The Canary Dave

Morning all. Overcast, but dry, with a top temperature of 18°C expected. Goodness knows what is going on with my electricity provider. I get a bill every two months about ten days before they take money from my account. They are estimated until the summer when they take an actual reading and the settling up takes place. Today they took money from my account without sending a bill, so I had no idea what they would take. I now see that they have taken half of what they normally do. This is all very strange, and the first time it has ever happened. I must change the ten year old e-mail address they have so that I can see my account online. Have a good day everyone.

 

Technology is starting to get the better of me - or maybe the need for it at least.
Boiler Man came yesterday to check out the problem I had reported - but he left again without having resolved the problem. Not what I expected after paying £102 up front. He sent an email this morning telling me that the problem was with the remote control, which funnily enough is what I told him in the first place, and giving me a quote to supply, install, set up and test a new one - £334.

To cap it off, my wife's car managed to get two punctures as she was driving to work - and she not very cleverly drove to the nearest garage, completely ruining both the tyres. Add to that the recently installed new air flow meter in my car stopped working whilst driving my daughter to work - thankfully, and hopefully, it should be under warranty.

If anything else goes wrong, I'll be searching for a nice shack on a semi-remote Queensland beach to move to...

 

Morning all. So another win, and some of the critics who vent their feelings elsewhere are finding it difficult to know what to say now. It seems that Slav is no longer for the chop, in fact he could be the one to lead us back to the PL. It is overcast and rain is expected, and I have to take Mme for her session with the Physio. Sometimes she comes out worse than when she went in, but overall she is improving. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning all. It has turned colder and I will have to start thinking about heating if it stays like this. I need to do a shop today as these wins by the odd goal are not doing my wine store much good. Mme has now taken over when we go to the supermarket, while going on my own with a list I could be in and out in 15 minutes, it now takes twice as long. As long as we are back before the game starts I will survive. Have a good day everyone.

 

Afternoon all. Lots of little jobs that needed doing today. You start something that you think will take just a few minutes only to find that it is not as simple as you hoped. Never mind, done now and a rather late cheese and pickle sandwich, a cup of tea, and feet up as I watch some rugby. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning all. Cloudy but dry, and it is expected to warm up to 18°C this afternoon, 6°C above the average for this day in the year. Finally gave in and put some heating on yesterday evening as it is not much fun to sit and watch some TV while feeling cold. While Mme is having her physio this afternoon I will pop into the nearby DIY store and purchase the flue cleaning materials so that I can get the wood burner going when it gets really cold. It looks as though I will need to get the chain saw on the go and cut up some dead wood from the fields as my store will not last long. Have a good day everyone.

 

Was away at the weekend.

Hope y'all are doing well!

 

Good Morning All.
Managed to pick up a bug which had me testing for Covid for the previous week (-ve) and has now contrived to keep me off work for a few days. Missing the match tonight, Meatloaf Story at the theatre tomorrow and we've got tix for Al Murray on Friday. I did go to the football on Saturday but, like the team and the crowd, I was way off the pace and rather wished I hadn't bothered... certainly by the time I got to bed!
Hopefully I'll join y'all for the match later. No Hive tonight alas as it's the main sky sports match. Now that I've breakfasted and had my meds it's back to bed for a bit more shut eye. Have a good day folks.

 

Morning all. Overcast and blowing well outside with showers expected this afternoon. Mme spent an age 15 years ago making some blackout blinds for our bedroom. The material is looking rather the worse for wear now, and she decided she would not make new ones, but we would buy some ready made. Having searched locally without success for some the right size, I resorted to Amazon fr where I found them. I have ordered items from them before that have come from Spain and Italy, and I can now add Germany to the list. According to the tracking they have left Neustrelitz, which appears to be in the north east of the country, and they should arrive later in the week. So much trade seems to be international, yet now when I need something like this I do not bother with Amazon UK. The prices are higher, and delivery uncertain for deliveries here now, whereas once it was better to buy from the UK. It is a real shame that things have developed in this way. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning all. It is bright and sunny without any breeze. The whole village however is covered by smoke from one of the visiting gardeners who has lit a bonfire. At one time the smell of a bonfire was something you associated with autumn, but over here there are quite strict rules on wind speed and proximity to dwellings before you can start one, and you must have 300 litres of water to hand in case it needs putting out. You are suppossed to stay in attendance with it while it is alight, but farmers seem to think the rules do not apply to them, and will have a large blaze going you several days. I hope that by the time I return from the physio the smoke will have cleared. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning all. A beautiful sunny morning for people to go and lay wreaths at the war memeorials up and down the country. Mme is making very good progress with the phsyio. First the massage, then the gym work, and yesterday she was kicking the football. First with her right foot, then the left. Speed work and stamina to go, then I will put her forward as a trialist with the U23s. She appears to be stronger with her right foot, so maybe she can be a right full back. Nothing much gets past her. Have a good day everyone.

 

get her a trial!

 

Morning all. The mass migration of the cranes is in full flow. Yesterday 50 or 60 went over at a very high level, but this morning hundreds of them flew directly over the house, just above the height of the largest ash tree down the lane, squawking noisily as they went. The calendar season has also begun with the pompiers looking for donations towards their retired personnel association. Photographs of barns on fire do not seem the most joyous things to look at through the year. Have a good day everyone.

 

A beautiful sunny day and so warm for this time of year. Lots of little outside jobs to do as rain expected tomorrow. Many plants are still flowering and growing, and some of the grass will have to be strimmed again before the mower will cope with it. Think I had better keep going. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning all. A lot more cloud about, the wind is blowing strongly, and it feels cooler. Although football is supposedly cancelled for the next month, it will still be going on at the lower levels. I still look each week for the results from Brackley Town and Banbury Utd. the two local teams to me when I lived in the UK. There was a connection between Watford and Banbury. Back in the 1966/7 season Maurice Cook was the player/coach there, with the manager Len Goulden. Between them they guided the club into what was the Southern League for the first time in their history. Today it is still very much a fan based club, with constant fund raising events and local companies chipping in with sponsorship and advertising. The grass roots continue to struggle on. Have a good day everyone.

 

Talking of grass roots.. .I have just taken on an allotment riddled with couch grass...... any ideas???

 

You have to go very carefully and dig every last piece out. Leave an inch of root behind and away it will go again.

 

shocker eh................

 

Morning all. Cloudy, 12°C, and more rain expected. Still my roller blind has finally arrived from Germany, so hopefully not a major job to fit it. I needed more bread today so popped down to the distributing machine. The loaf I bought had a peice on one end that was loosly attached, so I had that off to eat. There is something rather good about freshly baked bread without anything on it. Have a good day everyone.

 

Morning all. Bright and breezy in rural France today, with more rain forecast for this afternoon. My small job yesterday to fit a roller blind didn't go as well as I hoped. One of the guide angles fitted to the sloping roof had to be moved about half an inch which I hadn't bargained for. Then a screw hit a nail and wouldn't go in fully, so had to search through the box of screws to find one the same diameter but shorter. Now I need to tidy up, but have a back ache from stretching above my head. I will be having an easy day today. Have a good one everybody.