Work

Digging the allotment, and some Slow Worms!

Mum and Paul have an allotment here in Exmouth and are planning to put some fruit bushes in before Christmas. So, I was drafted in to dig the area where said bushes will go, and increase the size of some of the other dug patches.

The allotments are a hotbed of sexagenarian and septuagenarian activity. I don’t know if it is this or the fact that a certain type of people are likely to apply for an allotment, but the people on site all seem very civil, sharing ideas and shouting hello to each other and passers by. My kind of people.

However, I was surprised to note how many of them had driven there. The allotments are situated at the top of hill, but are pretty much near the middle of town. My Mum always walks up the hill to them, but for others perhaps green fingers doesn’t necessarily equate to green thinking. There are also some, unsurprisingly, old fashioned views on Stinging Nettles and Ragwort, two plants which encourage visits from insects.

The highlight of the two days was coming across first some young, and then an adult Slow Worm. I can’t remember ever having seen a Slow Worm before, and they are gorgeous. I was very disappointed at having disturbed them. Hopefully, with the carpet they were under relaid on a different part of the site, they will still find the plot an acceptable place to hang out.

: Before…

: …and after I’d finished with it.

: This appears to be the mother (?) Slow Worm drooling over some slug eggs

: I love these things.

13 October, 2009 | Categories: Family, Work | Tags: slow worm | Leave a comment

A bit of time with Timmo

I’ve spent the last couple of days working at Omiga Technology, installing VMware and creating VMs. Good stuff (if you’re a techie geek like me), nice to keep myself up to date with what’s going on in the world of IT. Also nice to spend some time with Tim, and see what he does during the day.

Afterwards we drive over the bridge to Cardiff, where we catch up further over a couple of beers and an Italian. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pics of Cardiff, but I do have a copy of a pic of Tim that myself and Mike discovered in his home office last time we were visiting. He appears to be amazingly stubble free – it must have been taken seconds after he finished shaving.