Computer Time, Flowers and Sunshine

Spent the morning in front of a computer and doing various admin type tasks. Managed to get out into the sunshine in the garden for lunch before plunging back into the computer zone by doing some tech support for my neighbours with their new-to-them Mac. Got out into the sun with Bella finally and enjoyed the sight of this little buddleia flower in another neighbour's front garden.

Sunflowers against a clear blue sky - better late than never!

I was taken by this white rose as I passed. 

This red rose shows up well, which goes against what I wrote in yesterday's blog.

Quite an inventive numberplate for the firm's name.

Charlcombe Manor's chimneys framed against the blue sky.

In Charlcombe churchyard, Bella found an enormous stick which she happily chewed away at while I photographed the red lichen on this rowan tree

Charlcombe churchyard - a peaceful resting place…

Not a desert cactus but a young monkey-puzzle tree in the Bath sun.

As September gets going, so do the elderberries. Time for jam and wine-making if you're so inclined.

Coming across into the top of Charlcombe valley, the landscape looked beautiful in the sunshine.

I though I heard a tractor somewhere and then I saw it in the field down the hill. Now the fields have finally been mowed I'm not sure they'll be any good for hay, given the number of dogs that go through there!

Somehow in the middle of a mown field, Bella found a old tennis ball (minus it'souter cover). The enormous stick was immediately discarded in favour of her new pride and joy!

On the road back home, saw this on a van - is this for ravers and clubbers, I wonder?

This day a year ago, (constant theme emerging here…) we were exploring ways of finding money to enable us to live in Greece - renting this house out, selling and downsizing in the UK, not buying in the UK? These questions are still live topics of conversation today! Su posted this lovely picture of a friend's cat Cirrus.

Sniffing Bella, The Problem With Reds, Off to Timsbury and Wood Delivery

This morning, I took Bella on a walk we haven't done for some time, so every blade of grass and twig had to be sniffed intently. It was therefore a longer than expected walk that gave me to time to notice things - like this pretty pendant resting, not on red velvet, but the top of a flaking postbox

A casualty of a parking mishap? 

One major issue with my iPhone camera is that some colours don't come out well. Purples can be tricky, but reds in particular are hard to get any definition with. So, this flower photograph had to have the contrast and the saturation quite severely reduced to achieve any detail at all.

These bindweed flowers come out in all their detail.

Here is Bella sniffing an extremely interesting patch of vegetation after being called from up the hill.

We went out after lunch to Timsbury to look at a possible house for us to move to. As a component of our scheming to move to Greece, we need to downsize our UK base - but this is a continuing saga with no obvious resolution yet, so keep on watching this space!.Went past Bath's splendid Lansdown Crescent on the way - they had a small flock of sheep grazing the grass down the hill from here (used instead of a lawn mower!).

The Moscow State Circus is in town, and we guessed that this wagon was joining the encampment in Victoria Park. 

Lots of car transporters about on the roads at the moment - we surmised that this is because of the recent changeover to the "62" registration plate this month.

Went past my favourite church spire in Marksbury again on our way to Timsbury. You can see three of the four little turrets in this shot.

Just along from the nice house we went to look at, I noticed this postbox ("Post your prayer requests in here and we will pray for you.") on the house next to the church. Wonder what the prayers pray for (please stop leaving prayer requests?).

Came home to meet up with Keith from the Hope and Homes for Children charity who was due to deliver a load of wood for us to burn in our woodstore. Found him already parked up and all the wood offloaded, which was very much appreciated. Just as well we had left our traffic cones to reserve the space for his wagon while we were out. We then just had to truck the wood through the house…

…  to the woodstore. This is the fullest we have ever had it, as a consequence of our decision to burn only wood (and not coal) in our multi-fuel stove. I carried the logs through (and clumsily dropped one on Su's poorly toe) while she stacked them up. "It's like dry stone walling, but with logs," she said. "Dry log logging."!

A lovely sunset this evening, a bright end to an otherwise cloudy but warm day. Hope this bodes well for tomorrow's weather.

This day a year ago, I posted a selection of pictures from the Street Party the day before. These were the winners of the fancy dress competition - the conjoined aliens Flobadoodah and Flobadeedah.

Guitars, Vans, Flowers

I could tell it was the end of the Summer holidays this morning - parents back to work and lots of space to park on our road.

Su went off to get her tyres checked ahead of her MoT while I went and bought a hard guitar case for because - breaking news - we have changed our plans again and will now be in Greece for a whole month, four weeks of that on Symi! I am taking my guitar, so need something more robust than my gig bag for the flight (the guitar is just 2cm too wide to fit in the overhead locker!) 

This guitar used to belong to my friend Sandy -  I met up with him just after he had bought it to celebrate getting a job as a sales rep with EMI records. Back then (in 1976) I told him that he should give it to me because it was too good for him! He did exactly that when he died - far too young - in 1999. Playing the guitar makes me think of him still.

Then it was off to the local VW garage to talk about getting the van fixed (it will take a few days till I know what the damage will be to the bank account…).

 Just across the road is where the van ended up last night.

After that, we went off to Prior Park Garden Centre for some lunch. Spotted this unusual conical shaped hydrangea on the way out.

I was also taken by this pretty flower.

We took Bella up to Charlcombe church this afternoon. On the way, I stopped to admire a neighbour's fennel.

The sun had come out by this stage, and Fay's birthday banner sparkled in the light.

Up in the churchyard, Su pointed out this branch that had fused with a bigger one on the old apple tree we sat under.

The lichen on the trees up there is really impressive.

Su spotted these cyclamen already in flower near the Holy Well.

This day a year ago, Su went to the Garden Show in Shepton Mallett before coming along to the street party. Later that evening, she managed to post a most cogent blog after drinking more than her usual amount of wine :-)!

The Garden Show, not the street party :-)

Up to Birmingham in the Van, Back in a Recovery Truck...

It was young Fay next door's 1st birthday today. This was the scene that greeted us first thing this morning.

Great balloons!

We went up to Birmingham to see Ben & Lena - great drive up. The only problem was - after parking the van, I couldn't restart it. One dead battery - and one dead alternator, it turned out. We arranged to be transported back home after a lunch and a lovely walk in Highbury Park, where I saw this bee emerging from a Himalayan balsam flower.

It was a glorious afternoon, and Bella really enjoyed herself diving in a pond and chasing sticks. 

Then it was time for the van to be put on the back of the flat bed truck (incredible feeling of deja vu at this!). The driver was really nice, and let Bella in the cab rather than being stuck in the van on the back of the truck. He also detoured to let Su and Bella off near home before dropping me and the van off at the VW garage. I know what I will be doing tomorrow - the joys of owning an old vehicle…

This day a year ago, I was at the site of the next day's street party, as well as practising with Bob Lang (with news that Frank - our erstwhile bassist - would be putting in an appearance as well!)

Fruit, Flowers and X-Ray Car

After having our neighbours round for dinner last night, it was a late start but a sunny one. These blackberries are finally starting to be worthy of their name.

It seems a bit early, but these cyclamen are poking through in a shady spot already.

Takes me back to when I was playing cowboys and Native Americans - caps for an 8 shooter!

A neighbour's anenomes waving in the breeze.

We were paid a visit by a very vocal and curious magpie.

We took Bella out for a walk up to Charlcombe church this afternoon. Beautiful rose in a garden we passed on the way.

Saw this mini with a brilliantly well-executed paint job. This was the driver's side.

And the passenger's side.

Su found me this glove for my collection of abandoned garments.

She also found this necklace in the churchyard. Left it there for the owner to reclaim.

Came home and started our grape harvest. This was the first of three bunches picked - tasty, and there are quite a few more left on the vine to ripen a little more.

This day a year ago, we went to the funeral of Ruan, our friends' son. The most celebratory of all funerals I have ever been to.