Today started with the usual post knee-knifing routines, which take about ten minutes. Then it was a lot of bend and a little stretch as we cut down ash seedlings, tidied up the rhododendron and euonymous and hauled out a few miles of weeds. Next we'd to prepare for tomorrow's delivery of our new bed, which involved dismantling the old double and schlepping it down to the garage for collection by the YMCA next week. Having hoovered the carpet, we'd then to dismantle the front room bed and reassemble it in the back. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to put the mobile phone in my pocket, so I can't report the number of paces involved, not that it would have been that impressive if I'd remembered. All this bracketed by taking the Egg for service and MoT and going and getting it back. It has done fewer than 1000 miles since its last MoT, so we really ought to give a little thought as to whether it is worth the non-variable costs. We should probably use it a bit more for the shopping runs, since the almost new battery shows signs of running a bit low. Still, it'll get a run to Southampton and back in July/August when we go for our next big boat adventure.
I grew some aquilegias from seed a few years ago, and they are doing well this year after a couple of feeble seasons. The seeds were Suttons'
Simply the Best', and I think the plants need to be fed to give good displays: they've had a bit more top dressing this year than in the past..
The iris sibirica are going over now. A lovely subject when in flower, it makes for rather a lot of grass for the remainder of the year until we hack it down in the autumn. The oriental poppies haven't been bad, though the recent heavy showers mean that they last even less long. A helianthemum that I think I grew from seed has really got its roots down in the rockery now, and is blooming fit to bust, as is its relative nearby, a cistus pulverulens. The latter gets rather leggy, so I'll need to take cuttings soon and grow them on over winter with a view to renewing the stock next year. The c. purpureus is also flowering copiously. Lovely thing.
Roses are doing pretty well, though the usual pests and diseases are making an appearance, dammit. The one on the right here is planted behind the back wall of the conservatory, where it rather wastes its sweetness on the desert air: we can't see it from the house. We'll transplant it next back end to where we can see it from the conservatory. Martyn cleared a bed that had been occupied by leggy, sickly penstemons, heaved in a sack of muck and stocked it with potentillas and annual rudbeckias, so that's perhaps where it'll go in the autumn. I should add that both of the photographs were taken with my iPhone, and I'm really impressed with the quality of the lens.
We went on Monday to see
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which we thought quite good. Strong performances from Tom Courtney and Penelope Wilton, though the leading actors (known, I gather, to watchers of
Downton Abbey and
Game of Thrones), were good but not brilliant. A bit schmaltzy and sentimental in parts, unfortunately: I don't like it when fillums mak me greet.
Rather more honestly moving was
Historia's
Dear Chocolate Soldier, which we saw last Saturday at the Concert Artistes' Association in Covent Garden. It is built round the correspondence between a child in England (and her parents) and a soldier serving on the Somme and later at Passchendaele, and is interspersed with some historic narrative, WWI poetry and some laundered versions of songs popular at the time.
Other than that, little to report this week. A broadly OK visit to the dentist yesterday first thing followed by a typically frustrating day at the hobby - well, half day in fact, since both matters ran short, and I was home by 1:30.
All told, we've been out and about a bit more this week, which is refreshing after the long winter and short days. But nobody need remind us that we're a mere fortnight away from the longest day.
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