Lost again!

Well, that's it for the year squash-wise! Lost to David yesterday and now he's going to win the third quarter as well as the first two. End of competition 2009.

Thought we'd start a new competition to the end of the year (after all, we can't just play friendlies!), totalling up who wins the most games between now and then. But that got off to a wonkey start when we burst all three squash balls I'd brought and had to finish half way through the first game.

So my opportunity to hold all competition cups has drained away. Thinking positively though, I'm hoping for another walloping of both sons on Thursday when we play pitch and putt... if I can repeat the record breaking rounds of 34.

Been up early this morning making rhubarb jam. The recipe is below, I've been doing the dicing and blanching bit.

Almost finished the garage tidy yesterday, including a bit of a debate with the domestic executive about where son John's bed bits were to be stored. I'd had a brainwave and put them in the garage rafters, but they ended up back were they were, resting against the garage wall. By the afternoon I'd really started to clear some space when the new boarder arrived with another car load of stuff. His clothes managed to make it upstairs and into the wardrobe, but his DVDs (lots and lots) only managed it as far as the new space in the garage... even though he wants them in his bedroom as well! So I'll be hauling them up there today... is it a requirement of parenthood to have a frontal lobotomy?

Had another bike incident on Saturday... was cycling home through the cemetary extension admiring the new drainage channels that have been dug when a pile of dirt crept up on me. Fortunately I only clipped the edge, but made for an interesting few seconds.

Here's the rhubarb jam recipe I'm using...

Ingredients:

1.5kg rhubarb

1.2kg sugar

Recipe:

Peel the rhubarb and you should end up with the same weight of rhubarb to sugar. Cut the stalks into lengths of two to three centimetres. Blanch for one minute by plunging them into a pan of boiling water, then drain well. Place in a bowl with alternate layers of sugar and leave to steep for twelve hours.

Drain the rhubarb into a bowl, retaining the juice. Bring the juice to the boil gently and simmer for ten minutes. Add the rhubarb and cook over a moderate heat until it disintegrates (takes about ten minutes). Mix and remove the foam from the top with a holed ladle frequently. Turn the heat up for ten minutes, being careful the colour doesn't change (be careful, this can happen really quickly!).

Check the jam is ready by testing a drop on a tilted plate. The jam shouldn't run, if it sticks straight away at an angle it's ready. Put into clean dry jars fairly soon and close the lids straight away. When the jars have cooled completely label and store away from light and damp.

More photos below. Thanks for reading my blog. John

	The first geese setting off to escape the English winter (click to enlarge). It would be sad to see them go if it weren't for the thought that the next time they'll be flying over it'll be Spring.
	White grape vine cuttings that have taken really well. Lots of strong roots coming out of the bottom of the pot.
	Been looking for a hop plant for ages, but on the rare occasions I've seen them in a garden centre they've been about £15. Spotted this plant when one of the local orchards had an open day... £2.50! Going to try making my own beer from scratch.
	Getting lots of really sweet tomatoes form the greenhouse. The Gardeners Delight are really good, but the Tigerella are not so sweet... don't think I'll grow them next year since the main attraction seems to be they're striped.
	Lots of work being done on the cemetaryt extension, big machines putting in drainage.
	Here's the front plot this month...
	... and the back plot.

Wishing for a rainbow

Feels like I've been doing that for some time in my weekly battles with sons. With 58 years fast approaching and them just in their prime there have been odd moments (just moments you understand) when I've started to wonder whether the slow decline into old age has started, and sons are beginning to get pay back for all the years when Dad was God at football, squash, darts etc etc.

So the sudden success at squash, with two consecutive wins and a chance of me forcing a playoff for the month if I win tomorrow, has come a something of a surprise. Forget David's claims that it's down to him breaking his racquet... it happened after the match on my first win, and the loaned racquet on the second win was the same make as his broken one. How dare he try and take the credit away!

But now I'm likely to go over all Dickie (Attenborough) as I relate the amazing pitch and putt result. Since we started playing in early summer John has been the winner by some margin and held the record round of 38. With my best at 40 I'd been struggling. But on Thursday I went round twice for 34 each time! So not only do I hold the record round by some margin, but I've also got boy wonder on the back foot with a chance to take the overall lead next week!

Won't mention the darts / pool, which I was winning until it came to the pool bit. Or the tennis... although I hold the title it's more by default since Barry and I haven't played for a few weeks, weddings and holidays getting in the way.

Speaking of boy wonder, our youngest son is moving back in for a couple of months. His flatmate is giving up the flat to move and John hasn't found alternative accomodation yet. Cue much clucking from his mother, who's secretly looking forward to mothering him a bit... though this may change when he's knocking about at 5am on his way to work, or falling over early in the morning after a night out on the town. Apparently he's going to buy his own food and do his own washing (though he may be aiming to use his mum's washing machine, which is unlikely since she thinks the machine is on its last legs and John's smalls will push it over the edge).

In preparation for squeezing a a quart into a pint pot I started yet another tidy out of the garage... been planning to get stuck in anyway to make space for my industrial wine making (see below). Warm feelings (of the type that involves hot collars) came over me as I realised much of what was in there was storage from when he moved out a year ago, but having huffed and puffed for a few hours including numerous trips to the tip I managed to clear a good space for my brew. While I was out it made its first visit to deposit stuff and promptly filled the space! Think we're heading for a new chapter in father-son relationships which may call for diplomatic skills of the United Nations.

After the success of last year's apple wine and the abundance of free fruit at this time of year I've invested in some five gallon carboys, the idea being to make enough wine to last for a year. I've already had many pounds of apples stewing in two five gallon barrels of water for a few days... in fact one of them appears to have started fermenting without the addition of any yeast. Maybe that's how you make cider. There's a delicious smell from what is now apple juice, and after removing the apples I'll be adding wine yeast later today to start the proper fermentation. Give that a couple of weeks, move into the new carboys and I can start another lot in the bins. Each five gallons makes about 30 bottles of wine.

After the initial thoughts about changing my car I've now taken the plunge and am getting a Fiat Panda 1.1 Active Eco. Of course there were a few bumps on the road to ordering... what swung the decision for me was seeing the car advertised at £4,995 including scrappage scheme allowance in a Fiat TV advert. We're doing a swap around of cars in the family... Becky is having my Fiat Punto, and the new car is going in Barry's name initially so their old Punto can be part of the scrappage deal. Pitched up at the dealers to find there's a facelift resulting in an extra £250. Much unhappiness all around. Still made the order, including £90 for Diamondbrite treatment. A week later the dealer calls... unfortunately the new version doesn't come in white, the colour I'd chosen! Fortunately they'd found a cancelled order in white at £4,995 so all is now well. Delivery in October. I've figured out how to get my sons into the diminutive new set of wheels... I'm going to tell them it's a Fiat Panther and that the badge on the back is just a misspelling.

Many apologies for the appalling previous post... so boring and factual! Was in a hurry. Must do better! Additionally there's a lack of allotment related themes recently... unfortunately it's all dig dig dig as I pull up the raised beds ready for a better year in 2010, so that's likely to continue for a while... though I understand one of my daughter's friends reads this blog for anything but the veggie content, so maybe she'll consider that no bad thing. But I've run out of time to complete this post and add the rest of photos, so will update in a day or so.

Temperatures for July

Here's the temperatures for July (click to enlarge). Best to ignore the maximum temperatures recorded... the bits to construct the Stevenson screen are still on the workbench. Minimum temperatures are bang on.

During the month we got 62.5 millimetres of rainfall, surprisingly higher than the national average of 57.4mm, given that parts of Cambridgeshire are classed as semi-arid. A very heavy downpour on Fri 17-Jul with 26mm of rain pushed the monthly total up. There were 10 days of full sunshine.

Bit brief today... post wedding been a bit busy here and there. Managed to get ten gallons of apple wine started, more about that on next posting.

A perfect wedding day

Here's Becky and Barry tucking into their wedding breakfast after a lovely wedding ceremony (click to enlarge). We all had a wonderful day at The Old Bridge Hotel in Huntingdon where we had great service.

The weather was perfect and all the arrangements ran to plan. The meal was very nice, the wine superb. In the evening about seventy guests were fed from a barbeque on the Riverside Terrace and entertained by a disco.

Think my speech went ok... you can judge for yourself, here it is below. A bit more jokey than typical for a Father of The Bride speech since Barry's Best Man was his six year old son Sammy... although he did a great job with the rings he wasn't quite up to making a Best Man speech, so it was down to me to pull Barry's leg a bit. Hope he understood!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of my wife Linda and I, I'm delighted to welcome you here this afternoon to celebrate the marriage of Becky and Barry.

This wedding has been long in the planning and I think you'll all agree it's been a wonderful day so far. This morning's preparations went off well, the weather is just right, the ceremony was touching and we've had some lovely food and wine. I know we're all going to have something special to remember.

It's particularly nice to know, Dusty and Doreen, that the bonds between our two families are now that little bit stronger. We've known each other for some years now and always got on well together. With this marriage we have a formal tie and a shared interest in the happiness and wellbeing of this family of four.

Part of my role is to act as warm up for the magnificent speech Barry will shortly be delivering. I've got to know Barry intimately over the last few years... you may have had cause to question the degree of that intimacy if you were walking along the Ouse footpath towards St Neots a while ago. Imagine the vision that confronted you as you ambled round a corner... an older man, rugged in a Clint Eastwood kind of way, prostrate with bottom pointing skywards. Behind stood a younger man with a gleam in his eye, eagerly donning a pair of tight rubber gloves.

Now I know what you're thinking... of course! they must have been examining an interesting toadstool! And you'd have been absolutely right. Not sure what the walker would have thought, but fortunately by the time the Police arrived Barry and I had moved on.

Seriously thought, Barry, you've been part of the family now for many years and we all enjoy your company. I know how much you mean to Becky, who had her eye on you at an early stage before you had any idea that your future had already been mapped out for you!

I really look forward each week to giving you your tennis lesson with a pint afterwards. I hope we have many more opportunities to get out into the countryside walking together in the years to come.

I know that you love Becky deeply and that you're hard working, caring and considerate. I have every confidence in your ability to look after my daughter, as you have been doing for some time now, and happily entrust her to your care.

And what of my daughter Becky? Linda and I are immensely proud of her, as we are of all our children. We've seen Becky grow from a little girl who showed her caring and inquisitive nature at an early age, to a beautiful and loving mother. She's always been stylish, but seeing her today has made me realise just how elegant she is.

As you may know, her nickname is Sniff... and a nosey theme is fairly common in some of the stories of her. Just one that Beth may remember... when she was very young Becky experimented on her by getting her to smell various herb jars, with somewhat explosive results when it came to the one with curry powder in it!

You all know Becky is very gregarious and loves to keep in touch. Linda had to call the telephone engineer in some years ago, well before the advent of mobile 'phones, because we kept hearing voices on the line. He was really puzzled and couldn't understand it... after extensive tests involving half of BT the engineer could find nothing wrong.

Was it maybe the dearly departed trying to make contact? Or aliens from another world trying to get in touch?

Well, shortly afterwards the mystery was solved... it turned out Becky couldn't bear to be out of touch, had borrowed a 'phone from a friend and was plugging it into what we thought was a defunct socket in her bedroom and calling her friends!

And how about the time you decided you had a life to lead even well after it was bedtime and sneaked out to see friends? Ever thoughtful, you took the back door key so you could secretly let yourself in late at night. Of course you hadn't accounted for your eagle-eyed mum. On retiring for the night she spotted and wondered where the back door key had gone, and put the spare key into the keyhole. I do wish I could have been there to see the panic on your face as you tried to get the back door key into the keyhole, rather than the penitent version that confronted me when you had to knock on the front door to get us up and let you in.

As we all know, the lot of a married man is not always a plain sailing...

The day of reckoning had arrived and the whole human race was amassed in Heaven. God arrived, much as Alan Sugar does in The Apprentice, and said 'I want all the men to divide themselves into two lines, one line for those who were dominated by their women on earth, the other for the men who were in charge. While you're all sorting yourselves out I want all the women to go off with St Peter.'

For a while God turned to talk to his archangels about one or two matters. When he turned around again there were two lines of men. The line for those who had been dominated was so long the end couldn't be seen. In the other there was only one man.

God was angry and said to the first line 'You men should be ashamed of yourselves. I created you in my image and yet you were all whipped by your mates. Behold, the only one of my sons who stood up and made me proud! Listen and learn from him! Tell them my son, what is your secret... how did you manage to be the only one in this line?'

'I don't know' squeaked the man, 'my wife told me to stand here.'

I think I'll make a quick exit now while I'm still in one piece, but before I do I'd like you all to raise your glasses and join together in wishing Becky and Barry every happiness. I give you the toast... to the Bride and Groom."

Rainwater collection

Here's the new set up for collection of rainwater (click to enlarge). Should make me self-sufficient other than during really dry periods, and a much better solution than the rain diverter I used previously. Idea is that all water from the shed roof goes into the first bin, and overflows from there to the second bin and so on. I'm already saving myself the trip to the water tank and we haven't had any significant rain since this combination started.

Almost dug up the area where the first raised bed was that I've taken up. Progress slowed when I hit upon buried carpet... bit hard to get the spade through. Brought back memories of when I first started digging the plot and found all kinds of things.

Increased focus on Becky's wedding, just over a week away. Menus now selected, table plan done. Just got to write out the place cards and start my father of the bride speech.

This week's geek spot is about the Burning Man event held annually in the Black Rock Desert. For a week there's a free expression of creativity when the event holds the biggest population in Nevada before everyone packs up and leaves no trace of them every being there. You'll find more information here. It's one of the events I'd like to go and see just once... looks like it would be mind-blowing!

Been reading the excellent NHS Blog Doctor and his views on the Swine Flu "pandemic". If this is a pandemic then we're already surrounded by them... normal flu, colds and other common viruses. What happened to the 'pack the provisions and lets head for the wilderness' definition of a pandemic? Have the drug companies highjacked the dictionary? But it sounds like it's not a good idea to 'phone the swine line and get your obligatory Tamiflu tablets. Sad thing is yet again the Government wasting our money on unnecessary free prescriptions... why didn't they charge the normal £7.20 prescription fee?

Briefly held the pitch and putt title yesterday with a round of 42, but John quickly grabbed the title back on the second round. Bah! Bit devoid of cups at present... haven't won the squash title for some weeks although I keep getting close. Pool and darts have been a bit poor... think I'd do better if I stayed off the sherbet a bit more while playing. Only hold the tennis cup at present and that's mainly because Baz's mind has been on all things wedding related recently.

Got some great video footage of the grandsons when they spent a few hours with me on the plot... unfortunately realised afterwards I'd got the sound turned off! Included one clip below. They built a den in one of the empty compost bins and were so pleased with it... even included two seperate loos for number ones and number twos using large plant pots. They had to christen the number ones loo, but I drew a line under that theme when I caught Sammy, trousers around ankles, straining hard to try and christen the number twos loo! Later Connor found a long and interesting centipede which then disappeared somewhere in his clothing and may still be there.

Not sure if I'll be able to post next week with the looming wedding, but there'll no doubt be lots and lots shortly after.

Thanks for reading my blog. More stuff below. John

	So here's a silent Connor and Sammy racing each other. Sammy is following Connor's advice to the letter to move his arms up and down... so much so he wins!
	The feathered fiends settling down last night. I'm still only getting three eggs a day and can't figure out a way to spot the ineffective derriere.

Sunny Hunstanton

... although this is a picture (click to enlarge) of Wells Next The Sea, where Linda and I idled away a pleasant day, having caught The Coasthopper bus. Spent a lovely thirty minutes eating lunch in the peaceful square, not quite so peaceful as normal due to the setting up of the fair ready for the carnival at the weekend.

Weather was kind to us during our few days in a caravan in Hunstanton and we walked a lot... in fact the car didn't move all the time we were there. Did the usual fantasising about our premium bonds coming up and spending some on our own caravan. Returned to find son John on the PC with pizza in hand. He then managed to down a beef chow mein when I popped out for a chinese takeaway.

Have decided to change the Punto... beginning to cost a bit each year. Can't decide between a Fiat Panda 1.2 Dynamic Eco (cute and gets good write up, but not so good value for money, poor dealer support and could I live with the name?), a Suzuki Splash GLS (also cute, better dealers and more reliable, but more expensive) or a Hyundai i10 (not so cute, but great value for money and a five year warranty). Frugal is the by-word since I only use the car for about 3,000 miles a year pottering around town when I have to. Guess I'll end up with a Fiat, I usually do. But not sure if my sons will play pitch and putt with me any more. I give them a lift and they'd be seen in a car called a Panda.

Less than two weeks to go before I float down the aisle with my daughter Becky, to throw (oops, give) her away to Barry. All's on schedule... except I haven't written my speech. Generally leave it to the last minute in spite of the panic this creates for everyone else. Can focus better that way. Got a preview of the dress yesterday... absolutely stunning! My daughter looked like a very elegant princess. Can't show a picture just in case Baz reads this post before the big day.

Only had one visit to the allotment, being yesterday evening. The feathered fiends have survived the attentions of miscellaneous grandchildren while we were away. Before going on holiday, when I was caught by a sudden rainstorm, I'd observed that most of the rainwater from the shed roof wasn't making it to the water butts. Had fitted a rain diverter, which of course doesn't direct all the rainwater. Doh! So fitted some more downpipe with the aid of two right angle joints I bought in the afternoon. Works perfectly, should have more rainwater than I can cope with. Since the three water butts I've got are at different heights (sure there was a plan somewhere in my subconscious when I put them up) I can overflow one into the other. Photo to follow when it's all done, but I hate to think how much the whole thing has cost me. The now defunct diverter cost £13, and the two joints were £9. I daren't add up all the other stuff I've put up to catch the rainwater, let alone all the bits I didn't use when vacillating about whether to fit the butts to the left or the right of the shed.

Started the long haul of beating the grass into submission (in spite of being away for only four days!), so before I did anything I spent twenty minutes strimming. Both plots look like they need a short back and sides. I'm thinking when I get a few spare moments (am I mad, the last time I got some of that was in 1968) I may start the project of taking up my raised beds and converting to a more traditional style of allotment.

David Eastwood

It's two years ago today that my friend and next door neighbour David Eastwood passed away. The day was a Saturday, and he gave up his fight at 14:50... the same time we'd lined up on the squash court every Saturday for well over ten years for a couple of hours of grunting and groaning followed by a beer.

In the end he had to give up. At times it seemed he was going to win, so magnificent was the battle he put up against his bowel cancer. But at the end he was so exhausted one could imagine it was a blessed relief.

He was a year younger than me at 54.

Julia, his wife, gave me the honour of speaking at his funeral. I've copied out what I said below to keep a record... as you can see from his photo, over time things deteriorate, or get lost.

This is to remember my good friend...

Eulogy to David Eastwood

'I first met David in the early 1990s because of my son's friendship with David's son, Kevin.

It wasn't long before our paths crossed again... I was sitting an insurance exam and David was invigilating. David was a staunch supporter of his local Insurance Institute and became its President no less. We found we both worked in the insurance industry.

We found other common threads when David moved and we became next door neighbours. We both started our careers with the same Company, General Accident... the same Company David worked for at that time as an Inspector. We'd both been keen football players until increasing years made flying up the wing with the ball an increasingly unlikely proposition. We'd both moved into racquet sports as a replacement for football.

So by the mid 1990s we'd began a weekly Saturday afternoon routine of an hour of two's squash followed by setting the world to rights over a beer. We did play tennis once, but David was a far more accomplished tennis player than I'll ever be. After seeing his serves whizz past me, or if I was lucky enough to get my racquet to one to see the follow up also whizz past, I wasn't keen to repeat the humiliation.

And over time David became not just a friend, but a best friend.

We got to know each other's families a little better as well. At times it seemed half of David's family were round our house... in fact Julia, thinking about it, they were... what with Kevin and Paul holed up in my son's bedroom playing computer games, and Carrie disco dancing with Becky in the garage.

Our squash was always fiercely competitive. David's game of measured and skilful stroke play was a perfect foil for mine of rushing around the court retrieving everything in sight. He had a forehand drive I could only dream of. Drop shots and service returns that would leave me floundering. So even when I'd worn him down and won, I still came away feeling I could do better.

To try and gain the upper hand I got into a routine Saturday lunchtime of thinking about what to eat; nothing too heavy; what had worked last week? I had a fish phase for a short spell... a very short spell when I realised galloping up and down the court with a stomach full of kippers wasn't my brightest idea!

I'd read my squash books, watch my squash video. I'd be ready for David by 2:30. By 4:00 I was invariably back to square one.

As the years rolled by our squash abilities mellowed. I managed to keep going apart from the odd bad back. David had more to overcome. He returned from major knee surgery to continue playing. On one occasion he hit the corner of the court and dislocated his shoulder... only to click it back into place and carry on playing. We continued playing after he was diagnosed with his illness. I wondered how long it would be before he'd have to give up, and thought the first signs were there last summer when I got the ultimate score against him of 3-0, 3-0, 3-0, something either of us only rarely achieved. The following week, after undergoing his first treatment of chemotherapy no less, he returned the favour by beating me 3-0, 3-0, 3-0.

Throughout all the games we played we never exchanged a cross word once. Yes, there was the odd glance exchanged for a doubtful shot. Occasionally a racquet would get slung into the corner of the court if a game was lost that shouldn't have been. David was an honourable man, easy to trust, wouldn't let you down.

I can understand with those attributes allied to his extensive knowledge of his trade, why he managed to win over so many new church accounts for his last employers, Ecclesiastical. David knew how lucky he was to have a job that took him to churches in village and town across East Anglia. He took great pride in his work. He'd tell me of some of the gems he'd visited, some of the surprises he'd found. He'd tell me of sitting along the north Norfolk coast eating his lunch in the summer sunshine. I'd make a point of asking him, in mid winter when I knew the weather had been particularly foul the previous week, where he'd been to... to balance things out a bit, you understand.

We continued to play right through to our last game on the 10th February this year. Even then David hadn't finished competing, so strong was his will power, and we played snooker on the 7th July. David was much weaker by then, but still managed a one all draw. He showed spirit and such a strong courage throughout his illness.

In our chats I got to understand David's love of his family. His eyes would shine when he spoke of his more than twenty grandchildren. Of his deep love for Julia, his wife. And I've seen that love returned many fold as David's family wrapped themselves around him like a comfort blanket to take care of him. In his time of need David wanted for nothing.

I'd like to finish by telling you of something David did a couple of years ago. Many of you know of this already, but it doesn't diminish in the retelling. It's a simple example of the love I've mentioned.

One week over a beer after squash David told me of the extraordinary arrangements he'd made for the following week. Julia's car was due for a service, and David was to go with her to the local Ford dealer. Whilst there, Julia's eye would be caught by a shiny new, brilliant blue, Ford Ka convertible sitting in the showroom. Oh, the chinese torture of being allowed to sit in the car, fiddle with the dials, imagine it was hers... and it was! David had bought the car for Julia and she found herself driving it home for keeps. What a wonderful thing to do!

Another reminder of a special man. A special man indeed.

The long and winding road, dah dah...

Here's a video clip of my trip home from the allotment. This was a second attempt, the first having lots of brake cable and front wheel shots in it. As you can tell, it's been done with huge technical input, guide shown below just in case you want to do it yourself. You need to follow the instructions to the letter for it to work...

1. Hold camera against handlebars

2. Stick on with tape

Lucky I didn't try it last night. A pleasant evening sky turned grey and nasty with heavy rain looking like it would never stop. The shed wall lost its resident coat. Only been hanging there for about a year and considered home by generations of spiders, so somewhat nervous as I poked my arms down the sleeves. Set off with rain so heavy I needed wipers for my specs. Slowing up to manoeuvre round the cemetery gate, my foot slipped and the whole shebang (me, Pashley, bag etc.) ended up horizontal. Much cursing and blame allocation to everyone and everything but me. Arrived home accompanied by half a ton of cemetery mud.

Grandchildren round on Friday for Linda's birthday. so some video clips below of the tykes.

Paige, Sammy (an item) and Izzy at Linda's birthday. Connor is in a sulk elsewhere in the room.

Izzy manages to stay motionless for an unusually long time for her.




Sammy doesn't manage to stay still.




Yet another paper invention by Sammy.