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

Small things...

 

Discovering that the big supermarket close to the office had a whole load of flowers reduced dramatically down in price after work on Wednesday - presumably leftovers from mothers day. I treated myself to two bunches of tulips for a bargain price of £1.63, not "frugal" as such, but a little burst of brightly coloured joy in the window for a very reasonable cost! I adore tulips - we had an array of yellow and red ones in the garden at the flat, and they were one of the first things I got planted in our garden at the house, too!

The beautiful weather this week - chilly first thing (indeed, we have had a frost several mornings) but the most glorious clear blue skies and sunshine making the world just feel a brighter, more cheerful place! 

Having finally taken the plunge and ordered myself a new bike. The current one has done me proud for several years, having been given to me by a former neighbour, but it's not a style I particularly like, it's heavy and it also needs substantial amounts of work to get it to a reliably functioning state. Given the choice of spending a fair amount on a bike that honestly I don't find really suits my needs that well, and spending a little more to buy something which hopefully well, I jumped onto the final days of a sale to save  myself over £100 on a nice sports hybrid which with luck will enable me to get further afield faster and more comfortably!

Starting to feel the benefit of regular yoga practice. I often tend to start the year with unrealistic plans to "do yoga every day" and that then falters a couple of months into the year. This year's plan was to "do some yoga most days" - and so far, I'm sticking to generally 4 - 6 times a week depending on what else is occurring. That said, at time of writing I'm struggling with a trapped nerve in my back thanks to a bit too much stretching last night, I suspect - so it's not all good! 

Future plans: Bargain priced tickets to a gig for a band we both love. Free admission to the London Transport Museum's Acton Depot open weekend because of our Friends of the Museum membership. Several planned camping trips, plus a day trip up to one of our favourite areas on the Suffolk coast during the upcoming easter weekend...nothing there that will cost us a vast sum of money, but little things to look forward to. As before when we were clearing the mortgage, we're taking the view that a balance of frugality and fun is the way to go - it's a long haul, and making life miserable to get the mortgage gone sooner is not in the plan! 

Robyn

Has it Sprung?!

 

Well hasn’t it been lovely starting to see the sights and hear the sounds of spring over the last few weeks? All of a sudden there is birdsong everywhere - our local Blackbirds are shouting from the trees, the Wrens are posturing all over the place, and the Blue, Great and Long Tailed Tits are chasing round in circles! Possibly my favourite of all at this time of year though are the Dunnocks. Generally shy, skulking little birds - drab in appearance with their grey heads and brown bodies - you barely see them until suddenly in spring - there they are right out in the open singing the most beautiful fluting song. Once paired up, they return to the undergrowth until the following Spring. We fairly often get one down in the garden - and in spite of their usual shyness it’s astonishingly trusting, happy to hop around even when it clearly knows we’re here, and watching,

Things are flowering beautifully all over too - although it’s to be hoped not too early allowing for the sudden cold snap and frosts this weekend. The blackthorn (above) seems to have lots of blossom again this year which promises a good haul of sloes for  the birds - and gin of course! We’ve had fairly significant frost here, although not reaching to the ground with any force, thankfully. Out and about the Magnolias are stunning this year - I’ve heard lots of people commenting on it too so that’s clearly not just down here!

Camellia too - I love the way these get so utterly covered in beautiful vibrantly coloured flowers. It’s definitely something  I would have if possible, although we definitely don’t have space here. No option for a Magnolia here either - there is a long running family joke about the space THOSE need after Auntie D planted on in their front garden years ago. My Nan tried to tell her it would grow too big and not be practical in the location she had chosen, but she was adamant that she wanted one... “They’ll be removing that again - you mark my words!” was Nan’s prophecy. Sure enough there followed a number of years of the Magnolia getting larger and larger, and of course promptly dropping its petals all over the driveway AND the parked car…and LOTS of gritted teeth from D but an utter refusal to give in and remove the offending plant. Strangely enough within a few months of Nan’s death, the tree was gone..! 

Another beautiful plant making an appearance at this time of year is the pretty blue Periwinkle - often found climbing through railings in parks - this one is a local authority gardeners favourite it seems. The pictured one is at the little gardens I often sit and eat my lunch in during the summer months - a sudden but intense splash of colour as you walk past. 

There is plenty of spring colour and life in our own garden too of course, but I’ll leave that for an “In the garden” post I think! 

Robyn

Looking back...

 

Looking all the way back to 2007 for this one, yet still a day I remember really clearly, as does MrEH.

We were in the Hebrides, and hopped on the ferry across to Barra for a day trip. If I remember rightly on leaving Uist the weather was fine, and indeed, on arrival at Ardmhor where the little ferry from Eriskay arrives, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. As we made our way around the island it began to get a little more overcast, although still fairly bright...and then we arrived at Castlebay, the main settlement on the island, to find the entire place cloaked in mist! we followed through with our intention to drive a little way up the road above the Village - the plan being that it would give us a good view across that part of the island without having to physically climb a hill that we didn't really have time to tackle, but by that stage we could really see very little at all. We parked in a convenient place and got out regardless - it was quiet, that almost eerie quiet you get in really misty conditions sometimes. Suddenly with no warning whatsoever, a gap blew in the mist and we got a view across the bay with Kisimul Castle making an appearance. I had the camera handy and so fired off a couple of shots before the mist closed in again. 

For the entire day, one half of the island stayed bright and sunny while the other was stayed foggy, cold and damp - very strange indeed, and allowing for the island only being so small, it really highlighted how localised weather can be up there!

Robyn

Looking back...

 

This handsome little chap is of course a Puffin - so many people's favourite bird it seems, I suspect mostly because of their quirky and striking appearance. This one was pictured on our second trip to the Farne Islands in July 2012, and I stumbled across the photo when looking through some older stuff on the computer I use for work. I think this is actually the third time I've used this particular photo on here - but I suspect not too many folk remember the other occasions! 

Although we've been across to Farne twice, on neither occasion have we managed to have the trip we actually expected. The first time in 2008 we landed on Staple Island but then had to leave again after a few hours because poor weather was closing in more rapidly than expected. The second time was the opposite issue - we made it to Inner Farne but an unexpected level of swell meant that we couldn't do the transfer to Staple island for the second part of the trip - we did however get an extended amount of time where we were though!

We've very much decided that we fancy a further trip to the Islands - and although it is unlikely to be this year, we might perhaps manage something in the next couple of years instead. While the loss of the Great British Beer Festival is sad, it has at least opened up holiday time for us to get back to doing all sorts of other things w enjoy!