Month: July 2025

toms

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July 31, 2025

11:25

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Food, Garden

I’ve not had a good year with tomatoes. Poor fruiting, blossom end rot (both probably due to erratic watering) and generally not good growth. It may, partly be the compost, which is ordinary Dalesfoot although I see they’ve now introduce a specific compost for tomatoes in pots.
Anyway, the first of the Black Russians is now just about ripe, though there’s no sign of any colour on any of the other tomatoes. But hopefully they’ll ripen in due course … It doesn’t look as though I’ll have an end-of-season surplus of green tomatoes for chutney-making, but there are still several jars in the cupboard so that isn’t a problem.

thoughts and memories

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July 28, 2025

13:00

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Other, Politics & rants

The final stages of clearing out the loft revealed a batch of old T-shirts, kept for sentimental reasons – they were bought during my working life when I weighed 55kg (rather under 9 stone), rather than my current 67kg (ten and a half stone) so no longer really fit.

A couple of them caused me to think. In particular, the “Section 28” one, bought for the massive march in 1988, the occasion that prompted Ian McKellan to come out very publicly. In so many respects, there are parallels with the recent Supreme Court ruling on gender identity, not least that the press and popular media are whipping up hysteria which has the effect of making the ruling far broader and far-reaching than the words actually say. That means a climate of fear, with people massively scared to do even things which are legal, and whips up a (justified) fear verbal or physical violence against those who are being so publicly vilified.

I stand with my trans and NB friends and relatives, of course … how could I not?

insects

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July 21, 2025

18:51

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Garden, Wild things (flora and fauna)

In the sunny spells between showers, the meadow brown butterflies have been busy on the marjoram. As that’s now in shade, this one is sunning itself elsewhere. The 6-foot tall echinops (globe thistles), which bees of all descriptions adore, still catch the sun. Sadly, cabbage white caterpillars have completely stripped the leaves of the young kale (though there’s a faint chance they’ll recover), but there’s plenty of time for a second sowing … hoping to avoid a second brood of caterpillars!

Photos are phone photos, on zoom, so not great quality.


not a courgette …

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July 18, 2025

20:30

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Food, Garden, Uncategorized

I’ve been too unwell for the past three weeks to stay on top of the courgettes. As a result, there were three large marrows, which I’ve now cut (hoping to encourage more actual courgettes to appear). I expect that two will have to be consigned to the compost bin, but the third one is supper tonight, with a portion for the freezer.

Not, of course, that I’d do a conventional stuffed marrow. Indeed, it’s a cross between a stuffed marrow and a lasagne, with the base layer being a bolognese-type red sauce (made with Quorn not mince, as I’m slightly behind my target of two veggie days a week, and livened by hits of lemon juice and smoked paprika). Then a layer of lasagne sheets, and topped with a lasagne-type white sauce. Finally covered in grated cheddar.



air-con 2

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July 18, 2025

10:47

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Health and wellbeing, House & domestic

Air conditioner arrived on Wednesday. I’ve decided that my bedroom is the best place for it … it’s the room that gets direct sun for most of the day (so gets very hot), and is where I tend to retreat if I’m starting to feel a need to lie down or to take a nap.

A quarter of an hour at a time is as much – probably slightly more – than I can actually manage, as I’m still pretty unwell. Any kind of effort – even a ten-minute stroll to the Post Office and back – brings me out in a breathless sweat lasting an hour or so. And I don’t even think about doing anything between about 1230 and 2000h. So it’s taken a couple of days to get the beast upstairs and set up sensibly. I’m pretty pleased with it – running yesterday afternoon at “siesta time” it certainly made a difference. A bit of tweaking this morning to make the whole thing less obtrusive, though the day is milder and I may not need to actually run the a/c.

Photo taken about 1030, when the sun is just starting to hit the bedroom window. It will stay until around 2000h this evening! I’m pleased that the vent hose manages to hide behind the curtain (as seen from the bedroom),and be rather disguised by it as seen from outside.

garden bits

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July 14, 2025

13:52

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Garden

The first sunflower opened this morning. Due to lack of water they’re only about four foot high, not the normal seven foot, though it hasn’t stopped the bumble bees finding it. The Morning Glory, which has been a bit sparse for the last few days, is welcoming the slightly cooler weather (as am I !).


air-con

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July 13, 2025

18:41

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Health and wellbeing, House & domestic

The forecast shows a high probability of exceptionally hot weather continuing over the next couple of months. My brush last Friday with heat exhaustion, the lovely ambulance crew, and that I only avoided hospitalisation because my nibling was coming to stay so there would be someone to check on me was really *very* scary. Despite my ethical misgivings, I can no longer be in this kind of situation… a portable air conditioner has been ordered, for delivery next week.
I feel bad about this – I do realise that air conditioning units only export heat from indoors to outdoors (adding to local heat problems), and the manufacture of them, and the electricity they use, adds to the climate crisis.

still ill

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July 11, 2025

12:01

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Health and wellbeing

Still unwell, so rang NHS111. They despatched an ambulance very promptly – 2 paramedics and a student paramedic. There was considerable discussion about whether I needed to go to hospital or not, involving phone calls to the hospital team. In the end, it was decided that I had a mix of heat exhaustion and leftover UTI, and that it was OK to leave me at home, with strict instructions that if I got any worse to ring 111 (or 999 if I collapsed). They were here for about an hour, and really friendly and helpful. God bless the NHS – there are still things it does amazingly well.


garden bits

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July 2, 2025

12:54

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Uncategorized

Yesterday was the annual trimming back of the ceanothus, as it has finished flowering. Dead patches are appearing, which is not surprising as it’s a short-lived shrub and has been in for eleven years. As always, the trimming allows the acanthus mollis to stand out in full glory. It does well here, sometimes reaching seven foot in height, though this year is a shade under six foot. In both my previous garden in London, and at my mother’s house in the Cotswolds, it struggles to reach four foot.

It’s a statuesque and impressive plant that I’m very fond of, as much because of memories of holidays in Greece and suchlike places whence it originates as for its striking appearance. It can get invasive, but so far the fence, the patio, and the ceanothus bush have managed to keep it within desired bounds.

Octopus

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July 2, 2025

08:53

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House & domestic

I’ve just signed up for another year with Octopus as my energy supplier, on a fixed rate deal. It’s just over a pound a month more than I’m currently paying, for a total of a bit under £1,300 a year. There are probably slightly cheaper deals around, but I am happy that Octopus do their very best to be decent Green suppliers, and being on a fixed income knowing that the fuel costs will be each month is important to me.
I’ll get my annual energy use statement when the move to the new tariff takes effect (late next month), and do my usual review of carbon footprint then.