Monday 11 June 2012

I promise not to mention the weather... Part Deux

Two posts in a day - sounds like a song a la Crowded House's Four Seasons in One Day, love 'em. Now I've mentioned them I am listening to Weather With You, class. Neil Finn has to be one of the nicest blokes - I know it's not possible to know that for sure, but he was one of the blessed Linda McCartney's favourites, so he must be good.


On my way to Quainton every Tuesday morning I pass through a new housing estate and I laugh a lot. And this is why I laugh a lot:







This place is about 30 seconds from the edge of Aylesbury and, all due respect to the people of Aylesbury, but it's not the most scenic of places and has a bit of a reputation for drugs and suchlike. And I do not judge here, not by any stretch of anyone's imagination. These signs are for a pile of crap estate called Kingsfield Park and they say (just in case you can't read them):


1 Kingsfield Park  - Air to Breathe


2 Kingsfield Park  - Space to Think


3 Kingsfield Park  - Space to Think (again)


4 Kingsfield Park  - Room to Grow


It's a shockingly misleading bit of marketing. Most of the houses are back to back and cramped up into little cul-de-sacs that could not give you space to swing the proverbial marketing exec, let alone to think, breathe and grow. I guess I'm just a house snob, I like old houses, at least turn of last century and new estates just seem such anodyne little boxes with gardens the size of a stamp. All too pretty and possibly not that well built. Here's a couple of the house styles from their website:






Gimme Victorian streets any day!


This is the top of the driveway at Rebecca's in Quainton, about five minutes drive from Kingsfield:






And here are some flowers from the top of the drive too:






Nice!


Happy house hunting - if you're doing it!



I promise not to mention the weather...

OK, I feel a bit lost. I am one of those sad individuals who has to do something. And by something, I mean work. I have this innate feeling that I must earn to justify my existence. When I think logically about that obvious psychotic behaviour I should tell myself, "Chill, if you can't work it's not your fault", but I feel like I'm letting people down. All those nice people with their lovely gardens... Ho hum.


Anyhoo, I have a backlog of pictures to upload and will basically make a selection from the past month or so. It's probably a good thing as I have quite a lot and so I must edit out the worst ones. (Can't believe I haven't blogged for over a month, still can't get the hang of this!)


First time in my life I actually love a car - not in the fruity sense of the word obviously, that would be berserk. The "Belgrano" (big and grey and never been anywhere near the Falklands) is a beauty and now I have discovered boxes it's actually quite neat!
Here are some little jobs I have done, not insignificant of course just some nice tidying up, something I actually enjoy - slightly gay?


Before...

...after. A nice little cottage in Tring

Before...

...after. The greenhouse area at Rebecca's place in Quainton - why is this soooo enjoyable?
Before...

...after. A little bit of topiary at Julie's place in Buckland. I sometimes feel cutting hair may have been a good career, but then I think hair is such a bad idea...
Some flowers:







"Bellis perennis is a common European species of Daisy, of the aster family, often considered the archetypal species of that name. Many related plants also share the name "daisy", so to distinguish this species from other daisies it is sometimes qualified as common daisylawn daisy or English daisy."
Many thanks to Wikipedia! I love daisies, such a shame I spend so much of my time mowing them up. I think they are so quintessentially British and we should adopt the little beauty as our national flower, sod the rose!
And here are some pretty pictures (I think) sort of at random. Yeah, that's the sun in the top one - damn! does that constitute mentioning the weather?





This is a painting in waiting isn't it? Love those shadows, but seeing as my current painting has been sitting in the dining room untouched for about 3 months, it ain't gonna happen some time soon

The previously flowerless wisteria at Pat's.
I'm hoping next year will see it awash!

Lunch time at Pat's - gotta get those feet up some time!
OK! That's it for this post, I'm going to have to write another to include the remainder of the pictures. They have a bit of an irreverent feel, so I think it would be out of place in a blog with such nice pictures.


Back in a mo...


Happy days!