Still Cold.

The sight of a grey sky and the tree branches waving in the wind did not provide any incentive to emerge from under a warm duvet this morning. Instead I had a long lie-in listening to Radio 4 before heading outside dressed in winter gardening clothes, 2 pairs of joggers, 2 fleeces and a jacket. Couldn't do any cementing today but I removed several of the broken concrete slabs in the patio and hacked away the underlying cement so that I can put down some of the spare slabs that were left over from the original groundworks 16 years ago. The slabs all need replacing though I don't think they would be in such a bad state if the boys (you know who you are), had not insisted on continually doing skateboard tricks on them. A little general weeding including another mess of bindweed roots from under a bush completed my day's outdoor work. Up on the road (it's dustbin day tomorrow), the cow parsley is adding its froth to the wild garden that lines the country lanes. The sun is finally making a brief evening appearance and the temperature has gone up to 11C!

Caught an interesting programme yesterday when I came in for a coffee, 'Tales From a Green Valley'. It follows the daily life of 5 historians and archaeologists as they spend a year living on a Welsh farm as if they were in the 1620s using only their own produce and local resources that would have be available to the people of that time. I saw the 'wife' showing how ordinary folk would have made their own medicines, salves and poultices. The men were out hedge building and repairing the privy that had developed a dangerous list. It was made by the BBC and is currently showing on the freeview channel 'Yesterday'.