Author Archives: james

Speidel fruit mill bearing replacement

Posted on January 13, 2026 by james

I was delivered a Speidel fruit mill, already heavily disassembled, beacuse it had stopped working. I assume the person who had opened it up thought there might be an electrical fault. I wasn’t 100% convinced though, and the fact that … Continue reading →

Posted in Projects | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Speidel apple press bladder replacement

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

Oh no! Fortunately it is possible to buy replacement bladders. Unfortunately, removing the old bladder can be something of a pain. It would appear that from the factory, the pipework for the hose connections and pressure release valve is put … Continue reading →

Posted in Orchard, Smallholding | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Don’t get crabby with me

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

These are from a tree at the end of our drive. In the twenty years we’ve lived here I’ve never managed to pick them. They seem to be ripe one day and fall off the tree the next. But in … Continue reading →

Posted in Smallholding | Tagged | Leave a comment

Eyes on the prize

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

My honey, my local show 😀

Posted in Bee-keeping, Smallholding | Tagged | Leave a comment

It’s an artichoke Jim, but not as we know it

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

I went to collect some stuff for my daughter from a property in a nearby village. Outside the front of the house was this. Such a stunning piece of work that I had to take a photo of it. Art … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment

Siamese peppers

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

Not entirely sure how this happens. Two flowers, one stem? ?

Posted in Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged | Leave a comment

New swarm box in action

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

I was asked if I could take a look at this swarm that appeared one Sunday afternoon above a path leading to a childrens’ nursery. “Not much chance of taking that in one hit”, I thought. Nonetheless I knocked as … Continue reading →

Posted in Bee-keeping, Smallholding | Tagged | Leave a comment

The ironies just keep piling up

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

Yet another immigrant who people might be forgiven for believing hates immigrants, Nadhim Zahawi has just defected from the Conservatives to Reform 2025 Limited, claiming that the country needs a “glorious revolution”. Isn’t that where they kill the entire ruling … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment

No dig diary, 12th January 2026

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

“Peppers propagating!”, I whispered as I tapped the empty packets with my dibber, before using it to cast “Expecto Capsicum!” over the trays of newly-sown seeds… All my pepper varieties are now sown, though thanks to other things that needed … Continue reading →

Posted in Polytunnel, Smallholding, Veg plot | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Empty, vacuous lives

Posted on January 12, 2026 by james

are presumably what the people who buy this sort of thing lead: Why luxury carmakers are now building glitzy skyscrapers What a bizarre, selfish, negative way to want to define oneself as a human being: because almost no-one else can … Continue reading →

Posted in Random | Tagged | Leave a comment