Autumn

I had a lovely three mile walk across Crane Valley golf course yesterday, ending up on Dewlands Common where you could see the trees changing right in front of you. Autumn leaves are increasingly evident and I am starting to rake the cherry tree leaves up and will do so until the end of November, if previous years are any guide.

The promised storm was mild here with just a few squalls of rain and a bit of a wind now and again. However, with Joseph home from school unwell, I got on with kitchen chores and did a vegan sponge cake and raspberry crumble. Only one of them had raspberries from the allotment and garden but the other had blackberry jam made here, so not too bad overall.

Masses of butternut squash is ready for picking and I brought home 4 the other day, plus a marrow and 2 courgettes, proper carrots, greens beetroot. There are lots of potatoes too.

The Ragwormers rehearsal and recording time

It's been a busy week with arranging support for the Ragwormers at their forthcoming gigs, as well as looking to boost the online presence, agree new dates at local events which they are being invited to play at and supporting the band in their rehearsal time. It was a good session at Hale House in readiness for the recording time in Southampton.

I learnt an awful lot about the process with a fair bit of googling, as they all seemed so familiar with the terminology and the way in which the recordings took shape. It was quite an education and I enjoyed it a lot. It sounded great and the new tracks suggest growing maturity in the writing and music.

It's just a few days until the first of the gigs I have organised which means I am feeling a bit of pressure. Fingers crossed!

Last of the sunshine?

It was actually a chillier morning when I took Juno out to Remedy Oak last week but the sunshine was lovely with long, long shadows coming as the season moves on the sun struggles to get higher into the sky.

Wimborne St Giles

Despite the change in weather, Alison and I got our walking boots on yesterday and took a walk round the beautiful village of Wimborne St Giles. We'd intended to stay on the road which is barely used but found a bridleway which took us in a circle and that was much more fun, although our feet did get wet in the long, damp grass.

Starting at the church we took the road alongside the village hall and onto the cress beds crossing over the river Allen which looked lovely and clear, not that that is always a trusty sign of how clean the water is. We then spotted a bridleway and took a walk up past a very busy farm, busy with lorries and building work, having stopped to peer at the gravestones marking the abandoned church near All Hallows Farm. It was great to see three buzzards and the beginnings of the pigeon migration before we got back to the car.

 

Joseph’s birthday

We were at Slades Farm on Saturday for Joseph's 12th birthday party which was around the theme of football, as you will see in the photos. He has really fallen in love the game over the past year and supports Liverpool which is a great choice. Internationally, he has made the suprising choice of France, following our two weeks there the summer before this one, and because of his affection for Kylian Mbappe. 

The coach running the party was excellent and he got the participants engaged throughout. The park itself was amazing, especially being the middle of Bournemouth and boasting a community cafe, outdoor velodrome, park and plenty of open space. 

Early rising

Entering the final days of the late summer heatwave, the mornings have become distinctly chillier. However, they are beautiful with the mist and red skies of the rising sun and there is the added bonus of the flyover by the assorted rooks and jackdaws in their hundreds, as well as the occasional group of canada geese honking their way to the fields and lakes to feed.

Final swim in the sea of 2023?

Yesterday morning gave me a chance to pop down to the beach between Boscombe and Bournemouth piers, a choice that meant Joy could enjoy the beach without having to walk too far, and I managed to get into the sea for a lovely swim. The skies were not that inviting with the temperatures a good deal lower than last week. However, the sea itself is warm comparatively. It was afterwards when I felt the cold a little more.

Joy and I had a hot drink and took a look at the cliffs where there are goats grazing and plenty of birds looking for food, and there was the people watching too which was confined to walkers, cyclists and runners with absolutely no one on the beach and certainly no one else in the water.

I have also popped down the allotment at Wimborne twice this week and the butternut squash, courgette and potatoes are doing very well. The last of the french beans and peas have been collected and there are plenty of beetroot, carrots and greens too. It has also been a time to start clearing the weeds which have been thriving in my relaxed summer attitude. Time for change is coming.

The Ragwormers side of things has also been going well with lots on the horizon, gigs, recording and making contacts. I have also got two Artsreach performances in hand which will be on at the village hall, so feeling quite pleased with the progress being made.

Moors Valley Junior Parkrun

It's been nice getting back into both the running and the cycling over the past few weeks. This morning I was up early to walk Juno before getting on the bike and riding down to Moors Valley to meet up with the others for Junio Parkrun. Having been quite regular previously, we have slacked right off for over a year but we are going to try to get it back as a Sunday morning habit again. Joseph and Evie were about a minute or so behind their best times which is quite creditable after such a break, and Amelia ran round with Kate in a good time too. 

The 10 mile cycle and run left me quite tired during the next dog walk, so I am taking it easy for a bit as the rain starts to fall. It's quite refreshing after the recent heat. I'd enjoyed a good ride yesterday taking time to stop at Joy's old house for the last time, as the new family move in this week, as well as stopping to watch Verwood Town playing football at Potterne before a stop at the recently reopened Albion pub for a drink in the sunshine. 

September heatwave

It's been fantastic weather for the past few days, although not to everyone's liking with it being so hot. I have been running each day lately and did 5km in the morning yesterday and came home absolutely drenched in sweat with the temperature already high at 9am. It's cooler in the early morning and today Juno and I walked towards the gravel pits with the sun rising and low lying mist patches in the fields. Much easier than the later walk in the woods which was warm despite the shade.

It' hedge cutting time again but I have also been cooking ready for later, a macaroni cheese dish for Maria who will be at dance straight after school, and a lasagne for the rest of us once Alison is back from the dance run. I'm then taking Joseph to football training 6.15 - 7.15 before we can take a rest. 

In the meantime I have stepped back from my role on the village hall committee in view of the time needed with Joy and in managing The Ragwormers. I'm keeping busy with that too, organising dates for rehearsal and recording, as well as sorting out the upcoming headline slot in Southampton which I want the boys to prepare for by doing a ticketed event in Bournemouth. 

Durley Chine and the end of summer

 

Yesterday was an INSET day for the children which gave us the chance to head for a final visit to the beach before the studying started again, particularly in light of the weather being so fantastic. Despite so many children being off school, we managed to park easily and headed to our usual location where we set up camp for a few hours. There were some quite big waves, enough to put Alison off spending too much time in the water, as she isn't that confident still but Joseph loved floating on the body board as he swept up and down. I had a couple of lengthy dips swimming between the groynes to add to the 5km earlier in the day.

Today has been manic from the start, a 6am wake up, although it was just Joseph back in today. With the house sale going through, the wasp nest in a back bedroom needing sorting out before handover, Maria feeling unwell and being checked for glandular fever, Joy, taking Joseph to school and back, as well as dog walking, shopping, cooking and organising Artsreach events for the village hall and for Glen's band, it has not stopped. 

Tomorrow I plan to spoil myself with a trip to the beach on my own for a run along the beach front followed by a swim, then home for lunch before a trip to the allotment with Joy in the afternoon.

Macbeth at the RSC

Maria is studying Macbeth for GCSE in Year 11 and so we booked tickets for a new production of the play some time ago. It's quite a trip over one day with 5 hours and a bit of driving to go with three hours of sitting to watch the performance but it was well worth it. 

Stratford on Avon is such a beautiful place in itself with the canal and river, as well as the many places echoing Elizabethan times. We got parked easily and noted that motorhomes are welcome at reasonable prices which makes a return visit more likely. 

The play was great to watch with a new interpretation of the Porter's scene by Stewart Lee being unveiled and being an up to date attack on targets familiar to fans of his comedy. The witches were real strengths and individual moments such as the murder of Macduff's family stood out.