Alan Williams's Blog, page 11

Car Service

My car is at the garage for its annual service and MOT today. It’s passed without any issues and I’ll be picking it up soon. I’ve had a loan car today, which was an all electric Renault Zoe. It’s about five years or so since I last drove a fully electric car and it’s interesting to see how the technology has changed in that time. I’m pleased to say all for the better, not that it was bad before but if we are all to make the shift sooner or later to fully electric cars then this is certainly the ...

A Tree a Minute: planting 1440 trees in a day

Another One About Garden Birds

Yes I know I only posted about this yesterday but Ken Lamberton’s latest newsletter dropped into my inbox this morning and it got me thinking about my garden bird list. I’ve been keeping a list since we moved in here. The list has a basic set of rules, each year I keep a log of all the birds that I see in the garden or see or hear from the garden. Given the urban nature of our local area it’s quite a small list, and there are a few birds on it that I’ve only ever seen/heard once:

red kite, ta...

The Birds

You know that scene in the Hitchcock movie where all the birds are lined up on the telegraph lines and the ridge lines of the houses, they’re on the ground, they’re everywhere. Well the garden is a bit like that at the moment. I just went out and filled the bird feeders and the word obviously got out because there are birds everywhere.

I daren’t move either, I’m afraid that if I move this will scare away the birds. So I think I can sit here and type, the movement of my fingers on the keyboard...

The North Wind Blows

Just back from my morning dog walk and I have to say the wind chill is something else. The temperature is around 4ºC but the windchill is pushing that way down below zero. Not the coldest place in the world but we’ve had an unseasonably mild spell just recently so the sudden change is noticeable.

Gloves and wooly-hat weather!

Currently Reading / Read

I’ve finished reading March Violets by Philip Kerr, which was quite an enjoyable read. A skillful blend of history (pre-war Nazi Germany, the Berlin Olympics in 1936) with fiction. This is the second book in this series that I’ve read, and the first book in the series, the other one that I’ve read comes much later in the sequence. I think I’ll be returning to read more of these, and have the next couple on my kindle as they are part of an omnibus. At the moment though I’m reading Chasing Arizona...

Reacher

Now I didn’t mind the Tom Cruise films, they both had their moments, but Tom was no Jack or at least not as he’s written in the books. So I’m kinda looking forward to seeing if this is any better. At least physically they’re closer.

Goals

Each year about this time I sit down and look at the goals and targets I want to set myself for next year.

I start with a final reviewof the previous (current) year and a look back over the last five or so years. The last couple have been heavily disrupted by Covid but I’ve been pretty successful in meeting my targets, which makes me feel I should have been a bit more ambitious.

Next years will be, although perhaps again coloured by some uncertainty around Covid. These cover work and per...

A Post a Day In December

Public Service Announcement

Back in 2016 and early 2017 I did an experiment of posting everyday, short snippets and the occasional longer post. I’m going to aim to do something similar through December and post everyday.

My plan is that rather than get a weekly round-up on a Sunday as now, you’ll get something each day, probably shorter, perhaps just a picture or some audio. Sometimes there might be something a little bit longer. I’m putting this out there now, as I know that many people subsc...

Tree’s Up TWTW # 154

Well it’s a little windy out there at the moment. I’ve just come back from my morning dog walk and we have a fair breeze blowing. I dare say it’s not the 100mph winds that have been reported for storm Arwen in other parts of the country. Although you can’t see it easily from the photo that blue dot is us, and we’re right on the edge of one of the weather warnings so hopefully will escape the worst. If you’re in one of the other areas then I hope you stay safe and take care if you have to ventur...