Really trying to catch-up...

27, 28, 29 & 30 May 2025 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)

I'm not quite sure where the last four days have gone, and in this time I've also broken my stretch of writing something every day.

My aim this year has been to write something every day in terms of creative writing, rather than writing for my work or work work. Until this week, that had happened. It might not have been many words, though as part of this blog it was some words.  For some reason for the past four days I just haven't written.

I could say that it's because I haven't had time, though that sort of wouldn’t be true.  I could say that it was because I've been extremely busy, and even though this is true I'm sure I could have found time for a few words each day. So what is the real reason?

I guess the real reason is that my head just hasn’t been in the space to do it, and free time hasn’t presented itself enough to allow my head to be in this space. There’ve been times where I've just sat and thought about things, or watched TV to unwind, or been traveling in a car where I could have made notes at a toilet break, though I didn't. Yes, the real reason is that my head just wasn't there. 

Tuesday was very much a day of work work, and with Gerald Dickens being at the Great Green Barn at the end of the week there were things to do again for that, which I got done.  We also had a delivery from Morrison's in the afternoon, after which I went to the plot to tidy away the plants from the Gate Sale on my plot, though it started raining, so… I sowed some Cheeky Prince seeds instead.

Wednesday was a work work day too, and I was up early and driving down to Vanessa. Despite it being half-term, it still took almost two hours to get down there.  Of course, as per usual, it was a full, full day both with stuff to do in the shop and thinking about things for the Great Green Barn and the weekend, though we did have time to sit outside for lunch on Vanessa's new terrace and have an omelette with some toast, salad leaves and cherry tomatoes.  

Thursday again seemed to vanish. I was down early at the plot to water and check on things in a neighbouring plotter’s greenhouse (as she’s away and I promised I would!), and then got back home, had a meds review by phone and did work work at my desk. After lunch, and a chat with Vanessa, I got down to the plot again and sorted and tidied most of the plants on my plot leftover from the Gate Sale, and cleared the bed that had had chard and beetroot this year.  I'd let this bed get completely overgrown, which was against my plan this year of not letting too much nature take hold.  However, with a good bit of effort that bed of flowering chard and one beetroot, a self-seeded mallow and a chicory that was about to flower is now cleared, and so something can go into it.

Friday again was busy, and an early start, this time at my desk.  Each time we have an event at the Great Green Barn we send each person that’s booked details of where to park and how they walk across to the theatre space.  It also has details of what time doors open, the bar serving wine and soft drinks and some nibbles available before the show and at the interval, and what time the event is likely to end.  Each of these is personalised and I’ve not worked out how to do a mail merge on Outlook. I've used Outlook for decades now, and I've still not worked out how to do a mail merge.  When we're sending out newsletters, they go out via MailChimp, though I don't think I can do this without segmenting the list or adding them as separate list, which I don't think I can do without paying more.  So, on Outlook it's currently a bit of a copy and paste job, though it doesn't take too long. 

As we’ve a busy weekend ahead, we'd decided to record Sunday Chat today rather than tomorrow, though Richard also wants to try a recipe - a Puttanesca sauce - this morning and film it, and I've got stuff to do at my desk first thing and then an important job to get done at the Post Office

Almost a week’s gone by from our Gate Sale, and the donations have been rolling in for the leftover plants that have been by our communal shed. I've waited until now to pay in the cash taken;  I’ll pay it into our allotment association's high street bank account via the Post Office as I did last year - though I also seem to remember that there was an issue last year in doing this, though I can’t think what it was… 

Anyway, I pop off up the road to the Post Office with all of the cash counted out, the paying-in-book written up and the card that we have for the allotment association's bank account.  I hand the money over, which is now well over £700, to the usual lady at the Post Office who’s always extremely chatty and smiley and helpful. When I pop in the card for our bank account, for whatever reason it doesn't allow whatever needs to happen to happen for the money to be automatically paid in. For some reason, the Post Office system also can't find our account. So, I decided that it’s best to pay the cash into my own account… although I've left my own bank card at home, I have to go back home to get the card, to go back to the Post Office and put my card into the machine so that the Post Office lady can pay the money into my account.  As I do this, I remember we had to do the same last year…

Back at home, I transfer the sum that's just been paid into my account into the account of our allotment association.  I then log on at my desk to make sure that the sum has arrived in the account, and also notice that the credit card payments that we’d taken have gone into the account, less the percentage transaction that gets taken by the card company.  I then sent a WhatsApp message to the chair of the allotment association and also to another of the committee members, just to let them know that money has been paid into the account, how it's been paid in, and what the total take for the Gate Sale is, which is now over £810.  I know that there's about £5 of loose change in the commonal shed jar, and by the time I get to the plot in the afternoon, checking the jar on the way, I notice a £10 note in there which I take out.  Any money that now comes in I'll just transfer across from my own bank account, and keep the cash at home; it's unlikely to be more than another £20 or so. 

At the plot, I carry on weeding.

Today, weeding is of the long bed that’s going to have the tomato plants, and also a bed by the poly.  I also check on the wheels of a pull along trolley that we have, taking the code number from the side of the tyre, which I think is size and diameter or something like that. Two of the wheels have been broken for quite a while and it's well past the date to replace them.  As I don't know much about wheels on trolleys, I put a message on our WhatsApp group define out whether the wheels need to come off or whether the inner tube and tyre can be added without the wheel being removed, and another plotter comes back with the answer that I need to ensure all can be fitted correctly. 

Back at home, Richard did a Live at 6pm, and as it was nearing the hour mark I put the oven on as we were going to have a quick supper of smoked tofu and red kidney bean burgos from the freezer, frozen oven chips and salad. The evening was a bit of a chilling out session with several old episodes of Top of the Pops, and then an average episode of Have I Got News For You.

Early to bed as it's a full day tomorrow, and a couple of chapters of my book, which at the moment is Peter James's Picture You Dead.


Tuesday 27 May

Weather:  Wet start, middle and end, and very breezy.  Around 15°, though feeling cooler.

Breakfast:  Bran Sticks, yogurt, sultanas and some mixed nuts
Lunch:   Richard's Easy Vegetable Curry with Brown Rice
Supper:   Scrambled eggs, tinned baked beans and a slice of rye bread​

Richard's Easy Vegetable Curry

Wednesday 28 May

Weather:  Wet first thing though drying later with a strong breeze, and temps around 17/°.

Breakfast:  Bran Sticks, yogurt, sultanas and banana
Lunch:  Vanessa Omelette, cherry tomatoes, salad leaves and toast
Supper:   Richard's Easy Vegetable Curry with Brown Rice


Thursday 29 May

Weather:  Rooves damp at the beginning of the day, though no rain and a drying breeze.  Temps around 20°.

Breakfast:  Bran Sticks, yogurt, sultanas and banana
Lunch:  Egg Mayonnaise, crackers, cucumber, radish and some olives
Supper:   Richard's Puttanesca Sauce with wholewheat spaghetti and grated Cheddar

Puttanesca bubbling away...

Puttanesca ingredients

Friday 30 May

Weather:  Grey with sunny spells, yet still breezy.  Around 22°.

Breakfast:  Bran Sticks, yogurt, sultanas and banana
Lunch:  Cheddar wraps with lettuce and homemade coleslaw 
Supper:   Smoked Tofu & Red Kidney Beans Burgers from the freezer, oven chips, lettuce, cucumber, radish and some olives.