So Much To Do, So Much Time?

April 25, 2020September 29, 2022 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

Gorgeous Spring weather is here but the lockdown to prevent the rapid spread of Covid-19 continues. So many in the UK and worldwide are horribly constrained by the lockdown and I am fortunate that I can continue to enjoy this wonderful Spring.

Longhorn Cow Enjoying The Same Views As Me

There are arguments raging as to whether the UK lockdown was aggressive or early enough, about how long it should last and how it should be relaxed over time. Given the evident lack of testing and tracing capability, and the paucity of vital protective equipment available to health care workers, it seems to me that the lockdown should have been implemented much earlier.

I wonder why our Prime Minister was openly glad-handing others so long after the infectiousness of the virus was clear, and why did the Cheltenham race festival with its 100,000 racegoers take place in mid-March? Given that a pandemic was an obvious risk, why did we not have more equipment in our stockpiles in anticipation?

Now we have ‘let the cat out of the bag’, as it were, it looks like getting it back under control is going to take an extended period of social and business restrictions. That is already creating huge economic and social problems. Loneliness, anxiety, depression are all bound to increase. Worries about domestic violence, money, entertaining and educating kids, and many other unplanned problems are mounting for many. It is hard to imagine what life in the UK might be like in a year or so if the lockdown cannot be relaxed significantly by then.

New Life, Blissfully Unaware of Covid-19

Meanwhile, I continue to be one of the lucky ones. I haven’t contracted the virus and don’t know anyone personally who has suffered badly from it – yet. I don’t have to work or travel any more. I live in the country and so can still get out and about without needing to worry about social distancing while outdoors. Indeed, the countryside is splendidly empty of people, vibrant with wildlife and looks lovely in the fullness of what has been terrifically consistent Spring sunshine.

Peak Blossom In The Field Next To Ours

I am maintaining my 15,000 steps a day average by finding ever more extravagant detours into the surrounding rural wilderness on my way to the newsagent in town. This walking, in combination with a steady reduction in alcohol intake over the last three months (in line with my New Year resolutions) has got my weight down close to my target. That, plus plenty of gardening, is improving my overall health and readiness to take on Covid-19 if and when it hits me.

Rural Wilderness On The Long Way to Town

My days are surprisingly full. There is so much music to listen to and so many box-set series TV to watch (I’m loving Trigonometry and Devs on the BBC at the moment). There are so many books on my ‘To Be Read’ shelf still (I’m half way through Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan and enjoying that). I play games on my mobile; I am keeping my empire in Forge of Empires going and gradually improving my battle technique in Clash of Clans.

Yet these are all just fill-in activities around the main, constant structure of almost every locked down day (Sunday is still a slight exception). Tea in bed is followed by leisurely breakfast. Then there is the round-about walk into town for the newspaper followed by digestion of its main stories. Then I make a salad lunch which is followed by the first game of Monopoly Deal of the day with Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and Youngest Son (YS).

Monopoly Deal; A Cut Down Monopoly Game With Just Cards. More Fun Than It Sounds!

Most afternoons I work in the garden – there are simply more jobs in the garden than I can fit into the time and my reserves of energy – or I spend an hour or two writing this or moving forward the village Neighbourhood Plan and Climate Action Network group.

I stop to follow the daily government briefing on Covid-19 at 5pm. It’s repetitive but worth listening to, I think, for the subtle attempts to re-write history and the almost obsessional denial of any mistakes. Those denials are even with hindsight and in the knowledge that no-one could get the response to the pandemic entirely right. Indeed, there may be no ‘right answers’ and certainly none we can discern yet. YS still can’t get over how much I chunter on to the radio with my moaning about politicians.

If it is my turn to cook then I’ll spend an inordinate amount of time preparing for that. I’m finding that while recipes are invariably right about cooking times, they underestimate preparation time (by me, anyway) by 300%.

Finally we will eat and then play another game of Monopoly Deal before retiring to the TV room. The day is crowned with another railing against politicians on the television evening news and then its reading in bed and sleep.

Special events rarely disturb this pattern. LSW and YS have deemed Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays as ‘drinking days’. On these we often lap up the privilege we have of a garden to retreat to, by taking a bottle of wine up to the fading warmth of the setting sun at the top of our field.

Evening Wine In Our Field

The Thursday ‘Clap for Carers’ has become an increasingly important interlude and is now accompanied by a neighbour playing ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ proficiently and commendably on saxophone. Also a new virtual, monthly village quiz has kicked off; I’m scheduled to arrange the May occurrence so preparation for that will fill a rainy day or two.

There seems to be so much to do. I do hope we find a way to end the lockdown soon but it has helped me fit all these local activities in.

No April Fool, Lockdown Is Real

April 1, 2020June 11, 2020 / fgrtommo / 3 Comments

April is here! The lambs are in the field running and jumping hither and thither. Buds are bursting and flowers are proliferating. We have had a spell of sunny and almost warm weather. Normally, this would be a time for rejoicing at the season of renewal.

Lovely Signs Of Spring Alongside My Walks

Who would have thought at New Year that, by April Fool’s day 2020, we would be well into an indefinite period of not being able to get closer than two metres to another person (outside of one’s household). But it’s no April’s Fool joke; how things have changed in three months! It is incredible that the misuse of a bat (or whatever) in Wuhan can have had such a damaging impact, so rapidly, on our globalised world.

I’ve recorded here before that I am much relieved that I am retired during this ‘lockdown’ period. I know of several in our village who are struggling to work from home due to the poor local broadband service quality and I wouldn’t want to be reliant on the Internet. In any case, the ultimate flexibility of my retirement schedule means that I can adapt easily to the new restrictive contact and movement regime.

In practice, my routines haven’t changed very much yet. Because we live in a very rural area, I can still go on walks safe in the knowledge that I will meet, and have to skirt around, almost no-one. I visit the ever reducing number of local shops rather less and my usual walk through the local college grounds has shut. But that just means I am gardening a bit more and trying new, less popular walking routes. Armed with my hand sanitiser, I feel fairly safe.

Deserted Local Valley

We are very fortunate that we live in a lively and neighbourly village. Growing an already good community spirit was one of the key themes coming out of a village meeting on climate change that I helped to arrange in February. (Goodness, was it really so recently? Such a gathering would be unthinkable just six weeks on!) One positive is that the virus crisis has engendered that increase in community sprit despite the need for ‘social distancing’.

More people than ever are willing to stop and have a more-than-arms- length chat from their gardens or as one passes in the lanes. The hamlet WhatsApp group Long Suffering Wife (LSW) has established is operational and buzzing with information and produce swaps. The village shop has so many volunteering to deliver essentials that my offer hasn’t yet been called upon. The clap for care workers event last Thursday evening was vibrant and moving. Villagers have shown solidarity in adversity by erecting flags and banners to celebrate the village. All of that has been rather uplifting against the depressing backdrop of economic collapse and the suffering of so many less fortunate.

About 20% Of Homes In Our Village Have ‘Hearts Around Horsley’ Banners Or Flags Out As A Show Of Community Solidarity Against The Virus

A real downside of the lockdown is that I am not able to visit my Mum and Dad. Indeed, because she is in a care home, not even my Dad can visit my Mum now. Dad and I, and some of my sons, are writing letters to her to give her a reminder that she is in our thoughts. There’s no denying though that it is a tough time for everyone giving and receiving nursing and social care at the moment. At least Mum and Dad, and the rest of us in the family, are all free of the virus so far.

It has dawned on Youngest Son (YS) that he is going to be staying with us, and apart from his girlfriend, for some time. He has no work now so is glad of the food and roof over his head, and he is pleased he is out of London. However, no matter how many times we play Monopoly Deal to keep him entertained, he can’t wait to get on with ‘real’ life again. In contrast, Eldest Son (ES) and Middle Son (MS), who work in London in the games and advertising industry, are busier at work than ever. They are responding to the demands of the increased number of couch potatoes playing videogames and watching TV.

Many of the impacts of the virus outbreak have been predictable – in type, if not degree. Others have, for me at least, been more unpredictable. It has been encouraging, for example, to see how quickly air pollution has reduced since the economic slowdown. Humans, as well as nature, adapt quickly to change and it will be interesting to see whether some of the new habits – local shopping, greater reuse of materials, walking not driving, and so on – persist after the lockdown ends.

Levels of (Nasty) Nitrous Oxide (NO2) Measured By Satellite Over China And The UK 2019 Versus Last Week (Relative NO2 Levels Shown In Pink)

I wonder too, whether more people will drift to the countryside from the cities where the infection rates are more concentrated and lockdown leisure pursuits are more limited (we will get fast broadband out here eventually!) Certainly, I feel very lucky that I live in a house large enough to enable its occupants to sit in their own room when they want, amid a garden that, once the weather warms a little more, will be lovely to sit in, and in a spirited village that has wonderful, accessible countryside around it.

Stay safe.

Spring Lambs. Watching Them Gambol In The Field Opposite Our House Is A Rare Privilege

A Fine Day In Bath And Social Distancing

March 23, 2020June 11, 2020 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

Ten days ago, Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I went to a concert in Bath. We were aware of the emerging concerns about how Covid-19 spreads and the increasing need for social distancing. Indeed, two locals who we planned to go with opted out because of their concerns. However, we were confident we could go to the concert and still stay broadly within the then current rules and, with judicious use of soap and sanitiser, minimise risk to ourselves and others.

The Rather Wonderful Faeland At Chapel Arts

Co-incidentally, two very old friends who are visiting the UK from the USA were due to be picked up by us from Bath the following day. This was a further health risk but one we calculated to take because it was a very rare chance for LSW to meet one of her goddaughters. So we not only went to Bath but, co-joined the two events and stayed overnight at a fairly central, good value hotel before bringing goddaughter and her mother for a brief stay at our house.

Bath Abbey Outside At Night And Inside

All this seems relatively reckless ten days on. However, Bath was radiant in the sunshine, we ate splendidly at Landrace Bakery and Beckford Bottle Shop, took in a couple of exhibitions and saw Faeland at Chapel Arts, all of which was rather wonderful. Then we had a lovely 24 hours with our friends before they returned to the US and self-isolation. We all got away with it, remain uninfected (at time of writing) and finished normal life (for a while at least) on a high.

As it turned out the concert was sparsely attended so we could sit 3-4 metres away from anyone else. It was uplifting to see Faeland again. They were in good form and their song ‘All My Swim’ is an absolute favourite. I was fortunate to meet the band at the interval to say so to directly to them. What is great is that LSW and I love them equally and, Covid-19 permitting, we will plan to see them again in the autumn.

Wandering the streets of Bath was relatively minimal risk in terms of infection but we also ventured into the Francis Gallery (a lovely bright, airy space showing ceramics by Paul Philp) and then the Holbourne Museum.

Views Of Bath: Holbourne Museum (Top), Queen Square (Bottom Left) And Pulteney Bridge

The Francis Gallery, Bath

The Holbourne Museum is currently showing an exhibition of Grayson Perry work from his ‘pre-therapy years’. Having read his book ‘The Descent of Man’ a couple of years ago, I feel I understand a little about him and his outré leanings. Even though I find his work interesting rather than attractive, I was glad of the opportunity to see this show and to learn some more.

Vases And Plates by Grayson Perry, Holbourne Museum Exhibition

The exhibition was very well laid out and the work was well documented and explained (often in Grayson’s own words). Each item was complex and demanded study. Even though the exhibition was small relative to some I have seen in London in recent years, it was dense with information and the reactions it inspired. I enjoyed the weirdness Grayson invests in his work but also craftsmanship. It was fun, too, to spot the recurrence of themes through the exhibition and to map them to those I recalled in other work of his that I have seen previously.

The rest of the museum was well worth spending time in (and the 2 metre social distancing was easy to maintain). The museum has a good collection of 17th century paintings from the Low Countries. What LSW and I liked best though, were the collections of highly crafted stump work tapestries cum embroideries, Japanese netsuke and other ornaments. Some were directly on show in cabinets but once I discovered the drawers under these I, felt I was uncovering a wonderful treasure trove.

Amazing Set Of Netsuke, Holbourne Museum, Bath

Late 18th Century Ivory Carving - Incredible Detail In A 6cm Diameter Minature

Holbourne Museum, Bath: Late 18th Century Ivory Carving – Incredible Detail In A 6cm Diameter Miniature

Ten days on and we are doing our social distancing more intensely. Youngest Son has joined us from London where his business has ground to a halt. We are ‘battening down the hatches’ and wondering how many new terms like ‘social distancing’ and ‘self-isolation’ are going to enter the Oxford English Dictionary during this viral outbreak.

Last week, I pitied the health and other key workers trying to find food in the shops while holding down their vital jobs. Those made jobless recently and those, like me, who are retired, have time on their hands. They are able to devote time to finding what they feel they need. Indeed, some probably shop for entertainment and for something to do rather than in a panic. Whatever, the nearby shops were almost bereft of fresh fruit and vegetables last week.

Local home store cupboards must now be full since the shops were less busy and fuller of goods this morning. I just hope now that those who have purchased so much in recent days actually use the food they bought and don’t waste it.

Time Now For Local Walks In Countryside That Is Empty Except For Sheep And Birds

For a while at least, there won’t be any more trips out like that to Bath. In fact, LSW and I are now considering cancelling what we can of our recently booked walking holiday down the first third of the South West Coastal Path and week in Padstow to celebrate LSW’s birthday in June. Local walking and gardening are the main entertainments for me now. Fortunately the weather has turned sunny and warmer just in time. Stay safe…..

Increasingly Bold Pheasant In Our Garden; Lucky For Us That We can Self Isolate Here

‘Endlessly Walking Again?’

February 9, 2020February 9, 2020 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

I continue to walk a lot. I walk with friends, with Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and alone. I walk routinely every day to get groceries and a newspaper from the local town. I walk to football matches, I walk more aimlessly through the local countryside to take in the glories of local nature, and I walk around towns and cities I visit to take in their vibe. I walk fast, I walk slow. I walk a lot.

Typical Cotswold View On One Of My Local Walks – Looking Across To Woodchester Park From Forest Green

All this walking has been noticed in the village. I was on a lengthy walk the other day and ended up a couple of miles away from home near the offices of a neighbour who lives near to us. As she came out of her office, she noticed me walking so far from home and remarked: ‘endlessly walking again?’ I smiled and confessed to not having a great purpose to my walk but explained that the sun was shining and I felt I was making good use of the day.

Graffiti Under The Old Railway Bridge On The Way To Woodchester

Certainly, some of the walking is for walking’s sake and has no other real objective other than the health benefit. I was therefore pleased this week to see a couple of vindications of walking as a health booster. The first was in a casual blog like mine and the second in the Guardian newspaper. It’s possible to find validation for almost anything online these days but finding support for what one is already doing is always comforting.

Dipper Spotted In A Local Stream

The blog I saw summarised some of the benefits of walking. In essence, walking can help mental and physical health and prolong life. It helps us control weight, reduces stress and, because it’s an outdoor activity, helps us produce vital vitamin D.

The newspaper article summarised a book by Shane O’Mara, a neuroscientist, called In Praise of Walking and was a more intricate argument for walking as a health (especially brain) enhancer. O’Mara calls walking a ‘superpower’ that ‘unlocks the cognitive powers of the brain like nothing else’. In his book, he explains how and why from a neuroscience perspective, based on personal experience and scientific study. I’ll leave you to read the article if you want to know more, but I’m not surprised by the conclusions he draws; walking does make me feel good!

On The Cotswolds Tops

Since Christmas, in addition to the normal return and circular walks to the town and around our village, I have been on a few notable walks in the local area.

Just after Christmas several from LSW’s family and I went on a walk together in the Slad Valley just north of Stroud. This was on the path of the recently established Laurie Lee walk. Lee was, and remains, a famous local poet and the walk was dotted with plinths with some of his poetry. Someone in our group had that bright idea of having one of us read out each poem; I don’t really ‘get’ poetry and I felt a little self-conscious doing mine.

The Laurie Lee Poetry Walk

We planned to end the walk in time-honoured fashion in The Woolpack (Laurie Lee’s erstwhile local). Unfortunately recent publicity for the walk and pub meant there wasn’t even standing room inside when we arrived. It was an energetic and lovely walk though.

Panoramic View Of Slad Valley – Laurie Lee Country

After New Year, my Best Man (BM) and his rather younger Chinese Girlfriend (CG) came to visit us. BM loves walking and likes the contrast of our local, hill and valley landscape to that where he lives in Cambridgeshire.

We undertook a long local walk together (that LSW and I had recently discovered) despite CGs somewhat unsuitable footwear. She endured the mud and blisters heroically but was put off a bit by the remains of a dead bird we passed on the way – it turned out that she doesn’t like to be close to birds and especially dead ones.

Imagine, then, LSW’s and my embarrassment when, on our way back on the walk, we unavoidably had to pass an ongoing pheasant shoot. It was dramatic and noisy with 40 to 50 birds being shot out of the air in the space of 10 minutes as we passed. It was an exciting sight I had not seen before but CG was understandably horrified. It was unintended but not a good way to treat a guest!

Unfortunate Pheasants

Next week I’m off to Nottingham for my now roughly monthly visits to Mum and Dad there, and to London for a couple of days. I’ll be swapping countryside walking for the urban stuff.

New Year Resolutions: Making Them And Breaking Them

January 2, 2020 / fgrtommo / 4 Comments

Happy New Year!

It’s that time for reviewing last year’s resolutions, checking progress and renewing the challenges for the coming year. Looking forward with vigour to the next year offsets the feeling of anti-climax now our sons have returned to their homes, the holiday season parties are over, and the leftovers from big festive, family meals are almost gone. So how did I do in my third retirement year and what should I be setting as targets for next year?

Christmas Lunch Set For 19 At Ours!

Well, the past year – the last six months, anyway – have been coloured by Middle Son’s accident and my Mum’s increasing debilitation that has led to her taking up residence in a home. It’s not been a great year and the time focused on these events has deflected me from some of the more challenging of my new year resolutions set this time last year. Excuses, excuses!

On the positive side, I have again exceeded my target of average number of steps per day (15,000). I have managed an average of 16,054 per day and exceeded a daily average of 15,000 steps almost every week during the year.

Views From Our New Year’s Day Walk

Unfortunately, this has become almost my only exercise as gardening has taken a back seat this year. My overall fitness has probably declined and my weight target of getting down to 11 stone (70kg) has again just been missed. I was on target to meet that weight target in November but Christmas excess put paid to achieving the objective. That’s annoying since disappointment here was avoidable and I will retain the weight target for 2020 while trying to step up other core-strength exercises.

Ruskin Mill Lake, On The Way To The Local Town – One Of My Favourite Local Places

My best achievement of the year was that I did exceed my target of no alcohol days. I beat the target of 140 by 4 and that made it my best year since measurement began (and, frankly, since I was a teenager). Also frankly, and a little embarrassingly, it felt like hard work achieving this.

14 Years Of Tracking No-Alcohol Days Per Year (With A Generous Trend Line in Red)

This year I have also been tracking the number of alcohol units I have each day using the Drinkaware app. I now have a baseline against I can record what I hope will be future reduction but it has been a scary exercise. I consume an average of 35 alcohol units per week. That is more than double the recommended weekly average. I must therefore look for a significant improvement next year – I’ll try an initial 10% – but know that also will be tough given habits that have built up over decades.

Tracking Of Alcoholic Units By Month In 2019

I did plan to create a plan for volunteering during this year. I haven’t really done that but I have stepped up involvement in the construction of the local Neighbourhood Plan and that did consume a lot of time at various times of the year. I am also a core member of the local Carbon Neutral Horsley group that is encouraging moves towards carbon neutrality by 2030 in the Parish. Both these local initiatives are going to be a continuing focus in 2020.

I failed on all my other 2019 resolutions despite the freedom and flexibility retirement offers. The compost bins near the vegetable patch are in reasonable shape but have not been redeveloped as planned. I’m dropping that resolution since it is replaced by a wider plan to decide on what to do with our nearby and gradually crumbling stables.

Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I also failed, after a bright start, to engineer significantly more trips out to see parts of the UK this year. We’ll carry that resolution forward though because we have enjoyed the trips we did make, such trips will be more climate-friendly than air trips abroad now we have our electric car, and I still feel that my knowledge of the UK countryside needs renewal.

Christmas Morning From Our House

I will also carry forward the resolution I had to listen to less news and more music. LSW and I both palpably failed on this. We listened to the BBC on the radio morning, noon and night as the Brexit and other debates unfolded. LSW and I both spent hours ranting at what we heard and my only comfort is that when I have stayed with my parents this year, I heard my Dad doing exactly the same; ranting at the radio must be a genetic trait!

One resolution I will add this year is to read more books. In 2018, I read a number of what I thought were excellent books: The Milkman by Anna Burns, Work Like Any Other by Virginia Reeves, Before The Fall by Noah Hawley, The Dry by Jane Harper (very relevant with Australia on fire at the moment) and, most of all, A Gentleman In Moscow by Amor Towles.

During 2019, I didn’t read anything I considered as good as these. Nonetheless I loved the reading process, the thinking involved and the relaxation (sometimes too much, as I often slipped into ‘siesta’). Given my enjoyment of reading I really should find time for more. I plan to read at least 20 books this year thereby beating my record of 17 in 2018 and 16 in 2019. I hope to find some more great books among these.

So, onwards to 2020! I am rather despondent about several aspects of the world and the current political situation in the UK. However, I think that 2020 is going to be a far better year than 2019 and I’m going to aim to meet my resolutions for the new year with a spring in my step – all 192,648 of them!

Me Setting Off Into 2020!

Back In The Shire

December 15, 2019 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

Those who follow this blog, or otherwise know me, will know that I am an urban man at heart. For most of my adult life, the city – specifically London – has been the place to live and the country has been something to visit. Now I’m retired to the country and visit the city. I had a good dose of London life earlier this month but, for the last week or so, I’ve thrown myself into rural living back in Gloucestershire; it has been relatively various, worthy and entertaining.

The rainy weather hasn’t prevented me getting out for daily, lengthy walks. LSW and some of her local friends have taken me on some routes I have not ventured on before and that has been enlightening. I continue to get to know the area and to enjoy walking in it. I’m comfortable that my steps target for the year is going to be met easily – one of the few 2019 resolutions that will be, I fear.

A New Walk Through Beech Woods

Of course, Christmas is coming (putting my 2019 resolution target for alcohol free days in jeopardy). I attended my first party of the season last week courtesy of the management of the Horsley Village Community Shop. Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) works there very part time and so was invited gratis. I paid an entrance fee to attend alongside her. It was a very lively and pleasant celebration and a chance for me to get to know a few more local people. The event packed out the village pub for the second time in a few days following the monthly village quiz a few days before.

The village shop, like the village pub, survives on the margins of commercial viability. The shop is reliant on hardworking management and a squad of very part time volunteers like LSW. I have been tempted to join this assorted band but have focused instead on helping with the Neighbourhood Plan and a small volunteer group looking to promote carbon neutrality in the village.

Delivery of Fresh Duchy Farm Vegetables To The Horsley Community Village Shop

Already, the Parish Council has supervised the planting of over 100 small trees this Autumn as part of a drive to increase carbon sequestration across the Parish. More planting is planned and there are even grander plans in our nearby town of Nailsworth. There, a symbolic start was made with the planting of a single holm oak and the distribution of around 100 smaller trees to those, including LSW and I, who turned up to watch. We picked up a guilder rose tree and now need to complete the bargain by planting it.

Ceremonial Tree Planting In Nailsworth – The First Of Many!

One further bit of worthiness was a bit of renovation of the Horsley churchyard paths that I arrived just in time to make a minimal contribution to. Village activities like these all help to make me feel part of the rural life here after decades of city living.

Gravel Laying In Horsley Churchyard (That’s My Spade Resting Lower Left)

The Neighbourhood Plan is now drafted and under review by Stroud District Council. The hardcopy available in the village shop looks great and the pictures, especially, bring it to life. It will be interesting to see what critique the Council provide – especially of the proposed ‘local green spaces’, one of which is adjacent to our land.

Comments and subsequent reworking of the Plan are not likely until next year and current attention is on consultation around the wider Gloucestershire County Local Plan. I have some work to do in the New Year to help provide the village council with comments on this Plan from a carbon neutral and sustainability point of view. I also need to analyse and present some recent village survey data on thermal efficiency. Until all that is done, I don’t feel like tying myself down to a shift in the village shop.

Christmas preparations are underway in our house. Some of the Christmas lights are already up. The Christmas tree is bought and will be erected and decorated next week. That is all LSW’s province.

Christmas Lights In Our Kitchen/Diner Reception And Down The Stairs

My main Christmas task is to develop the annual family Christmas quiz. This will follow Christmas dinner (with the 19 members of LSW’s family including me and our sons who will all be with us this year) and has become a bit of a tradition over the last decade or so. I have also taken on making Christmas party hats from old newspapers and packaging these up with jokes from the Internet and a chocolate. The first batch of ten hats is nearing completion – this is a small stab at recycling rather than buying lots of throwaway crackers.

First Batch Of Christmas Paper Hats (Tasteful Financial Times Pink)

I’m back up to London next week to see the Moving to Mars exhibition at the Design Museum that Eldest Son is keen to see and for which he has bought tickets. The visit gives LSW and I a chance to wish Eldest and Youngest Sons’ girlfriends happy Christmas personally. From London I will then travel north to Nottingham to do the same with my Mum and Dad. Then, it will be back to the shire once again for the Christmas Pub Quiz and the rest of the festive period. All good!

Autumn In My Little Town

November 9, 2019November 9, 2019 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

View Of Nailsworth Looking South

I’ve been retired for well over two years now. New daily routines have shifted as I have settled into retirement and as the seasons have cycled around. However, when I am not away from home, one of the daily constants has been that I walk into the local town of Nailsworth to pick up the newspaper and buy the day’s groceries. It’s been one of my great and most consistent retirement pleasures.

These walks have been particularly splendid recently as the Autumn colours have intensified across the hills and valleys through which I walk. Also, in recent weeks the streams in the valleys have gushed with copious amounts of rainwater and have provided a noisier soundtrack to the burgeoning Autumn colour.

Late Sun Catching The Tops Of Trees In Ruskin Mill Valley

There are multiple routes and detours that I take to create daily variety. However, the most rewarding walk is through the bottom of the valley between our home and Nailsworth centre. I thought I would share a few pictures of this frequent and favourite walk.

Satellite Picture (Courtesy Google) Of My Walk Into Nailsworth – From The Blue Dot (Upper Downend), East Then North-East Up The Valley To Nailsworth

The start point is, of course, my home in the hamlet of Downend near Horsley. Our field has a small stream running through it. This joins the Downend stream nearby and I head north-east down through its valley in which our hamlet nestles. When this reaches another, larger valley I continue north to where it opens out to a confluence of rivers around which Nailsworth has thrived, first as a mill town and now as a small (monthly) market town.

Upper Downend

As I leave Downend, I pass some old cottages and houses and cross the Old Horsley Road. I then dip downwards into the larger, wider valley flanked by dense woods to the east. Following the ever enlarging stream, I pass some small fields and a couple of pretty lakes. The larger of these is often the haunt of a swan, herons, kingfishers and several varieties of duck.

Downend Stream

Autumn Lake, Horsley Bridge

Much of the land in the valley, and up the slopes to the east, is owned and managed by Ruskin Mill Trust. The college here caters for challenged teenagers. The grounds include two historic wool mills, several acres of woodland, a biodynamic livestock and fish farm, a shop where some of the produce is sold, a forge, a popular café, and an arts centre and music venue. Locals like me are privileged to have access to these grounds which are always evolving in interesting ways under the management of the Trust and which often teem with fish and birds.

Craft Workshops And Running Water In Ruskin Mill College Grounds

Views Near Ruskin Mill College

Beyond the college grounds I cross the road and the stream (now a small river) once more. As I approach the outskirts of Nailsworth, I look out for dippers in the stream. I had never heard of these birds before seeing them here and also in Downend itself. They are shy but fascinating to watch as they live up to their name by dipping their heads up and down and dive into the water to catch their prey.

Dipper Habitat On The Outskirts Of Nailsworth

Nailsworth sits at the junction of two valleys and is overlooked by typical Cotswold woodland and hillsides (‘Cotswold Tops’). The best time to visit is early morning when wood smoke and mist often sits above the town but below the hill tops. The floral displays in the town this year have been award winning and many of the narrow streets and Cotswold stone buildings are always attractive.

Nailsworth Clock Tower

Like many such towns in this age of the internet and same day delivery, it is a struggle to establish a thriving retail business in Nailsworth. There is a persistent turnover of small independent shops and probably more shops selling small gifts and vaping equipment than is necessary. However, some good clothes, homeware and hardware shops have prospered. There are also a few decent pubs and café/restaurants, plus – critically for me – a newsagent, a small supermarket and health food store.

Roofs Of Nailsworth

I’m an urban man at heart – the country was always a place to visit rather than live in through the first 60 years of my life. I still hanker after London having left it upon retirement. But this Cotswold landscape I now find myself living in is very attractive. While I still can, my daily walks into the local town will continue to help me experience and appreciate it.

Postscript: I mentioned that Ruskin Mill College have a small music venue and Long-Suffering Wife and I thoroughly enjoyed a gig there last night. The main act was Trio Dhoore who are three young, charming Flemish brothers who play diatronic accordion, guitar and, a first for me, the hurdy gurdy. The music was wonderfully deep, rich and warm and the banter between tunes matched this warmth perfectly. The trio of brothers seemed to enjoy the evening as much as we did; it was a lovely couple of hours.

The Rather Wonderful ‘Trio Dhoore’ At Ruskin Mill

Summer’s Slow Demise

September 30, 2019 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

The weather during most of September has been excellent. Now, though, summer has gradually drawn to a close. There are still warm and sunny intervals but rain clouds are more prevalent, the tiring trees are dripping brown, and the streams are filling up. Autumn is here.

The new walled garden still looks full of colour – Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) has done a great job of maintaining its life throughout the summer and now on into Autumn. The dahlias, which she has tried growing for the first time, largely succumbed to the slugs early on, but those that survived now look magnificent. The scabious, salvia, cosmos (my small contribution), gaura and ever-resilient verbena bonariensis still look great and the last of the bee activity of the season continues to feed on these.

Last, Fading Colour In The Walled Garden

The badgers took all the sweetcorn – they didn’t leave one for us! But there are still vegetables to harvest – leeks, beetroot, potatoes and chard – plus one last elephantine courgette. However, thoughts are now moving on to clearing away the vegetable beds, planting bulbs for next year and putting in a couple more trees. We have ordered loads of alliums which I (and the bees) love and some more narcissuses for the field. I have gathered some wildflower, hollyhock and foxglove seed and now need to do something with it!

We can see a lot of the ash trees in the vicinity are diseased. We have a very impressive, large ash at the edge of our property. It looks appears to be thriving but must surely be threatened by the surrounding ash die-back disease despite its current good health. We need to get ahead of the damage and start planting to fill potential gaps. We have just ordered a cherry and a whitebeam to offset the cutting back we did earlier in the year, and to augment the little orchard we have established over the last few years. However, more tree-planting may be required.

I attended my Parish Council meeting for the village we now live in last week. This was one of a series of meetings I attended related to carbon footprint reduction in the village, local sustainability initiatives and climate change. At the Parish Council meeting I supported a move towards our village becoming carbon neutral and one of the first steps is to plant a 1,000 trees in the Parish. It’s a start and we’ll offer to take three or four more in our field. But I’m aware that other trees will die or need to come down because they obstruct power lines adjacent to our land, so all we are likely to manage is a rough equilibrium. I hope others with space do better.

Local Tree Planting Scheme To Reduce Flooding

Local Tree Planting Scheme In Kingscote Woods To Reduce Flooding

As we have become increasingly aware of the climate change and sustainability issues, so LSW and I have suffered increasing angst about air travel which has such a big carbon emission impact. Our trips to Canada, Australia (twice!), South Africa and cities in Europe in recent years have magnified our carbon footprint. We haven’t looked to offset these trips up to now but are certainly planning to do so in the future.

Fortunately for the planet, our prevarication in the face of Middle Son’s accident, and then my mother’s recent falls, have given us excuses to shelve our summer and autumn holiday plans to burn up more exhaust in the upper atmosphere. Maybe we will train-ride to Lyon for a few days in October…..

Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy the local walks. The wildlife on the way to the local town each day is constantly shifting in character and behaviour. Seeing it every day allows observation of the slightest changes – the loneliness of the swan, the arrival of little egrets, and the growing snuffling aloofness of the increasingly porky pigs.

Local Wildlife – New Chicks, Lonely Swan, Foraging Old Spot Pigs And (If You Look Carefully) Little Egrets

This fascination has been augmented by the joy of being able to pick and eat the blackberries on the way. Even better, there are enough – it has been a truly wonderful year for hedgerow blackberries – for cooking and for freezing for breakfasts and puddings during the forthcoming winter.

Masses Of Wild Blackberries Picked In Less Than 30 Minutes

I shall miss the summer as it creeps away. I shall miss the casualness of not having to worry too much about whether it is going to rain or the need for a coat. I shall miss the sun and sitting and walking in it. But Autumn will have its splendours too, and we are lucky enough to have a house that can withstand the winter cold. In those circumstances, even winter can be attractive. Goodbye summer.

Gentle Times

August 7, 2019 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

It has been a quiet, tender period since my last post some three weeks ago. There have been the odd bursts of activity to get Middle Son (MS) up and down to London for his fracture clinic checks and, this last weekend, to help move him back to London into his new, wheel-chair friendly flat in Walthamstow. However, most of the time in the last three weeks or so has been spent at home in Gloucestershire. The focus has been on gentle activities supporting MS’s recovery, and to break up, as best we can, his boredom with his lack of mobility.

Looking for ways to break up MS’s day while he was at home with us led us to eat out at local pubs a little more than usual. We have frequented our local village pub a few times, a local café called Jolly Nice, and also The Crown in Frampton Mansell which we hadn’t visited for ages. These trips have all been very pleasant diversions for MS, Long-Suffering Wife and I, especially given the excellent summer weather.

Frampton Mansell And The Crown Inn

I have also continued to get out for early morning walks on a fairly regular basis. Both the garden and the local walks are lovely at this time of year when the sun is out. The gentle meandering around the local lanes and footpaths has been very relaxing and calming.

View of Dunkirk Mills

My (Almost) Daily Walk Past Ruskin Mill Fish Ponds

Less calming has been the start of the English Football League (EFL) season. My team, Forest Green Rovers (FGR), are in EFL2 and they won their first game of the season with a wonderful goal. It was very exciting by the end of the game. Future diary arrangements will be constrained by the FGR fixture list – I love it; LSW, not so much.

Kick Off At Forest Green Rovers’ New Lawn

Other sport has dominated recent weeks too. In particular, MS and I have been watching and discussing the tennis at Wimbledon, the Tour de France and the cricket World Cup. It’s been great to have someone around to bounce reactions to the action off of. I’ve loved it; LSW, not so much.

The time at home has offered the opportunity to invest more time than usual in a few local community projects. One has been participation in a fans forum with the CEO of FGR. More time consuming has been work done with members of a local group promoting energy sustainability and carbon neutrality in our village and work on the final drafts of the village Neighbourhood Plan. I’ll cover some or all of these more in a subsequent post.

The only other events of note in this restrained and gentle period have been another visit to the Lee Krasner exhibition at the Barbican and a brief visit whilst in Walthamstow to the William Morris Museum. LSW and I plan to visit the latter again in a couple of weeks since we didn’t have a huge amount of time, entry is free, and I, for one, found it quite hard to concentrate on what I was seeing. The museum is housed in a lovely building and the exhibition looks informative and excellent so more on this soon.

The William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow

I went to the Krasner exhibition just a few weeks ago while MS was in hospital but had the chance to pop in again while in London a couple of weeks ago. It was every bit as impressive as the first time. Again, I particularly enjoyed her relatively early work but also that passage of her work that was drenched in colour a few years following her mental recovery from the death of her partner (Jackson Pollock) and then her mother. There was a refreshing irreverence too in the way she often cut up old works to make new ones; she is quoted as saying “I am not to be trusted around my old work for any length of time” and that amused me. The exhibition was almost as uplifting as FGR’s win!

Burning Candles, Lee Krasner, 1955. An Example Of A Collage Created From Ripped Up Previous Works.

The Eye Is The First Circle, Lee Krasner, 1960, In The Barbican Gallery

I’m looking forward to the rest of August during which LSW and I have a couple more visits to London planned.

Walking, Drinking And Bending at 63

May 9, 2019 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

I had a birthday last week and I’ve made it to 63 years of age. When I was in my twenties I didn’t believe I’d get so far and I’m sure some of the damage I did to my body around that time will catch up with me in due course. But not yet, it seems!

I do a lot of walking to maintain a modicum of fitness. My average number of steps per day has steadily increased in recent years and, especially since I retired nearly two years ago. Many of those steps are up and down the steep valley slopes near where I now live. They are therefore more testing than the pure statistics suggest. However, I do wonder if increasing walking just makes me better at walking rather than fit and I do need to ensure that I walk at a heart-exciting pace so that I do get a true health benefit.

Of course, walking is not just for fitness. I do need to get from A to B and, since we tend to shop daily for just what we need each day, this includes a daily walk into the local town (Nailsworth). There is a real pleasure in this which I have mentioned in these posts before, not least because of the variety of routes and the lovely countryside to view on the way.

Bluebell Woods Near Nailsworth, Gloucestershire (One Of The Few Places Not Yet Overrun By Wild Garlic)

I’m fortunate in that Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) has also developed a love of walking in recent years. That means we can venture out on walks for walking’s sake together while discussing the issues of family, friends and the wider world. We also encourage friends who visit to join us on some of the nicest walks near our home. Indeed, that is how we celebrated my birthday when my Best Man visited us. After a lovely, sunlit three hour traverse of several valleys we adjourned to the local pub (as you do).

Birthday Walk West Of Horsley, Gloucestershire To Owlpen And Back (Wild Garlic, Owlpen Manor And Rape Fields)

Nonetheless, much of the walking I do is alone and that too is calming and enjoyable. I don’t tend to think of matters of great import when walking alone. I watch nature around me, make mental to do lists, envisage great wins for Forest Green Rovers Football Club, play Pokemon Go, think about my next blog post and let my mind go near blank. The emptiness of mind as one simply puts one foot in front of the other amid beautiful countryside is what makes walking relaxing.

Sunlight Through Trees Near Owlpen, Gloucestershire

Reaching 63 has got me thinking about a couple of other aspects of health that I need to give more attention to. For about 15 years I have tracked the number of no-alcohol days that I manage. For the most part the trend has been steadily increasing – that is, improving. My current, (for me) aggressive target is to be alcohol-free 140 days in the year. I have only managed that once in the last 15 years and I’m not on track to meet it again but I am going to be more resolute, I promise.

I have also, for the last 6 months, been tracking my daily alcoholic unit intake using an application called Drinkaware. This is scarier since I am way over the safe limits health researchers have determined.

Part of my problem here is that in measuring only non-alcohol days, I have been only measuring my performance in one dimension. So, on a day when I might have one drink – to be sociable during a meeting with friends or to fill in time before a football match for example – I then think: ah, I’m not having a no-alcohol day, so why not have a few more drinks later. Dumb huh? I need to do better and will continue to track daily alcohol volume intake as well as no alcohol days. Just the action of tracking should encourage improvement.

The other health aspect that I need to work on is balance and flexibility. This is being underlined daily at the moment by a lower back pain I get after sitting down – something I do less of now I’m retired but which still occupies hours a day.

I’m also reminded of my failures in this area by the Instagram feeds that I see almost daily being posted by Youngest Son’s girlfriend. She is an osteopath and yoga teacher and has a great Instagram feed and blog (becthomaswellness.com) showing how to maintain core strength and flexibility. She recently posted a video specifically on how she keeps her spine supple and it was pretty inspiring.

Today I can’t physically do (at least not properly) 10% of the exercises she does but I need to do more than the 1% I currently do on some days. Just writing this down here feels like it is strengthening my resolve. But the important thing is action not words.

Let’s see how I am doing by the time I am 64. Meanwhile, I’ll build consuming one of my birthday presents into my strengthened fitness and health regime……

Tasty Birthday Present From Middle Son

My Retirement Journey

I've Retired! What Next?

Walking