Been a bit weird lately eh?
Last week here in the garden in Dumfries it was 19c and lovely and sunny. Spectacular spring weather. Has been for a couple of weeks.
Of course for the garden this brings its own problems. The young seedlings (of which there are loads) in the greenhouse were literally cooking. At one point it was 50c inside despite having fully open vents etc. This meant moving plants in and out to keep them cool - in late March!!! Saved a fortune in heating although it was still cool at night. No rain for the newly planted onion sets and seeds in the garden. No rain, for 2 weeks in Dumfries in March???
The perenials have been booming away with loads of new buds and the younger ones have been needing a drop of water
And then almost overnight.....
Freezing cold, howling gales and lashing rain.
We shouldn't be surprised really. It is just April! If we are finding it a shock imagine how the plants are taking it. They can't throw their coats back on!
2 weeks ago in the local garden centre there were people buying loads of lovely tender bedding plants. Reminded me of a friend who used to own a successful garden centre. He told me once that they purposely grew on loads of bedding plants in heated green houses getting them ready for some early spring sun. They then got them on the shelves asap without hardening them off. People got summer in their heads, bought loads and got them planted while the sun shone. Then my friend would hope for a sharp cold spell - like now. The poor plants of course would die in the cold and a few weeks later he would sell the people more plants, this time hardened off! Kerching!!
I appreciate thats a bugger of a trick but who's to blame? Don't plant tender plants out when there is still a chance of cold. Fools rush in. Its a long time until the cold is past up this end of the country!
Stay warm out there!!
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Sunday, 25 March 2012
Onions and bags of tatties
Not withstanding the dreaded man flu I got a bit of gardening done yesterday.
With the "help" of the kids we sowed 4 rows of white onions and two rows of red onions. I always sow sets since I've had little success in the past with seeds but hey give seeds a go if you fancy. The sets are just the standard ones you see in decent garden centres but I resist buying the pre-packed ones and just bag up as many as I need into the paperbags provided. That way you can pick your own lovely firm fat sets.
As a rule I try and buy onion sets that have been "heat treated". This helps to prevent "bolting". Basically, in really hot summers the onion gives up trying to swell and forces up a pretty flower spike with a globe flower on the top. Looks lovely but you don't get any onion. By heat treating I understand this can be prevented. I don't know if its right or not but I always have more trouble with red onions bolting in my garden. You can try shading them and stuff but I think if they are going to do it then they will do it anyway.
We also sowed a short row of spring or salad onions. (these were seeds). I notice these are now sometimes being called scallions on TV cooking shows. I imagine they charge more for scallions. Mrs M's Grandad calls them green-tails but then he is a very literal Father Jack type character. He probably calls sprouts "Green balls" like Eilidh does! I sowed short rows of these because I'll sow some more in about 2/3 weeks. This is called successional sowing and basically means I won't end up with too many spring onions all at once. The reason for sowing these now is that there is nothing finer with new potatos and as you'll read below I stuck some of those in yesterday too.
Despite having plenty of space I grow my new tatties in bags. This leaves more room for other crops (including maincrop potatoes), which, because I can plant up bags all over the place in turn allows me more of the delicous new baby spuds when they are at their most expensive in the shops AND I think they are so delicate and fine skinned that they genuinely perform better in bags. Great news if you have limited space! My sister grows them on her patio, my youngests nursery has them in their garden. It really is a simple and lovely way to grow what is a hugely expensive early season crop. If you've ever seen the tiny bags of first Jersey Royals hitting the supermarket shelves you'll know how expensive they are. Well these are cheap as chips AND taste miles better!
Get your strong waste bags, shopping bags, bin bags, specialist tattie bags, pots etc and lob about 20 or so cm of multipurpose compost into them. Then, as below, stick 4 seed tatties in each bag - eyes pointing upwards. (The bags need a couple of drainage holes btw)
Cover these bad boys with about 20/25 cm of multipurpose and water well. By water well I mean until the water literally pours out the bottom. Spuds like water!
And now we just wait. In time the potatoes will poke their little shoots up looking for light. Once these have grown to 10cm above the compost lob some more compost in and cover them up. Water them regularily and keep covering the shoots up as and when they grow. Eventually they will reach the top of your bag and then just fil lit right to the top with compost and let them grow on. Remember to keep watering though, even when its pouring down not much rain will run down into your bag so water well. Got that? Water! Then, for new tatties, a few days after they flower cut the shaws (tops) off and go explore. Have a poke around in your bag (oooh matron) and feel the little beauties or be impatient and do as I do and tip the bloody lot out!! You'll be surprised how many potatoes you have and they will be lovely little things untouched by worms, rocks or slugs. Awwww, gorgeous.
We have a long standing tradition in our family. The first tatties of the season are taken within minutes of being discovered to the garden tap, washed and flung in a pan of water on a camping stove to be eaten on their own, al fresco in the garden with some real butter and maybe some freshly picked and chopped spring onions and perhaps home made bread. This for me, is luxury food at its best! Makes me happy just thinking about it.
So go on then. Get some seed tatties and some compost. Chuck them in a bag and I guarantee they will be the best tatties you'll have tasted. Eat them al fresco straight from the bag and a little bit of heaven shall be yours!
Just don't skip the watering eh?!?
Happy gardening.
Davie
xx
With the "help" of the kids we sowed 4 rows of white onions and two rows of red onions. I always sow sets since I've had little success in the past with seeds but hey give seeds a go if you fancy. The sets are just the standard ones you see in decent garden centres but I resist buying the pre-packed ones and just bag up as many as I need into the paperbags provided. That way you can pick your own lovely firm fat sets.
As a rule I try and buy onion sets that have been "heat treated". This helps to prevent "bolting". Basically, in really hot summers the onion gives up trying to swell and forces up a pretty flower spike with a globe flower on the top. Looks lovely but you don't get any onion. By heat treating I understand this can be prevented. I don't know if its right or not but I always have more trouble with red onions bolting in my garden. You can try shading them and stuff but I think if they are going to do it then they will do it anyway.
We also sowed a short row of spring or salad onions. (these were seeds). I notice these are now sometimes being called scallions on TV cooking shows. I imagine they charge more for scallions. Mrs M's Grandad calls them green-tails but then he is a very literal Father Jack type character. He probably calls sprouts "Green balls" like Eilidh does! I sowed short rows of these because I'll sow some more in about 2/3 weeks. This is called successional sowing and basically means I won't end up with too many spring onions all at once. The reason for sowing these now is that there is nothing finer with new potatos and as you'll read below I stuck some of those in yesterday too.
Despite having plenty of space I grow my new tatties in bags. This leaves more room for other crops (including maincrop potatoes), which, because I can plant up bags all over the place in turn allows me more of the delicous new baby spuds when they are at their most expensive in the shops AND I think they are so delicate and fine skinned that they genuinely perform better in bags. Great news if you have limited space! My sister grows them on her patio, my youngests nursery has them in their garden. It really is a simple and lovely way to grow what is a hugely expensive early season crop. If you've ever seen the tiny bags of first Jersey Royals hitting the supermarket shelves you'll know how expensive they are. Well these are cheap as chips AND taste miles better!
Tattie sacks ready for action
Awww, look at them all full of life and ready to FEED ME!
Dinnae skimp on this bit!
And now we just wait. In time the potatoes will poke their little shoots up looking for light. Once these have grown to 10cm above the compost lob some more compost in and cover them up. Water them regularily and keep covering the shoots up as and when they grow. Eventually they will reach the top of your bag and then just fil lit right to the top with compost and let them grow on. Remember to keep watering though, even when its pouring down not much rain will run down into your bag so water well. Got that? Water! Then, for new tatties, a few days after they flower cut the shaws (tops) off and go explore. Have a poke around in your bag (oooh matron) and feel the little beauties or be impatient and do as I do and tip the bloody lot out!! You'll be surprised how many potatoes you have and they will be lovely little things untouched by worms, rocks or slugs. Awwww, gorgeous.
We have a long standing tradition in our family. The first tatties of the season are taken within minutes of being discovered to the garden tap, washed and flung in a pan of water on a camping stove to be eaten on their own, al fresco in the garden with some real butter and maybe some freshly picked and chopped spring onions and perhaps home made bread. This for me, is luxury food at its best! Makes me happy just thinking about it.
So go on then. Get some seed tatties and some compost. Chuck them in a bag and I guarantee they will be the best tatties you'll have tasted. Eat them al fresco straight from the bag and a little bit of heaven shall be yours!
Just don't skip the watering eh?!?
Happy gardening.
Davie
xx
Monday, 19 March 2012
Frugle Gardener Tip - be properly tight!
I was out at our local garden centre here in Dumfries on Saturday. Its just been extended again and is now officially pretty massive. It has always been really good too, and I have got to know one or two of the staff there over the years and most of them are actually gardeners. (You'd be surprised how many aren't in some places - just ask a tricky question). Its a lovely place for a wonder round, the kids love all the toys and books, Mrs M likes the lovely flowers and gets ideas for different plants and I can browse exotic veggie seeds to my hearts content. I tell you what though, its not half getting an expensive place to shop! Thats not a criticism of this garden centre, I imagine its comparably priced but generally the sector is getting really pricey in direct correlation to gardenings growing popularity! Funny that!
I'm a proud Scot and with that comes a love of being, shall we say, a bit tight! I enjoy saving money, I can't explain it, its a cultural thing! When we were there there were people loading up baskets and trolleys with lovely lush looking plants, buying packets and packets of seeds and countless specialist tools.
Do you want to know the secrets of not spending a fortune in the garden centre? Make friends with your neighbours, always carry a pair of secateurs and some freezer bags with you and gather seed where you can!
I know, neigbours can be a pain. I'm lucky here, my neighbour Wullie is 176 years old, a lovely man and knows stuff about gardens. Know your neighbours and you can take divisions of their perennial plants from them as they will from you. You will be able to see what grows well in their garden and will therefore (probably) be alright in yours. If you grow too many tomato plants they will probably have something to swap with them. Same with relatives and work mates! Take advantage. Once you become "a gardener" you become part of a secret all knowing and very friendly society!
At one time I would have suggested carrying a sharp knife but that can land you in all sorts of legal horrors these days. Carry secateurs though when out walking the dog or to the pub or to visit friends and suddenly every plant is a source of lovely fresh wood cuttings! Especially in the next few months. Nip a little of that lovely flowering thing of neatly, stash it in your bag. Pop it in some moist compost with the bag over the top for a few weeks on a windowsill and old Mumma Nature might just bless you with some rooting. And there you go - a free plant!! Ok it won't be in the scale of some of the beauts that sell for £25 in the garden centre for a few years but who's rushing?? Mrs M also is a big one for doing this with the odd (very odd) bunch of flowers she gets bought. Below is what transpired from the supermarket bunch of carnations she got yesterday for mothers day....
Gathering seeds sounds almost mystical but in fact its very easy and once you get the plants growing and then grow some more from their seeds it really does become extremely rewarding. I still grow certain tomatoes from seed which Wullie the neighbour grew first 30 years ago - thats a lot of generations from one seed packet!! You can get your seeds from flowers, some veg, many many plants. Most will need dried off slowly and stored but with a bit of luck on your side, some moist compost and a bit of TLC the world of free plants will be yours young Jedi!
Until next time, Happy gardening! Don't spend it all at once!
I'm a proud Scot and with that comes a love of being, shall we say, a bit tight! I enjoy saving money, I can't explain it, its a cultural thing! When we were there there were people loading up baskets and trolleys with lovely lush looking plants, buying packets and packets of seeds and countless specialist tools.
Do you want to know the secrets of not spending a fortune in the garden centre? Make friends with your neighbours, always carry a pair of secateurs and some freezer bags with you and gather seed where you can!
I know, neigbours can be a pain. I'm lucky here, my neighbour Wullie is 176 years old, a lovely man and knows stuff about gardens. Know your neighbours and you can take divisions of their perennial plants from them as they will from you. You will be able to see what grows well in their garden and will therefore (probably) be alright in yours. If you grow too many tomato plants they will probably have something to swap with them. Same with relatives and work mates! Take advantage. Once you become "a gardener" you become part of a secret all knowing and very friendly society!
At one time I would have suggested carrying a sharp knife but that can land you in all sorts of legal horrors these days. Carry secateurs though when out walking the dog or to the pub or to visit friends and suddenly every plant is a source of lovely fresh wood cuttings! Especially in the next few months. Nip a little of that lovely flowering thing of neatly, stash it in your bag. Pop it in some moist compost with the bag over the top for a few weeks on a windowsill and old Mumma Nature might just bless you with some rooting. And there you go - a free plant!! Ok it won't be in the scale of some of the beauts that sell for £25 in the garden centre for a few years but who's rushing?? Mrs M also is a big one for doing this with the odd (very odd) bunch of flowers she gets bought. Below is what transpired from the supermarket bunch of carnations she got yesterday for mothers day....
Baby Carnations - for free!
Gathering seeds sounds almost mystical but in fact its very easy and once you get the plants growing and then grow some more from their seeds it really does become extremely rewarding. I still grow certain tomatoes from seed which Wullie the neighbour grew first 30 years ago - thats a lot of generations from one seed packet!! You can get your seeds from flowers, some veg, many many plants. Most will need dried off slowly and stored but with a bit of luck on your side, some moist compost and a bit of TLC the world of free plants will be yours young Jedi!
Until next time, Happy gardening! Don't spend it all at once!
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
I plough the plot and scatter.......
Just a quick word about ground preparation. Sadly and as with most things in life doing the boring mundane things well leads to long time joy and satisfaction.
If you haven't yet there is still time to give your garden a good dig. (More on ways of digging in a later post), Just turn the soil over and remove as many stones as you can. Do it now!! I normally pay the Junior Gardener and the Under Gardener in smarties for doing this for me. This part does really pay dividends. I always wonder where the heck all the stones come from because no matter how many I dig out this year there will be more next. Even worse if you live in a modern or new build house this is when you find out where the builders dumped all the brick rubble I'm afraid. I helped a friend set up a new plot last year and the bricks we dug out went towards a fairly substantial wall!
Anyway, once you have dug it over then its time to dig in some "organic material". We produce and use masses of compost over the year and this is where it goes mostly. I'll talk about composting sometime but thats a whole subject on its own. If you don't have any compost you can of course buy some in in great big bags or sometime get it from your council. If your plot is fresh you might also want to apply some manure to it. I love a bit of shit in the garden me! If you are digging dung in please please please make sure it is well rotted down, I get a delivery every year and it gets dumped in a dark corner of the garden for a year to rot down before use. Also. And this is getting more important. Know your source. There have been many reported cases where dung applied to a garden has actually made the garden almost infertile due to the amount of pesticides used on the farm and passed through the animal. Disaster! Ask the farmer or ideally get it from an organic source if you can. My prefered shit of choice is horse but cow will do and the creme de la creme is chicken shit. It is so full on with nitrogen though it really needs proper rotting - and a whole stack of chickens!!
Anyway, once you've done all this, taken paracetamol and paid the chiropractors bill its time for yet more soil prep! Rake your soil to what the garden books call a "fine tilth". This means get as many stones out and make it as smooth as you can be bothered with in my book.
When this is finished, on a normal cold winter I'd cover the soil with a bit of polythene to help warm it up for planting in. I don't think you'll need to bother this year it's so warm. It's still a bit too early for planting anything much in the ground up here so now its time to kick your wellies off, pour a cup of tea and plan what you want to grow..........
More soon! Happy digging!
If you haven't yet there is still time to give your garden a good dig. (More on ways of digging in a later post), Just turn the soil over and remove as many stones as you can. Do it now!! I normally pay the Junior Gardener and the Under Gardener in smarties for doing this for me. This part does really pay dividends. I always wonder where the heck all the stones come from because no matter how many I dig out this year there will be more next. Even worse if you live in a modern or new build house this is when you find out where the builders dumped all the brick rubble I'm afraid. I helped a friend set up a new plot last year and the bricks we dug out went towards a fairly substantial wall!
The junior gardener looking for more stones
Fairly well dug. (Note the surface coating of shit!)
When this is finished, on a normal cold winter I'd cover the soil with a bit of polythene to help warm it up for planting in. I don't think you'll need to bother this year it's so warm. It's still a bit too early for planting anything much in the ground up here so now its time to kick your wellies off, pour a cup of tea and plan what you want to grow..........
More soon! Happy digging!
Monday, 27 February 2012
Go on then, lets talk gardening!!
I've been a right grumpy old bugger lately. (Sorry about that). In fact the only thing that has made me truly happy recently is the kids and pottering in the garden. Last night a few good and trusted twitter friends suggested I write about gardening - so here we go.
Before I start writing all about it I'll tell you a bit about our plot.
Luckily for a house in the town we have just under 1/4 of an acre of south facing garden which believe me is plenty. It has the usual lawn and borders with some really lovely touches. It is what estate agents refer to as mature established gardens. In no way can I claim the credit for building this garden. It was what contributed to selling us this house 5 years ago and I am thankful to the last 100 or so years of owners who have looked after it so well. I hope I leave it as nice when I get carried out many years from now in my box!
So, the garden!! Heres the highlights. It has an area we have christened "The secret Garden" which is a hidden away area with some lovely herbacious borders, a nice little pond, an old sundial and a lovely old sandstone patio. This is our child-free part of the garden where us grown ups can sit, enjoy the fire in the chiminea and a glass of wine while the sun sets.
The main part is mainly lawn with borders and some really beautiful trees and shrubs. Its great for playing football on, for learning to ride bikes, for having a paddling pool in and for lazing on a summers day (remember them?). As well as a couple of massive fir trees, a pretty birch and a rowan we have a full size cherry, a plumb tree and a really old but productive big apple tree which much to the dissapointment of the kids produces masses of fantastic cooking apples.
Then we come to the part that I will mostly write about, my domain - the kitchen garden.
Our permanent fruit bushes are: blackcurrants, red currants, white currants, gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries (red and gold), rhubarb and a strawberry patch.
Also within the kitchen garden of course is the veg patch. What is in this varies depending on the fads of the time. We also grow some of our veg in bags or pots. As standard however every year we always grow - potatoes (main crop and early), carrots, onions (red and white), garlic (yes, in Scotland!!), lettuce (various varieties), spring onions, peas, beans, leeks, brussel sprouts, squash and normally a pumpkin for halloween. Apart from that we do whatever takes our fancy. This year that means purple sprouting broccolli - so delicious but so expensive to buy and maybe cauliflowers if I can find a way to keep the caterpillars off!
Then there is the greenhouse. This is used to start my veg and Mrs M's flower seeds nice and early (miles, miles cheaper than buying plants), over wintering some pots, growing some really early potatoes in, growing new potatoes for Christmas (yes you can do that) and of course in the summer growing our hot crops - Cucumbers, peppers, chillies, aubergine and of course Tomatoes. I LOVE tomatoes. Not the crappy tasteless, chilled to death supermarket ones. Wait until you have grown your own italians or cherry tomatoes or lovely old UK varieties. Honestly, there is nothing finer!!
I'll be blogging over the next few weeks and months with some tips to get you started, the story of how we are getting on, our successes and failures with some hopefully nice photographs and fun tales from our garden.
As I get going if you have any questions please just fire in and ask on here or on twitter (@daviemartin). Now I've started I'm excited about writing this.
To those of you who suggested I do this thanks for the tip. It has already really fired me up.
Thanks for reading. Watch this space!!!
Before I start writing all about it I'll tell you a bit about our plot.
Luckily for a house in the town we have just under 1/4 of an acre of south facing garden which believe me is plenty. It has the usual lawn and borders with some really lovely touches. It is what estate agents refer to as mature established gardens. In no way can I claim the credit for building this garden. It was what contributed to selling us this house 5 years ago and I am thankful to the last 100 or so years of owners who have looked after it so well. I hope I leave it as nice when I get carried out many years from now in my box!
So, the garden!! Heres the highlights. It has an area we have christened "The secret Garden" which is a hidden away area with some lovely herbacious borders, a nice little pond, an old sundial and a lovely old sandstone patio. This is our child-free part of the garden where us grown ups can sit, enjoy the fire in the chiminea and a glass of wine while the sun sets.
The main part is mainly lawn with borders and some really beautiful trees and shrubs. Its great for playing football on, for learning to ride bikes, for having a paddling pool in and for lazing on a summers day (remember them?). As well as a couple of massive fir trees, a pretty birch and a rowan we have a full size cherry, a plumb tree and a really old but productive big apple tree which much to the dissapointment of the kids produces masses of fantastic cooking apples.
Great for playing on. An arse to cut!
Then we come to the part that I will mostly write about, my domain - the kitchen garden.
Our permanent fruit bushes are: blackcurrants, red currants, white currants, gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries (red and gold), rhubarb and a strawberry patch.
Also within the kitchen garden of course is the veg patch. What is in this varies depending on the fads of the time. We also grow some of our veg in bags or pots. As standard however every year we always grow - potatoes (main crop and early), carrots, onions (red and white), garlic (yes, in Scotland!!), lettuce (various varieties), spring onions, peas, beans, leeks, brussel sprouts, squash and normally a pumpkin for halloween. Apart from that we do whatever takes our fancy. This year that means purple sprouting broccolli - so delicious but so expensive to buy and maybe cauliflowers if I can find a way to keep the caterpillars off!
Then there is the greenhouse. This is used to start my veg and Mrs M's flower seeds nice and early (miles, miles cheaper than buying plants), over wintering some pots, growing some really early potatoes in, growing new potatoes for Christmas (yes you can do that) and of course in the summer growing our hot crops - Cucumbers, peppers, chillies, aubergine and of course Tomatoes. I LOVE tomatoes. Not the crappy tasteless, chilled to death supermarket ones. Wait until you have grown your own italians or cherry tomatoes or lovely old UK varieties. Honestly, there is nothing finer!!
Ready for the big sowing, nice spring day.
As I get going if you have any questions please just fire in and ask on here or on twitter (@daviemartin). Now I've started I'm excited about writing this.
To those of you who suggested I do this thanks for the tip. It has already really fired me up.
Thanks for reading. Watch this space!!!
Best to just drink coffee on days like this
Friday, 24 February 2012
Scunnered!
Hello! Oh my its been a while since I've sat down and put my thoughts into a blog.
So, whats been going on..... Not a whole lot to be honest, hence the title of this post.
Scunnered is a great word - it means so much more than "fed up". My favourite definition from our friends at Urbandictionary.com is this:
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So, whats been going on..... Not a whole lot to be honest, hence the title of this post.
Scunnered is a great word - it means so much more than "fed up". My favourite definition from our friends at Urbandictionary.com is this:
A Scots word used to mean that you are world weary, down-trodden, and thoroughly bereft of any lust for life when these words and expressions are simply too inadequate to signify the magnitude of your slide into shitdom.
"Having to pay 550 euros to the locksmith on an emergency call out really scunnered him."
The cause of all this is that old devil of work dissatisfaction.
I'm finding the realisation is that in actual fact I may have done my job for too long. I still enjoy parts of selling cars to businesses - especially the meeting new people, connecting with them and building relationships. However more and more I realise that it has all become a little mundane. It's certainly not easy; in fact it's rarely been harder; but it just isn't doing it for me anymore.
But what to do? I am "qualified" to do sweet F.A apart from chat to people and sell them stuff, and lets face it the job market isn't exactly buoyant at the moment!
So a plea if you read this. Got any ideas what a 40-odd year old unqualified chatty bloke can do to make money?
Thanks for listening to me whine! Next time I'll try to be less scunnered!
The author at his desk, yesterday
| ||
Sunday, 5 February 2012
You know you are getting old when........
Its sunday as I type this and I'm sat in a cosy kitchen with the smell of roast beef lingering in the air from lunchtime, shortbread just out of the oven and a nice cup of coffee beside me.
The kids are watching a Barbie DVD and Lesley is at work. Quiet time. And boy do I need it!
I'm a Queen of the South fan (thats a Scottish 1st division football club in case you didn't know). I have been for some time. In fact I have been going since I was a boy with my dad and have stood on the terracing (yes, we have such things still) on the same spot, with the same group of friends for we think 17 years. Nobody is really sure.
Anyway, to the point of this post. Queens were away to Aberdeen this weekend in the Scottish Cup. This weekend was the perfect indication of how much we have all changed! None of us fancied the bus anymore so Stuart drove up after work on Friday. Riotous night out I hear you ask? Nope, got to Aberdeen, had a whisky and we all turned in at the Premier Travel Inn for the night.
Next day, rather than hitting the town at 9am and getting "straight on it". We all had a leisurely breakfast, a drive into town and a wonder round. A bite of lunch in a rather nice restaurant and away to the game. Admittedly we did have a few with the lads from the supporters buses when we found them but on the whole, remarkably sober!
The game ended in a draw and we were straight down the road. I was home at 10 and watched the highlights on TV.
Whats the point in all this? Well, not so many years ago, a weekend like this weekend would have been a serious bender for all of us. A huge amount of drink would be drunk and mischief would have been gotten up to. Heads would have been throbbing. Hangovers would have been monumental and have been discussed for months, nay years to come.
Did I enjoy the game any less? Nope. Did I feel not capable of joining the banter? Pfffft, this is me here! Did I not sing as loud or cheer as loud when Queens went one nil up? Have you heard my croaky voice today? In fact. Shocking revelation - I probably enjoyed it a whole lot more. I am still totally crushingly tired though!
It appears I may be growing up gracefully. With that dissapointing thought I leave you. I may have to have a wee whisky tonight to get over the shock! :o)
Chin Chin!
The kids are watching a Barbie DVD and Lesley is at work. Quiet time. And boy do I need it!
I'm a Queen of the South fan (thats a Scottish 1st division football club in case you didn't know). I have been for some time. In fact I have been going since I was a boy with my dad and have stood on the terracing (yes, we have such things still) on the same spot, with the same group of friends for we think 17 years. Nobody is really sure.
Anyway, to the point of this post. Queens were away to Aberdeen this weekend in the Scottish Cup. This weekend was the perfect indication of how much we have all changed! None of us fancied the bus anymore so Stuart drove up after work on Friday. Riotous night out I hear you ask? Nope, got to Aberdeen, had a whisky and we all turned in at the Premier Travel Inn for the night.
Next day, rather than hitting the town at 9am and getting "straight on it". We all had a leisurely breakfast, a drive into town and a wonder round. A bite of lunch in a rather nice restaurant and away to the game. Admittedly we did have a few with the lads from the supporters buses when we found them but on the whole, remarkably sober!
The game ended in a draw and we were straight down the road. I was home at 10 and watched the highlights on TV.
Whats the point in all this? Well, not so many years ago, a weekend like this weekend would have been a serious bender for all of us. A huge amount of drink would be drunk and mischief would have been gotten up to. Heads would have been throbbing. Hangovers would have been monumental and have been discussed for months, nay years to come.
Did I enjoy the game any less? Nope. Did I feel not capable of joining the banter? Pfffft, this is me here! Did I not sing as loud or cheer as loud when Queens went one nil up? Have you heard my croaky voice today? In fact. Shocking revelation - I probably enjoyed it a whole lot more. I am still totally crushingly tired though!
It appears I may be growing up gracefully. With that dissapointing thought I leave you. I may have to have a wee whisky tonight to get over the shock! :o)
Chin Chin!
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