Friday 13th September 2024 - Tempted, Opinions Change and a Coat of Paint

There has been such a cold wind this week.  So cold, it feels as though it’s come straight down from the North Pole.  I have been wearing gloves on our morning walks and this morning I wrapped a scarf around my neck so the chill could not penetrate down into my jacket.  I was quite tempted, to wash my summer dresses and light weight tops ready to pack away until next year but I had second thoughts when I saw the weather forecast for next week, when we should see temperatures back into the 20°C’s.  Not just the winds, we have had rain and hail too!  We did wonder if the car boot would go ahead yesterday but it did.  Not many stalls, around ten, it was still worth a visit because what did I buy – yes, you guessed, more plants.

Funny how opinions change.  We used to say the TV programme, Beechgrove Garden, was far better than Gardener’s World, providing good practical advice but things have changed.  Some of the earlier presenters have either retired or moved on to other things and since then the programme has not been the same.  I still enjoy, one of the original gardeners, George’s coverage of his garden and allotment but the others don’t always get down to the practical side of gardening.  Last week I found myself commenting, when advice just didn’t make sense e.g. why are they saying not to water the leaves when this is an outside plant which is going to be rained on.  Having said that, we do still watch the programme.  I have mentioned before in blogs; I now watch Gardener’s World on my laptop on iplayer.  I enjoy Monty Don’s tips and although, like Beechgrove, I don’t associate with some of the gardens (I skip these sections) the team visit, there is nearly always coverage of viewers gardens; these are smaller and I find more interesting.  So, there you are, thumbs down for Beechgrove and a thumbs up for Gardener’s World.

After a break during August, our ExWI group met up again on Wednesday at the Belfry Centre’s Café.  It was good to catch up with our latest news, as well as to see the new curtains in the main hall and the summerhouse in the courtyard, all purchased from funds raised by Overstrand Together.  Some of the rooms in the centre have received a fresh coat of paint.  The work was undertaken in August by members of the Community Pay Back group.  The café has also had a change of furniture and has been aesthetically decorated with musical instruments and plants.  I mustn’t forget to mention, a section of the wood wall cladding in the main hall which has been removed to show a section of the original brickwork and cobbles.  As you can see from the photo below, there are some quite small cobbles. they must have taken ages to put in place.