...this is getting foolish...

...I keep forgetting to blog. That's not good blogging is it?

I have to get some discipline into this mallarkey and blog like a blogger who blogs like a blogger - perhaps.

Here's some pictures from recent times...

Back end of last summer at Quainton. The re-vamped lawn and a very tall bloke to cut it

Again at Quainton, lots of wood, a bonfire and some
logs for the log burners in the house, transferred to
to the old potting shed for drying out, below 

Compost at Quainton...

...and compost at Buckland, lovely stuff

Snowdrops last week at Buckland

Hellibores at Buckland too

Sorting the compost at Dancer's End I turned round and saw this scene -
when will winter start?

Last of the leaves at Buckland... Or not

Strange winter really, I've only lost 2 days so far, not forgetting I have been totally drenched on several occasions, even with full waterproofs on. Just hasn't been cold enough to call it winter.

A guy who totally changed my life, one way or the other, died a while back and I went back to the scene of many long hours spent getting cold, wet and abused. Here I am with one of my dear comrades, Patrick, from the Non-Stop Picket outside SA House in Trafalgar Square...

It was so wet on that day too, but Nelson Mandela kept us warm.

This was on the day of Madiba's funeral. About 20 old picketers turned up, we had a sing, a coffee in the crypt of St Martin's in the Field and I felt like a big piece of my life had finally come to it's end. The picket and my comrades mean more to me than almost anything in my life. Only my family mean more. I love them all - even the RCG...

And finally, saw this in our local farm shop recently...

...who would want to buy a Poultry Plucker at all, let alone for 250 quid!

Peace innit?

Post 118 part de deux - that'll be 119 then...

Here are then, this week at work. There was rain, hail, sunshine, freezing winds and lots of tea, nice...

One of the jobs I do is at two blocks of flats in Berkhamsted. Don't really like it but the plus is that I grab a cheeky pint at The Rising Sun pub, which is undoubtedly the best pub in Berkhamsted and probably the best in Hertfordshire too. Problem is, with a job like this you have loads of people with opinions on what you should be doing, which is OK, but - and it's a big BUT - when someone, just one, has an opposing opinion to the majority that opinion gets irritating. It's the old one bad apple in the barrel innit?

Also, when you take over a poorly kept lawn, full of moss and rubbish, it takes twice as long to cut. The first picture below shows it, it's horrible, creates dust and loads of particles of moss fly about getting on your chest, which is a bit rubbish if you're an asthmatic. Don't get me wrong, the money is fine and I do like the work, it's just it's too much like work. Y'know what I mean? It's almost corporate in context. All my other work is for individual families and they like what I do, ALL of them like what I do. Again, don't get me wrong, if things don't work out with people you just move on, that's fine, but corporate stuff means you just have to put up with the nonsense. Shame, why should you have put up with nonsense?

That's that off my chest and I promise it won't happen again in the foreseeable. The pictures below are all from the last 7/8 days.

The aforementioned rubbish bit of grass. It takes at
least 3 goes to collect all the cuttings too, horrible

Call me an old hippy, but I love the "LOVE & PEACE" graffiti. South Bank last Saturday...

Had to take this asa the Fabs are along the bottom of this pillar

One of the atriums at the Tate Modern, love big balloons

Cumulonimbus... The only cloud worth looking at

The above three pictures are from the big lawn at Rebecca's place in Quainton. They are getting a sit Husqvarna mower later in the year but I just couldn't leave it any longer and put in an ever decreasing circle. It was really good fun and I never noticed the 4 hours it took to do it - doesn't time fly when you're having a gooooood time?

Hellebores and Daffs at Julie's in Buckland

More Daffs at Julie's

The three above pix are the long lawn at Julie's place. I don't cut the grass here, which is good really as I would need to work there for at least 2 days a week, which would mean giving up one of my other gardens, which I couldn't do, no now. That's a Medlar tree on the right, beautiful gnarly old branches and a lovely little den for Julie's kids.

Tom & Vicky's place in Aldbury. Alison has been looking after this for me
recently. It looks great and the little lawn I put in last year, top of pic, is
looking really nice 

Yet another newly cut lawn. Again, first cut of the year, so it took very
nearly four hours to do. Lots of moss again, but far more manageable
and I really like the way it looks with the cross-cutting. Not sure about the
"installation" though... This house is in Chesham Bois by the way.

So there you have it, only four days of work, but loads done and Sophie was 13 on Monday, blimey, our little girl a teenager...


Happy happy!!!

Hello again! Par de uno

Well, the second week of the new gardening season* kicked off with a quick tidy up in Pat's back garden - don't want to take away too much though as there was a heavy frost over night and the old leaves and foliage keep the new shoots nice and warm. Then returned to the front and finished off clearing up the disaster left by some idiot scaffolders who ruined the edging of the grass. Basically drivers tend to turn round on the area of grass in front of Pat's and it churns up the grass, but the scaffolders did a really great (sic) job of making a quagmire out of it, so I have attempted to clean it up, make it look better and with the help of some strategically placed posts (rustic stylee) will make it look good and impossible to do a u-eeee over!

Should have taken a proper "before" but I only thought to do it after about an hour's work 

Then over to the allotment to carry on with the digging. I only have about a third left to do and then I'll be getting the manure/home made compost on it. Very exciting as the potatoes, onions, shallots and garlic turned up on Friday, all nicely chitting and pre-planted in the greenhouse yesterday.


While cleaning out the chickens yesterday there was a very loud bang and crash. Yep! Footballs and greenhouses don't go together... Poor Finlay got shouted at, which is always wrong - note to self, anger management, anger management, anger management...


A few catch-up pictures. The first one is the seed, mixed with sharp sand, for the wild flower meadow at Quainton. A cornucopia of loveliness...

And these are some of the many signs of Spring at Church Farm, Buckland, Julie & Andrew's place...

I do like a daff or two and those hellebores make my heart jump and the narcissi at the bottom even beat the daffs - speaking of daffs, well done the Welsh for winning the Six Nations, marvellous stuff...


Pat left me the keys to let Fergus out today, so he could have a run about and do his "business". The below is as far as he got from the back door! Bless the ol' fella!

And finally, yesterday being Mother's Day, here's a picture of mum and son that I just couldn't resist...

Happy cuddling!


*NB: The new gardening season is a figment of my imagination by the way, I just call it that as I am now back working on all the regular gardens I have and it's a rather lovely sign that Spring is really here and I can stop being a miserable git for the next 8/9 months...

Man of the Match; wild flower meadow; Karcher again, etc

Well hello! It's been a long time - ish...


Busy, busy, busy, but no excuse for not doing this since February. Biggest, most important thing that's happened since? Finlay, age 6, Man of the Match against Bovingdon on Sunday and he didn't even want to play in defence! He was class, even going on a couple of David Luiz style raids forward. Proud parents is all I can say.


As to gardening, well where to start. Karchered my way round Rebecca's in Quainton:

I know I have an obsession with this contraption, but it does do a superb job, but please wear waterproof trousers if you ever attempt to do a job on this scale...

Also, made a really good start on the meadow area. Cleared away lots of weeds and rubbish from under the trees and will hopefully get the OK on hiring a turf stripper/cutter which will mean I can clear the area out in the open in just one day. This is the area shown from both ends:

The area I've cleared is the far end. This is fairly late in the day so does not show the full effect of the sun on the open area. It's a long term project, which I love, because it means I am going to be here for some time to come. Love it!

And, finally at Quainton, here's the hellibores I moved from the proposed tennis court area, plus a few ferns and such like. They have settled in beautifully, but then again they're not my favourite flowers for nothing, they're just so easy...

Over at Buckland and the pond had some visitors the week before last, couldn't believe it!

Yes a duck couple, unfortunately you can only see the male as this was taken on my mobile and the camera isn't that good.

A view of the pond from the top, delightful!

And finally a quick look at the allotment:

The digging is coming on a treat, I will be putting on some compost this week. Sowed the cabbages at the weekend, awaiting the potatoes, sowed five different varieties of tomatoes, put in some salad leaves in the greenhouse, as well as salad onions and some onions too - eat your heart out Tesco!

And absolutely finally for this blog, the new chicks arrived three weeks ago and they are very cute, as you can see:

Tallulah - who has a "gammy" toe on her left foot, she hobbles a bit but seems in no real discomfort - she chirrups all the time bless her...

Tilly, very robust!

Clarrie, Harriet, Bridie (hidden somewhat) & Betsy - all laying! We had 12 eggs last week, so basically now they are in full flow, so to speak, we should start getting well over 20 eggs a week from them. Half dozen Murray Eggs anyone? £1.73 to you!

Happy laying!

A Lovely Day today...

I know I have this obsession of going on about loving being away from the corporate world, but today was a day I would have thought was only possible in my silly dreams just 3 years ago - can't believe it's three years since SchmArgos "did the dirty on me", but it is and what a relief!


Who would want to sit in front of a computer staring at JML Fast Fit Ironing Board Cover - Pawprint, catalogue number 850/1116, checking it for colour just so Mrs Miggins won't be disappointed and return it? Yep, who would want to do that as against looking after this?

Finally got rid of the roots to a poorly placed hedge today, it's taken me forever, but the area will be planted with lavender to match the other side of the steps.

Moved all those hellibores and ferns middle left of picture a few weeks ago, they've settled in well. That whole area was pretty much over grown with ground cover, I want to reproduce a sort Jekyll (Gertrude that is) effect in the shade if I can. There's anemones in the back and I want to plant up some foxgloves as well, few more ferns too...

Also dug out a couple of medium sized shrubs from a small ornate-ish border in the main lawn area (NB: don't know why this has gone to double line spacing). I have also been working on this for a while. A tree specialist moved the two ash trees on either side, I did the topiary(?), ha ha!

Nice bit of work that should look really good come the summer - I hope!

This is where I moved the shrubs to. It's at the top of a little hill that drops down to an area we are going to plant up as a wild flower meadow and then down to a dried up stream.

The wild flower meadow is inspired by Sarah Raven's series, Bees, Butterflies and Blooms. Her best bit of work ever I think. If you didn't see it it is actually worth doing an iPlayer visit, at least on the last episode shown last night. Suffice to say I am really looking forward to starting work on the meadow, I
feel a song coming on:


Ohhhhhhh, There's a bright golden haze on the meadow

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow 

The corn is as high as an elephant's eye, 

An' it looks like it's climbin' clear up to the sky. 




Well there we go, you even get a blast of Howard Keel on here! Also cut back 


some grass from the edge of the pond, so it truly was a busy day, but so worth 


it. Oh and a bay tree that blocked a view across Aylesbury Vale towards Oxford. 


This is another area of the garden that will be worked at some point this year. 


Exciting stuff.

Front door - there are plans to make it more obvious!

Finally, some lovely flowers in the front garden:

Exquisite hellebore - I really think they are my favourite flower and not just because they are so easy to grow!

Beautiful iris in amongst my obsession at the moment, some snowdrops

And after the digging and moving and re-planting, here is a picture of the sky between a redwood and a yew tree - yep, I was flat out on me back!

Happy, happy!