Plant of the Day

Rosebay Willow Herb, Chamaenerion angustifolium.   Huge profusion of it's flowers by the roadside in the hills as we drove to Coed Y Brenin this afternoon.  Plenty more of it around the car park there too.   We were there for Jamie and Ruth to go on some off road rides with their respective power attachments.  Jamie's power assisted hand bike proved more versatile than Ruth's TriRide but they both had a blast.  Rachel, Jamie's PA is also a qualified activity leader and keen mountain biker so they were well looked after.  

On our return home it was straight into feeding the family.  My sister B and brother-in-law P are on holiday nearby so with them, Mum and Chris, Jamie and Ruth it was a houseful.  I had brought a big serving of Raclette cheese back from Switzerland so it was a special treat tonight as I also have a proper Raclette machine with a stone top for cooking the food on.  Great fun!   A late evening walk for Meg down Gwalia while listening to the thrilling Andy Murray match.

Earlier the saga of Jamie's hot water repair took another unwonted turn.   After two months with no hot water, the housing association finally got all the relevant workmen out over the last two days to replace the boiler.  Electrician, Carpenter (rotten wooden stand after prolonged slow leak) and Plumber.  Hot water returned last night ... at a trickle which was a concern.  This morning most of the electrics were off and the fuse repeatedly tripped when reset.  Emergency electrician identified a leak - surprise surprise :-/    So back to square one.  No hot water again.   A plumber may come tomorrow.   Perhaps the greatest insult was to be told that a carpenter to reinstate the vital shelving removed to allow the boiler to be replaced "is non-urgent so on a three month job list"!!!!   The contents of the cupboard are piled up all over the place .... I very rarely lose my cool but when told three months I did.  No expletives but I think they got the message that this is not a new job to be on a three month rota but an existing job that's not finished - and one we waited two months for already.   To be fair, the people on the phone are helpful ... but the system they are required to work to is another matter altogether!