Voting for Christmas

The rugby Varsity match would always signal the start of Christmas as far aa I was concerned and it was usually played on the second Tuesday of December. I then tried to have some sort of party to go to every day from then until Christmas Eve. The build-up to Christmas was always much more enjoyable then the day itself.   Things have changed and now the match will be played in late March and I think trying to start my Christmas celebrations then would be a bit tricky.

So my new kick-off event has been the golf club turkey trot, a competition played in pairs for which the top three prizes are turkey. Last weekend myself and my partner came second and so I was in amongst the prizes. The Senior men also had a competition on the following Monday and again me and my partner came second. Only wine for prizes on this occasion though. 

So now the countdown for Christmas has started in earnest, but the news of a new strain of COVID is making it difficult for me to go out every day and be sociable. I did manage to go to Gino's skybar again last night with a few of the Visionaries. It was an excellent night which I think a few of the cry-offs might now be regretting not attending. Today I brought the Wallasey golf club green staff a drink in the clubhouse as a small thank you for all the hard work they have put in on behalf of the members this year. The rest of next week is looking a bit sparse though, as the latest government statistics and press conferences have put people on the back foot.

I am concerned that the information we are being given is not allowing people to make the right choices. We are never told how the death rate at the moment compares to the 2019 five year average for the same time period. We are not told how many people in hospital do not have the recommended number of jabs, and by their own admission nobody has indicated how severe the latest strain is. Indeed the data from South Africa indicates it could be quite mild.

The virus has no reason to kill all the hosts it is mutating on as that will be self defeating as eventually it will die off. If the side effects are minor then we are just facing another flu or common cold Winter challenge but there is no need to shut everything down just for that. Get on with life, get jabbed and live life for the reason it exists.

So back to the diary and address book to see who I can go out with next week!!

Honey Fungus

It's hard to believe that I am approaching the end of my first year in retirement, but as the nights grow darker and the days get cold, I am reminded that the next few months are the most challenging.

The Summer has progressed well, I have played too much golf, but have won a tournament and come second in another so that has served to keep my handicap stable. I have played some great courses and met a lot of new people so no complaints there.

The garden has been my other source of activity, as I see my running days being put on hold for a bit longer. I gave the grass its final Autumn cut this week, and built the latest folly. It's a grass bench modelled on a design spotted at the RHS Tatton Park flower show, and it works well in a troublesome spot behind  the rhododendron's . Only time will tell if it gets enough sunlight to be sustainable

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My other Summer project has, of course, been the new shed, and
here it is finally completed save for the final coat of paint. Given the size   of it, I am quite amazed that it is now appears to be full. Three  bikes, loads of garden furniture, paint, a marquee, two gazebo's, hordes of car boot sale items, old golf clubs, spare pictures, ladders, wood offcuts  and several cases of wine have seen to that.



The down side to the gardening this season appears to be the fact we have honey fungus.  Here is the mushroom style evidence which I am basing it on, and it has killed this Silver Birch. A similar fate befell our only apple tree. That was the sole survivor of when the site was all orchards, so it might have been on its last legs anyway, but it is still a great loss to the landscape.

 Two Hornbeam's also had to be felled this year, although they have no mushroom infestations in evidence, nor does one of the larger Holly tree's which is also looking distressed, I am just keeping my fingers crossed that we have no other species which are susceptible to honey fungus, although I am nervous that Acer is one such and we have a fair few of those, one of which travelled with us from London and would cost over £1000 to replace size for size. Seems like I must do some more research  as the fungus is resilient to treatment and can only be contained by physical barriers. This might be the  first Winter project I am looking for.

So onward into the wet season, that of rugby internationals , long lunches and Christmas cheer, with a new Grandchild to look forward to any day,  ( herein referred to as GC1, 2 or 3 as appropriate) and 18 round the festive  dinner table.  Note to self, must win that Turkey Trot at the golf club again, we will need the food. Ho! Ho! Ho!