It is that time of year again.  Already been to one barbecue (rain held off until we had left!).

The other week when it was Glastonbury we got out the pop-up festival tent,  put it up in our lounge with a flag on a pole hooked to it,  changed into “festival gear” including beanies and wellingtons and watched the telly coverage with crisps and beers,  we even ate our dinner in there!  We do this every year,  we can’t afford to go to the actual event (and anyway look how wet and muddy it was last year) but it just makes watching the coverage more fun!

Elder daughter and I went to Ladies’ Day at the races last Saturday.  All dressed up in our finery with fascinators purchased specially for the occasion.  In fact the event was a bit of a damp squib and not helped by the fact that we didn’t win any money due to stupidly doing an accumulator thing on the tote where all your horses had to be placed – we did in fact choose most of the winners and some second placed but the two favourites (supposed dead certs!!) both failed miserably so we lost our (luckily not very large) stake.  Then the food stalls were either closed or running/run out of food (what poor organising??) and the evening entertainment was beset with problems with the PA system and noise levels too low for those of us watching on a big screen at the back. Ho hum.  Probably not worth the £29 each ticket.  We live and learn

There are plenty of festivals and fairs going on locally.  But I think I shall spend Saturday viewing the local (rather well done this season) football team’s exhibition at a City museum.  My mother reliably tells me it takes at least 2 hours to go round!

Yesterday I went to an art exhibition with a difference.  It was art by young people in the local youth remand/prison centre.  There were some amazing expressions of emotions on the paper (and a number done on old vinyl records which seems to be all the rage).  Two of the artists (on release at present) were there and their speeches about the art classes and their artwork were so moving several people were moved to tears.

Now I need to knuckle down to mowing the lawns (once the weather stays fair for long enough) and sorting out the plants in the greenhouse.  Most of the pea and bean plants have been completely eaten and killed by slugs and snails.  Looks like I will have to sling them which is very depressing.  I have managed to grow a few potatoes and the tomato plants are still looking healthy but that seems to be it.  Frustrating.  The only other plants that looks like it will give their usual annual bounty are the blackcurrant bushes.   The gooseberry bush has succumbed to some hideous disease and is going to have to be removed.

All gardening tips gratefully received,  I have never found a way to remove the slugs whether by chemicals or humanely (giving them my lovely beer!) because they just seem to be immune to it all.

I have at least managed to grow a few beautiful flowers picked up at Aldi and Morrisons cheap.  Two rather nice fuschia bushes amongst them.  But last year I planted a fuschia bush out into the garden after the summer and it died a death and had to be disposed of (and I don’t just mean hibernating,  it went brown and the stalks dropped off).  I just don’t have green fingers (unlike my brother who grows all their own veg and my Dad who grows veg and fruit in his lovely garden in Herefordshire).