Bank Holiday weekend rambles

Another busy weekend for the Wozzies.............

Saturday dawned bright and sunny and so we went with Woz's Mum and Dad to a great garden nursery, Simpsons at Fordham. Our visited started with coffee and bacon rolls at their newly built cafe and then it was time to shop. The selection and quality of plants is superb, the pricing very good value. So it would come as no surprise to learn that we (ok me) excelled in our purchases!

Over the winter, we appeared to have lost a shrub in the garden which either succumbed to the very low temperatures or already was weakened by pest or disease; very disappointing as the 'Pittisporum' that died was a valuable specimen plant. So - the shrub will come out and will be pruned, potted and given some TLC to see if we can resurrect it. In the meantime, we have selected a new plant (well tree actually) to go in its place. Prunus Serrula Tibetica - Tibetan Cherry. The photo above is a detail of the beautiful copper bark that makes this tree really stand out. First seen at Abbotsbury Gardens in Dorest whilst we were away last month, we had already said that it would be lovely to have one of these in our garden and now we have!

Ended the day with Woz's Mum and Dad, one of his brothers and his wife coming round for a BBQ.

Sunday was the monthly Fenlanders meeting; started with cloud and drizzle but we put on the waterproofs and set off on the bike; the sun came out and we had a nice ride up to Norfolk. After the meeting we rode back across the open fens popping into our friends Roy & Ali for a cup of tea and then home.

Bank holiday Monday and the weather report was not that great, chilly wind too but we decided to get out for the day and take the dogs for a walk somewhere. Wellies, leads, waterproofs and woolly jumpers, off we went. First stop - Walkers Cafe on the A1065 near Barton Mills - take away bacon rolls and coffee; sat in the car as it was alternating sunshine and showers and very chilly breeze.

Then onto West Stow country park and Anglo Saxon village. Couldn't take the dogs into the reconstructed Anglo Saxon village (which we will go back to another day) but the walks around the country park were lovely; a footpath follows along part of the River Lark, there is a fishing lake with lots of ducks, geese and nesting cootes. The paths go through mature conifer and deciduous woodlands and also across ancient heathland. There is a childrens activity playground (which we didn't go to) and a very nice cafe (which we did). Picnic tables are dotted around and some are under some very tall scots pines. Another time we will bring a picnic and spend longer there but yesterday was too chilly with frequent rain showers.

We then headed off through pretty country lanes, thatched cottage villages and through woodlands until we reached the Suffolk/Norfolk border and a visit to the St Georges Distillery - the only malt whiskey distillery in England. A sample or two had to be tried! And whilst there (and thankfully indoors) the heavens opened and threw down hail!

Onwards with the sun now shining, we gradually made our way north'ish and then west'ish and ending up near Downham Market and an american style diner called Arbuckles for an early dinner. Great way to round off the day.

We stopped for a quick beer at the AV and then headed home. Possibly it was tiredness - possibly Woz had one of those 'senior' moments (well he is having a birthday this week!) - Woz went off to feed the dogs, put the bowls down and came back to the living room with his cup of tea. A short while later, I could hear Ruairi's bowl (being plastic) being scraped across the floor and Ruby's bowl (being stoneware) tinkling where a collar tag was touching the side. It is very unusual if not unheard of, that Ruairi finishes his dinner first and so I went off to see what was happening? In a 'loss of concentration' moment - Woz had put the bowls down in the wrong places - the dogs however went to the right places. Ruby then munched all of Ruairi's dinner whilst he stood just looking at her bowl, that contained her food and then, once she had finished one plate of food, went over and started on her proper dinner. Ruairi meanwhile did try and get his nose in her bowl, but she growled at him and so he sat down and looked all forlorn.

Thank goodness I went and took a look!! Woz refilled Ruairi's bowl and he happily tucked in (Ruairi that is, not Woz!) whilst Ruby (cheeky dog that she is) not content with two dinners, hovered by the kitchen door awaiting a chance to sneek in and eat some more! Ruairi must have been hungry though as every little morsel was eaten.

Busy Busy Busy

Its already been a busy week and it's only Wednesday!

Woz is off tonight to collect his refurbished engine for the old Harley. The photo is an example of what the engine will look like not actually his engine. Over the next few weeks he will be gradually re-building the bike but there is still an awful lot of work to do.

Last night we sowed some more veg seeds - so add Courgette, Butternut Squash and Leeks to the list. Already popping their first green shoots up out of the soil are the rocket and lettuce seedlings along with tiny radish leaves.

Work continues on our Family History with further investigations revealing more surprises. One of the by-products of researching ancestors is finding out about the environment they lived in, the difficulties they faced and the tragedies they witnessed and in some cases had to live with for the rest of their lives. Child mortality in the 19th and early 20th centuries was shocking; poverty wide spread; disease and death from illnesses that today we are vaccinated against and the incredibly cramped and unsanitary conditions that huge families lived in. It has been and continues to be an absorbing and fascinating project and now that I have contact details for some of our extended relatives, I shall share with them the discoveries made.

On to another hobbie/project/distraction.............Rugby .....what else :) and the news to share with you all is that I will be the Moderator for a forum on http://www.frenchrugbyclub.com/ this is an english speaking site devoted to all things rugby and obviously French teams however we also chat about other parts of the rugby world, share news, views and predictions. The site has been active for quite a long time and since joining the forum, I've learned an awful lot as well as contributed frequently. Anyway - long story short - the web administrators have asked me to look after the forum! Cool.........and very exciting. No renumeration, but lots of potential opportunities to link up with other supporters, potentially players and also to visit other stadiums. There is already a plan to travel to the south of France next season to watch the Montpellier v Racing Metro fixture - Woz has said he's up for it and if the weather is kind we'll go on the bike! The season however is drawing to a close with just a month left of 'play-off' fixtures in the Top 14, so this will give me a chance to learn how to 'moderate'.

Oh and if you're wondering - Fivesheds goes techno with a broadband connection during May. Mr and Mrs Woz will finally drag themselves into the 21st Century!

Spring has sprung

Apple blossom has appeared on the tree we planted last year to the wall at the end of the house facing the raised veg beds. This is the first time we've had a fruit tree that will hopefully produce some tasty apples later in the year.

The rest of our soft fruits are also coming along nicely with lots of berries setting on the black currants, strawberry flowers appearing on the new plants that we planted in the planter given to us as a wedding present and lots of leaves appearing on the raspberry canes planted earlier this year.

In the veg beds we have so far sown seed for carrots, radish, two types of beetroot, spring onions, lettuce, rocket and parsnips. The shallots planted about a month ago have lots of green shoots. We also planted small plants of brussel sprout and purple sprouting broccoli but the pigeons have been feasting on the leaves so we shall need to set up a deterent with string and cotton. We have several pots and containers with potatoes - three varieties this year - Ulster Sceptre, International Kidney (aka Jersey Royals) and Pink Fir Apple.

In the greenhouse the mange tout, borlotti beans and sweetcorn have all appeared in their pots and we also have the first chilli seedlings popping their little green buds above the compost. Herbs this year include mint, sage, chives, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, lemon balm and marjoram.

In the flower garden we have planted some more perennials and herbacious plants along with some summer flower bulbs and for the first time ever, we have some dahlia's in pots. We've never tried dalia's before so this will be a learning opportunity on how to grow them.

Our three climbing roses are all doing really well and this year we have six flowers on the wisteria planted three years ago.

Our next challenge is to get to grips with the front garden which at the moment looks very unloved and overgrown. Dandelions and couch grass have both made their homes across the garden as well as a rampant 'Rose of Sharon' which has sent what seems like millions of runners under the earth only to pop up everywhere as little green rosettes of leaves - another job to get back under control.

This weekend was the annual Yesteryear Road Run through the village with all types of vintage cars, heavy transport vehicles, tractors and motorbikes. Although the day started gloomy and wet it soon cleared up and we walked the dogs around the village green taking a good look at the vehicles on display.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the garden, pottering and weeding and enjoying the sunshine and then popped down to the pub for an early evening drink.

A week by the sea

After a hectic end to March and then a busy Easter weekend during which (amongst other things going on) we finally had our living room ceiling plastered and also attended the monthly Fenlanders meeting, we took a look at the weather forecast for the forthcoming week after Easter and decided to head for the Dorest coast and a few days camping in our new Tent.

We left Monday morning with the truck fully loaded with dogs and equipment and headed off. We chose a campsite in the village of Eype just west of Bridport arriving in sunshine but with quite a wind blowing which made the inaugral tent erection somewhat more invloved than perhaps it would normally have been. Tent up, beers opened and dinner cooking we settled down to relax and then through the night hoped that the increasing strength of the wind wouldn't find us and our new tent somewhere near Cornwall in the morning!

Tuesday dawned bright and sunny with no wind to speak of. We headed into Lyme Regis and had brunch sitting at a pavement cafe in an elevated position at the end of the high street, then a walk along the 'prom' to the harbour and then up through the gardens. We headed west from the town via the village of Beer ending up at Branscombe beach and indulged ourselves with a cream tea (after a walk on the beach). On our way back to the campsite we stopped at the village of Whitchurch Canonicorum where there is a church dedicated to St Candida and the Holy Cross; St Candida was formerly known as St Whit and the church is famed for being the only paris church in England to still have its saints bones and the original medieval tomb that pilgrims visited. Also there is a memorial to the man who inspired Shakespear to write 'The Tempest' and also the grave in the church yard of the Bulgarian assasinated at Waterloo Bridge, London with a poisoned umbrella! Back to the Tent (after a quick visit to the local brewery) and a relaxing evening sitting in the sun. Although we had rain over night, the following day was warm, sunny and cloudless.

Wednesday we headed east along the coast and to Abbotsbury iron age hillfort, then onwards and upwards to Cerne Abbas to see the famous chalk carving and then stopping for lunch at The Poachers Inn, in Piddletrenthide- a dog friendly pub. We then took the dogs for a walk along Eype beach, collecting stones and trying to find fossils as well as doing a bit of rock pooling. Back to Bridport and after picking up ingredients for dinner, we enjoyed another very lovely evening watching the sunset over the sea.

Thursday and a visit to Abbotsbury Sub-Tropical gardens. They accept dogs on leads and so Ruby and Ruairi were able to walk round with us. A fantastic place to visit and even though we were so early in the springtime, the rhododendrons and camelia's were stunning. We ate lunch at whilst watching very friendly small birds eat crumbs from the table and from Woz's fingers and also listened to Kookaburra's in the aviary as well as watching the native and Golden pheasants strut about. Back into the gardens we visited the mediteranean garden, sculpture trail and a view point looking to Chesil beach and Portland. A lovely few hours on a warm sunny day and we could easily have been in a much more southern part of europe. We stopped off on our way back to the campsite at West Bexington and gave the dogs a short walk along Chesil beach before sitting down and just listening to the waves gently roll in and the stones rattle back and forth along the beach. A further trip to the brewery (Palmers of Bridport) to re-stock the supplies and then back to cook dinner and read a book.

Friday was very warm and sunny; not expecting such good weather we hadn't packed sandles or shorts but between us we had t-shirts so at least we weren't completely baked by the time we had walked with Ruby and Ruairi down to Durdle Door and back. Ruby did really well, the path is very steep in places and the steps to the beach take some climbing back up - for an elderly lady, she was amazing. We had taken plenty of water and with frequent rest stops and lots to drink, both dogs (and us) made it all the way back up to the carpark without too much difficulty! We then headed to Corfe and lunch at The Greyhound Inn just outside the castle gates. We were back at the campsite by 4.30pm so that we could enjoy our last evening of peace and quiet, the sea was very calm, no wind, brilliant blue sky and a very pretty sunset......perfect.

Saturday and time to strike camp and all done in a very laid back manner! although we were up just after 7am, it still took us until 11.30 to finally leave! Frequent stops to admire the view of a flat calm sea, several cups of tea and stopping to eat breakfast meant that neither of us could find any real enthusiasm for packing up although we did get everything packed and the tent down eventually. After leaving the site, we headed north east and up to Yeovil and across the A30 to Shaftsbury stopping in the town to collect picnic food; we then travelled on to Old Wardour Castle (used for a scene in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves) and spent a couple of hours wandering the ruins, eating our picnic and enjoying an ice-cream. We had an uneventful drive home arrive at 7.30pm; tired but relaxed and happy. The dogs were pleased to be back in their garden, Ruby was delighted to be back to her settee, and we sat down with a cup of tea and spent the evening recalling our trip. We'll definately make a visit back and especially to the gardens. The verdict on the new Tent? Excellent!

Rubbing shoulders with a No 8!

This was taken inside the Hotel Scribe before we left for the game; Olivier Roumat, a very tall man and an ex-internation French No.8 player having captained France and is actually due to take over as Manager of a team in the French Pro2 Division next season.

A weekend to remember

What a weekend!!!!!! We both enjoyed ourselves and have memories to last a lifetime.

The journey Friday evening took a little longer than anticipated with our flight leaving slightly later than planned and then when we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport we ended up assisting two young gentlemen heading into the city and who didn't have a clue how to get there. We helped them sort out train tickets and left them on the train to reach their destination when we disembarked at Gare du Nord station. By the time we had arrived (23.15hrs) we chose to get a taxi to the hotel rather than mess around with the metro; our taxi driver however was having a bit of a nightmare with one-way road systems and we finally arrived at 23.45. Room key, shoes off, cup of tea and bed.

Saturday dawned warm and sunny and we headed out for a slow wander around the city centre ending up in Boulevard St Germain at a cafe eating brunch and watching the world go by; we walked back via the Pompidou Centre, stopped for a beer and a full circle tour back to our hotel in time for a shower, cup of tea and then a quick ride on the metro to Hotel Scribe to meet up with the rest of the group going to the game. 16.30 we got onto the waiting coaches along with our hosts for the evening, Victor Ubogo, Mark Regan and Olivier Roumat (you can read up about them on the 'net'); We headed off to Zack restaurant which is located within a 10 minute walk of Stade de France. An excellent meal in a beautifully decorated restaurant, lots of beer and wine flowing and pre-match talks given by our hosts along with live television coverage of the Ireland v Scotland game and then a short walk to the ground.

The atmosphere was electric; the game very enjoyable to watch especially with so many supporters for both nations singing and despite a spirited attempt by England the end result most definately deserved by the French after steaming their way through the previous four rounds. Although it rained heavily during the game, we didn't get wet and on the walk back to the restaurant with waterproofs on, we enjoyed the banter and cameraderie shown by all supporters. More beers and post match reviews and then back on the coach to return to the city and eventually arriving back at our hotel at 1am.

Woz didn't get a very good nights sleep due to the noise from a night club across the road from our hotel which lasted until after 6am! I mercifully slept through it (possibly the beer?). Sunday morning and although a little cloudy and cool, we set off on the metro across the city to visit the Bastille, a fantastic sunday market, the Pere Lachaise cemetary and ate lunch at a local cafe. Then onto Sacre Couer, Pigale and Moulin Rouge and finally back on the metro and up to the Arc de Triomphe and a wander down the Champs Elysees stopping for a little beer refreshment en-route. The sun was by now shining, not a cloud in the sky and so we headed across to the Seine and walked by the river. We ended our evening back in the Grande Boulevards at a restuarant where we sat and watched the world go by whilst eating our dinner. We headed back to the hotel and as we had an early start decided that an early night was in order, particularly as Woz had not really slept the night before.

3.15am!!!!! we were woken by a delivery truck outside the hotel making so much noise that we were both awake until he finished 45 minutes later. 5.30am our alarm went off and by 6am we were dressed, packed and ready to leave. Having checked out of the hotel, we walked along the near deserted streets with dawn breaking clear over the city; took the metro to Gare du Nord and then the train to the airport arriving in plenty of time for a quick breakfast and a wander through the air-side shops; Our flight however was earlier than expected and we boarded 30 minutes early so it was just as well we had been 'on the ball' in getting to the airport. A good flight and then we were back.

A thoroughly enjoyable trip for us both; Woz has a better impression of Paris than before (despite the result, the lack of sleep and having to drinking lager!) and I managed to get to the shops for a new Chabal shirt for my collection! joking apart - it was a memorable weekend and one that we shall no doubt be talking about for many years to come.

Nine more sleeps!

First thing this morning Woz breezes into our living room with a big grin and a 'Nine More Sleeps' announcement; off to Stade de France on 19th March to see France v England in the final game of the Six-Nations and we can't wait.



Here at home we are today having the final window installed in the house, this one is the dining room window - a much larger one than all the others and will probably present a bit of a challenge. The stone windowsills are gradually being painted in the same colour as the front door and it is all beginning to look very smart indeed.



Spent a few hours in the garden last weekend tackling all the shrubs and dead growth from last season ready to plan new planting for the flower borders. Hopefully this weekend we will manage to get our raised vegetable beds cleared, dug over and prepared for sowing the veggies that we plan to grow this year.



The trip to Normandy is booked with a gite located in Isigny-sur-mer to the west of Bayeux; six of us will be travelling on our Harley's for a week of sight seeing, visiting the D-Day landing beaches, medieval towns and probably sampling quite a lot of the local produce especially the seafood.



Also planning a short break over Easter and hoping for kind weather as we plan to road test our new tent for the first time - possible destinations are being whittled down from North Wales, New Forest and Yorkshire. It will very much depend on the weather forecast for the week we wish to travel. Ruby and Ruairi will also be coming with us so no rain would be a bonus - wet dogs in tents is not a pleasant experience!



I have finished making the new cushion cover for the garden bench that we have yet to buy; we gave Woz's Dad his one back, so we shall be looking to purchase a new one for the garden in the springtime.



Next major project is this weekend when the plasterboard gets fitted to the livingroom ceiling ready for the plasterer. Once completed and dry, we can decorate the room, so we need to start choosing paint, fabrics and gettign the rest of the doors that were stripped of old paint, re-painted.