PROPER SUNDAY

No games,no visitors,no distractions..............bliss! We seldom have a real family Sunday so when we do they are precious ans special to us. I awoke quite convinced that it was Monday,the glorious feeling I had on discovering my mistake stayed with me throughout the day.


We lazed about for a while then I cooked a real Sunday breakfast of eggs ,bacon and mushrooms and we took our time over the meal revelling in having nothing much to do. After clearing up I made a few preparations for dinner then went for a buggy ride.

The pure pleasure of having a day without a house full of people was heady stuff and we all began to realise just how tired and drained of energy we were.

Pa pottered about feeding the birds,the reward for his daily care of the feeders is a steady succession of Woodpeckers,Nuthatch. Black-cap,Robin,quantities of Chaffinch,Greenfinch and almost every member of the Tit family. My Collared doves come early in the morning and again just before dark,I love them for their gentle beauty and their sweet faces.

Wrens are now increasing in number and come daily to bathe in the fountain and the quarrelsome starlings who also love the water fight each other noisily over every crumb. Pa loves his birds and they repay him by loving him in return,not even the smallest fledgling fears him and older birds vie for his attention,actually coming into the house or tapping at the window;when he feeds them they fly about him like a cloud and the robins take food from his hands.

Today we actually managed to have a Sunday roast and it was such a treat ,I normally have to put on a roast in the week when other tasks are pressing and it makes things rather stressful. Today we had roast beef,roast potatoes ,Yorkshire pudding,mushy peas and diced parsnip and swede,it was a lovely relaxed meal and we all enjoyed every morsel.

Twiggy arrived towards the end of the meal and was given a small plate of beef snippets which she loved.

Now our lovely lazy day and our home week is over, tomorrow it is back to the grind,on with the motley,yet it is this which makes our family time so precious to us all.

Back to work tomorrow my son is looking forward to his retreat in Derbyshire on his next week off for a well deserved break. He will be pampered and cosseted by the sisters who run the place and this will,I hope help him to get through the final weeks with his current employer,I swear to God when he finally walks out of that place for the last time shall raise a cheer that will be heard on Tower Bridge!

A NIP IN THE AIR

Today for the second time in a week I felt a very real chill in the wind and was glad to snuggle in to my cloak as I went out on my errands. Evenings too are nippy now and for the past few nights I have closed the larger windows in my room leaving only the small top ones to afford ventilation.


Our little cat has not yet become accustomed to the change in the season but she does seem glad of the fur cushion recently placed in her garden house. Still wanting to go in and out of the windows at night she can be a perfect menace for poor Pa who sleeps on the ground floor,soon however she will remember the delights of winter quarters,the soft beds,the comfy chairs,the fur rugs and the warm radiators;when she remembers she will be contented again and peace will be restored.

This week's strong winds are stripping the trees of leaves before they have a chance to change in to their Autumn colours and the constant showers of acorns and conkers have both the local children and the local squirrels filled with glee.

I have been told that plying with conkers is now banned in schools on health and safety grounds,what a load of tosh! The primary school which I attended held and annual conker championship each year,supervised by the staff it was a source of great fun for all concerned and had the advantage of limiting the game to a set period of time for anyone caught playing conkers in school before the contest was disqualified from entering.

Everyone had their favoured way of hardening their chosen conker although some methods,such as baking were not allowed and derision would be heaped upon the head of the offender if caught out.

Children,who,like myself lived well outside the main village found that at conker time money could be made. In our tiny hamlet there were many horse chestnut trees and the competition for the best conkers was not so fierce as in the village below. We sold,or traded conkers for several weeks before the contest and money boxes rattled nicely with threepenny bits and pennies; we always remembered however to save the real monster sized conkers for ourselves so it was usually a hamlet child who won the prize.

Although the prize of a book was most welcome the real accolade was in owning a conker which had destroyed all opposition,my young brother once had an eighty fiver which he kept for many years as a keepsake.

In the kitchen today all was cosy as I spent the morning baking coconut and blueberry cookies,in honour of the change of season,the boys fell upon them while they were still hot and I was glad that I had made four dozen.

As I write the sun is setting and a shivery wind has risen to shake yet more leaves from the lime trees in the lane,further up the lane the last rays of sunshine are lighting up a large bush of sweetbrier which now sports an heavy crop of rose hips. These will I hope attract the Redwings and Fieldfares again this year,beautiful winter visitors and a sign of hard weather to come.

It is later now and darkness has fallen, the cat Twiggy has just come in from the orchard smelling of outdoors and demanding attention. Soon she and I will be curled up she on my fur throw and I under it beautiful Twiggy,may she live forever.

DIGESTIVE BISCUITS

                                                                   DIAMOND      


I know that these can be bought easily from just about any where but home made ones are so much tastier than even the best of the “boughten” ones as the lady who taught me to bake them used to say. I have been using this recipe since I was a child. I hope you like it.


4oz fine or medium oatmeal (not porridge oats)

2 oz plain flour

2 and a half oz wholemeal flour

half a teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

4 oz of butter cut in to small pieces

1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

1 egg whisked well

Pre heat the oven to 200oC. Mix together the oatmeal, flours,salt and the bicarbonate of soda. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the egg and the sugar and mix to form a dough then roll out thinly on a floured surface and using 3”cutter form the biscuits, place on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown. Leave them to cool on a rack in a warm place and store in an air tight tin. This amount makes about 18 biscuits.

Once cool the biscuits can be dipped in chocolate for a tea time treat,we prefer ours with cheese these days but when my son was small he loved the chocolate version,specially if they had been half dipped in melted caramac.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you tell you Diamond is back,isn,t he a beauty.

OUR PLANS GO AWRY

I shall not regale you with the old quotation we know so well,even though it does sum up the tenner if the day perfectly . The reason for my reticence is simply that I am irritated beyond measure at the constant use of the same hackneyed phrases day in and say out. Let us for an instance take a single television programme broadcast this morning,which I watched while drinking my morning coffee.


During the coarse of this dreadful programme the two presenters managed to use many of the most over worked phrases of all time. While buying a house they, “went on a journey”were “on a learning curve” while “going on a roller-coaster ride”. Hey were “ gutted”, “devastated”'but later felt “epic”. What a load of tosh!!!!!

years ago my hero Mark Twain wrote about similar abuses in his time the referral of human experience to”Life’s page” for example. I know I go on about this but what about a little originality.

In these times to be devastated can mean anything from having lost everything in a fire or an earthquake to having missed and episode of EastEnders,in other words it means nothing. When people cannot tell the difference between being a trifle upset from being totally distraught I think that they must lack the experience to know what the difference is.

Speaking for myself I am neither distraught,nor an I devastated by all this nonsense,I am just very,very pissed off!!!!!! Rant over! Back to the day.

The day which should have gone like clockwork went “ ass up”quite early on. The meat delivery ( a small one containing some steak and kidney,a large joint of brisket on the bone and some rabbit) was late and not correct, we discovered that Pa had a hospital appointment tomorrow which meant that we would have to do our fresh veg shopping today rather than leave the house empty tomorrow when we are expecting several deliveries.

Late in the day we set out managing to miss the rain for a change, we whizzed around the shops and returned with fresh fruit,veg and fish only to discover that Pa had slept the whole time we were gone and as a consequence the birds had not been fed and the kitchen bins were still full.

Dinner was late again and tempers rather frayed. Pa came through bless him washing up the dishes and tiding the kitchen. I own that I have felt unwell all day ,light headed and dizzy, I shall be fine in the morning with luck.

What an old grouch I am today,sorry folks, I hope to be back to normal tomorrow.

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

Today the second of the estates inspectors called,this on to look at the state of our asbestos covered sheds. With the appointment made for eleven this morning it will not surprise you to learn that we all slept late,I awoke at nine fifteen,panicked, made coffee and roused the troops.

All was hustle and bustle for the ensuing half hour but at last we sat down to a breakfast of hot buttered crumpets and muffins with strawberry jam,as we finished this repast my son shouted”goons on the block” they had arrived!

The (expert) was accompanied by the facilities manager and a more facile individual it would be difficult to imagine. To be fair the chap seemed to know what he was talking about, but talk is about all he did. He had a quick peep in side the only accessible shed,then stood on a short ladder to look at the roof. The combination of the short ladder and the short inspector meant that he could actually see very little.

I confess myself unimpressed at this point,then he asked about the rats and before the facilities mis-manager could begin his customary speech I informed the inspector that the problem was entirely due to the estates refusal to treat them,or indeed to admit that we had them at all.

He proceeded to deliver a lecture on Viles disease and long before he had finished the facilities manager was promising thorough treatment,and cursing the rat man for not dealing with the problem.

I knew and he knew that I knew,that it was he who told the rat man not to treat our rats as a part of the effort to make us leave …..see October and November last year. I chose to be kind ..I must be getting soft in my old age....and then to make sure we got a real inspection I asked the inspector the take a look at the fireplace, and his ears went up like a bird dog's.

Samples would have to be taken,the fireplace might have to be removed,good,and good again! I have wanted to open up the fireplace for ages,the knowledge that there was asbestos behind it has prevented this,in any case it will be good to know that all is well...or not as the case may be.

Afterwards we all went about our daily chores, I put a steamed suet pudding filled with diced game and chicken on the hob to boil all thorough the afternoon. Next I popped out to buy a special feeder for our robins and on my return made a batch of very naughty cup cakes.

I have taken a long time to jump on the cupcake band wagon but today I found a recipe which intrigued me so much I decided to have a go and the result was a large batch of very large ,very naughty pink vanilla cup cakes. I hereby take back anything derogatory which I may have said about the cup cake craze,the looks on the boys faces was enough to ensure that I shall be baking them again and soon.

Tonight I hope to get a little sleep and tomorrow we are all hoping for a long lazy lie in and coffee in bed while watching Judge Judy. Woe betide any one who disturbs this blissful dream!!!!!

RAREBIT UPGRADE

                                                                    Autumn Geese




This makes a great lunch or supper dish served with a salad or perhaps baked beans

6 oz thinly sliced streaky bacon

1 teaspoon of salt

1 medium onion finely chopped

softened butter

5 slices of day old bread,white is best for this dish cut in to cubes.

6 oz grated cheddar cheese

4 eggs beaten

three quarters of a pint single cream

quarter teaspoon of paprika

1teaspoon of dry mustard

if you like things hot try a quarter teaspoon of chilli powder


Grease a 9” wide flan dish. Fry the bacon until crisp and drain on kitchen paper,when cool chop in to small pieces. Chop the onion and fry in the same pan until soft,without allowing it to brown.

Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Butter the bread thickly on one side and sprinkle on half the cheese then add the rest of the bread cubes and the remaining cheese. Scatter the bacon pieces and the onions on top of the cheese. Combine the eggs,cream,and spices then pour them over the dish. Refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

Pre heat the oven to 170oC. Bake the dish for one hour and then remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for five minutes before slicing and serving.

Roasted cherry tomatoes really dress up this dish which can also be made as individual portions. Topped with a little Gruyère cheese this makes an acceptable starter .

OATMEAL MERINGUES

We love meringue in any form and this recipe is very versatile is great made in to individual meringues filled with cream or treat as you would a Pavlova,piled high with cream and fruit. My favourite was is to fill individual meringues with coffee flavoured cream.


Oil for greasing]a little flour

2 egg whites

pinch of salt

one and a half teaspoons of cornflour

4oz caster sugar

one and a half oz porridge oats.

Pre heat the oven to 130oC. Grease and flour a baking sheet. Whisk the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they form sift peaks another

Add half the sugar and beat until stiff and glossy. Fold in the rest of the sugar and then add the oat meal and cornflour. Spoon on to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 2 hours.

At the end of the baking time lift the meringues on to a clean sheet of greased prof paper and return to the oven,switch oven off and leave the meringues inside to cool.

COFFEE CREAM

1 cup double cream

I tablespoon of icing sugar

I tablespoon Camp Coffee

Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks then add the coffee essence and sugar and beat for a few moments more. Sandwich the meringue shells together with the coffee cream. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Everyone was feeling rusty today so we decided to have a lazy day and an early night. My poor boy only had only five hours sleep yesterday and even less on the proceeding two days. The problem was partly due to the vagaries of the London Transport System which is at best erratic and at worst diabolical. As to the rest,I shall say no more!

ZUCCHINI BREAD

For all those out there who have an embarrassment of courgettes here is a novel way of dealing with the wretched things,


1lb small courgettes

1 teaspoon of salt

8 oz caster sugar

6 fl oz sunflower oil plus extra for greasing

3 eggs

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

quarter teaspoon baking powder

one and a half teaspoons of cinnamon

2 oz raisins

3 oz walnuts
7peel and grate the courgettes. Toss them with the salt and leave them for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180oC, grease a 92 square tin and line with greased proof paper. Combine the sugar and oil and whisk for several minutes until they are well blended.\beat in the eggs one at a time. Sift the dry ingredients together and then stir them in to the egg mixture.

Take handfuls of the courgette and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Disgcard the liquid and add the courgettes to the batter,stir in the raisins and walnuts then turn in to the prepared tin and bake for one and a quarter hours ,or until the sides come away from the tin. Leave in the tin for five minutes before turning out on to a wire rack to cool.

Try this as a tea bread ,or toasted with honey or jam.

ORANGE AND CARDAMOM BISCUITS

Today I had intended to make the above mentioned cookies,unfortunately I discovered that I was out of cardamom owing to the fact that I habitually chew the blessed stuff,try it ,it's lovely. Nothing daunted I made lemon shortbread instead but here is the recipe for cardamom and orange biscuits all the same, confused,join the club!

Oven to 180oC

6 green cardamom pods

8 oz unsalted butter plus extra for greasing

2 eggs

5 oz caster sugar

1 large orange

11 oz plain flour

pinch of salt

Open the cardamom pods and remove the black seeds. Grind the seeds using a pestle and mortar or a good bash with a rolling pin then push through a metal sieve on to a small plate

Cream the butter until soft then add the sugar and cream together until light and fluffy.

Gradually add the eggs and the orange zest. Sift the flour with the salt,add the cardamom and then slowly work the in the flour to form a dough.

Divide in to two sausage shapes about 2” in diameter. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until firm.

Cut the the dough into quarter inch rounds and lay on a greased baking sheet then bake in the oven for ten minutes. Remove from the tray with a spatula to a flat surface until crisp an cool. Store in and air tight container.

These biscuits are delicious eaten alone or serve with iced cream, even better serve with iced cream and caramelised orange segments.

I SMELL A RAT!!!

We had an early start this morning as Pa had an appointment with his orthopaedic surgeon at eleven sharp,we were on time,he was not. There is a sign on the reception desk telling patients to speak to someone if they have to wait more than forty-five minutes, so after an hour Pa asked and was told that the clinic was running late. I am glad they mentioned it for we would never have guessed!


Everyone who had been there when we arrived had been seen and many others who had arrived after us,on of whom had an appointment for twelve thirty,with an eleven o clock appointment we were the last to be seen at one twenty pm. So what happened? It seems that the automated check-in system took a dislike to Pa and even though he had asked several times if the log in could be checked the staff did not bother...typical... they even expressed surprise when we were still waiting at the end of clinic time..*!***!*.

I am relieved to tell that it has been decided not to operate for the time being,I was so relieved that I cried. Pa's last few operations have been traumatic and on one occasion he almost dies due to the dreadful treatment he received after the operation. It is no use at all having brilliant surgeons if the nursing staff are rubbish!

Eventually it was agreed that because Pa's health is already compromised and the operation a difficult one that is would be best to leave it as long as possible and then have the operation at another hospital where the nursing ,care is better. Since West Middlesex Hospital is almost at the bottom of the list such a place will not be difficult to find,incidental Charring Cross is even worse than West Mid,I have unfortunately been on the receiving end of both.

Today the rat man,sent at last by the estate manager can to”have a look” and that is exactly what he did,he looked! The estate has been refusing to deal with our rat problem for years,even though they treat them at their other properties,it has been a part of the “Let's get them to leave campaign.” Now the rats have come back to bite them on the bum, their lack of proper treatment of the infestation and the total lack of maintenance on the out buildings means that the rats have moved in, tunnelling through the floors and breaking in through the asbestos roof.

Of course they are attempting to blame us for the whole thing but I say cause and effect remain obvious to all and what is more their negligence has cost us a considerable amount I new tools etc. The rat man has been asked to write a report,that's correct write a report, no treatment for the problem,it's crazy.

I refuse to allow these idiots to annoy or upset me,I intend to spend a quite weekend cooking and pottering around the garden,life is far to short to allow such vermin as out estate manger and our facilities manager to spoil our weekend,frankly would rather keep company with the rats than those two unpleasant characters!

POTIUS MORI QUAM FEODARE

I remember writing some time ago of my disgust that the Leader of the Liberal Part, Nick Clegg should find it so easy to break his word for the sake of expedience. I refer of course to his much trumpeted election promise to oppose any increase in the cost of university education, a solemn promise which he danced out of without a second thought.


At the time I warned that the public would never forgive him for this grave error. An man who breaks his word is without honour,and what is more is quite liable to do so again, Such a man cannot, and should not be trusted.His actions threw away the best chance that his party could hope for to actually make a difference to the way the country is governed and it was for this reason that many people voted for his party.

Last nigh Mr Clegg apologised, but not for breaking his word,he apologised for having given his word to begin with, thereby adding insult to injury. It seems that he has at last realised that he is a dead man in political terms ,he still has not truly grasped the reason for the peoples anger and worse than all their contempt.

There are still enough people in this country who remember the phrase”An Englishman’s word is his bond”. People do still care about honour,and about truth. At the time he explained his change of heart by saying that when he had given his pledge , he had not realised that he would find himself in his new position. That is precisely the reason why people pass their word in the first place, so that they can be trusted,once they have done this,not to change their mind for any reason.

Mr Clegg,the product of a public school education should understand this principle,being as it were a gentleman. Perhaps public schools no longer consider honour as a principle worth teaching in these times. He is however quite wrong,if he supposes that ordinary people do not value this  virtue, as I believe his is beginning to realise.

For him it is too late ,honour,like virginity is something which can only be lost once and once lost it can never be restored,He should have known this and the fact that he did not is a sad indictment upon him,his party and his class,for although he would have you think that he believes in a classless society his actions prove the contrary.
His obvious contempt for ordinary people was well demonstrated by his lack of respect for them when he chose to break his promise to further his own ambition.

All men have faults,even great men, but the great men of history valued and upheld honour at all hazard “Death before Dishonour”. Mr Clegg will never be a great man, he will be remembered as the man who dishonoured himself and his party,He is shamed and disgraced by his own actions and can never be trusted again. Breaking ones word is the same thing as telling a lie,Nick Clegg is a liar and should not be allowed to lead his party or his country any further in to the mire.

POOR OLD SCRUBBER !

I am of course referring to myself,having spent almost the whole day grubbing about in those odd places which no one else ever tidies and where everyone dumps their junk ad hoc!


There is,in my kitchen, as I suspect there is in everybody's kitchen what I call a dead corner,a space which cannot be used,a sort of glory hole into which such things as shopping bags,not the plastic sort but the “bags for life” variety which everyone buys at the supermarket and then forgets they have. Whenever the boys go shopping I can almost guarantee that they will depart bag-less and return with yet another of these(useful) articles.

These together with a fishing net(used to capture birds which occasionally stray into the house), a bag of picnic ware, are all that should be housed in this space. Even if this were the case which it certainly is not ,the bags are never put away properly but are instead tossed devil may care in to the corner and the pile grows higher and higher until at last I can stand it no longer and wade in to sort it out. Today was one of those days!

Bag after bag ,Hessian x 12, strong plastic covered in lady birds,large 4, small 6,wine carriers3?

Large Hessian Waitrose bags 7, strong plastic bags covered in vegetables 6,sundry other bag for life types 12, Oxfam cotton bags 9,bog standard plastic shopping bags 23; all these bags and not a single one stored inside another for neatness sake.

The pile topped the hight of an adjacent chest freezer and beneath these bags heavy articles had sifted to the floor level. A pair of boots, a box of washing powder, and egg cup missing for ages, several magazines (non of them mine I hasten to add) parts of an old vacuum cleaner which I had told Pa to throw away months ago, an old iron ditto, a box of straws, a large bottle of cola, a bag of jam jars,a crevice tool (don't ask)also, I am sorry to say, the remains of one of Twiggy's captives beautifully mummified, and about fifty assorted spiders!

I would seem that when ever I have asked one of the boys to either throw something away or pop it in to the shed they have instead been hoarding these items.

Trawling through this mess did little for my temperament and I was in a fine fury by the time I discovered my bread trough missing for some time.

Fortunately for them neither was around while this was happening and so I cussed the empty kitchen swearing a vengeance on the untidy perishers!

By the time I had finished the afternoon had worn away and it was time to cook dinner,the kitchen looked pristine............then Pa returned from a prolonged(they always are ) shopping trip,tipped the contents of two NEW bags on to the kitchen table and tossed them without a glance in the general direction of the newly tidied corned.

Well of course I went off like a firework on a feast day, stormed out of the kitchen ,muttering oaths and curses and Pa, totally baffled stood staring around the kitchen trying to work out what had caused the eruption.

Tonight the boys ate sausage eggs and chips for dinner as I was in no mood to do more, my temper has cooled and all is well...................until the next time some untidy urchin decides to dump a load of junk in the corner of the kitchen,should they do so heads will roll!!!!!!

Shortly before dinner my ex-neighbour arrived having seen the rather large bread trough drying out on the garden seat,he ask me anxiously if I meant to throw it away and if so could he have it.

For some time I have been unable to use the trough as it it very ,very large and is now too heavy for me to move about, I had been thinking of drilling hole in it and planting it up with cyclamen,sacrilege really so I was glad to find a good home for this antiquated treasure. A little later he appeared at the door carrying the most beautiful bread trough I have ever seen,made of oak and very old,just under half the size of my old one and perfect for me ,I was close to tears,then he told me that he had purchased it in Glastonbury,afterwards I did shed a few happy tears.

I had meant to give him the trough,I had not expected something so wonderful in return.

So my bad day ended wonderfully,I have missed using my old trough as bread making is a messy business without one.....providence as been kind to me again.

NOTHING ADO!

There is something so comfortable about spending the morning in a warm kitchen when the weather turns chill,as it has today. I had the house to myself for a couple of hours,Pa out and about and my son safely tucked up in bed.


I made a chocolate brioche pudding to be served at dinner with chocolate cream sauce. The meat sauce ans the white sauce for tonight’s lasagne and prepared the garlic bread,by which time the kitchen smelled wonderfully.

Before Pa arrived home the shopping arrived,early this week as Pa and I both have hospital and other business to bother about later on. Once again I was amazed at the strange things offered as a substitution for items which are out of stock. For example, instead of 12 litres of milk they sent twelve half litres? Instead of pasta shells we received gniocci? Instead of cider vinegar a bottle of, strong cider????? Then for a grand finale instead of pudding rice we were regaled with a kilo of basmati rice...not the same thing at all.

Thankfully the delivery man who had ,bless him, helped me to unpack took the offending articles away and gave me a refund.....nice man,not all are as helpful as he.

Somehow during the afternoon I ran out of steam, still I managed to finish the days chores,get dinner ready on time and even made a special sauce of hot chocolate cream to go with the chocolate brioche pudding. 

My son is in the shower,Pa is pottering about downstairs and in a few hours I shall be snuggled up with the cat,I am so sleepy, tonight might just be one of the few when I actually sleep, I hope!

BRING BACK THE PILLARY

Writing endless epistles to Complaisant Councillors ,Planning departments who break their own regulations and others..they know who they are is becoming a tiresome and time consuming business. Their replies are , usually deliberately evasive, often missing the point entirely and now vaguely threatening, if only they realised that I am quite prepared to go to court, even prison n to highlight the blatant mismanagement (let us be kind) of community affairs they might be less incline to threaten .


I have come to the conclusion that our ancestors had the right of it,in their day butchers who sold bad meat,fishmongers who sold rotten fish,shop keepers who gave short weigh and in fact all cheats and chisellers were put in the pillory,or the stocks. Then those who had suffered at their hands were permitted to pelt them, with their own rotten produce,or anything else that came to hand.

It seems that the buck stops no where but continues around and around until is disappears altogether. This particular buck has been passed from the lowest grunt at the council office to the Prime minister himself via secretaries and assistants of which in spite of cut backs there seem to be a great multitude, It is now on the return journey having been passed about from pillar to post.

It seems to me that no one in the entire country can stop these rich bastards(excuse my French) from doing exactly as they please,can't or is it perhaps won't.

Of course I am not so naïve as to ever have supposed it to be otherwise,the difference here is that I have proved it to be true.

The pathetic paper trail of excuses from those who are either elected by us, are paid by us ,or both is a real eye opener to be sure.

If any of these misguided slackers should decide to give me any grief they have presented me with enough ammo to sink the lot of them. How I wish that I was young and fit for the fight,but fight I shall and with all the weapons their own stupidity has given me. Blast them all .

WHAT DID THE DOG SAY WHEN HE SAT ON THE CHEESE GRATER

Rough! That sums op the night I had,how I felt this morning and for most of the day. The author of this nasty little virus declared himself to be feeling much better although the redness of both his nose and eyes belied the statement.


Grimly I set about making the morning coffee and switched on the television thanking the Gods that I'd had the foresight to prepared today’s dinner yesterday and that my son was cooking breakfast.......if he ever got out of bed that is!

For the most part of last night I had felt really unwell and had it not been for the expected gamesters I would,for two pins ,have remained in bed a lot longer. My son was determined to have the game in spite of looking like hell so we went down to breakfast. I was surprised to find my self hungry for I spent most of last night feeling decidedly queasy,eating made me feel better at once,another half hour and another cup of tea would have been lovely.......almost an hour early one of the gamesters arrived and ten ,minutes later another,breakfast was over.

While I washed up the gang removed my dining table and chairs from the kitchen and replaced them with two large collapsible banqueting tables which spend most of their lives stored in my neighbours garage,this done I left them to their game and took my self off to do the ironing. Ironing is in my opinion a bigger pain than the “monthly curse” it is just as inevitable,comes round more often and goes on for ever.

Still feeling less than my best I decided to wash my hair after which I put in some time on a children’s book I am writing,I have no idea of it's ever being finished but it is fun to do. I have been writing stories for children since the age of twelve,never have I tried to have them published and never do I intend to. So far they have amused three generations of children which is, for me sufficient accolade and beside most of them are ever so slightly less than PC and none the worse for that, although I do wonder what the po faced politically correct brigade would make of them.

The game broke up rather late by which time my son was exhasted,silly boy, he should have spent the day resting,as it was he was too tired to eat dinner and has now gone to bed...better late than never!

As is usual when the house is full of guests our little cat has spent the day in the garden curled up in a flower border,catching some rays as they say the fact that she has known most of today’s guests for years does not alter her dislike of “strangers” in the house. She is an odd little creature for now and then she falls for some one who comes to the house,she once had a crush on a pair of roofers who worked for three weeks on our house. Every day was spent either with them our watching them and when they were finished she was bereft. After a chap who did a little decorating had finished his work she was inconsolable.....funny old puss.

Monday tomorrow,another week over, another week begun,needless to say we did nor get he quiet week we all craved............there's always next time..................with luck.

I CAME,I COOKED,I COLLAPSED

With my son and his friends out all day and the prospect of a full kitchen all day tomorrow I decided to get as much baking and cooking as possible done during today. We had a lovely morning coffee in bed before a breakfast of hot buttered crumpets and muffins with jam or honey cooked for us by my son.


Once every one had gone and the dishes were done I set work and made a very large batch of cookies well stuffed with dates,by the time I was finished the whole table was filled by the cooling cookies and the kitchen smelled glorious.

It was around this time that I began to feel shivery and in spite of the heat in the kitchen I put on a sweater which made no difference at all. I prepared the vegetables for a pork and cider cobbler(tomorrows evening meal) and then fried off the pork with a little dripping and a good squirt of tomato puree. All of this I tipped into a conker coloured casserole and then went on to prepare a steak and kidney casserole for Pa and I on Tuesday, my son will be having chicken pomadori that night and neither Pa or I can stand the stuff!

By now I was sneezing my head off and I felt like hell,this made me even more happy that I had done so much advance preparation for meals next week. The two casserole;s cooking in about 90 minutes,quite a saving on the cost of cooking too.

My son arrived home at five...rather earlier than usual and the reason was obvious as soon as he walked through the door,he too had been smitten with whatever it was that was making me feel so ill.

I prepared a fast meal of scrambled eggs on toast with pork chipolatas and tomato sauce,and was jolly glad that we had chosen for tonight a meal so easy to prepare and we all love sausages.

As soon as the kitchen was cleared my son and I tottered off for showers and a hot lemon drink which I am sipping as I write.

Both of us are less than pleased at this unfortunately timed ailment as my son returns to work on Monday night and I have a busy week in prospect fighting off the estate and minding the shop for out secretary who went off on holiday on Friday,it never rains as they say.

I feel inclined to say to hell with it but I am hoping that I shall feel better in the morning,I probably have a cats chance in a tumble dryer but I can hope!!

As for my son I have no doubt that the silly so and so will go to work tomorrow shaking with pestilence, nothing I say will change his mind so I sha,nt utter.

And so to bed with a hot water bottle and the cat,she will I expect desert me for Pa,s quieter slumbers, she hates sudden loud sneezes you see.

NIGHT MAGIC

No sleep again last night and \I do mean non at all. lately I have developed the habit of sitting in my tiny reading room for hours during the night,sniffing up the cool night air and listening to the sounds of the night. In the early hours of this morning something happened which made me forget how tired I was and filled me with such happiness that I can still feel it hours later.


Just outside the tiny window and within my hands reach grows a damson tree which a the moment is smothered in soft sweet ripe fruits which attract a mass of tiny fruit flies. As dawn was breaking the damson tree was filed with small birds,blue tits mostly,feasting on the small flies with great enjoyment. I watched their antics for a while and then ,quite suddenly, a small brown bird flew in to the tree within a couple of feet of my window and began to sing,the Nightingale had returned to us.

I have on several occasions this year thought that I had heard the Nightingale and once or twice I thought that I had caught sight of this illusive little bird,but I was never quite sure enough to tell anyone. Then a couple of weeks ago a friend told me that she had both seen the bird and heard its song while walking her dog in the grave yard at the crack of dawn.

Now I was sure,now there was no mistake,oh how I longed to reach for my camera yet I knew all the time that any slight movement on my part would cause the bird to fly away in fright; so I sat and listened entranced while the small bird sang its heart out,filling the orchard and my room with sweetness. Then,suddenly,like a busker who has sung in one place for long enough the bird stopped singing,gave a hop, like a stiff little bow and disappeared in to the boscage to be seen no more .

That a bird so small and quite frankly,dull looking can make such miraculous sounds has always amazed me and I often think of the gaudy Pea cock which in spite of all its beauty and grace can only produce such sounds as are offensive to the ear.

No longer in thrall I made coffee for myself and my son who was by now stirring,it no longer mattered that I was tired,that I had not slept, .my head and my heart were full of the lovely sound of the nightingale and the certainty of her return to our garden and the graveyard gave me a day long smile. Life is sweet.

FLAT OUT

Once again I was the first one out of bed, the deafening snores of the menfolk rang in my ears and vibrated through the house as I made coffee for all. Feeling as if a truck had hit me I went to wake my son,it was past nine and we were expecting a grocery delivery.


Normally I would tidy my room and make the bed as I drank my coffee......not today, I flopped back into bed, flaked out again and the next thing I knew it was ten O clock!

Pa too was still sleeping and my poor son,emerged zombie like from his room declaring that he felt like hell! It was a dozy bunch of sleepy heads who sat down for breakfast this morning,I elected to make Scotch crumpets in with the faint hope that the mental exercise would wake me up......it did nothing of the kind.

We had just finished breakfast when the groceries arrived, on unpacking we found the usual cock ups,the wrong deodorant....I hate roll ons.... the wrong bacon....we only buy dry cured...and a free pot of,would you believe it Lurpack Light!!!! How the hell do you make low fat butter?Who the hell would buy the stuff? Why when I never,ever buy low fat spreads of any kind did they send it to me? If the supermarket spent its time getting the order right instead of sending out such junk it would be well.

By this time it was obvious that all three of us were feeling the worse for wear and that niether a good breakfast nor copious cups of strong coffee had helped one little bit,it was, as my Granny used to say “In for the day.”

At about this time we realised that someone would to go and replace the items as we needed bacon for our dinner which was to be mixed grill, needing the fresh air I volenteered to go leaving Pa to put a load of tea cloths in to the washing machine and my son to clean his room, neither of which had been done when I returned two hours later. There was in fact no evidece to suggest that either of the men had moved in my absence.

A few trenchant remarks from me galvanised them.....a gross exaggeration...in to action and they set about doing a few chores in cursory fashion while I cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom,after which I cooked dinner, feeling decidedly narked !

Six ounce steak,sausages,bacon,eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms and chips, I noticed they had not trouble polishing off the lot. Still they did help with the washing up bless their little hearts!

It has been an odd sort of day, the sort of day which distinguishes the difference between the sexes.

When a man feel under the weather he does bugger all...when a woman feels unwell she caries on regardless. This is a fact of life and once of which all mothers should warn their daughters along with the usual stuff .One day the tide will turn...I hope.

NEGOTIATIONS

Some weeks ago after we had heard about the Estates renewed attack upon the orchard my son wrote to the Estate Manager asking him what he proposed to do about our rat infested asbestos clad sheds They arranged a meeting and today that meeting took place.


It was amicable enough although The crafty so and so did his best to blame both the rats and the messy sheds on us and this we refused to acknowledge. I asked him if he would use them if they were his? No answer. He agreed to have them checked over by a health and safety inspector and then if the asbestos proved to be sound he wanted us to clear out the sheds and to pay for the removal of the contents.

This we refused to do on the grounds that a good deal of the shed's contents,including a massive oak dresser were already in the sheds when we arrived. I told him he was lucky that we were not charging the estate for the damage and loss caused by the rats and the asbestos and that I would share the cost with the Estate,but no more.

He did not agree to this but I promise you that the stuff in those sheds will stay there unless the Estate helps to foot the bill. ON the plus side the doors to all the out buildings will be repaired, they are quite rotten and we have been attempting to get them fixed ever since we came here,I must remember to let our new neighbours know about this as the doors on their out buildings are every bit as rotten as our own.

These damaged doors are a large part of the rat problem as the little blighter’s can easily gain entrance through the holes. The floors too will be made good,they are dirt floors and the rats have burrowed in behind one of the doors making it impossible to open. All in all I feel that progress has been made.

Of course the Estate Manager could not refrain from trumpeting his triumph over the planning permission for the new houses but his mercury fell rapidly when we informed him the the Ombudsman was taking an interest in how he managed to get it. As they say it 's not over until the fat lady sings and at present she is mighty quiet!

I managed to try out the new halogen oven today,I roasted a piece of pork which came out beautifully
cooked with lovely crisp crackling in under an hour . Next I baked a batch of marigold buns and although this was not so simple both batches came out golden brown and delicious,we ate one each to celebrate.

This new gadget will make live much easier for me and will mean that on days when I cannot bend my back I shall still be able to cook a good dinner for the boys.

Now we all hope that what remains of the week will be a little quieter.............we hope!

VERY SATISFACTORY

This has been a good day, right from the start congratulations poured in by text,email and telephone.


Other members of the committee called to say how pleased they were to have the Chairman everyone had hoped for. Speaking as a mother I must say that I feel very proud that my son its so well thought of in the community and that he is considered trustworthy by so many people.

As it turned out last night almost everyone there deserved a place on the committee but it had been agreed in advance by all to keep the committee small so no on minded too much, and after all there is always next year.

While my son went off to photograph the park for the next project I toured the village taking down the posters so recently deployed. Now and then, someone stopped me to ask how the meeting went or to send their congratulations to my son.

The existence of our group has not only given the Local Authority a shake; for many years there has been a local group purporting to be the guardians of the village. When I first began to fight to save our Graveyard I wrote to them several times and each time was given to understand that their society took no interest in trees in the graveyard or else where. Suddenly they are taking quite a tender interest in the local greenery and we even had one of their members at the meeting last night.

The jury is out as to her reason for attending - some say she is trustworthy, others think that she is a ringer,for myself I am aware that on two separate occasions she has claimed for her group the credit for our success and has gone so far as to say so in the local press.

I feel that perhaps the old guard are threatened by our much more vigorous group, and the fact that in the last two years we have, in real terms, done more for the village than they have in the last twenty! If I sound a little waspish, then think of this – if the 'Old Guard' had been doing the job they profess to do, then why are we having to show them how it's done? Good question – don't you think?

SCRAMBLE

For sheer hard work,volume of work, and shortage of time to do the work today takes the taco!

No sleep,nothing new there, a diabolically early start and a splitting headache,bum!!

My son went straight off to bed when he arrived home from work this morning,normally on a Monday he stays up all day and goes to bed at around seven,tonight that will not be possible;tonight is the inaugural meeting of the new conservation group and lord knows when that will end.

While he slept I baked the days bread(granary) gave Pa his breakfast and the washed my hair. My son took tea at noon after which I gave him a hair cut then hot styled his rebellious locks. While I had the shears to hand I scarified Pa at the same time,he looks cute with a new style, a sort of pixie cut!

There followed a dash to the shops to buy daylight bulbs,very necessary for a night worker,especially in the winter time,then back to tackle the ironing,bum again!!

Since the meeting was to begin at six thirty dinner was unconscionably early today,oh well,needs must . New bread is always celebrated with a meal to set it off and today’s dinner was pan fried haloomi with crispy panchetta,Camembert melted in the box,deep fried breaded Camembert,apricot sauce,tomato sauce and salad. I know it sound complicated but really it is so simple and the breaded Camembert can be prepared the day before if necessary.

Leaving Pa to have a nap we set off for the meeting,armed with constitution,ballot papers plans and drawings and a whole stack of other odds and ends inducing information about funding all to be debated at the meeting.

The turn out was much better than we could have hoped and our group filled quite a large room.

There were a few old faces in the room and many new comers who we were glad to see. Well to cut a long story short my son was elected chairman by an overwhelming majority and what opposition there was soon melted away when it came obvious that my son had the confidence of most of the group.

My modest boy was quite taken aback by the whole hearted support and the rest of the committee were elected in the same way. I am so proud of him,I watched him deal with quibblers and spoilers and he managed beautifully.

Back at home we have just ordered a celebration pizza and some ice cream....and then,,,thankfully to bed.

WALLED IN

After another late start to the day for exactly the same cause I was feeling less than charming as I began to make the pancakes for breakfast. The late sunshine and the fact that the gardens have,due to the atroccciois weather,been rather neglected this years has given me the fidgetts and I am desperate to get out there and give my poor plants a little tlc.


In the end I decided to go out in to the walled garden at the back of the house and knock it in to shape fpr the autumn...if it killed me! Calling it a wa;;ed garden makes ot sound rather grand,it really isn't at all,it ia a sort of yard with an arched gate way and funny old out buildings and looks nothing like any back yard that I have ever seen.

I suppose the old mullioned windows ,the fig tree which grows on the corner and the mass of ivy covering the roof gives it more the air of a secret garden and when people see it for the first time they are entranced. This year like everything else it has not seen much of either hoe of spade and was beginning to look bedreaggled.

Earlier in the year and full of hope for a fine summer I had purchased some new plants and shrubs for my secret garden,they have spent a soggy time sitting in their pots in the orchard while fumed and fretted about them. Today,at last, the Lonicera Japonica found its new home in a shady corner with ferns for company,the new Virginia Creeper too was safely installed near the grape vine.

I raked the gravel and pulled out the odd weed and the many young ash plants seeded down last year. There is still quit a lot to do and more plants such as a black Sambucus to deploy but is certainly does look good I must say.

The gravel has been down for a long time and is not an ideal surface for the yard as it becomes filled with soil and then of course up come the weeds.I had thiught of digging the gravel out but now I have decided to copy the weeds and plant in to it things like ferns ,grasses and herbs...if you can't beat em, join em!

By four I was doubled up but very happy with my work,when Pa suggested take away for dinner I was excstatic. Tonight if I have to lie awake full of aches and pains at least I shall have my lovely old secret garden to think about looking beautiful again instead of reproaching me for my neglect, that makes me very happy indeed.

LAZY AVIE

Last night was diabolical! The pain in my knee kept me awake for hours and I could not find a comfortable position in bed in spite of a feather bed and memory foam topper. When at last I did fall asleep it was without the mosquito net properly closed,all the windows were wide open and the inevitable happened...I awoke looking like" Spotty Muldoon" and as itchy as could be.


Disinclined to get up I lazed about watching Upstairs Downstairs while downstairs Pa was getting restive,for me to still be in bed at eleven in the morning is an unusual event. I had intended to do some garden in today but it was obvious that I would be unable to do so and I think it was this which demoralised me.

Poor old Pa, when finally I appeared in the kitchen he had been busy getting things ready for breakfast so smitten by a bad conscience I made his favourite Piklets with raisins and syrup. We wee about finished when our secretary arrived with a large pile of leaflets for me to tout around the village in order to drum up support for a newly formed conservation group in our area...I felt better at once.

Here was something useful I could do with the day, I cleared the kitchen and set off on the scooter to do the rounds of the village. I had spent some time yesterday putting up posters and pushing leaflets thought letterboxes ,today was more of the same. Even though I have lived in the village for twenty years I saw bits of it today which I had never seen before.

I lost count of hoe many leaflets I posted but by three in the afternoon the heat and the pain in my knee drove me back home for a cup of tea and a rest before dinner. Getting on and off the scooter had been much more taxing than I had imagined but I felt that I had achieved something.

It was at this point that Pa noticed that our secretary had made a spelling mistake on the posters,I was mortified because of course people would think that the mistake was mine,still it was funny I suppose. My son said that we had better make sure that the agenda for the meeting was spell checked otherwise,he said “we could end up being called the fiends of Silverhall Park rather that the friends thereof! No comment!

I made lasagne for dinner with garlic bread and salad,quick and tasty and it was while I was preparing this meal that my old neighbour arrived with a large bag of hedgehog food and a box containing a dozen tins of the same. I was delighted at first as a friend had informed me just this morning that she had found an injured hedgehog and was caring for it while it recovers.

I was not pleased for long,I decided to check the sell by dates on the food before gleefully telephoning my friend and behold it was a blessing I did for the entire stock had a sell by date of 2008! I do wish people would dump there own rubbish rather than getting us to do t for them,there is no way that we could feed this rubbish to a sick hedgehog. I feel like taking it back to the giver and telling him it is no good,I want to ,but I shan’t, good manners prevents this mind relieving exercise..........what a pain..............I hate civility, it make liars of us all.

Now as I write Jenny Wren is tut tut tutting loudly I the orchard and the robin and blackbird too are giving their alarm calls , the air is still and the heat is already giving way to a delicious freshness. This morning the river mist swirled about in ghostly fashion as the air was much cooler than the water.

The reason for the wrens alarm appears to be the cat Diamonds, an occasional visitor who Twiggy tolerates.......sometimes..............whoops,not tonight though!

A NORMAL DAY

Thank the Gods for a “normal” day,a day when nothing much has happened,no alarms,no excursions ;just normal!


Last night we had late visitors,a thing which I try at all hazard to avoid although in this instance it was lovely to see our young friends and hear their news. Unfortunatly their visit coincided with my having taken a large dose of codeine so the by the time they had been with us for an hour I was propping my eyes open ( among other things the stuff makes me sleepy).

Luckily they did not stay long but my poor condition must have caused concern as early this morning the young ladies father arrived to make sure I was alright, and I was,a little high perhaps(another side effect of too much pain relief).

First thing this morning I took the mountain of advice about the recent weird goings on and called the Community Police. The internet gave two numbers for our local bobbies,I rang the first number,it rang four times and the cut me off. I rang the second number which did exactly the same thing,so I sent them an email......I am still awaiting their reply,,,I must say for Community Police they certainly make themselves damned exclusive,no one has seen hide nor hair of any of them for months

Their web site dose display four lovely photographs of the hansom chaps so that if I see them about I shall know who they are,in the mean time my son is talking of putting up surveillance cameras!

I am convinced it must be some one local as they seem to know when my son is at work and they always seem to strike after I have turned in,which suggests that they can see the light in my room.

In spite of being slowed down by the tablets I made five loaves ,five and a half dozen raisin cookies and three pints of damson gin today. I had hoped to make a batch of damson jam but I ran out of time. Yes it was nice to have a normal day for a change.

After such a busy day I made the boys omelettes for dinner,three eggs each and topped with ham cheese and mushrooms,these massive omelettes served with new bread and salad went down well. I had some egg sandwiches,for some reason I just did not feel hungry.

Our little cat Twiggy is enjoying the late sunshine and is spending every day following the shade around the garden, rolling about in the cat mint bushes and chasing bees. She loves these warm days and nights and it is difficult to make her come in to the house at night and with all the trouble we have been having we no longer feel able to leave a window open for her.

Leaving her out all night seems risky too with heaven knows who messing about outside!

Weekend tomorrow ,a quiet one I hope and for you all I wish a happy one.

Oh,one more thing,The Ides of September have been cancelled!

WE WAIT

The ides of September are upon us and I suspect that before the month is out there will be much ado! At home we await replies from the countless people to whom we have appealed for help in saving our garden,to a man the Green Party have professed themselves not interested in local conservation matters, the London Assembly members for our area are not interested in local matters ,only the conservative members have so far responded to our request with offers of help.

I wrote a stinging letter to the new leader of the Green Party ,Natalie Bennett this afternoon informing her that I saw no reason for the existence of her party if it refused to tackle green issues at a local level,I await a reply.

Worryingly the fight appears to be getting dirty,during the past few weeks our wheel barrow was stolen ,then the shed was turned upside down, later we discovered that a number of tools were missing. After hearing noises during the night I discover next morning that one of the brand new tyres on my scooter has been punctured, however the latest bit of vandalism is the worst.

I decided to strim a couple of paths this afternoon, I was unable to do so because some one had cut the fuel pipes clean through.

Of course I cannot prove who did these things but it does not take Miss Marple to work out who has a vested interest in ensuring that I cannot work in the garden, there have been too many coincidences. I attempted to cut the orchard pathways with shears,fool that I am, I fear shall regret this act of desperation for many days to come.

Now I am worried that if we do manage to get someone to inspect the ground they will think that we do not look after it well,it is a bummer and no mistake!

We now have lots of lovely damsons ready to be picked,already my freezers are filling up with these delicious little fruits. As they ripen they become quite sweet aand no use for jam making as the pectin level drops,they do however make wonderful chutney and are lovely in fruit tarts,cobblers and crumbles. Years ago before we had a freezer I would bottle about thirty pounds of damsons a year.,quite a job with all the sterilising but worth it to have the fruit to eat during the winter months

Now I freeze many pounds of fruit and the rest goes in to chutney or they are steeped for three months in gin to make a delicious liqueur,a delicacy which our friends enjoy every Christmasptemb

My son has to leave work early for a meeting tonight, I just hope the manger who ordered this bothers to turn up on time...or indeed at all which is not often the case. We shall see? What is he coming in for anyway? As I said earlier the ides of September are upon us.

PAPERING THE HOUSE

Much of today has been spent sticking up posters and offering all sorts of incentives to the locals in the hope that they can be persuaded to attend the inaugural meeting of a new group set up to protect one of our local parks. Not a shop did I pass without badgering them to display a poster. Railings everywhere were fair game as I posted laminated versions all over the village.


Quite apart from any environmental issues we have discovered that a considerable sum of money is to be spent installing new play equipment in the chickens play area,a fine idea, but for the fact that they wish to do this without consultation with those who will use it.

A similar group formed recently by one of our members intervened to very good effect upon a similar project in a park less than half a mile away. We hope that we will be able to gear the new apparatus to suit the needs of the local children and without replicating the equipment in the other play ground.

I spoke to a good many parents with children today (I hung around outside our local school at home time ,they were astonished to hear what was happening and had heard nothing about it . I am convinced that when Council money is being spent those who provide it by paying their Community Charge should have some input as to how that money is spent.

Of course our chief concern is an environmental one but the more people who can be persuaded to join the group the better. They group wish to restore the park to its former state as it has recently fallen victim to the hack and slash methods preferred by our Local Authorities contractors. I.S.C.A.G ,the group to which I belong will act as an umbrella for the new group and share with them the expertise we have developed of a number of years. Our research should stand them in good stead and spare them hours of hunting for addresses,information,legislation etc.

It seems odd to be fighting for action some where else when my own garden is threatened but the work must go on no matter what ,every tree we save is a victory for the generationsyet to come, besides it gives me something else to think about.

My son has been asked to Chair the new group but has insisted upon a democratic election and I quite agree,to often committees are foisted upon groups and I myself know quite a number of what we call (professional committee members);it was the fear of this which prompted the group to invite my son to be chair.

There is money available to fund the groups activities and there are two other groups in the area who have no real interest in the project but would like to use their involvement to get their hands on the cash,and not for the first time. We believe that the money should be spent on the project it was intended for and not be added to the funds of a group who's sole aim appears to be it's own continued existence.

I mention this as some years ago I approached one of these groups to enlist their aid in preventing the felling of trees in our churchyard and stopping the destruction of habitat on the site. They tersely informed me that although they were, in essence a conservation group they took no interest whatsoever ever in trees.

Now suddenly they are interested....I wonder if their interest has been kindled by the quite large sum of money involved,it make you think doesn't it?

I intended to do some gardening today and to make damson jam, severe back pain prevented the one and the poster campaign the other. Hey-ho! Looking on the bright side it was lovely to spend the afternoon trundling about on my scooter in the warm autumn sunshine and with a good conscience.

Thank goodness tonight’s dinner was only a prawn and crab pasta, quick, tasty and next to no prep,

Now I am looking forward to a quiet night , there is an auto mobile show going on near us and some idiot with a tannoy has been banging on all day and it is very distracting. Considering how loud it sounds almost a quarter of a mile away I should hate to be on the field ,it must be deafening. It seems to be a sports car event and at £ 200 a ticket with perforated ear drums thrown in they can keep it!

SEPTEMBER SUMMER

All through the long wet summer we have longed for brightness and warmth, summer is over, the children are back in school and here it is at last warm sunny and wonderful.. Just before dawn this morning I sat by the window drinking an early cup of tea and I watched the first September mist rise,grow and at last disolve mysteriously as it reached the lane.
No one knows why the mist never leaves the park to enter the lane nor why, sometimes it stays withong the pailings as if trapped there by a strange invisible force, all I can say is that it is a strange thing to watch and very beautiful.

How warm it was last night and so still, in the field opposite our cottage a small herd of cattle were grazing and the occasional cough was all that could be heard in the few moments when night time meets the morning.The mist retreated slowly back across the fields and there were the cattle beneath the trees and the sounds of moring began.

Back to bed with a second cup of tea and chilly toes in spite of the warmth I fell asleep and knew no more until my son brought me coffee at eight.We ate our breakfast toast in my room and chatted about the events of the night.It is no suprise to me that he manages so well working all night as he comes froma long line of night people,
My father,who ran a small poultry farm and a taxi service also worked a night shift
firing pottery.He told me that he felt that sleep was like death and that,he said,came soon enough.

As a child I drove my mother to distraction as I hardly slept at all until I was five and then only for a few short hourseach night ,my son was exactly the same.

I love the night. When we lived In the Peak District I would go for “dark walks”,and in that part of the world it really is dark at night. Cool air,quiet except for the rustling of other night creatures,and no people........wonderful,relaxing exhillerating all at the same time;such walks are not possible in town unless one goes out armed to the teeth!

For dinner this evening I made lamb burgers, my sons favourite,small ones which we ate with the crown of buns made at yesterdays baking.On his working week I try to cook his favourite things and he is always so appreciative that it is a real pleasure to do this.

I have dressed my room for the autumn now with rich terra cotta shades and muted greens, a patchwork quilt of cream with a pattern in these autumn shades,the seasonal change make such a total difference to the room which has all summer been light and airy with a floral quilt and lots of pink and cream cushions and curtains in grass green.

Mine is an odd room but it reflects my own peculiarities...so I am told.

And now I think have waffled on quite long enough,it feels somehow that after the storms of emotion created by these past days a calm has spread over the house and over all of us and I am grateful for it,long may it last.

ON WITH THE MOTLEY

Monday has its own set of chores which must be done no matter what else is happening and the first job of the day was baking the bread for the next couple of days. My son,who is working tonight ,and Pa were both fast asleep and I had the kitchen to myself as I greased the bread pans and weighed out the flour. There is definitely something soothing about making bread and although my arthritis can make it painful at times I still love the feel of the softly resisting dough and the fun of forming the loaves into shape.


Today it was two split tins for sandwiches and toast,one poppy seed bloomer for my son and a crown of rolls which tomorrow will hold the lamb burgers I intend to make.

Once the boys were awake breakfast became the next task , Scotch crumpets this hot strawberry jam were requested and were soon forthcoming. Of course all the talk was of the impending loss of the garden and orchard, During the night I had begun to adopt the attitude that perhaps providence was after all being kind to me, I have been finding the upkeep of the orchard and kitchen garden a struggle as my health deteriorates but I would never of my own accord give up working the ground,if it was there to be worked.

Perhaps I should concentrate on the less heavy gardening in my herbaceous front garden,after all I could easily plant runner beans and Swiss chard, among the flowers,always a tradition in cottage gardens of the past. Who am I trying to kid, it is for the wildlife in the garden that I grieve the most and about that I can do nothing.

My darling son spent hours today firing off emails to Ombudsmen and anyone who might have influence,the triumph of hope over experience perhaps but as the old saying goes “You don't ask,you don't get.” Conscious as were are that time is running out it seems better to him to be doing anything rather than just sit and wait for the bulldozers.

Of course we have no idea when the work will begin and until it does we shall continue to care for the garden and to feed our wild birds and although I shall put up new feeding stations in the front garden as soon as I can we shall have no trees in which to re-site the bird ,bat and owl boxes as the trees which house them are to be felled. Perhaps the new Silver hall conservation group will take them ,we shall see.

Pa is worried about ;losing his birds,they mean so very much to him and his chiefest pleasure is feeding them and watching their antics,it is upsetting but I have done all I can for now. It's just that every time I convince myself that it is all for the best something happens to extinguish the small spark of comfort so carefully fanned into life.

This evening it was the collared doves,a recent addition to our wild family,very proudly they brought their second batch of young to the feeding area for the first time,their nest is in the damson tree soon to be felled. They are rather shy and may well disappear during the disruption never to return.

Tomorrow I shall do a little therapeutic gardening, the Michaelmas daisies are in flower and I need to remove the dead solidargo flowers before they seed every where and cause me endless weeding next year. Their removal will mean that the daisies will be more clearly seen from the house,

Tomorrow I shall not check my email every ten minutes to see if there are any replies to our pleas for help, I shall take what comes and be thankful for what I have rather than grieve over what is lost. What more can anyone do?

GOING ON

After the trauma of yesterday's disclosure and the frantic letter writing which followed ,and the sleepless night which followed that we were all ready for a break. My son's friends arrived for a long game of Civilisation, Pa rummaged about in his model railway cupboard and I went to a house sale held by a friend who is shortly to leave the area.


I picked up some vintage railway magazines and some model kits for Pa and lots of lovely books for me as well as some pretty jewellery and some old Terra cotta pots. Unfortunately this distraction did not keep me busy for long and I was soon bashing away at the key board again searching the internet for any information which could help our cause,

All through the night my mind kept on flashing images of the orchard in spring, full of crocus,primrose and bluebells in their seasons. Visions of the glorious fruit blossom and the sight and sound of a million bees busy in the branches of the old fruit trees.

Tall rows of scarlet runners in full flower ,squashes glowing in the autumn sunshine and when I finally thought of the bird boxes which would be destroyed an how upset Twiggy would be to lose her playground I admit that I cried bitterly for quite a long time.

No matter how I tried not to dwell on it I found it impossible,I could have more easily ignored a toothache as I sat in my bed staring out over the dark orchard listening to the foxes play fighting and knowing all the time that their home would soon be destroyed. I felt a complete wuss. In the early ours of the morning I bathed my face to remove the signs of tears, as I left the bathroom I met my son on the landing tired eyed and worried. Damn these developers, soulless, heartless, money grubbing people that they are.

Some how we all got through the day and by evening when I served our dinner of beef cobbler all we could talk about was what to do next.

I have privately made up my mind that if they come with bulldozers to demolish the garden they will have to drive over me2 , I mean to chain me and my scooter and to the apple tree and oblige them to carry both it and me from the field of battle. They had better bring a policeman with them as I do not mean to go quietly.

I will go to prison if necessary ,a stand must be made, the wealthy and powerful must not be allowed to get away with such acts by de fault,the local authority,always in cahoots with the fat cats must be shown up for the chisellers they are. What ever it takes I will do.

If we allow every little green space to be built on by those already disgustingly rich what will be left for our children and their children. And when every bit of land is built upon,what then?
I hope for a favourable out come,the alternative is to painful to contemplate.

UNDERHAND AND UNDER THE WIRE

The arrival of the morning post shortly before I woke meant that the first thing I saw on opening my eyes was a notice from our local Planning

Department informing me that they have now granted His Grace the Duke of Northumberland to ride roughshod over the planning regulations and enrich himself by building two more houses upon what has always been two kitchen gardens.

This has been achieved by not placing any notices in the local press,on line,or at the proposed site,thus leaving a posse of would be protesters,myself included in the dark as to their plans.

Underhand....yes...illegal..very possibly...unusual..not in this neighbourhood!

Recently the brothers Barclay erected a very large stable block within a conservation area,within a few feet of a neighbours kitchen and without benefit of planning permission. In spite of months of protests the Planning department refuse to compel the Brothers B Barclay to remove the monstrosity.

I wonder why? Especially as our council frequently publishes name and same announcements in our local rag detailing all the people whom they have forced to demolish porches a few inches to large,a garage or a dormer window. Strange, don't you think?

The permission to build on our garden has been granted in site of the fact that it contravenes almost all the criteria for granting such permission in any area,never mind a conservation area...equally strange.

Of course the Barclays can afford to pay the fines as indeed can His Grace but there is much more to this than most people would think. Of course I am not suggesting that there has been any bribery but any people are unaware of the fact that there is a legal way to give money to a local authority in order that they will look favourably upon such an applications as the ones I refer to, it is called Section6.

Under Section 6 an individual,corporation or company may give their local authority money to (offset the disruption caused by their proposals.) Syon Estate engaged in an”Environmental Initiative” with our local authority, now do you begin to see ?

These people care nothing for the environment, all that concerns them is the bottom line, no survey of the site has been carried out by our local authority , had they bothered to do so they would almost certainly not have allowed this development which is in an area sandwiched between to Sites of Scientific Importance. No survey was done because they knew it would prevent the plans from being passed.

My home is safe but the loss of this lovely garden will be heartbreaking,not just for us but for the whole village. Of course I shall fight on to the best of my ability but these fat cats know perfectly well that the next stage in a protest , an appeal will need a great deal more money that either I or local pressure groups could muster. I intend to appeal directly to Mayor
Boris, and the Prime Minister,amongst others.

A great deal of work has been done by the people of this village in response to Mr Cameron's society initiative yet it seem that this big society only really works if you happen to be Mr Big.

Wish me luck.