March 7th 2014

Today I met more of my distant, both in distance and increasingly in the gene pool Canadian family. Robin is the son of my mothers cousin, which we think makes he and I second cousins once removed. His grandmother Dagmar was sister to my Grandfather Harald. Anyway we share a Norwegian Great Grandfather, Klaus Johansenburg which seems a long time ago but in reality he died about 1950's so in the past but not that long really.

 

From first meeting we got on famously so after suggestions of what to do for food, Lauren their daughter, who is working in Essex, was very keen on the suggestion of going to Pizza Express in Marlborough. A great night which allowed us to do all the catch up, as I met Robin very briefly 33 years ago but to be honest I have no memory of that.

 

Anyway Frances his wife is lovely and agreed to pose with some village idiot moments before he demolished a calzone pizza. Set me up nicely for a full day tomorrow doing the Wiltshire ancient landscape tours. I love meeting my Canadian family they're all wonderful and so full of life.

March 6th 2014

 

Tonight I arrived home to be greeted by this, an apple and blueberry flapjack. It was good to see for two reasons. Firstly it is a healthy flapjack option, basically oats, blueberries, grated apple, some almonds and pumpkin seeds, bound by honey and butter. Yes a calorific tour de force but all ingredients which if consumed in moderation are beneficial to health - or at least that's what I tell my therapist.  But the main reason is Julie made this in preparation for guests tomorrow. She's been through the mill this winter with what I call her 'dodgy ticker-box' so seeing her enjoying life again and doing some home baking was the best reason to come home ever. I had to try the merest morsel for quality control reasons and it is delicious. More please, more.

March 5th 2014

 

There used to be a Texaco garage here until 2013, then blue boards went around the site and in a week it was gone. I've been meaning to write about this since November when I first took a photograph of it. I walk past this site every day, walking in front of the late Georgian terrace to the left and crossing the zebra crossing over Whiteladies Road in Clifton. But other ideas came along and it was swept to one side, possibly as once the garage had been demolished not much had happened inside the boards over winter.

 

This week however a big orange digger appeared accompanied by much banging. The plan is that the site will be developed, the gable end of the terrace will be extended in the same architectural style creating 14 flats I believe, with a shop on the front facing Whiteladies Road presumably housing a mini-supermarket, Costa coffee shop or something. I'm glad they're developing it sympathetically as it always seemed sad to see the gable end just forlornly looking out on life as though it had run out of energy to finish itself. Tonight as I beetled back home past this I spied through the only 1cm gap in the boards - not really being able to see much I pushed my mobile phone lens into the gap, I took this quick image. Orange men and an orange digger thing. How exciting, especially as my mobile is from EE, which was formerly Orange with the slogan "The future's bright, the future's Orange". Well it certainly is at this site in Bristol at least.

March 4th 2014

There are days when coming into work on a Monday is worth while (even if I'm writing this on a Tuesday).  Having driven to Bristol through sleet and driving rain I arrived from Wiltshire shaken and quite stirred. Sitting quietly at my desk producing a small fog of evaporating droplets my colleague Sarah bobbled in to the office and hurled a large bar of chocolate onto my desk as a thank you. A thank you for providing the tools to be used as props at a play she produced in London on Sunday, starring amongst others Alison Steadman, Sandi Toskvig, Amanda Root and Julian Rhind-Tutt.

This morning my colleague sent through 2 images from the stage using the tools and chair as radio play props. So my tools from the garden shed have had a brief subjoin in London and have been gazed upon by celebrities. Maybe next time I shall go with them.

March 3rd 2014

 

An absolutely stunning drive home from work today watching the sun setting. As I drove along the M4 down to Weston super Mare I thought; I know, we don't often get these opportunities for spontaneous photographs so I drove to a place called Woodspring Priory. This ex-Benedictine Priory is now owned by the Landmark Trust and even though it is only 4 miles from the centre of Weston as the crow flies, being there is like being in another timezone. I got there just as the sun was dropping below some clouds on its never ending passage beyond the horizon. Just time to shoot off a dozen photographs, two of which are here. A perfect end to the working day.

March 2nd 2014

 

An excellent choice of reading material Sir. After yesterday's fantastic day, today dawned damp, became damper, a lot windier and by noon resembled the worst of a November day. How soon the euphoria of spring sunshine gives way to prolonged conversations along the line of "shall we go out?" followed by "lets see if the rain stops" and after gazing out of the window for ten minutes, "I'll have another cup of tea". A washout in other words, normally no bad thing in mid winter, but it left us both a bit tetchy, itching to go out, but not wanting to be soaked for no reason. The stalemate was then resolved by my sitting down to read my chicken magazine with a mug of Bovril. What else can one do on such a fowl day....!

March 1st 2014

 

My last month of being 49 years old broke with a heavy frost but the promise of a day of fine unbroken spring sunshine, after all this is metrologically speaking the first day of spring. And not a moment too soon after this wet miserable winter. And so it was that we found ourselves in the Woodborough Garden Centre having a light breakfast before walking to the Cherhill Monument from the A4 carpark near Beckhampton.

 

An excellent opportunity to try out my new tweed and leather walking bag, carrying my lunch of a single apple. Well actually not, it carried a few apples, water, camera, recording device and a few other paraphernalia. Works a treat, not heavy on the shoulder and access is much easier than with a day pack. A good purchase. Well worth the 3 hours walk in wonderful first day of spring weather to see the view from the Cherhill Monument north to the Cotswolds and beyond. A 7 mile ramble which ended at the National Trust's Avebury café with a well earned cup of tea and a slice of coffee and walnut cake, with 15 minutes to spare before closing time. A perfect day.