Age

It’s getting to us both a bit of late.  Following a pretty rough few weeks, Martyn is feeling better and the results from various tests etc are encouraging.  I’m not changing much, with some enduring discomfort and indignity.  But we’re the right side of the grass, and doing most things we want to.  We’ve both been gardening, and Ben has done most of the top dressing of the top bed, which looks much the better of it.

A climbing rose we planted a couple of years ago is flowering profusely, and doing its best to cover a bay and a half of the fence.  Another nearby is a little less vigorous, but doing well nonetheless.  Ben’s muck spreading will encourage them both.  We’ve started re-planting the various containers with summer stuff like tagetes, rudbeckias and lobelia, and we’ve got all the geraniums out of the sitooterie and into pots and beds.  

Our sweet olive tomato seedlings are mixed: the two we started in new compost are thriving - and starting to put out side shoots, from which we’ll increase the stock.  The others, which we started in old compost are altogether less enthusiastic, but three of Annie’s Sweet Apéritif seed have germinated, and look vigorous.

To our surprise, our local MP has joined the colony of rats leaving the sinking ship.  Two days after his announcement,  neither his web site nor his constituency party’s has anything to say on the subject, though word is that he cites ‘the political climate’ as his reason.  My guess is that the tories will parachute in one of the big beasts most likely to lose their seats, though Disgustedville is no longer the safe seat it once was.  The recent local elections saw the Lib Dems take overall control, bagging over three times as many seats as the tories.  Our ward is now represented by two Labour councillors and one from the Alliance group.  The chances of Labour taking the parliamentary seat are pretty slight, but if tactical voting is as widespread as predicted, the tories should be very worried, particularly if they don’t field a punter that local voters like - and that will now be difficult.  Interesting times.