Its a small world, connections, and carers

Worked in two gardens today then went to the funeral of a lady I had worked for for a few years.

Then during the readings the interesting stuff began. She was related to Parry who wrote Jerusalem which was sung at the funeral. Its a short hymn and more well known perhaps with that great organisation the WI although there are very few groups who sing it now whatever anyone thinks.

Really touching at the funeral was that one of the livein carers who is Polish and had gone home after the death flew in specially for it, afterwards she said to me that she could now smile when thinking about the lady who had died, she had been with her when she passed away. Bless her.

So then I go home thoughtful, get the car unloaded and start on the days paperwork still pondering how small a world it is, theres a message on my phone, it from a WI.

good driver bad driver answers please which one would you be

So I was driving into Cambridge to work in a few gardens.

On the way in Quy in the distance I saw a delivery driver put on his hazard lights and stop on the opposite side of the road. He gets out walks to the front of his van and scares a pigeon off the road that was just sitting there, never expected that from a red van delivering car parts EU it was and I thinks well done that man.

Onto the A14 traffic at a slow crawl again, get almost to the Milton slip road and at the last minute with the sliproad lights obviously on green an artic  just a bit closer guns it up the slipway and over the still green lights then down the other sliproad back onto the A14, he was driving the lorry like he was driving a small car throwing it all over the place. Whoopee Ive jumped ahead of a few other cars and lorries they must have been thinking, I hope the load wasn't fragile.

Which was the good driver and which the bad? And back to the question in the title which driver are you and which one is a complete prat.

harvest stops and starts this year

This years harvest seems to have been a bit stop and start this year, the farmers have got going then wet spells have come along putting a halt on things till the next few dry days appear. This week they have been flat out from the look of things trying to get it all in, will they though, the cereal crops are looking blacker and cleared fields are showing where the regeneration of dropped seeds are germinating readily.

I came back across the fen the other day on the single track road and there were at least half a dozen combines of various ages and sizes going at it.

Driving along the single track road amidst farmers working flat out was an eyeopener in another way, or was it, have we got so self centred and the answer is probably yes.

There are passing places and field entrances where you can pull over to let vehicles coming the other way pass. Coming towards me I could see a couple of vehicles and a lorry not too far beyond. Behind me was one vehicle so I pulled off to let them pass, the vehicle behind sat there for a while and also let the two cars past then seeing the lorry was a bit slower decided to go off in a hurry and must have pulled over closer to the lorry still they had made some fast progress eh.

Then a van comes along from the direction I had come and did it pull over where I was, did it even see me sat waiting there, who knows the driver kept on until it got another gateway closer to the lorry before pulling over. The lorry then slowly came past loaded with large bales the whole thing swaying like a fairground ride on the fen road then the van was off like a shot.

Why are we in such a hurry these days, the fen road is not one to hurry on for starters especially if you have got any respect for the vehicle you are driving. Is it symptomatic of the pressure people are under these days to make more money. Whatever I dont like it.

old friends and stories

While at the country fair I also saw and old friend. Neil Lanham was there with a stand selling his recordings of country folk, these are priceless things voices from the past almost as they recall how things were done and how lives were lived last century.

Neil used to tell at Cambridge a few years ago but life moved on, he is has stopped telling but the recording goes. For Neil its the recording of folks real lives that is the thing and those memories as or more valuable than any story from a book.

For you Dad

Fenland Country Fair and as usual the steam roundabout was there, given the rain there were less people but I still enjoyed the event. Collected a bit of the roundabout in action for Dad who would have loved it, I know hes not with us anymore but he still saw it.

Straight from Buglife Sepotember Bug Bites

Oilseed rape flourishes without bee-killing chemicals

As you know, Buglife have been campaigning extensively on neonicotinoids after finding out that they’re harmful to pollinating insects such as bumblebees and other types of wildlife. Our UK Government, Pesticide companies and National Farmer’s Union have long argued against us, saying that neonicotinoids are essential for farmers as they protect the growing crop against pests, especially for oilseed rape.


Now, the first harvest results of oilseed rape planted without neonicotinoid seed treatments have come in, and farmers are experiencing a better than usual crop – yields are higher than the 10 year average. 90% of the harvest has come in and yields are between 3.6 and 3.8 tonnes per hectare, higher than the normal farm average of 3.5. This suggests that the increase in pollinating insects after not using the chemicals, has helped the oilseed rape achieve fantastic yields and has outweighed any losses from pests.

This means the Government’s recent controversial decision to allow these banned bee-killing chemicals to be used in four eastern counties as an ‘emergency’ measure is nonsense.

Buglife is now calling on the UK Government to reconsider its decision to allow the use of banned bee toxins now that it is clear that there is no ‘emergency’ and indeed that bees have helped farmers bring in a bumper crop.

where are the flies this year?????????????

So a serious question based on my observations this year.

Are there as many flies of all shapes and sizes about this year, I dont think so. Why well usually while gardening I get bothered by lots of them and need to knock the biting ones off now and then but this year, no.

Then theres the surveys I do for a particular species of bat every August, four walks alongside a river at night using a torch to find my way, that usually sees me keeping me mouth shut and wafting flies away from my eyes while lots of them are visible in the beam of the torch, this year well theres some but nowhere near as many nor as many of the bat I am looking for.

Does it mean anything? What do I know is its not a scientific number of flies survey but my own view based on observation on four evenings in the Cambridge area. Whatever its worrying if this is replicated across the country as a whole. You might say good no flies. But think on, no flies equals no bats and no birds, not sure I like the sound of that at all.