Happy day 😊 🐝

I cannot lie, I went to bed last night feeling a bit off and woke this morning with a feeling of trepidation, that sense of dread at what might be coming down the line. But a deep breath, an excellent pot of coffee and the metaphorical 'big girl panties' can do wonders.



Happily, a couple of hours later I was back from an appointment which confirmed that a part of my body which might have been malfunctioning is merely displaying signs of being less young than it used to be! Oh good grief, the relief is palpable, the sense of being unburdened (at least for a while) is immense. If I was a big drinker then there may well have been the purchase of a bottle with bubbles but I shall instead just have a small glass of Malbec with some pasta tonight (oh, we know how to live on the edge) 😀.


We are so blessed in this country that despite an overburdened NHS I can still access such wonderful care, such kind people, such marvellous services and I have not had to wait for any of it. When I arrived at my appointment this morning I was immediately told "oh hello, you're our emergency".
"No I am not".
"Yes you are, Mr xxxxx does not want to make any assumptions so come through".

Whatever you might think about our current Government, thanks to Aneurin Bevin we have a healthcare system which is there from cradle to grave, although I intend to avoid the latter for a very long time!


I have spent the rest of the day skipping around in a much relieved and cheerful state, and want to share with you the newest wildlife to decide Bag End is a safe place to make a home: a couple of days ago I looked up and saw a small swarm of bees outside. After quickly shutting all the windows we grabbed binoculars and watched as these incredible creatures moved around the Cottage Garden eventually deciding that a stack of upside down plant pots could be their new hive. (These pots support the seed feeder which holds wheat for our pheasants and keep it at a level that the pigeons cannot reach.)



Not-very-good iPhone pictures; these incredible creatures seem to know that I am not threat and are not at bothered by my presence just one metre away - I was quietly sitting so close that I could to hear the miraculous 'hum' of the hive inside.




It is not the best location they could have selected and will require a bit of a change to grass cutting for the rest of the season, but what a gift. I hope they will be safe here and thrive, and later in the year I have a more secluded part of the garden which they could be safely moved to for the winter, if they have survived our wet and cold summer..

A sad lunch

Over the weekend I had a lovely long lunch with a friend. She 'celebrates' her 50th wedding anniversary this summer and most of our time together was spent listening to her as she talked about how desperately, miserably unhappy she is.

She has, outwardly, had a very successful life. Work she enjoyed, two lovely children who have grown into rather nice adults with families of their own, a comfortable house in a safe area and more than enough money to enjoy both. And a husband who has been retired nearly 20 years.

And therein lies the problem. His idea of retirement (pottering in the garden, messing about in his shed) and hers (travel both in the UK and overseas) are diametrically opposed. And neither will budge.



She refuses to do things on her own. She tells me everytime we meet how much she envies my campervan and the freedom it gives me. She could easily afford her own. But she will not. The husband (who is a lovely, kind and inoffensive chap) spent most of his working life overseas and now wants nothing more than to brush toast crumbs off his paper in the morning and then bimble about 'fixing things'.



I know I do not go far but I am quite happy to travel alone - what is the point in forcing Himself to come away with me if he does not want to? He would not dream of "forcing me" to stay here just because he doesn't want to leave the county!



I could offer no solution for my friend, and I know we will have the same conversation over and over again in future. I cannot tell her that it is way, way too late to expect her husband to change into something he is not, because it is not what she wants to hear and I know she would end up getting annoyed with me. So sad, such a waste, but reminds me to count my blessings multiple times a day.




PS: I have not changed vans, just wanted to dig into some old memories.

Worry is a misuse of your imagination

I have been wanting to get back to blogging for a few while but was unsure how to start. And this morning I saw a new (to me) meme and knew I'd found what would get me back to the keyboard.



Since we last spoke, in fact, since I wrote at the end of March about why I was not blogging (there is a theme here . . .) life at Bag End has been busy.

There has been a small health scare which turned out to be nothing to worry about, but a thoroughly unpleasant couple of weeks during which my brain spiralled into places that are not good for it. All looking OK for now.

Much gardening when the weather allows, much peace to be gained from nurturing plants, creating safe & healthy places for wildlife.













There have been a couple of small van trips which, to be honest, were not brilliant. Combination of ruddy awful weather, very small van, nowhere to hang soaking wet coats.

There has been a General Election during which it was best I did not blog because I can get very engaged with politics and quite rowdy.

But damn, have I missed you all (assuming anyone is still there . . .)

So if you are still reading, how are YOU?

Travelling to Orkney (or "Holy Moly, Batman")

Some of you might remember that I planned to go to Orkney in summer 2023, and I failed. My sailing with Pentland Ferries was cancelled because of 'technical problems' and I bottled it. If I had not already known this company had experienced a serious problem in 2022 I might have been more relaxed, but I did know so I was not relaxed at all 😆.

Plan B was hurriedly sketched out in an "on the back of a fag packet" kind of way and I had an absolutely marvellous time along the west coast of Scotland.





Which still leaves me with NOT having visited Orkney. It also leaves me with a Spouse who thinks he is being helpful but is not, occasionally making suggestions such as "you should fly up there and rent a car" whilst ignoring the fact that (a) it would leave me without the campervan comforts of having a kettle and loo to hand at all times (b) I hate flying and (c) I don't like hotels.

So I just nod in a non-committal way accompanied by very neutral responses knowing damn well that I am not going to do any of the things he suggests! If I ever get to Orkney it will be a spur-of-the-moment trip, nothing will be pre-booked so that I can back out if necessary and I might not tell anyone - including him - until I am actually there 😲.

If and when this happens it will be courtesy of North Link Ferries. Having seen the BBC News this morning it will definitely NOT be with Pentland as more information about the 2022 incident comes to light.

click for Marine Accident Information Branch report

Ruddy Dinosaurs 🦕

At the weekend I potted up some tubs for the patio. Yesterday I put a covering of bark chip on the top of each, partly because it looks quite nice and partly to retain moisture. Not going to win any prizes at Chelsea but so what?



This morning? Not quite so neat and tidy.



I am absolutely sure the blackbirds think I do this sort of stuff purely for their amusement, although (for once) they might not be the culpirts. Yesterday afternoon we were visited by some recently fledged starlings - absolute rabble of noisy and badly behaved toddlers. The parents were clearly already exhausted.

In the absence of van life, something completely different

All is well at Bag End, busy in the garden, busy with life, busy being retired. I may have finally got my head around this retirement lark, and started to take it a bit more seriously which means "allowing myself" the opportunity to sit and read all afternoon if I feel like it. Which is what happened yesterday and today. Favourite bloggers often share their latest read, and this is mine:




I do not currently read as much as I have done in past years, mainly because I am resolved to sleep more and put the light out a bit earlier at bedtime (hence the need to curl up in a comfortable chair in the garden for an entire afternoon) therefore this is not my "normal" fare, but if you were to only read one book this year, it should be this one. I have blitzed through it in two days because, whilst scrupilously researched and factual, it reads with the accessibility and pace of a good James Patterson thriller.

I am of an age to clearly remember the growth of CND in the 1970's and the (then radical) protests at at the Women's Peace Camp, Greenham Common. After reading Jacobsen's superb book I am of a mind that this is where the focus of Greenpeace, Greta Thunberg and all other activists should be.

Because "the only way to win is not to play" (War Games, 1983) and humans have learned nothing since that lovely film.

Proper book reviewers have written that in places this is a very disturbing book as the effects of a nuclear explosion on humans, animals, and the world as we know it are described in unflinching detail. In an age where it seems commonplace to become numb to endless death & destruction delivered in the form of a 24-hour news cycle, video games, films and so many other forms of "entertainment" perhaps this should be compulsory reading/listening until enough people sit up, pay attention and say "stop".

If that could happen then Jacobsen would deserve a Nobel, not a Pullitzer (and think how many roads / schools / hospitals could be funded with all the redirected money?)


And now, back to my usual easy-reading cozy mysteries where Jessica Fletcher meets Rosemary & Thyme accompanied by Mary Berry and far too many cookies!

Way, way better than Heron-cam

I occasionally get brief glimpses in nearby fields but it has been a while since one of these beautiful creatures was seen in the garden.

This is WAAAY better than Heron-cam 🥰 😃





There are many other pictures over a ten minute period but in nearly all of them this wonderful animal is behind the Gunnera and not clearly visible.