Introducing ...

Water Tiger

And Metal Rat

We now have his and hers Tiller Pins!

Mine still needs a bit of work.

Instant garden - I hope

I brought this little lot home from Rob's and have laid it like carpet in a corner of the front garden. Okay over to Mother Nature - done my bit!

I've ridden around here you know!

I used to do endurance riding and so am often found to say as we drive somewhere obscure that I have ridden around here and it really annoys people. At the weekend we went up to Northumberland to stay with friends of Rob. I used to live in Newcastle for about two years and as I loved the area so much when I was back in London and later I returned to the area for week long riding holidays which were brilliant.

The horses stayed at a different farm every night and we were ferried back and forth to a hotel via coach. Except one holiday when we had a coach crash thrown in for free and various farmers were pulled in to take us about in their smelly cars.

So by chance on the way home yesterday we passed the crash site and I was also able to say I've crashed around here you know!

It was on a very steep hill and vehicles are requested to test their brakes before they go down it. Our driver had tested ours and found he didn't have any. We had no inkling that there was a problem until he lurched the coach into the side and into the run off area provided hitting the crash barrier for good measure. He then leapt out the coach and went back up the hill to a Pub for a stiff drink to calm his nerves leaving us all on the coach wondering what had happened!

Because he had put the coach so emphatically in the run off area a crane was required to remove it. So it stayed there all week. Brilliant.

We went out Saturday night to the new Armadillo (not the real name) in Newcastle for a Jazz Concert by somebody we later discovered was the leading Jazz singer of our time! She even had a write up in the Sunday Times the next day. I think her name was Carol Martin but I could be wrong.

We had Tapas before and crossed over the Millenium bridge that was open to allow the trip boats under and made us late. It is supposed to look like an eye opening but I will take their word for it. Good design though. I tried to take photos but they are crap.

Much has changed since I was there, shame we didn't have time for a wander around the university and where I lived.


Anyway ...
Back to the boat.

Liz has painted the bows.

shiny, shiny

Very difficult to photograph the black as all you get is the reflection of the tarpaulin. Still the first coat is on and it is very shiny shiny. Liz has done a good job I think.










The back hatch is now lieing on the tug deck waiting for Liz to paint - you can see the horses peering through the gap.

As you can see they are bomb proof and the flapping of the tarps and the occasional thump of the bags of stones and large boulders being chucked off the wall by the tarps don't bother them at all.

It is a pain putting the weights back on the wall as the electric fence is about 18 inches away from the wall. I am pretty certain it isn't switched on but all the same I am careful not to touch it with my bare hands! Liz being smaller than me is not able to do the funny hop to get through the gap so she crawls underneath!












Demonstrating the clever temporary hatch that Bryan has made for while the big hatch is not at home.

So exciting

I have received a text from Liz saying she is starting with the first top coat on the field side of the boat and would appreciate no interruptions!

So exciting ...

Gazebos - so versatile

Small boy and I put up this lovely Gazebo from Argos. The tarpaulin is tied to a bush in the field over the wall and the legs of the Gazebo are tied together under the boat so hopefully it won't blow away!

I plan to put in some more pegs once I have found my mallet. I had to use a stone. Ugg Ugg.

And now

For something completely different!

Using the potatoes that had grown arms and legs I planted them in to these flower pots. Shallow at first then as they grew gradually adding more compost until they reached the top. The blue one I did first so yesterday I dug around in there and




This is what I got. The little ones are Anya potatoes and the larger ones ordinary ones - provenance unknown.

I think I will have mash tonight.