Tag: happiness

Making a work of art

From one garden to another. Building a garden is a long term work of art. Here I am at the start with a blank canvas waiting to be filled. Let’s make a start.

Gardens that are portrayed on television are created in an afternoon. Nice.

However in reality it takes an awful lot longer to produce a garden, and just as in any art form requires a lot of planning, thinking, constant changing of mind, and repositioning items so they fit just perfectly.

My previous garden in our old house took me about 8 years to get to a seasoned level, where all planting looked authentic and had been specifically chosen to season in a garden that was north facing. Believe me, winter months were like an episode of Game of thrones, winter came and stayed in our garden for immense periods, whilst our neighbours South facing gardens experienced a much improved and sunnier outlook. I had to plant accordingly and this is what took time. An awful lot of trial and error and sacrifice of a number of plant species.

My previous garden

Having now moved to a new build property you will understand the challenge that now faces me. In new builds you are presented with a stamp sized piece of turfed property surrounded by walls and fencing, and some people like to keep this look. Some go for the “Landscaping” option, basically just putting in place loads of paving stones and decking, to create a low maintenance garden. Each to their own I say, but this option is not for me. I want to recreate my previous garden. I have the time. I want to see wildlife in this garden, I now have an easterly facing garden, and good light from early morning until mid afternoon, it couldn’t be more different to that cold northern facing garden I had previously.

My blank canvas and a lovely rainbow

There are a lot of birds flying around, the majority of them being wagtails, interspersed with a few pigeons, blue tits, robins and a few other small to medium avian visitors. First thing I did here was to put up a bird house on the rear wall before I’ve planted anything. I purchased a house with a blank garden, maybe there is a bird family out there also looking for a new build!

A small birdhouse on the rear wall

The bird bath is in place, brought in from the previous garden, I’ve yet to place it in the best position, I’m just awaiting a few other items prior to this happening.

First thing I want to do is to get some miniature trees in place, and in this case I have five of them lined up to go across the rear fence, these will be the main structures of the garden and everything else will be planted to complement these trees.

The first three smaller trees are the first to go into place, I have two small Salix Kilmarnocks, one of these will be planted either side of a Ceanothus, otherwise known as a Californian lilac. This will create a nice contrasting centre piece, in about three years the Ceanothus will be about 5 or 6 feet tall blooming with beautiful lilac colours, probably peaking in size at about 8-10 feet tall. They can grow taller but it’s my plan to top it out at about 10 feet maximum. The Salix along side will both bloom like miniature weeping willows growing no higher than about 5 feet in height but they will also grow in width displaying lovely foliage as well as furry catkins, its perfect for the smaller garden.

The Ceanothus, with the Salix Kilmarnock on either side.

I have shopped around for the remaining two trees and I was prepared to pay a good price, for two good examples to complete this part of the garden. I discussed my plans with a chap called Jack at a garden centre in the Rutland area and as a result the following two trees were delivered, they are a nice size, too big to be transported in a car.

Amelanchier canadensis (sugar plum)

On the right of the fence is the tree that will be the tallest, this is a Amelanchier canadensis, also known as “Sugar plum”. I purchased this one as the name “Sugar plum” was the nickname given to my wife by her late Father, it seemed wholly appropriate and was just a nice touch. This tree should top out at about 14 feet, it has a lovely mixture of berries and beautiful snow flake type flowers, it will spread well and blend in lovely with the whites, greys, purples and greens beside it. It’s a beautiful tree.

Prunus ‘Accolade’ (Flowering
Cherry)

To the left of the other trees we have an absolute beauty, it’s one of the finest ornamental cherries that you can buy. Even as it was being delivered and moved out of the delivery van, it had a small, appreciative army of bees and pollinators surrounding it, even as I was planting it they remained there, it was a pleasure to see and the tree is a tonic for the eyes, it’s gorgeous. This tree will not grow any higher than the 5 or 6 feet it is already at, however it will bloom outwards creating a cascading display of pink blooms in the spring before showing a display of dark green foliage prior to turning Orange later in the year. It will then lose its foliage before starting all over again the following spring.

These five small trees will supply colour, cover, and hopefully a place of trust for the local birds. The planting that will then take place below them will Hopefully attract bees, butterflies and other insect life that will also support the food chain.

The five trees in place

The trees have supplied the undercoat to the artwork, everything will now be designed and worked around them. I have a couple of good Rhododendrons, one that came from the old house as well as a lovely Magnolia called “Susan” and a young Wisteria planted to climb the rear of the property. Add to that a couple of young Verbernum “Snowball” bushes, I think we have enough to be getting on with, it’s a work in progress.

I have a vision of how this will look in a few years from now and to be honest I’m quite excited about it. And yes, I’m keeping as much of the grass as possible. At the moment it is a beautiful green carpet of loveliness, something I’ve never had before and I intend to keep it.

I will update this post as things develop and get added, but I know this is going to be a lengthy drawn out process. Believe me, it will be worth the wait.

Patience is necessary, and one cannot reap immediately where one has sown.

Soren Kierkegaard

Have a great day.

Wisdom

“Who is wise? Nobody, apparently.

Deserted room

“Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.”

Benjamin Franklin

Thank god I’m a coward

There’s nothing wrong with being a coward. There are some risks just not worth taking.

What’s the biggest risk you’d like to take — but haven’t been able to?

Twice in my life I have been a coward. And I’m quite pleased that I was, in fact I have great comfort in being a coward, it has made me a better person. I took a risk on two occasions, but I was unable to follow through as intended,

Twice in the past I have tried to take my own life.

I’m writing this post, so as you can see I was unsuccessful.

Thank the Lord.

I took a risk, I didn’t want to take it, but was prepared to do so.

When you finally get to those places and times in your life, when you just can’t take no more, rational thought and actions go out of the window. For some reason you are unable to see a good outcome, nothing can release you from this blanket of blackness that has now surrounded you and has become your cocoon, the item that protects you from the outside world. Your waiting room between here and the other side….whatever and wherever that may be.

My first attempt was an overdose, I was only a teenager, probably about 17 – 18 years old, the result of a failed relationship that I probably thought was the best thing that had happened in my life, it wasn’t, that occurred about 7 years later when I met the love of my life who is with me today. Being a coward then, made me realise what I would have missed out on if I had not been a coward that day, life truly does get better, I was a teenager, I had little life experience but was ready to throw away the best and most precious gift I had ever been given – life. It’s that simple.

The second time was probably back in the early 90s, I was on the railway as a train guard/revenue officer. I had in a small period of time had a knife pulled on me on two separate occasions, I had been assaulted, and was also followed home where my home had all of its windows smashed – all because of the work I was doing. I duly had a breakdown. People who were friends and colleagues distanced themselves from me, in the 90s the mental side of things was a taboo subject, and I was now the target for ridicule and derision from those I worked with. I wandered on to the tracks of the north bound Northern line underground at Euston station, and was saved by a friendly individual working in the same business as me. I was very ill and was taken home, the only help i received was being given a couple of weeks off before resuming work in a light duties role with some of those that had only weeks before ridiculed me.

I had only been married a few months when this had occurred and I remember the reaction from my wife when she found out, she was beside herself, she had not known how I felt, I disguised things so well and she was rightly angry with me for not talking to her. But that’s not the done thing for us blokes is it?

But I was willing in those moments to give up on everyone who loved me, how bloody selfish was that?

Again though, I looked back again and thought to myself, what the hell are you doing? Those problems where solvable, they didn’t need to overwhelm me so much, nothing was that bad.

And there is where it lies.

Nothing is that bad that you really have to look at ending it all to solve your problems. I realise that now, and I’m so inherently thankful that I have that “coward” gene set firmly within my psyche.

When I think of all the fantastic things I have seen and done, all the wonderful people I have had the pleasure in meeting in that time, this would not have been at all possible if I’d decided to carry those actions out in the past.

I see the kids stressing out over exam results, struggling to meet their parents expectations, and thinking that they are failures, unfortunately you always hear of a few who succumb to that black cloak of depression. I just wish I could have a few minutes with them to just let them know how needed they are and how fabulous they are going to be. It’s such an unnecessary waste of wonderful people.

It’s strange to know I am still in the business of the railway, and to be honest I spend much of my time either reaching out to individuals or being the first on the scene when they are brave enough to carry out their final actions under that awful cloak of depression. I always say a prayer for them, and I sincerely hope they are at peace, but at the same time I also feel immense pain for those they have left behind asking that unanswerable question, “Why?”

I’m glad I’m a coward, and that my risk taking is minimal, I’ve been to some very dark places in the past, but now I handle things a great deal better. I love life so much, I love those around me and value the most simplest of things. Nothing is more precious than life. All life.

Sometimes you have to venture close to the edge to really appreciate just what you have got.

If you ever wobble, if you ever have those dark thoughts, reach out to someone. I promise you, nothing, nothing at all is really that bad.

I’m here. I’m a coward, and by god am I pleased about that.

Stay safe. Be kind.

The history

Why are we cancelling everything?

What aspects of your cultural heritage are you most proud of or interested in?

In respect of my heritage, history has always fascinated me, and now it annoys me in equal measures.

What fascinates me as it always has, since back in my childhood days, is that I love to know how people worked, lived and managed to survive in a period of time when just one random off the cuff comment could have you accused of many a crime. God forbid if you said anything about the establishment as you’d probably be missing your head before too long.

And the annoying part is that we are in a society where groups of individuals are wanting to cancel everything. People are wanting to wipe out history because they disagree with what happened. That’s history folks! The fact that we don’t (in general, good society, anyway) go around inflicting on the populace accusations of “Witchcraft” “Heresy” and whatever, means we have learned something from that history. We generally don’t make the mistakes of the past as we have become better people and learned from that horrific history that pre dates us all.

She’s right….

I can’t get enough of history, it’s potentially my favourite subject and I will gladly overdose on it in either book or film format. I just love it.

I don’t feel the urge to go and lop off someone’s head, or to take part in hanging, drawing and quartering anyone (not today anyway….) and that’s because we have all learnt, and moved on from those terrible times. We learn from the mistakes of the past, and to wipe out history leaves us in the unenviable position of not knowing the difference between right and wrong, we might as well all go and bury our heads in the sand and just imagine it never happened.

I have news for you Sherlock, it did happen, and as long as we learn, develop and make better then we are being taught by our historical misdemeanours, hopefully to never venture back to those dark old days.

Cancelling solves nothing. In the words of the Jamaican activist- Marcus Garvey,

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”

And he isn’t wrong, I used to have a tee shirt with that on it in my teenage years..

History, it shapes our futures. Don’t cancel it.

Have a superb day…

Dwarf sunflower

Just a tiny sunflower

Planted these from seed a few months back and they seem to be a dwarf sunflower. It’s only about 18 inches tall and it’s in full flower. Needs support though as the stalk is about half the circumference of my little finger. Looks lovely though.

Always the radio

What do you listen to while you work?

As a child of the 60s, Tv was very much still in its infancy and has never really had a hold on me. To this day I watch very little Tv whereas my wife is the total opposite, and all those Tv subscriptions really add up.

I however prefer the radio, always have done and always will do, you can take the Tv away and I truly would not miss it for a single second.

I was brought up on radio, the excitement of owning your very own transistor radio that went everywhere with you. In bed late at night listening to those old sports broadcasts as well as walking the streets with it permanently held to your ear listening to your favourite channel, way before Walkmans and MP3 players got in on the act.

The radio I always have on in my workspace

I learnt about radio at an early age, how it worked, who invented it as well as participating in its experimental usage as I grew up, I even took the RAE exam and got my City and guilds qualification in radio, I became a radio Amateur and the experimentation went up a few notches. I think this is where my fascination in repairing all these devices comes from, an incessant, absolute thirst for knowledge and a fascination in just knowing how things work.

I sit in my little work area and have a simple radio I recently repaired, set on my station of choice, and in the Uk that is “Boom radio”. It plays my type of music and still has familiar DJs I grew up with as a child, I’m stuck in a fantastical time warp.

Radio, I use it all the time, and to me it will always be the premier medium of entertainment that i will always turn to.

Have a great day.

Brothers Memorial Day

My dear brother John succumbed to the “Bastard” that is Cancer ten years ago.

He was a lovely guy, fun to be with and the family compared him to a character who used to be on UK television called “Arthur Daley”. Anyone who knew that character would know why we made the comparison with John, as he’d be involved in everything all totally Kosher of course….cough,cough.

A decision was made at his wake that we’d have a family day, once a year at one of his favourite spots, Cassiobury park in Watford. And yesterday was the tenth anniversary meeting, it was a lovely day, however the weather didn’t really behave itself. Despite Watford have plus 30 degree days for getting on for a week now, yesterday the rain decided to hit in near biblical quantities. But did it dampen the day? No, we all had a great time and it was great to see everyone.

Cassiobury park in Watford

I lived for 54 years in Watford and never really liked the place, I really dislike going there but sometimes you just do what you have to do. It’s no big sacrifice is it? But there is no doubt about it that the park at Cassiobury is one of the finest, most beautiful public spaces I have ever visited in this country, it really is a stunning well kept and huge piece of parkland that you really should visit if you are ever in the area.

The normal agenda is for us all to meet at a local hotel and then wander off to the park with a picnic, seats and numerous bats, balls, frisbees and whatever, to have a good afternoon of laughter and sporting activity, that normally results in aches, pains and strains for the older participants that I can truly relate to as I write this post this morning.

There were 21 of us on this on this occasion, from all around the country, Southampton, Leeds, Wales and everywhere else in between. It really was a superb turnout and just shows how much John was loved.

A good turnout, the weather held out for a while

I often like to have a wander, and as I previously stated it’s a massive park and deserves to be explored so here are a few pics to show it off

A lovely clean park

About 5pm the weather was drawing in and we decided to move out of the park, however we weren’t quick enough, the rain hit – heavy, and we were caught out. Thankfully we had some umbrellas ☔️ and we made our way back towards the hotel. Myself and my wife were bringing up the rear and we stopped under a tree, in the park and just watched the rain. It was beautiful, a calm and lovely moment in a world of total chaos, the only two people in our own little world, it was just one of those photographic moments that your mind creates for future reference.

The rain hit, and created a beautiful memory

Back to the hotel to dry off, and then we were out to a local eatery for a meal, 21 people into a restaurant is a feat of organisation itself, and thanks go to the ladies in the group for doing that without a hitch.

We left Watford about 10pm for a drive back to the East Midlands, we said our goodbyes, made arrangement for a couple of other gatherings that are on the horizon, and had probably our best run home up the motorway that we’d had in many a year.

A superb day was had by all, it reminds me of a picture that was displayed at Johns funeral that made everyone laugh.

Says it all

Sums him up perfectly and had everyone who knew him smiling and grinning whilst nodding in agreement. It was him. And this is how we remember him.

We have a date for next years gathering, and I can’t wait.

Memories, there is nothing like creating wonderful memories. People may physically be gone from our lives, but they are never, ever, forgotten.

Thanks for reading. Have a super day.

Just a few snapshots

No words or trying to speak “Proper” here. 13 of us have just arrived back from four most beautiful days on the east coast at Norfolk. Temperatures up into the high twenties, a phenomenon not often experienced on this coast in the UK. It made for a wonderful break away, and this family bond remains as strong as ever as a result. Here are some photos to chew on, all taken with my trusty iPhone 14.

All taken in and around Gorleston and Hopton on sea- Norfolk

Have a super day, stay safe and enjoy this wonderful weather.

Hey, it’s June

Meaning just where the hell have the last six months gone. Sit back and blink and that’s half the year already gone. It’s amazing that once the better weather kicks in just how quick it just all seems to cascade by, if only you could put the brakes on time and just enjoy it a little bit longer.

The garden has bulked up after the perfect mix of rain and sunlight, and is about to abruptly burst into colour, some of them are impatiently exploding already and it’s starting to look lovely. But it will all be over too soon and that barren, bleak lack of colour will soon be on us. Oh for year round colour, if only.

Butterfly in my garden

The house is warming up, and as we are in quite an old house it’s the one time of the year when the environment isn’t controlled by the heating system, allowing a welcome break from the claws of the energy production companies. We now have the windows open.

That’s another issue. Opening windows. If like us you currently live near the intersection of two major road arteries then you will know what I’m on about. Opening the windows means you let every speeding, inconsiderate motoring manifestation into your home, like it or not. And the dirt and dust produced by vehicles throttling past your door 24hrs a day means no matter how much you dust, there will be more for you in a few minutes to remove. Maybe time goes so fast as the amount of toxicity we must be inhaling is controlling just how long we have left? Who knows?

Digitalis in the garden

Well the windows can’t stay open forever as you’d never get a good nights sleep if you wanted to, because of the boy racers and bike demons who constantly insist on revving their two and four wheeled steeds as they race off into the distant night.

We have a lovely family getaway coming up this month when about 18 of us are heading off to the East coast for a few days. The nice thing is that there is a great mix of ages from about 21 right up to the late 70s and that is wonderful, it’s great to know the youngsters want to spend time with us old farts, to be honest it’s pretty much down to them that this holiday is being arranged, oh and the usual organisational craft work of my dear wife.

On this holiday all the old fellahs, take a boat to float on the boating lake at Gorleston on the east coast. On the day we travel up, it’s always been a quick stopover and a tradition for two of the older members to float their radio controlled boats they have spent a lot of time and patience on. I’ve always jokingly threatened them that one day I’d build a submarine or military boat that would blow theirs out of the water. This year that veiled threat has been achieved and I will hopefully be joining the ranks of the family boating fraternity when I let my torpedo destroyer loose on the good folk of Gorleston. I’ve been building this boat since it was brought as a present for me by a very good family friend on my last birthday. Its construction has already been touched on, through my blog : PT109 wooden torpedo boat kit – construction and I’m hoping the build and testing of the boat will be completed and published within the next few days. It was always my goal to have it ready for this break. Let’s see what happens.

Pt109 boat kit

About now, is probably my favourite part of the year as I have discussed on here before, May & June, that period when spring kicks in and is a precursor to the oncoming summer. But as I’ve said earlier it is all over too soon.

And what a perfect canvas is currently in place for the ongoing sale of this property, yes that is in full swing now and the footprints of strangers should start being witnessed around this property very shortly….but in a way I’m not really bothered if it sells or not. I love this place apart from the negatives I’ve stated above, and as you can see they are few.

No doubt the Christmas stock is already sailing the oceans of the world to be in all our supermarkets very shortly. As if summer is not already short enough.

Whatever the season is wherever you are on this little ball of rock floating around in space, enjoy it, have fun and always spare a friendly outlook to those looking in. It doesn’t last long, so enjoy it whilst you can.

Thanks for popping by.

Operation teabag

I like to think we are quite a laid back household, easy going and fairly stress free. We have our routines and the best one of the day is the two cups of tea in the morning before considering doing anything.

But today at around 6am, a big dark cloud began to form above the house. The mood went dark and not a word was spoken, silence hung in the air.

I’d been down to make cuppa number one, i opened the caddy and a horror washed over my face and through my entire soul. How shall I break the news to my wife who is currently in a slumber, should I even wake her at all?

Only one teabag! Oh the shame and horror!

There is only one teabag 😧

We’ve both been quite ill lately and I guess the normally large supply we have in the house has dwindled as a result of not participating in much shopping.

I had a dilemma. Should I make myself one? Should I share a tea bag (Oh the horror) or should I just take her one and then break the routine and go and source more?

I went with the latter. I grabbed some breakfast and a glass of water, and then decided to go for a fairly protracted walk to get some tea. Yes I have the car and could have been a lot more expedient, however I will walk wherever I can, so i decided to skip routine and go for the walk. After first giving the last tea bag to the wife, because that’s the kind of guy I am 😉

We have tea… we can all rest now
A little 3.3 mile walk logged

Anyway, a pleasant 3.3 mile walk later and the cloud has dispersed from the house, the sun is shining and the birds are singing (you get the picture) and normality has resumed and routine has now been restored.

It’s funny how something such as tea can structure your day and how dependent you become on routine. Only when it’s broken do you realise how reliant you are on it.

Now for my two morning cuppas, nothing more is being done until this has been accomplished.

Happy day everyone.