June in Scotland - The vagaries of lock down and too much time on our hands
Another windy day, with gales blowing from the NE. It was supposed to be sunny when l checked the forecast earlier in the week. But it’s all changed, and not for the better.
Initially we were going to test out the pizza oven. We have had it for six months, but it’s just not been the weather to eat pizza in the garden. That's not quite true, we have had some glorious sunny days, in fact weeks of it, but as always the work has managed to get in the way. Whilst dry and sunny we have been busy trying to turn our compacted earth into some kind of impression of a garden.
So getting out the oven, unpacking, setting it up, reading the 2000 pages of instructions and health warnings in a Chinese interpretation of English has not been at the top of our agenda. Especially once you have deciphered the small print and realise that you need to place the oven outside, away from the house (not surprising considering that our house is made of timber), prime and seal it by burning and running for two hours, then allow it to cool prior to being able to use it for the first time.
And once you get through all of the preparation and make your pizza sough dough, you realise that you can’t place the oven on the ground, it has to be on a non combustible table and we only have wooden and plastic outside tables.
Judith suggested a concrete topped table would be a great addition to the garden. Suggesting that we make a BBQ area, as well as an outside kitchen. Although from my point of view it would be nice to have some semblance of a garden to relax in first. Especially as the outside kitchen was originally planned for the ground floor deck. Secondly, we wanted to eat pizza this weekend, and to construct the table and kitchen wasn't going to be a five minute job.
In the end, placed a couple of thick scaffold planks over my saw benches, well away from the house. Dressed up in winter gear and quickly transporting the delicious pizzas back indoors, to eat in front of the roaring log fire. We didn't need to follow the damping down procedure, as described in the handbook. The consistent drizzle did that automatically.
In fact, that's what l expected to happen. In truth, the sun did eventually materialise. But we were well into concreting and making a new path by the Japanese garden. Also time was passing us by, it was too late, and l was too lazy to get all the paraphernalia out and set it up. In stead l made the pizza upstairs and threw them into our conventional oven. They were great, washed down with a very reasonable Riojas.
Then after a glorious dinner, Judith an l separate. Don’t get me wrong, we still have marital harmony for most of the time. Not all but most. We are human after all. Judith has become a Game of Thrones widow. She sat threw the first episode, and vowed not to watch another. For me, after a slow start it became something special, all encompassing. A perfect piece of small screen viewing. As some one once said, take the regal palace intrigue and interwoven story lines of Downton Abbey, the scale, fantasy world building, and epic battles of Lord of the Rings, Shakespeare's mastery over the dramatic, thematic, and tragic, and just a little bit of hardcore porn. Stick 'em all in a blender, and enjoy and entwine yourself in an epic fictional story. Very apt description, especially once you become as invested in the characters and world of the drama and intrigue as I am. So much so, that for the past few weeks l have managed to gorge on six of the eight seasons. Squirrelling myself away into a darkened room after an early tea to be transported into the world of make belief. I would choose this fantasy epic over just about anything else put on television.
What will l do once this has come to and end. Perhaps return to the present situation.
Seems that some of the pheasant chicks have fallen by the wayside. Mum and dad are not very caring, more interested in feeding themselves than taking care of the young, but then again they are not renowned for their brains.
Times are a changing in more ways than one. Not only do we have to contend with Coronavirus, but also the brutal and senseless killing of a black American, George Floyd by Minneapolis police office, which was captured on video. This lead to riots and demonstrations against police brutality.
Escalating further around the world, fortunately mainly peacefully against discrimination, although there is always the criminal element who take advantage of the situation.
In this country people went out in their thousands to protest, the majority in a peaceful manner. Unfortunately the small minority of thugs and louts made the headlines.
Throwing bikes at police horses, abusing both police and photographers, pulling down statues.
The latter seems to have sparked off a separate splinter group who are now intent on removing any statue in the UK that is associated with slave trading.
Surely education is better than total burying of the facts. Going back in time virtually every person with money had a finger in the slave market.
In fact we have only recently finished paying the compensation to the slave traders for giving up the business.
“... ’In 1833, Britain used 40% of its national budget to buy freedom for all slaves in the Empire. Britain borrowed such a large sum of money for the Slavery Abolition Act that it wasn't paid off until 2014. This means that living British citizens helped pay for the ending of the slave trade with their taxes'.
Information on the compensation payable under the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 can be found here: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11249 Information on the UK’s Budget in 1833 can be found on tab A27 of the Bank of England’s ‘A millennium of macroeconomic data’ spreadsheet, which can be found here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/research-datasets
Our friends in the Isle of White are now using their electric bikes on a regular basis, enjoying the freedom and the sunshine. The area seems to benefit from some glorious weather. Quite jealous.
It seems that bicycles are playing a central role in getting people back to work, not surprising when you see the alternative. Cramped overcrowded public transport with the heightened threat of catching Covid19.
Reports show that governments are trying to revive their economies from a deep recession, but can’t rely on public transport. Bicycles are suddenly an unlikely component to restarting economic growth.
The government this month rolled out a 250 million pound fund to reallocate more public space to cyclists, widen pavements and create cycle and bus-only corridors. Whilst in France a small army of street workers fanned out across Paris in the dark of night. They dropped traffic barriers along car lanes and painted yellow bicycle symbols onto the asphalt. By morning, miles of pop-up “corona cycle ways” had been laid, teeming with people heading back to work.
Suggested to Judith that it might be a good idea, especially as many of them are good at going cross country, mountain bikes. But it fell on death ears. We already have a couple of bikes, the old fashioned peddle version, and they aren't used very often. At least its saved us around £7k.
Still no real news on the Cruising front, although all of our 2020 cruises have now been officially cancelled.
Jet line phoned this week to ask if we wanted a future cruise credit or a refund. Decided to go down the refund route, only to be told two days later by another representative that they will not be able to refund all the money. £1100 would need to be claimed against our travel insurance. Their excuse was that this was a non refundable element. I have written to them asking for a full explanation and the reasons in writing for withholding this amount. But as yet nothing has materialised. On a positive note, Nationwide insurance deposited £1100 into our account for the missed ports on the world cruise. Makes the extra cruise cost supplement of £45 well worth while. Although l cant imagine how much future cruise insurance will be for next year. Will have to wait and see, and hope its not too extortionate.
Judith has just found a very interesting cruise that goes out of Dover. Its on the MS Maud, a refurbished Hurtigruten expedition ship.The cruise is around Scandinavia, the Archipelagos, fjords and fishing towns including the Koster Islands. You visit the northernmost point of Denmark, the southernmost point of Norway and the westernmost lighthouse in Sweden. As well as the transit of the Kiel Canal. And there is 20% off at the moment.
Cracking on with the garden, or should l say gardens. The hidden garden is virtually complete. We made a raised bed using gabion baskets and filled it with a couple of climbing plants, Clematis and rambling rose, as well as a few broad bean plants.
Levelled the area and put in paving stepping stones. So all we have to do now is complete the bottom path and affix an edging shelf unit to stop people falling in between the house and the gabions.
Made a heavy seat out of an old stone pillar, resting on two small gabion baskets. A new climbing rose is tucked away in a corner. The mixture of climbers should enhance the gabion stone walling, and give even more protection to the birds nesting in the crevices.
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