From the very start of our sojourn up in the hills, I wanted to develop a garden that, when mature, would require very little upkeep, but that would still, recognisably, be a kept garden, and not a wilderness. It was…
Category: Transitions
New science . . . and engineering
Things impact on our conversations, from the external world, only briefly, transiently, and almost incidentally — it often feels to me as if we live in an enchanted bubble, lost in time and space. But new wonders do sometimes crop…
First Quarter Thoughts
So that’s the first 90 days gone now — maybe it’s time for a bit of reflection on where we’ve come from, and where we’re going with this effort. Well, a bit of statistics first I guess: 90 individual entries;…
Spring lambs
The curlews have been heard early last week, apparently, (I saw one up at Elpha Green this afternoon) and these lambs emerged probably just over the weekend, from about the 1st of March, so such spring signs tell us that…
Detour of delight
Considering the speed with which they’re clearing the remains of the roadside trees at Redwell Corner, I can’t quite believe that the notified ‘4 week closing’ can be correct. After less than 1 week it’s looking pretty much gone! Meanwhile,…
Wait forever for a fuss . . .
. . . and three come round at once! Well, in Allendale time, three fusses in less than six months rates as slightly extraordinary, when there’s been no fuss to speak of for years now, that I can remember, anyway….
Snowdrops to keep us going
Still the middle of winter, though it’s been soft so far, but snowdrops bursting through the soil in their multiple clumps seem to tell us that spring is not far away. They could be great pretenders too, of course, and…
Same as it ever was
Dee Smith, local manager at The Golden Lion since the 1st of October of last year, is beaming at me, as I stammer my way through some obligatory questions about the transition which seems to have occurred, unexpectedly, as if…
The traditional tea rooms
I’m sitting comfortably, chatting with proprietor Jane Stollery, sipping a delicious cappucino prepared so nicely by Emma Harrison, and feeling very cosy and expansive, after walking the long way around the circuit from Station Garage, as I survey the delightfully,…
Timber stacks at Redwell Corner
It’s a cash crop, of course, but even so the harvesting of a plantation, especially one as mature as this one, comes as something of a shock. What a wide open space there is behind the stone wall, which is…