Well that was a week to forget really; hopefully the only way is up. The situation with the van was somewhat stressful, it wasn’t until late on Thursday that I learned the extent of the damage to the engine from last Saturday’s breakdown. It’s all double-dutch to me, but when the mechanic called me I heard words that included drive belt, alternator, cam belt, timing, pistons and valves….oh and of course £800+! I should be able to pick it up on Tuesday, although there is a caveat – it’s not until he has fitted all of the new parts that he will be sure that the engine is fit and well. Another few anxious days lay ahead for me.
I had to hire a van from Thursday afternoon until Saturday afternoon, because I wouldn’t have been able to fit all of the orders and stuff for the market in Jennifer’s car. And she was working on Friday so I couldn’t use it then anyway. I even cycled to work one morning, I had forgotten just how ridiculously uncomfortable bike saddles are! I suppose that one’s bottom gets used to it, but by the time I dismounted at Moyns Park I was walking like John Wayne!
Then there were some supply problems, with the tomatoes unavailable after being victims of the French farmers blockade. They were held up en-route and didn’t make it to the distribution hub in time. And then the Brussels sprouts, which did arrive, were unusable so I rejected them. Sadly my own crop has now finished, so I’m in the hands of others. And then to finish off the week there were flooded roads following the heavy rainfall later in the week. It’s hairy enough when you are in your own vehicle, but when your deposit on a hire van is at risk the stakes and anxiety levels are raised. Fortunately I dropped it off yesterday afternoon after the market unmarked, save for a tideline of mud splatters around it. This week’s main photo was taken this morning by Brian Collins using his drone. It shows Clare, with the castle in the middle of the shot, and flooded water meadows. On the right of the picture is the Priory, which gets surrounded by water when conditions are like this. The video clip below is of the road outside the priory yesterday afternoon, with an obliging motorist making the excited children very happy! https://www.facebook.com/reel/400234829341651
The working week started so well, with the land in ideal shape for harrowing, which I got done on Monday. On the same day Alan, the farm manager, cut the long hedge between the garden and the orchard with his tractor mounted machine. I also did some more pruning in the orchard before the weather nose dived. It will be a while before any more field work can be contemplated. In the meantime there is plenty of seed sowing to be getting on with and countless other jobs.
I am hoping that I haven’t broken a bone in my foot. Last evening I lost my footing when going down some steps and landed heavily and awkwardly. I now have a very painful area on my foot just below my ankle, which is extremely tender to touch. I can walk on it, but if I twist it at all it is very uncomfortable – It doesn’t feel like a sprain. I will not be going to A&E unless it worsens, because if there is a broken bone I expect that I would be put in plaster, and I’m not having that. Let’s see how it goes.
Right, so this week, all being well, there will be tomatoes, there will be Brussels sprouts, and there will be watercress. That’s in addition to mushrooms, leeks, Savoy cabbage, Jerusalem artichokes, red cabbage, sweet potatoes, swede, parsnips and rainbow carrots. Apples are Spartan, there are blood oranges, clementines, lemons, limes, oranges and Seville oranges. I made an error last week and gave one customer (that I am aware of) Seville oranges instead of sweet ones, which scuppered poor old Liz’s cake making plans. If you haven’t made marmalade yet you have probably only got another couple of weeks to get on to it.
On the morning that I cycled to work, just as I was approaching the point on the drive where a spur peels off to the left down past the stables and on to the farm yard, I saw a fox in beautiful condition dart into the garden of the big house through some shrubs. That same evening I walked down the drive to the main gates where I was to be picked up. Well at the point where I had seen the fox earlier it appeared again in front of me and started trotting along the drive in the same direction of travel as me, only 100 metres ahead. Every 20 seconds or so it stopped, looked back at me, before commencing on its way. Eventually it left the drive and made off into woodland, still pausing to check on my whereabouts. It was unusually coloured, more like a rich chocolate brown Labrador than the reddish hue that is normal, it is a handsome beast.
That’ll do for me. Please keep those fingers and toes crossed for a happy outcome for my van; I hope that you might see it tootle up to your premises later in the week with your order on board. Have a good week.
Phil