30 March 2018

Good Friday. Still coldish but not too bad if you were in full sun. I had a horrible experience today. I saw a cat which had obviously just been run over. It was still twitching and lying in a pool of blood. I stopped at a nearby house to speak to a couple who were gardening to try to find out if they knew the owner but no luck. Very sad.

Got home and got stuck into the gardening only to find a dead Hedgehog lying at the bottom of the garden! Having buried that the first job was to clear away a lot of dead growth and then I planted carrots, swiss chard and runner beans. Spent about three hours in all and felt much better for it.

Dead stuff and weeds cleared and in the green bin.

Runner beans are in

Still plenty of work to do!

29 March 2018

Dullish day. Still fairly cold. Went and did a bit of shopping, then to the garden centre and finally to Spinneys to get a reel for the van's electric cable. I stopped off at Shakerly Mere which is fairly close to the M6. It was my first visit and I hadn't realised it resulted from excavations - I'd thought it was a natural feature.

28 March 2018

Still raining and fairly dull. Colder. Foodbank in the morning. They are looking for a new manager but I'm happy to be a foot soldier. No promotion for me! Citizens Advice in the afternoon and a very straightforward and productive stint which I enjoyed. When I got home there was a buzzard hovering right over our house. Of course, as soon as I got out my camera it flew off. I managed to get a picture of it but the zoom on my small camera isn't great. I've seen several flying over the garden in summer and heard their mewing cries - beautiful birds.

Stopped off on the way home from the foodbank to take a photo of Hartford Church. Not sure why it has come out so dull. Was it because I used HDR?

The Buzzard

27 March 2018

A dull rainy day. Brightened up a bit in the Afternoon. Ended up being a day of 'sorting stuff out' and getting the van ready for use. You would think being retired for 18 months I'd have 'sorted stuff' by now but it's not quite that simple.

26 March 2018

Another gorgeous sunny day. Now that the clocks have gone back it feels much more like Spring. Went to town to get some supplies and then to a Citizens Advice team meeting in the afternoon.

The view from the multi-storey car park. Not sure why it looks so gloomy given that it was bright and sunny at the time.

When I got back home there was a Robin singing beautifully in the tree near our back door. This small camera doesn't have a great zoom but I managed to capture him. You can just about see a hint of red if you look closely.

25 March 2018

Beautiful and sunny day. Temperature about 10oC. Went to visit friends Simon and Sarah who live on the Wirral, by the Dee estuary. They have a dog called Ziggy. Calm in Cheshire but a chill wind was blowing over the estuary.

Ziggy

Mansfield Acres

Dee Estuary with Welsh hills in the background

With Simon at Sheldrakes

24 March2018

Cloudy day with a cold wind but a good day for exercise. Did my HIT training and went for a walk by the river.

Spring is here!

Viaduct over the Weaver. The main line from Crewe to Liverpool

23 March 2018

Drove over the see the Mother in Law. Ths was an opportunity to collect some kindling for the wood burning stove from the 'wood' in her front garden.

Plenty of kindling here

The 'wood'

22 march 2018

Nice lazy day! Trip down to the local shops to get a few supplies and I couldn't resist a crafty pint in the Oddies.

21 March 2018

The house of clocks - that's how it was today when I got Mr Smith the clock repairer to come round and get my Dad's Grandfather clock going again. There wasn't really much wrong with it which was a relief after I stuffed it in my car and brought it up here a couple of years ago. In addition, my Dad's other Station clock is up and running. As I sit here I can listen to the soothing tick tock tick tock. It also keep excellent time and has been in synch with my digital watch since it was re-started.

20 March 2018

Went into town in the van. The highlight was getting my hair cut by my favourite barber. She is one of the best lookers locally. Ended up down by the river as usual.

19 March 2018

Having a look through some of my old singles today.

18 March 2018

Today we went for a meal to celebrate my niece Georgia's birthday. The pub was in new hands and the food wasn't as good as we'd had there before. I won't name the pub.

17 March 2018

Turned colder again as the Beast from the East pt II arrived. Cold winds and snow blizzards, which only lasted for about 10 minutes, throughout the day. Very much colder in the evening and the snow stayed. I went for a walk by the Weaver and was pleased to see that the wild garlic is coming up.

Snow blizzard

Wild Garlic

A couple of the trees have come down in the high winds. This one hit a picnic bench. Good job it was far too cold for picnics!

16 March 2018

It's Friday and in the morning I went to the old Coop building to meet up with Transition Northwich members to begin setting up our Transition Hub. This is a space kindly loaned to us by Care UK in which we can carry out activities including our Radical Readers Group, upcycling and re-use events.

The beginnings of the Transition Hub

Impromptu artwork

15 March 2018

The Ides of March! Still fairly warm with a mixture of rain and sunnier spells. Finally got around to putting more insulation in the roof. Yes, I know its a bit late but its never too late! The trickiest bit is the kitchen roof which is a fairly narrow cavity but with a bit of thrutch, I managed it.

14 March 2018

Off to work. Started in the foodbank at 10.00am. It was fairly quiet in terms of customers but that gave us a chance to take stock of supplies and do some sorting. Good bunch of volunteers who I enjoyed working with.

I dashed back home and the off for a stint at Citizens Advice in the afternoon. This was cut short b a dentist's appointment at 3.50pm - front filling. Nearly keeled over at the cost - £56! - and this is on the NHS. How can people on minimum wage afford this?

13 March 2018

Much better day! Felt like the first day of spring with temperature of about 10oC. Reasonably sunny afternoon in which I manage to sort out the greenhouse and planted some potatoes - Charlotte - and parsnips. Still loads to do but I already have in garlic, peas, broad beans, potatoes and parsnips.

12 March 2018

It's grey and raining. Pretty uninspiring day in which I didn't do much except mess about on the web. I need to switch my laptop off!

11 March 2018

Fairly bright day, no rain and still12oC, which seemed almost tropical after the cold spell we had 10 days or so ago. Its Mother's Day so I am remembering my Mother today. 

My Mother - Mavis Thorp

In the afternoon I visited the Anderton Boat Lift. Built in 1875 it provides a 50-foot (15.2 m) vertical link between two navigable waterways: The Trent & Mersey Canal and the River Weaver. I followed this by a trip just down the road to Marbury Park and Budworth Mere, thence to Great Budworth. I visited the splendid church and popped into the George and Dragon Pub for a quick pint of John Willie Lees MPA.

The Trent & Mersey Canal

The Anderton Boat Lift

Budworth Mere. You can just see the church tower on the right

10 March 2018

Dull day, turning to rain in the afternoon. But 12oC! Great result from Old Trafford beating Liverpool 2 - 1 😊. Afternoon trip to look at the artisan market.

The Plaza. It's a real shame nobody can find a use for this building.

Artisan Market

One of our artisans

9 March 2018

It's the fag end of winter. The garden is looking very drab but its time to swing into action. Three beds prepared - the photo shows the two small ones. The bed on the right now has 50 onions in it. The broad beans, garlic and peas I planted in November are all doing well.

8 March 2018

Woke up to find it snowing. I'd thought that was over. Snow didn't stick and it brightened up later. A day of sorting things out. Went to the jewellers to try and resolve the problem with Dad's Grandfather clock and another trip to Barons Quay. In the afternoon met up with Transition Northwich members to sort out our planned business conference, and in the evening some of us had a curry social at the Salty Dog.

Green walls at Barons Quay

At the Salty Dog. Annoyed that this is blurred but its the only photo so.....

7 March 2018

Much better day. Bright and sunny, and about 8oC at lunchtime. No car so I didn't get to the foodbank or Citizens Advice. Sorted out quite a lot of stuff including a Mothers Day present for Carol. Had a walk to the pharmacists in the village to get a prescription and it started hailing. How do you take a photo of hail? Here is my effort.

6 March 2018

This is tricky. Forgot to take a photo! in my defence, it was a day which I spent most of trying to sort out my laptop - not great for photos. So here is a photo I took of a sunset on Eaton Lane a couple of years ago.

5 March 2018

Dull day, and a pretty routine one
Doing some shopping
And a trip to the cafe
For coffee and a tea cake
Don't pay for the Guardian
I get it for free