Beacons Way Day 3 with Sonia and Sara. But the return of the inflamed hip put paid to the rest of this year’s CWF for me đ
Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. And then a bit of sun.
It’s light until 6.30pm, and light returns around 12 hours later…. the days are getting longer.
Decided to give my legs a rest on Tuesday and bailed out of the walk I’d booked in the Crickhowell Walking Festival (Around the Rhiangoll). Also I realised I’d done half of it on Sunday and another section was the Pen Allt Mawr Ridge to Waun Fach and back down the Dragons Back. Oh, and it was raining.
Instead I spent the day ticking off things from the To Do list, including doing weeknotes 219 and prepping for the mid-March Birthday Bonanza. And chasing squirrels. Grrr.
I also had a brainwave on the fungus gnat fight front:
Met up with Sonia, Sara and Grace on Wednesday for Beacons Way Day 3: Crickhowell to Llangynidr. A drizzle sandwich of a day and some very, very wet fields. We abandoned the flooded field footpaths in favour of the lane for a section between Cwmdu and Tremynfa Road. And we took the scenic route through Llangynidr, unintentionally, where the cafe was closed cos it was Wednesday. And we already knew we were too late for Latte Da. Sigh.
Still, we had three rainbows.
Back home via Waitrose, and Welcome to Chippendales accompanied by a pot of tea and toast with peanut butter and raspberry jam.
On Thursday a combination of inflamed hip muscle and wet and windy weather forecast meant I bailed out of the two remaining walks I’d booked onto in this year’s CWF: Over the Hill from Far Away (Sugar Loaf from Abergavenny and lanes into Crickhowell) and The Other Side (Fan Fawr). A real shame as both routes look great. Another time.
So instead I repotted the coin plants and spider plants in clean compost, then helped dad pick up 22 bricks for their garden room project. After lunch I drove into Abergavenny for Aldi and Laundry Basket (Two beautifully clean duvets! I know how to live). A bit down in the dumps all day.
Blessed with yet more grey skies and rain, and a still painful hip joint, I spent most of Friday and Saturday doing Nepal 2023 Photos and Notes. We’ve left the main drag to/from Kanchenjunga Base Camp and headed west on the far less trekked trails that wil take us up and over the Lumba Sumba. By the end of Saturday’s uploading we had spent our first night under canvas…..
… and traversed the Nango La…..
After a rotten night’s sleep (or lack of) Saturday to Sunday, on Sunday morning I belatedly joined Phil in the conservatory marvelling at the blue skies outside. Then pottered before deciding it was high time I washed the Panda. It’s now (temporarily) gleaming. After lunch more reading in the conservatory.
Treated ourselves to a nice lunch out on Monday; our first visit to the much recommended The Crown at Panygelli.
The large lunch necessitated a nap in the conservatory once we got back home. I managed a bit of reading morning and afternoon too.
Birds are carrying twigs and grass strands and other bits and bobs. Nest building has begun. Songs have grown more elaborate, and start earlier.
Tulips are coming out in the coffin in the orchard and the patio pots. Jeanâs spring flower pots are full of tiny daffs, their yellows accompanied by the whites and blues of other flowers, and I occasionally catch their scent as I walk past.
Buds on the hazel trees and Jean’s wisteria, green leaves emerging on the hawthorns. Primroses and violets coming out, and I spotted the pale blue of a bluebell at the entrance to the orchard.
Along with much of the rest of the country (countries?) I seem to have become slightly obsessed with the whereabouts of Kate Middleton*. Releasing that photograph really backfired.
Interesting that we still call her that* rather than Catherine, Princess of Wales. That will always be Diana. Also interesting to learn more about the Palacesâ PR practices. And yes, that apostrophe is in the right place. Obviously âinterestingâ in a 15 seconds of thought sense.
And Iâm saddened by the realisation that when I write country these days I find myself pausing to ponder which one I mean: England, Great Britain, UK? I fear itâs England on this one.
TV: Â ShĹgun, Welcome to Chippendales, This is Us (started season 2), This Farming Life, What We Do In The Shadows (season 5).
Podcasts: History Extra, The Rest is Entertainment, When It Hits the Fan, Gone Mediaeval, Americast.
Photos: Herefordshire week 220 on Flickr.
Phil: w/e 2024-03-17.