Half of a walk

The weather was fantastic yesterday, so after a morning of football and an early lunch we headed to the Cotswolds for a little walk.  We parked at Uley, a lovely village not far from Dursley.

We parked near the church, and headed straight up the hill behind it.  The littlest boy insisted on carrying the rucksack with five drinks and a box of cookies in it - it must have been a quarter of his body weight and he fell over backwards when he first put it on, but he marched off leading the expedition, all full of importance and purpose.  It was quite a steep climb and the views looking back at Uley were lovely.

Up through a little wooded area you come out at the top of the world.  In fact it's an Iron Age fort called Uley Bury, and it was occupied from about 300BC to 100AD.  There are several along the Cotswold escarpment, built to take advantage of the natural dominance of the high land.

The area contained within the fort on the top of this flat-topped hill was about 32 acres.  We walked around the edge and then curved back round towards Uley.

As we turned around the top of the hill a view towards the River Severn opened up.  You can just make it out beyond the fields.

By the time we got to the point of turning out to do the second loop of the walk the sun was already low in the sky.  Walking at the pace of the slowest person means we don't get round very fast.  But we like it that way.  It did mean that we weren't sure we could finish the walk before sunset, which is at about 4.10pm at the moment.  So we abandoned the plan to go to Owlpen and headed back to Uley.  I'm sure we'll go back and visit Owlpen again one day.  I've been before and it's very beautiful.  There's a wonderful Grade I listed manor house there which has what may be the earliest surviving complete garden in England.  There's a picture and some writing about it here if you want a peek.

Back at Uley we had a little wander through the village.  This was the lovely village green.  Apparently there used to be fourteen pubs in Uley!  Now there's just one.

There are one or two grand houses.  I loved this one in the wonderfully named Fiery Lane.

There are plenty of cottages too.  This one had old petrol pumps flanking the steps.

Lots of lovely clipped evergreen as well.  I do love the structure they give to gardens.  Another reason to visit Owlpen Manor, which has many clipped yew trees.

I loved the church, and I was intrigued by the striking weather vane on top.  Such a smooth almost naive shape.

Once the sun was well and truly setting and smoke from chimneys was drifting down the valley it was time to go home.

The littlest chap had blisters by then and had to take his socks off in the car.  Welly boots really aren't the best for walking in, especially when you have a really heavy rucksack.  If only their little feet weren't constantly growing they could have walking boots.  But it does seem like an extravagance when they'll need a new size come spring.   I'm thinking I'll just put more socks on him next time.  And start out a bit earlier.

Hoping a good week is had by all.

this moment

Joining in with Soulemama.   A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savour and remember.

The view from here

The past few days have been a mixture of beautiful timeless countryside and buildings and glitzy pre-Christmas sparkle.

After a brief trip to a big out of town shopping centre on Saturday, we detoxed on Sunday with a visit to the country park.  I always feel in need of the outdoors after visiting the mall.  It was of course already Christmassy there, with a magical castle, ice-skating, lots of twinkly lights and this lovely carousel.  We spent a happy hour in the big bookshop there.  However manic and over-commercialised the mall is, entering the bookshop is like entering a sanctuary.  The atmosphere changes completely.  The books are waiting to transport you anywhere you want to go.  Somewhere happy, somewhere for adventures, somewhere creative, somewhere that pushes you to be a better person, somewhere that encourages and somewhere that will always have the capacity to surprise, amaze and inspire.  I can always find something I'd like to read.  I think that I have a slightly dreamy unrealistic idea that I'll find the time to read for long periods.  Reality is a little different, but when I'm in that bookshop, I imagine myself, in winter, curling up on a dark evening, next to a fire, with a hot drink, and completely immersing myself in whatever adventure I have chosen.  In summer I'll dream of lying on the grass in the sun, or on a beach.  And in spring it's maybe a warm conservatory, in the sun.  That's the feeling I get when I see all of those books.  Excitement, anticipation, luxury.

The next day at the country park we wandered round getting a little exercise in the cold autumn air.

The photos were taken on my little point-and-shoot camera, which puts dark shapes on some of the pictures.  It's the camera I use most at the allotment.  I've usually got a trug or two with me when I visit, and taking my DSLR camera seems like too much.  The little camera has been good to me over the years, I've got so many treasured photos that were taken on it.  The DSLR is much newer, and while I love it, I'll always have a soft spot for the little one.  I keep it in my bag a lot of the time - probably why it has dark spots on the lens - and it means I can snap pictures out and about whenever they occur.  For example, on the school run this morning I took these two photos.

It was such a stunning morning, with clear blue skies and sun on ancient stone and crunchy beech leaves.  Tonight the sky was still clear, and it was cold.  We went to see the Christmas lights being switched on in the centre of our little town.  There was a fun fair and a small food fair as well, although the food fair wasn't as big as the regular ones we have here.  The boys were told they could have one thing each.  The biggest boy was sucked in to trying to win a prize by shooting rings onto a bottle.  The littlest boy had candyfloss.  Despite initially refusing to share it with his brothers, he couldn't finish it, and declared in the end that he didn't like it at all and it was making him feel sick.  The middle boy chose the big wheel, so we went on together.  I am a complete wimp when it comes to rides.  We almost never go on them, and a big wheel is about as scary as I can manage.  The middle boy found it a bit much too.  When I suggested he wave to his brothers as we flew past, he squeaked, "I can't" as he held on to the bar with a death grip.  The view from the top was spectacular though, and well worth going up.  I still had the little camera in my bag, and I got a few blurry shots.

Now I'm happy to be home and curled up in the warmth though.  It's cold out there.  Something arctic is headed this way apparently.  I'm a bit of a wimp about that as well.

A pirate quilt

A few pictures of the pirate quilt I made for the middle boy a year or so ago.  It's the only quilt top I've sewn on the machine.  I kept the pieces of fabric big because some of them are pirate maps (ar har) and I didn't want to cut them up too much.

It was really so quick to make compared with the hand sewn ones I've done before.  And I made sure it's nice and thick, just right to keep a scurvy pirate sea dog warm out on the ocean wave in a drafty galleon.

I kept the back really simple as well, just a few stripes of fabric with the rest of it a nice dangerous pirate black.

I took the photos a couple of weeks ago when I went for a walk at the ship's graveyard.

A shame there wasn't a pirate ship drifting silently past in the background.  Maybe once upon a time there was...

While I'm passing, I'm after a little advice from any growers out there.  Which potato varieties would you recommend?  I'm thinking of planting a couple of types next year, and apparently it's time to get the order in.  I also need to do the seed order by the end of the month, to take advantage of the one-third off that the allotment society receives.  So if you have any other suggestions of a particular variety of thing that never lets you down or something you've really enjoyed, I'd love to hear them.

The allotment in November

I made it down to the allotment on Wednesday for the first time in probably three weeks.  I like this time of year - nothing gets too out of hand while I'm away.

It was pretty cold, and over the river there was a tube of mist.  This happens quite a lot, and I love to see it.  It's just below the horizon in the photo.  You can see the park as well, where we spend many a happy hour climbing, swinging and playing football.  And paddling in the summer in the big paddling pool.

The plots are looking very autumnal now.  Still some greenness and a few flowers, but it's all slowing down and waiting to be tidied.

On my way to the far corner where our plot is, I saw plenty of things I'd like to try and grow next year.  Dahlias, definitely, and maybe some chard and leeks.

The last time I was here I planted garlic and onions.  You can just see the new shoots at the front of the picture.  I love how they germinate in these short dark months, and sit there through the winter waiting to grow away in spring.

I spent some time on the asparagus bed.  Firstly cutting down all the fronds, and then weeding, and finally mulching with some leaf mold I was lucky enough to get from the boys' school last year.  It's not fully broken down in twelve months, but I'm hoping the worms will pull it down into the soil.  There were certainly plenty about.  I struggle to weed the asparagus because I don't want to damage the crowns.  It looks okay at the moment but no doubt there will plenty of weeds reappearing in spring.  I wanted to make sure I added something to the soil because asparagus needs so little doing to it it's easy to overlook.

Time for a little tea break after that.  A nice cup of redbush tea.  I didn't want to wait for it to cool down, and then I got mud in the cup so I didn't drink most of it.  I don't have the luxury of time to sit about and drink tea when I manage to get a little while at the plot.  Some people, with immaculate plots, I only ever see sitting around with mugs.  It's a bit of a mystery how any work ever gets done.  There must be a little magic at work I think.  Pixies maybe.

I pulled out the cosmos and trimmed the sedum and lavender, and picked the last four roses.  No more until next summer.  They were a bit battered, but they're in a glass on the mantelpiece and they still look lovely.  I don't know what variety it is, but it's been flowering since June.

The blackcurrants are looking a bit tidier now.  At the front of the picture is the path that marks the end of my plot.  In the summer the blackcurrants had fallen completely over the path and onto the neighbouring plot.  I've cut out masses of wood, although it doesn't look like it.  This picture shows the whole plot, from the sign down to the green shed.

From top to bottom, there are blackcurrants, raspberries, gooseberries, a plum tree and japanese wineberry, strawberries (to be removed), a bed for vegetables etc., the asparagus, another two beds each about 3m square and then the area around the shed.  Behind the shed it's all a bit overgrown, but there was rhubarb back there earlier in the year.  Then there's a path and the hedgerow with the most enormous blackberries and beyond that the stream.  Our own little piece of land, that still gives me a thrill every time I visit.  This is the view from the other side of the fruit bit.

At the front is a little chilli plant I bought from Aldi back in early July.  They don't ever water their plants, and so it was really dehydrated and reduced in price.  But it recovered beautifully and has given me far more chillies than I know what to do with.  Not bad for 99p.  If I grow chillies again I'll definitely do it this way. I tried growing some in pots, but this one was far happier in the soil.

So there we have it.  November at the plot.  I don't have any more crops to harvest.  Next year I'll try and have some winter things to pick.  This year I'll just be happy to get everything tidied away.  There's still lots to do, but the pressure is off now.  So long as it's done by spring, all will be well.

Misty mornings and utter mortification

I'm loving the darkening of the season.  Cold, damp, misty mornings.  Low sun and early sunsets.  Long indoor evenings.

Quilts are out.

Pigs are in.

A few seasonal blooms.  I love the leaves on this little cyclamen.  And the way the buds unfurl.  And the way they flower in the darkest days of the year.  Tough, but incredibly beautiful and delicate looking.

I found a book on bread at the library.

Turns out it is rather brilliant (and I'm not being paid to say that).  I picked it up because of the chapter on sourdough, and I've really learned so much from it.  I tried sourdough once before, but it was like a brick.  Now, I do believe I've cracked it.  It's all explained in quite a lot of detail, but James Morton also takes quite a relaxed attitude to making it.

I started with some easy (non-sourdough) rolls that everyone loved.

Then I moved on to Advanced White Bread.  Fancy huh?

First I made a sourdough starter, which took a couple of days.  In fact it seems to be getting livelier the older it is.  Here's the flour and water stage.

Then I kneaded some dough and left it to rise.  It really amazed me how bubbly it was.

I don't have a picture of the finished thing, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Yesterday I made a sourdough overnight in the bread machine, and it honestly is amazing how much it rises without any ordinary packet yeast in it at all.

No yeast!

There are lots of other ideas I'd like to try.

I love the idea of natural yeasts, which are left to prove for much longer than ordinary dried yeast.  The book says that once you have a sourdough starter it can be used in pretty much any bread.  In the meantime it's sat in the kitchen quietly bubbling away, and being fed once a day to keep it going.

Last night was parents' evening at school.  We all went together.  During the littlest's turn we were having a light-hearted chat about being good.  Jokingly he said that Daddy is naughty.  The eldest, to my horror, piped up and said, "Mummy's really naughty, she swears all the time!"  I was literally left speechless.  I really don't, I promise, although a bad word may have slipped out a couple of days before which was probably what he was referring to.   I sat there in front of the teacher going pink, then red and wishing the floor would open up and swallow me.  It was actually like being back at school.  I'm sure I will be the talk of the staffroom now.  "Of course, you know his mother swears all the time, it explains a lot."  I'm actually a pretty quiet person, so they probably also have me down as some sort of psychopathic Jekyll and Hyde character as well.  Careful not to set her off.  Sigh.  I spent the rest of the time in a bit of a trance.  No idea what any of the children are doing at school at all.  Mostly I was concentrating on not swearing.

Remembrance

"They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
  Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. 
  At the going down of the sun and in the morning
  We will remember them."
                                                                                                               Lawrence Binyon "For the Fallen"
                                                                                                                                        September 1914