Thursday 30th May 2024

And so to the last day of holiday, and a day packed with stuff.

I dropped Jools off in town so Sean could take her to work, though in truth her voice has been getting weaker.

I drive back home for breakfast and to check on my camera before loading the car and heading out.

At Pegwell Bay there is a small reserve with a high number of Southern Marsh and hybrids of those with CSOs, though few actual CSO.

They should have been at their peak, so I drove out to the A2, only to find that at rush hour people seem to forget the rules of the road, which can only explain a Hilux driver hauling a horse box, fail to spot me overtaking him and he pull out. No looking, no indication, no apology either.

Then on the Sandwich bypass, more mad driving as I tried to pull over to take the right hand lane at Richborough to go to Ebbsfleet.

I and the car were in one piece, and once parked I walk over the main road to the reserve, which was a haven of peace, at least until a guy with two Alsatians came along, off the lead. Can't a nature reserve be a dog-free area, or they be kept on leads?

I go exploring and find dozens of spikes, along with a roosting Brown Argus, but my knee is complaining. Silly me, really for not wearing my brace as I thought that the site wasn't that hilly or difficult.

So, I beat a retreat to the car to drive to the next site, Monkton Nature Reserve.

The Reserve in an old chalk pit, for for something like two decades has been taken over by nature. I was last here a decade ago when I saw a grass snake swimming in the pond, and several species of orchid around the site.

It being school holidays meant it was crazy busy, and I grabbed the last parking space, only ten minutes after opening.

There were Man Orchids all over the site, they guy in charge told me he had counted over 700 spikes, which is a huge increase over when I was last here, in addition, some of the spikes have green hoods and yellow lips, something to appeal to the Norwich fan in all of us!

The pond was out of bounds, and I didn't feel up to climbing the cliffs via the steps, so I was back and leaving in just under an hour.

I called in at the butcher on the way back for some meaty supplies and a pasty for lunch, and by the time I was back in St Maggies I had an hour before the last shoot of the day: a railtour at Shepherdswell.

Again at the Duke of Yorks roundabout, I was nearly run off the road, this time by a Volvo driver who failed to give way at the give way lines from Jubilee Way. Only problem was that I was in the way. Again, no apology from the driver as she cut in front of me.

The usual issues with the narrow road leading into Shepherdswell, but I get there safe, nab the last parking spot and walk to the station, where quite a crowd was gathering.

Standing next to be was a 90 year old former colleague of Uncle John, a guy with the real name of Tommy Atkins, who had a hell of a time in the war with that name.

Clan Line hoved into view, over two miles down the track, steaming and smoking well, then cresting the bank a mile distant, cruised down the hill into the station, giving two blasts on her steam whistle, and was under me and into the tunnel.

And gone.

Leaving a cloud of smoke, drifting in the air.

I drove home, but soon get a text from Jools saying she was ill and could I collect her, so do.

Her cough is terrible, and she was asked to go home and take Friday off.

So the plan to go out for dinner was scrapped, instead I defrosted some ragu and focaccia from before the holiday, boiled some dried pasta, and within half an hour we sat down to a fine meal.

A quiet evening with no football meant an early night for both of us.

Wednesday 29th May 2024

I usually have this week of for orchiding, to get round less known sites. Doubly so this year with last week being in Ireland.I usually have this week of for orchiding, to get round less known sites. Doubly so this year with last week being in Ireland.

But the weather has had other ideas, and with just one car between the two of us, the logistics is tricky.

So, I decided to stay home Wednesday, my next-to-last day off, to do the chores I had set myself Tuesday aside to complete.

Tidy up the litter trays and tackle the lawnmeadow, or the parts which are no so heavily seeded and suffer with seeds and waste from the feeders.

It was all going to plan until the volcano on Iceland erupted again. This time with 3km long fissures and sprays of lava 200m in the air.

I had two live feeds going to watch the display.

I did go out in the afternoon to tackle the meadow. Fired up the mower and in a couple of minutes had cleared the areas I wanted, then rake the clippings up, and ignore Scully who wanted "meow".

Loudly.

I say on the patio and read some of WSC, then inside to catch up on the eruption.

And then to dinner: butterfly lamb chops, hasselback potatoes, Boston beans and creamed spinach.

Was good as you can imagine.

And just like old times, there was football on in the evening, another European final, though was thin gruel to be honest, I gave up after 90 minutes with the scores still at 0-0.

Tuesday 28th May 2024

Tuesday, and so after none days off, Jools goes back to work, but I still have three more days, as I had plenty more orchiding planned to do.

But the weather had other ideas, and Jools needed the car in the afternoon.

So I stayed home and waited for the overnight rain to ease.

I had a week's podcasts and blog posts to catch up on, and once I got into the habit of that, I really didn't feel like moving much.

There were plans to part mow the meadow, just where the grass grows thick in the lea of the hedge and underneath the feeders, but somehow, I did not have time.

The day slipped by, I had crispbakes in rolls for lunch and settled back to read WSC comes in the sunshine now flooding the back garden, with Scully to join me to roll in the sun and purr very loudly.

I made a new quick Italian pizza bread to go with Caprese for dinner, which we woolfed down whilst listening to Bono on Desert Island Discs.

A day I would rather spent doing what I did than working, it has to be said.

Monday 27th May 2024

Late Spring Bank Holiday (whitsun).

Would have been Mum's 80th birthday.

I don't miss her, but May used to be the month wth most of the family's birthdays, and hers was the last of the month.

And now they're all gone. Mum. Dad. Grandad. 2nd wife. Her son.

Life, however, goes on.

This year's submission for the hybrid between the LSO and Bee, Ophrys x albertiana.

I was up and out before eight, as rain was forecasted from mid-morning, so had to make the best of it.

This is a little known population, with several interesting spikes, though still early in the season to be really spectacular.

We shall be back in two weeks or so with something special or two.

I promise.

So, I drove through the town, thus avoiding the port because of the jams from the weekend. I mean they probably were gone, but just in case then out along the A20, to Folkestone, then into the countryside.

I park down a quiet lane, my car jammed against the fence at a parking place, get my camera, walking pole and knee brace out, a few minutes faffing and I'm ready.

I failed to mention the clear skies promised were not above me, but to the north, and was raining.

Hard.

I began the climb through the wood, then up the twisting path as the down rose up, and out into open country. I was met by a pair of Common Spotted Orchids, and I could see more up the down.

Now, I had thought long and hard about going out, was it worth knacking up my knee for? But then, I don't want to end up like Mum, housebound, so decided to go out anyway. In fact, my knee behaved itself, and I felt no adverse effects until into the night, for which there are drugs.

Anyway, after five minutes I find the first pair of Late Spiders, I could see no flattened grass indicating I might be the first to visit the site this season.

Further up I found more and more, but only a couple with more than one flower out, but I guess I found 60 spikes, but then I'm crap at guessing.

As I climbed higher, the sun came out and became a rather morning, what with Late Spiders, Twayblades, CSO and Fragrants all open or about to.

I began to cage the Late Spiders, but there was soon too many for the small supply of wire cages, and so gave up, just went round inspecting every spike to see if there was anything unusual.

I found one suspect hybrid with a Bee, but that was it.

So, made my way down the down, back to the car and home. Where I had an accident, a guy in a faux Jeep saw me coming, went past a passing place and we struck mirrors, his came off and rolled along the ground, mine didn't.

I made good my escape and drove on.

Back to Folkestone and then home, even going up Jubilee Way where there was hardly any traffic.

Back home, Jools's cold was now a cough, and she ached from it.

So I made dinner.

Lunch.

Pan fried asparagus in butter, fresh bread and wine. Two lots of asparagus too. Was delicious.

Tried not to sleep through the afternoon. I caught up with the last day of the Prem season before baking pizza for supper.

A quiet kind of day, one of much-needed rest for Jools.

In bed at eight to read.

Phew.

The new normal?

Whilst we were in Ireland, on the first day on the Emerald Isle in fact, the final day of the Premier League season played, round 38 of games. And to no one's surprise, Manchester City won the title for the 6th time in 7 years.

Only LIverpool winning it in the Pandemic year of 2020 stopped a clean sweep.

Once again Arsenal kept going until the last game, but needed Citeh to lose and they win. City did not lose, they put I think West Ham to the sword, and Arse needed a goal in the last 5 minutes to beat Burnely?

Something like that.

While at the other end, Luton were thrashed and so went down with the other two promoted clubs from the previous season.

What if I told you this was the first time in 26 years that all three of the promoted clubs went straight back down? Surprised?

And they went down despite both Everton and Nottingham Forest being deducted 8 and four points respectively.

The Premier League and its main broadcast partner, Sky, like to brand the Premier League as the best and most exciting League in the world. Truth is, its not even the best league in England: that's probably the Championship, but go down the pyramid and most leagues are for more competitive than the Prem.

Football is entertainment, but at its heart to be engaging there has to be an element of sporting chance to it, that either team playing, or more than three or four teams can win the league. Reality is that no one outside the usual suspects: Citeh, Arse, Liverpool and maybe one or two others really stand a chance of winning the league, even if it goes to the last game.

To get the same amount of TV revenue from domestic broadcasters, half the Premier League games will be on TV, and more than half for the Championship going forward. It will have surprised no one that we have reached saturation point. And with the Prem not really exciting at the top, and for most of the rest its pretty much a battle against relegation most seasons, withlittle forward movement.

If it becomes the nom that the three promoted teams go straight back down, even if like Burnley last season ammassed 101 points and played open expansive football, and still went down. What chance does any team being promoted have in the Prem? And is promotion worth it if all there is to look forward to is being thrashed in over half your games. Sheffield Utd conceded 104 goals this season: three a game. Possibly the worst team to grace the top division, the got over 90 points in the Championship and finished second to earn their right to play Citeh, Liverpool and Arse. And be thrashed.

The Football League wants "parachute payments" scrapped for relegated teams to make the Championship more equal, but what then of promoted teams, who will risk less in their only season in the Prem, and come down having conceded even more than 104.

And howlong before we, the fans, at home and in TVland, get bored with it?

If fans get bored, TV revenues will drop, and maybe with less money swilling about, might get interesting again.

Or not.

Football can only fix the problem if they see the current situation as an actual problem, and for one, the Premier League doesn't.

Sunday 26th May 2024

Jools woke up with a cold. Sneezing and coughing, so she would be going nowhere, and as for me, my knee was not as bad, needed some phys, but probably not up a down.

We had a coffee and breakfast of fruit, and I then lollygagged around waiting for quarter to ten to tick by, so I could go to Tesco for Jools to get some medicated tissues.

And then go on to Sandwich.

Tesco isn't that mad on the middle Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend, though those having to work have that thousand yard stare of those who have been in combat for some time.

I go in, get the tissues and am out in two minutes.

I drove out of the car park and onto the Sandwich road, pretty empty at this time of day, and pretty good to be out.

I am now a paid up member of the reserve, so no need to pay, so flash my pass at the estate gate and am allowed in, though only allowed to go to the observatory, though I heard later people drive all over with a pass.

I park up, check in with the desk, and then go out to cross the meadow on my way to the golf course and The Strand beyond.

In comes my friend John, who tells me about a colony of Man Orchids to see, and we catch up with news of each other's lives.

We are both retiring next year: he from being a tour guide and running his shop, and me from any kind of meaningful work.

We shake hands and I go out, recent rains had left past of the path pretty muddy, but no issue.

I quickly tick off a Small Heath and Small Copper butterfly, snapping them both, but the Small Copping apparently paler than I am used to.

There are two Southern Marsh spikes in the meadow, but none on the path to the ringing cages, so I double back to cross the golf course.

Despite my comments about the be-Pringled, they are good sorts, I wait for the first group to finish their tee shots, they then wave me on, all civilised stuff.

I see my first spikes of Lizard Orchids, none in flower, but nearer to the Strand they are.

Also I see large numbers of one of our rarest plants, Bedstraw Broomrape, a hemi-parasitic plant that smells faintly of cloves, thus giving its more common name, Clove-scented broomrape.

I make it to the Strand, and walk down a few hundred yards, taking shots of the Lizards in flower and the broomrapes, at one point an orchid and broomrape growing next to each other.

On the way back I found the colony of Man Orchids, about 8 to ten spikes, going to seed at the bottom, but the top looking good. I get shots before turning to the gate back across the golf course.

Back in the observatory, I meet back with John who tells me of a colony of Bee Orchids, which just happens to be on my way home. So that's settled.

Back to the car and off towards Deal before turning off, and just where he said, I find about ten large Bee Orchid spikes around a new housing development.

As I get my shots, an automated announcement tells me I am trespassing and should vacate the area, but I was on public land and no bother to anyone.

Back home through Deal, with all parking spaces full what with it being: the seaside, bank holiday and sunny. But I go on, turning back along the coast road to home where Jools is coughing whilst waiting.

There was time for lunch before the afternoon's play off final between Leeds and Southampton: Leeds's manager was a previous Norwich manager and Southampton's was our previous captain.

Both play attractive football, so I really didn't mind who won. But was a poor game, so much at stake, and many mistakes made. But Southampton scored the only goal, and although Leeds pushed hard, and hit the bar, they were second best on the day.

For the evening I spent an hour uploading shots to BlueSky for #wildflowerhour.

As you do.

Saturday 25th May 2024

My knee and mozzy bites kept me awake most of the night again, but then didn't, as I slept in until seven, when the hot water fired up.

It seems each morning now consists of getting up and finding which part of me aches now. Saturday it was my right foot that hurt more than my knee, so well done foot. This was down to my cheap trainers and my turning my foot over whilst climbing the down at Park Gate.

Saturday was a glorious day, and it seemed such a shame to spend it lazing around, but I was in no fit state to climb any more downs, let along Temple Ewell which had been the plan.

Instead we took things easy. Or i did. Jools did some gardening, and caught up on podcasts, read, wrote some blogs and edited photos, all until three when the Cup Final kicked off.

Yes, the Cup Final, once again the only game taking place in England that day, and shown live on BBC, and again it was City v United, with Citeh going for a double double.

We all expected them to do it.

But then, football.

Utd, played like they haven't all season, we 2-0 up by half time and having a right old laugh.

City never got going, but did pull one back near the end, but didn't come close to getting a second.

And that was that.

The local starlings have fledged, so the air filled with their demands for food from dawn to dusk.