Category: The Week That Was

TWTW # 15 A Light Bulb Moment

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, The Week That Was, work

I started this week trying to find a lightbulb to fit a fixture in my Mum’s house. It’s a light she uses a lot (to read by at night) so quite important to replace it (or potentially have to get a new fitting to replace the whole thing). After a bit of looking around online I managed to find something that looked like it would fit and so ordered it. As it was the Easter weekend the shops weren’t open again until Monday – I’m pleased to see that they still shut on Easter Day, but not surprised they open again as soon as they can on Bank Holiday Monday (that really is a post for another time) – I couldn’t actually pick it up until then. It’s fitted and as it’s an LED bulb I’ll probably never have to replace it again, I dare say it will even out last me!

My client came back to me with some relatively minor comments on the report, so much so that I was able to turn a revised report around the same day, which has been accepted and hopefully I’ll soon be paid for the work (I see no problem here, as they’ve always been good about prompt payment in the past).

I had a seed sowing blitz this week, getting some gherkins, cucumbers, squash, pumpkin, courgette, and (more) tomatoes in. I’ve still got some sweetcorn and a few other things to sow, but I’ll be doing those probably later on this week, as well as hopefully moving out some of the brassicas to make room for them!

Some of the direct sowing on the allotment are also coming through – beetroot & radish are through – no sign of the lettuce or parsnip yet, but I don’t expect they’ll be far behind. Keeping them watered has been the biggest challenge as the dry weather has meant hand watering the seedlings as they come through, particularly those that are under cover.

I’ve been reading Pico Iyer’s “Autumn Light” this week, it’s been an enjoyable read, and I’ve particularly enjoyed the insights into Japanese life (the book is mostly set in Japan).

You can also read my re-review of Under The Rock by Benjamin Myers which I wrote about yesterday here.

How Dog Names Have Changed Through Time

TWTW # 14 – A Scorcher

On By TontowilliamsIn books, Cooking, Dog, Film, Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Kindle, Self-sufficient, The Week That Was, tv, Video, Wildlife/Nature, Wilson's Story, work

It’s Bank Holiday Monday as I write this, and I’m a little bit later than usual sitting down to think about what’s happened in the last week. Essentially a short working week for most with the long weekend around Easter and quiet for me as I am waiting for my client to respond regarding a report. He has responded and is taking a wider view across his organisation before giving formal comments.

It’s been getting progressively warmer all week with the weekend turning into quite a scorcher and I’ve been doing quite a bit allotment and garden wise, while I’ve had the time. I’ve sown some lettuce seed as individual plugs – some for my Mum’s garden and the remainder as back-ups for the allotment. I’ve potted on some tomatoes and have got some more seed to sow a few more plants.

I’ve also started off my runner beans. Garden lore says that you should sow your runner bean seeds on the first Bank Holiday in May and plant them out on the second one, so these are a little early but that might not be a bad thing as they were covered in a little mould which I washed off and they seem to be okay – not soft or any obvious other damage other than the mould – so if they don’t grow I’ll have time to get some more.

My car was MOT’d and serviced at the beginning of the week. It passed and so there’s nothing further to do until next year or unless there’s a problem.

Wilson was also back at the vets for his next round of tests – we’re awaiting the results.

I’ve been reading “The Way Home – Tales from a Life Without Technology” by Mark Boyle, essentially the stories of the author when he completely gave up technology, including electricity and other mains utilities, living on an island near Ireland. I’m not that far in, but I’m enjoying it so far.

Slightly ironically I’m reading it on my Kindle.

I’ve also  got  the  (re)review  of “Under  The  Rock” coming  up next weekend with the chance to receive a copy of the paperback.

Been watching the new season of Bosch on Amazon over the weekend, it’s another great season of the show, and it’s great that such high quality tv can be be made to this standard – thoroughly recommended! If you’ve read Michael Connelly’s “Two Kinds of Truth”, it’s mostly based on that.

TWTW 13 – In The Zone

On By TontowilliamsIn The Week That Was

This week has been in two halves, the first part of the week was very much focussed on work. I was in the “zone” working on my clients report, which I duly delivered the draft report only to find out he was away on holiday, so won’t be getting back to me until early this week with comments. No problem, and it meant the latter half of the week was very much spent catching up on tasks in the garden. Sowing some sweet peas, californian poppies and nasturtiums, and generally tidying things up.

We also had a trip back to the vets with Wilson, there’s an underlying problem that we’re trying to get to the bottom of but that needs another round of tests (so far we’ve been able to claim the majority back on his insurance, but it’s not a pleasant thing for him to be spending so much time there).

I’ve finally got some seeds out in the ground on the allotment too. Some parsnips, lettuce, radish and beetroot all went in on Saturday. They’re under cover for now, which makes watering a little awkward, but means they’re much more likely to germinate.

This piece about W S Merwin’s garden in Hawaii caught my eye this week.

Neil Gaiman has possibly come off his blogging hiatus too.

The week ahead includes an MOT and service for the car, another trip to the vets and revising a report (assuming I get feedback in time), it’s also Easter Weekend coming up.

TWTW # 12 Welcome To British Summer Time

On By TontowilliamsIn Garden / Allotment, The Week That Was, work

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The clocks changed last weekend, and my body & mind have been trying to catch up all week, and it’s been a pretty busy week!

On Monday evening I was giving a talk to Harwell Gardening Club. The talk was entitled An Allotment Year, but as Monday was also April Fools Day, I couldn’t resist talking a little about some of the “gardening” April Fools that there have been. These included Waitrose’s Pinanas; Tesco’s whistling carrots (so you can tell when they’re cooked); who could forget the great Panorama spaghetti farming story; and finally Herr Moler’s phosphorescent sunflowers so that you can read in the garden at nighttime.

I think the talk went well, and there was an invitation to come back another time, so a good evening was had by all.

I’ve also been mostly working on the delivery of the proposal accepted by one of my clients last week. It’s involved a lot of research, and I’ve started writing the main report. That will continue this week, and I hope to deliver the draft to the client next week.

I’ve had a couple of other meetings so it’s been a pretty busy working week all in all.

Although we are officially on Summer Time, it seems the weather has dropped several degrees in temperature. Gone are the shorts of last week and I’m back in jeans again. This will probably be short-lived (sorry for the pun), as it was getting warmer again yesterday.

The weather has meant that other than harvesting purple sprouting broccoli and leeks, I’ve not done very much on the allotment. Instead I’ve been busy transplanting broccoli and cauliflower seedlings into bigger pots, and sowing some sweet peas and a few other flowering annuals for hanging baskets and pots.

It’s possible that we might soon be able to see White Tailed Eagles not very far away from here. A licence has been granted for their reintroduction, and although that’s only a step in the process it’s moving in the right direction for a reintroduction in due course, possibly as soon as this summer. You can read more about it here.

The clocks changing has really mucked up my sleeping patterns, and with a busy week I’ve been a little bit too tired to read when I finally end up in bed. I’ve been dipping into Under The Rock by Benjamin Myers again, which although I read this last year, is coming out in paperback in a couple of weeks time and the publishers have asked me if I’d re-review it. They’ve also given me a copy of the paperback to give away here when that review is published, so if you’re interested watch this space (if you really don’t want to miss your chance then you can subscribe to posts in the box on the right hand menu – you can unsubscribe at any time, and I don’t give your details to anyone else or spam you with anything other than posts from this blog, one post equals one email).

That’s it for this week. Things are a little quieter this week, my main focus needs to be on my clients report. The sooner that’s delivered, the sooner I can have a bit of fun!

TWTW # 11

On By TontowilliamsIn Dog, Film, Garden / Allotment, pupdate, The Week That Was, Wilson's Story1 Comment

Hello there from a relatively sunny Spring day (I know it’s Spring because I’ve been wearing shorts quite a bit this week).

It’s been a fairly busy week workwise this week. That’s not to say that I haven’t also had my share of fun too. The proposal that I was asked to submit has been accepted and I’ve been given the go ahead to proceed with the work! Great news!

I’ve also been working on my presentation and notes for the allotment talk that I’m giving on Monday evening this week (no this isn’t an April Fools joke).

I went to see Captain Marvel at the cinema on Wednesday. It was a good film, and I enjoyed it. I’m hoping to be able to see the final Avengers film in a few months time when it comes out and this film introduces a new character (although I don’t think you necessarily have to see Captain Marvel to enjoy the Avengers film, so long as you know a little bit about the genre generally).

It was Wilson’s 9th birthday this week, so he got some new dog toys and a new harness and we went for an afternoon walk to the beach, as well as having some lunch out.

I finished the final bit of digging on the allotment at the weekend, just a patch that I’ve been leaving and is likely to be the new brassica bed, so after digging I gave it a good cover of lime (this helps to prevent club root, and also my soil is on the acidic side so this helps achieve a more neutral pH.

If you have and interest in Neil Gaiman then can I recommend that you go watch / listen to Tim Ferriss’s podcast with him. I’ve embedded the video recording of the interview below (it’s 90 minutes long), but the podcast page is also worth a visit for some of the show notes.

In the week ahead I’ll be giving my talk and carrying on with the delivery of work for my client. I’ve also got a couple of meetings and it’s generally looking like being another busy week.

 

TWTW # 10 Potato Palooza

On By TontowilliamsIn The Week That Was

After digging the potato trenches last weekend, I finally got my potatoes in the ground this weekend. This is considerably earlier than last year, as this time last year we had snow on the ground, and there was nothing happening on the allotment, but around the end of June / beginning of July we should have some new potatoes to eat.

I also managed to transplant my shallots and get them out, along with sowing a row of carrot seed between them and the over-wintering onions. The smell of the onions and shallots is supposed to disguise the smell of the carrots from the carrot root fly.

I’m also feeling that I have a better idea of the rest of the allotment layout for this year ahead. If the weather holds, I’m going to start sowing some more seed.

I think the season has really started in earnest.

 

I had a meeting mid-week which resulted in a request for a proposal and I completed it on Friday, now I just have to wait and see what happens next.

I spent a morning this week sorting out all of the loose recipes in the kitchen, which I’ve been meaning to do this for such a long time. These are all the printed sheets of paper from recipes off of the internet or those clipped out of newspapers and magazines. They’re now in a nice folder and the shelf in the kitchen is a bit tidier. I had planned to move some of my cookbooks onto the shelf but it is deceptively low. It looks like regular sized cookbooks will fit, but it’s about a centimetre too short and they won’t.

TWTW # 9

On By TontowilliamsIn books, The Week That Was

I’m behind. Normally by this point in the week I’ve written this post and it’s scheduled to appear around 10am (GMT). Today although I’m behind it will probably appear a bit before that.

I have an allotment talk coming up at the beginning of April, so I’ve been doing a little bit of prep-work for that this week, making sure that the slides I want to use are still relevant.

I’ve also been following up with a few clients on work that is ongoing or bids that have been submitted but haven’t had a response yet.

My exploration of the Maigret novels continues. I had a book token for my birthday and have purchased a few more to keep my curiosity going. This week I read The Night At The Crossroads which was very good. All these novels are very short, most seem to barely 150 pages, and only take a few hours to read. They are also very good, I’m surprised that it’s taken me this long to discover them.

I also read An Arabian Journey by Levison Wood which is an incredible tale of his journey around the Arabian peninsula. He undertook the journey when ISIS were still very much present and there was civil war raging in Syria. This really is a tale of what that part of the world is going through, and if you have any interest in that part of the globe I’d recommend reading it.

Warren Ellis posted about wearing a watch this week. I can’t say that I’ve ever owned or wanted to own a “smart” watch, and I flip between wearing an ordinary timepiece and not wearing one at all.

Beginning to think that Elon Musk is a pretty unstable and a not very nice person.

I wrote a short review and recorded a video about my Pineider Pen Filler, which was  a birthday present.

I also recorded my first allotment video of the year (and actually the first one for quite some time).


I also managed to get my potato trenches dug, I’m hoping to get the potatoes in the ground later on this week. With that and the rate of progress of some of seeds that I’ve sown recently (swede, cauliflower) it won’t be long before the season is really underway.

TWTW # 8 Another Solar Orbit

On By TontowilliamsIn The Week That Was1 Comment

Another week, and another year of my life completed. Saturday was my birthday and although I mostly had a quiet day I did have cake!

This one has been pretty quiet overall, particularly when our TV set-top box died. We were able to get a work around going, but it means that we lost all of our recordings. We’ll get a replacement but it seems it’s one of those things where as the technology moves forward there is less choice. We really don’t want to be live streaming everything, some plain old fashioned technology would work. I was wondering if there’s still an old VHS machine in the loft. Maybe we could go retro.

Speaking of retro, one of my favourite tools is a fountain pen. I much prefer them to write with, probably second only to a pencil. For my birthday I was given a portable inkwell. The idea of this is that you can take several refills of ink for a fountain pen with you, without having to carry a whole bottle of ink. There’s a little bit of faith involved in refilling an empty pen, as it requires you to hold the inkwell upside down with the pen you’re trying to refill inside. I’ve had one trial run so far, and the ink stayed in the pen or the inkwell and didn’t end up getting on me or my desk. I look forward to trying it when I am truly out and about.

I ordered a new banetton for bread making, one that is oblong rather than round, which obviously means I get an oblong loaf.

It worked well and the loaf, and sliced bread is a much more usable shape for things like sandwiches.

The allotment is still pretty wet after a few days of rain, I’ve got a few seeds sown in the potting shed, but I’m still not ready to sow directly onto the plot. In another week or two, I’ll get the potatoes in the ground.

I was watching and listening to some of the coverage of the Space-X Crew Dragon this week. Whilst it would appear that everything went very well, there was quite a lot of discussion regarding the “commercialisation of space”. It concerns me that this appears to mean that there is going to be competition for resources in space, particularly on the Moon and Mars. Perhaps someone should be asking the question as to why we should be doing this as we have virtually destroyed earth by our own arrogance, we’re going to do the same (potentially) on the Moon and Mars too.

 

TWTW # 7 Too Cold For Spuds

On By TontowilliamsIn The Week That Was2 Comments

Another week is over and another month, 2019 seems to be galloping at a pace. In a weeks time I’ll be another year older. This February has been reported as the hottest on record with temperatures getting into the 20’s on several consecutive days, which  has been mad. A few people seem to have gotten their potatoes in the ground already, including a few on my allotment site. I’m going to hold off for another week or so, as I’ve planted too early before and lost part of the crop due to a late cold snap.

I got round to sowing a few seeds this week, broccoli, cauliflower, swede and leeks all made it into pots. I’ve been thinking of trying some different approaches this year to what I grow on the allotment and am planning to utilise more plants from seed (I hope), and top up from the local nursery with anything I’m missing, doesn’t germinate or for some different varieties. I’ve bought odd plants from them before and they supply good stock, so either way we should be good.

I finished “After The Fire” by Henning Mankell and thoroughly enjoyed it. Starting with a fire – an arson attack – I thought that this was going to be a crime novel, and although there is the crime, the book is about much more than that. As with Mankell’s other books it is incredibly well written and set in the Swedish archipelago so a different pace to life, but one where you sense the scenery is both beautiful and isolating at the same time (sounds like my cup of tea). The multi-stranded story is held together well by the first person narration and ultimately I was a little sad to have finished it, knowing that as the author has sadly passed away there won’t be any chance of a continuation of the characters.

I may well revisit some of Mankell’s other books, and just check that I’ve read all of them.

 

TWTW # 6 – Home Baked

On By TontowilliamsIn The Week That Was

I’ve mostly been working from home this week, with some interludes for baking, and a few other things.

It’s also been a week where it would appear that Spring has tentatively arrived. The weather has been unseasonably warm, but it may not last. It’s still a bit early to get properly started on the allotment, so for now nothing much is happening there.

We had feedback on the last lot of tests that the vet did for Wilson, and it would seem that everything is normal. This is obviously good news, but doesn’t answer the questions about what might have been wrong in the first. For now we’re going to monitor he and see if there are any changes over the next couple of weeks.

 

I love a good domino toppling!

I’ve been reading Henning Mankell’s “After The Fire”, the last book he wrote before he passed away. I’m only a few chapters in, and I’m not quite sure what is actually going on but it is very good. I’ve always enjoyed Mankell’s books – the Wallander novels in particular – this isn’t a Wallander story but is a character that he’s used before in “Italian Shoes”, you don’t have to have read the previous story to enjoy this one though. Written in the first person, you can really feel the emotion of the character and what he’s going through after his home is destroyed by fire leaving him with only his night clothes and two left-footed wellingtons. I’ll try and remember to do an update next week.