A Glut of Tomatoes and Courgettes

We have had a good year growing vegetables in the garden so as we had so many tomatoes and courgettes it was time to make another batch of soup.

I had found a really good recipe on the BBC web site and the good news is you can freeze it for up to three months.

Patrick went straight out to get more tomatoes, he had already brought in the onions and courgettes as I only needed 1 kg of tomatoes looks like I will have to find another idea to use more tomorrow.

Every thing in the pot now I only need to bring it to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes 

Finished soup and it really is good and it made ten servings.

Sweet Corn

We have never grown sweet corn before so Val and I shared 6 little plants three each and we grew ours in the Poly Tunnel and we were really pleased next year we are going to try more but outside lets hope we have a good summer.

Sweet corn before cooking

We had almost finished trying them when I realised I had forgotten to take a photo something Siew Gin would not forget to do!!

Patrick said he did not like sweet corn but he could not resist trying it and he agreed we must grow some next year

Wivey Street Fair

We had a Street Fair at Wivey on the Sunday so it was an early start for Patrick and I to set up the stall ready for our first helpers to arrive, unfortunately our first committee members could not stay due to illness although they did bring along lemonade and marmalade. So our plans to go off for breakfast did not work.

 

The street Fair is for the 10 Parishes and well attended photo taken early just after setting up

 

 

Almost finished setting up forgot to take extra table covers so had to take this close up so you could not see all the boxes stored under one table.

 

 

The prints we were selling were done by Elizabeth Towner just before she died from MND originally they were being sold for £62.00 each, she left the balance of the prints to the branch to raise funds.

 

 

 

Teddy Bears made by my friend Daph from the scrap sheepskin and they all have names

 

 

 

 

Picture of Linda, Patrick and Phil I know she will not mind but she is 89 and still volunteering

 

Almost the end of a very long day Patrick and I just had the last one and half hours to go.

 

 

Although it was very tiring we met a lot of very nice people and also sold all our lemonade, Jam and Marmalade and other items so not a bad way to spend a Sunday.

 







Nature Reserve

Some new Geocaches came up quite near to us in a nature reserve we did not know about so as it was a sunny after on Sunday we decided to go and investigate.

It was very unusual the gentleman who owns it was charming and he made all the features himself Town Tree Nature Reserve at the end of the trail we met the owner who explained that he buys the horse shoes one ton at a time and makes all the structures himself.

 

This horse even has a plough taken just before number 3

Patrick at the start before we got to 2

Rare photo taken by Patrick

 

 

There was lots of structures like this and lots of benches

 

 

Ponds, lakes and fountains all man made

 

 

At second geocache we met Newsboy and his wife and decided to go round together it was a very enjoyable afternoon and we intent to go back again in the spring.

 

 

 

Drayton Steet Fair

On Saturday Patrick and I ran a stall at Drayton Street Fair is was a very long day but quite worth while and we met some interesting people.  One lady who was ninety was a glover in Yeovil and during the war worked at Westlands helping to build planes would like to be as fit as her at ninety, she had certainly had an interesting life.

Patrick also met a relation he did not know about we thought it was unusual to have two P Bagg's on the list of exhibitors.

Drayton Street Fair

 

Just setting up only 9 am

 

Some of the skins for sale

Geocaching

We decided that we had better check up on our geocaches first we went to Jack the Treacle Eater which is Alan's it needed a new log book and a general tidy up.   Jack

Then off to It's Not Your Pen as we had a report something had eaten the box and the log book we replaced everything. and set of to Teddy Bears in Somerset.

My friend Daphne made these lovely little bears and they were so happy looking forward to joining other bears.   Teddy Bears

During the War

My father was not fit for active service and was stationed in Kidderminster during the war so I was born in Stourport on Seven we lived in Elm Road and during a recent visit to the area we thought we would try to find the house.

Well we did and it was as I remembered it but no cars in those days although my dad did have a bike and a motor bike.

My brother was born in this house in 1946 in the front bedroom.

 

It is the house on the right hand side of the picture after the war he could have purchased the house for £250.00 how times have changed.

Blast from the Past

Barry went up into the loft to have a look at some of the old computers.

 

What is this?

He found the original ZX and some others Jake could not believe that some of them did not play games.  Some pictures of some of the ones he got working, did not get a picture of the ZX working.

 

This was the first game that Alan and Barry had to play on that was anything like a computer game this is the nearest link I could find to the Binatone TV Game hope you like the video.

 

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This is what the screen looked like on a modern TV could not quite read the scores

 

 

It must be at least 30 years old they knew how to make them in those days

 

Picture on the screen was not bad, Barry says he and Alan once played this game for a whole day

 

 

Daniel had a go but was not very impressed

 

 

 

 

Cake Making

As soon as the boys were awake they wanted to know when they could make cakes, so after breakfast Jake and I cleared the kitchen and he set too to make the cakes, he broke the egg measured the butter and the water and set to work to beat it all together.

As soon as they were cold Jake and Daniel cleared off the dining room table and with the cakes shared out and decorations divided between them they set to work.

 

Daniel with his finished cakes as he was first not many decorations left.

 

 

Jakes cakes are finished but he could not resist liking out all the bowls

 

 

Daniel thought he had better try the cakes this was his second one

 

 

Jake found there was some icing left

 

 

Daniel finished eating his second cake then decided as Jake was eating up all the decorations he would have a go.  I just love this picture.

 

 

Jake decided to save his cakes for later but just had to make sure all the bowls were clean

 

 

 

 

Visit to Garden Centre

Barry and the boys came to visit for the weekend as it was my birthday in the week and between the showers we went to the garden centre in Sherborne as they were going to buy me a rose tree and one for Patrick both extra birthday gifts.

While we were there they had a Hedgehog day we had to go round and find 12 hedgehogs and then go to the butterfly house, where we learnt about them the boys made a hedgehog and had cakes.  It was very interesting as Barry and Sarah have just found one in their garden and I am trying to encourage them.  Jake asked some good questions and liked the white one.

Jake and Daniel working really hard

Birthday

Had a great birthday received some nice cards and presents, best part I spoke to my grandchildren in USA on Skype before they left for school and to my grandchildren in Bristol when they came home from school on google plus.  Computers make everyone seems so much nearer.

So after going to keep fit, Patrick took me out to lunch at the The Lime Kiln Inn first time we have been here but we would go again.

While talking to Siew Gin a large box came.

Box 

 

Inside the box was a lovely miniature standard rose

 

 

Showing the head of the rose it has lots of buds and will be covered in flowers

 

Thank you Siew Gin, Alan, Tyler and Cody for the lovely rose.

 

 



Teddy and Flat Eric

Daniel wrote a book for Teddy and he had to share it with his friend Flat Eric, they were both very scared.

Visit to Park

We went up to Bristol for a couple of days and went to the park.

 

Action shot of Jake

 

This was quite hard work

 

Daniel in his Spider Man outfit

Rare picture of Patrick and I taken by Jake

New Patio Set

An advanced birthday present from Patrick lets hope we have lots of sun.

 

 

 I have ordered two chairs for relaxing but they are out of stock should be here soon

 

Must get all the gardening done so we can enjoy some relaxing times

Woods and Nine Springs

Sarah took Jake to Cheltenham horse show so Barry and Daniel came for a visit we had a lovely time on the Sunday morning we went up to the woods to look for a geocache ours Teddies in Somerset Jake has been here but will have to take Tyler and Cody on their next visit.

 

Daniel in the tree after finding the Teddy Bears.

 

It was getting late after our walk through the wood so se set off home to have lunch, stopping at Daniel's favourite shop on the way to get a paper.

 

 

 

In the afternoon we went to the play park and after an ice cream set off to walk up to Nine Springs picture of Barry, Daniel and Patrick walking past one of the pools.

 

What little boy can resit playing with water

 

 

Trees

We have three large Ash trees at the back of the house that had got too tall so today two were reduced by about 8 ft and had branches off and the third smallest one had to go he was growing all wrong.

 

Picture showing all three trees before work started.

 

 

Starting to reduce the height

 

 

They look very sad now and the one on the far left of the picture has been taken right out, we just need some leaves now to see what they will look like.

 

 

Second Day

We woke up to a bright sunny day althougth the wind was still cold, after breakfast we set off to Farm Shop to catch the bus to Greenway.  The shop was great we wished it was near to home.

We boarded the 1940's bus to Greenway just the two of us and then we picked up three more people in Brixham.  The driver called Mike was  a jolly driver as the advert said and he gave a talk on all the interesting places we were visiting.  Bus to Greenway the bus has been used in a number of TV shows.

 

The bus we took to Greenway which was the holiday home of Agatha Cristie

 

  

The village of Ditesham from the bus

 

 

River Dart taken from the bus

 

 

 

 

The driver did take our photo by the bus unfortunately Patrick did not check and it did not come out, something Siew Gin would never have done.