A cheeky weekend in Lincolnshire...

 

Spitfire AB910

As we have both a new tent and an extended camping trip over the time we've done before coming up, we decided that a trial run was a good plan, so last weekend saw us heading up to Lincolnshire for the weekend. A campsite was found at East Kirkby - which just so happened to be attached to a pub. Pure coincidence of course...well, partly! (Namecheck for the Red Lion pub & Campsite - which is excellent and comes highly recommended).

A new tent inevitably takes a while to get used to - so pitching takes a little longer than it used to. It's also at least half as big again as the old one, and although mostly the same style, just the sheer additional size means that it's taking a bit of getting used to. Up it went though, and within around an hour of our arrival at the site we had a fully fitted out tent and were cheerfully sitting outside it in the sunshine eating our lunch. We've gained a few extra odds and ends which is making packing the car fun - the way up was distinctly shonky, the way home much better, and I fully suspect that the next trip will prove even better - and preferably without the risk of either of us being brained by a kettle in the event of a sudden stop as could quite easily have happened on the way up at least this time! 

The new tent! 

Lunch consumed, we headed off to an RSPB reserve that we had last visited a few years ago, and would have greatly enjoyed on that occasion had it not been for the torrential downpour that struck half way round, leaving us completely soaked through. Thankfully both a set of dry clothes and facilities to change in were available or the journey home on that occasion would have been very unpleasant. This time the weather stayed dry through our visit, and RSPB Frampton Marsh was confirmed as a really lovely place for a walk - even in the exceptionally blustery conditions of the day. I left my camera in the car and had no regrets about doing so as a result of that wind. As the light dropped, so did the temperature, and after eating dinner back at the tent the evening was spent in the pub drinking very nicely kept pints of Batemans XB.

Artwork at RSPB Frampton Marsh

Saturday morning dawned beautifully bright and sunny, and thankfully that nasty wind had dropped, so after a quick bacon butty breakfast we hopped in the car and drove the short distance to RAF Coningsby where my pal Andy was taking one of the BBMF Spitfires up for a practise display or two. AB910 was the aircraft in question - a MkV machine, and Andy's personal favourite from the fleet - recently returned to the flight after several seasons away undergoing deep maintenance. We stopped first at the BBMF hangar where Andy was just conducting his walkaround - hellos were exchanged and we agreed to catch up after his flight, and after watching him taxi out Mr EH and I drove round to one of my favourite spots to watch/photograph the practise. As a bonus Claire was also there, so a great chance for a quick catch up with her also! A lovely display, and a nice chat, and all in fantastic weather too! 

Andy taxies out in AB910

The Blue Bell pub - Tattershall Thorpe

MrEH and I then decided to have a quick wander to Coningsby village before driving across to nearby Boston for a walk there (and a visit to a lovely Good Beer Guide pub!) before heading back to the campsite via the Blue Bell pub at Tattershall Thorpe - a pub steeped in wartime history and FULL of memorabilia. The picture above shows pennies left by airmen from the nearby bases in readiness to pay for their beer on their next visit. For many of them though there was no next visit, and the pennies remain, wedged into the beams as a very special tribute.  Another evening meal was eaten in the tent, and just a quick beer in the pub this time as we were both quite tired and conscious of the need for a fairly early start to get packed up the next day. 

St Botolphs Church - Boston

As with getting pitched in the first place, a new tent makes everything slower on take-down as well. One big change is that our old (smaller, far lighter) tent used to travel on the back seat of the car - the new one is simply too heavy for this as it would turn into a missile in the event of that sudden stop, so it has to go into the boot. The complication here as you might imagine is that this in turn  means that the tent needs to go into the car ahead of rather a lot of the stuff from inside it, which creates some logistical headaches! We got there in the end, and by 11.30 we were away.

Tattershall Church

First stop this time was back to Coningsby for a walk we hadn't had time for the day before - out to Tattershall Castle and church across the fields, then back via the river and village. A quick stop to grab some lunch and we were back in the car for the hours drive across to RSPB Langford Lowfields - another reserve we'd visited previously although not had the time to really do it justice. This visit we had far longer, and walked did the circuit right the way round the main part of the reserve with bird sightings including this cute little Sedge Warbler...

Sedge Warbler - RSPB Langford Lowfields

All in all a really enjoyable weekend - there should have been more BBMF flying on Saturday, but as is the way of things sometimes that was cancelled. While it would have been nice to see more, the lack certainly didn't in any way spoil the trip and we found plenty else to do. A few days in the tent with an objective eye was a good way of reassuring any concerns ahead of the longer we stay we have planned for a few weeks time, and overall we're still delighted with it, having proper headroom in a tent makes such a difference to camping! A few additional/replacement items have been identified as needed also, so we'll be sorting those before heading off again. 

Robyn

Looking back...

 

This is Mussenden Temple - part of the Downhill Demesne in Northern Ireland. I first visited when I had some spare time on the evening ahead of the Portrush Airshow when I went across in 2014 I believe it was, and was so utterly charmed by it I have been back several times since, including on a trip with MrEH a few years later. 

From the Temple itself - perched on the edge of the cliff with stunning views in both directions, to the fascinating ruined 18thC mansion, it's a wonderful way to pass a few hours at relatively low cost - parking is now chargeable for non national Trust members, but at a very reasonable £10 per day, and there are no admission charges for the estate itself as far as I know. 

We've been discussing the possibility of another short trip to Northern Ireland at some point, and looking back at this picture and others makes me want to do that sooner rather than later! 

Robyn

Gardening in the community...

 

In an area that I regularly walk through on my way from where we park the car, to the office, can be found a series of small garden areas looked after by a group called Wanstead Community Gardeners. A quick internet search finds their website too - a delightful, whimsical space where they go into more detail about their organisation (a group essentially for anyone who wants to join) and the areas they look after (far more plentiful than I had imagined - ranging from tree pits to surprisingly substantial garden spaces) and it was one of the latter that caught my attention this morning. 

An area of formerly neglected ground hugging the wall dividing George Green from the busy A12 has been transformed by the group - they use whatever they can get their hands on to form their garden spaces as well as digging flower beds and planting directly into the soil. This one incorporates an old metal water tank as well as a wheelbarrow. They also use reclaimed items to create their signs for the various planting areas - while walking around the area I've seen old childrens slate-boards, upturned spades, and on their website there is a picture of an old edging tool being used in this way! Probably the most commonly used ttem I have spotted is old roofing slates - you can see one of those in the top image. 

As well as the flowers there are also herbs scattered throughout - a good example being the lush sage in the foreground of the second photo, and by way of other edibles are what look to be fruit trees - I may stop for a better look at some stage as I pass by but what do we think (photo above) - apples? Cherries perhaps? 

The planting used to continue along the wall where the fenced are you can see in the background of the last photo there is - it appears though that since that area has been fenced off, the community gardeners no longer have access, which is a shame - that space looked far better with their input! 

If you want to know more about the Community Gardeners, have a look at their website HERE - sadly the blog doesn't seem to have been updated in recent years, but there is some nice info about what they've got up to previously, at least! 

Robyn

A very Good Friday!

 Although we do have an absolute mass of garden jobs to be getting on with this weekend, we had decided early on that we also wanted to fit in a day out - and had decided that one of our favourite RSPB reserves at Minsmere in Suffolk was where we wanted to head. Minsmere has been a favourite for years now - lots of different trails, a range of habitats from coastal and wetland through to heathland and wooded areas means there is always a likelihood of seeing a brilliant range of birds, and it’s a fabulous place to walk.

We headed off fairly early - treating the day like a normal Friday in that respect and leaving the house at the sort of time we would usually be going out for a walk from home before MrEH starts work. Traffic was fairly light, and we arrived at the reserve as planned at around 10.30am. Our RSPB membership means we get free admission, so we headed straight to the cafe to grab breakfast - which was a fantastic ciabatta style roll absolutely STUFFED with bacon and sausages, not cheap at £7.80 each but we both agreed actually really good value.

After polishing those off - MrEH had coffee and I had a generous pot of tea to wash them down - we definitely felt like a walk was needed! Our regular route sees us heading off towards the coast, then looping back towards the visitor centre before heading off through the woodland and out onto Whin Hill and back towards the centre that way. We call in at the various hides as we go to see what can be seen on the scrapes, and always linger a bit around the coastal section too. At this time of year you can’t walk up and over the hill, so we retraced our steps around the edge. A lovely walk - and the addition of some stuff to our birding year list too, Mediterranean Gull, Barnacle Geese, a lovely juvenile Kittiwake, Sand Martins and probably the sighting of the day, a Bittern.Sandwich Terns were also nice to see - we usually get Common Terns locally, and the Hebrides generally provides Arctic and Little Terns, but the Sandwich variant is one we see far less often.

There is a long-standing tradition that a trip to Aldeburgh follows a visit to Minsmere, and far be it for us to break with tradition, so back in the car we hopped for the short drive through. Ice creams first - from Ives - barely recognisable since the last time we were there as they’ve had a full modernisation. It used to be a classic ice cream shop - a long counter with the queue gently winding past so you had ample time to survey the flavours on offer that day and make your decision. Now the shop is - strangely - far smaller, and people queuing ahead of you block your view, making the choice feel a bit more rushed and last minute. We both agreed that we didn’t like it as much - and it feels like a negative rather than a positive step, although I imagine it works better for the staff. A walk along the coast to the marina, then on a new-to-us path between the River Alde and the creeks was a nice change - although in the blustery conditions also fairly hard going! 

Then a stroll in the other direction - towards although not actually as far as the Scallop Shell sculpture on this occasion - I absolutely love it but it appeared to be very busy with lots of folk using it for shelter from the wind! 

All even slightly regular visits to Aldeburgh know that a look at “Snooks” to see how he is attired is a must - we assume that local knitters take care of ensuring that he is dressed appropriately for the occasion, just look how pleased he looks with his Easter bonnet, bunny and chicks! 

Finally- and it’s another “must do” is of course Fish and Chips. We’ve never tested the theory but we think it’s actually illegal to go to Aldeburgh and NOT have F&C! Sadly far too windy this time to sit on the sea wall and eat them as we usually would, but a good compromise was found by driving the car along to the coastal car park and sitting in the car with them there instead. Delicious haddock - super fresh and always cooked to order, with lashings of salt and vinegar, SUCH a treat!  

The local gulls don’t miss a trick though - this Herring Gull kept his beady eye on MrEH throughout in spite of the fact that we were literally sitting IN the car, and was clearly MOST put-out that no discarded chips headed his way! 

Finally time to head home - via a quick stop in Ipswich to grab some diesel for my car at a price a fair bit cheaper than we would have got at home, right now shopping around and saving even a few pence per litre is all the more important isn’t it with the way prices have escalated - we are now paying over 30p a litre more than we were just a handful of weeks ago. Worth the diversion, and all in all, it was indeed a very Good Friday! 

Robyn

March in the garden…

 

We suspect the rhubarb is trying to take over the world… above you can see how it looked at the start of the month, and when you reach the end of the post you will be able to see quite how much it’s grown in just those few weeks. We’re looking likely to have a LOT of rhubarb to enjoy this year, and we suspect we will have to divide the crown in the autumn. 

Anemones in the front garden

Sowing has started this month too - the peas straight into the soil (naughtily in the same place as last year as they do work rather well there) and various other things in pots. First to pop their heads up after an early in the month sowing were the sunflowers - we’re on a mission to get some good tall ones this year after next door grew some absolute MONSTERS in 2025! We’ve got several varieties to try so we’re planning to do a second sowing in a few weeks to try and prolong their season a bit too. We’ve also now got a selection of tomatoes sown, plus sweet peas, some radishes and the first lots of herbs - sage,  chives and parsley. 

We’ve made a few purchases this month - the first batch of compost of the year, a bag of vermiculite ready for the main seed sowing, some seeds for varieties of things we needed to top levels up on (my favourite Minibel tomatoes, the Burpless Tasty Green cucumbers we have found good, and the Tromboncino squash I have been wanting to try, plus some other odds and ends that appealed including Black Cumin which will be interesting). Also one of the Potting tables on special offer in the middle of Lidl - £19.99 with the Plus app, we felt we had nothing to lose to give it a try. There were a few minor glitches in the building of it, but nothing insurmountable, and once constructed it feels surprisingly sturdy. It’s the perfect height for seed sowing as well - I’m already finding it really useful. Also from Lidl was a couple of metal trellis pieces - yet to find a home. 

Towards the end of the month there was more work done on the repainting of the office and shed - we’ve had to put that on hold through the winter as it’s been so damp we couldn’t sand the areas that need prepping for painting, we need to get through as much as possible now though so the mini greenhouse can be set up ready for the seedlings. 

The other useful thing we have discovered is that our local branch of a well known DIY chain known for it’s orange branding have a box in their entrance for recycling of plastic plant pots - and it’s surprising how often something which someone else has viewed as rubbish proves to be treasure as far as we’re concerned! We’ve gained several pots which will be perfect for tomato plants, and a whole load of useful module trays too which are already coming in handy. A donation dropped into the charity box means that everyone wins!   

There - rhubarb with ideas of world domination, see! Apparently a lot of people are reporting prolific early growth this year, so it’s not just us. I reckon by the time I write next month’s post, we’ll have had our first harvest from it! 

Robyn

March Reading...

 

Having finished the previous book on the final day of February, March has started with a completely fresh one - but a rather familiar author! This is the point that some of my reading this month might actually get to be done outdoors - one of my chief joys as the weather warms up is being able to sit in the garden at weekends, or in the park near to work at lunchtime on working days, and enjoy the sunshine and a few chapters of whatever I'm reading at the time - an unseasonably warm day in February did give me one opportunity to enjoy the park, but I'm hopefully this month will allow plenty more of that!

The familiar author then...? Well if you guessed Lee Child, you would be spot on - TheMidnight Line being the book this time. Another classic Reacher adventure - with the usual amount of retribution delivered to the bad guys while our hero marches on turning bad into good. This was another find in my favourite local charity shop - the main reason it is my favourite is that their paperbacks are still 50p each and they always have masses of them! 

Relatively unusually for me my paper reading was augmented with a book on my tablet this month. I always have a few books lined up on there ready for reading when a real book isn’t practical, and the tube journey back from meeting my pal Max at the RAF Museum in Hendon at the start of the month was one of those occasions as the bag I wanted to take wasn’t big enough for my physical book. I generally prefer non fiction if I’m reading on a screen, and at the moment I’m working my way through Ben Carpenter’s Fat Loss Habits - which aims to debunk many of the various myths surrounding diets and diet culture, as well as addressing (as the title suggests) the habits which can actually help with intentional weight loss. Ben’s writing is good - I follow him on social media and he writes in much the same way as he speaks -  a dry wit, very matter of fact and with a fair spattering of Fs! It will probably take me a lot longer to finish this one than any of the paperbacks I more often read

Back to paper format and Paula Hawkins with Into The Water. She is the author of “The Girl on the Train” which I read years ago and enjoyed enough to keep even with our then “one in one out” policy on books thanks to the limited space in the flat. This was a little slower to get started, but by the time I was a few chapters in I’d got to grips with both characters and subject matter. Quite dark, quite intense, and a storyline that twisted and turned right to the final pages. A really good read but very much a book that once you know the story it probably isn’t one to read again, so this one will be heading back to the charity shop. 

Next up - another return to an old favourite author and lead character in the shape of the Rebus series from Ian Rankin, the book this time being A Heart Full of Headstones. Set immediately post-Covid and after Rebus' retirement from the Police, the book opens with him in court, accused of, well, that we are yet to find out! The book tells us the background to the court case, and is written with Rankin's usual pace and thoughtful linking together of aspects of the plot - weaving characters and plotlines throughout is his speciality. Absolutely no spoilers from me - but this didn't disappoint and will be joining the others on the shelf! 

Final book of the month was another from Richard Osman - We Solve Murders is another wittily written tale. Entertaining characters and a good, if rather far-fetched, storyline made this an easy read, although the short chapters mean that the oft-repeated phrase in my house "I'll just read a chapter then do X" has lead to less reading and more "doing"! Very similar to the Thursday Murder Club that I read a few months ago - a great fun, low effort read. I'll cheerfully seek out his books again! This one was devoured in a matter of days and will now wing its way back to the charity shop. 

Robyn 

Just another Manic(s)...Thursday!

 

There are a few bands or artists that I occasionally do a quick search to see if they are doing any live gigs that we might be able to get to - and for a long time one of those bands has been the brilliant Manic Street Preachers. We both love their music and have seen them live before - albeit not for a number of years as the planets just haven't aligned - either the dates were wrong, or the location was wrong, or they were playing as part of a festival and the cost was wrong. Sometimes none of those things were wrong but I just found out about the dates too late to get tickets. Imagine my delight then if you will when I searched a few weeks ago and spotted an upcoming gig at the end of this month, in London, with seats available from just £40, AND with those particular tickets still available too! Needless to say, I pounced!

Support act The Joy Formidable 

That is why on Thursday evening after we both finished work, we met in a favourite pub in Hammersmith for a quick beer before making our way to the Royal Albert Hall for a concert in the Teenage Cancer Trust series - as it turned out, the 150th such concert to have been held at the venue - indeed we were given a cute little badge confirming this! The Albert Hall is fabulous, and the chosen tickets were in the rather unique "choir seats" up behind the stage, and flanking the pipes of the venue's magnificent organ. Ours were in the very back row too - a great location for the sort of gig where you feel you might want to stand up and have a bit of a dance! 

We arrived and found our way to the seats shortly ahead of the support act coming on - after navigating the venue's  rather idiosyncratic signage which lead to us entering the row from the wrong end...I got the impression that everyone else at our end of the row had also done the same thing too! Support was a Welsh 3-piece called the Joy Formidable who were extremely good - although they would have been better with their backing tracks toned down just a little for my money - musically they were superb but at times it was slightly tricky to actually hear how good! 

A short interval gave the opportunity to visit the loo, and there was a short film about the charity shown to those who had seats they could see the screen from (not us!) as well as the chance to applaud some of those that the charity have helped - they were being given a backstage experience to remember judging by the smiles as they walked onto the stage! And then it was time for the main part of the evening as the Manics took the stage! 

They didn’t disappoint -a mix of plenty of hits, some older less often heard stuff, and some covers, including The Cure’s Close to Me (dedicated to concert series curator Robert Smith). You Love Us was dedicated to Richey Edwards - the band’s former lyricist and rhythm guitarist who went missing in 1995, they have never replaced him and still clearly consider him to be part of the band, which is rather lovely. Inevitability from where we were sitting you get a mix of sound which isn’t quite what the rest of the auditorium hears - but it still sounded great, we certainly wouldn’t hesitate to get tickets for those seats again. James Dean Bradfield made sure that he remembered there were people sitting up there too - with a hands up salute to the seats on his first guitar change after coming onto the stage, and turning to play towards us at regular intervals through the gig too - Bassist Nicky Wire did similarly on the other side.  

All in all  brilliant gig for a very reasonable price indeed. We will now revert to occasional checks for more live stuff -and the hope that the date/location/price factors all align again soon! We’ve also agreed that we fancy going to see more stuff at the Albert Hall, and will definitely be keeping an eye for the Teenage Cancer Trust series again next year. 

Robyn