John Wasn't
Secrets
Sixty Years
Well after an uneventful journey up here yesterday I am now in Lancashire. I've lived in Sussex for over thirty years now and visit Lancashire three or four times a year, sometimes more! I always enjoy visiting the old familiar 'haunts' and taking a trip down but memory lane. But something definitely happens with age, as I was motoring north yesterday and caught my first glimpse of Rivington pike and ‘them there hills’, as we jokingly referred to them in my youth, I’ll swear there was a tear in my eye. As we age I’m sure we get more nostalgic and the past is always viewed through rose tinted specs. I can remember my Dad waxing lyrical about the old country and I in my youth used to think ‘barmy old codger’. He used to sit for hours listening to songs about forty shades of green and his poor auld Mammy whilst reading Ireland’s Own magazine. Now I spend many a happy hour listening to Joe Fish country on Radio Lancashire via the internet and buying music by the Houghton Weavers, Fivepenny Piece and new stars like Kate Rushby who sings with a lovely northern accent, albeit Yorkshire! I also find myself saying things like ‘Ohhh the nights are drawing in’ and ‘kids today don’t know their born’. I even listen to Terry Wogan and can relate to the ‘TOGS’ emails. Yes I reckon somewhere deep in the grey matter is a small pea sized node called the reminiscence gland which becomes activated as our hair turns grey and the knees ‘give out’.
Well I’m off with my camera today to Worden Park in Leyland and I’ll take some snaps of the Daffs, hopefully in the sunshine. I’ll probably end up sat on a park bench remembering school cross country runs through there in my youth. No wonder my knees are creaky!
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Isn't technology amazing - now I've got a whole range of 'little folk' to add to my blogs and I can upload galleries of photos. I'm off to Lancs on Tuesday so watch this space Leyland Park should be full of Daffs and spring flowers. I've also been busy this week tidying up my short stories to add - must dash!
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As today was still spring like I'm still busy planning what I'm going to do with the garden this year, so it was a visit to a garden centre that was on today’s agenda. A very slow drive with the rest of West Sussex over towards Brighton race course took us to one, where we found plenty of Mother’s day gifts, Easter bunnies, obscure sauces, pickles and a book department covering everything from alternative remedies to mythology but no cold frames which is what I was really looking for. No we are not supposed to buy cold frames any more, just ‘plug plants’ or better still polystyrene packed ready nurtured plants. I will hand it to them they were selling plastic greenhouses but they weren’t big enough to swing a cat in. I have memories of my Dad ‘hiding’ in his greenhouse for hours puffing on his pipe. He would have asphyxiated inside five minutes in the models we saw today. I'll keep looking for the cold frame and resist the urge to be wowed by the ready nurtured plants.
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I now know how to add pictures to my blog (I think). My other half in his wisdom has decided to install the latest version of this blogging software which has more features which means there is now even more to get my poor old grey matter round! Just when I think I have got to grips with something I'm sure him in the loft gets some sort of evil pleasure from confusing me even more, which I admit is not hard! I really haven't got much time to wibble tonight I have to work out how to make thumbnails of pictures I want to include and how to add emoticons. Does anyone know what fried brains smells like?
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Today has been a lovely day - spring is springing! Went up to Highdown Gardens at lunch time and took a picnic lunch. It's the first proper chance I have had to take some macros with my new camera (Birthday pressie!), they really do look good.
I do wish Hellebores would turn their faces to the sun instead of growing in downward facing clumps, they are such lovely flowers. I will post one of the pictures here when I've worked out how! Just wish I could keep up with technology.We came back from Highdown and I spent the afternoon in my garden, generally tidying and filling in the empty spaces in the garden (Only a couple). I had 3 Dicentras (AKA Bleeding Heart) that I got from Wilkinsons earlier in the weekto put in. They are so attractive when they flower and return year after year. I am also pleased that I took loads of Geranium cuttings last year and they have survived and are now looking healthy. I usually go out each year and buy new ones but it was so easy I don't know why I didn't do it earlier! While working in the garden and out at highdown I was amazed to see quite a few bumble bees and even a couple of butterflies I'm sure they are early.
Gosh just read through this and realised that I have wibbled on for an age! Never mind - the Chinese takeaway is beckoning me.
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