Perhaps I was a bit premature in “complaining” about the warm to mild autumn we’ve had hitherto. This week has been Freezio! It’s been cold, cold, cold. Indeed, as I glance out the window it is f**king snowing. I don’t remember signing up for this. You’ll no doubt be relieved to know that Penelope’s Avian Eatery has re-opened for the winter season and, to judge by the numbers demanding a table, it’s the hottest ticket in the neighbourhood. Daisy too is delighted – she hoovers up any fallen seed whenever she gets a chance.
We’ve had a couple of great walks across the countryside round and about. With the ground being (almost) frozen, there have been no muddy paws and no need to hose the dog down with the hose. Indeed, the hose is frozen so Daisy couldn’t be hosed down in any event.
One walk across a number of fields to the west of the village (through the brook at the bottom of Brook Street) was especially striking the other day. As we approached the village on our return leg, the full moon appeared across the fields towards Canons Ashby. Sorry the photos don’t do it justice.
The builders are on the home stretch in the renovations of the “Guest Wing” bedroom and bathroom. Hopefully it will be (mostly) finished by the time our guests arrive for Christmas! We were a bit disappointed that they made relatively little progress during the time we were away in Dorset – they had a key and could quite happily have made an impact but clearly, they decided to dedicate themselves to other jobs. To be fair, it must be a nightmare trying to juggle all the jobs they have on, especially with everyone demanding that they finish before Christmas.
Still, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just that the tunnel seems to keep getting longer and longer. It’s now just a collection of “little” jobs which remain to be completed along with a lot of painting and decorating. Hopefully we can get the dust all cleared and everything else tidied away before Ben, Brex-Anna and Max come!
And so, to this week’s jaw-dropping moment from the You Could Not Make It Up department. The government announced this week that they were granting permission for the opening of a new coal mine in Cumbria. This from the country which likes to claim it is “leading the way” in the battle against climate change.
This really is a very puzzling decision. There seems to be almost no business case in favour of the new mine and, of course, lots of environmental reasons not to go ahead. The coal which will come out of this mine is only suitable for use as coking coal, i.e., in the production of steel. At the moment the British steel industry (what there is left of it) imports coking coal and government ministers argue that reducing the reliance on foreign coke and the associated transport miles makes this new mine much greener! So, that’s all right then.
Sadly, the coal which will come out of the new mine is too sulphurous even for use in British steel making so most of it will be exported anyway. Absolutely bonkers.
I’m sure it was just a coincidence but Susie Dent’s Word of the Day seems appropriate:
Finally, Happy Birthday this week to my older sister’s husband Rod who is turning 80 on Friday! One of the many great things about Rod is that he’s made my sister happy for many, many years. The annoying thing about Rod is that he looks about twenty years younger than the rest of us!
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, be careful, wear a f**king facemask in crowded places and keep your distance. And keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg