Author Archives: james

One time only

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

Ladies and gentlemen… Allow me to introduce the “combat cucumber”. It’s a bit like dwarf bread for people who live out in the sunshine. If you threw it, it might actually come back to you, but you’d not want to … Continue reading →

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There may be trouble ahead…

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

Whilst watering the polytunnel today I noticed that a pepper and a tomato had been subjected to nibblage. This is the sort of behaviour up with which I will not put. Fortunately the tomato is recoverable in a sense because … Continue reading →

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Siamese twin apple

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

Found in some of the apples that have been brought in for me to press this week.

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A little more work on the polycrub

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

Progress has been painfully slow this year, but I’m really not comfortable using power tools when I can’t even get my fingers to do what my brain is telling them 🙁 I have however finally managed to finish off the … Continue reading →

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An exercise in frustration

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

I know we’re not the only ones, because if we were they wouldn’t exist, so we, err, wouldn’t be. Since about 5BC (before children) it’s been a loosely-followed tradition in our household that Friday night is curry night. Probably because … Continue reading →

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Behold! The contents of the washing machine coin trap

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

Because they can, of course, the long thin stuff had wedged itself into the access plug for the coin trap so it wouldn’t come out when the machine decided it wasn’t happy with the lack of flow through the pump. … Continue reading →

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Tongs for the memory

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

I’m not sure quite how we ended up with multiple sets of these tongs, especially as the pin that holds them together appears to be made of cheese and eventually fails to manage the one simple job that requires its … Continue reading →

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I am a mushroom daddy!

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

Ok, so it’s only the one (grey oyster) so far, but I could hardly have made my first attempt at growing my own mushrooms in a more difficult year. I’ve kept the logs in a lean-to where they wouldn’t get … Continue reading →

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Four courgettes and a pepper (or few)

Posted on October 11, 2026 by james

More peppers picked yesterday (and perhaps the last of this year’s yellow courgettes). From top to bottom, left to right: yellow Corno di Toro, Hungarian Black chile, Chocolate sweet pepper, red Corno di Toro (with a couple of other red … Continue reading →

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High protein apple juice?

Posted on October 10, 2026 by james

It seems as though high protein foods are the height of dietary fashion at the moment, regardless of the fact that our western diet means that most people probably eat more protein than they need anyhow. I think I can … Continue reading →

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