Morning all. Misty and murky start to the day, but the météo suggests that we might have some sunny spells Very pleased yesterday to see that 100 semi-mature trees have been planted on a piece of council owned land at the back of the village hall. I have noticed that a number of the trees on my land are looking very sickly after the drought this summer, so any new ones are to be welcomed. I learnt last night from TV that as the giant redwood tree gets older the faster it grows. Rather different to us humans who tend to shrink as we age. Have a good day whatever you are up to.
My wife hates dickheads who light bonfires on bright sunny days (like today) without any concerns for others in the area.
I am far enough from other residents to not cause a problem for them. I had mine on the go yesterday, but because it was still very wet only managed to burn about half of it.
Dull days in the evening when windows are closed is preferential. It is also a bad idea to burn wet stuff as it causes unnecessary smoke. Bonfires can cause problems to others several hundred metres away, a little consideration goes a long way.
There are times, if you have a large garden, when you have to burn things. Normally we would have to tell the local fire brigade in advance if a large fire is planned - though in our case it's not necessary. We do it in the evenings and often have neighbours round for the event - which means a bit of grilling on the fire and a few beers - if they have anything to burn then they can bring it with them (meaning one big fire rather than several small ones). It is standard here to have a large fire at Easter, and also at St Martins and so people save things they have to burn for those dates. We do have a farmer on the other side of the valley (about 2km away) who has no qualms about tossing the occasional tyre onto his fires - completely illegal but I regard anonymous calls to the police on an even lower level than what he does.
I had a bonfire late one night last year (about 9.00pm) burning some dry timber so no smoke. One of the neighbours unfortunately rang the fire brigade so we had 2 fire engines in attendance with another one on it's way!!. One fireman from Berkhamsted had been in bed when called, hopefully by himself!!!!
This is one of the dangers SH. When one of the neighbours thinks 'Aha their cat dug up my veggie patch earlier this year' let's call the fire brigade now Unfortunately if the Fire Brigade has to come out for such a thing here then you end up paying for the operation - unfriendly neighbours know this ! This is why I take great care to be friendly with all of them.
If I suspected my neighbours house was on fire I would be round to check immediately, I still don't know who called the fire brigade. I think it was one of the cretins that lives a couple of hundred metres away who unsuccessfully opposed my self build.
Morning all. Grey and misty again, but not really that cold. Reading that the new 50p coin is to be shredded and melted down, led us to a conversation on what we used to call pre-decimal money. Tanners, bobs and quids were well used, but Mme suggested that it was a regional usage. When she moved to Worcestershire and asked for a Thuppenny bus ticket, the conductor didn't have a clue what she was talking about. It seems that if some of the ill-fated 50p coins escape the Royal Mint they are likely to cost collectors about £800 each, but beware of fakes. Before the shape of the £1 coin was changed it was believed that some 50 million of them were dodgy, yet in circulation. Have an enjoyable day whatever you must do.
Morning all. Grey and damp, but it is not actually raining. Need to go into town this morning to get Mme's French driving license renewed. It has a ten year limit on it and needs an updated photo. Take some ID and a new photo and they will give you a new one free of charge. You are supposed to be able to do it online with a smart phone, but as I don't have one that option is out. My granddaughter having become 16 needed to get her own health treatment card and applied online. It arrived through the post within 5 days, a big improvement on mine that took several months to arrive. New systems are being brought in for many things now. I have a card that is scanned when I take anything to the recycling centre, and there is supposed to be a new charging system coming in next year where you will be charged for the amount of rubbish that has to go to landfill. If that works it should save us money as we produce very little. Have a good day whatever you are doing, and hope you feel a bit better today Fez.
Morning all.. Managed to have a graat bonfire. So good in fact that a local neighbour came round to witness it. Worthy praise. There is something very primordial about a good fire . I am not sure about its effect on climate change on this one.. I think my flight home is far worse.. Was 19 degrees yesterday and arrived back to five degrees. Mme had left her phone in the hire car.. And one of my neighbours has offered to drive an hour each way to pick it up for her.... I do love country living and country people.
