Juggling tomatoes

Today a rather random collection of news and updates.

I hope you enjoyed my yesterday's post about post lockdown resumption of cricket. Having had some further thoughts on this, I did a little pictorial thread on Twitter earlier in the same vein.

As regular followers will know I try and grow a few things in my small garden, and lockdown has given me added incentive and time to do so. As a result I ended up with about 30-40 established tomato plants in pots (I normally grow two or three), so you can see I somewhat over-planned. Along with this I also overdid the courgettes and cucumbers....

Anyway, I've given some to our neighbours and my wife took some and left them at her mum's so when her brother calls on his "carer days" he can pick them up. That still left a load. So today I put a load out at the front of the drive with a note saying "help yourself". They're all gone now, so I'm happy, and hopefully a few other people will be. Good deed for the day.

My son leant how to juggle this week. He got some proper juggling balls and within 24 hours has gone from not knowing how to juggle to being able to juggle standing on one leg. Impressive stuff. I suggested he needs to try axes or burning torches now.

For those asking, there's little cat news to report. Sleep, eat, hunt repeat.......We did unfortunately add a robin to the list of kills earlier this week #murderer

Until tomorrow....

#isolationlife
#stayhomesavelives

A day to remember

I've decided to stop putting the date in the title of my posts - this blog platform (like all others) provides the date of posts anyway. I originally started doing it in the vain hope that by now I could be saying we're getting back to normal but.....

Today is my Mum's birthday. She was born in 1927 the year that Cardiff won the FA Cup beating Arsenal 1-0 and who remain the only club to take the FA Cup out of England). Had she still been alive she would have been 93 today but sadly we lost her to ileo-caecal cancer at the end of 2002. That's almost a third of my life ago, but I still miss her enormously - those times when you just want to pick up the phone and have a chat about nothing in particular or sometimes something very specific, or point something out in the garden (she loved gardens). There's no doubt that time is a healer, but only in some respects. The rawness goes at least, but thankfully the memories remain.

My love of photography and photographs means that I'm often sat in my "study" meandering through some of my 22,000+ photos. I inherited a load of old photos when my Dad passed away at the end of 2016 co-incidentally a couple of days before the date on Mum's death. Whilst he was far from a well man, he was independent, but was taken ill suddenly one day and hung on for a week before passing. We swore he was waiting for the date Mum died.

I had the job of scanning many of the old photos and sharing them with my brothers and sisters (and a couple of my cousins). It's remarkable to look back at these old photos - some I'd never seen before, including some of my Mum when she was a child and both my parents in the 1940's and 1950's. I also came across some of both my sets of grandparents that I can't ever recall seeing before, insulting many of my maternal grandfather during his time in the navy - he served on submarines and survived two torpedoing's I'm told. The Navy played a major part in my parents and grandparents life. As well as my grandfather serving, both my parents were in the Navy - which was where they met. Dad was a Petty Officer and was in Malaya during the Malay Emergency whilst Mum was in the Wrens (Women's Royal Navy Service or WRNS).

So today's photo are a a celebration of the memory of Sylvia "Kit" Hiscocks. One of a kind.

Aged about 16 months (1928)

Aged 5 (1932)

1951

With her best friend Dusty in the WRNS

A Summer Fete

Enjoying France in the 90's

Until tomorrow....

#isolationlife
#stayhomesavelives

April 26th: Dull day

Well done to everyone who spotted the deliberate mistake in yesterday's post - I had the date as April 26th, which is of course today.

To be perfectly honest, I haven't got a lot to say today. It's been a very lazy day, even in lockdown terms. My wife's been to check on her mum, my son's spent time on a multi-way chat with some of his old university buddies who are now spread around the world. My daughter's been watching Harry Potter films and I've finished a book I was reading and been doing my own pottering in the garden making the most of the sunny weather before it disappears, potting on some of my tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes. To be honest, I've overdone it with my sowing - I've got far too many plants and nowhere to put them. I'll have to see if the neighbours want some (suitably socially distanced of course).

Tomato and courgette plants anyone?

Until tomorrow....

#isolationlife
#stayhomesavelives

April 24th: Lockdown and disinfectant

So we're just over a month into Lockdown (Monday 23rd March).  How are you all coping?

We've settled into a pretty regular pattern at Chez Stats. Mrs H who's a nurse works Mondays and Tuesday's, but not directly at the coalface of CV-19 and thankfully things have been relatively calm for her at work. On her days off she continues to support her 94 year old housebound and frail mum who lives in Cardiff, alternating days with her brother, so she gets some down time. She's also i/c the shopping duties. My son who was initially working from home, has now been furloughed, and has another couple of weeks before that's reviewed. In the meantime he's taking the time to do some online learning relevant to his industry. My daughter who works for a big insurer as a customer service rep is working from home, but continues to have struggles with IT systems issues which seem to be affecting quite a lot of people.

I've got the garden looking tip-top, and have after some procrastination commenced some overdue decorating. I'm also taking the time to do some reading and practice my photography skills, although I'm finding it hard to concentrate on doing any one thing for very log, but that's just me I think, not a result of lockdown. I've also turned my hands to a few culinary projects, which thus far haven't ended up poisoning anyone. Apart from some shortish walks, which aren't daily, I've only been out of the house a few times. Twice for a blood test (a regular requirement for the arthritis drugs I'm on), once when we though there was a problem with my mother in law, and one other time to pick up a takeaway.

The general feeling is that the data are suggesting we're past the peak of infections, and whilst we are technically still in a lockdown situation, it seems that we are beginning to see a very gentle easing of restrictions. I've seen that some B&Q stores are opening, and anecdotal reports that locally traffic is up 25%-30% on three weeks ago. There's continuing chatter in the media about strategies for getting our of lockdown, perhaps fuelled by news that some of the European countries are now starting to relax restrictions. Today's news is reporting that Wales could introduce a traffic light type system for easing the restrictions at the end of the current lockdown period in early May.

However, there's also a fairly strong message coming across that restrictions of some form or another, particularly in respect of social distancing are likely to need to remain in place until at least the end of the year. How this will manifest practically is anyone's guess at the moment.

On the sporting front, we now know that professional cricket won't commence until at least the 1st July, and the recreational game remains suspended until further notice. Realistically I don't see any chance of any cricket of substance this year for my local club. As far as football goes, no one's any the wiser as to whether the current season will be cancelled, finished behind closed doors or something else. It's too early to even think about that that means for next season, but on the upside it means I haven't had to fork out money for next season's season ticket yet.

As far as holidays go, our June Corfu trip is still technically on at this moment in time, but I can't see any way that it's going to happen. Similarly, the chances of our late September mediterranean cruise happening are vanishing rapidly, and there are huge questions about future of the whole cruise industry. We do have a couple of "in-country" breaks booked later this year, so finger's crossed one or both of those might yet come off.

And I can't close today without a nod to the good ol' US of A. Their parody of a President incurred disbelief overnight at his suggestions that disinfectants and light might be used to treat coronavirus. He even suggested that light could somehow be injected into the body. I was staggered that he got elected in the first place, but over his tenure his actions and messages have become increasingly "bizarre" (I'm being kind here). It seems no one has got the gumption to stand up to him and tell him he's an idiot. What is even more amazing, is that there are people stupid enough to listen to him, believe him, and vote for him.

Inevitably, this story dangerous as it is, has been widely mocked on Twitter. This is my favourite...so far

Until tomorrow....
#isolationlife
#stayhomesavelives

April 10th: Dreaming of Mythos

Don't let the nice weather deceive you. The latest death statistics for the UK are horrible- a further 900+ deaths across the UK taking the total of (hospital) deaths from coronavirus to almost 9,000.

Apparently the Government have said we're allowed to go into our gardens. Erm....thank goodness for that. I have been in my garden every day since the lockdown began despite the fear I might get thrown into jail for doing so.  Seriously though, we've been in a relative state of lockdown for 3 weeks, so this advice is probably a bit late, although probably meant to reinforce that this is ok and to be done instead of heading to the beach or the hills or in fact anywhere that's not a short walk from your house.  I have to say, I'm still conflicted between the advice to stay at home, which I am doing bar the odd very short walk for exercise - I haven't gone more than 15 minutes from my from door in three weeks - vs this that argue you can be out and about providing you're distancing. Seems to me a lot of people are taking a lot more exercise (walking, jogging,) than they ever did before (and probably won't do when this is all over) and bending the guidance to suit them. The guidance is you can go out for essential shopping, medications, and one episode of daily exercise - a 30 mile bike ride, or 10 mile run or walk run isn't I think what the Government had in mind. Please stay at home.

My garden is one of my happy places. I spend a lot of time just pottering about (it's an age thing). I always marvel at how the place comes back to life after winter, although I'm staggered that some of my hanging baskets from last year made it through the winter and have started flowering again now. This lobelia for example, was put in this hanging basket a year ago. It's would normally die off in late summer, but it's hung on through autumn and winter and is going again...remarkable.

It's been a roasting day today. Seem churlish to complain after such an abysmal wet winter and early 2020, but if it's going to be this hot, frankly I'd rather be on a sunbed in Greece with a cold Mythos in my hand. We're booked to go to one of our favourite places in June - a small village in the north west of Corfu and a small family run hotel - this would have been our fifth visit, but although I hold out the slenderest hope, this June is looking a goner....😕

I'd quite like to be here....

And as for the cat. Well it's too hot for her...this was her flaked at 11am!

Until tomorrow....

#isolationlife
#stayhomesavelives

6th April: Silly politicians and the Queen

Back on 26th March, I briefly mused about how things might change once we're through of all this. As luck would have it, Sky News, no doubt amongst others were also thinking the same thing and posted an article yesterday Coronavirus: Five things that will never be the same because of COVID-19. I'll leave you to read the article but essentially it talks about:

1. How we act as a society
2. How work might change
3. How use of technology during this crisis will change how we do things in future
4. Our possible future approach to leisure activities
5. How we might consume differently as a result of the pandemic, and the impact on the retail sector

As I (and many others far more important and knowledgeable than me) have repeatedly said, we are in unprecedented times. I don't believe anyone in their right minds would want to be in any senior Government leadership position right now, having to make critical decisions almost by the hour, and with what appears to be often conflicting scientific advice whilst trying to do the right thing and keep everyone happy (an impossible job). Anyone who argues they know better and has no relevant science to back it up (looking at you Twitterati and Facebookers), should frankly shut up. Nevertheless there's no accounting for folk, and sometimes politicians, who are after all, just folk, do silly things. They're only human after all and who amongst us can honestly say we've never done something we regret?  But really, Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Catherine Calderwood has surely won the numpty of the week award for one moment being on TV urging everyone to stay at home, and then shortly afterwards hotfooting it off to her second home. And she didn't do it once, but twice! It beggars belief that she didn't consider this a foot in mouth moment, but there we are. And whilst she's taken what some would argue is the 'honourable" course of resigning as a result, surely we need people with this knowledge and experience supporting our leaders at this moment in time? If everyone resigned as soon as they made a mistake, no one would ever be in a job. We have to learn to accept errors and learn from them, not demand a fall guy (or gal) every time. Yes it was poor judgement. Don't do it again, even fine her £30 which seems to be the going rate for coronavirus rules misdemeanours if it makes you feel better, but losing someone of that experience from your team just feels counter productive.

And talking of experience, so to the Her Majesty The Queen. I'm not really a royalist (although I'm not averse to a little pomp and ceremony now and again). I think I was once, but that's almost certainly because my parents were. Christmas Day by the TV for the Queen's speech was a constant in our family (and still is for my 94 year old mother-in-law). There's no doubt she splits opinion (the Queen that is, not my mother-in-law). Judging by my Twitter timeline, a not insignificant number of the people I follow are broadly anti-monarchy. I think part of the problem is that people look at her vast wealth and perceived "privilege" and have no idea or understanding about what the Queen does and the Royal Family actually do and have sacrificed through the course of their lives in order to serve their country - and argue that the wealth and privilege means they haven't sacrificed anything. Personally, there's no way on earth I'd want to live my life like that. Nevertheless she still is held in enormous respect by many. So her broadcast to the nation last night whilst poo-pooed by some, will have done some good for many others.  I saw a few comments from people last night saying that having watching Netflix's The Crown they have a far greater understanding of the how the Monarchy works, the pressures they have and what they do and have given up - whether or not they are a royalist or republican. That's not to say we don't all have pressures and have made sacrifices by the way, they're just different.

We've also received our official letter from the Prime Minister, which basically says "stay indoors". There's nothing in here that anyone keeping up with the news doesn't know (or shouldn't know) already, but I suppose it's worth a shot in case anyone's been living on Mars for the last month or so. Whether it'll do any good is another question. Those that will comply are probably already doing so, and those that aren't will chuck this in the bin and keep doing what they want to in their own selfish way. Because we're a Welsh household, we also got a copy of both the letter and leaflet in Welsh. Let's not start a debate about the right's and wrong's of that.

The Prime Minister's letter

In #isolation life it's been a day of chores after waving my good lady off to her nursing shift at 7am this morning. I hope she and all her NHS colleagues are staying safe (update, at least for my wife is, yes thankfully, she is - she's not on the front, front line as it were - yet). Two lots of washing done, cleaned the upstairs windows (I can't believe how filthy they were!), checked and watered my plant seedlings, prepped for tonight's virtual cricket committee meeting (I'll tell you how that went tomorrow), and plenty of other bits and bobs including my first ever stab at making bread (soda bread) which went mostly well.

My first ever soda bread effort - not bad, tastes good

Oh, and by the way, my thumb appears to be on the mend, and I might get away with not losing my thumbnail - result!

That's probably enough for today unless there's any breaking cat news.

#stayathomesavelives

April 3rd: Birthdays, garage doors and more blogs

First up, a very Happy Birthday to my Mother in Law who turned 94 today. My wife was over there and sorted her cake and me and kids FaceTimed in to wish her a happy birthday.

In the latest day of #isolationlife, in a temporary moment of freedom I drove to the surgery for my latest routine blood test for the medication I'm on. Quizzed and temperature taken at the door, I passed with flying colours before a very short wait and an even shorted visit to the phlebotomist, who expertly relieved me of a few millilitres of the red stuff. She was in good spirits, though said she was very busy moving between the community and the local hospital, and it also brought home how easily we can come into contact with people who are in contact with others who maybe closer to the "coal face", so the over-riding mantra remains - #stayathomesavelives unless you absolutely have to be out. I also thanked her for all she and her colleagues are doing when I left (as I always do, but made a particular point of today). It's a small thing, but hopefully helps people understand how much they are appreciated.

My wife was out doing shopping whilst I was at the surgery and texted me to ask if I could stop to get some eggs as there were none in the big Tesco near us! So on the way back from the surgery I stopped at a local stores where fortunately they had a decent supply. I was only out about 20 minutes in total, but the sense of freedom and release was quite something.

In a more bizarre turn of events, I found myself washing the interior of the garage door. Seriously. I only went in the garage to put something away. And then it happens. You look at the inside of the door and think "God that's filthy, I really should clean it sometime" (having wilfully ignored it for the last 15 years). And then you realise that there's just no time like the present. So a bucket of soapy water, a sponge and there I was scrubbing down the door. I just hope no-one came up the drive whilst I was doing it - they'd probably have thought Ithere was a crazy zombie in there knocking on the door to get out!

As the sun continues to shine I keep putting off some decorating (actually a lot) that needs doing, and keep dabbling in the garden. I've pricked out my fledgling tomato plants today and sown some runner bean and French beans. The conservatory looks more like a greenhouse every day.

The things you do when isolated - cleaning the inside of the garage door 

I thought it also worth sharing the following picture that I came across on Facebook which genuinely made me laugh out loud (my wife gave me a very funny look at the time.

Following on from yesterday's post when I directed people to the Better Out than In blog, I've come across another blog worth a read, not least because it's a local blog - Barry's Boldest Blogger. Often humorous, relevant and passionate it's well worth a browse, especially her latest musings on lockdown.

Later this evening we're going to have a 'virtual drink" with our friends, who we'll be FaceTiming for a chat and a catch up over a beer and glass of wine or G&T. My son is also doing a "virtual pub" catch up with his workmates when they clock off this evening, including prizes for the best dressed, most interesting drink and more. Good to see people making the most of a bad situation.

Until tomorrow, I'll leave you with a photo of me and the cat taking a break from washing the garage door.

All Fools Day: The Good Life

April already. How did that happen?

Well here we are, barrelling into the fourth month of 2020 and what a shit year it's been so far. Floods followed by plague, a global lockdown and a worldwide shortage of toilet rolls.

On a more serious note, things out there are getting increasingly challenging, especially for the fabulous frontline staff that are keeping the country and its people in some sort of bizarre dystopian normality. The NHS workers (all of them), carers, refuse collectors, retail workers including those supporting online shopping and delivery, the emergency services, the forces and many, many more. Ordinary folk like me would be in a far darker place were it not for these people.

The BBC today reported a 563 rise in deaths in a day, and a 13 year old with no underlying health conditions has died from coronavirus perhaps forcing people to realise this doesn't just affect the elderly with underlying health problems. If you weren't already aware, this is serious folks #stayathomesavelives.

Adding to an already serious situation, it appears that there are various 'scams' out there on the back of this. I read today about someone who was allegedly stopped by two besuited men whilst coming home from shopping, who was asked where they'd been, and demanded a £50 up front payment in cash for breaching the stay at home guidelines. Clearly most people wouldn't fall for this, but there are some gullible folk out there who would. If anything looks remotely dodgy, it probably is. Take care out there people, and don't believe everything you read on social media.

More cricket admin for me today. Who'd have thought that so much needed to be done when we're not actually playing cricket (now or for the foreseeable future). The role of a club volunteer (in my case secretary) is often hidden from those who actually play the game.
Also gardening again for me today. My front garden has had more attention on the last week than it's had in the last 15 years. The cat was overseeing things.

Chief Gardening Supervisor

My tomatoes and cucumbers have also sprouted as have my lettuce and radish and pak choi. If the slugs don't get 'em at least we won't suffer from salad starvation, although I'll have to find something to eat for the next two or three months until they're ready!

Tomatoes to the left of me, cucumbers to the right....

Stay safe folks, and stay home unless you absolutely have to go out #isolationlife.

March 25th: Food and space

Well if we're in this for the long haul, we should be good here. I already had onions, strawberries, raspberries, potatoes, leeks, radish, spinach and rhubarb on the go in my (very small) plot, and yesterday I sowed tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers. I would say we won't starve, but it'll take months to grow so it might be too late by then. Better brave Tesco's or some other outlet soon then...

Actually I went to Lidl's. It's a five minute walk, so I doubled up on my allowances for a daily walk outside the house essential shopping. The Lidl store has been rammed of late in common with many other supermarkets. In fact, come to think of it, it's busy most off the time, even when we haven't got an apolcalyptic situation. This morning to be fair, whilst it was fairly busy, I've seen it busier, and there was an air of calmness about the place. It was pretty well stocked with everything (except flour, and I didn't go down the loo roll aisle) plus the normal "extra" stuff that the store is famous (or is that 'infamous' for). People didn't seem to be panic buying anything (apart from a bloke who had a carte of 24 cans of cider who it seemed was politely asked to step to one side and speak to someone (seems you can't buy 24 tinnies at once). Trouble is, when I go shopping I end up buying things I wasn't sent for. Today it was two doughnuts and a a pair of Belgian iced buns, some eggs (apparently we already had some) and a chicken and mushroom pot noodle. The main thing I went for was milk, and I forgot to buy that.....

Elsewhere, both kids have been WFH, my daughter's IT issues seemingly largely resolved. My wife went to see her mum and get her shopping and stuff. I've done more gardening, sorted my compost heap (yes it's a thing), cleaned the uPVC windows (plus the conservatory inner window sills (did the outers yesterday), and have managed to walk the equivalent of 2.8 miles today doing it all.

Oh, and I cooked tea. A favourite of ours, since I've started my retirement cooking, chicken and turmeric rice.

The cat's still loving the sunny weather (no rats today). She's in for a shock when the weather turns colder later this week.

Photo of the day, an overhead pass of the International Space Station taken this evening on my iPhone. This was the second half of the pass after a quick run from the back garden to the front garden. You can also see the constellation of the Great Bear/Big Dipper or Plough to the left of the picture. The bright star to the bottom is Arcturus.

The ISS is approx 250 miles up and going 17,500mph. Currently has a crew of 3 three, although it can accommodate up to nine. There are usually six, and they usually stay on board for around six months. The current crew is US astronauts Jessica Meir and Andrew “Drew” Morgan and Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka. Self isolation at its best! You can learn more about the ISS here 

International Space Station over Barry

March 24th: Lockdown day 1.

So here we are. Lockdown. In simple terms this means:

• Stay at home - no unnecessary journeys or social contact 
• Only leave home for essential shopping, medical needs and one form of exercise per day
• Travel to and from work only if absolutely necessary
• Public gatherings of more than two people are banned - excluding people you live with
• Don't visit other peoples homes or socialise outside your home
• Police have the power to fine/enforce these rules
• If any of you, or your family are unwell, isolate yourselves

Watching social media in particularly there still seems to be some confusion and uncertainty over what constitutes an "essential" worker - builders for example seem to be one group where there's a significant divide of opinion. We're waiting for a bathroom to be ripped out and a new bathroom to be fitted - was due to happen in early April. I can't see that happening (reasonable). It'll wait. It's not going anywhere. And pictures of the Tube in London suggest no-one's heard of the lockdown or social distancing! 

Here's my dilemma. I consider myself to be a reasonably well adjusted, sensible, educated sort of bloke who absolutely understands the implications of everything that's happening (I was once a nurse in the dim and distant past, but far too long ago to be of any use now). But....

My arthritis and a couple of other minor and managed health conditions apart, I'm fit and well. My wife who as you now know is a practising NHS nurse (part-time) and is also a carer for her elderly housebound mother who lives a few miles away (who also has carers coming in morning and night to make sure she's up/ready for bed). I'd like to do more. I want to do more, but it's not the "right" thing to do, especially now the lockdown rules above have been implemented. And that places a greater burden (and potentially risk) on my wife which makes me uncomfortable. 

Personally, one effect on lockdown has for me is be the inability to go out wander round and take photos of the local area. It's been a glorious day here in South Wales, (I've even got shorts on), and there's nothing better I'd love to have done than to wander down to Barry Island or Penarth and have a walk and take some photos. I'm an enthusiastic photographer rather than a good one. You can find some of my photo albums on Flickr here. But whilst Boris has said you can go out for one walk a day, I still think it's not the right thing to do. According to my iPhone I've "walked" almost 2 miles today staying within the confines of my house and garden whilst gardening, so I can hardly claim inactivity.  Whilst this is going on I'll have to find some other stuff to take photos of like my garden. So here's some nice tulips to brighten up your day.

And as for the cat. well my daughter was teaching her how to do jigsaws, and stand up for treats.

The cat learning how to do jigsaws

She'll do anything for a treat

Hurrah for the weekend.

Lawks, how I love weekends!

Who invented them? The bloke (for it surely was a bloke) should be given a medal. However, why he had to stop at two days is a mystery. Three would have been nice. Four greedy, but hey why not? Whatever, they're great, and there should be more of them.

Just started off with a Chinese takeaway. Should be off the the Glamorgan/Hampshire Twenty20 now with @ministats, but the weather is horrible, and I don't fancy sitting in the rain for a few hours with the hope of a 10/10 or worse 5/5 bash. Sooner watch it on the telly in Welsh (S4C) with a beer in the dry and warm of my own home.

Tomorrow a few chores (the one downside of any weekend), and because the forecast is so atrocious, unlikely that I'll get out into my garden which is one of the way I like to chill a bit. Still, tomorrow evening we're over to see some good friends for tea, and no doubt make final arrangements for a holiday we're going on together to Turkey in the not too distant future.

Then on Sunday it's Father's Day. We've got my Dad and my Out-Laws over for Sunday dinner, so that'll be nice. A lazy afternoon, and then before you can blink that'll be it. Weekend over and back to the grindstone.

But it's only early Friday yet!!.......

Deadly cucumbers claim more lives

This isn't funny in the slightest, although the headline on the BBC news link "Deadly cucumbers claim more lives" is like something from a classic "B" horror movie.

In fact, what's happened is that some cucumbers have somehow become infected with a strain of e.coli and some people have died from the resultant infection.

Spring

Don't generally post much about gardening on here, even though it's one of my "interests".

I don't have a big garden. Certainly not as big as I'd like, although it is south-west facing, so gets plenty of sun. It's on a bit of a slope, and has really heavy clay, so at the moment it's just like a bog. As it dries out it in the summer heat it opens into huge cracks.

I love this time of year. Been out in the garden a fair bit today "pottering" as I call it. The weather has been great, with the sun on my back it's been very warm. I haven't been at it hammer and tongs - mostly tidying up here and there and so on. It's amazing how much you can see when you get out there. The garden still looks bar, cold and wet from a distance, but get up close and there's all sorts poking through the wet soil. Spring is truly on the way.

My delphiniums (which I don't have much success with usually) are about 2cm high, and lupins are also on the way. Both usually succumb to a massive slug attack - the penalty from having heavy wet clay soil, so fingers crossed. I've got crocuses growing through the lawn, though the recent heavy rain has done for quite a few of them. And the buds on the roses and clematis suggest things are in full swing.

I've also been sowing a whole load of seeds - flowers and veg, using the conservatory in lieu of a greenhouse. Already stuff I sowed last week is beginning to show. Have to be careful though - a couple of sharp frosts and it could all go pear shaped, so have to be careful about what I do sow at this early stage.

What I enjoy most about gardening is it pretty much allows me to shut off from everything else, and just wander about at my own pace. I like that.