Month: June 2016

Second Quarter Review 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Annual Review, Life3 Comments

Each year for the past few years I’ve been doing a year end review; books I’ve read, films/tv programmes I’ve watched and other things related to work and the allotment. You can read the end of 2015 here, if you’re interested.

This year I’m trying something a little different, and am splitting my year into quarters and trying to do a review at the end of the quarter. It helps me remember stuff more easily, and is more up to the minute than waiting to until December and trying to do the whole year in one go, or at least that’s the theory. The first quarter review is here.

Work

I’ve covered before my change in working arrangements that happen nearly a year ago, and becoming self-employed. If you want to know a little more about what I do now, click the “Home” link above.

This quarter has been quite quiet, and I’ve mostly been working on things for existing clients, closing out their projects, or taking some further forward. It’s quite a dynamic time, and each week “profile raising” finds its way onto my to-do list, as I’m concious of contract end dates, and the need to find more work. It is with a little uncertainty that I close out this quarter and head into the next work wise.

Brexit will pose some rather unique challenges for me, as part of my work is around helping companies and organisations attract / apply for EU funding. I’ll need a plan b, for that part of my work now. I have some ideas, but I also need to spend a little more time thinking about that.

Allotment

This quarter is probably one of the busiest on the plot, and there are plenty of other posts / videos about what I’ve been doing, so I won’t go into it in detail. It has been both a busy and rewarding time though, and my allotment is looking good. As always there are things that I’d do differently if I do them again, things that haven’t worked quite as well as I’d hoped or fallen foul of pests / disease, but that’s just how it is. I’m looking forward now to the time, when we really become self-sufficient for our vegetables again, I seem to be able to stretch the period each year so it becomes longer, and there is less of a gap between one years and the next. I’m hoping to be able to do the same this year, and have some plans (and hopefully some plants) for that.

Books

I’ve hit my GoodReads reading challenge target already, I’m not going to change it, but just keep going and see where I end up. It’s become less important to me to hit the target, but just to be able to take the time to read. In the last quarter there are three books that I’m going to mention here, that particularly stood out for me:

“Raptor” by James Macdonald Lockhart. The author attempts to view every single native bird of prey in the UK, and this is his story of how he went about it and what happened. I’d thoroughly recommend it, particularly if you are native to the UK yourself. It does however tell part of the story of just how persecuted birds of prey have been and continue to be in this country, and therefore how difficult it actually is to still see some of them without the concerted effort that the author goes to.

“The Wild Marsh” by Rick Bass, this is the second of Rick Bass’s books I’ve read this year, and it won’t be the last. I really enjoy his writing, and although this one could be a little self-indulgent at times, it tells the story of a full year in Yaak, where the author has his home. Great writing, and recommended.

“Running To The Mountain” by John Katz I probably read this book at least once every year. It talks to me, and is one of my favourites. I think it’s because it is essentially a book about making decisions and changes in life direction, as well as including the authors dogs. I guess at the moment, with my own life having undergone quite a bit of change in the last year, which hasn’t quite settled down yet, it speaks to me even more.

Film & TV

It’s unusual for us to get to the cinema these days, so most of what we watch is either on DVD or online, and often some months (or occasionally even years) behind when it was in the cinema.

I remember back in 1977 when my dad took me to see Star Wars. I was about 5 years old and it was called Star Wars, not episode IV or anything like that. I can remember that quite vividly even now, and going with him to see The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. It kindled that early love of Sci-Fi in me, and also just spending time with my Dad, doing stuff. When the next three films came out, the prequels, I took him to see them. Now “The Force Awakens”, has been released he’s not been in the best of health, and so we didn’t make it to the cinema to see the film, and I didn’t particularly feel like going by myself, so I bought him it for Father’s Day. I had already seen it, as I was given a copy myself and I thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next two, and the various spin offs that have been talked about.

I’ve also watched  “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, again well after it was in cinemas, and indeed released on DVD. I like the Marvel films, and although I didn’t think this was as good as some of the others I did enjoy it. It had some good “new” characters, and allowed the existing actors to develop their characters and their relationships a little more. Recommended.

We saw the remake of “Dad’s Army” just a couple of weeks ago, again, one that I missed when it was in the cinema but a film I wanted to see. I was pleasantly surprised with it. The film stayed close enough to the original series to play a good homage to it, but was different enough to be original. I don’t think it could ever really replace the original TV series, as that is ingrained too much, certainly in my psyche, and I suspect many other people’s too, but it was enjoyable and again I would recommend.

TV watching has been a little sparse, I think due to the time of year, so we have not had the thing on all that much, but I have enjoyed watching “Rick Stein’s Long Weekends”, part cookery, part travel. Essentially if you don’t know about it, this is chef Rick Stein going away for a “long weekend” and exploring both the local area, and cuisine he finds there. It seems to be on a break at the moment, as I think there have been five episodes so far, but it’s a ten part series. If memory serves he’s been to (Bologna, Berlin, Reykjavik, Vienna & Bordeaux). Not sure when the other five are likely to be on, but if you get a chance to watch it, I’d recommend it.

Life In General

I’d say this quarter has been slightly harder than the last. I’m conscious that my mind is much more on work than perhaps it should be or more correctly put about where the next job is coming from.

I’d like to be writing more, and I have been to an extent here on the blog, but although it’s read by quite a few people it’s not a massive audience, and I’m thinking about other potential avenues where I might be able to do that more, and who knows, potentially generate a little income from that.

Overall though life is good. I’m still settling in to my new “job” I think, and have more to learn about that, but otherwise I can’t really grumble.

Potting Shed Update (28th June 2016)

On By TontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Self-sufficient, Video


I shot this quick video yesterday in the potting shed. I’d been meaning to do an update on the tomatoes and peppers a while ago, when things were looking a little better than they do now. Things started off well, but the slugs have ravaged the peppers, completely destroying the Lipstick Peppers that were in the first trough, and I can see they’ve been nibbling else where too. So far there is very little in the way of peppers, and also the tomatoes, which also started off well, have stalled a bit. They’ve grown really well, but are either not putting out many flowering trusses or when they do they’re not getting pollinated (even though I’ve been trying to do it by hand) because the weather has been so poor, and there have been very few flying insects about to do it for me.

That’s gardening, and on the whole, the allotment is doing so well, that I’m not too worried that the tomatoes and peppers aren’t.

Quick Links 28th June 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Quick Links

Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.

The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures

I’m a little bit lost for words over the brexit vote at the moment, although you’d be hard pushed to escape the news about it and the speculation about what happens next. It is clear to me however that this is a mistake for the UK, which might rapidly just become England and Wales if Scotland and Northern Ireland choose an alternative route, and that those in charge of the Leave campaign have probably been at the least economical with the truth. One thing is for certain however, we will now end up with a new MP voted for by 150,000 Conservative party members. Obviously in relation to work, I have concerns, as do others about key environmental aspects (UK’s out vote is a ‘red alert’ for the environment) (EU out vote puts UK commitment to Paris climate agreement in doubt) (How can we make Brexit work for the Environment).

I don’t want to harp on about this, but I am glad to see that there at least some who don’t intend to take this lying down.

This weeks news has pretty much all been referendum, and I didn’t want to end this quick links with the entry above, so here’s something about smart insects to end on rather than dumb UK voters.

 

Fruits of Summer

On By TontowilliamsIn Garden / Allotment4 Comments

2016-06-25 08.28.02

It’s that time of the year when the soft fruit is ripening, and there’s an almost daily supply of fresh loganberries (a cross between a raspberry & a blackberry) and gooseberries, it’s one of my favourite times on the allotment. Last night I made loganberry ice cream, and tonight I’ll be making gooseberry ice cream. Tomorrow, there will probably be more to make something else with.

This week has been extremely unpredictable weather-wise. It’s been hot and sunny one moment, and then we’ve had yellow weather warnings for rain. The weather warnings were lifted on Friday morning, and then this happened:

I suppose given the inaccurate science of weather forecasting I shouldn’t be surprised, but six inches deep water sloshing around the back door, and across our garden in less than a minute was pretty spectacular and frightening, but at least I won’t have to water this evening!

Quick Links 21st June 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Quick Links

Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read, inspired me or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.

Ace & The Desert Dog


National Geographic story about the above video here.

It tickles me slightly that the new Independence Day movie goes on general release in the UK on the same day as the EU Referendum, someone must have a sense of humour.

I somehow doubt that they’ll ever build a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point, or at least not one that involves EDF.

Although I agree with the comments made by scientists in this report, I’m afraid that things are probably a lot worse, and that the opportunity to really make a difference is past.

I said on this blog before that there are many politicians (including a few that I’ve had the misfortune to have to work with) who are in it for personal benefit.

Jo Cox, was one of the exceptions, someone who was truly a public servant, this messed up world, feels like a poorer place now.

The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures

 

Allotment Update 18th June 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Cooking, Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Self-sufficient, work

2016-06-18 11.29.09I had a really productive weekend on the allotment. I’d been itching to get down to the plot all week, so was pleased when Saturday came around. It’s odd, that as I work for myself, I shouldn’t feel guilty about going to the plot during the week, assuming that my “paid” work is up to date and I’m not letting a client down by being there, but I guess some habits are hard to shake and being on the plot Monday to Friday still feels a little weird. Maybe if I did it a little more frequently it would feel less weird?

Anyhow I knew that I had a lot to do, mostly weeding, as we’d had a warm, humid but wet week, so everything but in particular the weeds was growing well. Some of my plants in particular the leeks and the most recently planted brassicas were in need of some weeding.

I had a little experimental dig of my early potatoes. Technically they shouldn’t be ready until the beginning of July, but they’re already starting to go over, so they appear to be ready. I dug the end of the short row, as that area is one that I’ll need again fairly soon, for my overwintering brassicas. I dug the first couple of plants and got a kilo of spuds for my efforts. We had some of them for supper that evening, along with the chard, runner beans and a “crustless” caramelised red onion and cheddar quiche that I knocked up later on.

The spuds were amazing. They’re a variety called Arran Pilot, and tend to be quite a floury potato and can go quickly to mush if over-boiled, but I cooked them in a steamer and they seem to have held together much better. Whether it is the more gentle cooking action of the steamer as opposed to boiling I don’t know, but anyway they were delicious and I don’t think we’ll be buying potatoes from the shops for a while now.

2016-06-18 09.45.45I also lifted all of the over-wintering onion sets and shallots. They too had started to lean over and were ready to be harvested. They need to be dried a little, and sorted through, which I’ll do some when in the next few days. I noticed there were a couple that need to be eaten sooner rather than later due to basal rot, but the vast majority should store well. Another item that we won’t need to be buying from the store for some time. I dug over the area where they were, and sowed some mixed coloured beetroot there. I’ve left some space as it’s close to where the courgettes and cucumbers are, and I expect they will spread out a little.

The radishes and turnips were next on my list, as they haven’t done anything apart from bolt and go straight to seed. I’m not sure why, but I removed them, dug over the ground and have replaced them with Perpetual Chard (a gift from Dale Calder in Canada) and some Rocket. The latter I had previously sown earlier in the year, but it failed to germinate, so I’m hoping for better luck this time.

The rest of the time I spent weeding and tidying. It looks as though the first of the soft fruit (loganberries and gooseberries) might be ready this week, so I’ll keep an eye on those but otherwise there is plenty of other veg coming to keep us fed.

Planning a Mini-Adventure

On By TontowilliamsIn Dog, Dogs, walking2 Comments

2016-05-17 13.08.38Work has been quiet this week, so I thought I’d take myself and the dogs off on a little trip perhaps tomorrow or Friday.

A few weeks ago we walked a very short bit of the Titchfield Canal, but looking at the map there’s an approx 4km round trip we can do. So the plan is, that if the weather stays reasonable, i.e. not too wet or too hot; we’re going to give that route a go. It looks to be fairly flat and not too taxing, so should be a good trip. Something different.

Quick Links 14 June 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Quick Links2 Comments

Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.

A look inside a Bumblebee nest with Dave Goulson:

I’m a fan of chickens and dream of having some of my own one day, so I was interested to read what Bill Gates (of Microsoft fame) is up to. You can read about it here, and (if you follow the instructions), he’ll donate a flock of chickens to someone that needs them.

Currently Reading (travelling a lot on buses this week has got my list back down):

  • Neil Gaimen – The View From the Cheap Seats [Amazon UK US CA]
  • Roger Deakin – Waterlog [Amazon UK US CA] – (Rereading)

The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures

This Grist article got me thinking about neighborliness, as well as local distinctiveness. I think I’ve been lucky with having mostly good neighbours where I’ve lived. Some better than others, but compared to stories I’ve been told or read, all generally far better than some. Of course it’s a two-way street, and being neighbourly means just that. You have to be neighbourly.

Local distinctiveness is something else, but in a way related to some of the sentiment in the article. I think the “progress” that I see means that a lot of things that make an area distinct from somewhere else are fast disappearing and we are ending up with cloned areas, where if you were dropped into them blindfolded it would be difficult to tell one from another. I’ve been doing a lot of travelling on buses this week, and therefore had a lot of time to look out of the window and watch the world go by. I’ve seen things that have stood out as being different, but in most cases these are all in areas that have been around for a long time, and not those that are newly built. I feel like perhaps these should be captured for posterity or at least memory. The local newspaper often has a section in it which looks back on old photographs and events that happened in the area many years ago. I wonder if in another 50 years there will be the same amount of material as the tendency is for these to be captured digitally and although (at least in theory these are easier to preserve), are they also more likely to be lost? Accidentally deleted, or destroyed when a hard drive fails? I don’t know, but a physical thing, a “printed” photograph say, feels more permanent somehow.

IMG_20160612_154501

I’ve also really been enjoying walking about the local area this last week, the street trees have reached their peak, and people’s gardens are starting to display their summer finery.

Allotment Update & Tour 11th June 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Self-sufficient2 Comments

The allotment is looking good at the moment, there are a few things that aren’t, in particular the radish and turnip, but that’s gardening. I’m already thinking about what I’m going to do with the area that is currently occupied by the broad beans, I suspect some more salad crops will go in one, and the other might just get covered by the courgettes. According to my notes, the early potatoes should be ready around the 3rd July, but they might be ready sooner, as it’s looking like they are starting to die off. I might lift a few soon, just to see.

Quick Links 7th June 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Quick Links

Each week I’ll try and post quick links to things that I’ve seen, read or just sparked my interest in the previous week, with a little background and my thoughts and other things that I’ve been up to in the previous week. Mostly gardening, cooking and environmental stuff but not always.

Every once in a while YouTube turns up a real gem on it’s homepage when I go there. This is one of those gems. Please note that the way the chainsaw is used from around the 3 min mark is extremely dangerous. I used to do a lot of chainsaw work and this is something that I wouldn’t recommend unless you really know what you’re doing and are experienced with a saw.

This article from High Country News, goes back three years and looks at the work of a group of scientists trying to understand what causes trees to die. An interesting read, although on the long side for the internet, it was originally published in the journal.

The weather has been a little crazy in the last week or so. Despite having hot and sunny weather only a week ago, this week it has moved to being more overcast with rain at times. The forecast is for it to be sunny again by the weekend, with hot weather to come from the south. Whilst I can easily adapt, although I’ve been trying to tough it out and keep my shorts on rather than resort to long trousers again, other species find it less easy. As our climate continues to change this is likely to  to be a recurring theme, and many more species including us humans will struggle to cope.

I seem to have a few books on the go this week, not quite sure how it happened but there are 5 of them:

  • Neil Gaimen The View From the Cheap Seats [Amazon UK US CA]
  • Jon Katz – Running to the Mountain [Amazon UK US CA]
  • Charles Stross – The Rhesus Chart [Amazon UK US CA] (finished)
  • Peter James – Love You Dead [Amazon UK US CA] (finished yesterday)
  • Lucy Jones – Foxes Unearthed [Amazon UK US CA]

I can obviously only read one at a time but I’m enjoying them all, and I think it’s a pretty interesting summary of my tastes when it comes to books. Everything from natural history through crime and into science fiction. I expect at least a few of these will run into next week.

The Week In Wildlife – In Pictures

Someone recently asked me about installing water butts (rain barrels), unfortunately I can’t remember who it was and whether it was online or “in real life”, anyway I came across this video the other day which gives a good “How-To”. Unfortunately I can’t embed it because the author has disabled that function on YouTube, nevertheless it’s a good video, if you’re the person who asked me this is for you.