Far Lands

I have finally dug the new rhubarb bed. Not a casual undertaking as it is a new bed, and involved double-digging and wheelbarrowing copious amounts of manure from the local farm. For those not familiar with double-digging, here is my method:- 1. remove turfs from a section (I did about 0.5 m squared at a time) 2. dig out subsoil (about 30cms) and put to one side 3. remove about 5-10 cms of regolith (I looked this term up but it is very distinct - rocks and pebbles, no humus at all); dispose (using 'penguin' trousers as used in the film The Great Escape) 4. invert turfs and lay at bottom of hole 5. fill with 10-15cms of manure 6. back fill with subsoil (mixing in more manure) I have had a massive problem with slugs living in the ever-encroaching grass, so my latest plan is to use inverted carpet to surround my beds, and cover it with chipping. This can be seen in the photos. This is quite hard work, but regularly punctuated by almost getting stuck in the next-d

No, we have not opened our doors to the great unwashed. But, we have got RHI! The greatest (financial) risk of the whole project has been whether we would get it. We have and that could be worth £50 000 over the 20 years of the scheme. A little detail? (Rhetorical I am afraid to anyone who knows me.) The Renewable Heat Incentive is the government's subsidy scheme similar to FIT (Feed in Tariffs; for electrical generation via solar energy). RHI concerns heat energy and can be generated in a number of (renewable) ways; including wind, solar, hydro, heat pumps and biomass (wood). We have a wood pellet boiler so we are eligible. The RHI scheme is not yet open for domestic customers (it soon will be), but we are considered a district installation (ie non-domestic) as our one boiler feeds two council tax properties (ie our House and our Cottage). So we are eligible now. Scores on the doors? The government will pay us 8.3p for every KW hour that we generate. Up to a yearly max

...this blog is about the kitchen. I should perhaps add that popular on this blog means one person (I won't name you but good luck next week). I was not going to blog the kitchen because it's just a load of cupboards and no pull-up bars. Well, cupboards arranged around the cook's triangle (oven, fridge and sink for those of you who go to work). In fact the kitchen is now cunningly arranged as a galley to give views of South Head and no mad corner-cupboards. We have an extractor which uses the Beaufort Scale, we have an arch, and we have one cupboard (floor to ceiling) for tupperware. Another cupboard for bread making stuff, and one for cakes. One for camping stuff, one for bins (we are utilising a 4-bin system)... I love my kitchen, and I try to spend more time there...

Now, this is real progress! The gym is fab, fab, fab; and it is not even finished yet. A bit more equipment to dig out (my sit-up inversion boots), and a bit to buy (cycling machine). And some minor details like finishing the painting and installing the cupboards etc. And some progress toward my sanity too. I thought yesterday that no contractors would be here; but at 4pm a builder turned up. Not lost, not even thirsty... Normal service today:- chaos as the electricians undo the cleaner's morning efforts. In the garden, the bees got their own back for being fed tardily (in their opinion) (they could leave the hive occasionally); my 1st bee sting since looking after them. And I am enjoying the sun (at long last) by clearing up the veg garden. As I weed and dig I contemplate the harvesting of our orchard - a solitary pear.

...are still firmly encamped here at Farlands. As I write this I am having a conversation with an electrician who has just taken up a floorboard of my office. To distract me from him distracting me I can look out of my (1st floor) window directly at a NW electricity operative re-attaching the electricity cable across the gable end of our house. Through the (remaining) floorboards, I can hear the other electrician hammering (should electricians be hammering?) in our new (mostly) kitchen and the floor chap in the gym (don't call it a utility room or I'll dedicate a whole blog to its nomenclature). And that's not even a mention of the painter... We are making progress, but to quote our neighbour "why does everyone make a big job out of a small job?"!. Progress this week has included the kitchen reaching finishing stages...after 3 weeks of washing up in the bath and cooking with microwave and freezer, I am beginning to run out of inspiration. Last night I did no

Try a William Boyd novel. They hook you from the start, have interesting and original plots and are not overly long. What's more there are lots of them, and relatively easy to find in second-hand bookshops. Perfect for a holiday read, if you are stuck on a difficult novel or just want something a bit different. His books sometimes feel like he has written them with the aid of a special book-kaleidoscope: twist it again, 10 bizarre plot-lines fall out and Boyd glues them together in 300 pages. Try one!