A Few Ramblings…
Forty-six year old Christian happily negotiating the world with a wife and three daughters
#BBCblackout – 29th March 2011
At about 11pm this evening the BBC website went offline. Here’s how things unfolded:
A new beginning – 26 March 2011
Last summer was pretty much written off as far as our vegetable plot was concerned. This was mainly due to the arrival of Emily, back in July, as well as the increasing ill-health of Dad.
This year we’re determined to do better and this morning I made the first inroads into remarking out the border in Mum’s garden. As you can see, it had become somewhat neglected since last year and there is much to do to make it usable.
First digging of 2011!
The plot itself is around twenty feet by ten feet and will be in dappled shade (from a silver birch) for most of the summer.
We already have plants growing in pots on the kitchen window-sill and my intention is to blog our progress to at least encourage us to make the initial effort worthwhile.
All the usual suspects will be there including carrots, runner beans and tomatoes. We also have some sunflowers to go in, as well as a gooseberry bush and rhubarb (which is hiding among the grass of 2010).
Watch this space for more exciting developments…
Happy 5th Birthday Twitter!
I thought I’d celebrate Twitter’s 5th Birthday with a few of my favourite tweets, starting with my very first one, sent 3 years ago today!
Here’s to the next five years!
A sunny day in the Cotswolds – 19th March 2011
It’s been a few years since we last visited the Cotswolds and as it was such a sunny day, something of a rarity at the moment, we decided it was high time for a return trip.
We left home around 10am and set off, via Bourne End for petrol, to join the M40. Once there we ended up playing the girl’s normal game of counting different brands on lorries (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda etc).
At one point there was a long gap in traffic heading the opposite direction from us on the M40 and eventually we came to a nasty accident which had blocked the motorway – sadly from reading the report, it appears that there was a fatality there.
Eventually we arrived at Little Chef in Burford where we stopped for an enjoyable lunch.
Little Chef Early Starter
With time marching relentlessly on, we soon headed off to Bourton-on-the-water, where Holly had a yearning to see Brum in a museum there. Fortunately we managed to get a space in the large car-park and headed off into the village.
We stopped for a short time on one of the bridges, during which time Sarah managed to drop Holly’s sunglasses into the river, causing much dismay. Fortunately she was able to wade into the water and effect a successful rescue.
Sarah, Holly and Rebekah on a bridge in Bourton
The Cotswold Motor Museum is home not only to a wide range of cars and motorbikes, but also to a host of old signage, motoring memorabilia from days gone by and also displays of more modern toys and games.
Rebekah found it difficult to appreciate that old televisions on display used to only have three channels on and that you had to get up from the sofa to change channel! We did manage to see Brum as well!
Rebekah and Holly with Brum
The girls enjoyed the museum – particularly it’s well-stocked gift shop!
After the museum it was time for an ice-cream and Emily enjoyed finishing off Holly’s one.
Emily polishing off an ice cream
We managed to fit in a little pottering around the shops before stopping for a drink at the Windrush Cafe.
Before we left, the girls decided they would like to visit the maze. I set off with Rebekah and left Sarah with Holly and Emily to help her. The maze has various ‘clues’ spread around it which help to reveal a secret when you reach the middle and the girls enjoyed looking out for them.
Finally, before we left Bourton, we were able to sit by the river and enjoy a picnic tea, albeit helped along with hot chips from the local chippy!
One of the many ducks in Bourton
Overall, it was a really enjoyable day and great to get out and about after several months having to focus on other things. The girls have already said that they would like to return at some point and there is a lot to see – even just in Bourton itself.
A Few Ramblings... 