Friday 28th February 2014

Back to the wet, dull miserable weather. Up to 5pm 32mm of rain had been recorded.
Temp' reached a high of 11c this afternoon.
Average wind speed 2mph.
Day spent working on the dining room fireplace. Removed the old fireplace and managed to fix in the replacement. The fire surround is almost finished but requires a little work before I can fix in place.
                 Starling now making a nest in the Swift nest box, if only my camera monitor was working. Missing out on such a lot of recording time. Handykam now off my Christmas card list.
Picture 1 - Fireplace to be removed.
     "     2 - Fireplace removed.
     "     3 - New fireplace in place. Surround in workshop for minor adjustments and a re-paint.

Thursday 27th February 2014

A decent day with plenty of sun, slight breeze and chill.
NO RAINFALL RECORDED, a first for some weeks.
Temp' reached a high again of 15c this afternoon.
Average wind speed 2mph.
Enjoyed a day with Nigel & Lyn, eating at Loch Fyne in Bridge Street. I rate Loch Fyne's own brew, Highlander. This is brewed at Loch Fyne.
          The garden looked a picture again in the afternoon sun. Hellebore's, Crocus, Snowdrops, Daffs', all looking stunning.
Picture 1 - Crocus.
     "     2 - Apple Blossom.

Wednesday 26th February 2014

A decent day, plenty of sun. Breezy, a little chilly spoilt only by heavy showers late evening.
Temp' reached a high of 15c mid afternoon.
Average wind speed 2mph.
Recorded rainfall 11mm.
Sun played a big part in the glorious showing of Crocus and Snowdrops today. Bit of a worry with the showing of Apple Blossom however. Only needs a frost now and that is the fruit over for this year.
Male Woody very busy in the garden but no sign of the Misses. Doves were up close and cosy giving each other the odd peck.
           Day spent moving furniture back into the dining room. Tomorrow must start the breaking out of the old fireplace ready for the replacement.
Pictures 1 & 2 - Doves loved up.
     "             3 - Chaffinch at its best looking.
     "             4 - Male Great Spotted Woodpecker in action on the Robinia Tree.

Tuesday 25th February 2014

After a wet start in Reading we arrived in London mid morning to blue sky, sun, slight breeze and a little chilly.
Rainfall recorded from midnight to 7.30am - 27mm.
Enjoyed a day in London visiting the Guards Spiritual Home (Guards Chapel) and watching the daily inspection ritual.
The visit to the Guards Chapel was a time to reflect on how much we owe to our Soldiers. We see them playing their respective instruments at Royal Pageants etc not always appreciating these are front line soldiers who more recently have served in Afghanistan.
The daily inspection is something else, promptly at 4pm each day horses & soldiers march out to the parade ground and are inspected by a general who can you believe also inspects the horses bums, lifting the tail first. Bizzar!
Another interesting London trip.
Picture 1 - The Guards Chapel.
     "     2 - Marching out for inspection.
     "     3 - Inspection.
     "     4 - Inspection over.
     "     5 - Looking the part?

Monday 24th February 2014

Very mild day with temp' reaching 15c outside this afternoon. Stunning sunrise and a sunny morning but oh dear, rain returned this afternoon.
                Both female & male Great Spotted Woodpecker busy today as was the Wren and Sparrows. Hope now we can expect more of this spring like weather and that we will miss the big freeze now. So much out in bud now.
                 Collected fire and fire surround from Eversley Antiques this morning. My word, what a weight that fire was, given myself some job now in trying to install. Have to remove the old one first.
New carpet fitted in the dining room this morning, cut the two doors to fit this evening. Start placing back the furniture later in the week.
                  Visited Chris in Hospital this afternoon. Infection level still to high so no chance of getting home yet. It is the weirdest thing to see a leg without a hip joint, crutches for at least three months. Chris really is taking this massive setback on his life in his stride which is to his credit. See you again next week Chris.
Looking forward to the London Trip tomorrow, not sure about the early start however.

Sunday 23rd February 2014

Another decent day, plenty of sun, chilly but very windy.
Weekend at an end, time to say goodbye Wakefield. Trip home would have been ok if a lorry had not overturned on the M1 at Leicester. Finally arrived home mid afternoon after another interesting weekend away.
Next trip is London again later this week.
Picture of Cabin Hotel which was home for two days.

Saturday 22nd February 2014

What a cracking day weather wise after how we suffered yesterday. Dry, blue sky, sunny, windy and a little chilly.
          A very interesting visit to a working Rhubarb Farm in the Wakefield Rhubarb Triangle. An informative talk by the farms owner gave us an insight how forced rhubarb is grown and the surge in popularity by the top chefs. Most of their rhubarb is sold to Harrods, Sainsbury and M & S and by definition is of premier quality. Had not appreciated the medicinal qualities of rhubarb so it was a must we bought a few bottles of Rhubarb Beer!!
The afternoon was spent looking around the Rhubarb Food & Drink festival held at the square in front of the Cathedral. Was one of the best foody festivals we have attended. Plenty of amusement, entertainment and of course some great food & drink on offer. Came away with some rhubarb cheese and a selection of rhubarb chutneys.
Must mention the Unicorn Real Ale Pub opposite the rhubarb farm. Enjoyed a great dinner there before driving into Wakefield. The food on offer was so Rhubarb! We chose chicken pieces covered in a rhubarb sauce with a rhubarb salad, washed down with a pint of Rhubarb Beer.
Was a really good day, so pleased I organised this weekend.
Pictures 1 & 2 - Entrance to farm.
      "      3 & 4 - Inside one of the ten aircraft size hangers showing the forced rhubarb.
      "            5 - The beer and wholesale box of rhubarb we purchased.
      "      6 - 9 -  Fun at the food festival.
      "          10 - A good day at an end....

Friday 21st February 2014

Mild, windy, rain, hail and believe it or not, some sun.
What some weather, took all day travelling to Wakefield. M1 was slow because of the weather conditions compounded by all the roadworks up north.
Left home at 9.30am, arrived at the Wakefield Hotel at 5.30pm. Was good to catch up with Jamie and Debbie, appreciated them coming out on such a foul night. Have caught up with all the Joinery gossip now.

Thursday 20th February 2014.

After heavy overnight rain the rest of the day turned out to be breezy, showery with a little sun.

5mm of rain was recorded with wind speed averaging 2mph and outdoor temp' averaging 9c.

Enjoyed a good steak and a couple of pints of Doombar at Miller and Carter lunchtime with Colin and Janet. Was good to catch up in a more relaxed manner, think I prefer mid-day eating nowadays.

Despite the afternoon drizzle it was surprising how much colour there is in the garden. All photographs today were captured this afternoon.

Bad news about Chris, infection level still high, has not fallen for three days suggesting a further operation as clearly there is still infected matter on/in his hip. No chance of leaving hospital for another week. I am really worried for him now.

Wednesday 19th February 2014

Another mild, sunny and what's more a dry day.
No rain recorded.
Average outdoor temp' 9c.
Shopping day - trip to B & Q, Henry Street and Eversley Antique Centre.
Looking for a replacement fireplace in the dining room hence visit to B&Q. All very expensive so left empty handed. A visit to Eversley Antiques and we found just what we were looking for but needed to check measurements again as not quite the right size. Next stop Henry Street for lunch and to collect our free Polyanthus plant.
Arriving home and double checking fireplace I then returned to Eversley, paid a deposit to secure and agreed on Monday to collect.
          Good day for birds on the feeders but strangely no sign of Woody, mind you I was out for most of the day!

Tuesday 18th February 2014

Very mild, sunny, little breeze but spoilt by more heavy showers. At 5.45pm 26mm rainfall recorded.
Average outdoor temp' 9c (reached 13c mid afternoon).
Average wind speed 1mph.
Day spent replacing  bookshelves in newly decorated dining room.
          Brilliant day for garden birdlife. Tufty also busy in/out of the drey box. Only spotted the male Woody today however.
Pictures 1 & 2 - Long Tailed Tits on the garden feeders.
                    3 - Male Great Spotted Woodpecker on the fat block.
      "            4 - Goldfinch on the sunflower heart feeder.
      "            5 - Blue Tit on the         "           "       "
      "            6 - House Sparrow in the Burberis Shrub.
      "            7 - Female Sparrowhawk.