Barbecue Time.

We woke this morning to torrential rain but by lunchtime we were back to blue skies and sunshine. After an exhausting day yesterday we didn't feel like doing too much. I don't like a day to go by without doing anything at all so I cleaned all the spots of paint from the glass of the front door using a scalpel. I also got Peter to re-align a light switch on the kitchen wall so that I could tidy up the wall around it with filler. Those small tasks done I had some 'holiday time' sitting out on a sun lounger with a book and an ice cream. Peter made us a barbecue so I had my sausage and new potatoes which although probably not as nice as the ones at the festival yesterday still made a lovely supper. To catch the evening sun I got a table out by the scree garden. Sheer bliss to be in our little valley with just the sounds of the birds and the occasional huff from the horses.

Now as promised more snapshots from Green Man Day.

Some of the residents had decorated their windows, this year the theme was shepherds. 

Apart from all the chocolate based goodies my biggest regret was not being able to have some freshly brewed coffee. One stand was a small van kitted out with a full barista machine in the back, the smell of the coffee was amazing. Another stand sold scrummy looking organic/ethical brownies of different varieties which you could have with home-made ice-cream. Had to pass on those as well. Down in Rotary Gardens you could feast on jerk chicken, jerk pork, curried goat or home-made sausages. Back in the street there were all the usual burgers, hot dogs, fish & chips, Indian dishes, vegetarian cooking and no end of home-made cakes and biscuits. 

There were plenty of interesting craft stalls, this was the first time I had seen this lady with her felted pictures and little toys.  

Another newcomer was this lady crocheting covers for re-cycled glass jars and these cute little boats.

I had to smile at the safety glasses being worn to operate this historical foot driven treadle saw.

This isn't part of the festival but a re-use of an existing telephone box. Inside is a defibrillator that can be operated by anyone should the need arise. I've heard of these being put in shops but I think it's a great idea to have one out in the street. I expect the staff in the shop next to it have had training but the whole idea is that once you suspect someone is having a heart attack the defibrillator monitors the patient and tells you what to do.

While I personally would have thought that the noise and crowds would be stressful for dogs there were quite a few people who had brought their dogs along. I hope these three got some chips as their reward for waiting patiently outside the chippy.

That's just a sample of the what was on offer yesterday. There were activities and games for the children, the owl rescue people with owls and a falcon, the bat lady with a small bat, wildlife groups, gardening groups, local history and much more.

Green Man Day.

It's Green Man Day again and once more Peter and I volunteered for marshal duties, ie stopping the traffic when the procession came along. Things didn't go quite to plan as the person who was supposed to stop the traffic at the traffic lights was late hence the line of cars beside the procession. Lots of our school kids were in the procession and most of them waved to me as they walked past. It's a very community spirited event.

This year they stopped and did a performance at the traffic lights rather than in the crowded confines of Pilton Street itself.

We had to be there fairly early to check in with our organiser when it wasn't too crowded. Peter was also asked to keep his hi-vis tabard on and be a 'presence' in the street as this year there were no police, not even the community police support officers. Cut backs I suppose. Although there were still 4 stages this year the emphasis was on lesser known musicians and youngsters from the area playing as last year the better known bands had attracted more of the rowdy element and things nearly got out of hand. 

Once the procession entered Pilton Street the place was a sea of people. I could just imagine similar crowds at a medieval town festival. As well as costumed people from the procession most of the stall holders were in green medieval costumes and many people were in festival style (hippy-ish) clothes Because there are no breaks in the houses on either side the street gets very hot so I wore a light flowery dress and a straw panama hat with  flowers around it. I did have a mac in my bag in case it rained.

There were lots of craft stalls and so many food stalls from which came tempting smells. If it had been the sort of festival where we would be spending several hours sitting and listening to music I would have eaten from here. In the giant pot were new potatoes braised with butter, onions and scrumpy which you could have with a home-made farm reared pork sausage and home-made coleslaw. However after over 3 hours of ambling and lots of standing my legs had enough and we made our way home. I've got a nasty sinus headache so after giving the door frame another coat of paint I sat outside with some weak Earl Grey tea and my book. 

More pictures of stalls and interesting things tomorrow.

Windy.

First thing this morning it was pouring with rain. Fortunately the rain eased off but grey clouds loomed for most of the day. I had a morning appointment at the dentist's again! This time to collect the stuff for my home tooth whitening. I'm going to have to rethink my usual diet as for the next 4 weeks (2 for the treatment and 2 more to let the enamel harden up again) I need to avoid foods that stain or that are acidic. Somethings are no problem; red wine, fizzy drinks and squash I don't have anyway and I can swap white chocolate for chocolate but no coffee!! and my daily tomato, onion and red pepper salad is also out. Lettuce and cucumber don't quite excite my taste buds. Luckily I drink Earl grey tea anyway. All because I'm fed up with having yellow teeth. The dentist also did the first fitting of my dental plates. Because I have an awkward bite there were a lot of adjustments to make and in the end the gum where the tooth was taken out started to get sore. Oh the joys of getting older. After the dentist's I got a few bargains at B&M's which cheered me up. B&M's is a cheap store that sells a bit of everything. I've been keeping an eye out for some new kitchen hand towels as ours are frankly threadbare. I found some white towels which although marked at £3 said £1 on the shelf. I checked and they were only £1 so I bought 4. I also picked up a set of measuring jugs as the one I have at home has the measurements marked by the raised plastic of the jug and are hard to read. The new ones have clear black markings and when I went to pay they were reduced to £1 too. 

The Rambling Rector rose (which can be seen growing in the trees in the top photo) is spreading nicely along the trees on our boundary.

Back home I decided to take a chance with the weather and painted the door and frame again. I may do one more coat on the frame and then that will be it. It was quite breezy out in the garden. The wind blowing through the trees sounded like waves crashing on shore. I weeded the bed by the new wall which was looking quite messy. At ground level not a single nasturtium had even seen the light of day. Up on the wall I kept seeing pairs of leaves for them to disappear a few days later. Only 8 plants have survived so far and this is the first flower.

After the weeding I sat by the wall in the front yard and carefully cut back all the seed heads and stalks of the snow-in-summer. I started by cutting each one individually though towards the end I cut the occasional handful when I could. At least that job didn't involve so much bending over. 

Off now for a final tomato salad with honey and mustard dressing. (I ate the last of the chocolate fudge cake this afternoon with a cup of coffee.)

Hot.

I've been a busy bee today and got 3 major jobs done. In the house maintenance dept I painted the front door inside and out as well as the door frame. It's still a bit tacky so the door will have to stay open tonight. In the housekeeping dept I got one lot of sheets washed, dried and ironed. The ironing gave me a chance to test the sound bar I got Peter for his birthday. I still had some stuff from Glastonbury on the Sky box and it sounded a lot better with the sound right up. (Peter did ask for a sound bar, honestly.)

In the garden I got all the grass cut. Here I am modelling the latest in garden  couture, I started off in shorts and the long sleeved shirt but after a horsefly bit me on the neck I opted for a total cover-up. I am the sort of person who gets bitten and then reacts badly to the bites so I wasn't taking any chances. Funnily enough after a shower the flies left me alone when I sat out in the sun with a book and an ice cream. 

I've also backed up my photos and baked some chocolate cup cakes for Peter to take to work tomorrow. I only wish that all my days were as productive.  

Sun At Last.

I woke this morning to yet more grey skies but a few hours later it warmed up and the sun finally made an appearance. My first job of the morning was to tidy up the hanging baskets which were looking rather sorry for themselves. While the family were here I'd been too busy to do my usual daily deadheading and and for the last couple of days it has been too wet to spend even 10 mins outside. The light lavender surfinias were the worst. They seem to be more delicate than the pink ones and start to brown at the edges almost before they have fully opened. I'm thinking about swapping the baskets around so the lighter surfinias aren't at the top in full sun. The inside of the front door wasn't ready for another coat of paint so I taped over the outside of the glass panes and painted the top of the outside of the front door. 

I had a pleasant afternoon at school with the Year One classes. This is my last afternoon of proper teaching for this year. We and the parents had originally been told that the term ended this Friday but there was some sort of mix up and now we have to go in on Monday. Some children will already be off on holiday especially as both the junior school and the secondary school finish on Friday. So we aren't expecting all the children to turn up. It's going to be a non-uniform fun day as the teachers get things ready for next September.

Where has The Sun Gone?

I've been at work all day where it had rained for most of the time so I'm guessing that it rained all day at home. I had a relaxed day in Reception. In the morning the children drew pictures of themselves to put in a card for a TA who is leaving. During the afternoon nearly half the class went into the hall to practise their songs for Green Man Day while some extra Year 2 children came into my class and  joined in with the free creative activities that were going on. 

The finished kitchen door, I thought I had a 'before' picture but it must have been too awful because I can't find anything. The bare patch of wall on the left has all our height marks from over the years so it won't be painted over until we leave. 

When I got home I painted another coat of gloss on the inside of the front door. 

All the garden flowers are bowed down under the weight of so much rain on them. It did start to get quite warm this afternoon, hopefully we shall have some sunshine soon. 

Wet.

I was so sleepy yesterday evening I ended up going to bed at 8.00. The next thing I knew was the clock saying 9.00. Wow, I thought 13 hours sleep! Then I realised it was 9 in the evening. I did have a lovely long sleep after that and woke this morning to find it was still raining.

This morning I found Patch and Speedy curled up together, not something they usually do. This morning I cleaned the glass in the front door and stuck masking tape on the inside. I gave the top half of the inside of the front door its first coat of gloss paint. My aim is to have that door done before the summer holiday starts next Tuesday. 

My neighbour out checking the cows. 

At school it was damp rather than raining. Instead of PE I worked with some of the children who had to write about last week's school trip to the beach.

Coming home I could see that the cloud layer was down well below the tops of the hills. Shirwell was enveloped in mist and on the back roads home I could hardly see across to the other side of the fields along the road.