Parsnips 21st, The Ofsted man cometh and a very pleasant evening indeed

Now its been a couple of weeks since I was last here, so get a coffee and a comfy chair because its a post of substantial, though not epic proportion.

Parsnip blowing out her candles

Did I mention Kirsty 'Parsnip' Southwellski was 21 a couple of weeks back? No? I'm sure I did, or maybe it was just wishful thinking.

We had a brill day, Nanny Southwellski went shopping for the day with Parsnip Southwellski in Norwich; and Coco and I had to 'babysit' Little Nanny Mero and Uncle Luke. All in all they behaved very well and did what they were told most of the time. Coco and I made a chocolate birthday cake and put candles and icing flowers on top.

We decided that we would all go to Pedro's in Chapelfields, Norwich; a Mexican restaurant and a lovely time we had too. 

Little Nanny Mero was very excited, 'Was Pedro really Mexican?' 'Could Pedro speak Spanish like Little Nany Mero?' 'Was Pedro in the kitchen at that very moment?' It was nearly too much!

Now we all know that moment when someone close to us is about to ask a question that we know can only end in embarrassment for one and all. Little Nany Mero's eyes widened as the hapless waitress wandered foolishly close to her, too close!

" Is Pedro working today?" The words were out, the question asked.

" There is no Pedro, it's owned by someone in Great Yarmouth" She replied.

One of two things was going to happen, Little Nanny Mero, illusion shattered, was going to point out that if there was no Pedro it shouldn't be called 'Pedro's'. Or she was going to collapse into hysterical laughter.

It was ten minutes before she stopped laughing! Coco had finally mastered the art of sucking through a straw by the end.

Even Parsnip became affected/infected.

Now I know Mother In Laws get bad press but I really do have one in a million, we share jokes, books and an interest in world war two.

We put the world to rights on the journeys home and have brilliant ideas that will save mankind, well Parsnip (Kirsty) and Percy (Luke) anyway.

Kirsty had a lovely time she said, I know we did and it was good to see her laughing and with her family again. We love you Parsnip, very muchly.

Some of you will know that Nanny Southwellski and I run a business called ZFL (Zone For Learning, and yes HSBC we are one and the same you muppets!) where we teach among many other things such as how to assimilate a severed finger without actually doing so, magic tricks and Carpentry and Joinery and Decorating.

New visitors to our website www.zoneforlearning.co.uk will see that we now offer much more, go on have a look, I'll wait.

Ah good, you're back, Nanny Southwellski did a good job with the website didn't she? Just in time for the nice Ofsted man on Monday. Now the more observant of you will notice a new addition to the teaching team in the form of a handsome, suave (or is it swarthy?) dashing, silver-fox-type figure with the title of Horticulture tutor.

DO NOT GET EXCITED!

I said at the start of this blog it is not the place to visit should you want pearls of wisdom about all things green and growing,

NOTHING HAS CHANGED!!!

You want gardening tips and advice, go check out Alan Titchmarsh's website or better still check out Cottage Smallholders blog. This is Fiona and Danny's blog. Nanny Southwellski got wind of a get together of some of the people who visit the blog and wangled an invitation for us to go along. Good move Nanny.

We visited an idyllic smallholding tucked away behind a beautiful cottage in a lovely village. The garden is filled with traditional plants; rhubarb big enough to build fences with or certainly make coshes from; hidden corners which secreted carvings and benches; and a bunch of genuinely lovely people!

Coco met some good people, which in my mind is fantastic. We are trying to avoid getting into the whole "every stranger is a danger" club. Yes of course we realise you have to be careful, but there is care and there is paranoia. If we are there with her and she is okay sitting with someone we feel okay about, where is the risk? Coco doesn't just rub noses with anyone but Paul(?) obviously had the right type of nose and clearly spoke her language fluently.

Now Nanny Southwellski will tell you that I am not the best at meeting people in new situations for the first time, but I felt right at home from the very start. I don't like going to clubs or gatherings of people who share the same interests as me in case they are the type of people who take the enjoyment out of it, or they know more than me.

For example. I am not a bad cricketer, if I say so myself, in fact Andrew Strauss ran me out at Lords in an international a few weeks back. Okay, so it was a dream, but Mr Strauss I am STILL VERY ANGRY!!!! I have played for some good cricket teams but hated it when they have held post mortem's, analysing every ball and where people went wrong - and that was when we won! Nah, not for me.

Anyway, as usual, I digress, there was a spread of food fit for royalty; ample drink; and the best cup of tea outside of Nanny Southwellski's kitchen! There was fresh mackerel being filleted and smoked; smoked mushrooms; and roasted garlic which Coco had shredded by the time we got to the car. We all have a strong aroma of garlic so no hassle from vampires at Broadlands tonight.

Nanny Southwellski has been very busy in the kitchen of late and we now have jars of Cherry Jam; Cherries in Brandy; Cherries in Syrup; Gooseberry and Ginger Jam; Pickled Eggs; and Pickled Beetroot lining the shelves of our larder.

The Jams are to die for! It was our first attempt at preserving and all the jars sealed as they should, the colours are amazing and I can't wait for the bought stuff to be used up.

On the garden front everything is growing madly, especially the weeds. Who said weeds are just misplaced plants? Well fret no more my friend, I know where your 'misplaced plants' are so come and get them as soon as you like!

Coco has continued to provide her authoritative and discerning quality control processes to the crops.

Carrots were the last to get the 'Coco Seal of Approval'.

This takes the form of every item of fruit and veg we harvest being stamped with four tiny teeth marks. 'If it ain't been ate it don't reach the plate!'

Our pumpkins are looking impressive now, I took this about three days ago, its amazing how much it grows each day.

We have about 12 pumpkins developing nicely at the moment and more are expected.

Talking of expecting we thought we had our first broody hen a couple of days ago; not any more, it seems she just thought the nest box was a bit lumpy.

Anyway, before I go just a little phrase for someone in particular.

'The eyes are the window to your soul. Not only have you opened your windows, you have taken down the nets and the curtains and the locals are staring in!'

Once again, thank you to everyone at the Cottage Smallholder gathering for making us so welcome.

And this is relaxing??!!??

I've read all the books and Coco and I have had long conversations about gardening and if it really is relaxing.

Now Coco will probably tell you that her idea of gardening is having a ride in the wheelbarrow, trying a freshly picked carrot or peas straight from the pod or having a go on her swing or a chill out with Uncle Luke in the hammock.

Uncle Luke is back from Aberystwyth for a few weeks, he is studying Genetics, poker and alcohol at University there. We are all very proud of him and probably don't tell him enough but then that's what parents, especially Dads do. 

Uncle Luke

Great Grandpa Southwellski would always tell me how well my brother Colin was doing and tell Colin how well I was doing and it was only after Great Grandpa Southwellski passed away that Colin and I spoke about it and realised that he was equally proud of us both. 

So Luke if you read this I am proud of you and all that you are doing and Coco has a very cool and chilled Uncle, even if you are a tad untidy!

Anyway is gardening relaxing?

The argument against.

I have developed a very individual war dance for when the dogs and cats stray onto the veggie plot, it would strike fear into Cochise himself.  

And when it rains from absolutely nowhere just as I am watering the peas which I stupidly placed as far away from the tap as I could and have to carry a watering can to them because the hose isn't long enough I go a decent shade of puce!

Monty

When my parsnip seeds on a strip (that are impossible to sow on a windy day and I resemble a gymnast doing a ribbon dance) only germinate every 6th seed I tend to feel a bit miffed.

Or when Monty creeps up behind me and barks just as I am removing that trickily placed side shoot just below my very first tomato of the season, which I have called Trevor by the way.



 The argument for.

Nanny Southwellski and Monty all smiles!

When Coco and I get up in the morning and let the chooks out and the birds are singing, the sun is shining and all the veggies are standing proud and glistening with early morning dew it makes me stand and look and feel good.

When Monty and Nanny Southwellski smile in unison it makes me feel warm inside and when Coco points at the carrots and peas and says 'This' as only she can, it makes the carrots taste so much sweeter. 

Trevor

 

And when our plants that we have nurtured from tiny seeds, battled to protect them from the chooks, dogs, cats and birds, watered religiously day in day out, talked to sung to and encouraged from the very start, when they start to produce the hard work is forgotten.

We have called our first tomato (left) Trevor for no reason other than it begins with 'T'.  Trevor is an Italian plum tomato who will end up in a pasta sauce of some sort.  You won't feel a thing Trevor.

Pea processing Southwellski style!

We harvested our first peas today, expecting a heavy crop we took our largest trailer (right) down to the peas and commenced picking.

Coco quickly took charge of quality control marking each suitable pea with a tooth mark, just to let me know that she had checked them all you know.

We seemed to have about twice as many pod shells as we did peas, I suspect I will trace the missing peas in tomorrows first nappy!

Our potatoes are the sweetest new potatoes you could wish to eat with just a hint of our home grown mint added at the end of cooking they are divine and the hard work in the cold of digging the plot, planting and then replanting after the chooks had dug in a fashion Time Team would have been proud of, being hit by a late frost which took them almost back to the ground, all that seems a dim and distant memory and well worth the effort.

So I guess I have answered my own question really, the fruits of Coco and my labours are more than enough to make us forget the stress and toil we have gone through to get here.

Yes, gardening is relaxing!

All things bright and beautiful

Coco and I were up at 6.00am this morning and as always we did our chores, letting the chooks out, feeding the cats and letting the dogs out before we had our breakfast.  And, as I tell Coco each and every morning, we can get our own food but the animals can't so we have to look after them first.

Monty

Blossom

It's not all one sided though in return we get fresh eggs every day, the cats keep the mice and rats from our veggies and foodstuff and the dogs guard us and make us laugh.

Seeing to them first is a very small inconvenience in comparison to what we receive in return and all in all I think its pretty fair.

Mmmmmmmmm!

 Anyway, onto more things bright and beautiful.  We have a very old cherry tree in our garden.  I believe it was planted around the time that Broadlands was built about 60 years ago.  We missed the cherries last year as they were ready just before we moved in.

This year though we have a bumper crop of delicious bright red cherries.  We are busy picking, pitting and preserving them and I think a batch of cherry wine may be in order too.

Nanny Southwellski took a stunning picture of the cherries (not this one, Uncle Robin took this one) and this can be found on her Flickr page under 'Southwellski'.

Our veggies are doing very nicely thank you, and we may even have enough carrots for a meal.  Coco is very partial to a freshly pulled carrot first thing in the morning, rinsed under the hose with the top still on. She is also very partial to freshly picked cherries, gooseberries, peas and some of the herbs we are growing as well.

 Our flowers are doing brilliantly, this is a short stemmed lily (right) we grew this year. How vivid is that orange, it makes me smile every time I see it.

Our sunflowers are doing very well despite being uprooted twice by the mole, attacked by the chooks and getting hit by the frost.

Having done all thing bright and beautiful it seems only right to move onto all creature great and small and here is a bit of both.

The butterfly on the sunflower (left) is, I think the first one Coco has seen that she actually took notice of and it warranted a point with a chubby finger and an 'Oooooh!'



Coco seems to have a real interest in things that fly be they planes, birds, butterflies or bugs. She can pick a plane out of the sky long before I can.

Female Ghost Moth

We also had a visit from a Female Ghost Moth which I initially thought was a leaf.

It gets its name because it used to be associated with the grassy areas in churchyards and the male moths have a funny courtship flight where they flutter above the grass - looking like little white ghosts.

Impressed with my Moth knowledge?  I cannot take credit for this.  Tony Pritchard from the Suffolk Moth Group  identified this for me in a matter of seconds!

You can contact him at: Countyrecorder@suffolkmothgroup.org.uk

Another visitor was this little hairy legged chappie/chappette who appeared in the bathroom last night.  If he/she gets rid of the mossie that was buzzing round our bedroom last night them they are most welcome.

Finally I will leave you with the sunset we were blessed with two nights ago - enjoy

Sunset over Feltwell

A beautiful day

No not just the weather, although it was a lovely day, it was a bit breezy this morning but it warmed up as the day progressed.

Today was beautiful because of the Royal Wedding. We had a day off from doing jobs of any description and had friends over to watch the proceeding on TV.

Its surprising how sharing a day such as this can make it all the more meaningful and we are blessed with some wonderfultrue friends.

It saddened me that despite the occasion there were still a few people determined to spoil it for Prince William and Kate Middleton, get a life please because you failed miserably to spoil our, and their enjoyment and wonderment of a very special day.

Coco was in a flag waving frenzy, egged on by Aunty Angela and Sarah who provided flags.  Ray, Nic and Ellie also came for the day and I think along with Nanny Southwellski, Uncle Robin, who arrived later, and myself we confirmed that this little piece of England remains loyal to the Queen and her family and we did Her Majesty proud.

Kate Middleton looked stunning and the smiles and looks that went between her and Prince William were undoubtedly genuine looks of love.  Made me cry!

We did have a rather unusual experience with the desserts Aunty Angela brought over with her, the red white and blue pavlova looked fantastic it was just that blue whipped cream had a certain unusual flavour.  We will leave it at that because they were a fantastic idea and certainly added to the day.

I did a tour of the forest garden this evening, I hadn't been down there for a day or two and my goodness how it has changed.  The rides I strimmed a week or so ago are now almost grown over and re-doing them will have to take a place high up on my jobs to do list.

The cherry tree is a mass of fruit already and I will be looking to see what we can do with the fruit, although Aunty Angela has made it very clear that this will not be an issue.

My Morning Glory plants, so savagely ravaged by the chooks a couple of days ago have had a new lease of life and I am confident they will make a full recovery.

I am planting out my runner beans tomorrow, its a bit of a risk with catching a late frost but they are taking over the potting shed and I need the space for pricking out my brassicas, listen to me being like a proper gardener.

Whilst this is my first garden of any significant size, I am not entirely new to growing stuff.  Great Great Grandpa Southwellski was a gardener for Mr Feetham and grew all the veggies for the family and his own needs along with flowers for Mrs Feetham.  The Feethams used to hold village garden parties in their garden and Great Great Grandpa always kept them looking pristine.

My father, Great Grandpa Southwellski, also had a passion for gardening, and like so many other areas of his life I did not take as much interest in what he did as I should have done, the same has to be said for Great Great Grandpa Southwellski. Oh the questions I would ask now!