In The Garden, Part 6.

I think this will probably be my final gardening blog for this year. It hasn’t rained for at least a month and with the hot sun every day most of my plants have peaked earlier than usual compared to previous years. My sunflowers only bloomed in the middle of June and are already on the way out. The same applies to the nasturtiums and marigolds. I pulled out some nasturtiums because they were covered in blackfly. The hot sun has played havoc with the hanging baskets. On the other hand, I like the cosmos bipinnitus, a flower that keeps on giving pink, crimson, and white flowers. There are a few flowers still beginning to bloom such as summer phlox and there are some dahlias just about to flower. Also, a gladiolus called Mon Amour with pink and yellow blooms has just appeared by the fence. We haven’t got a hosepipe ban in this area yet so every evening I am out there dead-heading and watering. 

After that I sit on my bench, watch the sun go down and listen to music drifting through the ether from my kitchen. Yesterday evening it was Teaser & The Firecat by Cat Stevens. Just as it got dark I spotted a bat flitting about at high speed in the twilight. I had never seen one before from my garden. I must say that being outside on a summer evening observing the remains of the day is much more pleasant than being inside watching rubbish on the TV.

My World Cup 2026

Sorry I haven’t written anything for a while, but I have been distracted by watching the World Cup on the TV. I think I must have watched at least fifty of the games, sometimes two or three games in one day. There are some things I don’t like about FIFA and the organisation of the tournament, but I have loved every minute of watching the ‘beautiful game’ as Pele once described it. Things I didn’t like were the outrageous ticket prices and the commercialisation. FIFA must have made billions from it all. I’d love to know where the money goes. The profits should be used to help football at the grassroots level globally and give poorer countries and players a chance to compete. I don’t like the political interference either. Maybe Balogun of the USA didn’t deserve a red card and suspension, but Trump interfering, getting on the phone to Gianni Infantino to have the suspension changed was outrageous. I hope we never see any more incidents like this. Also, football should be free from politics, yet only today a White House spokesman supported the Argentine players waving a political banner around. Another thing I don’t agree with is the introduction of the hydration breaks. This is ridiculous. In some games it was pouring with rain. A lot of other stadiums were air conditioned. Some games were played in extremely hot conditions, but there is always ample opportunity during a game to take on more water during stoppages for injuries or VAR checks etc. The real reason for the hydration breaks was for advertising on American television. These breaks can change the whole momentum of games, so I hope they don’t become a regular thing.

I was impressed with the fabulous stadiums. They make some of our UK stadiums look like sheds. I also liked the friendly atmosphere most of the time with the fans all mingling together before and after games which is a far cry from the bad old days of football hooliganism and rioting. I thought Norway should get an award for having the best fans. Their rowing to a drumbeat was spectacular and fun. I liked the cultural diversity of players in the teams. This was especially noticeable in teams like France and England where most of the players appear to be from families of immigrants. That should keep the racist elements in society quiet for a few weeks. 

My favourite team apart from England was Cape Verde, a tiny country of 530,000 people. I wasn’t even sure exactly where Cape Verde was until the World Cup when I discovered it is a group of islands off the coast of West Africa. In their opening game they drew with eventual finalists Spain and were desperately unlucky losing 3-2 to the other finalist Argentina. The team certainly put Cape Verde on the map and justified the increase in countries competing from 32 to 48. Cape Verde did well without resorting to the dark arts of dirty play and fouling as practiced by the likes of Paraguay in their game against France. I felt sorry for Senegal who were leading Belgium 2-0 with minutes to go after outplaying them most of the game. Somehow Belgium managed to win the game. Then the Trump interference getting Balogun reinstated fired Belgium up to defeat USA and they were in the last eight. Another team deserving of sympathy were Egypt who were leading Argentina 2-0 and controversially had a perfectly good goal disallowed. They were robbed of victory. 

Until the semi-finals I thought that France looked unbeatable. The team seemed to be packed with star players like Mbappe, Dembele and Olise. When they faced Spain however they were outplayed. The stars just didn’t shine on the day. Spain took command of the game and didn’t let go. I thought England’s best performance was the game against Mexico in the iconic Azteca Stadium. England defended heroically despite having a player sent off and managed to win. They were lucky to win against Norway and reach the semi-final against Argentina. Despite not being the better team England managed to take the lead against Argentina. Then, instead of pressing home the advantage and trying to get a second goal they tried to tighten up the defence and hang on to the one goal lead. They got away with that against Mexico, but against a team with the greatest player of all time Lionel Messi this tactic was doomed to failure. 

This evening England play France in the bronze medal play-off. It’s a game where the result doesn’t really matter, but I hope the English coach rests a few players and gives some other squad members a chance to play, such as former Peterborough United striker Ivan Toney who has only played for about six minutes so far. Tomorrow is the final between Spain and Argentina. I hope it isn’t a cagey defensive affair where both teams are scared to lose. I want an open attacking game with lots of goals, and may the best team win!.

Postscript: A few hours later. The play-off game between England and France for 3rd place was a really entertaining exciting game which England won 6-4. If the final is half as good it will be memorable.

Postscript 2 on Monday: I think most people would agree that the final was a bit of a disappointment, and not the sort of game to attract new fans. I have never seen such a one-sided game not produce a goal after 90 minutes. Spain completely dominated the game. I don't think Argentina had a shot on target until it was too late. I'm glad Spain won because they were the best team in the tournament, and deserved champions. The behaviour of some Argentine players after the final whistle was disgraceful. I'm not very keen on the idea of extending half-time to 30 minutes and the entertainment. We don't need this creeping Americanisation of the game. My favourite photo of the tournament is of Yamal of Spain celebrating with his young brother.

Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Live At Celtic Connections.

It is always a good start to the day when some new music arrives in the post. Today it was a signed CD by Sam Carter called Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Live At Celtic Connections. I have to thank two Facebook friends for bringing Sam Carter to my attention. I think it was because they knew that I was a fan of Nic Jones and have often said that Penguin Eggs from 1980 by Nic is one of my favourite albums of all time. Sadly, only two years after Penguin Eggs was released Nic’s promising career was brought to a halt when driving home from a gig he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a lorry leaving a brick yard near my hometown of Peterborough. He was hospitalised for a year. However, his music legacy continues to be celebrated. Sam Carter is bringing Nic’s music to new audiences with this live album recorded in January this year at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow to a very respectful audience. 

Nic Jones at Village Pump Fest 2013.

There are thirteen songs on this album and six songs from Penguin Eggs are included. They are Barrack Street which is the humorous tale of a sailor who gets robbed of everything including his clothes by a lady he meets in Barrack Street, Courting Is A Pleasure, Farewell To The Gold written by a Dutch born folk singer called Paul Metsers, The Humpback Whale & The Little Pot Stove which were both written by a Scottish seaman who emigrated to Australia called Harry Robertson. In the 1950s he worked on whaling ships and wrote these autobiographical songs. I suppose songs about harpooning whales are not very PC these days, but they tell wonderful descriptive stories of the conditions the ships crews had to endure. After two listens today I think Canadee-i-o is my favourite track. Sam is absolutely faithful to Nic’s fingerpicking staccato guitar style on this track and all the others. At times I would swear it was Nic who was playing. (See video below)

Apart from Penguin Eggs I only have one other album by Nic called Game Set Match which I bought at the Village Pump Folk Festival in 2013 when Nic made a brief return to the stage with his son Joe playing the guitar. We met Nic after his performance and he signed the CD for me (See pic). I must say it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet him. Sam has included four songs from that album here which are Master Kilby, Clyde Water which is a tragic tale of two cursed lovers Willie and Maggie who drown in the river Clyde, Seven Gypsies which tells the story of a noble woman who runs away with seven gypsies. I felt sorry for the gypsies because they got hanged for stealing her, but she went off with them willingly, Billy Don’t You Weep For Me which is another tragic tale of betrayal and drowning. Other songs that Sam has included that I wasn’t familiar with are Ten Thousand Miles, Annan Water and the only song actually written by Nic which is Ruins By The Shore, a beautiful lament for the fragility of humanity and civilisation. I have enjoyed listening to this wonderful music today. Congratulations to Sam Carter for this great tribute to the genius of Nic Jones. I imagine that Sam must have spent a lot of hours practicing these songs to get Nic’s unique fingerstyle guitar technique off to a tee. For this season only Sam is touring the country bringing Nic’s music to the people, so I urge you to go along. I am looking forward to seeing Sam perform at The Pound In Corsham on September 25^th. I’ll bring you a report on that concert in due course. Cheers.

Sam Carter: Canadee-i-o, (Originally by Nic Jones)

 

In The Garden, Part 5.

                                                A few pics from my garden.

Buddha & Sunflower.

Painted Lady Butterfly on Scabious.

Evening Primrose.

Red Hot Poker.

Oriental Poppy ( Papaver Orientale). 

Alium Moly (Golden Garlic) 

More to follow hopefully.

At The Sign of The Angel.

A friend of mine kindly gave me a gift voucher for my last birthday, so yesterday I treated my niece Lee to lunch at The Sign Of The Angel in Lacock which is only a twenty-minute drive from here. We chose this week because we always have an annual meet-up to remember my brother Paul’s birthday who would have turned 70 tomorrow. Lacock is a wonderful unspoiled picturesque village to visit. It is often used as a location in film and television dramas such as Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, two Harry Potter films, Fantastic Beasts, Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, Beauty and the Beast, and many others. Queen Camilla has a house here. When she was divorced from Andrew Parker Bowles she bought Rey Mill House just outside Lacock. She retained the house after marrying King Charles and still frequently uses it as a retreat from London. I have read that Charles later bought the neighbouring property as well to ensure her privacy. 

Photo 1835

Lacock was also the home of Henry Fox Talbot who was the most famous British pioneer of photography in the Victorian era. He lived at Lacock Abbey. In 1835 Fox Talbot took a photograph of a window in the Abbey which is the oldest existing photograph taken with a camera (See picture). The Fox Talbots owned almost the entire village. In 1916 Henry Fox Talbot's son Charles bequeathed the Lacock estate to his niece Matilda. The estate comprising of 284 acres, the Abbey and the village – was given to the National Trust in 1944 by Matilda Talbot which is why it remains in such a remarkably preserved condition. Lacock has three public houses and a number of shops in its High Street including a grocery store, a bakery, gift shops and a National Trust shop. The Sign Of The Angel where me and Lee dined is a 15^th century listed building, very olde worlde, like stepping back in time to the Tudor period.

When we arrived, the temperature was already 30C and I was concerned that it would be too hot. However, it turned out to be very pleasant indeed because they have a very nice shady garden which leads down to a stream. Lee spotted a most amazing blue-winged dragonfly flitting about by the stream. The waitress who had a very pleasant manner seated us at a table for two in the shade of a tree. The food was delicious. I opted for the spring vegetable orzo pasta, and Lee went for the Wye Valley asparagus and old Winchester cheese tart.  I enjoyed a glass of very dry, delicate light white wine called Whitehall Bacchus which is produced right here in Lacock. Poor Lee had to settle for iced Spring water because she was driving. We passed quite an idyllic hour or so sitting out there and chatting and remembering Paul. We did intend to have a stroll around the village, but when we left the shade of the garden and felt the heat outside I couldn’t face walking about, so we decided to get in Lee’s air-conditioned car and head home. Thank you Lee for driving, and thanks again to my friend for making it all possible.

In The Garden: Part 4.

Phew, wot a scorcher! It has been unseasonably hot here for the past few days and today has been the hottest day of all. It is 30 degrees centigrade at the moment which is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Celtic types like me don’t like it that hot. I have just come indoors to the cool of my living room. I have enjoyed sitting outside in the mornings, and especially in the cool of the evening. I love the ritual of watering the garden in the evenings, giving the plants a good soaking. Last night I was out there until it was nearly dark. It is very mindful looking upwards at the half-moon and the blue sky with just wisps of cloud and listening to a blackbird singing from the top of a neighbour’s tree. From about 9.00pm I was observing pairs of swifts darting about high up performing high speed aerial manoeuvres. For the last few weeks I have been following an ongoing dispute between a pair of blackbirds and a pair of wood pigeons who are nesting in the same tree. The blackbirds seem to be the aggressors. I think they see the wood pigeon’s large size and slow movements as a threat.

Despite the heat I have managed to get a few jobs done. I gave my pond it’s annual clean. That involved scooping out all the silt that accumulates at the bottom of the pond. I’m sure my two shubunkins appreciate their little pooliverse being a lot tidier. I think the bucketful of organic pond matter I gathered will make good fertiliser for my plants. Before the heat kicked in I also managed to paint the outside of my kitchen, and the tall wall with brilliant white masonry paint. That wall had very flaky paint ,and dirty with pollution. There is still a lot to do. I need to paint the window frames and my back door when it cools down a bit. My little garden is looking better by the day. The sunflowers are growing rapidly against the wall. They should look great when they flower. I’m pleased to see some marigolds from last year have returned and are in flower now. 

The clematis that I had to cut right back when I mended the fence is already shooting new stems skywards, so that is good. Down around the pond buttercups seem to have taken over. I used to dig out buttercups, but It’s a lot of hassle, so I think I’ll just leave them to get on with it. I’ll simply call the area down by the pond ‘The wild area’. My hanging baskets are starting to look good, but they won’t reach their best for a while yet. I know my little garden isn’t quite the Chelsea Flower Show, but I like pottering around in it. I’ll do another garden report before too long. Cheers.