The White Rabbit

OK, paw in the air... I've never crashed into a river and never called anyone dude...

Food for thought? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/04/pesticides-by-stealth-garden-soil-conditioners-killing-worms-experts-fear I've not used these myself, I try and improve the soil by providing a mix of materials, including vegetation as food for the worms. A good dig over and then a mix in of things like dead leaves and grass cuttings breaks up the soil and gives the worms something to feed on. I grow some 'window-sill salad' in trays using compost and when the green stuff has been harvested/eaten, the compost and roots/stems mix gets emptied into the 'dig-over' areas. Whether veg or flowers, I try and spread the sowings over time too. Doesn't always work, for all sorts of reasons, not least weather!

Printerinks is my bete noire of ink suppliers - sent me a cartridge which wouldn't work in my printer despite their website claiming it was compatible. Then refused to refund or replace. One of the times I wish I had a credit card, with the extra protection. GDPR was ignored by these skunks as well, unsolicited emails sent [several months] after unsubscribing (and getting an email to prove). I referred the *s to the commissioner. At the risk of appearing to confuse RMW with Freecycle, my printer has recently given up the ghost, keeps giving error messages about cartridges not being recognised - despite none being changed recently and all still having at least some ink in. It is however over 16 years old. I had a look online and tried a couple of the suggested fixes, didn't work. So anyone near Otley fancying a free printer to try their luck with, PM me urgently - it has a date with the tip on Tuesday otherwise. Puddin, that happened to me too on a local street. I suspect gross doziness rather than deliberate malevolence ... particularly as the driver pulled into his driveway while still within sight of me. As our american friends might say, I'll claim the fifth on the sequel to this episode...

Not for me but I do use an ad-blocker, so maybe I'm shielded from the worst of it. Not being familiar with the dish, I found the background/ 'asides' useful to increase my understanding but I guess they are not for everyone.

When it comes to animal cruelty, I find it easy to get a little vindictive. I'd like something in place to allow full reciprocity of whatever what was done to the animal(s) to be visited upon the perpetrator(s).

This probably came from ERs originally but it's worth repeating: https://zhangcatherine.com/hokkaido-cheese-tarts/ - saved as a bookmark, I haven't tried it yet but hope to one day soon!

That password is already taken, please enter another password....

Morning all, A damp and windy one here, so suddenly some inside jobs look attractive. On this morning's wander through the news, I saw https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2024/apr/30/you-can-walk-virtually-everywhere-in-england-by-using-the-train-the-man-connecting-rail-based-walks - an interesting idea. For a while now I have been toying with the idea of starting a walking thread, perhaps focussed on walks from/to stations rather than general walks from anywhere to anywhere else. But of the dozen or so I had in mind, I wanted to get the photos sorted out first so I could post them with my verbal ramblings. One day... Meter readings to be taken later, some joinery work to do on repair work in the kitchen, a little filling and painting to do repairing holes made by assorted tradesmen. It's all go round here...

Phil, with due respect, you're an amateur. Some years ago, we used to have a large chest freezer in the garage. One day I thought it would be a good idea to defrost, clean and tidy it. I found a vacuum pack of sausagemeat four and a bit years past its BB date. Memo to self, must do better at planning meals ...

I've seen worse...

Afternoon awl, Good to hear from @grandadbob, looks like good progress has been made with ... ahem ... 'wallpapering'... 😉 Sympathies with Jamie over the poor treatment for Beth. Been there, it's very hard to avoid losing control and inflicting physical harm on morons/insensitive *'s. Fingers crossed for several other ERs too, we seem to be having a nasty outbreak of ill health and problems, either ERs themselves or loved ones. Not much to report from this end, was awake at silly o'clock (again) but didn't fancy any piddling in a puddle. Strangely, I think I was woken by my dream, our neighbour's recently put a fence up and I dreamt 'William' (a Pug [dog]) dug underneath the gravel board and ran towards me, leapt into my arms and started licking my face with great enthusiasm. Which knocked me over onto the grass... I do get on well with most dogs but they are not usually that affectionate... Sent myself back to sleep again by thinking about possible transplant sites for various garden plants. Various odd jobs done. There are three gatherings the awl would disapprove of this weekend I would have liked to go to but it would not be sensible to try for any. Hopefully another year. A couple of plants planted out and some late seeds sown. In nature notes, we seem to be seeing more of a blackbird couple, they have both been throwing grass cuttings about recently, wondered if they were collecting nesting material but I think they were just hunting for insects. Their behaviour was certainly reminiscent of the phrasing in a certain muddling handbook (re garden railways) about them burrowing into [loose] ballast and throwing it left right and centre in their pursuit of worms. I suspect they are nesting somewhere close by.

Tesco have got in on this act too: https://www.flickr.com/photos/loopzilla/35444754081 Or, for SWAG attendees? : https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1194661429/no-pasties-left-in-this-vehicle?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fuk.search.yahoo.com%2F

It was an Ocado van but we had one caught up in a smash too. Thankfully the driver was OK, slightly shaken but no physical injuries. Amazingly, despite a 'seagull swooping' type piece of misfortune, they still managed to deliver on time! Thankyou/sympathy card was sent... Tesco once tried to deliver someone else's goods as well as our own order. We spotted it on the doorstep but that could easily have been a major oopsie for them. Christmas run-up as well, if we hadn't have been paying attention and being honest, the other person could well have had problems. In our experience, both Waitrose and Ocado ring if they are going to be early or late - in fact this week's Ocado delivery was 15 minutes early and he rang to check it was OK to be early. As above, in our experience both are reliable and if there are any substitutions, they tend to be sensible ones. Both have given us much better service than the usual retail standard - and far better than the 'customer service' Pupcam mentioned re banks recently. It's one reason why we use them much more than other supermarkets, we'd sooner pay a bit more and get quality products and decent service.