Saturday Round-up. Wordy With No Photos!

Is the blog reading list updating hitch resolved? - on Wednesday it seemed to be........and on Thursday...........yes and Friday...........still OK - this looks very hopeful but where have some of the regular bloggers gone? especially Janice at Jabblog, who  used to post almost everyday. It's worrying.

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Hearing the story unfold about the men arrested near an RAF airbase used by the USAF was very odd if you'd been watching the recent series of the drama Trigger Point on TV a couple of weeks ago. The story there was bombers supposedly being from Iran - but actually they weren't. They were just trying to start a world war. Their bomb was nuclear  (thank God just fiction). 

There seems more to the story of the men here in Fairford, Gloucestershire. A 999 phone call from one of the men to the police(?) very odd.  No explosives found - just petrol (which they would have needed if they were stealing quad bikes - which is the more usual reason that men in balaclavas and white vans are sneaking round the countryside) And they were released on bail - which terrorists surely would NOT have been. Politicians from other countries chipped in with their tuppence worth - could have done without hearing from them......... Then someone in London arrested. I guess we will find out eventually.

What I want to know is............ have they stepped up security on the two bases used by the USAF in Suffolk? One has the huge KC135 Stratotankers used to refuel  USAF planes. Not a mention has been made of them.....as far as I've heard.

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The grass was cut again, it's amazing that even without much rain it's growing like crazy. I'm waiting for a heavy rainfall to see how well the gutter clearing has worked, but there was only a light drizzle, that didn't last on Wednesday. I also finished clearing out the greenhouse bringing in the last few tomatoes to finish ripening indoors. Have to say that pulling grow bags out of the greenhouse and tipping out onto the veg beds is much easier than hauling out big pots.

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I'm now reading the 2nd Louise Penny Chief Inspector Gamache series and wondering why I've never got into them before. Just like the Donna Leon Brunetti series that I didn't try until a few years ago but then loved and read them all (and I've just discovered that there is another due in 2027 after a 3 year gap - she's 84 now so no wonder she's slowing down!) Maybe years ago I was put off by crime fiction set in other countries and now I'm more adventurous?  Anyway, I went onto the library website to reserve the 3rd and 4th and found that for many of the early books in the series - from the early 2,000s - the library has just one copy or none and the more recently published have very long waiting lists. Then I hopped over to amazon and discovered I could buy a huge set of the first 15 for less than £2.50 each. As I'd not bought hardly any books from anywhere recently I went mad and ordered - these will be my Christmas present - instead of my usual Chocolate liqueurs- and will be for the just-in-case emergency/winter book store! 

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To watch or not to watch - that is the question. Strictly Come Dancing - yes I'll watch as it's good for Saturday Night glitter from now until Christmas. I know nothing about most of the celebs so have no favourites. I'll just watch for the skill of the professional dancers, choreographers and band  and the brilliant people who do the costumes and sets.

The much hyped Celebrity Traitors. The jury's out. I did watch part one just to see who was on it, some people I've never heard of but lots of well known comedians. Maybe it's for half-watching -with reading at the same time.

The only thing in the diary for the weekend is too far away, given the huge increase in diesel prices, so I won't be going far.

 Hope you all have a good weekend, I'll be back Monday.

Saturday 19th

Forgot this photo was on the phone - only 19 days late!

On Monday when  the post about Being Prepared was published I cooked up some beetroot that I'd collected from BiL's garden but a few hours later when I put the hob (electric induction) on for my meal it flashed up an error sign. I thought I was going to have to get the picnic stove in from the garage - even without power cut and apocalypse situation!

The hob instructions, once I'd found them, suggested turning the hob off and on - but the switch is behind drawers under the hob which involved a torch and a broom handle to reach it. Thankfully it worked and I was able to cook my meal. Which proves having a torch handy and gas picnic stove available might be a Good Idea in more than just a weather, cyber attack or zombie apocalypse crisis! 

BTW,  I'm still waiting for a commenter to explain why Monday's post was irresponsible advice!

AND can't imagine why a blogger thinks it's OK to copy a comment off my blog and dismiss it with hilarity on hers - bit rude I thought, then someone told me I was rude for saying it was rude to pinch a comment without attributing it! All jolly good fun!.

Anyway, on the sensible, non stirring-up-mischief side of life, what else has happened this week...... I've been doing some cross stitch, starting the Christmas tree decorations I mentioned and had a good week on the NYT wordle website as I got a 20 badge for getting the Spangram first on Strands and got wordle in two tries on Thursday. Didn't manage a Connections puzzle all week - hardly ever get a win on that game. And of course I got started on one of the library books.

Strictly Come Dancing starts tonight - I've not looked to see who's on it this year and it's all change for presenters so will be interesting to see how that goes. This week I've been watching the updated version of Magnum PI - the thing Tom Selleck did years ago with big moustache and very short shorts. The Chelsea Detective is back for a 4th series on U and Drama and Blue Lights back on the BBC at the end of the month.

I'm hoping to get to a rare Jumble Sale today unless BiL can come to cut the yew hedge, in which case I will be here clearing up all the bits.

Have a good weekend and I'll be back Monday

Heading Into September.

 I wonder if Blogger will let comments publish today. What with this problem and the slow updating of blogs on reading lists I'm starting to wonder if Blogger is trying to fade quietly away.

This painting was on Tuesday's post but I like it, so putting it on here again.

Young September's Cornfield 1954

Oil on board

Alan Reynolds (1926-2014)

Below is ............................         Young September's Cornfield 2026 

                                                                 by me (1955 - ), 

                                                              with my big camera

 Already the field had been harvested, cleared and  disc-harrowed ready for whatever comes next - possibly oil seed rape which is often drilled straight in when a field hasn't been ploughed................or they might go back and plough ......I shall see later.

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I've started on the autumn garden clearing- although haven't tackled the four huge Buddleias yet. BiL cut one right back with his chainsaw last year but it  put on 8 foot of growth regardless. Each bit has to be chopped up to fit in the garden waste bin and takes an age. I raked up all the small fallen apples from under the Minarette trees - I thought to leave them for the birds for winter but seeing as so many had codling moth maggot damage they need getting rid of.

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The BBC have decided to end Ski Sunday after nearly 50 years of Sunday evening winter viewing for ordinary people who are never likely to go skiing- very sad. I liked to watch for the snowy views. Bad BBC!

On the other hand they had a brilliant programme from The Royal Albert Hall Proms - Bond Themes played by the huge BBC Concert Orchestra. It was really good. Most of the annual Proms festival is too highbrow for me but can you imagine the outcry from the rich and famous if the beeb were to stop broadcasting the Proms!

This week I've been watching some of the British Open Snooker and  something called Tout le Monde Ment. - It's French! - translates as Everyone Lies, crime of course. A short series of eight, originally shown between 2022 and 2025. It's on Walter Presents on 4. No details anywhere if  French TV are likely to make more. 

Have you seen the trailer for a new programme starting soon on Channel 4 called Apocalypse?

In this bold and ambitious social experiment, Channel 4 is sending a group of ordinary people to a jaw dropping, real world location - an abandoned town that bears all the hallmarks of being ravaged by an apocalyptic event. 

It sounds very odd - but apt for all the dire warnings of cyber attacks, weather abnormalities and wars!

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Compared to the week before, this week has been much quieter. I've only spoken to ladies at Keep Moving group, son on the phone and Kirsty who cuts my hair. There was some wild, windy and wet weather  for a while on Friday morning showing me the gutters need cleaning out. Not sure me and a ladder are a good idea any more - may need to get a man in - no one in the family would jump at the chance to clean out gutters either!

Another view of the disc-harrowed fields up the lane not far from home.

I can't decide which to visit today - car boot sale in one direction or a village garage/yard sale event in the other direction.

 Have a good weekend, I'll be back Monday

Saturday 22nd - Notes From the Week

 I started the week limping - thought I broken my little toe  on Sunday morning, stubbed it hard on the leg of the bed- somehow. What I should have done was to put ice on it straight away but I was heading out so didn't get ice on it until much later. Probably not broken but it didn't half hurt for a few days and is still a bit sore.

We had rain overnight Monday/Tuesday and Tuesday/Wednesday -and a shower on Thursday it added a bit to the water butt off the living room roof. Nothing added to the water butt off the greenhouse because I hadn't realised the pipe had become disconnected - Duh!

 There's also rain in the forecast now and again on some days until the end of the month which is hopeful for greening up the half dead stuff everywhere.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to ex-husbands funeral. Strange to think the last two times I went to a funeral in that church ex was at both. First it was for his Father - way back in 1984 and then later in the 1980s for a Scout Leader who we had both known.

At Tuesday's funeral  I was able to give Paul's  two sons some photos of their Dad when he was 16, one was him on his BSA Bantam motorbike, and tell them about when he did his Duke of Edinburgh Gold award camping and hiking challenge and had to arrange a rescue for one of the guys he was with who broke his leg and how we went to Buckingham Palace to receive the award and how he won an award for Top Apprentice at ICI in 1975. They didn't know any of that as he'd split from their Mum when they were still quite young. They didn't even know he'd been married before he was married to their Mum until quite recently, which I find very strange. My children have always known I was married for a short while before Colin, it wasn't a secret. 

Paul is now buried in the churchyard where his Mum and Dad are buried - and Col's Mum and Dad are also there. (Their funerals were in their Methodist Chapel which has no burial ground).

So.......... The Sussex's - Harry and Meghan are coming back to live here, so their children can go to school here and she can get back to acting on a TV programme here - they need the money obviously, as he's got a massive bill to pay for losing a lawsuit.

 Doesn't bother me what they do either way ........just have to hope we don't have endless news about what they are doing - although I expect we will. I heard that the Daily Mail had managed to fill 18 pages about them on Friday - Thank Goodness I don't have to read it!

You know Autumn is coming when there are new crime series on TV  ..........Professor T and Ludwig both started this week. Hopefully more than 3 in the  series which is all there were of Van Der Valk.   

Benidorm is Murder with John Hannah has a couple more episodes - it's quite 'light' but fun and sunny. Can't say the same about 'The Hairdresser Mysteries' - a daytime cosy crime thing ................dreadful.

I'm sure I've seen something else trailed but can't remember what it was.

Also on TV is the first of the last series of this summers Cricket Test Matches - it rained of course!

The Great British Sewing Bee has been much the same as usual - I wasn't sad to see Tim go, didn't like him much in our Suffolk Smallholders Society and he came over the same in the Sewing Bee - a bit too pleased with himself!

And the football season has started and Ipswich are of course back in the Premiership so they'll be featured on TV a few times which will be good to see for everyone who can't afford a ticket.

Have a Good Weekend, and remember not to take my blog too seriously. 

I'll be back Monday.

The First Week of August

 There's a very strange old woman staring back at me from my new bus pass card which arrived in the post this week. ED helped me with getting it when she was here last month as I kept getting stuck moving photos from one place to the online form.  It won't get much use while I can still drive, we only have a couple of buses each day passing through the village. They go to all the wrong places and take three times as long as driving and I don't really enjoy bus travel anyway - did years of it in the past-  but it might be handy sometime.

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I'd been waiting for this pepper to turn red. It's from the plant  bought from a boot sale when my own plants were so slow to get going.

Shouldn't have waited because when I sliced into it some of the inside had gone black. No idea why - but I'll blame the weather. A little was usable and went into a quiche.

I'll bring  in two others that are not quite red later today and chop them for the freezer, if they are OK inside.

My four home grown pepper plants have a few peppers on them but they're still green.

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The rain that was forecast for Mid Suffolk for the 13th has disappeared from the weather charts, now there's nothing until perhaps the 17th and the long range forecast says above average temps and below average rainfall right through until September.   With the constant heat I seem to have sunk into weeks of achieving nothing much..................and I don't know how I'm going to get out of the slump- it's very worrying and feels like depression creeping in. 

All I've been doing is reading, doing all sorts of different puzzles in my puzzle books, going to exercise group, occasional bits of food prep in the kitchen  and shopping and too much TV again for company. 

I decided......had to force myself............. to go out yesterday to Pot Fest - a celebration of potters, sculptors  and their work. I went last year and enjoyed looking at all the creations. It was very hot and dusty there so I didn't stay long - photos next week.

Grass on the park was  dry as dust

Hope you have a good weekend, there doesn't seem to be anything interesting to go to so it will be just the boot sales  for me again then. 

Sport Report Catch Up

I forgot to mention yesterday about the final days of Wimbledon. The Wheelchair Men's Doubles final gave Brits Alfie and Gordon another title - well done them. I think that Alfie was then exhausted for the singles final as he was beaten by Tokito Oda the number one seed in two easy sets.

Brit Henry Pattern was one of the pair winning the Men's doubles with Finland's Harri Heliovarra. There was talk of doubles matches getting less coverage ...........

In July 2026, the ATP Tour proposed controversial sweeping cuts internally termed "Product 28" for implementation in 2028. The plan could slash doubles draw sizes in half and heavily reduce the revenue share for doubles players to reinvest in singles.

As someone said......  playing doubles is what most people do in clubs and schools and is still popular to watch at the Slams. It's all about the money. 

The men's final on Sunday was a tough match for both men I think, as it went to tie breaks in the first two sets, then Jannik Sinner seemed to dig in and won the next two sets to retain his title from last year. I don't know if Sacha Zverev was affected by a nasty fall, he said he wasn't but ..............

And I heard that Andrew Castle and John Lloyd who have been rolled in as BBC commentators every Wimbledon for donkeys years are being pensioned off - I didn't mind them but I know some people weren't keen.

So all over for another year 😢

Just that football match tomorrow night then - and that will (probably) be the end of my Sports reports 2026 except for  the cricket test matches against Pakistan next month.

BUT Only Connect and University Challenge were back last night for quizzy Mondays - so it's not all bad news!

Imitation is the Greatest Form of Flattery

 Actually the saying should be 'the sincerest form of flattery' but either way this is what my Mum used to say when my little sister was doing that awful copy cat thing - repeating everything I did or said OR when I moaned about someone at school getting the same something or other.

Here it's me copying Sue in Lancs as I'm extremely short of bright ideas for blog posts.(Sorry Sue!)

Sue's post was through her day in photos...........and here's my day - Wednesday-  in photos.

Washing out early...........

Greenhouse stuff watered early too............

Breakfast of prunes and nectarine, marmalade on home made toast and a frothy coffee. 

( I got worried one day this week when my frothy milk poured onto my coffee just sank and vanished. I found myself googling "why is the frothy milk not staying frothy?"...............and thought........... good grief woman.... what a trivial First World Problem!)

Wordle in 3.

Ingredients in the bread machine 50/50 wholemeal and white flour.

Main meal...... half of my homemade pizza with salad of lettuce, cucumber and courgette (softened in the microwave) with balsamic vinegar. I drink just water with my main meal.

Bread out of the machine.

Watching the brilliant tennis

And then.........................

........................... I forgot to take any more photos....duh! but I had  a coffee - decaf un-frothy - and biscuit mid afternoon, the rest of the pizza with an apple later. 

Then couldn't resist taking a slice off the new made loaf, very soft and difficult to cut,  and having a holey peanut butter sandwich for my supper. With more coffee - again decaf un-frothy.

The washing dried easily, was got in and sorted and I watered the greenhouse stuff again late evening.

Then I went to bed with one icepack wrapped in a tea-towel and my two cooling gel pads which had been in the fridge all day.

Today it's THE semi final, there are two but only the first has a young British  guy playing! As for the second SF - it could be either of them but Djokovic is desperate for a record breaking slam win and I think he'll somehow beat Sinner.

The 'Fery' Tale Continues!

 That is the most dreadful pun which they used on the BBC and I'm sure will be sports page headlines today.

So well done once again to Arthur Fery who beat Flavio Cobolli in three straight sets to win and get himself into the Semi Finals. The third set was odd as Fery won 6-0 which seemed much too easy, almost as if the Italian slowed down and gave up.

He plays the  German, Sascha  Zverev on Friday. Zverev is second seed, much more experienced, so it will be a "whole different ball game!"

Sorry!

Nothing else to write about. Too hot to think yesterday, but thank you for all the comments that I didn't get around to replying to. Supposed to be even hotter today.

June Library Book Photo - Several Days into July

Blimey yesterday was HOT AGAIN! Even the breeze was hot. Set to be the same all week - too much for me now - funny how not so many years ago I loved the heat, now I can only tolerate it by doing nothing. Although I did get started with another batch of compost (AKA mixed fruit) jelly, to be finished today once the sun had gone from the kitchen window.

As I mentioned before, the mobile library was cancelled two weeks ago due to the heat but Rachel rang and said she would send my reservations to Stowmarket Library for me to collect but when I went into town a week later they still hadn't arrived. Of course notification arrived the next day to say they'd finally got there (the afternoon after I was in town of course!)

I did a detour on my way back from visiting YD and picked them up. More non-fiction than usual and only two crime.

On the top is a book I reserved out of curiosity after reading Deborah's (Country Ways and Cottage Days) post about the Welsh herbal online course she is doing (and I hope she is OK as she's not posted for several weeks).

Then left to right ............. Tree Lore ( no idea why I reserved this as I've got several 'tree' books of my own). Dean Street Press have reprinted many of Sara Wood's crime fiction, dating back to the 1960's. I read some of her later books as she was still writing well into the 1980's . I suggested the library buy some and they bought the first one, saying that if I liked it I could suggest they buy more!

'Theo of Golden' is another book that I have no clue why I reserved it - did someone mention it? did I read about it somewhere and what the heck is it about anyway? I'll let you know.

'Secret Places' by Heather Peck, I plucked from the library shelves having found her novella in this series to try when I was there last week. It was a good short read so I looked to see availability of her other books and spotted Stow had this one on the shelves.

'The Enchanted April' by Elizabeth Von Arnim was suggested to read after I read 'Elizabeth and her German Garden ' in May.

'Evergreen' by Lydia Millen is "Inspired by the seasons, 'Evergreen' is the essential guide for anyone who is looking to bring more joy and more happiness into their everyday."

I'll let you know how that pans out too!

'Reconnected' by Carlos Whittaker. He is an American author, podcaster, instagrammer etc- well known apparently - I'd never heard of him. After working out how many hours, days and years of his life he spends connected to a screen he tries 7 weeks without a phone - two weeks in a monastery, two more weeks  on an Amish farm and four weeks at home.

I've started this already and he makes some good points.

There are already five books for me sitting in the mobile library depot ready for the July visit to the village....all crime....good.

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What an A -MAZ-ING game of tennis yesterday evening. Arthur Fery just kept battling and took it to the 10 point tie-break in the 5th Set and WON! So exciting to see, although I hardly dared watch at the end . He plays Flavio Cobolli in the Quarter Finals on Wednesday, someone he has already beaten this year in the first round of the Australian Open.

Looking forward to it.

Meanwhile it's back to the other half of the draw with Jannick Sinner and Djokovic playing. I expect both to win their games and meet in the semi finals.

First Food Shop of July

 This shopping-photos-to-fill-a-blog-post is getting to be a regular thing - I'm just not having enough adventures and with the weather forecast telling us we are in for another week of very high temperatures I doubt I'll be going far this week either.

At least last weeks trip to town was a few degrees cooler than the week before. I went to Aldi first on my way into town and then into town centre for a couple of things including the library, then frozen stuff from Asda that I didn't want to get at Aldi as it would have been in the cold box (even with ice-packs) for a bit too long..

Some things are rather hidden in the photo but this is the complete list...roughly left to right......... Aldi's calabrese still looked yellowing like the last couple of times I've been in, so I got a savoy cabbage instead for the weeks 'greens' 79p; 6 apples £1.39 ; 4 wholemeal baps 69p; pack 2 little gem lettuce 49p; cooking chocolate £1.59; chocolate chips £1.19; cheap choc chip cookies 65p; 3 peanuts @ 59p =£1.77; Soy sauce 55p; tin plum tomatoes 43p; 4 pints semi-skimmed milk  £1.65; Strong white bread flour £1.09; Packet jaffa cakes £1.00; Extra Mature Cheddar cheese 400g £2.49; Soft cheese 89p; 2 packets Colmans cheese sauce mix @£1.00 each = £2; Brown Sugar £1.64; 1Kg Nectarines £2.39; Frozen Fish in batter pack of 4 £2.49; Ice cream £1.62.

Total Spend £26.80

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Two really good games at Wimbledon on Saturday - there were probably more but these were the two I properly watched. First Arthur Fery battled his way to a win, coming back from being down so many times and finally winning in 5 sets. I think they said the first British Wild Card to get through to the 4th round  in many a long year (or maybe ever- they had too many stats to remember!) Then the Dimitrov/Berrittini match was equally good, I didn't really mind who won.

On Sunday Djokovic won again of course and then Jannick Sinner got through - again not easily. Today Arthur Fery plays Grigor Dimitrov who is getting back to playing after a year of injuries. It could be one-sided as Dimitrov is so experienced or Arthur - who is 12 years younger might be able to play really well again.  

I didn't stay up for the England/Mexico match - I'm not silly! But was amazed to wake up this morning with the radio telling me England had somehow managed to win. That was a nice surprise, I didn't think they stood a chance as Mexico had never lost a game playing in their National stadium.

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I saw my 9 year old EGD yesterday, a month ago we were practising her times tables ready for a test and she did well - getting all right. She wanted me to write some for her to do again but she got the answers quicker than I could write the numbers! I'm glad they learn times tables to be able to get the answer straight away, as we did back in the 60s."Off by heart" we called it. It went out of fashion when my lot were at school. It's quite a useful thing to be able to do at any age, unlike some of the things we did in Maths which were never used again!

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Pickle

It was a case of use them or lose them because last week there wasn't just 1 cucumber from the greenhouse...................

or two........................

or three......................

but four!

So I bought Cider vinegar and  some celery..............

And turned the largest three cucumbers, one and half bottles of vinegar, some of the celery and a large onion into 5 jars of Sweet and Sour Pickles.

The recipe is on the separate Recipe page. I didn't put mustard seed into the mix this year. Trying to avoid things with seeds in.

Despite giving the 2 cucumber plants in the greenhouse plenty of water, they've started to shrivel. Perhaps the extreme heat has done them no good at all and there might be a shortage of cucs later.....typical.

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Another bad day at Wimbledon. I think just two men through to the second round, I lost track when I abandoned watching for a while  to watch the first two of the new series of Countdown. They used to take a break for summer but now roll right on. I worked out I've been watching this words and numbers game since about 1986. I had a small portable black and white TV in the kitchen and used to watch while getting a meal ready for the children..... it was on at 4.30pm back then. I didn't know what colour their set was until many years later!

Back Tomorrow

End of June Financials

The usual income of State Pension, Suffolk County Council Spouses Pension and interest on savings.

I'd hoped for a fairly low spend in June with only three known extras. The garden waste bin was up £2 on last year to £66 for the year - they empty every fortnight all year round. The car tax which suddenly appeared last year (previously the age and engine size of my car meant I didn't pay any) stayed at £20.The dentist was for a check up and x-ray and was £84 - he said a nine month rather than a six month check up would do, which is good. The regular expenses were Council tax, charity donations, phones and broadband, one lot of diesel for the car  and monthly electric bill. That lot came to around £550.

Food spending for home -already mentioned- plus  things for doing pickles totalled £106.93. There was also one meal out with YD and EGD, a KFC after the dentist and just the one whippy 99 ice-cream (sadly!)

Personal spending wasn't too bad (no books!), there was the annoying £5 wasted on the  card making kit, a hair cut and 2 new Puzzler books - I ordered a 16 x 16 Sudoku puzzle book online as there is only one of these puzzles in the Take-A Break Puzzler and I always turn to that page first. It takes me days to sort a 16 x16 so I think the new book will last me months!

Incidental spending was mainly small stuff including screen-wash for the car, sunflower hearts for the birds, a new plastic stool for the hallway (£4.99), bits for bathroom and kitchen- including useful car-boot finds - and the window cleaner came round (£10.00). While Amazon had their Prime Special Offer Days I bought Ecover Laundry Liquid and a different sort of Dishwasher Tabs. I'd almost come to the end of my last Smol orders - now cancelled due to their new delivery costs.

Small Savings..............

• Didn't go out much in the heat 
• Bread loaves from bread machine as usual 50/50 Wholemeal/white flour
• Washing machine used only twice a week
• Washing dried outside
• Raspberries from the garden ( had to stop eating them -  they were upsetting my stomach so they're in the freezer for adding to the fruit peel to make 'Compost' Jelly sometime)
• First cucumbers from the garden
• First courgettes   ""     ""  ""
• Dishwasher only used every other day.
• Taking advantage of the Amazon Prime-Days savings for a couple of things.
• Reading library books and from my shelves for free. I read 13 books in June - due to the heat!
• Useful kitchen bits..... scourers etc found at boot sales.
• New sunglasses from car-boot sale for 50p! (Still with their Asda George £5 label)

Next month...............

 July in 2025 was the month with the lowest spend, can I do even better this year? The only known extra is for Virus protection for the laptop - there are no birthdays or other big bills due and fingers crossed I won't need to spend much at all.............especially if we get more very hot weather that keeps me indoors rather than out on adventures.

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An awful start to Wimbledon for British Players and Jack Draper had to pull out as he'd had a return of injury. Then there was the Cricket third test against NZ - another loss. Plus the brilliant Ben Stokes deciding to retire from International cricket.....with test matches against Pakistan still to come. Maybe the English Footballers will do better? 

Not much of a Summer of Sport to write about this year!

Back Tomorrow

Saturday 27th June

Blog readers from countries that regularly have hot summers must be fed up with reading about our English 'heatwave'! So I'll apologise to them in advance - here are more words from the 'record breaking temperatures' of our unusual  week in June....................................

 It was a shock on Tuesday morning to find the water pressure was really low- down to a dribble - and then I found a text message from Essex and Suffolk Water saying there were problems in the area. That wasn't ideal to read on  what was expected to be a Very Hot day! Luckily when I make my evening coffee I always fill up the filter jug in the fridge so had plenty of water for drinking. Also still have water in water butts so used a watering can to fill the cistern for loo flushing - thankful for  a toilet with accessible cistern when the en-suite was changed.

The water was back to normal by midday for me and earlier in some places. The primary school was closed due to the water problems and the moans on the 'Next Door' website were ridiculous (People saying " they wouldn't have closed the schools in MY day" etc) but having children in school even for a few hours on a hot day without a water supply would have been a nightmare and there was no way of knowing when it would be normal again.

I went to the next village to see who turned up to the Over 60's Keep Moving Exercise group and most of those of us that did arrive decided it was too hot. There were a couple of the new people who reckoned it wasn't too hot but as they don't want to have any involvement with the running of the group they couldn't really complain! They've started their own group in their village anyway............... so can do what they like in the heat there!

The qualifying for Wimbledon (or possibly the Eastbourne tournament - as I'd been watching either/or depending who was playing) might have been affected by the heat too when their automatic line judge machine refused to work for several hours...........it wouldn't have happened if they'd still had human line judges! I do feel sorry for the poor ball girls/boys who have to stand there holding an umbrella over the players at the changeover breaks, it's about time someone invented a sunshade for their seats that could come up and cover them and then fold back down again while they were playing. 

It's been lovely to see Jack Draper back from injury and playing well at Eastbourne, he is the main "hope for the future!" Three British guys got through the Qualifiers for the Wimbledon main draw - well done to them. All together there are 21 Brits in the main draw, mostly qualifiers or given wildcards. Hopefully some will go further than the first round.

It all starts Monday.

Anyone else enjoy watching Countdown on Channel 4? The standard during this week of quarter, semis and final of this series was incredible. How the winner could get the conundrum in 3 seconds every time - I have no idea. 

Thursday was better with a nice breeze blowing through the bungalow with doors and windows open everywhere.  I got the few bits of ironing done and remembered ironing at the smallholding dressed only in underwear. I had the ironing board upstairs then and in a chalet bungalow upstairs was often unbearably hot. There's hardly any ironing now - I don't miss doing shirts.

Friday was the hottest day here for sure - even without a thermometer to tell me. The was no breeze and the air was just like a brick wall.

Wet tea-towels are my new keep cool accessory - draped over head and neck! I still have no fan - I did buy one a few years back when it was hot but it was so noisy and clunky I passed it to Son to sell at their yard sale. I'm sure fans just move the hot air around anyway.

There's a Sale Trail - garden/garage/yard sales in a nearby village today but doubt I'll go to look if it's still 30° +.

So that's the news from Mid-Suffolk-in-the-heat - with commiserations for people in New Zealand who are having a vicious winter.

Thanks for comments yesterday it was too hot to hold the lap top to reply!!

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

Under the Weather...............

....................is, when you think about, a very strange saying . Most weather comes from above so we are always under it.

Anyway, I've been under it all week. Just feeling bleurgh...........not seasick (or any sort of sick!) like the original meaning................

The expression has maritime roots. In 19th-century sailing terminology, sailors or passengers who felt seasick or ill during rough, stormy conditions would go below deck to hide from the elements. By doing this, they were literally going "under" to escape the bad weather, which eventually transformed into the idiom we use today.

I even missed Keep Moving Group, which is complicated because at the moment I take the attendance chart, take the money and pass it to the Village Hall treasurer, buy/take the milk for coffees, find the meditation thing on the phone and lead half the exercises. I seem to be the only person who doesn't have holidays or Tuesday doctor/hospital appointments and goes regularly to the Group, so  have been lumbered with all the jobs. I took everything to the hall, apologised, and left it to everyone else to sort out and went home again!

Last weekend I mentioned hoping  the weather would be fine for the men's tennis at Queens club so it was on TV to watch  and it was fine and due to feeling grotty I was able to spend all afternoons watching it - which wasn't really as planned........................ I should be careful what I hope for!

Plenty of reading has been done too. I've now read all of the Inspector Ramsey books that Ann Cleeves wrote in the 90's before she wrote the Vera and Shetland series and read this...........

In this book the author does five walks around different areas of Suffolk and writes about the authors who've also walked/written/lived in those areas, from the C17 right up to date................

"...nor had I made allowance for the endless switchbacks and the roads reduced to single file and the mess being made of this part of Suffolk by the building of the Sizewell C nuclear power station.............the thousands of trees that have been felled............how to restore the generations of creatures that would have lived in them " Did they at least allow the archaeologists to have a look round?" I asked our taxi driver as we went past more skinned earth, more red and white tape curving in the breeze, and he said yes, they did, and very glad he was of it, the archaeologists being the only ones who drank, who needed lifts to and from the local pubs. Those building Sizewell C, he said put not a penny into the local economy:not in the shops, the pubs, or the restaurants. They sit in their block-booked holiday cottages all week then disappeared at the weekends..................."

 (it's the archaeologists who've kept YD in work and partly Son too of course! Local people have had a love/hate relationship with the Sizewell Power Stations since the 1960's. The only new shop to open in Leiston is one selling Hi Viz and work gear - while many others have closed.)

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Anyway, I'm fine again now but still doing nothing because the much, much warmer weather that had been predicted for a week arrived yesterday. Positively HOT. I got the grass cut early and then stayed inside with the doors and windows wide and curtains closed. I watched young Arthur Fery get knocked out of the tennis. If I go out over the weekend it will be early - to an Art Exhibition in Debenham Church  and car boot sales too of course. The  semis and finals of the tennis to watch and I'm looking forward to seeing some of the Wimbledon qualifying and the Eastbourne tournament on BBC red button next week .................by choice rather than necessity.

Halfway Through June

 Well, the weather didn't warm up much for the weekend, which was the promise earlier in the week, there was  a really cold wind on Saturday. Maybe by the end of the this week it will be better.

 I hoped for a fairly low spend June and at  half way through, how's it going?. 

The garden waste bin had gone up £2 for the year but thankfully the Car Tax was still £20 - I had visions of them moving more goalposts from it being free two years ago to anything they fancied charging!

So all the main expenses have been paid and the total spend including charity donations, dentist, garden waste bin, phones and broadband, car tax, one lot of diesel for the car, incidentals including multi surface cleaner for floors, sunflower hearts for the birds and a new stool for the hallway (for sitting on for all ages to put on shoes) plus the one big food shop (and the two fancy cheeses and taking YD and EGD out for our regular Sunday lunch).And that totals just over £600. There will be more odds and ends of course and Electric bill at the end of the month.

Then I did  the second food shop of the month at Aldi on Saturday after a quick tour round the car boot sale where all I found were some Maltesers. (There are some Eastern European guys who somehow seem to have a stock of cheap chocolate every week!?)

After the big shop at the start of June I didn't need much. From left to right...........Salad Leaves 65p; Strawberries £1.99; 4 Nectarines £1.39; Bunch Beetroot £1.39; Cucumber 99p; Pack 6 Mini Apples 59p; Pack Fruit and Nut mix 59p; 2 x  Peanuts @ 59p = £1.18; 1 Kg Onions 99p; 6 Eggs £1.49; Tin Peach Slices  45p; 4 Pints milk £1.65.

Total £13.35

During the rainy weather last week I got around to looking at some of the 'Frugal' youtubers again. I really can't understand why some people go food shopping every couple of days - and it's not because they don't have a car to use. It's mid month and I've only food shopped twice - apart from buying the special cheese last week.

And some people picked up on one frugal blogger who seemed to have a real muddle in the kitchen cupboards so had no idea of what was there, but reckoned she was a 'prepper'! The comments recommending she sort her cupboards and write a list were soon deleted. 

Of course I have no right to criticise - as I haven't the patience to be a you tuber myself! Better shut-up!

At least the weather was fine for the women's tennis final at Queens Club yesterday. Emma Raducanu played well - but only in the second set, but she still lost out. I've looked at the weather forecast for the week ahead and there shouldn't be rain which is good as I'd really like a few afternoons of watching the Men's matches. There will definitely be one Brit in the second round because Arthur Fery  has drawn fellow Brit Toby Samuel for the first round. Cam Norrie has the hardest first round match against the  4th seed.

Back Tomorrow.

First Week of June

 I went to the dentist during the week (check up and Xray only - thankfully). I go to Ipswich as that's where they moved to during covid. While I was on the right edge of town I decided to pop along to Dreams and see about a new mattress, something I keep putting off as it's such a faff.

I drive into the carpark and all the lights were off in all the big warehouse stores but the doors were open and it turned out they'd all been flooded out on Tuesday with huge downpours and hailstones - Dreams and Bensons for Beds are both there - both shut. Back in my village on Tuesday we didn't even have enough rain to fill the water butts. Now I'll have to go back specially sometime - no doubt I'll put it off a bit longer.

The first handful of raspberries were ready this week - the seeds in them seem a bit hard again - like last year - lack of rain I think. . 

From the few old strawberry plants in two tubs I've had about a dozen strawberries and they've quickly finished and I'll empty the tubs now and start again next year.

Disappointed to see that the Commonwealth Games won't be on free TV in the summer - only available on a pay to view channel. Channel 5 will have a highlights catch up in the evening. They weren't even supposed to be in Scotland anyway but Australia backed out. So with a reduced games and no free exposure to the public it could be the end for them.

BUT Queens Club tennis - the start of the grass court season and the build up to Wimbledon - is still on BBC and starts next week , with Nottingham on BBC iplayer the week after and Eastbourne the following week and the first of six Cricket Test Matches for England's men has also started and there's still an hour of highlights each evening on the Beeb. But if England and NZ were both as hopeless at batting but as brilliant at bowling as they were on day one then there won't be many 5 day tests - It was almost a one day thing!

On Thursday there was a thunderstorm - it rained a bit! I tried again with the camera and you-tube. I'm sure the way I get it loaded to the blog is probably the long/wrong way.

Have a good weekend - a very wet Saturday is forecast here - I'll be back Monday

What is/was/will be on TV?

 I was looking to see where on TV I can watch the French Open Tennis which starts next week and discovered that Jack Draper is out through injury and so is Carlos Alcaraz. So no big Sinner/Alcaraz final then. 

It's on  TNT Sports and £30.99 for the month again. Last year I decided to afford it by not going to the big Suffolk Show or the 1940s weekend at the Middy Railway. I'm undecided this year - £30.99 for a month goes against the grain..............but I do love tennis.

 Although no Suffolk Show for me this year either - it's just too big, exhausting and expensive (£33 pre paid for concessions or £40 on the day - £48 for other adults - Good Grief!! ). Much as I enjoyed going and watching the show jumping and everything else  a few years ago.

But I think I will go to the Middy Heritage Railway 1940s thing over late May Bank Hol weekend as I want to see the new extra quarter mile of track which takes the railway to within one field of where I used to live.

After watching several sessions of the 17 days of the World Snooker Championships on TV which finished on the early May Bank Holiday Monday I discovered the Seniors Snooker Championship was on from last Wednesday to last Sunday. Good to see 24 of  the 'oldies' - actually they only need be over 40 - so still young. Then they were plugging a snooker tournament called the 900 which started on Pluto TV on Tuesday. It has a very different format to proper snooker, had to google it to see how it works- not a fan.

In between all the sport I've been watching episodes of Bull. This has just appeared on the 5 catch-up channel arriving from the US and starring Michael Weatherly who was in NCIS when I watched that back in 2022. This is the precis if you haven't seen it..........

 Dr Jason Bull, a psychologist and a trial science expert, heads a consulting firm that helps its clients choose the right jurors and aids them in deciding the best argument that can win the case.

Makes a change from police/special agent things. Looks as if it had six series from 2017 to 2022, so it's taken a while to get to watch for free here. What I like about US dramas is that they make so many in a series - here we're lucky to have six! 

Then of course there is the World Cup Football which starts on the 11th June and finishes 19th July - I'm not much of an international football fan so when it overlaps with Wimbledon (29th June to 12th July) The tennis will come first. 

We seem to have crept around to the Eurovison Song Contest this year (tomorrow night) and I'd not even heard what the UK entry was. So I looked on line..............Oh Good Grief! What a weird one.

 Lots of Countries are boycotting the Eurovison this year after Isreal were allowed to enter. 

So much for trying not to let politics into what was meant to be a song contest .........now it's just a weird music/fancy dress show!

I shall probably half  watch.

Maybe I watch too much TV, but it's good company in a very quiet home alone.

Going back a couple of days - thank you to everyone for comments on the post about SS Nevasa. It was good to hear from other people who'd heard of these Educational Cruises. Not common knowledge!

Random and Odd Stuff From Last Week

The cheapest nearest diesel was £1.86 a litre last Sunday,. Apparently this is £8.46 a gallon - good grief. (thats's $11.37). I'm so old I can remember when petrol was £1 a gallon - that was in the late 70's. Have to travel, so need fuel -  I'm keeping topped up.

Did anyone else watch the 2nd series of  'Capture' on TV over the last 6 Sundays? It ended last Sunday, I  have no idea what it was all about.😕

Started on the 10 minute journey to Keep Moving Group only to find after half a mile  that the way out of the village was suddenly 'Road Closed' - no warning = 3 point turn = back the way I'd come and  then several miles on small back lanes = all jolly good fun! Arrived 20 minutes later = only just in time.

Did you hear about this .....Supermarket Digital Labels? Instant price changes when demand is higher/lower- with electronic shelf edge labels-  Oh good grief. For instance strawberries and cream would cost more on a hot Summer Saturday and less on a wet Winter Monday. Thankfully no supermarkets here have plans to introduce these -Yet!

On Thursday morning my phone made an unusual bleepity bleep noise, when I looked it was wishing me Happy Birthday! It wasn't a message or a phone call - just Happy Birthday on the screen. How strange.  AI creeping in?

17 days of The World Snooker Championship starts on TV today, it will keep me company while I'm reading and half watching. There are 11 Chinese players in the starting 32 - that must be the most ever.

I see blogger is playing up again - sometimes not updating the "Blogs I Read" when a new blog is posted. 

Have a good weekend .

The Boat Race

The very first University Boat Race took place in 1829. It was started by two friends who had both been at the prestigious Harrow school but then one went to Oxford and one to Cambridge. They met up one day rowing at Cambridge and decided on the race.

On the 10th of February 1829, a letter was sent from Cambridge stating ​​that “the University of Cambridge hereby challenge the University of Oxford to row a match at or near London, each in an eight-oared boat during the ensuing Easter vacation.”

And ever since, except for the war years, and in 2020 due to Covid, they have raced sometime around Easter, depending on the tides. . It's 4.25 miles of very hard rowing.

In 1877 the race ended in a dead heat and the closest finish was in 2003 when Oxford won by 1 foot. The number of wins stands at Cambridge 88 and Oxford 81. There have been several sinkings and protesters disrupted the race in 2012.

The first women's race was in 1927 and annually since 1964 and was originally on a different day to the men's race but has been on the same day since 2015.

The race  was first broadcast on BBC radio in 1927 and was televised for the first time in 1938. After almost 100 years the BBC lost it's right to show it. So today  it's on Channel 4. I just hope they don't stop for adverts in the middle of the race!

With Suffolk being next door to Cambridgeshire that's who I've been supporting for the last umpteen years, it was always something we watched as I was growing up and will watch this year too.

Coverage on C4 begins with the build up at 1.30 and race start timings are............. 

• 2:21pm – Women's Boat Race.
• 2:36pm – Women's Reserve Boat Race.
• 2:51pm – Men's Reserve Boat Race.
• 3:21pm – Men's Boat Race.

Have a good weekend, mine will be  very quiet one on my own. I don't have Easter eggs but made scones and bought clotted cream for my Easter treat- with the 'compost jelly' made last month - all very yummy!

         

                                                       Who needs to spend £s on Easter eggs!

Crime on TV

 I read crime fiction and I watch crime fiction on TV but thankfully I don't think I've ever committed a crime! Although driving home from the coast after the Opticians last week I took a different route to avoid a road closure and came across a speed detection van - I was probably driving over 30mph, not by much although even 31mph counts as speeding and there was a car in front of me - I've got my fingers crossed. Colin used to say "they can see you long before you see them", he spent all his time driving and never drove over the speed limit, never got points on his licence, or fined or had to do a speed awareness course and he often told me off when I moaned about 30mph limits in places that didn't need them!...Or more accurately where I didn't think they were needed!

I'm remembering him especially today as it would have been his 69th birthday. It still seems all wrong to me that some people die aged just 61.

Crime on TV is a new series of 'The Capture' on BBC starring Holly Grainger. I know I watched some of the previous series but couldn't remember much about it, so I checked them  out.......Oh yes, it was that weird thing about Deep Fake - very violent. HG is also filming a new series of Strike coming later this year and there will be a return of the twisting turning Line of Duty  but maybe not until 2027.

On ITV Forgotten comes back sometime and the 26th series of Midsomer Murders although I've not watched series 25 yet, it doesn't seem to be on ITV X.

Ellis season 2 on Channel 5 started yesterday.

The 29th series of Silent Witness has finished, I think it was good but not as good as in the past and the set up of Jack in prison seemed a bit odd.

On the free U channel there's a new series of Bergerac and The Marlow Murder Club coming up. Plus there are lots of crime series from abroad with subtitles on the World Drama, Walter Presents section on the 4 catch up channel.

I found a huge list HERE although a lot don't have definite dates and some are not on free TV.

It's not just crime that I like............... I watch some sport and quizzes too! (but never soaps, true crime, wildlife stuff or period dramas).