Scottie & Westie

Pub Life. - 30 years, if not longer, of acting as a door stop to the public bar  of The Anchor inn, Chudleigh Knighton has not done Scottie & Westie any favours, being dirty, & nicotine stained. Scottie being black coated looks as though he has faired slightly better than Westie, who after a scrub up is looking refreshed but by no means white.  They were packed in an old tin chest inside a Victorian wicker, canvas & leather steamer trunk in Mum's garage. They moved out with Mum & Dad when they retired from the pub after being the hosts for 30years. Between them they could certainly tell some stories, there were plenty of colourful characters & shannanigans during those 30 years as you can imagine. I was raised there with my two brothers,

Off-licence Life - Scottie & Westie, I know, what a coincidence that they should have the same names, were living in the shop window of   The Village Store & Off Licence in Rewe when we bought it many years ago. Their coats are squeaky clean in comparison. I think we have given them a freshen up but life has probably been pretty dull in comparison. We had some interesting local residents living in the village. They moved out with us 3 years later when we sold up and moved out.

This morning was spent clearing the clutter from Mum's garage. Stuff that no one had claimed. It obviously belonged to either my brother, or niece but is now piled up to go to the recycle centre. We found two boxes, pub ashtrays, beer glasses & other pub memorabilia that might be of interest to a collector, plus some pieces of local pottery, including some Plicta ware. Cut crystal brandy glasses, & wine glasses were dropped off at the Brainwave charity shop this afternoon. A few gardening tools made their way up to my allotment shed.  3 hours and the was job done.

A quick sit down over cake & coffee then back home, dropped off some plastic shelving for the garden shed then up to the allotment. Runner beans supports are just about standing. I need to make a robust, permanent support structure before next year. Beans can be planted on the same ground year after year fortunately so it will be a one off. Just need to decide how to do it. First job then,  re-tie the bean canes. Picked beans, blackberries, raspberries, courgettes, & sweetpeas.  Did some weeding, topped up the repurposed wormery with comfrey leaves, put protection net over the Turk's turban squash. I'm not sure what is nibbling away at them but I'm down to two now. Slugs, pheasant I'm not sure which. Sweetcorn cobs are plumping up nicely. Fed the squash, courgettes, runner beans and sweetpeas.The Borlotti beans look really good but having just checked on when to harvest as this is the first time of growing them it appears that when the pods swell & crack is the time to pick. I can't wait to sample fresh Borlotti beans :) I've just found 3 delicious sounding recipes with them. The bean seed were scavenged/rescued off the community composting heap last Autumn. :) #foodforfree. The nigela, marigold, & borage seed I scattered on the edge of my plot are beginning to poke their heads through the soil which is good. It's lovely to have a bit of colour on the plot both for my enjoyment and the wildlife. Had a chat with Dave about  how his plot has done this year. It's interesting to know how others have got on, to compare. The Chudleigh Garden & Produce show is next Saturday. I don't think I will have any fruit or veg worthy of entering but am going to check out the chutney & preserve classes. I'm not that fussed about winning, it's just good to take part, & keep this kind of show alive, so many small shows have folded through lack of interest & support. Once gone they will never return, so that is my next job tonight before going to bed.

Thanks to admirer for hosting :)