28 July 2020

Soup of the day: homemade tomato soup. I hate the tinned stuff but this is delicious. Plenty of seasoning and garlic and a touch of turmeric and tomato puree. 

27 July 2020

I forgot to mention yesterday but in other good news, Man Utd came third in the Premier League so we are in The Champions League where we belong! Nobody expected us to do so well. A better defence and we might go further next season.

Now there's a row because the government has told people who visit Spain they must quarantine when they return. Easing the lockdown is leading to an increase in coronavirus infection all over Europe.

In the garden, the runner beans are blooming. They are all behind because the first lot were killed off by a one-off frost after I had watered them that day.

26 july 2020

Apart from the row about wearing masks in shops, there is now a debate about holidays. Should I go or not? I doubt if we will be going anytime soon which is a major pain as I have a campervan sat on the drive which I will have to tax, insure, and get an MoT for!

The good news is that the weather has been better in the past week or so. Still some showers but much more sun, and it's warmer. Apologies for the repetition but I had to take another picture of the sun on the garden.

25 July 2020

Rio is enjoying the garden

24 July 2020

Its good to see the Echinacea is flowering although the flowers are a bit disappointing. I tried to grow a load more from seed but without any success which is frustrating.

23 July 2020

I barely ever watch mainstream news or current affairs anymore. No BBC news or Newsnight because I can't be bothered with the neoliberal propaganda. I watch Democracy Now, Double Down News, Novaramedia, The Laura Flanders Show, and I also like watching Robert Reich. All of these are available on YouTube and I can watch them on my TV.

22 July 2020

Peter and I went back to the Macclesfield forest. It was a much brighter day and this time we walked  up Shuttlingsloe. One of my favourite peaks.

21 July 2020

Globe artichokes in the garden.

20 July 2020

The idiotic argument about wearing masks in shops continues. But we are still in lockdown and going for local walks. Thankfully we now have regular supermarket deliveries.

Another walk in the woods.

19 July 2020

Soup of the day! Onion, leek, and celery soup. The onions were from the garden.

18 July 2020

Went for a splendid walk in the woods. It rained but it was still well worth it. In other news, the government has decided to stop publishing daily Covid deaths. I wonder why?

17 July 2020

Some essential reading. Government deficits aren't a problem. In fact, they're essential. The proviso is that you have your own fiat currency and central bank like the UK has. If governments have a surplus the rest of us - private sector - have a deficit. That's how it works. So it's necessary for governments to run a deficit and its not necessary to pay it off. Governments don't tax and spend they spend and tax.

Anyway, if you read one non-fiction book this year make it this!

15 July 2020

138 people died yesterday but they're not mentioning it on the news anymore. Track and trace still isn't working well and there is still a massive row going on about wearing masks in shops. Covidiots are claiming that its an infringement of their freedom!

Made a great Carrot and Coriander soup with coriander from the garden. Very tasty!

14 July 2020

I didn't ever think my cauliflowers would amount to anything but this is a beauty! I also went to visit the horses in Eaton Lane.

13 JUly 2020

Monday has become bread making day.

12 July 2020

Much better today. It's warmer and sunnier!

11 July 2020

Coronavirus hasn't gone away. There were 185 deaths the other day. Recently, there have been idiotic arguments about wearing masks. Clearly, everyone should if they are in shops but the 'liberation' brigade thinks it's infringing their freedoms. Predictably irresponsible.

Went for a social distancing visit to see the MiL. Fortunately, the weather was pretty good so we were able to sit outside. She has a lovely big garden.

10 July 2020

Peter and I went for another walk. This time to the Macclesfield Forest. We wanted to do Shuttlingsloe but skipped it because the weather was pretty mixed with heavy showers. Still a good five mile walk though.

8 july 2020

Cloudy, grey and not that warm 😔 A post two days running though!

7 July 2020

Yesterday was reasonably sunny in the afternoon and I actually managed to cut the back lawn and do some gardening. Today its rained all day :(

At least I have a good book to read - The Divide by Jason Hickel is a brilliant summary of the causes of global poverty - in short, Western imperialism. Colonisation which damaged the economies of Africa, India and China and shortened to life expectancies of millions has been replaced by neoliberal economic imperialism where western corporations continue to loot the global south and leave these countries in debt bondage. It's appalling and needs to be ended. Recommended!

5 July 2020

Its been very windy recently and overall the weather has been poor with lots of rain. Its also been pretty cool and sometimes cold in the evenings. I hope this summer isn't going to be a washout. I guess this is climate change in action - we either seem to have long dry periods or long we ones :(

Today we managed to get out for a walk to Whitegate and Vale Royal Abbey.

2 July 2020

Another gap in postings. Covid deaths now estimated to be 65,500. The curve is flattening but there are plenty of cases still being reported. Leicester has gone into lockdown. Much of that is caused by poor working conditions in garment factories and the fact that those workers have had to continue working.

In better news, Peter and I went for a walk in Styal Country park. It was raining when we arrived but it soon eased off, and by the end of our walk the sun was shining!

Northcliffe Cross

River Bollin

Quarry Bank Mill

The Apprentice house