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As always, it’s good to get to the shortest day with the promise of longer, brighter, warmer days to come.

A quick review of the Thermarest Neoloft sleeping pad, as mooted by @TeeDee. I wont go into data and stats here, as they are available all over the web. As I’m older now - in my mid 60’s - I’ve done fewer motorcycle rallies over the past few years as I’m not sleeping that well on my original...

Hi All, does anyone have a recommendation for air/inflatable pillows, and particularly those fitted with strap/straps which hold the pillow in place on a sleep mat? If I can’t get one with a strap I’m not against making myself a pillowcase with a strap built in. TIA, Bob

Got a call from one of my village farmer friends last night. His potato field had been harvested, and he said I could do some gleaning if I liked. I thanked him kindly and put out my old clothes to go and have a look today. When I first looked round the field there were plenty of smaller spuds...

Just saw this in a local online news article: https://www.devonlive.com/news/celebs-tv/antiques-roadshow-musical-penknife-bbc-9626091?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_desktop I dont think I’d want to be battoning with that :)

Hi All, We’ve been trying to catch up with our gardening following the extremely wet winter and spring. One of the jobs I’m facing is to tidy and trim right back our large clump of pampas grass in the back garden. The plant has totally engulfed the section of garden where it is placed. In the...

Last week, our club (Windwhistle Company of Archers) had a roving marks shoot, and one or two of the members used whistling arrows for a bit of fun. I’ve never made a whistling arrow (well, not on purpose…) before, so I thought I’d give it a go. Here is the result - a test shot into our safety...

Hi All, Yesterday SWMBLT and I went to a local auction with some friends from our village. There was a lot of dross, but I bid for and bought this box of chisels and the like: I was quite happy to get some tools at a very good price - super cheap. All of the items need sharpening of course...

Hi All, my interest has been piqued to try and grow some skirret - Sium sisarum. It’s a medieval vegetable in the parsnip family, which produces long, slim white roots. These roots are evidently quite sweet and can be eaten raw or cooked. The small white flowers are apparently sweetly scented...

Hey Tony, what’s this “Gift Upgrade” stuff all about? Cheers, Bob

Hi All, The missus suggested we had a go at this, and it has worked out very well. All you need is: 1. A sunny windowsill. 2. A small plant tray or low-sided pot, with about an inch of compost in it (homemade for super cheapness :) ) 3. A packet of dried peas - 60p in our local supermarket...

“Ben Fogle: New Lives in the wild”, Channel 5,starting at 2100. Will is described as a “true British caveman”. Unless he has moved, the “secretive patch of woodland” he shows to Ben Fogle is across the road from his house :)

Hello All, Just a quick post to wish all of my fellow English a Happy St George’s Day! The missus and I will going to the pub at lunchtime (retired! :) ) - outdoors, but in the sunshine. All the best, Bob

Hi All, We moved down to the rural south west two and bit years ago now. It sounds daft, but I had no idea just how dark the garden and sheds etc would be at night. One night, shortly after we moved in, I arrived home on the KTM, and on switching the bike off I realised I couldn’t see...

Hi All, I've done another one :) A weekend course in Box Making at Williams & Cleal Furniture School. They are only a few miles up the road from me in Lydeard St Lawrence, in Somerset. For those who aren’t that keen to read all the text, here are a few pictures of my part-done/finished three...

Hi All, Just a quick report on my weekend. I spent it learning to make a piece of fine furniture (a bench stool) at Williams and Cleal Furniture School, up the road from me in Lydeard St Lawrence, in Somerset. For those who aren’t that keen to read all the text, here are a couple of pictures...

Hi All, Well, here in our Somerset garden we’re into soft fruit harvesting time. We have blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries, raspberries (with some wild strawberries mixed in), and rhubarb in varying quantities. It has been a good year so far.... Hugh (Big Red) has posted recipes for...

Well, rather than turning the compost heaps as I'd planned, I was surprised when our longstanding firewood log order was delivered last night. Thankfully the weather today was cooler, damper, and less sunny, as moving/splitting/carrying and stacking the wood is quite a hot job to get done, even...

Hi All, the missus and I have built a fairly good sized set of three composting stalls in a dark corner of the garden. Over time we have put a lot of garden and kitchen green waste of all sorts in them, and turned them round between the stalls every few months, as I have seen advised. However...

Hi All, I need help to make a decision! I have carved a pair of pheasant heads, one cock and one hen. I intend them to go on as walking stick handles. They are just about done, but I can’t make up my mind about what I should do about the eyes. As I see it I have three choices: 1. leave the...