Pave the way

Prior to us buying the motorhome we had been content with the original tarmac drive, and the little bit of adjacent garden, but needing some hard standing to park the new purchase on, we sadly removed the lilac tree and ordered a couple of tons of chippings to cover the garden area with.

It soon became obvious that this idea hadn’t been a good one. With the weight of the motorhome, and the uphill slope of the drive, the wheels just kept spinning on the chippings. So every time we wanted to use the motorhome, a tow rope had to be attached to Dougal disco to pull it off.

Towards the end of 2012, we decided it might be a good idea to have to drive/front garden block paved, so T contacted a few local companies, West Midlands Landscapes came back with the best quote.

We checked some of the work they’d done in the area, and were extremely impressed.

Having a shared drive, we obviously had to consider our neighbour too, but she was only too pleased to go ahead with the work as it was something she’d talked to us about several years ago.

Thursday 9th May was D(rive) Day when work began.

The following photos show how it progressed from a mismatch of tarmac, chippings and slabs into what I’d describe as a superb piece of workmanship.

The motorhome, away for its annual habitation service, leaving the area ready for the workers to begin.

First to arrive was the mini digger, ready to rip out all the old drive. I did wonder if the neighbours thought we’d exchanged the motorhome for this.

Work begins. The lorry had just deposited the pile of base material, and was now removing all the waste rubble.

The end of the first day.

Day two, the base material, flattened with a wacker plate is now down and the sand waits to be spread over the area.

The barricade of bricks waiting to be laid.

The end of day two, the area looks enormous now.

Day three, the sand is down, and the artwork begins.

The end of day three, it’s starting to look good.

The end of day four. Sand had just been brushed into the joints, leaving just a few finishing touches to be done now.

The motorhome was returning the next day, so this hurried photo taken at 7.45pm in fading light, is the only one I managed to take of the whole area minus vehicles.

Apart from a couple of short showers, the sun shone on all four days.

Not something I’d normally wish for, but we could now do with a spot of rain now to wash the surplus sand away.

We are very pleased with the work, and would certainly recommend the company, in fact three neighbours have already enquired about them

Tiptoe through the garlic

At long last spring has decided to show her face, and a hint of green can be seen in the trees and hedgerows.

Walking along the River Arrow – the river that meanders through the town – is always nice at this time of the year, and even more so this year, as winter just didn’t seem to want to go to sleep.

The dogs never seem to object to going there, even when the footpaths are deep with mud, but today was dry, the dogs feet, all twelve of  them (that’s feet, not dogs ) stayed clean and dry.

We watched a Great Spotted Woodpecker, drumming away on the hollow branches of a tree above us, a fascinating sight until he caught us watching him, he then moved off to another tree, that gave more depth to his drumming, looking for a mate perhaps?

The air was heavy with the smell of garlic.

The sight that greeted us as we walked further round the track soon explained the aroma.

Wild garlic was in abundance everywhere. I’ve just googled wild garlic, according to Wiki:

Latin name Allium ursinum – known as ramsons, buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek or bear’s garlic

I like the name Bear’s garlic it conjures up images of many, many years ago, before mans persecution of this magnificent animal, when wild bears would have roamed and foraged on the land.

The only bearlike creature  foraging amongst the garlic today was my huge teddy bear of a dog Jasper.

I also checked on the net, to see what part of the plant, was edible, I was surprised to see the whole plant is, leaves, flowers and roots. It did point out though, that the leaves can be mistaken for Lilly of the Valley, which are extremely toxic. There was certainly no doubt when I rubbed my fingers on these leaves though.

I think I need to forage before it vanishes for another year…… recipes anyone?

I’ll leave you with a photo of the flower, only partly open in this pic, but it looks too pretty to eat.

 

The March Wind doth blow!

OK OK, I know it’s April, but nature’s a tad behind this year here in the UK, and the temperature is more like March.

We still have crocuses croci those pretty little crocus plants flowering, and the daffs have only just appeared.

I’d been quite busy sowing seeds since the beginning of March, and although I’d erected my mini plastic greenhouse ready to transfer everything into, because of the heavy frosts we were still having, until last Monday all were still in the spare bedroom, which was starting to resemble a scene from the day of the triffids.

Anyway, Monday waking to beautiful blue skies, a bit of warmth in the sun, and a forecast of warmer nights I spent most of the day, transferring all my seedlings into their own pots, by the evening all my radishes, rocket, salad leaves and most of my pepper plants were happily sitting on the shelves in the greenhouse.

This area of the Midlands is notorious for late frosts, so I’d decided to keep my tomato plants and a few of the pepper plants indoors just incase.

Tuesday morning I proudly checked my hard work, yes, all my little plants had survived their first night away from the comfort of my bedroom window ledge, I did the same on Wednesday too.

It looked at long last like spring was on its way, there was a bit of a cold wind blowing, but sheltered in the greenhouse, my plants were warm and cosy.

Moving forward to 10pm Wednesday evening T and I are sat indoors, when we hear an almighty crash outside. T looks out of the window and calmly announces ‘your greenhouse has just blown over’

WHAT!!!!!!!!…………I ran outside to see my greenhouse lying face down on the decking  all the little pots and shelving were now lying inside in a pile on what was the zip away door. We struggled to upright it in one go, but with the weight of the compost, and the framework of the greenhouse collapsing we soon realised it would be an impossibility.

So admitting defeat, we opened the zipped up doorway………………to be faced with what looked like a landslip spreading across the decking.

By this time, the air was blue and I was almost in tears T ever the optimist announced ‘Never mind there’s always Asda‘

We salvaged what we could from the disaster. We piled into a heap the remains of the greenhouse and secured it down with the garden furniture in the hope it would still be in our garden the next morning.

The following morning the winds had died down slightly, so we swept the remains of the landslip onto the garden and we I set about trying to repair the framework.

Most of the plastic brackets that had been at the base had cracked or broken completely, so I reassembled the frame with the damaged ones to the top.

The frame with the damaged brackets at the top.

 

 Using some good strong gorilla tape I repaired them the best I could.

The cover which had been covered in muddy compost drying over the decking rails after T had hosed it off.

The remains of all my hard work, waiting for their ‘house to be repaired.

I spent the rest of the day, re-potting, before returning them to the repaired greenhouse. Note the slabs in the base, hopefully to stop any more disasters.

As I mentioned earlier, luckily my tomato plants had stayed indoors, which as you can see are thriving well.

In the garden is the base for a proper greenhouse which should be arriving next week, this will be anchored to the ground, hopefully averting any more disasters.

 

Lucky Black Cat!

Yesterday T and I had decided we’d have a trip into Worcester.

It was a toss up between travelling by train with our senior rail passes and paying a discounted £3.30 each, or travelling for free on the Woosh Bus.

Looking at the time, it became obvious the 09.50 bus had already Whooshed to Worcester, in fact it had probably whooshed back too, so off we set for Bromsgrove rail station for the 12.10 train.

The trains around here seem to have their own personal timetable, so we were pleasantly surprised when our train trundled into the station on time.

I have rather a good little app on my phone, that gives a live report of the location of the train. This was the only photo of the day, as the battery on my little Ixus died

Arriving in Worcester, we made a bee line for Fat Face (a clothing shop). T was looking for some more shorts, and I had a birthday voucher from my daughters to spend.

Voucher spent, and with T still undecided on his shorts, we went for a wander around the shops (while he tried to make up his mind).

Now this was fatal, I can’t walk past a camera shop, without glancing in the window, and there in the shop’s window was a rather smart second hand DSLR body waving at me……‘Hi, you out there, you know you’d like me’

Well, to cut a long story short, the camera came home with me, but after charging the battery several times, it was obvious the battery or the charger were faulty, so after contacting the shop and arranging to exchange whichever, I packed the camera away ready for another trip to Worcester.

I stewed things over in my mind most of the evening, could there be anything else wrong that hadn’t come to light? perhaps it was the camera…..arrrrgh, had I made a mistake buying second hand? should I have spent a bit extra and bought new? would they even consider me doing that?

I was awake bright and early this morning for my second trip to Worcester, my plan was to Whoosh there and back before lunchtime, which meant the 09.50 Woosh bus.

After feeding the dogs, I let them out into the garden. Instead of going down onto the lawn as he usually does, Jasp started running round in circles on the decking with his nose to the ground, I called him in, but he was totally tunnel visioned on the decking boards. I went out to see what was wrong with him…..

“What’s up Jazzy” I said, like I expected him to tell me

I heard a plaintive Meeeeoooooow……‘Huh, it’s a cat is it? come on in Jasp, it’s cold out there!’

Again another louder MEEEEEEOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!

Looking around the garden, and no cat, I suddenly I became horror struck. OMG it was underneath me, UNDER the decking boards. I got down onto my hands and knees, and peering through the boards, I could see a black cat firmly wedged between the joists and the concrete base.

By this time, T had come out to see what all the commotion was, to find me, and Jasp, peering through the boards. “What the hell are you two doing” he asks….

I must admit it must have been an odd sight, both of us peering through the gaps in the decking boards at that time in the morning, well at any time of the day really

‘There’s a cat stuck under there’ I shouted, pointing to the crack in the boards.

Which explains, why at 8am this morning, T was removing the boards.

First one board, but the stupid cat,moved closer to the house.

So then a second board.

The minute the second board was removed, a black streak shot past us both like a rocket. I was armed with my camera, but it all happened so fast, fat chance I had of getting a photo of it.

One relieved cat run off to wherever, and a disgruntled T replaced all twenty four screws.

I made it to the bus stop for the 09.50 bus to Worcester ……with seconds to spare!

I changed the camera for a brand new one…….a Canon EOS 600D……

……..yes P&K, you’ve a lot to answer for

I dare you!

Don’t ever say that to my younger daughter Debs.

Prompted by a post I read over on Pix & Kardz I thought I’d give these pics an airing

I haven’t taken many photographs recently, in fact the last time I went out with the sole purpose of taking some photos, was at the request of  Debs.

Not one to shy away from a bet she had been given, she had phoned me in January to ask for my assistance to take some photos in the snow.

I thought it was going to be in the same vein as the one I posted for the Weekly Photo Challenge – Beyond so armed with my Panasonic FZ28 and fully charged batteries, I set off for her house for the pre arranged time.

Little did I know what I’d let myself in for

“Are you ready then mum”?, she asked, as she headed for the front door.

Huh!, where are we going, I thought you wanted to do a snow angel pic in your back garden? I replied.

“Oh no, I’ve had a change of plan’ came her reply as she closed the front door behind her. “we’re going into the fields just over there”

OMG! Those fields are frequented by dog walkers, we’ll get locked up if anyone sees us!

“Don’t worry mum, lunchtime dog walkers will have been and gone, and we’re too early for the teatime ones, besides, I know the routes they take, so we can avoid that area” 

No-one would be any the wiser seeing a mother and daughter out for a walk with a camera, as we headed over to the far left corner of the field, where there was a stile to climb over.

“Are you ready then mum, you’re going to have to hold my coat”

I furtively looked around, wondering if anyone was watching, ‘err, yes, OK’ 

A quick photo, and back on with her coat.

Wow, that was quite exhilarating” Deb announced, “shall we do some more?”

I started to feel like I was on some photo shoot for a catalogue or something.

We continued over the stream, until we found a suitable place for the snow angel.

I felt cold just watching her,  and the grimace on her face said it all.

She was extremely quick to grab her coat from me and put it back on her shivering body.

We made our way back across the fields towards her house.

Had we been seen? yes!, but only buy some bemused sheep.

It’s that dreaded time of the year

Here in the UK, once a year, all vehicles over three years old are put through quite a strict Ministry Of Transport test to check their roadworthiness, and each year it appears to get stricter and stricter. Granted some of the items checked are major, but others I will admit to finding quite petty.

A full list of failure items are listed here for anyone who wants some bedtime reading.

If you have taken the time to read the list, you will understand why, most folk sit in the test station biting their fingers for forty minutes, remerging into the daylight either jumping up and down and waving a piece of paper in their hand or……head bowed, sinking into a deep depression with ££££ signs flashing in their eyes.

Well yesterday was Happy camper’s (still not been given a proper name) day of reckoning.

It had been hibernating under its dark green cover since November, circumstances had prevented us trundling off to the few campsites that weren’t under water.

Our plan was to take it for a drive to make sure all moving parts were….err moving, and that nothing had seized up anywhere.

T unveiled it, pulling the cover off as a motor manufacturer would unveil a new model, the cover proved to be worth every penny, as there in the dull grey light stood our shiny pride and joy

Last year before we collected Happy Camper, we had re-aranged the front garden by putting a couple of tons of chippings down so we could keep it at home. This had proved a bit of a disaster, what with the weight of the Motorhome and the downward slope to the house, we had found it impossible to drive off the chippings, even with paving slabs under the wheels, so Dougal had been brought into action every time. A bit of a pain, yes, but as T has pointed out……..it is an excellent anti theft device

Yesterday was no different.

T hooking up the tow rope.

Dougal at the ready.

A couple of seconds later and T is rolloing up the tow rope…..

…..and we are on the road and ready to set off.

………first stop was the local Tesco to check the tyres, which amazingly had only lost one pound each.

It was wonderful to be travelling in it again, and it wasn’t long before we started reminiscing about last years wonderful holidays, and where our plans would take us this year.

We did a round trip, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Upton on Severn, Worcester and home.

Lost in conversation, though still with camera in hand, I’m afraid I only managed a pic of Evesham

The main street through the old market town of Evesham, the Town hall is the old building in the centre of the photo. Turn left in front of the Town Hall the pedestrianised Bridge Street, takes you down to the River Avon, which has flooded many times.

Happy Camper ran perfectly, so once home, T took it for the dreaded MOT.

To be honest, we hadn’t expected any problems, but we were both elated to be presented with our piece of paper, stating it’s roadworthiness for another year.

Are you sitting comfortably?

Phew, where do I start.

Almost a month after mum was discharged from my local hospital, my TLC didn’t seem to be working, she was out of her comfort zone, and there was human and dog tension in the air, so on 10th February we made the decision to return her to Yorkshire, in the hope she would feel happier in her own surroundings.

The three hour journey north went without incident, though the weather was lousy. T drove, mum a passenger in the front with Cindy (her little Yorkie) on her knee, all the luggage (mum doesn’t travel light) behind the dog guard in the rear, which left……..

……..the rear seat for Jasper, Sally and me. All I can say is it was a good job for Dougal disco, as it was all very cosy to say the least

The following few days were spent sorting doctors appointments, care workers to visit, prescriptions to be delivered, a dog walker for Cindy, shopping, and anything else I could think of to make mum’s return home as smooth as possible.

Our plan was to leave around lunchtime Friday for the journey home. Feeling quite pleased with myself, at everything I’d managed to set up, I crashed into bed around 10.30pm Thursday night. An hour later I found myself calling the out of hours doctor out to mum, she’d taken a turn for the worse, and after a brief examination, he wanted her admitted to her hospital. I sat up with mum until the ambulance arrived at 5.30am. One ambulance to cover the whole of Harrogate and surrounding area, I felt so sorry for those poor paramedics, they were shattered.

Returning to bed at 6.30am, I slept till 9am, then started the mad panic to contact all concerned, to delay everything I’d set up.

A visit to mum at 2pm a further visit at 5pm, we decided, after chatting to the doctors, there wasn’t much point in us staying in Yorkshire, she was in good hands, and selfishly or not, I needed some ‘me time’ so we set off back home at 7.30pm.

T drove again, and we dined on a rather unusual diet of fruit scones and water during the journey.

Almost eight weeks of caring for mum and only two and a half hours sleep the previous night had started to take its toll. I collapsed into bed around 11pm, and T informed me, was away with the fairies within seconds.

With constant phone calls to and from the hospital and mum, the ‘me time’ still hadn’t materialised. I still needed to escape, so finally on Tuesday, after blowing up at T, I grabbed LS and J and took off for the hills.

After driving a couple of miles I realising that my seat wasn’t in the usual position, the seats are electrically controlled so I toggled the switch forward to bring the recline up a tad, but nothing happened I toggled the switch back, aaargh!, it started to recline even more.

Now the last person to drive Dougal, was T on the journey back on Friday. During this journey, he had forced wedged his bottle of water between the centre cubby box and the drivers seat. Whether this was the reason the seat controls weren’t working, who knows, but I was cussing him under my breath for the rest of the journey.

I pulled into the car park at Cleeve Hill (usually my total unwind place), and tried the seat controls again, every other seat position was working, so thinking it may have been a glitch, I tried the recline again……OMG, still no upward movement, but even more recline……… I decided to leave well alone because at this rate, I’d have ended up with a fully reclined seat, and no means of driving home.

The car park, minus the floods of my previous two visits.

I set off over the hills with LS and J. It was bitterly cold, which may explain the remains of the snow from the previous week.

Jasp loves eating snow, and every patch we came across he had to sample, there is total silence up there and it was quite funny that all I could hear was him crunching away.

We reached the trig point, which is just to the left of this direction map, and let the wind blow the cobwebs away.

I then plonked myself down on this seat to admire the stunning views across the valley, LS and J by my side and giving me the occasional nuzzle, at last I started to unwind.

Making our way back to the motor and feeling fully refreshed, I was brought back to earth, almost literally as I sat myself in the driving seat. I’d totally forgotten about my seat controls. So by the time I got home, I was a fully wound up spring again.

T enquired if I’d had a good walk……………. he got all my guns blazing……….

‘you ******* you’ve knackered my seat controls with your water bottle, you can pay for the repair’ He went silent, as I stormed upstairs to my computer to see if I could find any info on a land rover forum anywhere.

I searched for the price of a switch………at well over £200 a new one was out of the question, second hand ones were as rare as rocking horse s**t, my anger was growing by the second. Eventually I did find some extremely good information about possibly repairing mine.

There were several forums with advice and photos Land Rovers forums.com, LR4x4.com, Landyzone.co.uk. So flicking between them, I set about trying to repair mine.

The main point made on all these links, is to be extremely careful when opening the switch, otherwise I could expect an explosion of  16 ball bearings, 8 springs, 8 rocker contacts and 4 switches.

I removed it from the centre console, and as suggested, sat at a solid table with the switch on a tray (to catch the bits).

All went well, I cleaned it and put it all back together again, sorry no pics, it was far too fiddly to even think about taking any. Though this is and excellent pic of everything in its correct place, borrowed from AK Rover on Land Rover forums.com.

Two or three attempts later at putting the switch case back together without dislodging the ball bearings, I gingerly connected it back to the electrics of Dougal.

Yeah!!!!!, the recline was now working but ………………the tilt wasn’t it would tilt forward, but not back, so each time I toggled the switch, the seat tilted me closer to the dash, to the extent I was almost sliding off into the footwell.

Back to the drawing board.

The last thing I wanted to do was take the switch apart again as the forward/back and recline were working fine. I suddenly had a brain wave.

If I remove the passenger seat switch (which was fully operational), attach it to the drivers seat electrics, I may be able to tilt my seat to the position I wanted. I wouldn’t be able to swop it permanently, as they were handed, but at least I could get my seat to the correct position before putting the switches back in their rightful places.

Hey presto!!!! it worked, so I am now sitting comfortably………and T is under strict instruction NOT to alter my seat again