Me, Norman and the Martian

Wake at seven thirty to a bright but cloudy day. The path to the garden is wet from overnight rain as I let Norman out to toilet and there are spots of rain on the wind. We face another few days of catch up gardening, so I hope the weather dries up, the forecast for today is sunshine and showers. I give Normy his breakfast and leave out his usual biscuits, because he needs to loose a couple of pounds, then set too and make myself a full English, using up the last of the bacon, sausage and black pudding. I eat in the kitchen and listen to the news, endless inane wittering on about the Olympics, when are we going to get over our post imperial sense of entitlement and settle down to being a medium size European country, that may occasionally win the odd medal. After breakfast I check the online bank account, but am interrupted by a call from Pip, her money hasn't gone in for the third month in a row. I check the money I transfer to cover Cherry has gone in but an amount from this to her personal account hasn't. I text the bank and ask them to fix it. After breakfast I shower and dress and then drive to Cherry to take the dogs on the Westwood. We make our way round our usual loop, weaving between grazing cattle as we progress towards Black Mill. Here I rest for a while and call the manager at the bank, she promises to deal with the problem and get back to me. We arrive back in Cherry about a quarter to ten, I update Pip on the progress with the bank and then mow the lawns and begin pruning the front garden. Today I spurn the electric shears and prune by hand, the bushes, cottoneasters and ivy are slower growing than the privet hedges I pruned yesterday, so I can be more selective of where I cut. The rain holds off and I work steadily away, occasionally stopping for a mug of tea, and finally by one thirty the pruning is finished and cleared away. All there is left to do is weed the flower beds. The one beneath the hall window is worst, I am starting to tire but weed the old mans way, sat on a little tripod stool, that saves my knees and back. The pain in my hip almost gone after taking the anti inflammatory tablets. Just as I finish weeding the bed it starts to rain and I decide I have had enough and call it a day. Tomorrow Sarah's decorators are doing her bedrooms, so Louis is coming with me to Cherry after breakfast, he can play whilst I garden and perhaps we can go for a swim later, if I have enough energy left! On my way home I call at Morrisons for some probiotics and German rye bread, but they have sold out of the latter, so buy a baguette instead. I take the probiotics after antibiotics because of the collateral damage that is caused to the gut flora and fauna as the infection is flushed out of my system. On our way home we call at St Giles Croft to return a book to a friend, I stay for a few moments to chat and admire the large secluded garden, hidden away in the heart of Beverley. I chuckle as I catch myself calculating the number of days it would take to prune all the trees, bushes and hedges. About a week at a guess! My friend confirms my calculation, once I have explained the cause of my mirth. We arrive home around three, the savoury mince in the slow cooker is ready, but I still have to make potatoes and dumplings. Dumplings come first as they need a little longer, so I mix some suet, self raising flour, salt and pepper and a few mixed herbs in a bowl. After rubbing the suet into the flour, I add water in miserly amounts. This is the real trick with dumplings, to add water in small, decreasing amounts, because it is very easy to end up with a soggy sticky mess. I make enough mixture for two lots of four small dumplings, so put four in the mince and save four in a freezer bag for tomorrow. Whilst the dumplings stew, I drink a glass of Dutch Bavaria lager, it's very good and cheap, 4 bottles for £1.50, (because these bottles are only 2.7 percent alcohol), whilst I peel the potatoes and then place them in a microwave steamer for ten minutes. By the time they are cooked, the dumplings have risen and so another late lunch is served around four o'clock. I pour a little mince over Normy's tinned meat and then leave it to cool whilst I mash the potatoes, using a little cream and some chopped parsley. A working man's dinner and most welcome after my exertions in the garden. I finish off with a few tinned figs with a little cream for desert. Pip calls to say her money still hasn't been transferred and I tell her I will call the bank as they haven't called back. Eventually it is explained, that because of their batch processing computer systems, Pip's allowance cannot be transferred before the second of the month. If only they had told me that when they set it up. I call Pip and explain the problem, she has access to the Cherry account, from which her allowance is transferred but is content to wait until tomorrow for it to arrive. It is five o'clock, so Normy and I lie down and sleep for an hour before going for our walk round the fields. It is a lovely evening, the light wind has swung to the south and the air is warm and soft. At the bridge over the drain we decide to risk the path through "almost straight wood", the mud has just about dried up but the nettles are shoulder high. This doesn't worry Norman as the stinging fronds are way above his head. Halfway down the path three boys are building a den, their bmx bikes are leant against trees, and a little further on I pass a ramp they have built on the path to jump their bikes. It beats computer games hands down! We make our way round the fields, walking at Norman's pace, stopping here and there to admire the evening sky and to sniff the grass. As we make our way back to the little bridge, I spot a Martian fighting machine rearing fifty feet above the plantation at Routh, and then realise its just a wind turbine that hasn't been fitted with its blades yet. I can almost hear Norman thinking, "it's time for home Don Quixote!" we get back for a quarter past eight and I make some tea and crusty bread and honey and take it into the garden room. Afterwards I read for a little while and then call it a day.