw out the spare lids or hang onto them just in case?  

 That was where that post ended.

But then I found these at the boot sale on Saturday.

Three more of the larger boxes with lids, thought I might as well add to the collection as they were in one of the house clearance boxes and the lady only wanted 50p for all three.

Writing a post about them and then finding some - coincidences DO happen after all.

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Saturday. Mid August.

The 4th heatwave of the year didn't seem to be as hot as predicted here in Mid Suffolk, although that might be because I didn't do anything much outside after about 10 in the morning!  I wondered what actually constituted a heatwave and found..........................

England has entered its fourth heatwave of the summer, with a number of places seeing temperatures higher than 30C on Tuesday. Areas in South West England, the South West Midlands, North West England and East Anglia met heatwave criteria, by having three consecutive days above a certain temperature.

Tuesday wasn't too hot early on and we managed to get through the exercises at the Keep Moving Group without melting too much and Wednesday there was a lot of cloud. On Thursday a bit of a breeze kept things comfortable indoors but on Friday things got hot, hot, and hotter.

One of these days I'll get a new outdoor thermometer and then I'll know exactly how hot it is.

Temperatures next week should be back to average for  August, many will be grateful.

 I've put 2½lb of the giant tomatoes into the freezer so far - that was just 5 tomatoes, there are  plenty more still to turn red, not quite as big as those first 5 but still a good size. The other things needed for my favourite chutney are red peppers, red chilli peppers, red onions and  red wine vinegar. I've got the vinegar and will buy the other things when I get around to making the chutney later in the year.

Some years I'm able to use my own peppers, but there are so few this year and some will be yellow anyway - when they eventually turn from green.

The climbing green beans have finished and I was going to pull them up but couldn't get them or the canes out of the rock solid ground. That job will have to wait until we get rain although  I did pull up the squash plants - they'd never done well and they had flowers that just hadn't set.

There's fireworks over the road in the churchyard tonight - the church have a Patronal Festival thing - something to do with The Assumption of Our Lady. They follow that with hot dogs/burgers and a specially brewed local beer! I've only ever seen the fireworks  once since being here as it was cancelled one year because it was so dry and another year because it poured with rain and last year I was away with the family.  Hope it's not too dry this year as I love a free fireworks  display!

Have a good weekend, not sure what I'm doing apart from standing on my doorstep at 8.45pm!.

Back Monday

Stitching

 Brownie-Guide badges are all different colours. I sowed 14 onto her Brownie sash for EGD this week - probably a years worth! I try to use cottons the same colour as the edges of the badges. There were two different yellows, three different blues as well as pink edged and red. 

Once upon a time I had a huge collection of different colours cottons but at some time I didn't have room for them all in my sewing box and  must have got rid. So had to use the best match I could find.

Anyway, they are all on ready for the new term in September. 

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Festival of Ceramics................

.........they call it Potfest. 

This happens only a few miles from home so this year I decided to go and have a look.

Perhaps The Great Pottery Throw Down on TV has sparked a bigger interest in beautiful hand made pottery than ever before, because there were crowds there and it was only the first day.

Several large marquees with nearly 100 potters and sculptors showing their wares. They've come from all over the UK.

Just a few photos as there were so many people around.

There was one area with a demonstration of Raku - wouldn't have know what this was until the TV programme.

This below reminded me of a ship's figurehead from Tudor times - very clever but  I'm not sure I'd want any of these large pottery sculptures  in the house

Lovely lot of pestle and mortar. With large storage jars reminiscent of Doulton Ware from the past 

Loved this hare plate, I wouldn't dare have something like this in the house in case it got broken.

There was a competition for potters with their entries all stood on pillars in one area. The theme was "Illustrate a saying" This one was "Plenty More Fish in the Sea"

And this one was "Sitting on the Fence".

I treated myself to a coffee and a lemon cake - very delicious

I didn't want to buy a 'dust collector', jug, mug etc etc and had planned to buy nothing but then I saw these bird feeder saucer-on-a-pole and thought it would be a lovely addition to the garden.

The potter was David Melville from Kent.

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St Nicholas, Oakley

 Just a mile along the road and then up a narrow lane from Brome, the last church mentioned on here is the church at Oakley. Oakley and Brome have long been joined for parish purposes and share a village hall etc.

Like Brome, Oakley church has a Lychgate, and inside it says................. 

Agnes Lady Bateman erected this lytch gate 1908. I wonder why whoever carved this put in the letter T that we don't usually use in the word.

A very typical Suffolk church with a very neat and tidy churchyard

The porch once had an upper storey, but that has long gone.

Quite plain and typically a Victorian restoration.

They've even got a brass plaque which says "This Church of St Nicholas Oakley was restored and bells rehung AD 1876-1879 at the joint expense of the Patron Sir Edward Clarence Kerrison, Baronet, The Rector the Reverend George Mapletoft Paterson MA and the Parishioners."

The font is very plain

But the Reredos behind the altar is quite unusual, being tiled with a picture of the Last Supper included.

This is also a memorial, this time to Captain John Worth and his wife Catherine, and put here by their daughter Dame Mary Catherine Sinclair Walker in 1882.

Alongside the banner for the long gone Mothers Union is an unusual feature - some sort of memorial?

The East window

This plate was high on the wall and I couldn't see what it was, but with enlarging it's showing the 7 churches in the Benefice. Brome, Oakley, Burgate, Wortham, Thrandeston, Stuston and Palgrave. (Stuston and Thrandeston are two I've not visited yet.) These villages are all along the Suffolk/Norfolk border, much nearer to Diss and Norwich in Norfolk than to Suffolk main towns.

These two niches are odd - I wonder what they once housed.

More information is as usual on Simon Knott's Suffolk Churches website

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