I rode to the market in brilliant sunshine this morning. Before I set off, I spotted the milkman parked near our house and seized the opportunity to go and pay our latest milk bill. I could pay it directly into their bank account but as a rule I manage to hand over cash at some point without letting the bills mount up. Our milk supplier is a farm up near Dobcross. It’s a real family business - I paid the latest bill to one of the younger members of the family - maybe I should refer to her as a milkmaid! She looks about 13 but she must at least have finished GCSEs as she’s out and about with them on the morning deliveries. I haven’t yet seen her driving the milk float though. Having handed over my money to one of the youngest in the family, I stopped for a bit of a chat with one of the oldest. He commented on how warm the morning was and told me about his wonky knee. We agreed that you just have to keep on going!
At the market, the cheese and biscuit lady also commented on the fine weather and the good temperature. She had expected heavy rain this morning, which might have prevented her coming. She has difficulty setting up her stall in the wind and rain.
As I rode home I considered stopping to take a layer of clothings off. And then the cloud moved in and suddenly, as I reached Delph crossroads I noticed it was starting to rain. It was hardly worth getting out my raincoat, which I had taken with me as a mind of insurance policy - a policy that did not work on this occasion. In any case I got home just in time before it really came down heavily! So much for a fine sunny day!
The combination of frequent rain, even if not too heavy, and warm days means that the grass in the back garden- we hesitate to call it a lawn - grows very quickly. We’ll need to get the mower out again before we know it. Our daughter avoids the problems by having a patch of artificial grass in her back garden. It needs sweeping from time to time and occasionally there have been problems with s passerby throwing a lighted cigarette end over the wall and melting a little hole on it. She assures me that it lets rainwater through and therefore is better that flagstones!
Hmmm! I’ve never been fond of artificial grass. And now I read that the Advertising Standards Agency has said that adverts claiming that plastic grass is “eco-friendly” and “purifies” the atmosphere must be removed. They’ve been accused of greenwashing their product. It seems that some artificial grass is treated with something called PURETi, a surface treatment which renders the grass “capable of reducing up to 70% of harmful NOx” from the air. That may be so but apparently any such benefit is counteracted by the whole process of making the plastic grass. So it goes!
On the lunchtime news on the radio we’ve heard excerpts of the cut and thrust of Prime Minister’s Question Time, as Boris Johnson insists he’s drawing a line under the whole Partygate business and getting on with government as usual. Some pundits say he has only months left in office. Also on the news the BBC’s man in Russia, or one of their contacts in Russia, has said that Putin too has only months left on office. In his case, it seems, much depends on the outcome of the fighting in Ukraine. Maybe the political landscape is about the change. We shall see!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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