#1402 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn BobbingLeave a comment

Our weekend started with a wet and dry bob. The weather was kind to us and the catering goddesses were even kinder.

The dry bob celebrated a retirement.

The wet bob celebrated cold water and friendship.

The conversations were, as usual, wide ranging.

The burning question of reverse mermaids came up, and with that all manner of mythical creatures who are half human and half something else.

The garden of our retiring bobber is celebrating Spring in a magical way. Mr Tumnus did not put in an appearance for our party,but her garden is a little like Narnia without the snow.

Anne’s retirement gift was a pink bobbing sweatshirt.

And a version of this print which features our actual bobbers within a historical and mythical landscape.

©theoldmortuary

We don’t dry bob as often as we should. Laughter is always on the agenda for both wet and dry bobs. Hard to tell which aspect  does us more good. The healthy, immune system boosting cold water swimming or the raucous belly laughs. Either way life is better with the Bobbers.

#1401 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, Yardening1 Comment

Another blog hijacked by a chicken. See previous blog .

#1387 theoldmortuary ponders

Janner must have told Argyle there were rich pickings in our yard and that scaling the expensive fence extension that we built was a world of wonder .

Argyle researched her great escape earlier in the week.

What Janner had failed to mention to Argyle, was Lola.

I can’t add much to fill a whole blog. Lola buried her face in Argyle’s ample bottom. Our neighbour came round to collect his chicken and not much more can be done. Our wall extender is as high as it can be legally. Only the climbing plants can ‘accidentally’ increase the defensive barrier. Only steroids would make them grow faster.

The sun and a hill are not on our side.The sun arcs across the sea to the south of our East/ West yard. All the tender young shoots of the climbing plants turn their faces to the sun and grow towards our neighbours yard.  Delicious nibbles for adventurous chickens have been available since early April. On the chicken side our eight foot wall/fence combo is only about 4 feet high. The massive  18 inch,thick stone wall is an easy chicken hop from their much higher ground level.  It was also an easy bunny hop but the large lop eared Dutch rabbit that hopped avoided capture by our dogs and made good its escape  across our subterranean garage and was never seen again.

Only yesterday I was congratulating myself that the wall extension and climbing plants were at last providing greater privacy in our yard. The secondary consideration beyond livestock control. Pride came before chicken invasion.

I sense a sketch might make this all the more understandable. Top to bottom our yard probably drops about 10 to 12 feet.

Looking South from our French Windows. Chicken not to scale.

#1400 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Pandemic ponderings, Yardening1 Comment

When is a back yard like a nightclub?

In April after a long wet winter.

I had thought my tinkering in the yard yesterday would amount to no real  aesthetic improvement. In daylight I would say that is definitely the case. But last night with the winter lights taken off the washing line, and hung amongst the greenery of climbing plants things did not look too shabby.

The mildew covered slabs just have a bit of unwanted texture that only consistent  sunlight and a good scrub will remedy. Not unlike the sticky carpets of nightclubs and pubs.

I have always liked places of the night. I was an early adopter of going to nightclubs, and knew with first hand experience at my grandparents pub, what the morning after the night before looked and smelled like. All this when smoking indoors in public places was entirely normal.

The morning after the night before in my yard has filled me with horror.

Just before writing this I was googling how to trim Pampas grass. We were sold a tiny one in error about 3 years ago. Over this last wet winter it has thrived and looks like a monster in the small raised bed where it was planted with the other intentional small grasses.

Suddenly there is a time limit to a big yardening endeavour.

“Typically before April”

Already and unknowingly I am on the back foot. There are also no signs that our Pampas has done any dying back during our wet winter.

That is going to be a very dull blog some time next week.

The next google might be, how to dig up a Pampas once it has been trimmed.

#1400 is a big number. #1400 is the number of blogs since I moved on from #Pandemicponderings the original daily blog that recorded the Covid-19 experience. I never intended to be a long term daily blogger. I was just caught between a first blogging course and the follow up which was greatly delayed by Covid-19 restrictions.

So from the drama of Covid-19 to the mundanity of daily life. I turn up here most days and some days not a lot happens.

©thealphawomen club

A lesson worth learning I think.

#1399 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn chores, Spring1 Comment

A sunny morning kicks off the 2026 Vintage Marmalade Season in our house. Marmalade by Gill (a bobber) makes its first appearance on breakfast toast.

The sun was everywhere this morning. But we are living in a ghost town. Nobody is visiting. Dreadful for local businesses.

The traffic situation was apparently terrible yesterday . Not that I experienced it as I walked or used public transport for my Wednesday Adventures.  The traffic situation is even keeping the swimmers away.

A more reliable one way system is being considered to ease the Ghost Town effect. Until then I think most people who can avoid coming here, will. Yesterday a coach caused a prolonged traffic jam but apart from odd incidents the traffic is only really bad at predictable times. It is the sun that is keeping me at home today, not a fear of traffic. Some yardening needs to be attended to.

Sunshine also filled our yard today. These beautiful roses are turning their heads to the sun and I must take the winter lights off the washing line so it can be used for actual drying of washing.

Just a couple of hours of tinkering in a sun filled yard makes  all the difference. Although there are no areas that look particularly pretty it won’t be too long before I can sit out with a coffee and not feel compelled to do yardening. I just need the sun to warm up enough to dry out the last damp vestiges of a very wet winter.

But for now more wandering in our Ghost Town.

https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/news/exclusion-zone-put-place-around-evolution-cove-block-stonehouse?fbclid=IwdGRjcARX3q1jbGNrBFfdqmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHnGEU-zWrzkQrefBuj360Rg7UfOWJ049ip6YxAQqxA6n62AWGDP3ijQWVN5f_aem_mD7bE5xsCVYkMbhm3b-DCA

#1398 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity1 Comment

Life on our Peninsula has been compromised by a block of flats at a road pinch point being declared unsafe. Residents of this block and surrounding buildings have been evacuated and roads are closed. Dreadful for all those people whose homes are compromised.

There is a complex one way road system in place to protect everyone from the potential risk of this building falling down.

Everyone on the Peninsula has had to alter plans. I was so successful at changing my Monday plans that I thought it was a Tuesday. So yesterday I cracked on early with my day doing my Wednesday jobs only realising I was a whole day early when one destination was closed.

Having returned home using the complex current arrangements  for roads, I relaxed until a call from my Tuesday appointment at 11 am reminded me where I should be on Tuesday. By midday I was on track for Tuesday jobs on Tuesday. By midday today, Wednesday, I am on track for all Wednesday jobs for the second time this week.

All minor stuff really compared to all those people who are out of their homes but strange how a wrinkle in normal life can disrupt thought processes.

But today is also World Earth Day, not just any old Wednesday. Wherever we are the Earth is our shared experience. I am extremely lucky that my current normal day at the office looks like this.

Happy Earth Day.

#1397 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Spring, StonehouseLeave a comment

Sticking my neck out I would suggest that Spring has arrived on the Stonehouse Peninsula. Three days of sunshine but the temperature and wind are nothing like Springy enough yet.

The strong breeze certainly took my Giraffe off his feet for every one of his morning poses.

This one had him tumbling into a rockpool. But in clambering down to retrieve him I found a sheltered sun trap, where we could bask and harvest vitamin D for a few minutes.

Sticking my neck out predicting the arrival of actual Spring might come back to bite me on the bum tomorrow. The current ten day forecast  has not a single drop of rain illustrated. So for now that is good enough 

#1396 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Traditions1 Comment
The shortest journey from tip to lip.

Drinking a cup of tea in the place where the tea was grown and harvested was a unique experience yesterday.

Tea Drinkers at Tregothnan

Tregothnan tea used to be a treat when we lived in London. Swanky afternoon teas were sometimes unavoidable. Some swanky places served shockingly bad afternoon teas and some swanky places were shockingly bad at serving good afternoon teas. But if the actual tea served was Tregothnan  then the tea at least was of a fabulous standard.*

Odd then that it took us until yesterday to visit the Tregothnan Estate to drink a cup of tea with zero air miles. 11,000 steps in a beautiful Spring Garden in Springlike weather felt like just the right level of exercise to work up a thirst.

In the Pink

*Today’s ponder,triggered by a good cup of tea, ponders the oddest afternoon tea ever. We were at a hotel opposite the BBC’s headquarters in Langam Place, London on a very dull winter Saturday. We were there to celebrate two birthdays with some new friends.  Close to where two of us worked. Afternoon Tea service was in full swing, maybe even exceptional full swing. We had ordered Tregothnan Tea, but that was about as fancy as our order got. Our waiter was rather too attentive, but not fully concentrating. My work colleague, Mark, was twinkling a little. An enormous Birthday Cake was circling the room, the room swelling, with that somewhat difficult to sing birthday melody. The cake circled the room twice, nobody owned up to the birthday or the cake.  In a flourish our waiter called the cake over to our table, we had birthday cards opened. So he came up with a plan. The cake was delivered to our table, we were told to pretend it was for us. Four slices were served and apparently we then generously donated the rest to other diners who might want to share it.

When we went to pay our bill we pointed out again that the cake was not ours. Apparently it had been sent out during the wrong afternoon tea session. The whole room benefited from the error, Mark’s twinkling had just alerted the staff to birthday cards on our table where the cake could be delivered, masking the error. What happened at the session when the cake should have been delivered is anybody’s guess. It was not the sort of cake that could be whisked up  in a moment or any number of moments. It was not Colin the Caterpillar.

#1395 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Serendipity, Words1 Comment

Yesterday I was seeking some quiet perfection at the Tennis Club. Quiet perfection was not available. The club was overrun by feral children and  some minor but sensible rules were being broken. But as I left, this beautiful Calla Arum Lily caught my eye.

On top of the feral children and minor rule breaking there had also been some mansplaining, which can irritate the tits off most women.

So not only was I not particularly relaxed but I was mentally very flat chested.

The day was not lost though, I discovered a new- to-me word.

In fact, as luck would have it, the father of some of the feral children had adopted a braggadocious tone when I remonstrated with one of the children who was climbing on the roof of the clubhouse.

” Oh don’t worry about that” he said braggadociously.

“They do far more dangerous things elsewhere”

Perfection

Perfection is not always what you seek but what is delivered to you.

I suspect my face may have not hidden all of my thoughts on his comment.

Moments later he offered me a cold slice of his left over Pizza.

I did not accept.

#1394 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn SerendipityLeave a comment

Another greige day and an early morning soaking for me and Lola.

Greige weather and chores/ domestic admin does not a wholly exciting day make.

A series of rearranged appointments gave me a schedule that a Kardashian might be proud of. Kardashians exist in the periphery of my knowledge base. I am sure they are many interesting things but High Maintenance Women would be #1 in my fact list about then.

Yesterday all my chores required me to be entirely present.

Mindful of my speed awareness course* last week I knew that only optimal time management could  enable me to be in the right place at the right time for the three time sensitive appointments of the day.

The first one was already on rocky ground after the early morning soaking which required a change of clothes.

*By identifying the cause of my speeding as squeezing too much into a day.

Let me be honest, a manicure, lung function tests and a haircut all within a 6 mile radius are not exactly the stuff of great jeopardy. But I really dislike being late or missing appointments.

I imagine a Kardashian might have a driver and a PA who could mitigate the rush involved with a cluster of appointments.

Mine just clustered, and until last week and a hundred pounds fine, I wouldn’t have worried over much.

As it happened all went like clockwork.

But I was somewhat late for the lung function test. 50 years late!

Digital record keeping and Digital native medical staff  have everything actually at their finger tips.

Analogue records are a little more archaic.

In asking who prescribed my Asthma inhaler you might expect a fairly swift response. But I was trawling the names of a lifetime of G.P’s.

The selection of timescale tick boxes also didn’t stretch to 50 years .

Most importantly though I didn’t speed to catch up.

But there is something in common with my asthma diagnosis and last weeks Speed awareness course. It was also 50 years since I have actually read the Highway code.

I have a bit of catching up to do. Within the speed limit of course.

Evening dog walk with Lola, no greige no deluge.

#1393 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Firestone BayLeave a comment
Greige Day

What a greige day! Greige Day activities are damp dog walks, mindless domestica , working from home admin. Reading a good chunk of the freshly collected bookclub book and a little photo manipulation to the above image. Despite the greigeness of the day Firestone Bay near to the tidal pool was filled with the joyful sounds of a Sri Lankan New Year party carrying on nearby with no concern for the glumness of the weather.

If I add the joyful sounds and happiness floating over the pool the whole image takes on a different atmosphere.

However if I add the feeling of the absolute drama of the drenching that  Lola and I endured on our second walk of the day then things look different again.

Greige, it is not what it is but what you make of it.