Slugs, Snails and Rain

Firstly, I wish to begin by thanking you all for your birthday wishes and lovely, lovely comments! You really know how to make a 44 year old girl feel good! It is a wonder my head could get through my workroom door after reading all those kind words ;-)) Joking apart, I was very touched by all your lovely comments! Thank you. xxx

As mentioned in my previous post, we had a lot of things going on at the weekend, so we didn't really have time to celebrate my birthday. Alan has said we'll celebrate this Saturday instead, I look forward to that!

Over the past few days, the sunny weather has changed to rain. Although having sunny weather is nicer, I am glad to have some rain as it freshens up nature again. This morning I took a walk around the front garden in between the rain showers and I noticed how well the apple tree is doing. It looks like we'll be in for a good crop this year.



With the rain come the slugs and snails....
We get an abundance of them if left to roam freely in the garden. It is frustrating when they eat your newly planted flowers! However, I don't like killing them... and I don't like pesticides etc either... I am a 100% organic gardener. So this is one of the things I do:

I lure them into a pot with a piece of fruit of other left over food and come back later to find several of them eating away in the pot.




As well as doing that, I search for them on the lawn, path and plants. I pick them up (with gloves! Not keen on the slime) and put them in a pot. Then I take them to a new home, at the bottom of the field nearby. Over a period of time, the numbers of slugs and snails in our garden go down. It needs to be done regularly and the best time to catch as many as possible is early morning and at dusk but I am not always free then so today I did it mid morning.




As I made my way to the end of the field, the steam train went by much to my delight. Even though I am used to seeing it go past my house every weekend and on Wednesdays it still feels me with joy when I see it. I love the smell of coal in the air after it has gone by.

Larry usually follows me when I go for a walk in the field. He was waiting for his sister to get closer so that he could pounce on her! Lilly spotted what he had in mind and ran back towards the house much to Larry's disappointment.

The good weather is set to come back towards the end of the week!

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

Ooh, not another year older!


Oh well I can't do anything about it so I might as well enjoy it!


That's me on the left wearing a white top and a patchwork skirt, it looks like I was about to blow out the candles. You can guess when this picture was taken, look at the wallpaper and tablecloth...all very 70s, lots of brown and purple!


Dressed as Marie-Antoinette at a fancy dress party around the mid 1970s (France). My Aunt Suzy made the dress. I was so pleased with it. I still have it as well as the wig!


I would have been 15 or 16 years old and living in Affpuddle, Dorset. The grey cat next to me was called Misty. He was a wonderful cat and was very dear to me.


Aged 18 years old (Affpuddle Dorset) and dressed to go to an interview, I think.


Aged 21


and 23 years later... (most recent picture of me, taken in Devon in May 2010)
Yes you've done your sums right, I am 44 years old today!


Busy weekend ahead! Today: My birthday, a family wedding (one of Alan's cousins), drama & dancing practice for Miss P and on Sunday: We will be watching Miss P performing in a show organized by her drama school.

I wanted to give you a laugh with some of the bad hair days I had over the years. Unfortunately, the box with those photos is not easily accessible in the loft so I will dig them out some other time. My worst hair days were in the mid to late 1980s...and perhaps one or two in the 90s.

Whatever your plans are this weekend, may you have a good one!

I'll leave you with this photo of me on my 1st birthday (Love the hat...)


A bientôt!

Isabelle X

Shopping in Victorian times

Today Shepton Mallet Market Square went back in time to the Victorian days. It was organized by the BBC for a new TV series due to be aired in November. They will go through different eras, giving us an insight as to how British high streets have changed over the past 140 years. Being there today was fascinating. There will be more filming taking place over the next few weeks, the next era to be filmed is the Edwardian period. I look forward to seeing the new shop facades.


Shepton Mallet market square at 9am this morning


Setting up the stalls



Niki's stall looked beautiful as ever. As you can tell, it was a bit blowy!



I let him get away... ;-(( I shouldn't have thought about it. Sadly he was gone by the time I went back for him. I've done that before...I am not a dog person but I thought he was so adorable!




The Somerset Cupcake Company
This cake stall sold out in no time at all! Miss P had the one on the bottom right hand corner and said it was delicious!


I love the red shop facade. It will be a pity when it's taken down.


There were a lot of people with cameras around the square filming the stalls and interviewing people in the crowd.


Yes that is a huge cheddar cheese!






All these items were available to buy


I bought a cabbage and onion loaf of bread and some cheddar cheese.


I also bought a bar of handmade sweetpea soap and a cube of laundry's blue.

Example of a Victorian garden


Sweet peas from the market.

I hope that you've had a good weekend and are ready for the week ahead.

A bientôt!

Isabelle X

BBC1 Victorian event in SHEPTON MALLET

Not sure what to do this Sunday 04th July 2010?

If you live in Somerset or in a neighbouring county, you may be interested in this event: BBC ONE - SPECIAL MARKET DAY, MARKET PLACE, SHEPTON MALLET. It will run from 9am to 2pm. Over the past few weeks Shepton Mallet has had some of the shop fronts and interiors transformed in to Victorian shops. Filming will be taking place for a new TV series. I went to Shepton Mallet on Tuesday and it was fascinating to watch them at work. I can't wait to see what it will all look like on Sunday. Shops and stalls will be open including Nostalgia at No1 and Number 21.


Poster in Niki's shop window. Please click on the link for more pictures and details of this exciting event!

Shepton Mallet has been home to the Babysham factory since the 1940's




Shepton Mallet in the past




Scenes around Shepton Mallet
















You may wish to round off the day with a trip on the East Somerset Railway's steam train. It is in Cranmore just 3 or 4 miles away from Shepton Mallet. There is also a good pub there called The Strode Arms, although booking in advance is usually advisable.






A bientôt!

Isabelle X