Recording Studio

The Ragwormers had a little trip out to Wimborne on Sunday to visit the studios of Hangover Hill records and it proved a very productive meeting. The band have recorded in several places over the years but have never actually settled on what best represents their sound. That was the case last autumn with the sessions in Southampton which were great to be in but lacked end product.

Hangover Hill have a lot of connections too which could prove invaluable and there is already a gig planned for June 1st. Hopefully this is going to go somewhere exciting for the boys.

Running and walking

Juno and I walked around Remedy Oak golf course this morning and took in one of the no entry paths, one we hadn't explored before. Very nice it was too. I had to rush back as our internet point was being moved today and a load of logs needed moving so the engineer could access the desired entry point.All sorted and now far less obtrusive and we don't have all those wires in the dining room.

I also managed to get out for a run to the actual Remedy Oak and back, 3.7 miles, which means I have almost completed the weekly target already. Perhaps I will need to raise the target!

Glen popped in for some pizza and soup, potato and leek using leeks from the allotment, and collected a draught excluder Joy had knitted for him and Harry. 

Targets reached

I started the day running with Juno so that I completed my weekly target for running, followed by a short bike ride in order to complete that target too. I have set myself the intention of walking 25 miles, riding 5 and running 12 miles each week and this is the first time I have met the running and cycling measures.

The walking one has proved easy enough so far but a combination of really awful weather and illness have meant getting the other two done has been impossible. Take yesterday's fall as an example of the barriers, the freezing conditions making it treacherous to run or cycle on the road. My determination to get it done this week made me push things a bit more than I should have, so I do need to be a little circumspect.

We have caught up on Traitors and are enjoying this series as much as the first, and we also caught up with the film, Maestro featuring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan. In fact we are using our Unlimited membership of Cineworld to good effect too with visits to Wonka, Saltburn, Godzilla minus 1 and Poor Things so far. We've enjoyed all of them and Alison is going to watch Poor Things tomorrow so I am going again. That will be the first time I have seen a film twice at the cinema since the release of Live and Let Die in the 70s when you could just sit in your seat and watch the next showing without paying. Not entirely sure that was allowed officially but it means that is probably my favourite Bond film.

Bike ride and fall

After a long morning walk of 4 miles with Juno, I headed out on the road bike for the first time in 2024 and headed towards Wimborne St Giles and beyond. The weather was less cold than it has been of late but there were grey skies as the ice began to thaw ahead of the forecast storm tomorrow.

It was such a pleasure being on the bike and I saw my first snowdrops of the year in Edmondsham and noticed several signs of oncoming spring in the behaviour and plumage of the birds. The local rivers were swollen and several patches of road were slushy with ice and water, causing me to slow right down. However, on the way back I rode through a bigger patch and slid over at very low speed causing a bit of grazing to my right knee and a bang on the elbow which has left me with a dull pain the right shoulder. Nothing too much at all but a reminder to me, again of my propensity to hurt myself when not exercising due care!

There were plenty of raptors out and about with two kestrels, a buzzard and a red kite all around the River Allen which flows through Wimborne St Giles.

Brass monkey weather

It was a very cold start to the day when Juno and I set off before 7.30 for a long stroll down to Dewlands Common. We did a 3.7 mile circuit and I felt the cold this time, although not so much in my shorts covered legs. I hadn't got enough layers on top and felt the chill. It was glorious watching the sun rise and to see the hard frost. Very welcome after such a mild winter.

Once home, we got ready for a run and this time we did 3.4 miles together, taking us out to Slough Lane and back. It was chilly but running meant it was less affecting.

I've now got the utility room wood burner going and will light the front room fire later, just to give that sense of cosiness. 

Garden Centre

In spite of the cold, I took Joy for a drive to the garden centre so I could pick up a bag of seed compost which is going to help me start off the sweet pea seeds. I've not tried these before, so something new and now is a good time to start apparently. Joy had a lovely slab of coffee and walnut cake, doing her usual protestations about it being far too much for her and it then disappearing over the next five minutes. She and Robin have a good deal in common, both claiming to have small appetites but an enormous capacity for cake and puddings!

We have a new shed arriving next week and the intention is to get it to Wimborne for the allotment to replace the tool store which is not secure, nor is it in good enough condition to keep the rain out. The shed will allow for more storage, provide room for some seeds to be planted in pots, give me shelter from the rain and allow Joy somewhere to sit when she comes for a trip out.

It's a beautiful morning

It was such a joy to be out this morning in the cool air just as the sun was rising. Alison has not been well which has meant for a quiet weekend other than keeping things ticking over, although Maria's audition for Sixth Form at Studio One was a big event. That went well and Maria looks set for the next stage of her 'career'. Glen also returned from Austria where he has been skiing with Harry and her family and he is still in one piece despite some hairy moments.

That meant we didn't have Rag with us this morning, but Juno and I loved the 3.3 miles to Verwood and back. I listened to the Noel Coward biography and am finding it so interesting despite never having given him a moment's thought before hearing the book plugged on a podacst. 

West Moors allotment Jan 2024

I took Joy for a trip to the allotment this morning but it was just a brief visit due to the cold. We picked up a bag of manure on the way and spread it over one of the beds and managed to come home with a few small leeks, making up for in taste what they lack in size. 

The nice thing was to see the beds looking just about ready for the season ahead and it starts to get you feeling that anticipation that comes as you envision the magnificent crops you are going to harvest later in the year. We have a head start with the broad beans and garlic planted in the autumn and they look really well. I am most encouraged. 

Two dogs

We have had Rag with us this week with Glen being off skiing and having a great time, judging by the photos. Rag has a fondness for colelcting branches that are too large for him to comfortably carry on a walk and he is frequently stuck because he can't figure out how to get them through smaller gaps. However, he is a determined fellow and usually finds a way. The lake was frozen yesterday and I haven't seen any golfers out this week. We take ourselves down the restricted paths, just because I want to make a protest against not being able to roam, and I am encouraged by the fact that the grounds people wave rather than tell me off for trangressing. 

We have had to turn down the opportunity to have Layla, Juno's sister with us for a week. Things are already very busy and it is an extra responsibility we can do without. 

Sunshine on 90th birthday

Joy turns 90 today and she spent quite a while opening cards at breakfast, mainly because she is so mteiculously careful in unwrapping or opening anything. Christmas presents would  take 20 minutes apiece, so today we were a bit more prepared for the delay!

We have Rag staying for the week with Glen headed to the ski slopes and I have taken the dogs out for a couple of walks including Remedy Oak golf course which is looking particularly fine in the sunshine, at a time when we are experiencing what may be our wettest ever winter.

Off for a lunchtime meal with Joy and the family in a bit and then Alison and I are headed to the cinema to watch Godzilla. We are trying to make the most of our unlimited membership, this being our third film since Christmas. 

Our day will be rounded off with the third episode of The Traitors which we are loving in the second series, as much as the first.

New forest walk

With the children back at school, Alison and I managed to find time to get out for a walk with Juno, taking advantage of the sunshine and parking near Moyles Court. It was just the three miles at a leisurely pace but it was great to get out and about with fantastic views and plenty of water for Juno to splash about in.

New Year trip to Plymouth

We had a lovely weekend in Plymouth, Maria and I, with time for watching some football with Ewan and Paul, Celtic coming out on top, a visit to the Hoe where Murdina went for a choppy swim and a night with the family seeing in the New Year.

It was great to see the young ones enjoying themselves and there just seem so many of them!! It was our first time seeing Francis and I had a good long cuddle with him before midnight struck.

Sunshine!

Whilst out with the dog, I spotted a yellow ball in the sky which turned out to be the sun. The rain stopped for a bit!