Sunday 23rd August 2026

We have had some rain in the last week. And contacts on Blue Sky mentioned that where they were, that where a week back there had been no spikes, there were now at least some after rain.

Which is how I had decided to climb Temple Ewell down again Sunday morning, just seven days after drawing a blank. Or was it fourteen?

Time goes so quickly.

Jools had slept badly, so decided not to come to the gym at seven, nor climb the down straight after. So I grabbed my gym bag, the camera, and car keys and was off in the car.

The gym is always empty Sunday mornings, even during school holidays, so the car park was mostly full, and just two others in the gym once I had climbed the stairs.

I thought it was cool outside, but was soon hot enough to want to bail early. Twenty minutes slipped to thirty, then it was do 300 calories and that would do it, doubly so as I would be walking up the down in a few minutes.

I drove over to Temple Ewell, parked behind the old pub, got out the walking pole and camera, then set off.

A year ago this was climbing an Alpine peak, something to be avoided except when there was no other way. After a year of phys, its not that bad,, so I pressed in through the lower wood, around the edge of the large meadow, up through the second wood, and out onto the open downland highlands.

Along the track, through the gate, and once passed the fence, down the slope, looking all round for signs of a spike.

I told myself I was stupid for thinking anything would have grown since I was last here, but then there were hundreds of new Devil's bit scabious now waving in the air, where they weren't last time I was here.

I walked down, and was running out of short grazed grass, when I saw the first spike. That green twist with white and green flowers meant there was no mistake.

And it had grown some four inches since I was last there, and in fact the lower flowers were already going brown having been pollenated.

I walked back up, and found a second, only partially open spike, but that was it: two plants.

But it counts.

And counts as my 66th and final wild European orchid species of 2026.

I went into the lower paddock to look for Autumn gentians, but found no trace, not even after the rain, so after an hour's searching, I walked back down the down to the car park and hence home.

Back home for half nine, time for a fresh brew and breakfast. Jools was feeling better and busy in the garden.

I went for a shower, changed and felt better. I instead prepared hash for lunch, chopping potatoes to have soak, then the vegetables and chorizo.

Potatoes boiled, let cool down, before frying the onions and peppers, then the chorizo, before finally cooking the potatoes until golden and crispy.

Then there was football, of course. Brighton (an Hove) swept to a 4-0 half time lead over then-man Villa, and from that there was no coming back. That was followed by Newcastle v Liverpool, where they remembered Kevin Keegan before kick off, then played attack v defence for 90 minutes in his honour.

Its what he would have wanted.

Supper was cheese and wine, with the wine being one of the bottles bought from Burgundy last month, and which cooked in the car as we headed south towards Spain. So, I thought it best to get it drunk.

No obvious drop in quality, 2022 was a very good Burgundian vintage.

Saturday 22nd August 20206

It am the weekend.

It is the end of summer. Or near the end, it has cooled down some, and even rained.

And after the wind down before the holiday, and then the wind back up upon our return, it was about time I did a full session again.

So up at six, sort the cats out, drink coffee and all ready to go.

In order not to overheat, I kept my RPM down to about 57, and that seemed to work, and with The Sound of Football podcast to listen to, the forty minutes flew by.

It was then off to Tesco to play hunt the essentials as the remodelling is still ongoing, but mostly done.

And then back home to put the shopping away, boil the kettle for brews, before breakfast.

We were all done by ten, and Jools had pointed out that we had three other unpainted windowsills. I had done two, so now it was time to do the three upstairs.

Without falling out the window!

I had washed with fungicide the day before, all I had to do was get the tin of paint upstairs without spilling any or tripping up, then paint two layers on each sill without falling out the windows, or letting any paint drop to the windows below.

Jools went out to avoid worrying about me having an accident.

In the end, each sill took about ten minutes, then an hour to allow to dry, before putting on a second coat. And the deed was done.

I pack away the paint, clean the brush and all is done. I have a pint of squash, then realise I was ready for the football at half twelve.

Norwich on the tellybox again, away at Millwall, and should have been a good game.

Sadly, Norwich played like strangers. Tired strangers, and never got going, 2-0 down at half time, they ship a third after half time, and were second best in every department. The worst performance in nearly a year!

In the Prem, Man Utd get our fought by Hull and go down 2-0, and after the main batch of games, Spurs lose 3-0 at Brentford is a typical Spursy performance.

So it goes.

Friday 21st August 2026

We woke to a little more rain. After all, every little helps!

I say we woke, I should say Jools was up at five, fed the cats, while I slept on, only waking when Jools drove out of the drive to her yoga class, I had somehow slumbered for ten hours.

I made coffee, put out the last of the bins, and looked at the state of the world on the interwebs.

Hmmmm.

The rain cleared, just as well as Andy was coming down from Faversham, as I was going to show him the remains of the Dover Mineral Railway, later the Dover Military Railway, which began at Martin Mill, then ran beside the main line towards Guston, but climbed instead of falling towards the tunnel, then sweeping round to cross the Deal road at Swingate before crossing to Langdon Hole, before descending down to the cliff face, where a large ledge was carved to allow the line to drop to near where Jubilee Way is now. This was to bring material for the new Harbour Arm, rather than bring it by sea.

There is little to see to the untrained eye, but on Google maps, the route is marked by hedges and embankments, and where is crossed the roads to Guston village and East Langdon, there is the abutments of two overbrdges that carried the line.

The cutting and bridge that took it under the Deal road have been mostly filled in, but we would investigate.

Jools brought the car back at eight, so we had a brew and breakfast. All ready for her to walk to the library at half nine for another knit and natter.

I went to Priory station to meet Andy, then take us to Martin Mill to show him the tiny signal box, and where the line branched off a little way up the line to Dover.

Then to see the remains of the two overbridges, and Andy explored what was left of the trackbed at the second bridge.

Next was to look at the remains of the underbridge on the Deal road. A friend took shots about a decade ago, and the bridge was intact. But now its all hidden behind vegetation, and too dense to risk exploring on foot in case you couldn't get back up.

We managed to park at Langdon Hole, at the dogwalkers layby, and were rewards with fine views down the trackbed to the Cliff Road, and the port, then to the Channel beyond, and France on the horizon.

Back to Chez Jelltex for a brew and a meet up with Jools, before we retired to the Chance Inn in Guston for a pint of Harvey's best and a chat with the barmaid.

Somehow, five hours had passed, and Andy had to get back hoe, so I dropped him back at Priory, then made my way back home to relax, then cook dinner.

Being a Friday there was the quiz. I came seventh, then settle down on the sofa with Scully to watch the first Premier League game: Arsenal v Coventry, which ended up an easy win for the Gunners.

Thursday 20th August 2026

It's nearing the end of another week, and being Thursday, it was a phys day.

I was first up for a change, so got up, tested and jabbed Scully, fed her and the rest of the cats, before making drinks.

Phew.

Outside, the fire smouldered on, not as bad, but still going strong some 36 hours after it started.

Or was started.

Jools was up too, dressed, so after drinking our brews, we were out.

Although it felt fresher out, inside the gym it was still humid, and the workout reached thirty five minutes before calling it a day.

On the way home we filled the car up, the first time since we got back from France, then home for breakfast and another brew.

There is more than enough time for a shower and shave in the morning, then think about doing the other three windowsills upstairs.

I handbag that until the afternoon, and when Jools was out get the fungicide out and brush it one, then wipe off, all ready for some painting action either Friday or Saturday.

There's not much else to say about the afternoon, just lollygagging about until it was time for dinner: half a pizza each and a slice of poor cheesecake.

I even end up going to bed at eight, and while Jools watched a film, I fell asleep and heard nothing for ten hours.

Wednesday 19th August 2026

I thought we slept well, all things considered.

But I woke at some point during the night with an ocular migraine, and had a second within an hour of waking, then a third at lunchtime, despite not doing much stuff on the computer as Flickr didn't work.

I would end up having a two hour lay down in bed with Cleo until it was time to go out.

They day began with us checking on the fire out back.

Small flames could still be seen, and much smoke still rose into the air, though not as thick. At least one engine stayed all day, and into Wednesday night, damping down.

The row of mature trees along the track leading to the farm had all either been burnt or cut down, but the barn and farm were still there. And the cows still mooed.

Wednesday also brought rain. Steady, unspectacular rain, but the kind that would soak into the soil and lawnmeadow. We just need another two or three months of such rain to see the county right.

We did little, other than Jools going to another or her classes down at the Riverside centre, then come back via M&S laden with sausage rolls. Which we ate with fresh brews, obvs.

I got up at two, and got ready to go out. We were to meet Pete and Elaine in Canterbury for drinks and dinner, though Elaine's broken foot meant she couldn't walk far or fast.

Thankfully there's a few pubs around Canterbury West station, as well as a few places to eat, so all was set.

We drove to Canterbury, parked again near to St Augustine's, then walked over the inner ring road and through the city centre, past the Christchurch Gate and the "new" Marlow, before finally past the Westgate and to the station, arriving two whole minutes before their train arrived.

Once they emerged, we walked away from the city centre, over the level crossing to The Unicorn Inn, where there were no other customers, so would could take a corner booth, order drinks and get down to catching up.

A couple of hours later we walked down to the Mexican place on the corner, not yet busy and doing half-price cocktails!

We order good Mexican food and drinks, then people watch as more and more people come in.

The food was excellent, and not too spicy: Jools and Elaine shared a paella, which might have been the best decision of the day.

Having had several beers, Jools had to drive us back, after walking back through the empty city centre streets, then drive into the sunset back to the A2 and home.

Where the feline welcoming committee was waiting, so they were dealt with before making one last brew of the day.

Outside, the smouldering hay had been turned over, so had reignited and flashlights flashed as more hotspots were dealt with.

Tuesday 18th August 2026

It was a normal Tuesday, until about half six in the evening.

Before then, we had gone to the gym, did just half an hour as it was so hot.

It is cooler in the mornings, a little, and laying in bed seems so attractive. In fact Jools slept through the alarm until twenty past five, by which time I was dressed, fed the cats, tested and jabbed Scully, and made drinks.

Jools didn't go to the gym, as she wasn't awake enough, so I went and dis 75% of a session

Jools had her normal busy Tuesday: keep fit first, but then a breakfast with that class instead of knit and natter, then into town to the dentist.

Once she was gone, I had breakfast and a brew, then got down to the much delayed task of painting the windowsills on the living room windows.

They were green with lichen, and needed attention. We'd had the fungicide and paint for two years or more, but this time it was action.

I scrubbed the sills, let them dry after wiping down, then put two coats of pain on the two long faces.

Not perfect, but looked better.

I had a shower to celebrate.

Not much else happened through the afternoon. Jools came back home, we had a snack of cheese and crackers (no wine), then had Caprese once we had fed the cats again at five.

Jools had left to visit Jen to finalise details of their trip next year, so I stayed home, washed up and called a friend to talk about orchids.

At about half six, I saw smoke rising from the farm, and was angry at them lighting a bonfire with the ground so dry.

But it was worse than tat.

Much worse.

Three teenage boys, it seems had set light to the haystack, and it went up.

Soon flames were reaching fifty metres into the sky, thick smoke drifted into the still air.

The fire spread quickly, and having heard no sirens, I called 999. It took ten minutes for the call to be answered, but once they did, it was confirmed engines were on their way.

Smoke was rising beside their barn, which was full of cows, and next to that was the farmhouse.

The first engine arrived, followed by at least five more, and the battle started.

As darkness fell, it was contained, the barn and cows were saved, but the hedge with mature trees was cut down as it was in danger of being consumed.

As darkness fell, it was like a volcano, with the bales reduced to what looked like lava, smoked lit by the fire rose into the inky black sky.

I guess the fire was about 50m from the end of the garden, and we would have been in trouble had the wind changed direction, but it didn't.

We went to bed to the sound of the pumps on the engines, trying to cool the flames, but the farm was safe, as so were we.

It's Arsenal's to lose now

Sorry to have to report that the new Premier League season is due to begin tomorrow evening, when Arsenal take on Coventy live on the tellybox.

Asenal have strengthened sensibly through the summer, and so have a deeper, better squad than last season.

They will be formidable to say the least.

So, will anyone be able to keep up with the Gunners?

As most of their main rivals, Aston Villa excepted, have if not new managers, or managers/coaches going into their first full season in charge. And some will have to improve by a significant amount if their season is to be judged a success.

Andoni Iraola left Bournemouth to take over at Liverpool. Slott being sacked soon after the end of the season after a disappointing second season in charge. And winning the title twelve months earlier at a canter counted for nothing. To complicate matters, Liverpool are the subject of a minor-shareholding buy-out, with the bald bloke who owns Amazon as one of the consortium. They will own close to 40% of the club, and might buy more of the club next year to take their stake to over 50%.

Watch this space.

Pep lookalike, Enzo Maresca, took over from Pep at Citeh, as a result of Pep standing down after a decade of trophy-strewn years in charge. Mentioning charges, those 115 charges are yet to be decided upon, and winning games might be the least of their problems. In addtion, the midfield due of Silva and Rodri both left. Last week's Community Sheild capitulation has set the alarm bells ringing, and things might not be going well at Citeh this season.

Michael Carrick continues in the Manchester United hotseat, hopes are high at very Old Trafford, but then they are every year. They seem to have bought well, but then do every year, but it is how much slack he is given if and when the going gets tough. Being in the CL as well as the league will be very different to last season's lowest ever number of first team games of 40 (forty)

Chelsea pulled off the coup of the summer in appointing Xabi Alonso as manager, not coach, but this was before the Liverpool hot seat was known to be available. Alonso could have gone to almost any top European club, but decided on one of last season's basket cases, Chelsea. Chelsea have been busy buying up experienced players, and trying to sell of some of their failed younger stars from the last four years. But even still, Chelsea have more than 50 senior players and just 12 days before the transfer window shuts, so they can pretend to balance the books.

Newcastle are still in crisis, as two weeks ago manager, Eddie Howe resigned halfway through pre-season, and appointed Matthias Jaissle (me neither), after selling three of their best players, if not their three best players: Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £69.3 millions, Sandro Tonali to Spurs for £100 million, and Bruno Guimarães to Arsenal for £75 million. They have spent well in brining in replacements, but none of them are stars or household names, so this could go very badly indeed.

Tottenham Hotspur appointed Roberto De Zerbi on the last day of March this year, and he just did enough to keep Spurs in the Premier League. Coming after the previous season when Spurs finished 17th, the belief was that things could only get better in 25/26. They got 50% more points, but finished 17th again, just above West Ham. Spurs have something like 500 midfielders, and just two forwards: Dominic Solanke and Richarlison, neither of which are prolific and are injury-prone.

And Aston Villa have had their squad raided by their rivals, so have the rest of the window to correct that, but do have a quality manager still in post, so anything could happen.

More interesting than who will be runners up, is how each of the above react to a run of bad results. Heads could roll, and quickly.