Alone Again...

I drove Paul to the railway station yesterday afternoon. There is some dispute as to how long he is away. We are not in disagreement on the date of his return, just whether twelve days and a few hours is 'just over a week' (Paul) or nearly two weeks (me).

So I am now settling in to life with the dogs.

Paul always accuses me of picking the evenings it is raining to have a bath and miss the late night outing. Well, there was no avoiding it last night... come 11 p.m. and I could hear the rain pelting down outside. I got their coats and mine on. As expected Jen didn't care but I had to drag Poncho out the door. He was digging his paws in all the way to the road, then shuffling along in a state of misery refusing to do anything. We returned, drenched and unsuccessful.

At least the sound of the rain drowned out the noise of the bats in the eaves - at least I hope it is bats. They seem to be getting noisier and noisier, with their chittering. I may find them entrancing flying around outside but they are becoming a pain in the **** when I am trying to get to sleep. I am now imagining them as I lie awake in the dark flying around inside the loft, thousands of them. And then breaking out into our en-suite like something from a Stephen King novel...

I still have not got my new camera, although the extra memory for it (from somewhere else) arrived after a couple of days. I sent an email off on Wednesday to find out what was happening. I got a reply in the evening saying they had none currently in stock but were expecting a delivery in the coming week. I got another email last night telling me "Your order has been reviewed and processed and the warehouse is preparing the shipment". So, what would have happened if I'd paid for the express delivery? Or does this mean that someone else did and has got MY camera???

I got a letter today from new building society that I am trying to give some of my money to, telling me the proof of identity I sent was not adequate. So I wasted several hours today
(a) trying to find a suitable document from the Inland Revenue (P2 that was sent was not acceptable) or DVLC to avoid the need for a certified copy of my passport or driving license. I found a VLA from 2006 but apparently they will only accept the latest one.
(b) Failing (a) I then failed to get our Lexmark printer/scanner/photocopier to photocopy. I tracked down via Google that the laptop needed to be plugged in even to just photocopy but it made absolutely no difference.
It's all very well in these times of banks in trouble/credit crunch in trying to spread your assets around but it is not that easy!

Extension Part 9a

Well, it has been three and a half weeks since my last post on the extension.
Paul phoned the builder when he got back from Pau and was told he would be around on the following Tuesday.
The Tuesday came and went.
We got an email at the start of this week saying he would be here yesterday.
Still no-one has come.
The weeds are taking over again and the painted outline of the sun room is being washed away...

Timber!

Having looked at the weather forecast I got out in the garden yesterday - it had predicted a deterioration as the week went on and with Paul off again on Thursday I needed to get some jobs done.

Job 1: Tie the tall perennials in the trellis bed back to the trellis as the wind had caused havoc over the last week. It does look a lot tidier now, although the chrysanthemums, which must be over four feet tall look a little strange, all hugging together and pointing the wrong way but hopefully they will sort themselves out.

Job 2: Cut back the lupins. Some had been attacked by the dreaded lupin bugs earlier, and although I had got the first wave under control they returned a couple of weeks later and in a few days had caused a lot of damage. Mysteriously they have all disappeared now.

Job 3: Start the weeding/cutting back of aquilegias on the long bank - got most of the rockery and LB2 done.

It was very hot and the flies were out again. A lot of cursing and waving of arms...

When I cleared back the vetch I found even more wild strawberries - most of the bottom of LB2 and still spreading. I went back out in the early evening and picked another pound. I made another batch of jam in the evening. It was almost disaster last week when Morrisons had sold out of jam sugar, but I found one unopened bag and a half-used bag tucked away at the back of a cupboard. I will need more though - the gooseberries feel as if they will be ready quite soon now.

I went back out in the garden after lunch today. It was a lot cooler and the wind was up so no flies - hurrah!

I had seen on Gardener's World that now is the time to collect and sow primrose seed. However, in my garden there was no need to go to all that trouble - I had spotted a small patch of self-sown seedlings. I dug out the clump, separated them and have replanted them - must have got a couple of dozen of varying sizes.

Whilst I was doing this Paul wandered past with the dogs. The next thing I know I hear a loud crack and see one of the overhead electricity cables is bouncing. I downed tools and headed towards the hill. A tractor was coming down it, Paul and dogs standing to one side and a tree was half-way across the road. The tractor and a following car drove around it and on towards the bridge.

I assumed the tractor must have hit it, but no - it had just cracked and fallen of its own accord just before the tractor reached it.

Paul phoned Margaret - we weren't sure who owned the land/tree but Margaret seemed the likely candidate and if not would know who did. She popped straight down with Clive, who luckily just happened to be there.

Clive went to get a tractor.

I went back to my primroses.

None of this road closed for x hours rubbish that you get in suburbia.

Have tractor, will travel...

BEST Group Final - Scotland

I played the BEST group final (Scotland) against Neil Scott at his parents house yesterday.

I set off at 8.30 am and found that my sat-nav was sulking - it was refusing to talk to me. I stopped a couple of times to try to sort it out but to no avail. Luckily the screen was behaving so I only missed the turn into the road at the end and soon discovered my mistake. I was just checking the house number before I knocked on a total strangers door when suddenly it started telling me to 'TURN LEFT'. As I was parked right outside the correct house I switched it off...

For once I won the draw a tile to see who starts. And that appeared to be a big mistake...
I asked Neil if he wanted 5-point penalties. He declined :)

Game 1: 0-1
329 (12) DROPLeT (70)
406 (12) sWAMPED (86), Q(A)DI (72)
My big 'mistake' in this game was a neatly slotted play of EVEJAR for 43 to take a small lead. The only danger was QADI, but with only one I and D left unseen I took the chance...

Game 2: 0-2
402 (11) LI(B)ELING (72), CORDIAl (71)
476 (12) (D)ENUDING (89), TETANIES (62)
I missed CARDIOi(D) which would have taken Neil's spot for (D)ENUDING. At the end I needed to try a bonus to win with AILPRST, I opted for PLAISTR(Y)*. There was nothing.

Game 3: 0-3
394 (13) M(U)NIFIEs (74)
452 (12) OXO (53), POURIEs (75), GREASIE(R) (60)
I had to change on my starting move - no vowels...

We stopped for lunch. Neil couldn't believe he was 3-0 up. My head was spinning.

Game 4: 0-4
390 (11) TATtOOE(R)
400 (12) VIOLERS (73), ARCSINE (82)
Neil changed on his opening move. I thought at last I was going to get on the score sheet here, but Neil made a second opening leaving one in the bag. With ACEIINRS left unseen I could see the writing on the wall.

As Neil said his winning spread was coming down...

Game 5: 1-4
471 (12) BALOnEY (78), ELUTION (65), (M)ISRULED (86)
344 (12) bARRELS (69)
Neil had just blown an S. I could see no other bonus than BALOnEY (there is none), stopping one short of the triple column. Luckily he could just take the triple with YANGS. With DEILRSU I could see nothing when Neil gave me the M. Neil's rack after that move was DEILRSU!

Game 6: 2-4
403 (11) UREMiAs (94), (R)ETAINED (72)
398 (11) WHINGER (82), ZOOTY (51)
I had ALOXR?? on my opening rack but decided to not play the bonus I saw - eXORd(I)AL - as it would allow an easy 40+ response from Neil. I missed the 4x pROX(I)mAL which I should have played. It worked out as Neil's WHINGER set up UREMiAs on the triple. Things were not looking goo approaching the endgame. I was 17 behind after a neat UNDAMS for 46 from Neil. I was holding an unplayable CURLIES with two in the bag (AEGIOQSTV). I decided to gamble on a two move playout, playing CURSI at M1 across. I picked AE from the bag...

Game 7: 3-4
442 (13) GARNeTS (68), cR(A)MPING (74)
381 (12) S(C)HEMATA (66), REX (57), (R)ENAILED (72)
This game was a lot closer than the score suggests. Neil tried ROAD(R)ACE on his second move, but after that pegged back a 120 point deficit. RENAILED gave him a 14 point lead s he picked TIGER as the last 5 tiles from the bag. Luckily for me there was nowhere to play it and he tried GREIT...

Game 8: 4-4
439 (12) DI(L)UTIOn (82), (S)UBORNER (70), (G)AIEtIES (74)
304 (12)
Lucky here that Neil gave me the L for DI(L)UTIOn when I had been trying to decide what to dump. After (S)UBORNER I picked EEIIIS? and changed EII. Had not been too impressed with my replacement tiles of AIE - AIErIES did not play and then I noticed the G.

I was feeling a lot calmer now. Neil was going the other way...

Game 9: 5-4
434 (14) SIZEL (54), fOETIDE(ST) (70)
390 (13) TO(E)NAILS (62), GOLD(E)NER (62)
This game started slowly, both of us overloaded with vowels. I was pleased with my spot of fOETIDE(ST) on a blocked board.

A break for tea.

Game 10: 6-4
436 (12) SHALIER (95), JEON (58), BAPtISE (81)
370 (12) ELuTORS (82)
SHALIER on move 5 followed immediately by JEON gave me a 100 point cushion but I was not counting my chickens. BAPtISE on move 8 from H13 down - he needed to hook it straight away as I was ready with CREW. He did with ELuTORS, but I was so relieved to see the last unseen S and blank go together (I had the remaining S on my rack), and only three unseen vowels left in the bag.

I think we were both nervous wrecks throughout the day. It was tough on Neil to lose the way he did. I think we would have both been happier with a more nip-and-tuck match in terms of the sequence of the game results.

The draw for the quarter-finals takes place at the start of August. I am hoping to get one of the North of England region winners...

Just For Henry

I tried it today - it tastes fine.
Another 3/4 pound picked today. I need some more recipe ideas...

Wild Strawberry Sorbet

I picked another pound of my wild strawberries yesterday and decided to have a go at making sorbet. I had a recipe in my Marguerite Patten cookery book.

A quick trip into Duns this morning as it said I needed gelatine, which I found at the Co-op. I also nipped into Youngmans and came out loaded with two Mason Cash pie dishes (30 oz and 60 oz) - getting ready for the gooseberry harvest, an egg poacher (one that you hang over the side of your saucepan) and some pastry cutters. I had been looking on the web for these items but had been totally unsuccessful finding one site that sold them all, and therefore the postage would make them far too expensive.

After lunch I started on the sorbet.

Stew the strawberries slowly in half a pint of water.
Press through a sieve - this took longer than anticipated so the puree was not very hot when I finished so I heated it up again...
Add 3 oz sugar and one teaspoon of gelatine to hot puree (see above) and stir until dissolved.
Transfer to container and place in freezer.

Stiffly beat two or three egg whites.
I discovered I was not very good at separating the yolks, so three eggs resulted in two egg whites and an omelette mix for tea tonight, but they were large eggs and all I had. Paul then informed me we have an egg separator gadget somewhere... Much beating of eggs took place, Paul and I taking turns as we were just using a hand whisk (hint: one of those electric whisk/blitzer gadgets might be useful). Eventually they formed quite a satisfying voluminous white frothy texture - not quite up to meringue standard but not bad.

When the puree mixture begins to stiffen (this took quite a long time and I may still have been premature) fold into the egg whites and return to the freezer.

Well, time will tell if it works, but it does look a very pretty pink colour and has cost virtually nothing.

FreeCycle Strikes Again

Hi Everone, my mum who is 78 has been complaining that she can't see
the faces of people on her tv - think it's about 20". As she's a
Pensioner I thought I'd ask if anyone has one they'd like to donate.
Perhaps you've upgraded to a massive flat screen recently? I think
ideally she'd like a 30" or so. My daughter lives in Kelso so she
could collect it for me if it's nearer to her. Thanks in advance.

Deran

I suggest a pair of spectacles...

This person also asked for a computer for his daughter so he didn't have to lend her his laptop...

Also earlier this week we had one starting on about learning the piano. They can't be, I thought and no they weren't. There followed a request for sheet music.

But this obviously got someone to thinking. The next day there was indeed a request for a piano - don't think it was the same person.

I am now determining what I should ask for...

Panasonic DMC-FZ18somethingorother

When I got my new laptop I discovered that Vista did not really support my camera software. I managed to sort of reinstal it and it sort of works when it feels like it. I need to 'run as administrator' and say 'yes' I really do want to run it! Then I get a load of error messages which I have to close down. Then sometimes it recognises that I have attached my camera and sometimes it doesn't. In the latter cases I have to shut down my laptop and start again. The latest pain is that when I get as far as 'photos on camera' window it doesn't actually show me the photos. I have to minimise and then reselect the window and the photos are displayed. It then doesn't highlight the ones I select to dowload unless I repeat the minimise/maximise routine...

The camera itself is fine. I bought it from work at about a third of the RRP in a staff sale and at the time it was top of the range - Canon PowerShot S30, 3.1 megapixels and 10x zoom. Now it is so last century. The time has come to upgrade. Watch out for it on FreeCycle in the near future - should be fine with older PCs/laptops...

So I spent last night surfing the net. I quickly decided on a panasonic. I got snared with an 18x optical zoom with 8.1 megapixels. Then I started looking at all the different sites promising me the best prices available anywhere. Then I got very confused.

Panasonic DMC-FZ18 black, silver, DMC-FZ18S, DMC-FM18K, DMC-FX18EBK... All at slightly different prices, with very similar but not quite the same descriptions. I noted a few of the sites and gave up for the night.

I dropped the bombshell on Paul when he got back from the bridge club. I didn't think it was a bombshell - I have been saying for ages that I want a new camera. He never picks up on hints for birthdays/Christmas either. He says I never tell him or drop hints!!!

So I resumed my investigation today. I decided to look on panasonic's own website. But it was down, being updated. Eventually it came back up. I think all those variations on the name actually boil down to one camera in a choice of silver or black.

Armed with this I went back to investigating prices. It was stunning the differences in price - Tesco Direct being the most expensive I found at a shocking £349.97 down to £194.00 at Bestpricedbrands including P&P. I placed an order. It should arrive next week...

Action-Packed Day at Todheugh

Another first of country living for us today. Scottish Water came this morning to empty the sewerage tank. It is located under our rose bed, and seemed fairly straight forward. Apparently the only real problem was a request for next time to do it after we have pruned the roses.

Partly because of the sewerage tank being emptied and partly because I overslept we reverted back to a later dog walk. I had got them ready and we went out to wait for the SW man to finish. As we were waiting a Scottish Local lorry came by - road sweeping the edge yet again. Then another smaller SB van passed by.

As we set out for the walk we could see the van parked down the track by the bridge. The lorry was coming back. We waited. It stopped. We carried on. The van went across the bridge, reversed off the road and stopped. At this point Jen dived into undergrowth, and despite having her muzzle on emerged with yet another mole. She gave it a good shaking and then dropped it. I managed to pull her away, and it made a shaky exit to the verge on the other side of the road. We continued on our walk.

When we came back there was a temporary road sign on the far side of the bridge with a 20 mph limit and 'beware of skidding', shortly followed by a 'mobile roadworks' sign. Another 'beware of skidding' one on the other side. Jen had obviously remembered the mole and suddenly pulled towards where it had last been seen. I stopped her and could not see it so it may well have survived its ordeal.

We then went food shopping - one of life's necessities but it is so much more civilised being able to avoid the weekend. When we got home there was a council worker at the bottom of the hill trying to stop us taking the road towards Edrom. As we only needed to go about 20 yards he apologised and let us through.

They appear to be doing something to the road in front of the long bank...I'm off to look.
.
.
.
wibblywobbly lines as time passes
.
.
.
It was like something out of Thunderbirds...Mobile roadworks was a perfect description. They have completely relayed the road surface from as far as I can see up past Margaret's and the last I saw they were heading towards the bridge.

Lorry at the front laying tar.

Lorry behind with conveyor-belt putting gravel on top of the tar.




Lorry behind loading gravel into conveyor-belt lorry.



Vehicle (no idea what it is called - a non-steam steam-roller) behind just driving up and down bedding down the new road surface.

And this is on top (literally) of all the road repairs they did at the end of May...

Bats at Todheugh

The bats are back. The first summer we were here we noticed them at this time of year. Last year less so because of the weather washout.

For the last few weeks when the weather has been warm/dry we have been bat-watching on our late night outings with the dogs. I have no idea what kind they are but they seem a reasonable size - it is hard to tell when all you really see is a black shape darting around. Saying that, I would still have no idea if one freeze-framed in front of me in broad daylight.

This year they seem numerous. One night a couple of weeks back I counted one going past the bedroom window every two to three seconds. Last night the sky seemed filled with them, so agile as they swoop and turn, flying just over our heads. The dogs seem unaware of them - they do not react at all.

I think they may well be roosting in the roof at the back of our bedroom. The hints are that it is that end of the house that we see them and there have been a lot of scratchy/squeaky noises at night since we have been spotting them.

I ventured into our loft earlier to try to see. I gave up as the slope of the roof was making it too difficult for me to pull back the insulation to get a good view. I had a brief moment of 'what am I doing up here' as I tried to work out how to get out again. After a few minutes of manoeuvring I managed to lower myself and stretch down to a solid footing.

For information on UK and Scottish bats see the Bat Conservation Trust

Suanne Superstar

I have been well and truly deposed as the top internationally-rated female scrabble player.

Suanne Ong from Malaysia, who finished half a win and a place ahead of me in the 2007 world championships, became the first female, first Malaysian and youngest ever (16) to win the King's Cup in Bangkok last week.

A superb performance, finishing first on 20 wins out of 27 games and earning a place in the best of three final against the current world champion, Nigel Richards. I was told that she walked it, winning the first two games.

Her rating has leapt from 1939 to 2034, propelling her into 11th place. I am languishing on 1988, 46th. I should hate her but she is too nice :)

Malaysian scrabble also boasts the top rated player in the world, Ganesh Asirvatham, and is also where Nigel lives. Maybe I should emigrate...

Wild Strawberry Jam

So I was out dodging the drizzle - well, actually not dodging the drizzle this morning - picking my alpine strawberries. After having to eat the overripe ones I ended up with two pounds...

I searched the web unsuccessfully for a recipe and in the end decided to just treat them as 'normal' strawberries - equal quantities of sugar to fruit.

Wash/dry strawberries and place in jam pan with no extra water. Heat gently, stirring until they started to go mushy. Add the sugar and stir until all dissolved. Add juice of one lemon. Bring to the boil with no stirring. It reached the setting point after about five minutes. Take off the heat. Remove scum. Leave until begins to thicken in the pan. Stir to distribute fruit more evenly within the jam. Pot up.

It is an absolutely gorgeous colour and has given a really good yield. The pan scrapings tasted rather good too...

Poncho the Hunter

Poncho is obviously feeling his caninity in question after Jen's recent exploits.

Not to be outdone earlier this week he dived into the undergrowth by the bridge and came out with...a Scotch pie wrapped in clingfilm.

Hedgerow Review

It is interesting how the hedgerows vary from year to year. I certainly notice a lot more with dog walking each day.

Last year was a yellow year, with the buttercups and dandelions being the predominant 'wild flowers' in the verges right through, complemented with the fields of rape. With the continuous rain and bad weather it was not a good year for most of the hedgerow harvest. The one true exception to this was the sloes.

This year it is a white year. Those designers at the Chelsea flower show must have known something. After an early showing by the dandelions the carrot family has definitely taken over around here. Cow parsleys abound and despite a good spraying campaign there are still some giant hogweeds that escaped the massacre - at least half a dozen are standing tall and flowering in Margaret's (Poncho's) hay field. The may was late, more like may/june this year. Now the elders have taken over, putting on a magnificent display. Add to that the brambles and dog roses (although some of these are pale pink), which did not fare so well last year but are now covered in flowers.

Crab Apples - does not look as if there will be a good supply this year. The weather was not good when they were blossoming and the few fruits I can see are fairly high up in the trees.
Wild Cherries - not loaded but a lot better than the crab apples
Wild Raspberries - the large stand where we picked some last year looks as if there will be a lot more this time round.
Blackberries/Rose Hips/Elderberries - if the flowers are anything to go by I predict a bumper crop of all of these, as long as we do not get a prolonged period of bad weather now. Last year was very disappointing for all of these.
Haws - a bad year.
Sloes - no idea as I haven't been to my secret supply for a while to look. I would guess not good if the hawthorn is anything to go by. Luckily I still have a good supply in the freezer.

Fragaria vesca 'Semperflorens'

When I inherited the garden there were a few alpine strawberry plants in the high bank, long bank and growing in the bank at the side of the drive. They are good ground cover and the strawberries, albeit small, have so much flavour.

Over the last couple of years they have spread, taking over larger and larger areas. They are all along the bottom of the high bank now - easy to pick there. Another patch at the back of the buddleia in the long bank, and a couple of patches in LB2, top and bottom. The ones in the drive bank are now working their way into the trellis bed, having completely colonised the area by the sheds. I need to dig out some more footholds - not easy to pick there. There is even a large patch on the drive itself, having sent the tendrils out from LB2. There are a lot worse garden thugs...I will not easily forget the creeping buttercups that had a stranglehold when we first moved up here.

I started cropping them a couple of weeks ago, getting a good handful every day. I also pick/eat a few most times I walk past the high bank.

They have obviously enjoyed our recent weather of rain and hot, if not always sunny, days. I have just got in from picking them after a couple of missed days and have filled a punnet - over a pound in weight - and it looks as if I will get almost as many again in another day or two. I am hoping they will survive in the fridge until then so that I can get enough to try to make alpine strawberry jam.

Lost Dog Reunited with Owner

I just had to beat Huttonian to this scoop. Dogs AND FreeCycle. No doubt it will make the Berwickshire News next week...

~~~

Hi, (moderator hope this is ok)

A large tri colour hound type dog wearing a collar has been handed into
the BARK kennels Thursday Morning. We understand he was seen running
around Chirnside last night. He was picked up on the Chirnside Duns
Road near Briery Mill.

Please contact BARK if you have any information on 01289 306299

~~~

Thanks to Freecycle within minutes of posting a reply led to the owner
contacting the kennels.

Thank you on everyone's behalf

Words of Interest - BERDASH

I have just cleared my cardbox - 227 alphagrams before I got to the point of none waiting.

Up comes ABDEHRS and I quickly get the two answers and glance at the definitions.

BERDASH - an American Indian transvestite.

This needed to be investigated further. On checking in the dictionary: usually male, adopting not only the dress but also the status and role of the opposite sex. It can also be spelt BERDACHE. It is not to be confused with BURDASH, which is/was a fringed sash worn by gentlemen in the time of Anne and George I.

Bad Language

The following just came into my inbox courtesy of BerwickshireFreeCycle:

Hello dose anyone have a
cooker there do not want in
berwick as my sister is wanted
one as hers doset work no
more.

Words Of Interest - NATHEMO

As a brief introduction to words of interest, which I may or may not run with in future posts...

Scrabble players are a diverse lot.

All colours, creeds, young and old, men and women and everything in between.

We also range widely in our actual interest in words - the full spectrum of 'I don't care what it means but I know it is a valid word' to the true logophiles. The vast majority of top scrabble players are from scientific/mathematical backgrounds. The problem with logophiles is that they think they have a great vocabulary, which many do, but it is not geared to being good at scrabble. They can lose track of what it is all about - playing the percentages and winning. I am a scientific 'don't really care' scrabble player.

I am much more interested in knowing a word's hooks and anagrams and what letters it combines with to make another word than what it actually means. There are just so many words that will never be used in everyday life - and even if you make an effort the person you are talking to probably won't have a clue what you are on about.

Okay - take EGILMNSU - GUMLINES/LEGUMINS/MULESING. I knew what the former two meant but how often will I have a conversation about removing anal wrinkles of sheep. On second thoughts now that I am a R-URALITE I can't rule it out.

Since I have started using zyzzyva to study I have actually switched on the display of the definitions. I am not trying to learn them but occasionally find something of interest. It may be an odd definition, an odd word or just that I have lived my life in ignorance. I must apologise to David Sutton as he is bound to have covered the following in one of his many articles in The Last Word magazine, but I will have just scanned the bold print to find any words I didn't know :)

NATHEMO
Since I first learnt this word long ago I had pronounced it in my head as Nath/Emo. I knew it was a 'blocker' - with an S it makes HOASTMEN. I now find it means 'never the more', yet another word made up by Spenser, and I will change my mental pronunciation to Nae/The/Mo'. NATHEMORE is also valid, which may come in handy if your oppo starts with NATHEMO in the optimal position...

The Return of the Flies

The council has been spending more of our council tax cutting back their one metre of verge all around here today. I spotted the tractor with cutter/strimmer going past the house when I first got up. It would be a lot better if they also collected the litter that gets dumped on these same verges - for some reason people seem to think that plastic and metal drink containers become miraculously bio-degradable in the countryside.

I chose correctly which route to take the dogs this morning - they had already completed both sides of the road over the bridge and up to Chirnside/Preston road. The strimmer thing had done a very effective shredding job on a dumped newspaper at the top of the road. I don't know if it is a coincidence but this has also been the first day this year where we have been harassed by flies - shudder. Poor Poncho had a swarm of them around his head for most of the walk. I must have looked as if I was having a fit, twirling his lead and waving my arms around...

As we passed the bottom of the hill just before home I could hear the tractor coming back down. Then there was a squeal of two cars doing what sounded like hand-brake turns around the 180 degree bend and having to come to a sudden stop, and not be quite so cool as they reversed back down. My money would be on the tractor every time.

As it had clouded over and the wind had whipped up again I thought we would be safe this afternoon. Think again. We were quicky surrounded by flies again when we got to the verge. I am now feeling very itchy :(

Extension Part 9

I was full of hope.

On Friday morning Allan and A.N.Other turned up and started building the walls of the utility room. They were back on Monday and real progress appeared to be made. In the afternoon Tom was also here. They had the plans out and were obviously discussing something but I was not made privy to what was going on. Then they all left and nothing has happened since.

It's Never Too Late

I have started a new morning routine.

Get up whenever. Do not take the dogs straight out - do not want them to think that waking me up means they get rewarded! Have a cup of coffee, catch up on my email and start on the cardbox. Once coffee drunk then take dogs out for a walk. Feed dogs breakfast on return.

This now means I have a much longer 'free time' gap before the lunch time routine.

I am feeling quite smug about it this morning as the weather was very pleasant when we were out earlier and now (when we would have been out before) it is decidedly yukky.

~~~~~

I got 'buzzed' by someone I knew from uni via Friends Reunited last night. So after some faffing (my account needed reactivating) I went on and replied. It is now free to send people messages so I started trawling back through my 'places'.

I found my 'bestest' friend from primary school and memories came flooding back. We had been virtually inseparable until the age of about 10 when we had a major falling out and virtually never spoke to each other again. She moved away from our home town a couple of years later so we never did rekindle our friendship. I sent her a message apologising for the stupidity of youth. I am so pleased I did as I got an email back from her later that evening.

Jen The Serial Killer

Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth but wildlife is another matter...

It started a couple of months back when a chick had fallen from its nest in our eaves onto the path below. After a brief game of 'tag' with Poncho she grabbed it back and ate it.

On Saturday Penny came over to pick elder flowers to make some cordial. We were heading towards the bridge when I almost had my arm pulled out of its socket as Jen dived into the undergrowth. She emerged with a mole in her mouth. It took quite an effort to get her to drop it, and I only succeeded when she tried to rearrange its position and lost her grip on it.

Last night as we were heading down the steps to the top of the drive she suddenly leapt into the pergola-covered oil tank area. Poncho dived in after her. A sudden loud squeal and I tried to pull them both back - I was worried they had found a hedgehog. I shone the torch in and could see something that was not prickly, and Jen was straight back at it. Out she came, shaking a very large rat. She threw it back down and I took the chance to drag them both away. On coming back about 10 minutes later I could see that it was still alive, and had crawled onto the bottom step. Jen was all for finishing the job but I turned them around and back to the house via the building site.

I must now go and remove the dead rat from our steps...

Alcoholic Sloe Jam

Anne invited Penny and me over for dinner on Thursday, and I suggested to Penny that she stayed overnight here so that she could have a drink. After polishing off a bottle of red between us with dinner (Anne was not drinking) I decided it was a good idea when we got home to decant one of my sloe alcohols - they have now been maturing away between six and eight months. I can confirm that sloe vodka is just as good as sloe gin...

Yesterday I bottled up the rest - two bottles of gin, one bottle of the Aldi's 'voshka' and two pints of vodka - the only problem with vodka is that the bottles have these integrated pourers which I could not remove so it is now back in a plastic milk bottle - very refined :)

Last night I boiled up the five pounds of alcohol laden sloes in a pint of water and then spent a good two hours forcing it all through a sieve to end up with about a pint and a half of pulp. I probably could have got a little more but it's damned hard work and return on effort diminishes after the initial scraping of each spoonful. I must say the house smells good...

This morning after the dog walk I made the jam. I added another half pint of water as the pulp was pretty thick and boiled it up. Then added a pound and a half of jam sugar - fresh sloes may be full of pectin but I assumed that these no longer were. Boiled hard for about 15 minutes and it appears to be setting fine. I had the scrapings of the pan/spoon/ladle on cream crackers for lunch, and have just over three pounds in jars.

I probably shouldn't have had any for lunch as I found many typos/bad grammar in this post that needed correcting. Hopefuly, if not perfect at least better now...

Berwickshire News Misses Animal Scoop Story

A mother and her family of three had a near miss encounter with a lorry at Whitemire stud.

An eye-witness gives the following account:
"I was walking back home with my two greyhounds, Poncho and Jen, when I heard the lorry approaching behind me. I turned to see where it was and pulled the dogs onto the verge. As I turned back I saw four stoats run into the middle of the road and stop. I held my breath as the lorry thundered on towards them. At the last moment they made a dash for it, and I saw them all reach safety and disappear through the hedge on the other side of the road."

The above is for Huttonian in case he is having animal-story withdrawal symptoms - although he hasn't yet featured our neighbours' (Sheila and Margaret) success with Australian terrier Melba at the Kelso show :)

Poncho had his own encounter with wildlife yesterday. In a quick internet search trying to find out what to do I found a great deal of conflicting advice. I decided a quick trip to the vet's open surgery was the most sensible course of action, where the offending tick was removed free of charge. I have now invested in an 'otom' tick remover kit...

20 Years and a Day

Yesterday was Paul's and my 20th wedding anniversary.

He had left me a card in his car.

A delivery man arrived in the afternoon with a large box. It was (wrongly) addressed to Paul and the man seemed very concerned about his health - not often men get sent large bouquets of flowers I guess...

Dog Days

I drove Paul to the airport on Sunday.

Two weeks in Pau with his 'other women' and I am now the sole focus of the dogs.

I feel trapped on the sofa - every move is watched and if I attempt to reposition myself they are both up and looking at me expectantly. I have to be careful with what I say as well. I told them to chill out yesterday. This was obviously heard by them as '????? OUT' and had the opposite effect of what I wanted.

Two weeks of getting up early - at least I am clearing my cardbox before the morning walk, and have started adding more in again. I won my match against Allan last week - well, I had a winning draw 4.5-4.5 but had a better spread of 43 points after nine games. A nail-biting finish if I had any nails left after my gardening...

Extension Part 8

The work on the extension appears to be very stop-start at the moment.

Last Tuesday Allan was here bright and early and started on the utility room. When we got the revised drawings from the architect he had drawn the external door coming out facing the sunroom to be. This wasn't as we had expected but I preferred it as it will give us more usable space inside, with the two doors only wasting the space at one end. After some thought and discussion Paul agreed. It also saves hassle about changing the drawing again, and will save money (always a good thing) on patio/paving around the utility room.

Alan said he wouldn't be around the following day as it needed to 'go off'. This is normally when something has been left too long in the fridge in my experience...

Anyway, Paul got an email the day after saying that it would now be Monday before he would be back. He was having trouble getting trucks to deliver stuff - apparently the three new schools being built in this area have priority and are hogging not only the trucks but also building materials.

He was true to his word, and when I took the dogs out first thing (for me) he was waiting for a delivery to arrive. The truck arrived about a minute later - it had got lost and was approaching from the Chirnside direction. When I wandered back past with the dogs a pile of something was being unloaded, and the truck then passed me a couple of minutes later. Alan then also departed...

The other exciting development from a couple of weeks back is that we have a spray-painted outline of the new corridor and sunroom. At last I can sort of visualise it. And that led to a bit of a falling out with Paul re gates/walls/railings.

I have never been happy with what was drawn, but have been told not to worry - they are not set in stone (joke). Anyway, now that I could see the outline I could see that the currently planned/drawn enclosed garden area is a long narrow rectangle, with the new patio a completely separate entity with a no-mans land area in between. I really want it all too be more integrated and as little unenclosed space as possible. Paul does not want railings right down the side of the new patio spoiling the view. So - compromise, railings to come part way down and wall splits at that point to complete railed enclosed garden and unrailed patio area. So I was told to work out the cost implications... And I was on to a winner there - my new plan reduces the size of the original patio that could house an orchestra, and the cost savings of that more than pays for the few extra metres of wall/railings.

Edinburgh Festival of Scrabble

What can I say.

I blew it.

Game 1 and I made a stupid mistake on my tracking right at the end, and thus blocked the 'winning' play by my opponent to lose by 1 point.

So I came second, one game behind Mikki but with a better spread.

On the positive side I did play some good words (I was especially pleased with WAMmULS) and made a great comeback (126 behind Barry Grossman after 4 moves) to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat...

I have my BEST match against Allan on Thursday - first to five to go through to the regional final.

I am busily catching up on my cardbox. 771 waiting for me when I opened up the cardbox quiz on Monday morning. Had got it down to 338 when I went back in this morning. Should get that cleared over the course of today.

Red Sky At Night

Views from my bench at a quarter past ten last night. The moon is just visible above...

A Good Day

Today has been a 'good' day.

We took the dogs on an unplanned long walk this morning - it was perfect weather, sun shining and a nice breeze. Over the bridge and up the hill to the Chirnside/Preston road. We continued on taking the road to Lintlaw, turning right at the top. As we approached the Billiemains road Jen and Poncho were up on their toes at the sound of a dog barking. Suddenly a hare came racing around the corner and ran straight up the road in front of us before veering off into the field on our right. Luckily there was no sign of the dog we heard chasing it. It took quite a while before Poncho stopped pulling me up the road in a state of great excitement. A little further along and they both dived into the undergrowth - a pheasant emerged from the back, squawking and flapping away frantically. There were no further incidents which was just as well - it still took them both about half an hour to stop panting when we got home.

I cleared my cardbox before lunch.

After lunch I got out in the garden.

I started weeding the left hand side of the high bank. Considering it is a year since I last ventured up there the bottom section was not too bad - one sack of weeds, moss and general debris. I was really pleased to find some self-seeded foxgloves - I had been hoping the ones I planted last year would spread. Unfortunately the top section looks as if the brambles have taken over again.

Rather than continue up that route, which is very wet and slippery, I decided to start on my next big project - a path up to the top from the right-hand side of the fruit bush area. It is the ideal route as there are no plants other than weeds up there. It will also give me access to the rest of that area, which does appear to have had some shrubs planted in it by the previous owners.

So far that section has been totally ignored by me. It is overgrown with ground elder, nettles and brambles. I had no intention of attempting to dig them out properly, that would be impossible. However, I have done quite a good cosmetic job on it - enough to remove all the crap down to the bare soil. I then raided our building site, selecting some of the good-sized flat chunks of concrete and stones. Back to my path and I now have a series of stepping stones up to the back of the tree stump which leads to the top of the high bank. It was too late to continue on, so I settled on clearing the weeds at the back of the gooseberry bushes. All in all a good session, as shown by five sacks of rubbish.

Road Repairs

Last week the council were out and about in the locale.

We had noticed a sign up on Monday at Edrom stating there may be delays for the following two days for road repairs.

On Tuesday our builder Alan was not best pleased when he found this actually meant delayed for the whole day as the road was completely blocked with multiple 'boys toys' vehicles - diggers and tar-laying machines and the like - halfway between Edrom and us. He had to reverse back to Edrom as there was nowhere to turn around with his trailer.

On Wednesday they had moved to the bottom of the hill at the other side of our house. Despite it being steady rain for most of that day they have replaced several large areas of road surface there. Hopefully this will last longer than the running repairs of Scottish Borders Local on the pot-holes, which are ripped apart again within days by tractors doing the 180 degree turn there from the bridge.

Over the last couple of days we have heard/seen a large yellow vehicle coming along slowly. It appears to have given the verges nice crisp edges, reclaiming a fair amount of road from the encroaching mud, 'wild flowers' and grass, flattened a foot or so of the aforesaid flora from the roadside and thrown the debris back onto the verges.

After the rain of yesterday the verges are decidedly dirty, as was Jen after this mornings walk - hippopotamus impersonation after rolling around in the long grass to cool down.

Spring Sales

It was the Jim Clark rally last weekend and we decided to have a barbecue. Alex was up for the weekend - gold cup bridge match with Paul on the Sunday. We had also invited a few more friends over.

We had bought a cheapo Aldi's gazebo last year and it got its first outing last Saturday. It was perfectly adequate but we did have a few worries as every now and then there was a strong gust of wind. We could just see the Berwickshire News headlines - gazebo causes rally chaos.

Geoff and Joy, friends of Paul who he had met via the BBO online bridge site arrived first - they were up in this area for a short holiday. Penny arrived next armed with enough home-made scones to open a shop. Jean and Sandy next, with a rhubarb crumble which needed to be cooked and home-made icecream - this was a big hit. We were getting worried whether Reg would make it before the road was closed - he did.

I had noticed an advert in the paper for a wool/yarn sale at Moondance Wools, Springhill Farm at Coldingham over the bank holiday weekend. With my newly refreshed enthusiasm for knitting I thought this would be worth investigating. Jean not only knew exactly where it was but also knew the owner and her friend who holds weaving/craft workshops. We arranged to go together the following day, and also to visit the fuchsia nursery near Grantshouse which neither of us had ever been to.

I arrived at Jean's a little before 11 a.m. and after a cup of coffee we set off. Jean told Sandy we would be back around 1 p.m. for lunch, but he was very sceptical. He was right - we spent far too long at Moondance Wools as there were just so many to choose from. I eventually settled on some Shetland wool in pale blue, turquoise and mauve, one ball of pink silk/cotton and two balls of silk/mohair/wool mix multicoloured turquoise/purple/blue. We decided that there was not enough time to go to the nursery...

I have started on my next jumper. It is not going as smoothly as the last one - a couple of the sections hadn't quite worked for the colours/design so I have been ruthless in undoing them. I think I am back on track now.

On Friday it was the Paxton plant and goody sale. I had been planning on taking or going with Anne but she emailed me to say that she would meet me there as she was planning on filling her boot so may not be room if I bought a lot too. As it was I arrived before her and managed to park in the village hall car park. I was on my second spree when I saw her, Jenny, James and Emma. All in all I was very pleased with my haul. First load - one hosta, verbascum and campanula. Second load - one geranium Kashmir (white), two Dicentra (white), and two unknowns (one is low growing ground cover, the other looks like a perennial of some sort) but both in nice large clay pots. Total spent £11.50.

I planted them all except the ground cover yesterday, along with two alpine asters and a carex I got in Homebase's half price section, in the trellis bed and in the space I gained from the osteospermum die-back. I got an extra bargain with the campanula - I found there were two in the pot!

This afternoon was the Allanton plant sale. There was no sign of Anne...

This was a lot better than the last time I went, when I thought it was overpriced. So now waiting for a new home are: one hardy geranium - type unknown but I think it is more of a ground cover type, one peach-coloured day lily, one small rosemary, one small sage, one polemonium and six dark blue irises in a plastic planter. Total spent £9.40.

Extension Part 7 - The Break-In

Alan arrived bright and early on Monday to start on the two new doorways out of the back of the lounge. We weren't sure how Jen and Poncho would react to all the noise, but they seem relatively unconcerned. They have soon got used to him popping in and out of the house and no longer rush to the front door to greet him each time he comes in.

There is now a small hole at the top of the new utility room door way with a metal plate being supported by a large pole inside.

The sun room doorway has also made some progress.

Alan said he would be late on Wednesday, and we weren't too surprised when the weather took a turn for the worse that he did not turn up at all.

Back on Thursday, and he has started digging out the ground for the utility room foundations.

Again the weather was not so good on Friday so no more progress.

Extension Part 6 - The Stop of the Beginning

Alan started work proper on Wednesday. I was awoken to loud bangs - he was filling in our porosity test hole. Then he commenced clearing the area at the back of the house. There were more loud noises as the concrete cladding/plastic sheeting at the bottom of the house wall was taken off - we have no idea what it was for. Then he started to dig the foundations for the utility room.

At about 12.45 he came round to the house. We had a problem. The foundations of the wall at the back were not deep enough - it would be too dangerous to dig down further for the foundations of our utility room. All stop.

Paul was in Jedburgh sorting out getting a blazer for his NPC role next month. He got back about half an hour later. Alan had suggested moving the utility room to also come out the back of the lounge. It is not ideal but is our only option other than abandoning it altogether. A phone call to the architect.

I wandered out in the evening and noticed a large puddle of water at the top right-hand side of the old barn area. I traced it back to a hose coming out of the wall from Margaret's behind us. I could see no way of turning it off so went round to her's to see if she knew about it. She didn't but came round to look. I got Paul to come out too.

Margaret phoned a friend, Derek, and between us we managed to clamp the pipe to stop the leak. We still need a permanent solution, but we haven't found where it is coming from at Margaret's end.

David (architect) came round on Thursday afternoon. He sees no problems moving the utility room, essentially just flipping it. After almost two years of visualising it one way I won't have long to get it clear in my head before it goes up. Alan should be back on Monday to recommence work.

Scottish Open 2008

I was up early and at Allan's by 8 a.m. Allan was just finishing his coffee and we were on the road to Perth ten minutes later. As is usual it is my job to feed Allan with anagrams. I managed to give him an 8 that kept him quiet for a large part of the journey (EHIPRSTU).

We arrived at just gone 10 a.m. - enough time to get a coffee and not feel stressed before we started. I was defending my title, and also trying to become the first person to win it three times in a row. I handed back the trophy, and noticed there was a hole in the bag and the engraved strip on the side was missing. I retraced my steps to the car but could not see it.

Game 1: Moya Dewar
Moya started with FUB and after a while trying to find something better (there were no other bonuses) I played TOElIKE. HOD from Moya. I had picked a clumky rack and VIR(E) cleared the V and duplicate R, but I was not happy playing such a blocky move so early in the game. LOTA from Moya and I opened with WRITE. Moya immediately blocked with ABA. I had another awkward rack and again was not happy with CU(BI)T but could see nothing better. Moya immediately blocked again with DO(C). GENUA to open again from me and Moya just dumped C(IDE). I then broke away with PLIER for 40 and ZHOS for 62 to be 80 up after QIS from Moya. A late bonus of bARNEYS blocked Moya's bonus to increase the spread.
W: 477-327

Game 2: Ross Mackenzie
We both changed five tiles as our opening gambits. I bonused first on move 4 with MONSTER and Ross dumped the Q. GNA(R)R from me using my only vowel but I had picked an S, and picked three more consonants and a blank. Luckily for me Ross did not block my F(A)X. ZIT from Ross and I had picked a vowel for SNiRTLE. Ross bonused back two moves later with (R)EWINdER. CRON(E) blocked the useful floaters but did not help my rack. AMI(d) from Ross. I(N)DUED cleared it and scored well, but I picked up more of the same but also an S. Ross changed five tiles again. I dumped LU(D)O. FY from Ross. I successfully talked myself into UN(R)IP to balance, blocking Ross's J(U)VE at the same time so just JO(L) instead. At this point I am only 46 up with six in the bag. With AEHISSO I opt for ASSI(Z)E leaving one in the bag as I was not far enough ahead to afford for Ross to get the triple. He duly bonused with AVERAGE but it was not enough.
W: 409-390

Game 3: Marion Keatings
INIA opening move from me from an uninspiring rack. Marion laid down MATINEE across the top but then noticed the NI... I was waiting for ETAMINE instead, working out what to play with my rack of ACDNQRR but it never came, Marion just dumping ME. I played off NARC and picked a blank. With nowhere to dump the Q I then changed it on the next go, bonusing with gRANDEE the move after. I followed up with YOLK and JOUAL, but Marion was caught me back up with HIES, EX, WOG and WIN(C)H to make it 228-228. I bonused with (E)LeVATOR but Marion hit back with ZIT. GAG from me and DEF from Marion to make an opening and stay in touch. OBS blocked it, emptying the bag and sealing the win.
W: 439-372

Game 4: Allan Simmons
Allan exchanged four tiles and I opened with the board killer of VAV. Allan bonused with plintHs. ADO from me clearing a couple of duplicates. LURE from Allan and DEIF from me to score and keep an opening. QAN(A)T from Allan and I cleared an awkward rack with (V)AUCH. Allan took the triple with EDGE and I took the other with G(L)ENT. (C)OZIER from Allan gave me the floater for ABER(R)ATE to take a small lead. FEERIE for 55 from Allan, and there was now only one unseen E. OXY from me - I was worried about the hooks and Allan immediately got M(A)C there for 33. Another uninspiring rack and I balanced with IWI. Allan also balanced and blocked with GI(G)OLO. I just dumped an H from a now consonant heavy rack to keep in touch. Allan then made an opening with (V)UM and I took it off with JANNS to regain a small lead. TRAN(Q) from Allan and I am now 19 behind with ABLOPRU with six unseen tiles including ESS?KWY and other bonus-friendly tiles. I spent a long time before deciding on PROB to take a 20 point lead and pray - I could not see anything else that could score enough to give me a chance. I picked OWS? and as long as Allan did not have a bonus blocking mine the game was probably won...
W: 404-340

Game 5: Azu Ogbogu
In all the previous games I have played against Azu I have got off to fliers but this game was slower to get going. Azu started with AZO and I played OF. After JA from Azu I could not make a single play so changed five tiles. TAPA from Azu let in a chink of daylight. GOY from me. Azu then bonused with COnIDIA. I balanced a consonant heavy rack with WH(O)M and REWaXES the move later got me five points ahead. It was nip and tuck for the next few moves. Azu took a reasonable sized lead with CHU(T)E but I bonused again with STARRED. I gradually eked a small lead which was wiped out by VARVES, emptying the bag. My rack wasn't great (DDEEITT) but Azu's pick up was worse (EEIINNN). (B)ITTED gave me a six point lead and a two move play out, Azu missing the new NEINEI but it wouldn't have affected the spread.
W: 390-383

Game 6: Alan Sinclair
It was me to start from an opening rack of AAEIKW?. I did a lot of soul searching - KAWAI* formed on my rack. Then I thought of KAWAU and couldn't decide which was good. I went with it and Alan just wrote the score down. I checked it in the evening as it was still niggling away at the back of my brain. I followed it up with FLETToN after wasting a lot of time again deciding which bonus to play. Alan bonused back on move 3 with NOD(D)IEST but responded with the face value GREEN(L)ET. Five 30+ plays in the next six moves from me saw me take a large lead. Alan made a desperation opening at the end allowing me to get 60 with JEST.
W: 502-310

So, end of day 1 and a clean sheet. I phoned Paul to get him to check for the missing engraving, but he reported back later that it was not found. I was staying in a nearby B&B, and wandered into the city centre in the evening to eat. I cleared my cardbox before turning in for the night.

Game 7: Neil Scott
VIFDA to open. Neil dumped QI. AXOID from me and Neil bonused with CLoTTED. I had AACELNT and tried AC(C)ENTAL for 167. Neil bonused again with GOBLINS and LACTEAN from me. Neil took the triple with (C)HORE. I had AIJKMUO and eventually opted for MUJIK. ANY from Neil scored too many points. AGENE from a vowel-heavy rack from me, AULI(C) from Neil finally removing the 9-x spot. HOI from me and Neil bonused with StOMPI(N)G. I was still hanging in with WINERY, opening another 9-x, but was then hit with ZOOEA and (E)VENTERS from Neil. I got a consolation play out bonus with PERTUS(E)D.
L: 401-508

Game 8: Wilma Warwick
I changed IIIUY as my opening play and Wilma tried WETTENs. I had picked NATURES and Wilma played the face-value TWENTiE(S). I was pleased to spot the playable bonus with BIIMNRS. Wilma took the triple and I dumped QI(S). N(E)ATHERD two moves later and Wilma tried (E)ARHOLEs. PLUFFE(D) from me for 60. Wilma dumped HO(M)A setting up my LUZ for 45. Wilma bonused with B(U)NGLERs. JAI from me, keeping two more Is, and a lucky pickup gave me DIO(R)ITES the following move. I followed that up with OX(T)ER for 60.
W: 580-338

Game 9: Iain Harley
Iain opened with ILIAC, ORV(A)L from me. Iain dumped QI, and (C)OLBY from me. OOM from Iain, blocking the S hook I hoped he didn't know. My rack hadn't matured and I changed five tiles. Iain got the face-value RET(A)INER and I caught that back up with MIKED and FEZ. LAUNCeS two moves later to take a good lead. sTEWERS from Iain on move 10 to get back in touch. I didn't particularly like my reply of GAIT and I was still not safe at 70 ahead when Iain opened the 4-x with V(ET). I didn't have an E so took off the triple, leaving one in the bag. Iain just dumped an O, and I had now picked an E to remove the last danger spot.
W: 445-346

Game 10: Anne Ramsay
Anne opened with YUM, and with a consonant heavy rack GOLF from me. GR(O)VE from Anne, and I took the risk with NOTT/GROVET. Anne blocked the potential high scoring S hook with ADO. HARO from me and I was consonant bound again. LI from Anne and QI from me. Anne changed after toying with playing parallel to QI, DIPT from me. Anne bonused with ARAISES to take the lead, which we swapped over the next few turns as the board got more and more blocked. I had moved 40+ ahead when Anne played JArGONs onto DEEK which I challenged off. I wasn't going to make any openings now and dumped BL(I)N from a rack of consonants. Anne now tried S(NOTT). I couldn't block either of the two danger spots from TORI or ITA/SOW so balanced again with BUY. Anne now dumped JA(NE). I severely restricted TORI with REN. GU(V) from Anne. From my rack of AEINRST I played off NITRE to kill the last danger.
W: 347-325

Game 11: Allan Simmons
The computer threw a wobbly this round and had done a king-of-the-hill pairing, which was not meant to happen until the last round. Amy decided to run with it rather than risking screwing it up completely. I was one game ahead of Allan, and around 160 points better in spread.
Allan started with AGAPE and I responded with JOB, keeping back an E. (G)ENII from Allan and from EEIILPR, and I chose PLIE over PIE. (JA)XY from Allan, QI from me. I followed up with good scores from WERO and KEDS from DEKLNRS rather than the lower scoring but better rack leave choices. I then took off with the hat-trick of D(E)LETION, OUTRATe and WIGLeTS. Allan never closed the deficit.
W: 499-326

Game 12: Anne Steward
I was 'Gib(p)sonized', as no-one could now catch me.
I started well with HOMED followed by OX. NOTATEs on move 4. Anne's JIN for 42 kept her in touch, but I scored well with consecutive plays of BLEND, WAID and POUK. I bonused again on move 11 with IOLITES and Anne's bonus response of R(E)TiRING still left her well over 100 behind.
W: 517-342

So I had retained my title, Allan finished second after beating Azu in the playoff for second/third places. Allan was looking at the trophy after I received it and he happened to turn it over - there was the engraved strip stuck on the back!

Many thanks to Amy who had a fraught weekend with all the fixture/printer problems, and to everyone else who helped.

Garden Report - May 2008

I am getting frustrated again. After the glorious weather at the start of May it has turned cold and dull again so I am stuck indoors. However, I did get a lot done last week.

The grass had grown at a rate of knots so I knew it was going to need cutting when Paul got back from his long bridge weekend away in Stratford. I weeded the rose garden so that the grass cuttings could be used as a mulch around the roses.

I also weeded the little raised bed at the top of the drive. I have discovered a lot of small geranium seedlings there. It will be interesting to see what they develop into as I have three different varieties of geraniums planted in there.

My major project, however, has been making a small path along the new bed by the trellis. I had rediscovered the stepping stones I had brought up from Sandhurst when I had cleared out the back of the cowshed and decided they could be put to good use. I also had brought up a lot of lawn-edging that had been sitting in one of the sheds. I set about cutting out the grass/weeds to make a flattened path just about wide enough to stand comfortably on. At intervals I levelled a larger area to slot in the stones. I then hammered in the edging to stop the 'garden' land-sliding onto the path. I only had one disaster when I lost my footing coming down and now have an enormous blue/yellow bruise at the top of my left leg. I think it was worth the best part of a day's work as I can now weed most of that bed whilst sitting on the stepping stones so it should save me a lot of pain, effort and danger in the future.

Paul helped out by keeping the dogs amused... Well, give him his due - he has strimmed the verge which is looking a lot better for it, mown the lawn several times, and has been back on dandelion duty.

I also finished weeding the bottom of the long bank, including digging out the photinia that I had cut right back last year. It was hard work but it looks a lot better for its removal. In the space cleared I planned to plant the auricula that Janet gave me last year - when I got it out of its pot I actually found there were five... I also managed to remove the self-seeded pampas grass that was growing in the middle of a saxifrage. That whole area is looking lovely at the moment - I am especially pleased with the tulips I planted last year.

I still need to do the top/middle - ground elder is taking over again in places. Everything seems to have put on so much growth just over the weekend I was away. I also need to get back up the high bank where the goosegrass is swamping a lot of my plants.

Extension Part 5 - The Start of the Beginning

The building warrant has now been issued. Building control have been very helpful regarding our drainage.

Alan came round on Monday morning to check the levels for the grey water drain. We then found that the rodding point we thought was for the septic tank was actually just for rainwater. There was another rodding point further up the garden - this was also for rainwater. Eventually Paul remembered there was a manhole underneath one of the large wooden plant tubs the previous owners had left. Eureka!

Alan was still concerned we would not get the drop as it was a little further away. We got out the drawing Craig had given us and he had drawn the drain going under the new corridor coming out of the sitting room which was much closer to the house than Alan had measured - it was all going to work. Phew...

We moved all the furniture etc. that was at the back of the sitting room on Tuesday. Jen and Poncho quite enjoyed the expanded space they had for a couple of days.

Today Alan and another chap came to start preparing for knocking through from the sitting room. It should all kick off for real on Monday morning.

English Grand 2008

This report is not going to be as comprehensive as previous ones as I did not photograph any of the boards. The tiles were cleared away too quickly in the first few games, and then after a bad start I decided not to bother...

I set off for Coventry before noon on Friday and arrived around 5 p.m, doing my John Wayne impression as I got out of the car. There were quite a few players already there, sitting out in the sun. I checked into the hotel and then went out to join them. The tournament itself was starting the following morning.

I got a reasonable night's sleep - my room this time was facing the carpark rather than the main road.

Game 1: Femi Awowade
This was a game with mistakes on both sides of the table. Femi took an early lead and on move 5 I played IONIZES down from b9. Femi then tried the phony PETAL(I)SE as a 4x. I decided to block the easy L(IONIZES) triple and not worry about what bonuses he had missed. Femi then tried (S)PAETSLE from o8 across to the triple. Off it came. I missed the bonus from BEEILNT from the same S. having seen the anagram that didn't fit. Femi then failed to play any of his playable bonuses. He bonused a couple og moves later, and I took the triple he opened with (A)VINE. Unfortunately this gave him the N he needed for LIMItI(N)G. I picked the second blank near the end but Femi could block both the bonuses I had.
L: 383-401

Game 2: Tom Wilson
I was always in control in this game after bonusing on moves 2 and 3, and scoring a healthy 75 on move 5 with SEXTON. Sitting with DEIIPRT on my final rack and Tom gave me a place to play out to further increase the spread.
W: 525-311

Game 3: Wojtek Usakiewicz
Wojtek had come over from Poland just to play this tourney. The board got pretty blocked right from the start. I knew it was not going my way when Wojtek played sUQ for 64 and I had AAEINRT and no suitable floaters. I dumped an A, Wojtek played the J for 35. I had picked the X. I dumped (R)AX and picked two more Ns. I eventually got a bonus to get back to level. (V)IEWING from Wojtek at a4 across, and I was hanging on to PR but never got an E...
L: 381-411

Game 4: Maureen Chamberlain
I bonused on move 1 and again on move 4. Maureen eventually bonused on move 10 but I was never in trouble.
W: 410-343

Game 5: Moira Conway
Moira bonused first on move 3. We exchanged bonuses on move 6, but then I had a series of good scores and bonused again on move 11 to take control. Moira bonused out at the end to reduce the spread.
W: 444-405

Game 6: Sandie Simonis
Sandie bonused on move 2 but I was scoring steadily to get us back to level by move 7. I managed to move slightly ahead and hold on to the finishing line.
W: 401-371

Game 7: Elisabeth Jardine
Again I started with a bonus, with another on move 5. Elisabeth tried SQUAlIE(R) from a1 and I bonused there instead. SEQUoIA from Elisabeth elsewhere but I was still 100+ ahead.
W: 480-353

Game 8: Brian Sugar
I had to change on move 2 but got the bonus on move 3 to take the lead. A balancing play on move 4, and another bonus on move 5 to counter that from Brian. Brian's pickup was obviosuly not as good as mine as he then changed 6 and I moved ahead. Another bonus near the end from me to seal the win.
W: 448-349

Game 9: Jason Carney
I was determined to not fall into the trap of a blocked board although it was tending to go that way. When Jason bonused on move 8 I could counter with some heavy scoring, including a bonus of AUTO(p)eNS. I then set about blocking. Jason gave me something to worry about with his play of WE leaving 3 in the bag. I eventually opted to block it with OB/O(WE), using my only vowel, rather than scoring on the triple but emptying the bag.
W: 417-361

Game 10: Azu Ogbogu
I bonused on moves 2 and 3 to take a grip on this game. I let Azu off with the phony DUMVIR but hit him when he tried to extend it with an I.
W: 425-297

So, end of day one and I had to be pleased at 8-2, after losing two of the first three games. A couple of drinks at the bar and then a reasonably early night. I didn't sleep quite so well as the night before as I had forgotten to open my window so the room was quite hot.

Game 11: Robert Richland
Robert changed on move 2 and I bonused on move 4. Steady scoring by me and Robert's bonus on move 9 was not enough to overhaul me. I bonused a couple of goes later to get some breathing space and hold on to the end.
W: 424-402

Game 12: Stewart Holden
The game was nip and tuck until near the end. Stewart played GRACE at m9 across, using the last E to get within 3 points and leaving 7 in the bag. There was still an S, blank, Z and bonus-friendly tiles unseen. I had DFHMOOR, and decided to take the chance with FORDO for 44 points. I picked the S, Z and blank. OU(K) from Stewart to open the 9-x on the left hand side, ZH(O)Mo for 84 points...
W: 471-345

Game 13: Di Dennis
I was stuck on scoring 26 for the first 3 moves. Neither of us were getting away at the start. I changed on move 5, and Di moved ahead. I hit back with a bonus on move 9 to retake a small lead and followed it up with GRENZ for 43. The board was getting blocked but Di got a face-value bonus on the last available place just in time to take a 9 point lead. I took the triple off with CHOL(I) to take the last three tiles and crossed my fingers. Di was close to a bonus but luckily for me not close enough.
W: 395-356

Game 14: Jake Jacobs
Jake got away to a flier, scoring heavily and bonused on move 3. Although I hit back on move 4 I was still 94 down after Jake's response. I then started to make some headway and a bonus on move 8 I was back in touch. The board was getting tight and I almost blew it when I missed (O)nCOMING. Coming to the end game I was 31 down, had AIIONT? with 4 in the bag. The board was not conducive to scoring to reduce that deficit so I needed a bonus. An 8 starting with an O or V, or an 8 with U or X in 6, 7 or 8 was needed. There were three Rs unseen and I was rewarded with one of them when I dumped an I. Jake blocked the V and O, but I played out around the U.
W: 440-396

I was now two games clear with two to play...

Game 15: Martin Harrison
A dream game - just what I needed. Everything just fell into my lap. Z(O)OOTIER for 54, QU(E)Y for 62 and two easy bonuses while Martin struggled throughout.
W: 500-319

Game 16: Wayne Kelly
It was just as well I didn't need to win this one. Wayne hit me on move 1 with the 4x LOIT(E)RER and followed it with VOyAGES. I was looking at ESUWYYZ. I had cleared it in a couple of moves with WEY and YUTZ. A bonus from me on move 7 and I was getting back in it. REMINDS taking the last 7 tiles, and I had miraculously taken the lead. Wayne had RAMJeTS with nowhere to play it but unfortunately for me had a two-move playout that scored enough for the win.
L: 414-434

Many thanks to Len for his work in organizing the tourney, and to Amy, John and Linda for running it. I banked the cheque this morning and am now dreaming of what to spend it on. I think I can buy half an Italian lava stone table for my soon-to-be patio :)