21.03.2025 75km.

 ~o~

  Friday 21st 37F/2.8C. Bright again. Increasing easterly wind.

 Up at 6am after a very quiet night. My thighs are still hurting. I am having to take tiny steps and using  the chair arms to help me get up and sit down. I shall attempt a walk. In the hope that it loosens up my damaged muscles.

 Some sick bar-steward is using superglue on the organic milk cartons again. I had to use a fork to try and break the glue bond on the pouring spout. This is just a glued fold in the top of the cardboard box. I must have opened thousands of cartons over the years by finger pressure alone. This time the cardboard was literally destroyed and the glue still held firm. Now there is a large hole in the base of the spout. Unless I overhang the bowl or cup. Most of the milk ends up on the countertop. 

 I can't discard it. Because it is my last carton of milk before I go shopping. I don't have a milk jug. If there was one it was probably donated to charity three years ago. Or wrapped in newspaper and joined the pretty china collection upstairs. 

 7.20 Walkies.

 8.00 Back again after a loop around the spray tracks. Still nicely dry to avoid muddy boots. It was too cold for bare hands. Still a white frost on the grass and the car roof as I came home. A skylark landed a few meters away on the drive. I watched it through my binoculars as it pecked at microscopic items on the gravel. Greenfinches wheezed in the trees above. My legs objected to walking downhill. Probably because they were having to resist my weight. Steadily improving throughout my walk. I have to go shopping. So I'll try the e-bike again. 

 9.30 45F/7.2C. I can climb the stairs but it is painful coming back down. I'll ride into the village to shop. Just to see if my legs will manage a few km.

 10.45 50F/10C Back from the shops. 16km. I took the hilly, forest route home to see if it caused any pain. It was fine except for the cold. Thanks to the easterly wind I just touched 50kph/30mph on a long descent. It is a beautiful route. High hedges and woods mixed with open views across the bumpy countryside. 

 I wore thinner gloves and a light rain jacket from Endura. My eyes and nose were streaming but the rest of me was quite comfortable. Ironically it was having to lift my weight off the saddle which hurt. This allowed the gas strut in the dropper post to function. Pedaling was fine and caused no pain. I used Turbo mode on the numerous climbs. I am still not sure I am ready for a much longer ride.

 12.00 53F/11.7C. I am going for a ride. So that means I need to take my lunch with me. Two rolls,[one cheese one jam] a banana, a Corny sub-micro, chocolate bar and my first use of my shiny, stainless steel, Thermos Flask. I have made black coffee as an experiment. 

 15.30 Back from a ride to the north for 75km total today. The battery had dropped to 12% charge from 82%. With barely any range left. Perhaps a couple of kilometers. Not helped by the headwind all the way home. Dropping to Tour mode gave me just enough help to get home. I visited two more village, charity shops. No pain in my legs while I was pedaling. It felt as if I was being split in half by the saddle. 

 I was grateful for a proper lunch at 1pm. Where I stopped at a rural sand quarry with a huge lake formed by their ongoing activities. The coffee in the flask was scalding hot. Cooling quickly when the tiny cup was held in the hand. Made of plastic lined stainless steel. So it didn't burn my fingers but cooled quickly enough. Not to be waiting long for it to be drinkable. Ideal from all points of view. The pouring mechanism was a see-saw switch. Very useful, controllable and safe.

 There was even enough coffee left. For another cup with the banana at 3pm. I had paused in a lay-by with seating to have a rest from the saddle and traffic. I was wearing an old pair of DHB padded racing shorts under my cargo trousers. Probably over 15 years old. 

 The work on the motorway expansion caused me major detours via main roads. With no short cuts for cyclists or walkers. The traffic was constant and exhausting. I escaped to the lanes as soon as it was possible.

 I have opened the greenhouse to share the 102F/39C warmth. It has already reached 69F/21C in the room and climbing to 70F/21C. I brought in the towels from the rotary airer. The wind and sunshine had overcome the modest temperatures. To dry the towels. My legs still hurt when I walk.

 Dinner was chicken, mushrooms, tweggs and chips. The eggs were a week out of date. I didn't notice when I bought them at a discount. I made sure they were well cooked. Just in case.

 

 ~o~

20.03.2025 Oh, the pain!

 ~o~

  Thursday 20th 35F/1.7C. Another overnight frost. Bright, with another sunny day promised. Though much more cloudy than yesterday. It could reach 13C/55F this afternoon.

 Up at 6.30 after a quiet night. I am aching all over from yesterday's physio class. My thighs are really painful when I stand up. I have been massaging my quadriceps to relieve the pain. I was doing a lot of squats yesterday. Usually with weights up to 16kg. 

 Am I fit to have a proper ride today? I had been looking forwards to going further. I had several rides this week. No ill effects until now. I had better have a walk to see if that helps. Or throws up more complications. 

 8.10. Back from a short walk. Cold on my hands. No real problems with leg pain while walking. If I take the spare bike battery I can use Turbo mode to assist me to get home if need be.

 9.15 I could barely crouch to fit the battery in the e-bike! It is painful to walk about indoors. I must be an idiot to go for a ride today! I'll have a short ride to see if it is worth going further.

 9.30 46F/7.8C. I had a test ride for a few hundred meters down the road. It hurts when I pedal. No ride today. I'll go for a drive instead. 

 12.45 57F/14C. Mostly sunny. Back from a drive to several villages to the north. I visited six charity shops. Timed it to return in time for lunch. My legs were hurting all morning. Walking, climbing steps and getting in and out of the car was very painful. Mostly due to my quadriceps on the front of my thighs.

 Dinner was fish fingers, pasta, peas and tinned tomatoes. I have been in agony all day. I can't sit from standing. Nor stand from sitting. Without fierce pain in the front of my thighs. It seems to be getting worse. I only missed two physio classes. I have been cycling decent distances. Why am I suffering?

  

  ~o~

19.03.2025 Brambles and physio.

 ~o~

Wednesday 19th 35F/2C. Bright sunshine. White frost on the car and grass. The little pond is iced over. A pleasant spring day is promised. Perhaps reaching 8.5C/47C after lunch. 

 I might ride to physio. I'll see how I feel. It might be better to go for a ride this morning. Then drive there. Otherwise there is too much messing about with clothing. The changing rooms too far from the gym to be useful.

 Up at 7.30 after dozing for ages. Nosebleed. Ten minutes of pinching finally stopped the flood.

 10.00 Morning coffee. Another half hour working on the brambles. Almost gone now. The view is from the balcony window. 25m from the western boundary. My nose is still trying to bleed. I am doing much more raking than earlier. It is easier now that the ground is relatively clear. The rake can tease out the long runners. Preparing them for the chop with the loppers. 

The cheap, unused pair I found in the shed are already rounding off on the blades. They no longer cut cleanly. Just a few hours cutting soft, blackberry stems. Garbage quality steel. Tarted up with a flash coating of something bright and cosmetic. I know I could sharpen them but to what effect? A few more hours and they will be blunt again.

 11.45 Back to the brambles. Almost finished. I had to come in. My nose won't stop bleeding!

  Using a combination of plugging and pinching I stopped the blood flow. Now I have had early dinner. To avoid exercising on a full stomach at physio class.

  The greenhouse is warming the house again. The thermometer is showing 100F/38C out there.

 15.30 48F/9C. Back from physio class. We really get a good workout. I shopped on the way home. Bright sunshine all day. I must have a ride tomorrow. Fåborg is nice.

 Dinner will be toast. Probably tweggs. Fried or boiled? Poached.

 

 ~o~

18.03.2025 Brambles and raking the pond.

 ~o~

 Tuesday 18th 32F/0C. A sunny morning, reaching almost 7C after lunch. Rather breezy from the west. A white frost on the car.

 Up at 7am after lying awake from 2-4am. The air felt cold in the night though I was comfortable under my down duvet. Currently 61F/16C in the room. Stove lit. 68F/20C at bedtime. Though the stove had gone out.

 I shall be driving to visit my English friend after an extended lull due to flu. He caught it before I did. Which doubled the period for our recovery. 

 I could ride there but am put off by the relatively low temperatures. It is almost 30km each way. Depending on the route I take. A longer duration in the saddle with no chance to warm up on the way. All routes are delightful. As they pass through undulating, rural countryside. 

 8.15 Time for a walk.

 8.45 Just another tour around the spray tracks on the fields. The wind was cold on my hands. Flocks of Fieldfares and Redwings were moving about on the fields. Skylarks overhead. The traffic was very busy and noisy.

 I have just paid for the Nyon anti-theft service. I had no idea if I was still registered. The Connect app is just circling endlessly after I agreed to all permissions and paid online.

 13.00 Returned from visiting my friend. The wind has increased and it feels cold. I shopped on the way home. 

I spent half an hour raking the fibreglass dish pond clear of leaves. The bottom was solid with fallen leaves. Fortunately the rake cannot damage the fibreglass. As it might with a rubber membrane, pond liner. It is important to allow anything removed from the pond to lie nearby. So that any wildlife can safely return to the sanctuary of their home. 

 The down pipe from the front gutter on the house has now been extended over to the pond. Not very pretty but it will soon raise the water level if it rains. The area of the roof being so much larger than that of the pond. Burying the pipe would not take more than about half an hour. After that I went back to attacking the brambles. I am making steady progress.

 Dinner was a fry-up. Of chicken, brown mushrooms and tweggs.

 

  ~o~

17.03.2025 33km, brambles and Nyon startup problem.

 ~o~

  Monday 17th 29F/-32C. Rather cool, but full sun, all day. Reaching almost 6C after lunch. Wind light and variable from different directions.

 Up at 7am after a quiet night. I got up at 6am but went straight back to bed. It is 63F/17C in the room [8.00] I ought to go for a walk.

  No real plans for today. Chopping brambles or a chilly ride? 

 9.00 I walked around the field by the spray tracks again. It was much drier than yesterday. After which I was met by a small guard dog. One of my neighbours approached but I offered only a wave. I should probably have stopped to chat. 

 There has been almost no contact with these neighbours since they rebuilt the old farm and added a drive on a vast, new embankment to their business. To avoid using the same drive as scrap man and his hideous eyesore of junk spread right right across two fields. To which end they have now added berms, bushes and trees to shield their view. A work in progress given the time to achieve any real growth.

 10.30 Another half an hour spent on the brambles. I still haven't adequately captured the scale of the operation with my phone camera. I just measured from the head of the rake in the foreground. To the boundary fence in the background. It is just over 10 meters. [32'] 

The image at left left was taken from upstairs. I should have removed the large logs from the horse chestnut I felled. They provided cover for the brambles to explode in area.

 15.00 42F/5.6C. Returned from a ride to Assens. The Bosch NYON head repeatedly refused to turn on before I left. It took probably ten minutes to wake up. The bike battery was at 100%. Imagine if that happened miles from home! Riding that way home without ANY assistance whatsoever.

 Was it a problem with the anti-theft app? No idea. It is supposed make it impossible for a thief to match any other NYON head than that which has been paired to the e-bike by the owner. Bosch charges a modest fee per year for this service. I have no idea how to tell if it is active. It advertises the service without checking if the legal owner is actually registered. The local bike shop activated it when they did their first service. I don't know if they remembered to do it this last time.

 It felt freezing cold regardless of my direction of travel. Thirty three kilometers via several detours. 70F/21C in the room. 107F/42C in the greenhouse. I have opened the internal doors again. I closed them when I went out. For the sake of security.

 Dinner was beans on toast.

 

 ~o~

16.03.2025 A 19km ride and brambles.

 ~o~

  Sunday 16th 3F/2C [8.30] Sunshine struggling to break through the overcast.

 Up at 7.30 after a very quiet night. I got up at 6.30 to use the fire bucket. Then went back to bed again. It looked like a thin layer of snow on the car. Or very thick frost. The car was just wet when I finally got up. I had a short lived nose bleed. 63F/17C in the room. The last log went out without burning. I ought to go for a walk.

 Another loop around the spray tracks on the fields. The sun lost out to the cloud. The mud was much stickier than yesterday but manageable. Two geese were circling noisily. Lots of small birds singing in the hedgerows. Redwings were sharing the field with the crows.

 10.30 Morning coffee over. 63F/17C. Stove lit. I was thinking about having a ride but it is heavily overcast, cold, breezy and drizzling. 

 Watched YT for an hour. Then attacked the brambles again. I am at least half way through. The missing trick was not raking at intervals. This exposes the long runners at ground level. It is surprisingly difficult to show my progress in photographs. 

 15.15 46F/8C. Overcast. Lunch over. I fancy a ride to the next shopping village to the north. No bananas or tomatoes in the larder. There is a northerly breeze. So I will enjoy a tailwind coming home.

 15.45 49F/9C. Rather cloudy with occasional sunshine. Returned from a 19km ride to the shops. It felt much colder than the thermometer suggested. I found everything I needed. The shortages in the previous supermarket outlet have been moved to the new outlet. So I shopped next door for organic bananas.

 Dinner was chicken, mushrooms and baked beans. With a bread roll and a beer.

 

 ~o~

15.03.2025 26km.

 ~o~

  Saturday 15th 21F/-6C. A white, overnight frost followed by sunshine. A high of nearly 6C/43F is promised for after lunch. Winds light and in variable direction. 60F/15.6C in the room.

 7.00 The sun has just risen over the low hill to the east. Up at 6.30 after a quiet night with strange dreams. I must get out today. Hopefully for a ride. No silly distances yet. I don't know how well recovered I am.

 8.55 32F/0C. Bright sunshine. Back from a walk. Looping around the fields by the spray tracks. My fingers were cold in thick gloves. While I was sweating in two jackets. I had to open them both and take off my fleece cap. The stove is still going well. 64F/18C in the room.

 12.45 40F/4.4C. Bright sunshine. Back from a shopping ride of 26km. I saw a Morris Minor and gave them a wave. I doubt they understood why a cyclist was waving but they waved back anyway. Two swans flew low over the main road. Heading for the extensive marshland in that area. It wasn't too unpleasant on my way there but felt much colder coming home. Though my hands were comfortable throughout. Over 100F in the greenhouse. So I opened all the internal doors to spread the warmth. The stove had gone out.

 I found some packets of Corny, sub-micro, protein bars at a discount. I have been refusing to pay 26kr when these bars were only 10kr when they were first released. They have shrunk too! The bags are the same size but now they are completely flat at each end. 

 Most supermarket chains stopped selling them altogether. Presumably because they considered them poor value. Or, more likely, they were simply not selling at the hiked price. I liked to nibble one as a small snack. When I was out on a ride. They didn't repeat on me or make me feel full. The latter is meant as a rather sick joke.

 Dinner was mackerel on toast. No picture.

 

 

 

  ~o~

 

14.03.2025 Water, water everywhere.

  ~o~

  Friday 14th 33F/1C. Dark overcast with a risk of wintry showers this morning. Sunnier this afternoon.

 Up at 7am after a quiet night. My neck and shoulders were hurting from all the bramble lopping. My nose is trying to bleed again. Only a chilly 64F/18C in the room. I had better light the stove.

 10.20 Returned from a 20 minute walk along the road. There was a cold headwind. So I turned back.  

 13.30 Lunch over. I have been doing a partial water change in the goldfish aquarium. Slowed repeatedly by the abject failure of the Sicce submersion pump to start. Even when it did start the flow was pathetically slow. The Sicce was recommended on several YouTube fish keeping channels for this task. Perhaps the glowing praise was skewed by the supply of free pumps for review by the manufacturer?  

18.15 Stove re-lit. The stove had gone out this morning during my walk. I hadn't bothered to light it again all day. The room was at 63F/17C just now. Not enough sunshine to gain anything useful from the greenhouse today.

 Dinner was a fry up with chips. An organic pork chop, mushrooms, tweggs and oven ready chips. I washed up while it was cooking. The new dish rack works quite well considering the backlog. With more of a vertical element [stacking] than the old plastic one. The four clean saucepans and frying pan went onto the stainless steel, draining board. I had forgotten what it looked like. The old rack had been sitting there.

10.50 Time for bed. It is 28F/-2C outside and 67F/19C in the room. I am going to put a last log on the stove. In the hope of extending the warmth for a little longer. It is a fine balance to set the air supply for an extended burn.

 

  ~o~

13.03.2025 Risking life and limb for a new oven.

 ~o~

  Thursday 13th 36F/2C. Overcast. Possible wintry showers. Snow falling in the far north of Jylland.

 Up at 7am after a disturbed night. My T-shirt was literally wet with sweat all night. The fire bucket needed my attention half a dozen times. 65F/18C in the room.

 I believe it would be foolish to attend the cooking class. I am clearly not well enough yet. My continuing symptoms may still make me infectious. Influenza amongst the elderly is always a risk. I have emailed the "The Chef."

 One of my eight, daily tablets has completely changed appearance. The original medication "name" was unavailable. I have had to update the picture I keep of my medication. With their foolishly long, inscrutable names. Set beside the images I take to aid recognition.

 The bill came for the electrical work. The less than three hours work had miraculously become five. Another £500 equivalent to be added to the cost of a rather modest kitchen makeover.

 10.37 38F/3C. First sign of sunshine. It looked too cold and miserable for a walk this morning. I could sneak out now and hope nobody notices. We don't want any negative headlines in the national press.

 11.15 Back from a modest walk. I was never warm enough. My pace and mood were picking up on the way back. So it wasn't a complete disaster.

 12.10 Coming in for a rest. I have been chopping at the brambles again with the loppers. Making good progress. Though I am dripping with sweat and feeling sick again. Viewed [above] from the upstairs, balcony room.

 Dinner was cheese on toast. I trimmed off the burnt bits. The error was due to the baking tray twisting by 20º in normal use. It would barely come out of the new Electrolux oven without severe personal injury. The baking paper was burnt to a crisp on the high side!

 

  ~o~

12.03.2025 On the rack!

 ~o~

   Wednesday 12th 37F/3C. A mixed day of sunshine and showers is promised.

 Up at 5.30 after a fairly quiet night. I am still feeling hot, fuzzy, headachy and sweating. I am in no condition to be prancing about in a gym. Let alone willing to risk infecting others. So physio class is off again. 

 It is eight days since I first felt freezing cold last Tuesday evening. That was after spending the day outside on demolition of the observatory. I had felt hints of what I thought were hypothermia before that. Usually following rides in the cold. Though I am fortunate to have a [recycled] windproof jacket.

 6.45 I finally got around to eating breakfast. Though I really didn't feel like any this morning. A uniformly, dark, grey sky. I am suddenly feeling cold despite the 68F/20C in the room.

 7.45 A hint of brightening in the sky. I am going for a slow walk. 

 8.20 I escaped from the busy traffic as soon as possible. Taking the now familiar loop around the parallel drives. It felt far colder than I had imagined. Several skylarks were singing overhead.

 The sun broke through but I had a nap to stop myself dozing off.

 10.20 I pushed the temperature in the bathroom up to 80F/27C using the fan heater. So I could enjoy a much needed shower. The new shower rail was easily tamed. Simply by not insisting on mounting the head all of the time. 

 I have a load of shopping to do. Some of which isn't available from the local supermarket. I'll have to drive to the next shopping village.  

 11.40 I couldn't face going any further than the village. So I sweated my way around the local supermarkets and renewed my tablets at the pharmacy. I hope nobody was infected when they stood in the puddles of sweat I left on the floor.

 15.30 Returning from the next shopping village. Mostly grey. I still managed to sweat profusely throughout the outing. A Morris Minor Woody passed where I was parked. I was going to buy a replacement dish rack for the drainer. The posh shop was closed. So I carried on to the supermarkets. 

 Netto had a rack on offer. For half the price of the posh shop's self destroying plastic thing. So I went with one of those. Different, in design and impossible to judge if it will suit. Not until I try. It certainly fits the draining board on the sink. The tap is just as accessible as it was with the old rack. The viewpoint is slightly deceptive. This my not be true once the rack is loaded with dinner plates.

 I may be doing it all wrong of course. Perhaps I should I stack the dirty dishes on the draining board? Then the clean stuff goes to the right on the new rack on the working surface beyond the sink. Using the supplied tray to drain any run-off back into the sink. Besides, anybody sensible would wash up every day. Then put the clean dishes away once dry. Though one might just as well wish for the moon!

 The car misbehaved all the way home. As if someone was randomly switching the ignition on and off.  

 Dinner was a pork chop with mushrooms. With pasta, peas and tinned tomatoes. I allowed the chop ten minutes total cooking time. The instructions on the packet suggested half that. I readily admit that the meat was as rare as I have ever tasted. I usually cook meat until brown or crisp.

 

  ~o~

11.03.2025 More gardening.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 11th A cool, grey, misty day is promised with light showers possible. Rain starting just after lunch time.

 Up at 5am. I was having a reasonable night until 4.30. Then it was a matter of holding out until a more reasonable hour. I'll wait until 6am before having breakfast. I am sweating as if over-dressed but too cold in the 63F/17C room. The stove went out last night as I was dozing. Before it had a chance to contribute anything to the warmth of the room.

 6.00 39F/4C. Stove lit and going well. Breakfast. 

  I could see blinding, white lights out on the fields last night. As a vast machine, based on a combine harvester chassis, sprayed the field. Luckily I was hundreds of meters away. The sheer scale of the machine dwarfed the bungalows lying between us. 

 The machines use fixed spray tracks, calculated by GPS. With LGP tires [low ground pressure] to minimize damage to the cultivated soil. Out on the roads they take up so much room that they ought to have a police escort. Doing the job at night minimizes the risk of meeting an impassable object. Or upsetting commuters.

 8.30 Returning from a walk along the road. I managed a couple of hundred meters but was tiring quickly. So headed back.  

 8.50 Morning coffee over. The room has reached 70F/21C. I am sweating.

 Went back to bed on a 40min. alarm.

 11.30 Rather foolishly I have been attacking the brambles again. Not only the huge thicket to the west but in the front hedge. I got carried away and trimmed back the overgrown Cornus in the front garden. If only to get past. 

I am now so knackered I could throw up. I never intended to stay out this long. There was so much to do because I have been ignoring it all. 

 I continued with the gardening at intervals but was very tired from the flu. Much of the afternoon was spent dozing. Duration unknown.

 I washed up instead of making dinner. I really didn't feel like eating anything. Then I opted for poached eggs on toast. I had set the oven timer for six minutes. Having placed the Pyrex cup with the eggs in the boiling water I had gone to fill a basket of logs for the stove. The egg whites were firming in the cup by the time I came back. So I tipped them into the simmering water and waited for the bell. They were perfect.

 

  ~o~

10.03.2025 Bramble progress.

 ~o~

 Monday 10th. A sunny but cooler day is offered. 

 Up at 5.30 after a formerly quiet night. When I suddenly hit a new well of unhappy memories to dredge from my youth. Which I hadn't thought about for years. Still sweating profusely from the flu.

 6.30 37F/3C. A pinkish sky in the east. 67F/19C in the room. I don't feel like breakfast. I'll sort out my tablets for the week. Though I've run out of two kinds.

7.00 I am going to try a walk. See how I get on.

7.45 Returned from a very slow loop of the neighbour's parallel drives. Past all the debris and detritus. Of a hoarder like myself. Though one with far more space and resources. I had no energy. Walking in slow motion. At the turn I was greeted by a bloody sun. Coming over the hill at my back. I was avoiding the larger lumps of the overfilled potholes. It looked like road scrapings. I am not complaining. It should last for a while. 

 There was still a white frost. Birds everywhere. A Goldfinch was busy attacking the larch seeds. In the absent neighbour's foolishly overgrown hedge. The one we planted for the first of several neighbours. All those many years ago.

 The ex-observatory is a sorry sight. As is the rest of the garden. I'll have breakfast now. Gather my strength for the day ahead. I have to paint more lipstick. On the arse of my ugly pig of a house.

 9.15. Woke from a 40 minute nap. 

 Morning largely wasted on YT.

 11.50 48F. Sunny and the house is being warmed by the greenhouse. It was horribly cold outside in the wind and the shade. So I put on a jacket and tried to clear more of my wife's flower bed. Using a hooked rake I gently de-thatched most of the area. 

 There are three buddleias in leaf. Survivors of my failure to plant them out. A few woody stems of unknown species look like shrubs. I left then to fend for themselves until proven guilty. I pulled up every thistle I could find. Easily recognizable from the dried skeletons from last year. I must have lifted most of the rosebay willowherb by now.

 A  few leaders of brambles are invading from the west. Climbing over her non-flowering rose hedge. I am collecting a lot of dried material. Which might make a decent fire over the major bramble invasion around the site of the old Horse chestnut.

 I am not sure I want to invest in a heavier version of my DeWalt line strimmer. A gutless waste of money. As confirmed in YT comparison reviews. It needs something I don't have to make any impact on the brambles. The tri-blade I bought is for heavier duty DeWalt strimmers. It will have to go back for a refund. £200 minimum [equivalent] to move up in the range.

 I have tried several electric hedge clippers but none can match the bramble stems at the ground. Reaching the stems is a stretch if I want to avoid being scratched to death. The spines are hooked, needle sharp and vicious.

 Further online research suggests loppers for the arching stems. The bases can be attacked once the aerial stems are cleared. I have loppers but they are getting old and worn out. The blades are too thin and twist on thinner hardwood stems.  

 13.45 51F/11C. I've been doing it all wrong. After lunch I went back out again. By repeatedly snipping the aerial stems back by only a foot or more. Then letting them fall to the ground. 

 I was able to remove a couple of square meters of chest high growth in only fifteen minutes. Patience and a sharp air of lightweight, oiled loppers is all it needs. The stems cut very easily. Previously I had been trying to drag long stems out of the thicket. Which was slow and exhausting.

 My back didn't like the weight of the present pair of loppers. They also became increasingly blunt. Perhaps due to juices in the bramble stems working with the rust on the blades. They began to grab instead of cutting cleanly. Which they had at first. Even length isn't a major factor. I made no effort to reach. Just snipped away at every stem in front of me. I am afraid I need a rest now. I am far from recovered from the flu.

  I had another nap. Woke to the phone alarm then fell asleep again. I have been feeling very tired today.

 I could not face any dinner. So consumed my last tin of Heinz tomato soup and a buttered bread roll. 

 The evening was spent dozing off repeatedly to Netflix. Interrupted only by a chat with my English friend. I woke again at 10.15 feeling cold. Because I had not been aware of the stove going out without it having caught. It is only 67F/19.4C but it will have to do. I can't stay awake to light it again.

  ~o~

9.03.2025 Stayin' Alive!

 ~o~

  Sunday 9th A cloudier day and not so warm. The nose bleed stopped at about 11.15 and did not recur.

  Up at 6.30 after a quiet night of feeding the fire bucket and sci-fi dreams Which seemed dominated by two themes. In the first I was traveling quite quickly across a once civilized planet which had succumbed to sea slime. Possibly following sea level rise. I seemed to be flying over old railway lines and under towering bridges of columns. It was all very beautiful and peaceful.

 The second dream seemed to go on forever. It involved pods and suits. Which were suspended by nano-wires above a vast crater. Some hint of competition for longevity? I was trying to discover how they survived and why bother anyway? As it was such a mindless existence.

 This morning I had only taken a mouthful of muesli. When I remembered I hadn't taken my blood pressure. So it was all stop for quarter of an hour. All figures were more elevated than previous checks. I feel slightly better again today. Not ready for a walk or a ride. 

 I need some basic groceries. Though I don't see why I should spread my germs around the local supermarket. I'll leave that to those who have no choice or don't care. A modest online order might be an idea and allow me to continue resting.

 8.30 I just ordered the milk and bread rolls I needed. I have plenty of reserves for my simple meals. The sun is breaking though and it is quite still out there. Oh goody. Somebody has already taken my order.

 9.30 I was actually feeling hungry. So I toasted my last roll and had morning coffee. 

 10.00 My nice neighbours, who own the shared drive, were filling the potholes with gravel. There was a van and trailer involved. So it might have been the builders next door too. The dustbin/recycling company had complained about the state of the drive. Potentially damaging their vehicle. I hadn't been in a position to do anything myself.

 I am clearing the area around the back [main entrance] door. Where the shopping is to be delivered. It has been an absolute eyesore for years. Bags of composts, etc, half buried in fallen leaves. Stacks of gardening tools scattered loosely without the least organization. The recycling bins could be moved further away from the door. Make them less "looming."

 There's a rusting, decorative, Singer, cast iron, treadle sewing machine stand. With a heavy slate top. It does nothing but trap leaves. I probably shan't ever use it as a plant stand. My wife's small gardening tools still adorn it. Forlornly waiting to be made use of again. Somebody might want the stand if I advertise it. If I lived in town I could put a "Gratis" sign on it and park it outside the house. Nobody will ever see it here.

 The area is cleared but probably looks more down at heel than it did. The large gardening tools remain untouched. They enjoy being under the overhanging roof. Which helps to keep them dry. The problem is standing them up tidily. There are so many of them. It needs some kind of rack system. Which allows them to move straight forwards to release. No room for lifting upwards. Or, I could move them all elsewhere. Under the supposed carport? The observatory demolition is paused yet again.

 I had my milk and rolls delivered. Now I can rest. Doing the least work outside made me feel unwell.

 12.15 All internals doors are open. For the greenhouse to warm the house again. Minor laundry backlog cleared.

 I have been reorganizing the kitchen cupboards and airing cupboard. I was driven by a need to have easy access to the coffee mugs and plates. Not have them standing in the open on the [string repaired] drying rack. 

 Then I needed space for e-bike panniers. The airing cupboard was horribly underutilized and still is. Though I managed to stack boxes nearer the ceiling. Allowing the heavy boxes of reserve tiles to be shuffled about on the floor. I could then stand the excellent, Ortlieb Classic bags on the floor at the front of the stacks. 

 As usual I found a horde of my late wife's "treasure" in the boxes marked tiles. Gorgeous brass hinges and countless brass door knobs and handles. Which arguably will never be used again. Most of them are probably antique. She would buy them individually from flea markets just in case. I carefully tidied them all back in again and will leave it their next owner. To decide on their fate.

 The multiple stacks of colourful buckets. In the bottom of the airing cupboard and still unused. Could usefully be transferred to the far end of the kitchen. Where the storage space is currently wasted on polythene bags I shall never use. Worse, it is all on display! Instead of being hidden.

 13.40 56.5F/13.5C. Milky sunshine. Still over 100F/38C in the greenhouse. 70F/21C in the room. No bins tomorrow. Probably just as well or the loose gravel in the potholes. Would be flattened under the huge weight of their lorry.

 I had been dozing on the computer so had a proper 40 min nap. 

 Dinner was fish fingers and chips. Overcooked!

 

 ~o~

 

8.03.2025 Blood bath!

 ~o~

  Saturday 8th Dry and sunny. It could reach a record breaking 16C/61F between 14.00 and 15.00.

  Whoops! The digital clock was showing a row of 5s. I thought it must be nearly 6am. I could safely get up. Without feeling too guilty after a very quiet night. I was looking forward to announcing a record sleep time. The truth was much less satisfying. It was just before 1am!

 01.55  I had lain awake for a whole hour. Unable to get a wink of sleep. Worrying about downsizing. Swallowing repeatedly, to hold down what little I had eaten. It was time for a cup of tea and another glass of water. Sit on the computer until I got tired again. The usual arrangement.

03.15  I had a nose bleed and was shivering before I went back to bed.

05.00 Awake again. Haunted by fleeting images in dreams. Which had nothing in context or even reality. I nearly fell out of bed trying to save a large mixing bowl. It was my mother's I think. I don't remember owning such a mixing bowl.

 I have been sleeping in my normal clothes. Plus the thick fleece jacket and cap again. Trying to drive away the remaining virus.  I have just taken a Pamol and an Ipren. Will I get the sparklies again? 

 An email came. Reminding me that I haven't filled out the online form with multiple blood pressure tests. Taken over several days morning and night. I had managed just one morning entry before I had man flu. I don't know whether I dare risk exposing my extremities to the room over an extended period. It's only 64F/17.8C in here. 

 The problem is they want a morning reading before I eat or drink anything. I start every day with black coffee and muesli. I am barely functioning before that ritual is over. I have already had two cups of tea in the night. There is nowhere on the form for messages about my fighting for my life with a severe bout of man flu. 

 Those of you who are new to reading my drivel. May miss the deliberate exaggerations for humorous effect. I am mostly talking to myself anyway. For years I have used my blogs as way of entertaining myself and my few, probably imaginary readers. This allowed me to fill in for the complete absence of friends over here. Until recently. The internet kept me sane in my rural isolation. I could use my imaginary audience as friends.

 My late wife suffered even worse isolation for far longer. No doubt leading to her eventual demise. We had a passable social life with charity shop staff and antique dealers over here. Just as we had done in rural Wales. We visited so many, so often, that we would be greeted. That came to an end a few years ago over here. I can't remember why. Probably because the house could not accept another item without the walls bulging outwards.

 Visitors were rare even when we lived in the city. There was a local girl. The victim of a navy, Scottish wife beater and drinker. We had a child each of a similar age. She would visit my wife. That was over 40 years ago. Nothing after that. 

 6.10 I was just having a sweating fit. So I used that as an excuse to strip off my top half. Three readings captured at 5 minute intervals and still sweating. Lowest and last reading: 99/72/63bpm. A man barely alive! My pulse was a lot slower last time. Averaging 45.

 I'll see if there is enough milk for breakfast. It wasn't the milk that was the problem. It was the lack of spoons. I had to resort to a desert spoon to measure the coffee. The [ir]regular washer upper had called in sick. Some lame excuse about a flu epidemic. Numbers increasing beyond 2000 per week for the least 6 weeks and the curve still hasn't broken. One third of Danes could well be ill. How do they know how many people are sick if they don't contact their doctor? Or are self-employed or retired?  

 12.10 There was no return to bed this morning. I am almost 80% recovered but have been sweating profusely since the early hours. Probably the body's reaction to the weakening virus. I have no appetite for lunch. 

 Several day's worth of washing up is completed. Including the use of Baking Soda to clean the stains out of eight mugs. I then moved onto peripheral trays and containers, cutlery trays, etc. I feel a need to mop the kitchen floor.

 I have watched numerous YT videos this morning. In an attempt to self-analyze my psychological type and behaviour. I share so many different traits from so many types that I remain a puzzle. Even to myself. While I lean towards the Sigma Male I consider myself damaged goods. I have sympathy and empathy, yet remain a loner at heart. Last night I cried when a child in a Japanese series was self harming. Her doctor lacks any empathy. Presumably the series will eventually find some way to restore this absence.

 I am and have always been obsessively creative. I can and have produced amazing results working entirely alone. Though I have used the hive mind amongst online forums for specialist advice. My memory is so specialized as to have been a major handicap throughout my working life. I used my large library of text books until Google came along.

 I could not remember the names of colleagues with whom I had worked with for years. Yet I can identify and remember the source of components of a lifetime of taking stuff apart. Yet not remember more than a few dates of general interest. 1066, 1947, 1953 & 1967. That's about it. I cannot put dates to any of my life's activities or "career highlights." Not within a decade or two.

 I cannot add a column of figures and get the same answer twice. Yet wrote trigonometrical software [in BBC Basic] to design and graph triplet telescope objective lenses, just as they were beginning to be made commercially. I am self-taught on many woodworking and metalworking machines and tools. I built several guitars but cannot remember more than three chords. Let alone all the notes of a stave. 

 14.00 59.7F/15.5C. It could still get a little warmer. Indoors is at 71F/22C. Thanks to the greenhouse and all internal doors open. I might even have a shower.

 14.45 It peaked at 60.4F/16C for a quarter of an hour. Shower succeeded. Hate that shower rail. Nose bleed! Started on the laundry. 73F/23C indoors. Kitchen floor tiles swept and mopped. 

 16.55 57F/14C. The outdoor temperature is holding up well. I suddenly felt very unwell after my shower. So went hack to bed with a 40 min. alarm. The load of jumpers were finished. Onto the next load. 73F/22.8C indoors. Greenhouse and internal doors closed.

 Dinner was mackerel on toast. Followed by a bloodbath. I was pressing tissue to my nose and pulling out, warm blooded, rubber snakes. 10cm long and as thick as my finger. I'll keep pinching.

 11.10 I can't go to bed until my nose stops bleeding. It won't stop!

 

  ~o~

7.03.2025 A bad case of the sparklies.

~o~

 Friday 7th 

 Up at 5.45 after another difficult night. Hours of weird dreams about plumbing systems that don't exist. I may be feeling a little better today but can't face breakfast. My lower back is killing me. I may still go back to bed.

 7.35 Another hour in bed. No breakfast. I'll concentrate on fluids. Water, tepid tea, tepid black coffee.

 Parts of Denmark are promised 15C/59F at the weekend. Slightly cooler here with 14C. The earliest spring day in 257 years.

 10.15 Been back to bed again. Slept soundly. Woken by messages on my phone.         

 11.00 I have just been chatting. I must be better. I can type normally again. In the loosest possible sense of normal. Back to the fluids. Coffee and a glass of water. I took a couple of over the counter pain killers. I might force down a digestive biscuit. Just to keep them company.

 Bright sunshine. The greenhouse is warming the house. Albeit slowly.

 12.40 It is that time. I should be making lunch but [?] I am dripping with sweat. It is 20C or 69F in the room. Thanks to the greenhouse door being open to the kitchen and living room. Via the small intervening hall. What difference does it make if I am sweating? I'll decorate my rolls with my assorted spreads and see how I get on. My brain is still not working properly yet. I keep missing out words in sentences.

 13.10 56.5F/13.6C. It is supposed to be warmest at 16.00. Rolls consumed. Sweat reducing. 

 17.15 Woke from another nap and closed the greenhouse door. 

 Most peculiar! I had a very strange reaction to something I have taken or eaten. I was seeing peculiar sparkles on things and sounds were greatly magnified. It sounded as it was very windy but wasn't. I went to bed to avoid it getting any worse. 

 Fortunately [?] I woke with the flu in retreat but no more hallucinations. I have never taken any drugs so cannot compare it to anything. The curried sild? Though it doesn't usually have that effect. Out of date, over the counter, pain killers? 😬

 19.00 My appetite seemed back to normal earlier but now it's not. I might try something tasty on toast. Cheese would do it. Nah. Too much work!

 I haven't lit the stove all day. Thanks to the greenhouse it reached 70F/21C and has remained there until now. I feel warm enough without being so sweaty. It was ridiculous earlier! Like a warm bath with my clothes on.

 Dinner was marmalade on toast. 2 rounds. I have run out of coffee mugs. Most of which have been rinsed several times for re-use. As I don't take milk in my tea. Nor usually in my black coffee. They are all hideously stained with tannin. I am not strong enough to do any washing up yet. 

 10.00 I can't stay awake any longer. I feel headachy, my neck aches too. Still 68F/20C in the room. So I didn't bother to light the stove. I'll be sleeping in my clothes anyway.

  

 ~o~

 

6.03.2025 Man flu.

 ~o~

  Thursday 6th. Bright.

 Up at 5am after a difficult night. I had a glass of water at 3am and 4am. I'll probably go back to bed. Which I did at 5.30. There followed a chain of dreams. Where I got up. Only to find myself still in bed when I opened my eyes. It was 7.30 before I finally matched reality. 

 In the meantime I seem to have lost the ability to type or move the mouse. I am hobbling about like an old man in short steps. Bent over with pain in my lower back. My nose is  just wet enough to make me a mouth breather. Though it's not really a man cold.

 10.00 44F/6.7C. Woke from another nap. Bright sunshine. 

 13.45 Shared commiserations on this dreadful disease with my friends. A couple of thousand infections per week and climbing. I thought I'd try sliced bananas in skimmed milk. My tongue hurt! Just had another shivering fit. 70F/21C in the room and I'm wearing a down jersey and fleece cap. Now I am trying weak tea. 107F/42C in the greenhouse. Perhaps I should stay out there?

 16.15 Slept for another hour. Had a toasted bread roll. Agonizing stomach aches!

 17.15 Lit the stove. It went out! I am not strong enough for this!

 17.25 Now going well.

 21.15 More sleep. The stove went out. Rekindled from the embers.  70F/21C.

 10.00 A shivering fit in 22C/72F. 

 

 

 

 

  ~o~

 

 

5.03.2025 Walking wounded.

 ~o~

  Wednesday 5th 38F/3C. Cloudy and windy.

 Up at 6am after a disturbed night. I fell sleep while watching Netflix last night. When I woke I was shaking violently with the cold and feeling dreadful. Even though the temperature in the room was 68F/20C and I was warmly dressed. 

 I added a pair of fleece trousers and went to bed early in a thick jumper. I kept waking up, dripping with sweat and my mouth was dry. The fire bucket was half full this morning. Now I feel a bit dizzy, nauseous and aching all over. Probably from all that demolition exercise yesterday. I managed to eat my breakfast but feel like going back to bed.

 14.00 I have spent the day in bed. Dressed warmly. In pain every time I got up to go to the bathroom.

 16.30 More hours in bed. Or sitting on the edge dozing in a coma. My first cup of tea today. I thought I might be dehydrated.

 

 

 ~o~

 

4.03.2025 Hypothermia, exploding dinner and demolition.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 4th 41F/5C. Dark grey overcast with a westerly wind continuing. Potentially reaching 9C/48F.

  Up at 6.15 after a quiet night with weird dreams. 

 The visit to my friend is off. His cold is worse. I don't want to pass it on to my physio class members tomorrow.  So, the demolition of the observatory continues. 

 8.15. A walk.

 8.40  Back from a walk around a field. The wind was irritatingly cold and strong.

 11.45 Sunshine. I have been dismantling the observatory again. The dome base ring was freed of its rollers and broke into pieces once it was overhanging the building. I laid two ladders across the building to support the ring until the last moment. I wanted to be sure it wouldn't hit the shed. 

 Then there were 32 galvanized nuts to undo to remove the eight, dome rotation rollers. I am hot, sweating and need a break. 

 Time for lunch.

 16.00 Back for another rest. I have made amazing progress. With some delays due to inferior Torx screws. I have been changing the Torx bits repeatedly. Once the bit starts spinning in the screw head all hope is lost. 

 Fortunately it is possible to twist the crosspieces provided one end is freed. As can be seen. The heap in the foreground is growing. I am working my way around the back of the building now. Where there is a 3' /90cm drop off the gravel I imported. To make the base for the building. Which means much longer ladders are needed. 

 It would be foolish to get too optimistic about the next stage. The screws, holding the larch flooring down to the joists, are crap. Stainless steel Torx again and designed for outdoor terrace use. The bits were spinning even when I was driving them in. So I do not have high hopes for rapid removal. 

 Dinner was a cheese omelette with sausage and tomatoes. It was going well until I tried to tip it over onto a plate. I wanted to do the other side of the egg for a while. The plate was too big. Or the frying pan too small. It instantly broke up and burnt my fingers. Leaving me to desperately scrape my dinner off a smoking, red hot ring. It tasted fine. Only my pride is dented.

 20.00 and I may have hypothermia. I am freezing! It is 68F/20C in the room and I am wearing a thick fleece jacket and hat. Yet I am shivering. I probably spent too much time out in the cold wind today. Silly old wotsit!

 

  ~o~

3.03.2025 Going the wrong way.

 ~o~

 Monday 3rd 39F/4C. Overcast. Expected to reach 7C/44F today. Trees moving in the wind. [10-12m/s gusts.]

 Up at 6.15 after a disturbed night. No immediate plans. I have to lift the heavy telescope mounting and lower it to the ground. It probably weighs a couple of hundred kilos. 

 The big stepladder is still trapped inside the building. Which blocks access for the mounting to safely reach the ground. There are some major steps to take before I can proceed with serious demolition of the building. I have been rehearsing it all in my head. As usual. 

 7.30 The clouds are breaking up to the NW. I have sorted my 7 kinds of medication into the daily dispenser. Two kinds need renewal. 

 8.00 Time for a walk.

 9.00 42F/5.6C. Brightening. Back again. I walked the "wrong way" down the road. Up the steep track to the forest on the hill. Turned left and back down by the edge of the muddy prairie. It took me an hour. I never even became breathless on the climb. 

 I saw three deer grazing. The westerly wind was cold again. The image above shows the undulating nature of the landscape. The distant phone mast, on the right, is only 8km/5 miles away. The nearer, on the left, is 3km/2 miles away.

 I brought the twin recycling bins back from the corner. They had been stabled so neatly I didn't believe they had been emptied. They are usually shoved haphazardly towards the hedge and left at random. Is this sudden diplomacy an attempt to get us to fill all the potholes in the drive? A change of staff on this round?

 12.30 I spent the entire morning dismantling the big telescope mounting. Now I have the first heavy lift. I had the chain hoist and the ladder A-frame arranged. With ratchet strap guy-lines for stability. There wasn't enough lift distance. So I am recovering my strength over lunch before trying again. 

 Two Red kites have been circling over the garden. With a harrier just a little higher watching them. None of them seemed bothered by my rattling about in the observatory.      

 14.00 The massive mounting is now on the observatory floor. It needs to be down on the ground. I may remove some of the flooring to get a straight shot down to the ground floor. Or dismantle the mounting further. Each component would then be much more manageable. It is very bulky as one unit and won't want to drop through the joists in its current form.

 15.00 Dismantled and brought individually down the stepladder to the ground floor. I am hot and tired now. I need a rest!

 Dinner was a fry up. Sausage, mushrooms and tweggs.

 

 ~o~

2.03.2025 A bit of a ride: 65km.

 ~o~

  Sunday 2nd 39F/4C. Bright overcast. A dry day with some sunshine around lunch time is promised. Reaching almost 8C/46F at 2pm. 

 Up at 7.10 after a more disturbed night. Dreams and waking at intervals. 

 8.15 The sun has just broken through. I'll give the observatory demolition a rest today. The sound of a battery screwdriver clutch and electric saws can be irritating if repeated too often. Then there is the racket of falling materials. 

 It is the weekend and supposedly the quiet countryside after all. While ignoring the occasional roaring lorries on the road. Which means I must entertain myself with a ride or a drive.  Or doing something quieter at home. Getting away is probably safer. If I stay at home I will only waste the day away watching YT videos. I'll start with a brisk walk.

 The briskness didn't last long. I had barely covered 100 meters along the road before a bird of pry landed in the hedge. About harrier sized and seemingly undisturbed. By my standing there looking through my binoculars from 20 meters. It only flew away when a great tit flew very close to it. The same hedge contained blue tits, great tits, greenfinches, yellow hammers, sparrows, blackbirds and chaffinches. 

 After that I took to the spray tracks and circumnavigated a field. Where skylarks sang overhead. I wanted to get away from the increasing traffic noise.  The view from the rear of the demolished dome was almost obscured by the garden trees. It was too cold for bare hands in the niggling westerly breeze.

 I shall have a ride. Destination as yet unknown. I'll have a look at the map. I usually like a goal. If only to ensure I get somewhere at a reasonable distance. Inevitably that ride length has to be doubled to return home afterwards. 

 13.30 47F/8.3C. Returned from a 65km ride down to the coast and back by another way. I even went off-road and explored some long public tracks on mixed gravel and rough stone. There were several pairs of cyclists out training. Lots of birds. I became saddle sore at about 40km. So got off and walked through the grounds of a stately home. The break seemed to do the trick. 

 After that I was into range anxiety. The battery was well down on charge while still a long way from home. I had left home with the battery at 100%. So I dropped into Tour mode and used the gears to keep going. 

 The landscape was corrugated with lots of small but quite steep hills. Normally I stay in Sport mode and higher gears almost continuously. With only rare use of Turbo mode to overcome the steepest hills without loss of speed.

 The crosswind went from cold to icy on the way back. Though my hands were never uncomfortable in today's raised temperatures. My face was pink from windburn. I have to go out again to do some shopping.

 14.30 Back from the shops with two heavy bags of groceries. I saw a smart green Morris Minor in a car park across the road. We passed each other on the connecting road and waved to each other. Despite their popularity it is very unusual to see another. Except when the MM club is having a run.

 On the way home I saw some kids in a Golf in my rear view mirror. They were speeding on the long straight out of the village to catch me up. They even overtook several vehicles adhering to the speed limit. As soon as I passed the speed restriction sign I drove at a steady 80kph [about 50mph] speed limit. Only I didn't slow down for every corner as they did. As they fell steadily further and further behind. They only caught me, with a scream of their engine, as I slowed to enter the drive. 

 ~o~