Chopping down the Weeds

Or, more precisely, the sycamores that have self-seeded on our boundary with one of the other houses. Took 3 days including taking them to the recycling place - shame the garden isn't big enough to have a sensible bonfire. And the largest had a 20cm diameter trunk, so I have a few aches and pains now.

Can you believe that there are 5 or 6 mature sycamores that have Tree Preservation Orders? Sycamores ?? Someone in the local Council was a bit out of it when they decided this one.

Welcome Visitors

Out first weekend visitors - my sister Jan and her better half Chris. We used this as an excuse (ho! ho!) to take our first trip on the train up to Watchet for the afternoon. The ladies were like 7 year old girls on their first trip on a steam train. I have never known how much one could get interested in things like the old heating controls in a carriage or the push-down taps in a basin in the toilet. Chris and I instead concentrated on esoteric matters like the standard of the local beers.

I never realised that trainspotters could include the female sex. At my age you'd think I'd know better ?? Think I'll lock them in the toilet on the next trip ( at least they'll like the taps).

Wake up Call

In most places at times one gets woken by bird song or, like at the Abbey, by noisy gardeners. The latter begs the question why do they spend hours using a petrol blower to move leaves inefficiently from one place to another? Have brooms gone out of fashion?

They all seem strong, capable guys, but maybe it's a "litigation" issue? There is a Wisteria on the Court that has been in need of chopping for a year now but it has not been done. Why? Because the gardeners need at least 2 people around at the time, one to hold the ladder while one cuts down the plant - and possibly at least one more to catch the poor guy if he falls. All down to the guy we love to hate, John Prescott and his Working at Height Directive - the man is an arse.

Back to the subject - here one can get woken by the noise of thrushes battering hell out of snail shells on whatever flat surface comes to hand (or beak). Different.

Andrex?

Well, it looks like toilet rolls in a field !

Abbey Flat

We have decided to put the flat on the market rather than keeping it until next year. It's on with Claud Waterer in Chertsey.

If anyone is seriously interested in it then contact me direct, but no tourists please.

Broadband

One of the necessities for moving here was access to Broadband and it became available in this area the week we first viewed this house. To make the Abbey Inmates jealous I will tell you that it runs at 8Mbps and is excellent !!

Weather

Very different weather down here but that should be obvious ! We are in between the Brendon and Haydon hills to the West and the Quantocks to the East. We also are on the summit of the West Somerset Railway at around 400 feet so we do get a fair amount of cloud - having only been here a month it's difficult to assess normality. Most amusing at lunchtime listening to the Lords Test Match where it was cloudy and windy but bright sunshine here !

One thing that is very, very different is the lack of pollution down here. Dark glasses can be very necessary as it is very bright and the skin burns much more easily than where we came from. Going into the Taunton retail parks which are near the M5 is a pain because of higher humidity and the obvious pollution - bit like that coming from the M3 and the planes at the Abbey.

The Conservatory ...

... is now sorted. Flooring is down, skirtings in and painted and the wall is also painted. Inside has been cleaned and no longer smells of dog !!

We have had breakfast and lunch in there the past few days and it's now a nice room rather than a smelly rubbish area. So for all the Oldies out there who want somewhere warm and light to rest a while, get a conservatory !!

Of course when I say "sorted" I am joking. Gotta put in a new light, maybe reroute the power, paint render on wall, possibly we need some blinds .....

Thomas the Tank Engine

Each year the WSR has a Thomas weekend at Minehead that draws big crowds and delights the children - nothing to do with the parents after all?

Although we didn't go to Minehead we do have some photos which you can see together with some more of the new house on my Flickr photos.

Beehives

There are 5 or 6 houses built at the back of our development and put up about 4 or 5 years before. A number of these houses have beehives in their gardens, but they don't contain bees !

The houses have their own cess pits which have air pumps that run continuously and aerate the c**p inside the pits. The clever developer disguised these pumps with pretend beehives - neat !

More Wildlife

When moving some tree clippings this morning I discovered what I thought was a snake. Turns out that it was a Slow Worm - description can be found here.

Nice little thing - loved being stroked.

The Railway

The West Somerset Railway (apparently known as the Wizzer) runs alongside the small road outside the house - the line is approx 75 feet from our front door and the station is a couple of hundred yards away.

What can I say? It's brilliant ! There are 12 scheduled trains a day at this time of year with 16 a day in high season and it takes me back to my childhood when I was brought up half a mile from a small station South of Leicester. We go out and watch the trains if we hear them - strange comment but we are at the summit of the line so the trains need little energy once they get here and the noise level is low. The drivers wave, the passengers wave, we wave back. One driver made such an exaggerated wave last weekend that Penny felt like the Queen !

If anyone wants to have a good look at the detail of the line then go to Steven Edge's Website which has loadsa pictures, details on the stations, etc., etc. A site dedicated to our station can be found here

Moths

For those interested in the wildlife, I discovered an Elephant Hawk Moth in the conservatory tonight.

I've never seen one before, but I had never seen all the Dragon Flies that we found in the Abbey grounds last year. Looks like it's gonna be an interesting time here !

I ought to mention that we get all the usual birds etc. here, but I guess you'd be bored with the mundane??

Bridgwater over the Quantocks

Taunton we have discovered is a pain in the ass for various reasons, so last weekend we went to Bridgwater looking for MFI, Jewsons-type shops, Supermarkets etc. It's a bit further than Taunton (about 14 miles) but we thought "what the hell?".

Our route went to Crowcombe then over the top of the Quantocks to pick up the Minehead to Bridgwater road. The countryside and views from the top are amazing - instant orgasms. Lots of walking to be done there.

As for Bridgwater it's nicer to get to than Taunton and the shops we wanted on that visit were much easier to access than in Taunton. Well worth the visit for lots of reasons.

The Abbey - unwelcome visitors

At the moment we still have the old place and Penny uses it during the week when she works out of her London office. The North side of the main Abbey building is being maintained this year and the building has been scaffolded and is being painted.

I got a call from Penny on Friday - she had returned early to find that the painters had been into the flat through the windows (I assume so as they do not have a key) and had plugged in an extension lead so that they could "have a brew". All I might add without our permission.