Garden and stuff

After a long day yesterday in a traffic court, it was a pleasure to wake up to a fine day when I could get out and about in shorts.  My main motivation for such apparel was a reluctance to have my long-suffering physiotherapist deal with yet another patient clad in undies, but the weather was fine enough for me to stay in shorts for the rest of the day. I had been getting quite depressed at the slow progress with the creaky knee, particularly since some of the exercises she prescribed last time were impossible to do while observing her instruction to avoid pain.  Saturday's London trip was something of a trial.  Well, she tells me I'm progressing, and has given me yet more exercises, telling me to double up on the ones I can manage.  She's plainly conspiring with me to put off the evil hour.  I suspect some degree of placebo effect, but after the usual morning exercise routine and some more at the consultation, it's feeling rather better.

It's a lovely spring day, so we have done some spring cleaning in the garage, and have a bootful of old rubbish and paints to take to the tip tomorrow.  I've started most the the charlottes in their bags out on the terrace, arranged round the raised bed where the onion sets are starting.  I've planted out the sweet williams where we can see them from the back of the house.  We'll need to get the rest of the perennials out in the next week or so before we head south.  I think a lot may finish up beside the top terrace.  The soil is rather poor up there, but that's maybe a reason to quarry out some compost to help it along.  The grass is getting a bit less soggy, so there's a chance I might be able to give it a rather fiercer cut in the coming week.  The magnolia Susan is coming into flower, as is the white spiraea.  The viburnum is growing as if it suspects it has a future.  Its future is in fact in the municipal compost bin.

Now we have the windows open more often, it's a comfort that EasyJet, BA et al are starting to fix their A320s to eliminate the dreadful whine that unmodified airframes inflict on those of us who live beneath the west-bound approach to Gatwick.  The part that has to be fitted looks like it would cost about 7/6d from your local sheet metal worker, and is astonishingly effective.  I gather it helps in such cases to have a well-regarded and persuasive MP.  Not that I could possibly reveal whether or not we voted for him.