Gardening In Lostock

A day of gardening and birthday cake over at Granma and Audrey's. A bit cooler thankfully. Archie is home for a couple of days. He enjoys a bit of gardening - lopping the very tall shrubs that have taken over at the side of the house.

Gardening at Granma's

Archie was home from the weekend and he got cajoled into doing some gardening whilst he was here. Granma andf Audrey needed a trellis putting up to save their floppy climbing plant which had tied itself in knots and was lying helpless on the ground for ages now. The flimsy plastic trellis was useless really - not even support for two weedy sweet peas! So Archie put some wooden battens up and cursing the poor tools he had to contend with he did the best he could. It took four of us to man handle the triffid like plant up against the wall - tendrils kept trying to strangle us - or so it seemed. Would have made an amusing photo but our hands were occupied! Later we had some tea and biscuits and sat in the garden enjoying what brief sunshine there was.

Gardening

 Busy day - shopping and taking Archie to station so he could take some work to the AIR gallery in Altringham (Open exhibition soon ). We went on to town and got a few bits. Hazel bought me two pairs of new sun glasses as the others were broken or cracked. Got 4 DVD's a CD for a quid in the charity shop next to Partners. Picked Archie up later from Lostock station. Home for some lunch. Later went to do some gardening at Granma and Audrey's - trimming hedges etc. Archie mended the bench and chairs in the back garden. Big grey clouds loomed over us but no rain - hoorah!

Boot Sale at Blakemere

 2nd boot of the year at Blakemere this morning after shopping at the Co-op. Very warm and sunny.  Lots of people and mostly wihtout masks which is always rather alarming considering the infection numbers rising again.  Anyway, we wore our masks and tried to keep away from people which was almost impossible.  Hopefully get less nervous about crowds as the Summer goes on.  Hazel got a few items that were useful - the garden skewers?  the child dummy hands, the brass door knob and the 1905 book about Cheshire which mentions our village " Rudheath is well known as a sanctuary for the criminal classes"!    Ha ha!  It hasn't changed all that much then!  Afterwards to Granma and Audrey's to do some gardening and try out the new fangled "Dandelion Lifter" which took Hazel about an hour to put together.  Once constructed it worked rather well - lifting out the weeds with a twist and leaving a neat hole in the lawn, suitable for a small putting green!   The offending dandelion ( I would happily keep them but Granma hates them )  can be judiciously ejected into the bin from several feet distant.  Saves bending over with a trowel I suppose.

Camdenhurst St. Stepney - Tuesday 9th August 1977

Dear C , R & A, Hope you are all well. Just thought I'd send you one of my posters for your perusal, or your coal shed. At the bottom it should read "Supported By The Greater London Arts Association", but as it does not acknowledge them in this fashion I'm afraid I won't be getting the £50 grant they offered me. Very annoying. I was out in my bountiful garden this afternoon, weeding , hoeing and generally messing about. I planted some leeks but I think it's rather too late for such a move. Have to wait and see I suppose. I pulled the broad beans out and lifted my onions to dry off. The runner beans have lots of blossom and bees so I'm hoping for a bumper crop there. The sunflowers are rather stunted but beautiful all the same silent sentinels around the edge of my little allotment , nodding at each other in the breeze. Have you heard from Bill and Lynne yet? Bill scratched his phone number on my front door but that's as near as they've got to actually communicating with me. I sent them a letter as the public phone box near here is little better than a public urinal! I have a great gas cooker now courtesy of Dick's Auntie Joan. Dick came round to fix it up for me. What a kind fellow. They have also invited me to Paris for a couple of weeks to stay with Richard Bollard. I hope to scrape enough money togther to go, as I feel I've earned a short holiday after my traumatic scrapyard and beetroot experiences! "Take It From Here" is on later tonight which I am looking forward to, and I believe the Goons are being repeated next week. Hooray! I am reading Norman Lindsay's autobiography at the moment which is quite amusing ( for an Australian ). He wrote "The Magic Pudding", a lovely book, also a Tom Sawyerish trilogy that includes "Saturdee" "Redheap" and "Halfway To Anywhere", which I urge you to read if you haven't already. It's really nice not having to use that nasty camping gaz stove of my brother-in-laws anymore. Now I can cook pies, flans and baked potatoes and not end of interesting things. Cooking has become a pleasure again. I have a couple of things in the Whitechapel Open, which I've told you about I'm sure. The show itself is rather more interesting than previous years as they've tended to show work by young practicing artists from the area and not so much "sunday painters" stuff. Nothing sold yet unfortunately , not that I expect it really. I have a good organic gardening book that Dick and Cheryl gave me. I've been reading how to make effective sprays with garlic and household refuse, also what herbs and flowers keep pests away. Very useful. I do hope you are well and will write soon. Love Michael.

Gardening and Fish and Chips

Nice day over at Granma's and Audrey's again to help out with garden ( well, I read the paper and played on my tablet ) Hazel and Archie did most of the work. For lunch we tried the Codfather - a well known fish and chip emporium on the way to B&Q. I jumped out to order whilst Hazel and Audrey went to get some plants and WD40 to mend benches in the back garden. Delicious fish and the chips were OK too. So much for our diet! Gardening interrupted by a couple of rain showers.

Gardening etc.

Quite a busy day starting off in town just wandering the charity shops etc. Met up with Hazel and Archie at ABDA cafe for a coffee and look round the latest exhibition upstairs. Nice to see the town so busy despite no artisan market. Didnt find any bargains - considered a strange LP in the marekt but just ended up posing with it for Hazel to take a silly photo. Later went over to granma's and Audrey's to help with the gardening - lopping back the larger shrubs that had gone a bit wild. Filled up a green wheely bin with cuttings. Had some tea and macaroons bought in France. Granma didn't like them much but we did. Made a roast dinner later that seemed strange in such hot weather but we are sick of constant salads! This low cal diet is getting harder to cope with but we are still trying. Feel slightly lighter but this may be my fevered imagination craving bread and potatoes! Family film was "City OF Lost Children" which seems even more incompresensible the more you watch it!