Christmas Tree

Last year we had a Christmas tree which was cut off from the top of a mature tree that had been felled for timber.  It was pushed into a pot of compost and used as a decorative tree.  In the new year, I re-potted the tree and put it out in the garden. and it has again been re-potted after it had produced a dense root ball.

This tree is now residing in out conservatory as our new and recycled Christmas tree.  It has been decorated and we shall add a string of small LCD lights to finish the job.

It is our hope that the same tree will be used for a few more years before it gets planted out.

Our other tree will look OK when we get some batteries charged up to power the lights.

Warm Weather

 Over the last few days, the weather has been damp misty and overcast for most of the day, with temperatures not exceeding 10 degrees Celsius.  It has been a dull and cool week.

Today the sun is shining and the temperature is above 15 Degrees Celsius.  The day is bright and clear.

When Rosie went into the kitchen at 2.15 to make a cup of tea, she came across this beastie sunning himself on the lawn.

Autumn is here

 The leaves on the trees have been outstanding this season, but they are now starting to fall.

The Brampton is always an eye catching scene in Autumn, with its big trees.

The Dorothy Clive Gardens also gives a magnificent display of late season colour, and an excellent coffee at the top of the garden.

The Black Headed Gulls are still around as Westport Lake and they are starting to lose the black head feathers as Winter is approaching.

At the Potteries Museum, the Spitfire is adorned for Remembrance Day and this Gallery is right next to the Museum Cafe.

Back at home "Cheeky" is spending a lot of time watching us in the Kitchen, from the top lawn.  He is there every evening and often in the early morning as well. We currently have 3 regular Foxes visiting the garden and the odd stranger Fox.  A pair of local Badgers come some evenings and they tend to dig worms up in the lawn and open beds.

This picture if from earlier last month.

RAF Cosford Museum

 Just a short drive south from us is the RAF Museum Midlands which is a visit I like to make occasionally to look at new acquisitions.  Today I wanted to see the Hawker Hind trainer.

This was the RAF light bomber which entered service in 1929.  It was mainly powered by a Rolls Royce kestrel engine with a rams horn exhaust manifold. It was also produced as an army co-operation aircraft as the Hawker Audax and had a tropical kit adaptation for use in India.  This example is a Hart trainer, which was stripped of military equipment and fitted with a reduced sweep upper wing to improve its flight characteristics.

This type was also produced for South Africa as the Hawker Hartebeest, and Boulton and Paul manufactured the aircraft as a single seat fighter, The Hawker Demon.

The Hart can be seen behind this Hawker Hurricane, the Hurricane was the mainstay fighter aircraft in the Battle of Britain.

The Boulton and Paul Defiant was a very effective night fighter.  The engine panels have been put back onto this aircraft since I last saw it.

In the top league of effective warplanes is the first operational vertical take off jet, the Hawker Harrier.  This is a GR3 made in 1982 and decommissioned in 1991.

Inside the Cold War hanger are some significant aircraft of the period, The Avro York in the foreground may well have been one of the aircraft that my father worked on. The 3 RAF V-Bombers (Valiant, Vulcan and Victor) are also represented in this hangar.

The cold War hangar is a custom designed special building for the exhibits on display and it can be seen as an aviation landmark for miles around, reflecting the sunlight.
On our visit there was a military shooting event, as can be seen in front of the hangar - Cameras this time.

The PBN Catalina has been stripped back for maintenance.  The fabric removed from the trailing edges of the wing reveals the metal structure.

This final picture was taken by Rosie.  It is of me photographing the inner cabin of a Vickers Valiant bomber.  All in all, a good day out!

The joy of being on-line!

 On the 20th September, we had the fiercest lightning storm I have seen.  It knocked out lots of internet facilities in our direct location, including our Router/Modem.  On the 21st, I requested a technician.  There is no human interface on the Virginemedia.com help desk other than an AI system that allows you to request a visit after jumping through a few hoops.

Technician visit booked for 24th - cancelled by VM.

Technician visit booked for 26th - no-show, no explanation.

Technician visit booked for 1st Oct -Arrived early and fixed the problem to all computers running in 15 minutes.

In the process, I found out that VM is not really equipped for wide ranging outages and was struggling to get out to everyone.  The AI system cannot cope with missed visits and cancels the appointment.  There is no follow up for repairs other than a check that the techs who turned up did a good job.

Overall verdict.

1. Fast and efficient internet connection when running.

2. Help Line is not fit for purpose and does not give users an opportunity to explain their issues.  AI only copes with preset tick boxes.

3. When a technician arrives, they always do and excellent job.

Service satisfaction.

Not as good as it was after being faced with hundreds of E-Mails at once, and a whole bundle of updates to do after 10 days without internet and telephone land line.

Life goes on!

Garden Dinner

This year we have an abundance of tomatoes, potatoes, onions and a small courgette.  That is crying out for a bake.

Thinly slice the courgettes and pealed potatoes, coarsely chop the onions and tomatoes. then start layering them in a dish, potatoes and onions first, with a sprinkle of basil and pepper.

Courgette and tomatoes next. Then repeat another layer and finish with a layer of potatoes.

Add a small amount of olive oil and sprinkle with finely grated cheese.  Bake in a hot oven 180 degrees for 45 minutes in our fan oven.

Serve with whatever accompaniment you have to hand - in this case some tofu sausages.  Things always taste better when they are fresh out of the garden.

The hot oven was also used to batch bake some loaves and seeded rolls for the freezer.

We also saw a Red Panda - good day......

Garden Progress

 The Summer is passing and the next phase of gardening begins.

The potatoes have been lifted and replaced with winter Brussels sprouts.  A few lettuce plants have been included to help keep the slugs at bay.

The paths have been cleared of overgrowth and tidied up.

Having removed 2 large conifers, I have started to work the soil to remove the hard clay pan under the surface and add garden compost.  Planting out has started and a modicum of protection from fox digging is being respected by our garden visitors at present.

The Bug-snug has been completed with sticks and meadow cuttings.  This will be left until late spring when the weather is frost free.

Having had a thank-you token for the local garden centre from friends, I now have a pair of good quality pruning sheers.  Buying cheap is not as economical as functional quality.

Rosie also made a comment about the size of the Tulip Tree at the top of the garden.  Some years ago we took out a big spruce tree and replaced it with a Liriodendron tulipifera.  This tree came to the house in the back of our car in 2009.  In the intervening 19 years it has become a sizeable tree.  These trees are expected to flower when they are over 20 years old.