It really is…

such a lovely day today that I’m going to make the most of it out and about.

So no proper entry here, and Flighty’s flyers # 1 over on Sofa flying.

Looking ahead

There’s only one TV documentary next week that’s worth mentioning. It’s James May’s Big Ideas on BBC2 Sunday at 9.00pm. The first of three programmes is Come Fly with Me in which he travels the globe in search of his ultimate flying machine. I’ll hopefully do a Sofa flying entry on this in the next day or two.

Looking ahead I see that the ever popular Big Cat Diary returns this year as Big Cat Live on BBC1 Sunday 5th October at 6.45pm. As well as being live for the first time former newsreader Kate Silverton and local Masai guide Jackson Looseyia join Simon King and Jonathan Scott to present it.

There’s no date for Autumnwatch yet but there’s plenty to look at on the website in anticipation of this year’s show.

It’s good to see that there’s a new series of the always informative and interesting Coast currently in production which will be shown next summer.

I like this time of year, especially if it’s dry and sunny! The weather forecast here in London is looking good for the weekend so I may well take a walk in the countryside during Sunday as there’s plenty to look at.

As you can see I’ve changed the header photo to a warm autumnal one, which unlike previous ones is not one I took.

Have a good weekend!

Starting again!

The plot looked like this just over a week ago.

Much of what you can see are the various grasses I let grow around the plot, the runner bean covered wig-wam in the middle and a few sunflowers.

On Thursday morning, which was sunny and warm, I spent a couple of hours digging and weeding the south western corner where I grew onions and potatoes this year. It’s the bottom left area in the above photo but looking the other way. Over the coming months I shall be working my way towards the top (road) end of the plot ready for next spring and starting again!

I’ve not forgotten that I said I would do a Plot flowers entry and it will appear in due course. Meanwhile here are a few to look at until I do.

1) 2) and 3)

There are several 1) Nasturtium ‘Tom Thumb’ scattered around the plot some, like this one, having variegated leaves.  By the pallet patio is this 2) Love-in a-Mist ‘Miss Jekyll White’ and I’m definitely going to grow lots more lovely 3) Sunflowers next year!

Just for a change…

I may well watch a couple of films being shown on TV over the weekend.

On Five Saturday at 6.00pm is the elegaic western The Shootist starring John Wayne, Lauren Bacall and James Stewart.  It was Wayne’s last film and a fitting finale to his 50 years as an actor, during which he appeared in some 180 movies.

On C4 Sunday at 9.00pm is The Notebook which I’ve not seen before. The always watchable James Garner and Gena Rowlands star in this time-spanning romantic drama.

If, like me, you’ve looked at any cathedrals, such as Durham, Ely or Gloucester, then you surely must have wondered how they were built.

How to Build a Cathedral on BBC2 Wednesday at 7.00pm looks at some of these magnificent buildings to find out how, and why, they were constructed.

Have a good weekend!

Sofa flying

is the title that I’ve settled on for my Flighty blog that I recently acquired.

Although my interest in aviation has waned over the past few years I still browse the vast Airliners.net regularly and come across plenty of great photos. I know that some Lawn loungers, and others, are interested as well.

Midwifemuse would dearly like to go for a flight in a RAF Tornado. Louise really enjoyed the recent Shoreham Air Show and said how amazing it was to see the RAF Hercules landing there. Daffy hankers after a gentle flight in a wonderful hot air balloon on a warm summer’s evening. Princessfairytoes, who seems to be no longer blogging sadly, said that she’d love to wing walk.

So Sofa flying will be a mostly aviation orientated blog. The entries won’t be regular, but hopefully there’ll be at least one a week, and will generally consist of a brief post with links to some superb photos.

A pleasant afternoon

After a dull, drizzly start to the day on Thursday it had brightened up considerably by lunch-time. On reaching the allotments I found that Joe was mowing the grass areas around his plots. I put one lot of grass cuttings on my compost heap and then trimmed some of my plot edges using the hand shears.

I’ve been considering a second compost heap for a while as the first one, which is tucked away behind the shed, is now full. The new one will be a similar size, about 4×2x2 feet, and down the bottom end of the plot near the dustbin incinerator. Like the first it will have hardboard sides which with grasses encouraged to grow up around it and a runner bean or sweet pea wigwam in front of it next year will make it unobtrusive. I’ve already got a wheelbarrow load of grass cuttings, another of fine wood chippings and several bucketfuls of weeds ready to go in it.

It was a pleasant afternoon in the welcome sunshine so Joe, John and I ended it by sitting for a while for a beer and a chat. Also there were the girls…

Say hello to Jodie

and Lucy

They’re my plot neighbour John’s affectionate and well behaved nine year olds. Jodie tends to say hello then settles down to wait, whilst Lucy is a real fidget who tries to snaffle my biscuits!

Heart to Hearts

I’ve been given another award! It’s this one which Midwifemuse has been kind enough to pass my way.

One of the rules that go with this is that I should pass it on to seven other blogs. Well I’m not going to do that as I feel that to choose seven Lawn loungers is unfair on the rest as I love all your blogs.

So a very generous Flighty is awarding it to all of you!

Since I’m breaking (some of) the rules, which are listed in Midwifemuse’s entry as linked to above, then anyone taking up this award can do likewise.

I’m actually going to mention one Lawn lounger who I feel deserves this award for a couple of reasons. She has contributed to this blog with all the images on the Frog Ponderings entries and she does confess to having a thing about hearts! It is of course Glo (Porcelain Rose).

Talking of frogs I was looking at Mildew’s Some Photos blog the other day and guess who I found!

There’s only the start of a repeated three part series on terrestrial TV next week that’s worth a mention. It is the superb Tigers: Spy In The Jungle, the first programme of which can be seen next Tuesday at 8.00pm on BBC2. I shall definitely be settling down to watch this wonderful wildlife series again!

Have a good weekend!

Periodic plotting

I’ve not even been to the plot very often the past few weeks let alone done much when I’m there! Times when I’ve been able to go it’s been raining, and of course when I haven’t it’s been okay.

I was there this morning picking the last of the sweet peas, lots more runner beans , a courgette and just a few blackberries and raspberries.

It generally looks a bit bedraggled now. I shall start to tidy up, weed and dig over the vegetable areas once, or rather hopefully, when it dries out a bit.

Other areas I shall leave as is through to late winter, which may look untidy but will be beneficial for wildlife.

Several plot neighbours, all long-time allotmenteers, have said what a dreadful year it’s been so I’m happy with what I’ve achieved. The few vegetables that I did grow, and eat, were potatoes, onions, broad and runner beans, beetroot and courgettes.

I’ve started pondering on what vegetables I’m going to grow next year and will certainly make a bit more effort to improve on this years somewhat modest results. They will include all the above, plus carrots and a few other things.

I’m not planning on making any major changes on the plot but I do have one or two ideas that I might put into practice.  Mind you if it keeps raining then I’ll be digging out my plan to turn the plot into a rice paddy!

My next plot entry will probably look at the flowers I grew and what I’m thinking about for those areas next year.

Tree of Happiness award

Last Thursday I mentioned that Louise has given me this award. Now here’s my six things (in no particular order) that make me happy!

1. Any time that I spend on the allotment be it plotting, pottering or pondering.

2. Watching wildlife, from a ladybird scurrying along a prickly blackberry branch to a snow leopard in a TV documentary.

3. Reading a good book or watching a feel-good film like a Doris Day comedy.

4. To go with the previous one a nice cup of tea and a couple of plain chocolate digestive biscuits.

5. A day, either at home or out somewhere, where when I sit down in the evening I reflect on what a good day it’s been so go to bed happy.

6. Reading, and looking at, entertaining and/or informative blog entries.

That last one brings me to the six inspirational bloggers who I’m passing this award on to. They are…

Artmeliana moved to New York a few months ago, and has just started a new job. Her always well-written, and often feature length, entries, with good photos, are always interesting.

Maureen’s Brilliant Britain blog A View from England I always find informative. I often bookmark links such as H a b i t a t which she mentioned in this entry.

Rach’s City Bumpkin blog is about city living with country aspirations. Her excellent  Big Smoke, Green Living entries include podcasts that are well worth listening to.

Polythene Pam’s Leave Only Footprints is her blog crusade against plastic which includes lot of information, and links, on this subject that we should all be aware of and be doing something about.

Porcelain Rose, Glo in the six months that she has been blogging has, from the outset, made me smile with her delightful sense of humour and given us a wonderful look at where she lives in western Canada.

Uphilldowndale through her always enjoyable entries, and excellent photos, gives us a picture of her life as she puts it from the top of a hill in northern England.

I’m happy to give this Tree of Happiness award to these six inspirational bloggers. I also say to them please don’t feel obliged that you have to do a similar entry listing six things that make you happy, or pass on this award to others if you don’t want to.

This and that

This tree of happiness award was kindly given to me by Louise who considers me to be an inspirational blogger! I’m supposed to list six things that make me happy and pass on this award to other bloggers who I consider inspirational. I’ll do both but not today!

As usual there’s little of note on terrestrial TV next week with just two programmes worth mentioning. The only problem being that both are on Sunday evening at 9.00pm!

On BBC1 is Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights which is the Radio Times’ documentary of the week whilst over on BBC2 is a new series Earth – the Climate Wars.

Daffy and Glo’s delightful poems in the comments of  Daffy’s Show & Tell entry have reminded me that this years National Poetry Day is on Thursday 9th October and has the theme Work. I’ll outline what I, and hopefully others, will be doing on the day in an entry a couple of weeks beforehand. It’s been fun previous years and I’m sure that this year will be just as good.

Have a good weekend!