If I had a brain, I'd be dangerous!

 I have not slept at all well for over a week.  The boys want to be in the front hall at night, with access to the catflap.  I don't really want them going out there in case that feral tom is about in the night BUT Alfie has been waking me several times a night yowling to go out.  4.30 is the worst time as by then I have had sufficient sleep that I find it hard to drop off again.  So my brain is not feeling at all refreshed.

I decided as I needed Methylated Spirits, cat biscuits and wanted to go to Midway Plants, I would give myself a little outing and treat.  I wanted a new Clematis to replace one which had died.  I got to Tesco, then suddenly realized I had left my bum bag on the kitchen table.  Drove home.  Bum bag there, quick check - but my cards weren't in it!  Tried to retrace my steps - the last place I had been was Hay & Brecon Farmers, for compost.  I drove there but it wasn't behind the counter.  The chap who had served me took me to check back through the CCTV footage.  We both thought it was yesterday, but it was Tuesday - footage showed me using my little walking bag not my bumbag, so I came home and found my cards.  Phew.  That is now three bumbag/cards related incidents in recent weeks, so hopefully that is IT.

The amazing Paul's Himalayan Musk, which spreads across several trees now.

I bought myself a very well grown Clematis - Montana grandiflora, which is white.  I also extended the treat to a Hardy Geranium, Ann Folkard, which is puce and rather gorgeous.  That is going to go at the edge of the bank, near my lovely rose Roserie de l'Hay, which is a similar colour.  Tam always said it was the scent of summer at Ynyswen.

After a nap, I have been sorting out what is going to Saturday's Fair.  I shall not overload the table and need to keep prices mostly £40 and under as folk aren't keen to spend much more there it would seem.

I have several stools/childrens' chairs to go.  Hopefully they will find new homes.  This won't do.  Before I have my evening meal, I shall go and plant the clematis.

Now the garden's sorted

 My gardener came back to day to finish off with cutting the lawn(s), and also cut back all the undergrowth behind the greenhouse, so I can go in there and get roots out tomorrow, weather permitting.  I shall have to pay him a chunk, around £70, as he's been here 7 or 8 hours all told.

The orchard was done a couple of days back.  He is careful to cut round my wild flowers (mostly Comfrey in the foreground).

Behind the greenhouse.  A wild Tutsan growing by the beam.  I can see my Clematis has survived, despite lack of light, and neglect.  I gave it a good feed with Clematis food, and then did all the other ones too.  They need doing every 3 months.

The lawn wasn't too bad here, as he cut it right back about 3 weeks ago.

Bright sunlight on the patch left for the Fox and Cubs to bloom.

The long border, with lots of different Hardy Geraniums.  I spent half the afternoon dead heading roses, pulling out grass and weeds, and cutting back the Aquilegias before they seed everywhere.  I have enough now, but I have left the blue and white one (related to the dark William Guinness I have all over the place).  I shall save seed from that one and put some blue and white thread on the stem to remind me which one it is.

I spent a couple of hours this morning removing varnish from a box I had bought for £2, just to be a stand for china etc on my stall.  I used Meths and 0000 grade wire wool.  It was scratched and crappy looking before.  Inspired, I went back to the Pudding Basin stool and gave the seat a good wipe down with the same.  Hah.  Rather than remove it, I ended up with a gleaming seat, so think perhaps rather than ancient varnish it's polyurethene.  Ah well, looks tidy anyway and is ready to go and have an outing on Saturday.

Now I'm feeling really quite tired.  I have made a start on the Intuitive Daily Stitching, having pressed the French linen and drawn out lines across it 3" apart, and today added ones down.  I have embroidered 4 of the lines across.  Now I will do some of the down lines and see how it looks before starting on the designs.  In case you are interested, this is the link to her You Tube channel, and all the instructions.

I'm half way through another Kate Ellis book, The Bone Garden, which I got from the Library.   Very good.

Oh, and some VERY GOOD NEWS about Rosie, who is now running about like there was never a problem, and sleeping MUCH better at night now she is no longer in constant pain.  Her latest interest is Pirates, so I have ordered her a Pirate Book from you know where, as a little treat.

Synchronicity

 Well, I am knocked sideways today.  It seems it's often the 2nd dy after a full-on weekend when it all hits me.  I have had to naps on the sofa, and although I forced myself to do a short walk around the Groe, my heart wasn't in it.  I turned last night's stew into a curry tonight.  That will do 2 meals.

I bought some Bathsheba blooms in as it absolutely pelted down with rain yesterday afternoon.

So today I've not done much at all.  At least I only needed to water in the greenhouse, and can get to the compost area without wading through wet grass and umbellifers waist high.

I thought I would do some family history research before my FindMyPast membership finishes.  First Bovey Tracey, where my dad grew up, and then Frome, where they lived for a few years, and where my grandmother died in 1933, from Bowel Cancer.  I found the write up of her funeral, and I took photos of the entry, and then wrote it all down.  Then finally, was the date on which she died - today's date . . .  Think my mind was guided today.  Thinking of you gran, and wishing we had met.  

First proper rain in weeks and Ethical Shopping

 I am VERY glad to see it, though it's knocked all ideas of an afternoon walk on the head as it's really chucking it down.  A shame as my gardener was here today, and he spent the morning strimming the orchard and top of the bank, which he got done before the rain really set in.  The grasses in the orchard were waist high in places!  The lawn will have to wait.  I reckon the garden is sucking it up like a drowning man gasping for air.  One surprise was to find that I have Ox Eye Daisies coming up from the wildflower mix I sowed about 3 years back.  I was SO pleased to see them.  My gardener (doesn't that sound posh!) knows to leave any wild flowers he sees about the place and gave the lawn a really tentative and ragged cut last time as he had to avoid any Violets he saw in bloom in the grass.

Bathsheba, one of my David Austin "Thomas Hardy" roses.  I may try and pick some blooms before the rain ruins them.

Anyway, I have a beef casserole stewing in the oven.  Thought it was just the weather for that, and I'm about to go up and change the duvet cover and put the duvet back on the bed as I was a little chilly around 4 a.m. this morning with just a sheet and the thin hexagon patchwork quilt.  I was glad of cat bed-warmers.

American Pillar, a rambler which is now growing up into the branches of the beech tree above it.

I am not normally an ethical shopper, but having discovered that Brew Dog, who sell the Hazy Jane IPA I particularly like, were embroiled in buying up huge tracts of Scottish farmland for carbon offset - then losing just about every tree they planted in last years' draught.  You CANNOT lessen the damage you continue to do to the planet by planting trees, just for a "clear conscience".  You need to STOP what you are doing that ruins the planet.  Then Tam said, well Nestle are much much worse, and now I've read up on them a bit, believe me I shall never buy a Nestle product again.  Sending their representatives into hospitals in Africa and other third world countries, pretending to be nursing staff and advising mothers NOT to breastfeed but to use their formula milk instead, and then stealing their water supplies and selling it back as bottled water which they cannot afford to buy.  Can you imagine the scale of the infanticide that has caused from starvation and unhygenic water sources?  How do they sleep at night?  So, sorry Munchies, you are my favourite choccies but I won't be buying you any more, or any other product I see Nestle on the wrapping of.

Rhapsody in Blue, which Tam bought for me.

I know that D in Dorset will be SO pleased to see steady rain and grey skies, as like me, she cannot cope with heatwaves.  

I now have my new business cards and very smart they look.  `Not looking forward to having to do accounts again, figures not being my strong point, but hey-ho, it's on a very small scale.

P.S.  Nearly forgot.  I heard a bird screaming in distress this morning, and immediately thought that Pippi had grabbed a youngster, so ran out there shouting at her.  Not Pippi, but a blardy Carrion Crow with a just fledged/young Thrush and when I appeared he flew off with the screaming bird in his beak, hotly pursued by the parents.  It was awful.  Nature red in tooth and claw.  I can watch David Attenborough's programmes with their true life and death, as it is distanced, but to see something like that first hand is another matter.  

I also forgot to mention I went to the Library today to take back the two Kate Ellis books I'd read, found 4 more and ordered another 4, so that should keep me quiet for a bit.  

Ahem, this is very . . . determined . . . rain.  At this rate we'll have flooding!

 

No point in flogging a dead horse

 

The Lark Ascending, my favourite rose I think, greeted me in full bloom when I got back from the Fair today.  

I had a "lie in" this morning - woke just before my alarm, at 5.20, so got up.  I was at the Fair about 7.45.  Doors to be opened at 8 a.m.  Punters let in at 9.  Well, they weren't exactly straining at the leash!  Coming through in occasional ones or twos for a couple of hours.  No-one was selling anything much, and I thought I would have no sales at all but late morning a lovely lady came to my stall and spent £40.  That paid for fuel - I found it cheaper in Carmarthen, 173.9 at one garage, so topped up (diesel).

Malvern Hills, which is one I got Danny to buy me for my birthday a couple of years ago.

I began to pack away the things no-one had looked at at all, such as the teddy chair and the quilts.  Then decided I may as well have an early finish and was all packed and driving away by just after one. It's not like when we lived just 7 miles or so away.  55 miles to home and I was glad to get back. I met some old friends, chatted with other dealers I know, had some nice chats with people interested in my stock, though they didn't buy.  That's OK.  At least they were interested.   I shan't bother with this Fair again.  They don't advertise it - not even a sign up on the A40 to say Antique Fair on this weekend!  Crazy.  Apparently the Council wants hundreds of pounds for them to do that.  The little Saturday Fair I do gets advertised as far afield as Malvern and Fishguard.  Brita works very hard to make it a success.  The next one is next Saturday, so I shall have to repack my boxes as they were a little haphazardly packed today, and I want all the kitchenalia in one box - it's spread over two at the moment.

Scarborough Fair, a gift in memory of Keith, from my friend A in the New Forest.  It's beautiful.

Tomorrow I am going to look at a child's chair in Llandod. I will have a quiet day and perhaps finally manage to do the layout for the embroidery.  I got a perfect antique French linen piece of fabric for it at Malvern.

I've watched my favourite Youtube vlogger (influencer?!!) Rewilding Jude.  He is very inspiring, though I don't think woodwork will ever be my metier.  His vegetable plot is amazing.

Now I shall go and watch another episode of Death Valley (not as dire as it sounds, and set in Wales - the opening picture is Llandeilo.  It stars Timothy Spall and I reall enjoy it.

Gypsy Boy, covered in blooms.

Podcasts listened to today, a long one about Caernarfonshire on Three Ravens (half way through that).  A couple of Dan Snow podcasts about The Peasants Revolt and Whaling.

Up at Bat O'Clock

 I woke at 3.  Tried to nod off again for an hour as my alarm was set for 4, but gave up at 3.40 and got up.  There was a lovely sunrise from my (dirty!) bathroom window.  The bats were just heading home to bed.

I did all my chores (watering plants included) and set off at 4.50 for Carmarthen, getting there at 6.10.  Gates opened at 7, so I was early in the queue.  Not that I need have worried about not getting close to the unloading door I needed, as there were not the melee of cars jostling for parking places that I remembered pre-Covid, which is when Keith and I used to sell here regularly.  The stalls were quite spread out too.  Whilst there were old friends, there were new faces too. Virtually no-one had an outside stall - perhaps 7 or 8 people.  Only two were left when I went home.

Kitchenalia etc.

I bought the chair home, as no interest in it, and Laurie the Chair Man had a much better selection on his stand.

Laura Ashley quilt, unfinished mid-1970's quilt and two single patchwork bedthrows.

The last few items from Keith's personal collection - a 1793 Tower Stamped Musket, a Borneo head-hunter's sword, and a Khyber Pass sword.  The Nepalese drinking horn is something I bought him from Malvern when he couldn't get there himself.  

The footfall was pretty poor.  I have covered my costs, but not made a huge amount on top.  Respectable I would say.  Yet back in the day, sometimes Keith and I would barely break even, but I was selling totally different things then.  One chap opposite me had a double table of the cheaper crappier childrens' sweets and I think only sold one thing all day!  WHY, when it is called an Antiques Weekend, did he think he would do well?  Scarcely any children to be seen so totally the wrong demographic.

The chap next to him had nothing but modern reproduction Chinese china and don't think he sold much/anything either, and packed up to leave instead of staying a 2nd day.  Another friend of mine with jewellery wasn't bothering with tomorrow either.  The problem is, it isn't advertised.   The showground folk just want the traders' money and don't want to do anything for it.  

 This lady specialized in Poole pottery.  We had a little chat as I said I used to live close to Poole.

Right, I am going to sit down with my latest copy of Country Living which was waiting for me when I got home today.  Thank you so much D, for the subscription.

The washing up can wait until Monday . . .

Oak Apple Day

 I read every day - a novel, articles about history, archaeology, folk lore - anything that interests me.  I plan to end each day knowing a little more.  My brain needs stimulation.  For example, today is Oak Apple Day.  It was once celebrated in Southampton by the working men of the town putting a sprig of oak leaves in their cap,or pinned to their clothing and put bigger pieces on the door knockers of the wealthy houses, who took them in to display inside.  After breakfast these men would knock on the doors of the wealthy houses, expecting (demanding!) beer and if this was not forthcoming, they would shout "Shig-shag, penny a rag, Bang his head in Cromwell's bag, All up in a bundle."  Since Cromwell died in 1658, this was a habit of some antiquity.

I have only heard of the Great Wishford Oak Apple Day (Wiltshire), where the villages would wear a sprig of oak leaves and use the expression "Grovely, Grovely, Grovely and all is Grovely."  This dated back to 1603 when the Charter of the Forest Court of Govely permitted villagers to collect dead wood all the year round and on Oak Apple Day, they could cut green branches, and were allowed to pasture their cattle and pannage their pigs in the forest, and gather nuts and acorns (sounds similar to rights in the New Forest in Hampshire.)  In Great Wishford the young people marched through the village, making as much noise as possible, and the villagers went to Grovely to take green boughs as was their right.  There were competitions with prizes for the branches with the greatest number of oak apples and also for the best decorated house.  A huge oak bough was bought back by the stoutest men and decorated with ribbons, then hauled up atop the church to bless marriages that year.  (That sounds like an ancient ritual indeed, stemming from perhaps a pagan practice of walking beneath a decorated bough, before Christianity reached our shores.)  

This morning four women with banners would have gone to Salisbury Cathedral, where they performed two dances by the West Door and the procession led to the high altar by the Dean and Chapter.  They read out the relevent part of the Charter and villagers shouted out Grovely, Grovely, Grovely and all is Grovely.  Everyone then goes back to Great Wishford for a big lunch, tradiationally in a field, but perhaps there is a marquee, just in case the weather's wet.

All this taken, almost verbatum (only just woken up from sleeping for two hours on the sofa) from the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre page.

I have just weeded some planters out front and finally planted the Cosmos (Seashell mixed) I grew from seed in the greenhouse.  They are very well grown and will hopefully survive the slugs.

I hope I have everything I need in the car now - will be far too much to display probably, but you never know, I may have a bonanza day and only bring half of it home.  Mind you, going on what this Fleamarket used to be like (though I was selling different stuff then), I may bring most of it home!