An unexpected outing

 

Give us this day our daily bread . . .  Today's loaves - I made two smaller ones, planning to freeze one, but now Tam and Rosie will be here tomorrow night, so they will both be needed.  20% Rye flour (to use up) and the rest strong white bread flour.  Brushed with an egg-wash and then sprinkled with organic porridge oats.  Scrummy!  Tam's still not very well, so I shall let her rest up whilst I deal with Rosie.  Hoping I don't get the bug next . . .

Anyway, I finished the quilt border this morning, did a load of housework, watered in the greenhouse, and around lunchtime Pam phoned to see if I could accompany her to have her car MoT'd.  We hoped it would pass but you never know . . .  We popped along to Midway Plants and had a slow wander round, and she came home with 4 more for her newly dug bed.  The people at Midway sell a few collectibles too, so we had a slow browse around those, to kill time, and then went down for tea and cake at The Thomas Shop, which also has the original shop still all pretty much as it would have been more than 100 years ago.  I've done a post about it before but several years back now.  Lots of photos now . . .

A local mangle, too, Builth made by Price and Williams.  Keith's g. grandmother and grandmother used one like this (his g. gran had her own little laundry business, in the home, in Scarborough).

Keith would have loved this Green Man.  It's a nice one.

A modern Marie Lloyd and friends.  The real ones were an actual horse's skull.

I knew Thomas Crapper made toilets.  Didn't know his company also produced "bathroom tissue" too . . .  An improvement on squares of the News of the World or Izal (which was like using greaseproof paper!)

Those J & P Coats drawers would be a good seller . . . And the really old sewing machine too.

Curious weights, with a slot to hold them on an upright.

We sat outside with a pot of Earl Grey each, and shared a huge piece of chocolate cake with icing.  It was lovely watching birds across the nearly dried up river, in the trees and fields opposite.  Have a lovely weekend all.

It's all over for another year

 

The Royal Welsh is all over for another year.  The actual showground is behind the trees, middle right of picture (where you can see grass).  I watched some more of the coverage on tv yesterday - the barren Section C mares, a Section B class in the ring at the same time, and a part-bred Welsh won by a stunning dark skewbald filly with such quality, and beautifully marked.  I hate the Jack Russell look in coloured ponies - e.g. mostly white with a few blotches of colour, that you get bred purely for cash (vanners).  I forgot to mention something that made me laugh in the cattle classes I watched the previous day, as the Holstein matrons had very pink udders (they don't milk them that morning either, so they have a Big Bag!) It's apparently a coloured udder balm but it looked like they'd gone mad with the foundation or the Pan Stick! and it had rubbed off on the top of their legs as they moved.

The town can breathe again, the pubs are rubbing their hands with glee at their takings - though they had to insist on card payments only after so many fake £20 notes were being proffered in payment.  Both Builth Tyres and Hay & Brecon Farmers shut their doors for the week.  Several places had to employ bouncers, so it is not all good for the town.  I shouldn't think takings were up that much with the extra people in town, for the non-pub or non-food shops.  

I pieced and sewed the borders onto the quilt yesterday.  Set the last stitch, looked down (properly!) and saw I had just sewn the last one on with the wrong side out, so spent yesterday evening unpicking it.  Twit.

It was cool enough this morning to do a bit of tidying up in the garden.  I have a low growing shrub which the bees adore when it's in flower, and I hadn't noticed it creeping further and further to the left.  Now I can't walk up past my Roserie de l'Hay rose so cutting back needed.  Not helped by it rooting wherever it touches earth, so some digging needed too.  SO much to do out there as the hot weather has kept me indoors and I haven't been able to do more than water round and a bit of dead-heading of roses.

I popped into the Library to return a couple of books yesterday.  Found a couple more to bring back - A Different Kind of Evil by Andrew Wilson, which has Agatha Christie as its detective, on her way to investigate two murders.  She is working for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).  I started that one last night.  I also got Mr Campion's War, by Mike Ripley.  I think that's one that Sue, over at My Quiet Life in Suffolk, read this year.  Then my friend Gay sent me The Woman Downstairs, the latest by JD Kirk.  Plenty to keep me quiet.

I have been doing research on the Nepalese Kukri in the red leather sheath that I found when clearing the top of the old fridge-freezer.  They were special and given as gifts to notable figures (Sir Edmund HIlary was given one), and for retiring Army Officers.  This sort is a Kothimora Kukri and more valuable than I first thought.  Keith DID have a good eye for such things.  I can't find one exactly like it, so have contacted Gurkha Antiques, with photos, to see if they can give me more info.

Quite a high status one with the enamelled design on the handle.  Sadly,  the other little knife (Chakmak) is missing, which will affect its value.  One for the Unit probably.

Positives and negatives

 Positives:

I set to and made my evening meal after breakfast.  There is enough there for half a dozen meals, just from 200g of minced beef plus veg plus Taco beans and pasta.

Starting to cook it - half a good sized yellow courgette, plus mixed peppers, red onion, garlic etc.  Lots of different colours.  A tin of tomatoes added later.

In my bowl at teatime.  I will have it again tonight as a Pasta bake - a portion with pasta stirred into it, then in the oven with cheese on top.  Haven't made that for ages.  The other portions then into the freezer as individual meals.

I have decided to keep this oil painting which I bought at the weekend.  It has the tiniest scratch across it but stand back a couple of feet and you can't even see it.  Just love this sky.  It was only £10.

I decided that my leaking hose, despite the gaffer tape, had finally had it when more water was coming out the middle than the nozzle at the end!  I checked out the Hozelock hose on a reel that had been left behind by the previous owners, but couldn't work out how I connected it to the water.  Messaged Ed, who came and sorted it out for me and it works well and will reach most parts of the garden now.

I have sewn the borders for the quilt, and will attach them today.

The piece of glass I bought at the weekend appears to have been a good buy as it it a mid-century (words which are so on trend!!) piece of Scottish Strathearn Art Glass, made using "pulegoso" - the controlled bubble technique.  Likely value put a smile on my face, as I will be in profit.

Mid-afternoon, I gave myself an hour off to sit down and watch the Senior Section D cob class at the Royal Welsh on tv.  The Irish stallion I liked last year came about 8th this year - up on 10th last year.  I didn't see him standing up from the right angle to properly check his conformation but boy, does he have the action!  Nothing else could touch him in that class when he trotted up - SO powerful and the crowd loved him.  Mind you, some of the stallions are very porky and that can hide a multitude of sins.  I still think the current trend tends to be croup-high.  I watched a show round-up in the evening, but it was all in Welsh so I only caught the odd word.  They showed the pole climbing competition, where they have a tall pole (tree) that the competitors have to climb using a rope looped around the trunk, and spikey boots.  One chap shot up it like he was being chased by a lion!  They had a class of cattle groups of various breeds - 5  in each group, bull, cow and three youngsters.  If I thought the cobs were porky, blimey - you wouldn't need to ask this lot "does my bum look big in this?" as yes it did - they were enormous!  Some interesting sheep breeds too, and some have a yellowy ochre rubbed into their fleeces as part of the turn-out ritual. It's called blooming or colouring, and helps to hide any blemishes in the fleece, and also makes the black of face and legs stand out.  The Suffolks and Scottish Black Face are shown this way.  They did a little interview with a lad who was showing his Valois Blacknose, then they showed the class. I think he got reserve Champion - at any rate, he got a big sheep-bell on a leather strap and his face was a picture!  He couldn't stop ringing it :)   I was hoping to see the Prince Philip Cup ponies doing their gymkhana races, as they had kids from Australia, New Zealand,  England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, USA competing in various relay races.  Thrilling to watch.  The show ends today, and I shall miss looking out across the fields above the showground where lots of people are staying in caravans and tents, lit up by rows of solar lights after dark.  I shan't miss not being able to get around the town easily because they have blocked off the little roads linking top and bottom of the town roads.

Negatives:

Tam sold a dress for £30 on Vinted, only to have it returned as "damaged" - it had been ripped.   It is beyond mending.  Tam said, it had happened on another dress she sold, again for around the same price, returned "damaged". There are some nasty people out there.  Tam has picked up a bug which gave her a temperature and made her feel absolutely awful too, and had to somehow drag herself out of bed to go to a particular PO with odd hours, to pick up the parcel.  Her first chance to go in a week.  Hope she is ok for Saturday, and that Rosie isn't coming down with it then.

I have heard, through Tam, that the German chap who bought our old house has just died from throat cancer.  That upset me, as I knew how much he loved the house and never planned to leave.  Well, he won't now, as his ashes will be spread in the top field.  I hope his wife is able to stay on but it's a big house to run.  She lets out mum's old flat down in the Dairy though, and does B&B, along with book binding.  I would have gone to his funeral, had I known about it last month.

Biggest negative this week was probably the fact that I have only sold ONE thing at the Unit.  That amount will go towards the rent, but I will still have to cough up another hundred from my account to cover next month.  I hope things improve or it will be a very short-lived stay . . .  

Negatives generally are the wild fires in Wales.  A huge one up in North Wales, and the helicopters used for carrying water to put them out are all up in Yorkshire, trying to deal with a huge one up there.  I noted on Facebook this morning that a fire had broken out at Kington, which is about 15 miles North of here.  A video of it showed it was pretty fierce so I hope that they can get it under control soon.  Until the weekend it is still hot - 25 deg. today and tomorrow.  Everywhere is looking parched and farmers are having to feed the winter's hay already as there is just so little grass.  We've not had rain for a month or so, and precious little before that.  

Right, enough moaning.  A positive to look forward to is the new Barbara Erskine book which comes out at the end of the month, and I have treated myself to.  Now, I have a double date with the washing machine and the vacuum cleaner . . .

Courgettes with everything!

I was looking after Rosie yesterday as Tam has had to change her Tuesday childminder, who was not ideal in several ways.  She starts with the new one in September.  I set my alarm for 5.45 a.m.  Of course, today it wasn't set and I slept deeply till 3 a.m. and then my brain reckoned it was too awake to sleep.  Typical. Rosie is nearly at the stage of giving up her daytime nap.  She managed until - literally - the very moment Tam parked her car outside at 5 p.m.!

By the showground yesterday morning.

Rosie wanted me to read to her yesterday, LOTS.  The Gruffalo's Child is her favourite (Tam knows it off by heart - as she demonstrated one evening when they were here).  I also had to read the Dinky Donkey twice! Lots of others too.  It's good that she loves stories so much.

I intended to have chips for tea last night, as so late back.  Wrong move - it's Show Week, so that was off the menu and I had a tin of Ravioli instead.  Washing up - one bowl and one fork :)

It's Welsh Cob day at the Royal Welsh today, so I will watch that on tv later.  It was really busy around there yesterday even really early when I was driving through before 7 a.m.  The car sales place opposite the showground has had steel fencing put up around the premises as usual - a wise move since some top of the range ATV's (All Terrain Vehicles, posh quad bikes) were nicked from the showground.  How I don't know, as of course they have Security Guys and lock the entrances at night.  

The extra pink prints I ordered for the quilt arrived yesterday.  Alex (patchwork teacher) suggested a border, so you can guess what I will be doing today . . .  I need to get a white king size sheet to back it too.  (I'll get one from Tesco's on Saturday).  

It's been cool enough for short local walks, and a little tending in the garden too, at ends of the day.  I think we are due rain at the weekend, but hoping NOT whilst we are at the beach, in memory of Keith - though he would laugh at the irony of that!

I am close to finishing Kate Ellis' The Skeleton Room now.  I have Alison Weir's Queens in the Age of Chivalry to read, and picked up an Elizabeth Chadwick novel on the Co-op charity table, To Defy a King (that king being the pretty awful King John at that).  I wonder if they will ever find the treasure that was lost when his enterage crossed the Wash?  Bearing in mind it was quicksand, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Updte - went back to bed, but only dozed (mainly just shut my eyes).  It will catch up with me later.  Cool here now (7 a.m.) - 12 deg. and overcast.  I need to get the bed stripped and remade and do something with the mince I defrosted in the fridge whilst I was out yesterday.  That something will involve some of the enormous organic courgettes Ed gave me :)  They feature in every meal at the moment!  He and Sam eat them raw, as part of a salad.  Not something I can get excited about. I will make a Lemon Drizzle cake for the family for Saturday too.  

Getting Cooler

As you can see, it's filling up in the fields above the showground.  There is a massive Young People's village further up the road, and we could hear their music till gone 3 a.m. this morning.  Sadly, there has been a tragedy as a young man of 25 collapsed and died.  In the next sentence, Police mentioned arresting 3 young men in drugs-related incidents.  His poor family.  

 It's only 20 deg at the moment.  I can cope with that if I don't have to do too much outside.  I went out for a walk at 11 ish, when it was a bit cooler.  Just 40 mins or so, but good to stretch my legs after all the driving yesterday (though I walked 10K steps round the Fair too).  

A trio of little pieces came home with me and the pretty green enamel pot.

A pretty little minature painted dresser.

A vintage Blue Mountain pitcher.  (Canadian ceramics company, I believe).

I couldn't resist this pretty embroidered piece - when I got back to the car and looked at it properly, it had a pair of kid gloves tucked inside.  Bonus buy . . .

I want to try and crack on and finish the last big 16 piece block of the quilt today, and sew the last seams (it's partly assembled).  Photo later I hope . . .

A Malvern Day

This is what 4.45 a.m. looks like . . .

 I'm struggling to stay awake now.  I have had a long and hot day, lots of driving (the diversion is still in place, over a year on as more works needed to shore up a 2nd roadside landslip.)  I was up at 4.40 a.m. and reached Malvern at 7.25.  Joined the queue and went straight in.  All sorts came home with me, but nothing very unusual or expensive.  It was so hot (for me, that is, 25 deg) that I only went round 1 1/2 times outside, had a wander through the Avon Hall and then walked the length of the livestock sheds across the middle, as by that time I was spending the money I'd put aside for the plumber!  

A colourful stall here.

The table above, with the deisn along the side was I think late 18th C, but it looks to have been stripped . . . It has very lumpen legs too.  Possibly a church table?  Someone was negotiating on it anyway but I wasn't close enough to hear hid price when he said "I couldn't take less than . . . . for it." 

Ochre corner cupboard.  I suppose it has "a look" about it, but no-one wants corner cupboards these days.

I always used to treat myself on this stall, but they also sell at Hay Market, so I can give myself a treat there sometime.  Too hot to plant anything right now.

This was the lady who had those lovely quilts last time.  She has a very good eye for nice things.

Still Sewing, and the Royal Welsh Show

 I laid the Heatwave quilt out on the bed yesterday to see where I was with it.  There are 3 big blocks left to construct.  I constructed 16 9-patch blocks yesterday and paired them up with their plain white counterparts.  I will carry on with it today.  If I can stay awake that is!  I woke at 3.30 a.m. and couldn't settle back to sleep so after an hour I came downstairs.  Tomorrow is a Malvern day so I had better get myself off to bed early tonight, though I don't want to wake at 3.30.  4.30 will be just right.  By the time I have had a quick breakfast and done the litter trays, done my hair and makeup, an hour is soon gone.  I do my rolls to take, the night before.  Plus cool drinks.  Talking of which, I am delighted with the cold water dispenser in my new fridge freezer.  A real boon in this hot weather.

It's the Royal Welsh Show next week, so I took a stroll past the showground.  As you can see it's all set up and pretty well ready to go - they began putting marquees up about 10 days ago. Lots of caravans up on the slopes above the showground and I imagine the Young Farmer's "village" (small town more like) half a mile up the Newbridge-on-Wye road is pretty packed already too. The big field opposite the showground will house 100s of caravans too, for all the people involved in the show - whether with livestock, or selling.  It's about £40 a head to get in now, so I just watch it on tv.

Lots of good podcasts listened to yesterday on Rest is History.  King Arthur, Merlin, Alfred the Great.  I can recommend this podcast.

All sorts of big shiny temptations for well-heeled farmers.  I don't know if they ever sell any in these parts.

Some of the shops in town will shut for the week and board up their premises.  With the population of our small town going up from 2,500 to 250,000 during the week, not all visitors are well-behaved.  The pubs, as you may imagine, do a roaring trade.  I try not to go near town for the week.  If I wanted anything from the main street, parking would be impossible. 

El Nino seems to be causing havoc with the weather this year - terrific storms in France, and the heat too.  One of the doom and gloom weather pictures had clearly run out of colours for how hot it would be and after black, has had to use white to show increased heat . . .  I wonder what the winter will have in store for us?