Herefordshire Week 060: Tuesday 16 – Monday 22 February 2021

dsfsd <– yeah, got my scheduling out by a day. More tomorrow! [DONE!]

Briefnotes this week as I’ve spent most of Tuesday morning (and a good few hours on Fri / rainy Sat & Sun) working on a Secret Project for my dad’s birthday.

Spring is definitely on its way. We’ve lunched in the conservatory twice this week. YESssss. The camellia has a growing number of pink buds, and one brave bloom in a sheltered spot low down, and we have a yellow crocus out under the pear tree. Still waiting on the big daffodils to put in an appearance though.

Tuesday saw Day 2 of the Boiler Project, and a full house from Morgan & Cuss, redoing the gas pipe out to the LPG tank, backfilling the hole in the wall, removing the water tank from the roof, installing the pump – which has done the job, commissioning the boiler (and resuming the central heating) and showing Phil and me how to use the new controls. Very high tech!

KMCA Carnevale drinks in the evening over Zoom worked well on Tuesday but VWW didn’t fare too well on Weds and H and I abandoned Zoom and then abandoned the phone – connections were dire on both. It chucked it down all day – maybe that was the cause. Who knows?

Friday proved very productive: P and I decided on the taps, shower screen, mirror and paint plan for April’s Bathrooms Project; I settled up with Morgan & Cuss; had my physio telephone appointment and received hip / leg muscle strengthening exercises by email, which look remarkably like the ones dad got after his hip operation; hoovered, removed last of the water tank debris (insulation) from the loft and some flies (mostly Phil) and caught up with Charles before Pizza a la Phil (needs work).

Spent most of rainy Saturday at the computer, but we got out on Sunday morning and did the Tremorithic route, complete with squashed frogs on the way to Kerrys Gate and white stripes (indicating drains and drainage?) on the roads down from Cwm Hill. A bit drizzly at times, but we got home before the heavier rain set in.

Gorgeous weather on Monday, so I ended up going for TWO walks: Camp crossroads – Duffryn Farm – Cockyard – Quarrels Green on my own in the morning; and the Cockyard loop with P in the afternoon.

Here are the stats for the walks with Phil:

Tremorithic (Sunday)
Distance: 12.10km (7 ½ miles)
Elevation Gain: 262m

Cockyard (Monday)
Distance: 8.56km (5 1/3 miles)
Elevation Gain: 145m

On the gardening front, I also managed to track down last year’s left over seeds on Monday – third location lucky after “kitchen drawer” and “potting stuff in the garage”, “garden shed” turned up trumps – and added another lettuce base to the (microgreens) lettuce and carrot top I started last week. Not sure the carrot is growing, but the first lettuce is. It’s quite amazing.

Monday also brought a sensible COVID plan and schedule, with the familiar, apparently unavoidable, Boris boosterism. That said, I am all for the cautious evidence based approach – and wish we’d had the sense to do this last year, especially after the summer. I’ve already got a date in the diary for an outside coffee in Hereford on 12 March and a tentative long weekend in Pembs at the end of May… but the Annual Birthday Party won’t be taking place this March either.