16 June 2026 (Tuesday) - Walk, Shopping, Gardening, Vets

I rather ached when I got up this morning. Last night when I went to bed my watch claimed I’d covered over seventeen thousand steps yesterday. Perhaps I overdid it a bit?

 

I made toast and had a look at the Internet as I do. The other day I mentioned that a pub a few miles away, the Bonny Cravat, was closing down. There was a post about them on the local news site this morning. Despite having spent ninety thousand pounds of their own money on a Shepherd Neame pub they were only getting one or two customers a day and have knocked it on the head. For all that I keep saying that pubs have had their day, this one has always amazed me. The Bonny Cravat looks like a council house surrounded by a tarmac car park whilst the building next door is a traditional olde-worlde pub with oak beams and a rather pretty garden. The only surprise here is how the Bonny Cravat kept going for so long.

I saw a friend was off on a river cruise in Portugal. I quite liked the look of that… but I couldn’t leave my dogs behind.

And several people were posting to say that their children had left school for the last time.

However no one was posting pictures of fishing. Back in the day freshwater fishing would stop for three months in March so that the fish could spawn, and fishing would re-start on June 16^th. People would sit on the lakesides and cast out at the stroke of midnight. These days no one observes the close season.

I Munzed, Wordled from “ached” to “amaze” in four goes.

 

I took the dogs up to the woods where we had a good (if long) walk. As we walked I saw a deer on the path in front of us. The dogs missed it completely; it watched us approach, and it only ran off when I reached for my phone to take a photo of it.

We had a “near miss” with the normal people. Bailey disappeared for about ten seconds. I whistled for her and a voice on the other side of a thicket told me not to worry; he’d found my missing dog. I whistled again and the chap said he’d got her. I replied to let her go. This confused him. What – just let the dog run? Yes. He wasn’t happy about it but two seconds later Bailey came running round the tree and I could hear mumblings from the other side of the bushes. We carried on but never actually saw this bloke, which was probably for the best.

 

We came home for a cuppa, then I went out on a little mission. First of all to Brewer’s (the paint shop) to get something to prime my old car’s tyres before dobbing them with masonry paint. The internet said I should use oil based multipurpose primer. The specialist paint shop said they’d never heard of it, and after a quick look it would seem their suppliers hadn’t either.

I drove round to Wickes where I got a water-based multipurpose primer, several bits of wood, some screws, a chain and most of the ingredients for what I’m going to make those tyres into.

 

I came home again and potted the plants I got on Sunday. They look much better potted, and the purple plants give a nice contrast to the water buttercups round the bog filter. I scrubbed the tyres with warm soapy water (as it said to on the internet), painted up the wood with woodstain, and by then I was worn out. We did “FEED THE FISH” and then I sat by the pond for a while reading my Kindle as I had a late lunch of a bag of smoky bacon crisps and a tin of Doctor Pepper.

 

I took Morgan and Bailey to the vets for their annual check-up. For a dog that barely eats, Bailey has put on half a kilogram. Morgan’s weight remains constant, and both dogs passed their MOT with flying colours.

I came home, had a shower, and slobbed in front of the telly as I do in the early evening playing games on my phone whilst watching drivel on the UK Gold channel… There’s something odd with that channel. So often the program goes intermittently silent and the video pixelates. It doesn’t happen during the adverts and it doesn’t happen on any of the other (non-UK brand) channels. I shall hope that the issue is at their end and not with our Sky-Q box.

 

“er indoors ^TM” boiled up a very good bit of dinner which we washed down with a bottle of prosecco and a couple of G&Ts as we watched a couple of episodes of “Taskmaster”.

And for all that I might have overdone it yesterday, as I type this my watch is telling me I’ve covered twenty thousand and twenty-five steps and it hurts to move. I really should take it easier tomorrow.

15 June 2026 (Monday) - Another Day Off

 

I slept though till six o’clock this morning. I got up, did what I got up for, and put a load of washing in to scrub. I went back to bed in the hope that I might get some more kip. I didn’t; I rarely do. Once I’m awake, generally that’s it.

I eventually got up at eight o’clock. After a shave I stood on the scales. Last week’s holiday has put half a stone on to me. Oh well; that’s what holidays do. I hung out the washing, made toast and had a little look at the Internet as I do most mornings. There was quite a lot of consternation in the Facebook pages about the Romney Marsh as some asylum-seekers have been housed in the area. Apparently these asylum seekers have been bothering local children… Apparently. Everyone’s heard the tales but no one has actually seen anything; let alone reported it to the police. No end of hatred and vitriol was being spouted. I originally wrote “racist hatred” but is it *really* racist? There’s also quite a lot of bad feeling in the Hastings Facebook pages from those who’ve never lived more than fifty yards from the house in which they were born. They really don’t like the “DFL”s. “DFL”s is a term used to describe the people moving into the area who are “down from London”.

I’m reminded of my days in the cubs (as a cub, not a leader) when the children there came from two different primary schools. The leaders tried and tried to get the kids to mix, but we stayed in two completely separate tribes. We simply wouldn’t even acknowledge the existence of a child who went to a different school.

So many people have a general animosity against anyone who hails from somewhere else, which is silly and a great shame. People you don’t know aren’t actually enemies looking to slit your throats; they are just friends you haven’t met yet.

 

I Munzed, Wordled from “slept” to “broil” in five goes,  then took the dogs up to the woods. We walked one of our longer usual walks, but over the course of five and a half miles we only saw two other dog walkers. One said hello, the other looked down his nose at us whilst his poor dog (formally ordered to walk at heel) watched with a pang of sadness as my three ran riot in the thickets. I felt sorry for the poor dog; he really was with one of the normal people. Who else walks in the woods in mid-June in a shirt and tie with waistcoat, jacket and a coat on?

 

We got back to the car and came home. We arrived just as “er indoors ^TM” was making a cuppa, so that saved me a job. I updated my Facebook profile pictures with those piccies above, then charged into the garden to get the laundry in as it was raining.

And with that draped over the banister I popped over to the garden centre. Yesterday I’d got some new plants but we had no compost for potting them. I got some compost… at eight quid for a huge bag or twelve quid for two huge bags I bought two huge bags. And as I suddenly had loads of compost and the pots at home were small I got a couple of small troughs too.

 

I came home where I made myself some toast, and with that scoffed I got on with the post-holiday ironing. I’d got all the laundry washed and dried over the weekend, and it only took a couple of hours to get it ironed. As I ironed I watched more episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale”. And with ironing done and telly watched I then tried to get up quietly. But the dogs which had been so soundly asleep and snoring weren’t going to miss the possibility of “FEED THE FISH”, so that’s what we did. I then ran round with the watering can and had a look at that pile of tyres I saved from when I got new tyres for the car. I’ve got instructions for what I might do with them.

 

“er indoors ^TM” boiled up sausages and chips then went bowling. I watched even more episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale”. The republic of Gilead seems to be a scary place, but with Reform UK councils seemingly repealing a *lot* of the legislation which stopped the alienation of the LGBT community and there insisting on prayers at council meetings, is it *that* unlikely that the UK could be reduced to that sort of religious crackpotism ?

 

I’m feeling rather worn out. Days off often do that to me.

14 June 2026 (Sunday) - Frittenden

I was awake far too early this morning, and so put a load of washing in. I went back to bed and dozed on and off, and was hanging the washing out at eight o’clock. I put another load in, made toast and had a look at the Internet. Apparently yesterday was supposed to be a day of showing pride in our country as various far right groups had planned marches and rallies, but from what I could work out they were all incredibly poorly supported and were all trounced by the anti-racist brigade. Am I alone in feeling that those who are trying to make me proud of our country are actually making me shamed of it?
And there was talk about the first games in the football world cup which is taking place. A friend in Australia was telling his pal that “we” were going to get through to the next stage and “you” might not. Almost as though they themselves were playing in the games. People take football so seriously and so personally. I really can’t see the attraction. I don’t know if being immune to it is a good or bad thing?
I Munzed, Wordled from “early” to “sepia” in four goes, got dressed and went into the garden again.
 
I set the aerator in the pond going as today looked to be another hot one. Whilst we were away the lawn had gone mad. I strimmed the edges and mowed the lawn. By the time I hung out the second wash load I was worn out and it was only ten o’clock.
I had a little look-see round the garden. The lawn wasn’t the only thing to have gone mad. The strange plant that I got last year which had gone a bit iffy was doing well. Before we went away I gave it a “kill or cure” pruning which seems to have cured it. And my poggered cordyline seems to have come back from beyond the grave… which is a minor inconvenience. I was going to use its pot to home the lilac that Karl gave me. However I’m told that the lilac wants to sit in its existing pot for a few months, so there’s no immediate rush to sort anything out just yet.
 
We took the dogs out. There was talk of a food and craft festival in Elham, but when I looked it up  there was nothing that really interested me. So instead we took the dogs out to Frittenden where we walked a rather good little series of adventure lab caches finding several of the village’s purple plaques celebrating places of local historical note, and then on to a final geocache. It was an ideal short walk for a warm day; just enough for the dogs.
As we headed home we found a load of plants up for sale in someone’s front garden. We got enough to fill our empty boxes in the garden, and got some rockery plants too.
 
Once home I got the laundry in from the line. That took some doing. We had a cuppa and a bun that we’d bought when out. I couldn’t find a link to “Granny’s Doughnuts”; they looked awful but were nowhere near as bad as I thought. Far better than the offerings of the family-owned bakery down the road.
Bearing in mind it had been a couple of weeks since I’d done it last I ran out the hoses and cleaned the big pond’s filter. And with that cleaned and the waste hose away I left the other hose running for a few minutes to top off the pond as I cleaned out the little pond’s filter.
I hosed round the plants, and felt rather worn out. I never used to feel so knackered after doing so little.
 
I had another cuppa with a slice of Battenburg cake (or bat and bird cake as I’ve heard it called) whilst I struggled with a cryptic crossword. I didn’t have a clue what the cryptic clues meant, but I had a stroke of genius. I copied them into Google and pressed the AI button which came up trumps. There’s a particularly fiendish cryptic crossword in every edition of Viz magazine (or a “craptic” crossword as they call it). I might have a go at the next one if only for the bragging rights of getting my name published for having solved it.
And flushed with success I then had a go at another geo-puzzle and spent a couple of hours trying all sorts of ideas and getting them wrong. In desperation I sent out a message to a pal who’d solved it some time ago… it turned out my first idea was the right one, but my basic arithmetic was at fault. Twenty-one minus three isn’t fifteen. Have I ever mentioned that I’ve got a degree in maths?
And I found the chicken’s feet that we took on holiday. The dogs never got round to eating them.
 
“er indoors ^TM” boiled up a very good curry which we scoffed whilst watching the last episode of “The Orville”. When I first saw the show I wasn’t impressed, but as it went on it got much better.
 
I always say I’m going to have an early night. I really should have one… bet I don’t.

13 June 2026 (Saturday) - Dog Club, Bat & Trap

It was good to have a holiday. I really enjoyed our time away, but you can’t beat your own bed and your own chodbin.

And somehow I’ve managed to knack my elbow…

I got up in the small hours. For all that you can’t beat your own chodbin, mine is quite a hike from the bed. Whilst I was at it I put a load into the washing machine.

 

I made toast and peered int Facebook. I was immediately presented with the claim that “Ashford MP Sojan Joseph & Labour tried to make KENT taxpayers pay for daily school transport from Crawley, Sussex — for illegal asylum seekers”. The claim was from some Reform UK councilor. Did Ashford MP Sojan Joseph & Labour *really* try to make KENT taxpayers pay for daily school transport from Crawley, Sussex — for illegal asylum seekers?

I really don’t know. They may well have done. Is there any evidence for this? That’s what we need to see. I did a little research and all I could find was name-calling on Facebook. Sadly however this is what I’m seeing more and more from politicians of all shades. No one is saying what they’ve actually done; they are just making claims about the failings of the opposition whilst rarely providing any evidence to back up their claims. I’m reminded of the bickering of children that I had to referee when I was a cub scout leader.

There’s no denying that the people of Ashford have made a mistake by voting for the current MP, but what is the alternative? Just shouting “VOTE REFORM” doesn’t tell us precisely what we would be voting for, and “vote for us because we aren’t as bad as the alternative” is hardly a defensible political position.

 

Steve was on the radio doing the “Guess the Lyrics” competition. “The reason for living the reason for leaving” was from ABC, but it wasn’t “Poison Arrow”; it was “The Look of Love”. Even with the initial mistake I still got it within a minute. I felt rather smug about that. I Munzed. I Worded from “lyric” to “quell” in five goes then we took the dogs to Dog Club.

 

There were quite a few new dogs along today, and Morgan took a few minutes to settle, but in the end a great time was had by everyone. I tried to count the dogs; we had somewhere in the high teens of dogs along. It was difficult to be sure; they don’t sit still.

From Dog Club we drove to the petrol station while Steve was doing the Mystery Year competition on the radio. “Stand By Your Man” and the first appearance of Davros on Doctor Who? 1975.

 

We headed out to Staple. Being a few minutes early we took the dogs for a little walk and as we walked we met a coupe of friends who were also early for the geo-meet and thought that they too might have a little walk. It was good to catch up.

And then it was on to the Black Pig for the annual Bat-And-Trap-othon. Bearing in mind the rain of the last week we had a really good afternoon in the sunshine drinking beer and playing Bat & Trap. I scored two, which was something of a result. I do like the geo-meets, and today’s was so like how they used to be.

 

As the afternoon wore on things became progressively more vague. I counted five pints of ale, and I’ve a photo of gin & tonic. I slept much of the way home.

 

“er indoors ^TM” went off to the local Am-Dram’s production, and I settled in front of the telly and watched three episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale”.

 

I took quite a few photos today. And I think I’ve caught the sun…. And my elbow still hurts.

12 June 2026 (Friday) - Coming Home

I was up twice in the night. I shall miss having a chodbin in the next room. I got up at seven o’clock and made a noise shaving so that “er indoors ^TM” might wake.

She didn’t.

So I clattered about a bit, and that didn’t work. In the end I piled the dogs onto her, put my suitcase on the bed and stared noisily filling it. That did the trick.

 

I then took the dogs out to do what dogs do. I can only assume they’d taken to dumping in the thicket near the Sanctuary because they’ve been scoffing like things possessed but dumping nowhere near as much as the do at home. I hope they haven’t been dumping in the thicket near the Sanctuary; the Sanctuary is a little shed in an unkempt corner of the garden where you go to say your prayers, and the last thing anyone wants when saying their prayers is a bonanza of dog dung.

I had a good look round, but didn’t find anything.

 

We seemed to get packed up rather quickly, and we were soon on our way to Hutton Country Park; a little park near Brentwood. A walk round there would break up our drive home, and there were ten geocaches there which was an added bonus. They were rather well crafted geocaches too. We had a good wander round; it was only a shame that Treacle was willful. With minutes to go she made a bee-line for the swamp. I called her back; she ignored me. I shouted at her, and she glared at me in a most indignant way. And then carried on heading to the swamp. After a second bellow she eventually took some notice of me.

 

We said our goodbyes, and headed home listening to Radio Two as we drove. Have you ever listened to Radio Two? It was dire when my gran used to listen to it (she died in 1984) and it hasn’t got any better in the meantime.

We got home. It didn’t take that long to unpack. I spent a little while straining my brain at geo-puzzles. There’s one outside the pub we are going to tomorrow.

 

Feeling rather tired we had a cheeky KFC for dinner. We scoffed it, and as the dogs slept we watched an episode of “The Orville”.

I’ve put some polish on my walking boots. It might waterproof them a bit; it might not.

 

I’m going to have an early night. I’m absolutely worn out.

11 June 2026 (Thursday) - Lawshall

As the week has gone on I’ve slept better. Either it’s all a bit much for me or the beer is taking its toll. The dogs are finding it a bit much too. Earlier in the week when I got up they would all leap up ready to go bothering everyone else, but today they were all-in and frankly sparko at seven o’clock this morning.

We spent a few minutes watching the birds in the garden. There’s certainly more than we’ve got back home.

 

Karl and Tracey were soon up, and we had brekkie, then went for a little walk. The weather forecast was against up, but no matter what happened the weather couldn’t be any worse than it had been yesterday, could it? (at the risk of giving spoilers, the answer was “yes”)

 

We drove out to nearby Lawshall where we walked a wonderful series of geocaches. A lovely walk, really well-thought-out caches. Tricky puzzles to solve in the field. Finding the thing was easy enough, but getting the log out to sign it wasn’t easy. It would have been one of the best geo-days ever if not for the rain.

But unlike yesterday my pants stayed dry, so that was a result.

 

We came back to base for a sausage roll and a scotch egg and a pint (three), and then it was declared that this was just the starter.

We then drove out for a late lunch. Having had a rather good dinner there a couple of days ago we went to the Rushbrooke Arms again. I see one or two people have been critical of the place on Google and Tripadvisor. All I can say was that we had a very good bit of dinner again. More Bang Bang Cauliflower, and this time I went for the steak and ale pie. The dogs all got scraps… perhaps they’ve been getting too much this week? Bailey wouldn’t take a chip, but would lick the gravy off of it.

 

We retreated back to base, where we perused the geo-map, then had even more scoff and even more beer whilst playing “Trouble”.

The house seems a lot quieter without Jess and Charlotte.

I took a few photos today.

 

10 June 2026 (Wednesday) - The Kings Forest

 

I rather ached when I woke, which was odd bearing in mind that we’ve not really exerted ourselves massively. I got up and had a shave, and then took the dogs round the garden (again) gathering dung and again I looked at a glorious morning.

 

As brekkie was being prepared I went and sat with little Bailey who has claimed one of the sofas as her own. She seems to be struggling this week. Normally spending about eighteen hours a day asleep, being constantly awake is taking its toll on her. I sat with her… and woke an hour later with all three dogs asleep on me.

We had a particularly good bit of brekkie, then looked at the geo map. Admittedly the weather forecast was a tad iffy, but we had this plan that if we went for a little walk just north of Bury St Edmunds we might drop Jess and Charlotte off at the train station on the way back to the cottage.

It was a good plan. In theory…

 

We got to the designated parking spot and the heavens opened. We waited for fifteen minutes for the rain to abate, then went for a little walk. After a few hundred yards it hossed down rather epically. Only for a few minutes but enough to soak us. My lightweight raincoat needs to be either replaced or binned.

But the sun came out. Rather brightly. We were all dry in two minutes so we carried on. We had a good walk though rather pretty woodlands. We saw deer. We found a dead deer, and some of us rolled in it (as you do). We even found geocaches.

And then it rained. Seriously rained. Whatever rain you’ve seen before was just a light sprinkle compared to this. Within minutes my pants were ringing wet.

We abandoned and came back to the cottage where the dogs got a bath. With soap. As we scrubbed the dogs so Karl and Tracey ran Jess and Charlotte back to the train station at Bury St Edmonds, and we had a lazy cuppa. A cup of coffee as opposed to a pint.

 

We had a rather lazy evening with scampi and chips and the Infinity table playing Blokus (2-D) and Sorry…

 

I took a few photos today.