More About Cars

I've written about some of the cars I've owned in an earlier blog. I can't say I remember exactly how many I've owned over the years, but certainly quite a few. As I mentioned in that blog, my parents bought me my first car, a Ford Anglia. It cost the princely sum of £75, which was probably quite a lot of money in 1969. I mentioned that I passed my Driving Test that year, when I was a Student A.S.M. at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham. The car was two-tone green and it had this strange thing when ever you had to use the windscreen wipers. When you went fast, they would move slowly, but on the other hand, if you went slow, say, going up a hill, they moved fast. Which could be really annoying when it was raining, so going up a hill, particularly one that was steep and you had to go into a low gear, the things would splash around, going back and forth across the windscreen and in some cases, squeak horribly. The poor little car was kept going for several years, taking me across the country for many thousands of miles. I can't remember what caused it to cease and eventually die, being taken away to a scrap-yard, but I imagine it failed it's M.o.T. which would have been the death of the poor old thing.

My father had a passion for fast cars, or at least, cars that he could tinker with and hopefully make more efficient. He bought a Triumph 1300 salon, and it was gray in colour. Unfortunately he had a predilection which meant he drove it all around the farm at Cardington and as a result it got covered in mud, both inside and out. I don't think my mother liked driving it much because it was always so dirty. So he bought her a second Triumph 1300, but this one was mauve and she made sure it was kept clean and it wasn't allowed any where near any of the farm tracks and so get bespattered in mud and grime. The gray Triumph seemed to develop a strange squeak, no doubt caused by being driven down really bumpy farm tracks and across fields, particularly at harvest time when he would drive it across newly-cut stubble. 

An earlier car he owned was a Standard Vanguard estate, green in colour and certainly the right model to draw a horse box or a boat, particularly when we went on holiday to Fronton-On-Sea. Plenty of space inside to take us children together with all our luggage and extra things needed on holiday with a boat or yacht. That car's registration number was YBE 722. 

My grandfather Ferriman had Jaguars. I rather enjoyed it when he came to collect me from school as it was good to show off to my school friends. It had real leather seats and walnut panels inside the doors and along the dashboard. He died in the early 1960's and my grandmother bought herself what was probably the first Austin Mini. It was red and I can even remember the registration number, 838 FMJ. I suppose it got all sorts of comments as it was such a small car. Granny Ferry, as she was often referred to, was a somewhat inconsistent driver. I remember, on one occasion, going into Bedord with her (I can't remember for what, perhaps we went to the cinema or something.) It was a foggy evening and on he way home, back to Cardington, the fog got very thick and you could barely see your hand in front of you. Granny was weaving about all over the road,  clearly unsure where she  was going.  We children sat in the back, really quite unsure whether we would land up in a ditch or whether the car was going to veer off into the wrong lane and into an on-coming car.

Greedy Pigeons and Disappearing Cats

I have mentioned the trouble we have with the cats that come into our garden. Well, actually, to be perfectly honest I don't have a problem with them. I'm not a particularly cat-type person, preferring dogs. I don't dislike them, but to me you can't have a relationship with a cat the same way you can with a dog. Most cats are self-sufficient and only really need humans to feed them (occasionally) as well as providing a home. Most, if not, all cats wander around away from the home and find food around their neighbourhood (actually decimating the small animals that live in the wild, such a mice, voles etc. as well as birds.) and returning to their home base to rest and sleep. The two cats which come from our neighbours come into our garden and sit on the roof of the shed and wander along the top of the fence, and when they do and either of our dogs see them, it sets them off barking and all hell seems to be set loose. Which is what dogs do. I'm not sure whether it's just because they think of the garden as their territory, or that, instinctively, all dogs simply don't like cats. Who knows?

Anyway, I went to Homebase last week and purchased a spray which is supposed to deter cats (and dogs, apparently.)I have absolutely no idea what it has got in it that cats don't like.  I have sprayed it on the roof of the shed and also on certain points along the fence. It does seem to have worked, although you have to re-apply it every two days or so. I imagine it will get washed away by rain and natural evaporation. One of the cats came in and went on the shed roof and appeared to be oblivious of the spray. I re-applied the spray yesterday and we have since had no cat invasion. Alfie keeps going out into the garden and seems disappointed that there are no cats to keep and eye on. You just can't win, or so it seems. Anyway, I think we really prefer the quiet life, rather than either dog barking when the cats appear. 

The other thing I've been doing is setting up a bird-feeding station which Carol bought from Amazon.

A metal construction which you set up with the central pole stuck in the ground with sections which screw together with arms or branches that fit on the central pole and to which you attach feeders. Some are clear plastic whilst others are made of metal mesh. We have had a good range of birds come to enjoy a feast, such as blue tits, sparrows and starlings. But over the past week we've had pigeons come and hog the whole feeding station and sitting on the water bowl and making a meal of the food on offer and, so it seems to me, putting off the smaller birds and emptying the feeders. I have now managed to rearrange the feeding station so the pigeons can't sit on the thing and take over. Also, there is a group of starlings which come and seem to always go around in a gang, rather like naughty schoolboys, making a lot of noise and eating virtually everything in the feeders. I think that starlings are the sort of birds which do make a lot of noise and are always in groups like this. In general I can say that this addition to our garden has been a success. 

Alfie, shorn!

I've been attempting to find a dog groomer to have Alfie, our Yorkshire Terrier, clipped. He has quite a long coat and it gets matted easily. He had one or two quite nasty tangles. He also gets really horrible 'bits' under his eyes, sort of clogged-up hair, that look particularly nasty. Most dogs seem to get these and he doesn't like it if you try to remove them. His nails needed trimming. Just don't attempt this as he'd nip you. I don't like doing it as I'd worry I'd hurt him. Last year I booked a mobile grooming service, a lady who came in a really well-equipped van which she parked at the front of the house. She did a good job and it seemed the most stress-free way to get him groomed. I attempted to get her to come again this year, but she was totally booked up. I then went on the internet to try and find another, I think I contacted three more mobile groomers, but they were all booked solid. We have taken both dogs to Pets At home and used the Grooming Room there. There is another branch at the Beacon Retail Park at Bletchley, where there is also a Boots, Brantano, Greggs, Argos and T.K. Maax. I went in there about a month ago and managed to book Alfie in for a trim and it was at 1 p.m. yesterday. We went to Sainsbury's to do our weekly shop at around 9 o'clock and came home and then the process of getting Alfie loaded up to take out later began. I had to get the cage into the back of the car without him seeing, because, being a very sharp, intelligent little dog, he soon picks up that we are planning to take him out. Having dropped him off we had two hours to fill, so we went to have a lunch at The Caldecotte Arms, a favourite place for us. It's a really popular place, and at lunchtime on a Saturday, no more so, heaving with young families. Set beside a lake, quite a pleasant enough spot to have a bite to eat and a walk in the spring sunshine. It has a windmill set in the middle of the building and you can sit inside and you get quite a good view, although I'm not sure whether it's a genuine windmill. You can't miss it as you drive past and it can be seen from the A5 and as you drive along the Grid Road that runs past. This is a Fayre and Square restaurant, a bit like a Wetherspoon's, which we use regularly, having good value meals which you order at the bar along with your drinks. We went for the 2 meals for £10. I ordered lasagne and Carol had a burger. We also had garlic bread which we shared. It was quite difficult to find a table that was free but eventually found one as far away in the corner as it was possible. We thought it was going to be quiet, but I went to the toilet (why are such conveniences hidden away where you least expect them to be, although it was reasonably well signposted.) and by the time I got back there was a family with a couple of children on the next table. It was alright, but they were rather noisy. Looking out of the window we could see the lake and a great many geese and ducks. The ducks had youngsters, and we could see a couple of boys who were looking at them and we thought that they were going to upset the duckings, but fortunately this didn't happen. We ate our meal and when we left we had around three-quarters of an hour before Alfie was due to be finished at the groomers. We drove back to the retail park at Bletchley and parked. It was quite difficult to find a space as it was really busy. We spent some time browsing in Boots. Carol was looking for a present for a colleague at work who is leaving at the end of a week to have a baby, but she didn't see exactly what she wanted although she had to see how much cash was in the collection they had made in her department at Milton Keynes Academy before making a definite decision.

Alfie, back home, after he'd been to the grooming parlour.

We went to Pets At Home to browse further and then went to pick up Alfie. Really quite shocked by how much hair they had removed. Actually much better as his coat had got really matted and untidy. The last time we had him groomed at the other branch in Rooksley Alfie was totally silent when he collected him. No doubt the whole process of being groomed was too traumatic for him. They did some extra work, I'm not exactly sure what, but giving his paws a polish or something and his nails were nice and short. He rode back in the cage in the car, totally silent.

10th Anniversary of my Heart Attack

Goodness gracious. How time flies. Sorry to use a really over-worked cliché, but it's true. I can't believe it's ten years since I had my heart attack. The night of 17th and 18th of May 2006 was when it happened. I have written quite extensively in an earlier blog post on here about what happened on that night and how the paramedics came and I ended up in the C.C.U. (Coronary Care Unit) at Bedford Hospital. I feel a good deal better than I did then. Actually, I feel as good as I've felt in a good long while. No real problems.

I've been mowing the grass at the back of the house. (I still refuse to refer to it as a 'lawn.') I did a cut yesterday, and to be perfectly honest with you, it looked really poor. As if it had been nibbled by some strange creature. Scrappy, to say the least. So I've cut it again and now it looks a good deal better. Not really like a lawn (it's never going to be that as it's just horrible grass.  Tough and terrible.) But it looks a good deal better. I've also been Stimming the long grass around the edges and cut some of the twigs that grow up along the fence. It's taken me a while to get the hang of the Strimmer (actually it's not a Strimmer, it's a Qualcast machine. 'Strimmer' is a registered trademark, but it's like 'Hoover' being used as a generic term for a vacuum cleaner.  But it works in exactly the same way.) It was worth buying a more expensive one as the extra power this one has means it does the job far better than a cheaper, lower power machine.)

The shed where the mower and strimmer are housed is beginning to cave in. Or at least the roof is. It has a hole in it. During the winter the wind took some of the roofing felt and left the remains, rotting and just past it, in the garden. So, what happens when the whole roof caves in? I don't suppose our beloved landlord is going to get it repaired. The lady next door, whose shed backs onto ours, had hers reroofed by the Council (they presumably own her house. They repaired the fence when it was blown down by a really severe winter wind some while ago.) The shed is full of the odd belongings of former tenants of this property, such as ancient portable televisions, baby baths, etc etc. Similar leaving are in the other shed, including a really old mattress and other bits and pieces. The meter cupboard, which is at the front of the house, contains similar junk. Why couldn't either the landlord or SmartMove, the agency we originally rented from, have this stuff removed before we moved in? It surely wouldn't have taken too much to get a skip and just throw the stuff away. Too much trouble to expect such a service, without us being charged. Gary, our neighbour the 'other side' suggested he repair the roof of one shed and take away all the junk within and then make one shed waterproof and then put a door in from his garden side so he could use it to store his things. But then he had second thoughts, having spoken to someone further along the street who knows our landlord and said that it might not be such a good idea because once they found out they'd want to charge rent. Also, I imagine that it might contravene our tenancy agreement, sort of 'sub-letting' or something. But it still means that we can't put anything of ours in there, including our bicycles which are still kept in the entrance hall of the house.

Twycross Trip and Visit to Urgent Care Centre

Last year we visited Twycross Zoo for the first time. Well, it was for me. As Carol lived in Leicestershire, in a village called Thornton, which is very close, she says she remembers visiting when she was at school. A one-and-a-half hour journey up the A5 and we found it fairly easily. I think it's quicker than going north on the M1, which, as far as I know, still has roadworks which means you have to drive at 50 m.p.h., which is somewhat annoying. These roadworks have been going on for far too long and what is more than annoying is the fact that they close off mile upon mile or motorway lanes and there never appears to be any work going on. I think something seriously needs to be done about this as it must be causing inconvenience to many people and must be frustrating to local businesses.

The day started out relatively cold, although bright. It was therefore quite difficult to decide what to wear and I wore my hooded fleece. As the day progressed the weather got warmer which meant I didn't really need the fleece and spent most of the day carrying it around with me.

We got to Twycross at 10.30 and immediately noticed that the carpark had been re-surfaced. Infact the whole place  seems to have had a make-over, with not only roads and paths having new surfaces but a complete re-design of the logo and better signage through the zoo. We immediately made for the newly-opened Gibbon Forest exhibit, which was being build when we visited almost exactly a year ago. At that time it was under wraps and it meant you have to navigate the zoo too avoid any of the building work. There is an island exhibit, which looks as if it is still being completed. But you go inside the building and up several levels and can see the gibbons in very naturalistic environments. We spent some time watching these amazing creatures climbing and swinging about on ropes and what look like tapes and moving very fast across the ceiling of the exhibit.

We had something to eat in one of the many cafes and restaurants throughout the zoo. By this time it was getting quite warm and the place was beginning to get quite crowded.

Over-all, our stay at the zoo was around three and a half hours. You can never get to see everything, which means we can visit again and manage to see the rest of the animals that are exhibited. We left and returned home. We had to do shopping so visited Sainsbury's.

We had our evening meal, and Carol was concerned about a rather nasty rash on her leg. It has become very uncomfortable and itchy. She has a cream, prescribed by her doctor, but it does not seem to be clearing. She says that it has begun to swell and it may have something to do with the fact that she has type 2 diabetes. She said she needed a doctor's appointment. I was beginning to get somewhat concerned. She could have waited until Monday to make an appointment, but, considering how the appointment system works at our surgery, Ashfield Medical Centre, it would be almost impossible to get an appointment. So we decided to go to the Urgent CareCentre at Milton Keynes Hospital, formerly called the 'Walk-In Centre.' This is where you go if you have a medical condition which isn't strictly urgent enough for you to need to go to Accident and Emergency. It is staffed by doctors and nurses who are able to diagnose specific medical problems and refer you to other medical practitioners if they are unable to help. We were reluctant to go there, but as this rash was getting worse it was clear that something needed to be done. We drove there, arriving at around 8.15. Carol was questioned by the receptionist, a form of triage and we sat and waited for her name to appear on the digital board so she could see a staff member. The place was already very busy when we arrived, and more people came in in the time we were there. In all we were there around three hours. She got prescription for antibiotics and we had to go to Boots at Kingston, near the big Tesco store, as there is a night pharmacy which could dispense the medication she needed. There were other people waiting, who we'd already seen in the Urgent Care Centre. You had to press a bell and a young man appeared and hand over your prescription form for him to make up the prescription. Carol has an exemption card which means she does not have to pay the prescription charge as she is diabetic. We had to go home as we didn't have my wallet which had the card in it. 

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May . . . etc etc

You 've probably noticed how often the weather makes an appearance in these posts. It's no wonder, really. The weather does seem to play a central role in life in this country. But today is somewhat overcast and dull. The past few days have been quite warm and pleasant, but the weather has to begin miserable as we head into the weekend. As I look out of the window into what is our garden the trees along the Redway that runs along behind this house are swaying in quite a strong wind. Well, as Shakespeare says in one of his sonnets, 'Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May' and how right he was.  Then he goes on to say 'And summer's lease hath all to short a date.' Yes, when you think that we're only likely to have a few warm days to even call 'summer.' This all comes from Sonnet number 18.  Well, it just shows, in this, the 400th anniversary of his death, that his words can have as much relevance today as they did when they were originally written.  I expect the weather had just as central a part to play in his day as it does today. Probably even more so, particularly in Stratford-Upon-Avon, which was an agricultural centre and weather would be important as far as making sure that the crops were growing well to feed the population of the town. I think 'May' refers to the bushy plant called hawthorn and has white flowers. I've just Googled it and I've discovered that it can be used to help reduce cholesterol in your blood as well as being used in medication to lower blood pressure and prevent heart failure. Amazing how you come across facts such as this when you're on the internet. I think it's called serendipity. The quote was used by H.E. Bates for his book 'The Darling Buds of May.' I have a link, as this television series starred Pam Ferris, alongside David Jason, and I worked with her in 'rep' when she was in the company at Ipswich Theatre in the mid 1970's and I was a D.S.M. there.

 The grass needs cutting again and I'm putting this job off until next week. It does take quite a lot of motivation for me to drag the mower out of the shed and then unreel the cable so I can plug the contraption in and then actually cut the grass. But it can wait. It looks like rain again.

Warmer Weather

A real increase in the temperature as the weather improves. I can't believe I'm going out without a jacket on. I've managed to cut the grass. It seems to grow a good deal faster once it's mown. I still refuse to term it a 'lawn.' It has absolutely no attributes for a lawn, such as very short grass, with those distinctive stripes and ironing-board flat. It's more like a meadow, but without the cattle chewing the cud. Or sheep, roaming about. It's got so many undulations, it's more like a scale model of the Pennines. 

We've begun to fill the collection of pots we have scattered around the place. Several had been sitting on the front bit of paving for I don't know how many years. We were given some by someone who worked with Carol at the Academy as well as a rather nice planter which originally had a Christmas tree in it but then the tree died and the remains of the tree were still in it. We never seem to have any success with Christmas trees. I suspect it's because, once Christmas is over, being the middle of winter, any chance of the poor little fir tree surviving is so remote because the weather is so cold. When I lived in Cardington we always had a real Christmas tree, and once the festive season was over the tree was planted out in the garden and lasted for many years until it grew far too big to be brought indoors. Ours always seem to die and I'm not sure what we can do to prevent it happening again. Anyway, we have had quite a few plants from various garden centres we've visited over the past few weeks, including strawberry plants and bedding plants which were free from Homebase with an offer which was in last weekend's Daily Telegraph. 

I have also been clearing all weeds and moss off the front drive, in between the paving slabs and the block paving where the car stands. It's beginning to look really clean and tidy. Quite a hard job, but now I've started it I want to complete the job. I don't think this has been done in a long time. Certainly not in all the time we've lived in the house.

We have a bird feeder in the garden. We had one a few years ago, but I'm not sure what happened to it. This thing is described on the box it came in as a 'dining station.' We got it from Amazon. I always thought of Amazon as being the place on-line to buy books, and nothing more, but it seems you can buy virtually anything on there. I got a case for my Canon digital camera. To keep it safe when I carry it about. I used to own a traditional film S.L.R. Camera, a very good Olympus, and it had it's own case which it lived in, which was fixed to the body of the camera by the screw underneath which you used to fix it to a tripod. Nothing, unfortunately, like this for a digital camera. The Olympus case was made of a fairly rigid material which kept the camera within safe from knocks and folded down when in use. Unfortunately, you have to remove the camera completely from the Canon case and won't fold out of the way like the Olympus case.

As I was mentioning, the bird 'dining station' came with a central metal pole which you stick in the ground and then attach the feeders onto the hooks at the top and then fill each of these wire feeders with nuts or other food. It has proven very popular with the small birds which live in and around the garden. We had a group of starlings who seemed to enjoy the coconut we had hanging on the dining station.' So much so that they have completely devoured the coconut and as I write I can look out and see the completely empty shell of the coconut. I will have to go out and buy some more. The content of the feeders needs replenishing.

I got a knock at the front door earlier this morning. A man dressed in bright orange work gear, the sort of  colour used for people who work in possibly dangerous situations. I can't think as I write what the term is, but I'm sure it will come to me once I've finished this.  I have now remembered what the term is, and it's 'High Vis' a shortened version of 'High Visability'. I can see why they wear it as it's very bright and they are certainly 'Highly Visable.' It turned out he was an employee of Anglia Water. He said he was working with a gang further along the road and, as their van was blocking our exit, if I wanted to move our car, to just let him know. I'm not entirely sure what they're doing. I thought it might have been something to do with water meters or something unless someone further along the street has a water leak. Never mind. At least he had the decency to let me know, as a lot of people never bother to tell you, and then when you want to drive out, you can't, because their vehicle or other equipment is in the way.

I'm currently reading 'The Lady In The Van' by Alan Bennett. I bought the DVD of the film which was based on the book and play which he wrote and about Miss Shepherd, the old lady who lived in a van in his garden. She is played by the amazing Maggie Smith. I've always been a admirer of this actress. The part is light years away from the character she plays in 'Downton Abbey.' I also love anything Alan Bennett writes. I'm really surprised he had the patience to put up with such an eccentric old woman living in such strange accomodation in his garden, and for fifteen years.

Escaping Another Marathon

With the possibility of being stuck in Eaglestone due to the fact that yet another marathon is going to thunder past our front door, we drove away early up the A5 to visit one of the many and various retail outlets, Heart of the Shires Shopping Village which have sprung up along this road in the past few years just beyond Weedon. We have been there several times before and it's a pleasant enough place with small shops selling a wide range of products from clothes, kitchen wares to plants, flowers, and antiques. We had coffee and cake, a good, old-fashioned stand-by for us, as you will have realised if you've read and followed these posts avidly. I presume this place was previously a farmyard and the restaurant was the farm house. A good enough use for such a house. It was hardly busy at the hour we were there, no doubt because it was a Bank Holiday Monday and most people would have hardly been out of their beds. You will have also noticed that we don't hang about and seem to make a habit of arriving excessively early for things. I for one cannot see much point in wasting a good day off, with the sun shining, lounging about in bed, so arriving early is always a good idea as far as I'm concerned. We wandered around looking in the various shops. The antique centre was worth browsing in but quite frankly the objects on offer are really over-priced, probably because such television programmes as Antiques Roadshow, Bargain Hunt, and Antiques Roadtrip have made people aware of such famous names as Lalique, Moorcroft, and Clarice Cliffe, which, to be honest, I hadn't heard of before watching any of these shows. Several of the shops have gifts in them, such as teddy bears, cards, and other items, but a lot of the stuff is just rubbish and you'd find it in most places which attract tourists. Really naff ornaments that are only fit for a skip to be perfectly honest. Am I being snobbish? Probably. I have to say the quality of some of the stuff they sell here seems have gone down dramatically, which is a pity. Some of it is rather like the low-quality souvenir gifts you find at some seaside resorts.
We didn't stay too long. We intended being out of Milton Keynes until gone midday when the marathon was scheduled to end and the roads in and around Eaglestone back to normal. We drove back south on the A5. Carol said she had seen a signpost to another place off the A5 as we drove north just south of Towcester. I wasn't sure exactly where it was but she was certain. We came to a right turn which was actually quite difficult to see. You could have gone past if you didn't have particularly start eyesight. The sign was for The Old Dairy Farm Craft Centre. Another one of those places which don't seem to advertise too frequently and if we hadn't seen that sign on the A5 we would probably not been aware of. We drove along a rather narrow country lane and came to the village of Upper Stowe and eventually came to the Craft Centre. The houses around here are of local stone, very similar to those in the Cotswolds and we soon parked in the carpark. We wandered around the small shops within the site (presumably, like the Heart of Shires Shopping Village, a former farm. Well, 'Old Dairy Farm' does give things away.) A lot of really nice hand-made products, such as jewelry and pottery items, as well as paintings and prints. We eventually decided we'd need something to eat as it was now around midday, so we went into the restaurant on the site, The Barn Restaurant. This is a really attractive barn conversion which was really busy with people coming and going, which suggested to me that it must be popular. Also, like Waterperry Gardens, which we visited a few weeks ago, popular with bikers. We had to wait at the door to be shown to a table upstairs, a good deal quieter than the downstairs area and ordered toastie for me and salad for Carol, all very well presented and cooked. Another very pleasant place to visit and to recommend. Out of the ordinary and not like a lot of 'chain' establishments which are taking over the high street of many towns. It's good to find somewhere that is quiet and has a uniqueness about it.

We drove back down the A5 and by the time we got to Saxon Street we saw runners along the Redway, which suggested that there were stragglers finishing the marathon. But by now the sun was shining. The weather has been mixed all Bank Holiday weekend, but at least we've managed to make the most of it.

Garden-Tidying and Milton Keynes Marathon

We were informed, by reading yellow signs on the Grid Roads around here, that the roads were to be closed over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend ( Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd May.) From experience we are used to having Golden Drive closed off on marathon days, meaning we usually can't get out in the car at such times. We are also usually informed through the medium of a letter put through our letter boxes well in advance. This didn't happen, although a leaflet was put through our door on Saturday evening, too late to be of any real use. It turned out that, in the end, the runners kept to Saxon Street and didn't come into our estate at all. Which meant we could get out if we'd wanted to. But it would appear, having read the leaflet again, Golden Drive will be closed off tomorrow for another marathon. It's all very well and good, and there's nothing wrong with any of this, but it is beginning to become somewhat tiresome. Why can't they use the Redway, which runs only a few yards away, behind our house? It would surely mean they don't have to cause so much inconvenience to anyone and it must be safer in the long run (sorry about the unintentional pun. These things just happen that way.) as the Redway system was designed in such a way that users don't have to cross the Grid Roads, being designed to utilise bridges and under-passes. 

I have bought a Strimmer. Well, actually it isn't a Strimmer as such. It uses the same technology and is actually a Qualcast Grass Trimmer, 'Strimmer' being a trademark of a particular make of grass cutter which uses plastic fishing line, revolving fast inside a hand-held device run on electricity and enabling the user to trim generally inaccessible grass around a lawn, under trees etc. I purchased it in Homebase earlier in the week. I had a voucher which meant if I spent £30 or more I could get extra bonus Nectar points, so it seemed a good enough excuse to buy the machine and claim the extra points. I have been using the thing and it's making a good enough job of tidying up the grass at the back of the house. As we now have the fence repaired it seems a good enough excuse to start on sorting out the garden. I have also been clearing the weeks and mess from the front of the house. Weeds and grass have been growing between the cracks in the paving slabs at the front of the house and I've been using the hoe we bought in Wickes the other week to scrape the weeds out. It's quite a difficult job but it seems well worth it. The Daily Telegraph has had an offer in the paper this weekend, you cut out a voucher and take it to Homebase and receive bedding plants free, so we went early this morning and picked the plants up, pansies as well as strawberry plants. We also got a rather nice ceramic strawberry planter which will go well on the patio in the garden. We went to Dobbie's garden centre yesterday afternoon and got trays of plants as well as another visit to Staple's garden centre near Flitwick later on this morning and got another plant as Carol has been busy sorting out our collection of pots which we've had sitting around the garden for far too long, steadily growing weeds inside them, but now have some fresh and colourful flowering plants in them.