Another walk around Lincoln and a quick snapshot of High Bridge. In medieval England it was common for building to be on bridges, and Lincoln High Bridge is one of the few remaining and was constructed around 1160 AD.
Give Blood
A bit of a treat for us today. Lunch time I headed out to my favourite coffee shop to relax, read and of course drink lovely Hasbean coffee.
I left work early today to give Timmy an extra early teatime walk as we were headed up to the hospital as it was time to give blood, my sixty second donation.
When we got home we ordered a Chinese from the village next door which was promptly delivered by them in there nice new electric Nissan Leaf, nice car and with a 107 mile real world range perfect for local commuting and delivery duties.
1940’s Weekend
Once we hit August it seems almost every weekend there is something going on here in Lincoln. This weekend just gone was a 1940’s weekend, so lots of people dressed up, vintage vehicles and vintage stalls selling anything from 1940 – 1970.
I am sure that at some point someone is even going to start selling stuff from the 1980’s as ‘vintage’.
We parked up on the outskirts of the city and then had a very enjoyable walk with Timmy the Greyhound along the tow path of the canal.
Once in the city we had a look round the stalls before finally heading to the best coffee shop in Lincoln, Coffee Aroma.
Coffee accessories – Tamper
Over the last few years, I have really gotten into high-quality coffee. During my free time, I have even started to experiment with the coffee I drink to get the best taste and have even got a milk frother from this link after reading through the various frothers reviews available on it. For home and office use, I generally drink brewed coffee. At home I make it in a Chemex.
While when at the office I use an Aeropress.
I have a cheap basic expresso machine at home but tend not to use it much, getting much better results with my brewing methods.
But I enjoy a good espresso, and espresso based milk drinks, and I would like to make that at home, so this past few weeks I have been practicing my technique using my basic espresso machine.
The internet is a wonderful tool for learning, I have fixed my plumbing from watching YouTube videos, so I have been researching and learning how to make reasonable espresso using basic equipment.
I have mastered the milk and can now make wonderfully sweet creamy steamed milk with lots of microfoam. So now I have been experimenting with the espresso itself.
While changing the grind and dose has improved things, I was getting too much expansion blocking the flow of water so it was time to buy a real tamper.
Tonight it arrived so I have been experimenting with different pressures, grind and dosing, so far its looking good and it will be interesting to see how far I go with this.
Gardening and getting things shipshape
The weekend was our own so what did we do? Gardening, and the chickens helped as well; when they were not showing too much interest in our onion and garlic sets.
The main job of the weekend was clearing the patio of all the mess we had dumped there while digging out the pyracanthas that was blocking where the new fence needs to go.
Once that was cleared away we then filled it again, as we set to and dug out the last pyracanthas that currently buries the fence near the out buildings.
Apart from a temporary move of the composter, there is now nothing getting in the way to having the new fences installed.
Sunday I finally got out and shot some wildlife which I’ll post about later.
June is here and the garden continues to burst with Life
I cannot believe its June already. Where is the year going? For us its being a very quiet/busy May; I know that sounds conflicting but we have just not had time to get anything really done.
Caroline’s father has been in hospital having a new knee, so things have been focussed round him, which is why we have been busy. So on the house and garden front its been very quiet.
I can say that the Peas, Beans, Leaks, Lettuce and Potatoes are going great. The cabbages though are not surviving, someone is eating them big time and stripping all the leaves off.
Hopefully June will see us back in the garden and also finally laying the new floor in the music/library/studio room which apart from the floor and some furniture is finished. I cannot wait to have my first studio shoot in there.
Home Update – Gardens and Chickens
We have now lived in the new house for a year and a lot of work has been done. The dream we had was a new bungalow in the country, with cosy real fire, a dedicated formal dinning room, plus kitchen diner. There was also our hobbies, Caroline wanted her own craft room and I wanted an office to use as my digital darkroom, plus we wanted a room to use as a studio, music room and library.
Around the house we have replaced all the doors and windows, had the chimney reworked so we can have a real fire and replaced all the major lights with low energy 1 to 1.5 watt LED lights. Caroline’s craft room and my digital darkroom are complete so the house is well underway, with only what we are calling the sun room still to start. This room will be a second living room used for music, a library and my studio.
The garden has been a major focus for us this last year, and just this month we finally completed the raised beds. They have been successful and we have now had our major harvest of butternut squash, courgette, beans and peas, plus lettuce, cauliflower, beetroot, leeks and carrots. We learnt a lot, things we raised in the cold frames then transplanted to the garden worked well, things we direct sowed into the raised beds got attacked by birds. Everything worked except the cauliflower, we had netted them off to protect them from the birds, but all that did was protect the caterpillars, which enabled them to decimate them.
One the garden front as well as the vegetable plot we also wanted to keep bees and raise chickens. We bought two flat packed hives, but apart from the stands and the brood box we did not find the time to finish them so thats on hold for now.
At the bottom of the garden behind the garage we built a large compost bin, beside that was a rather nice looking but very rickety garden shed. The plan was to tear this down and in its place build a chicken coop.
The old shed took a lot of getting down, it seems that ivy is the perfect way to hold up a building.
Once down we dug over the area and laid a rectangle of paving slabs. These would help discourage the foxes from digging under to get at the chickens. The bed of the coup run was made up of soil, gravel, sand and topped with bark.
If your on a budget then you can find plans on the internet for building your own coops and runs.
We took the easy root and purchased a coop with integrated run; it came in prefab’ed sections that just needed putting together.
It went together easily and then it was ordering the feeders, waterers, and other accessories.
It was not long before we were ready to get the girls. We purchased four Copper Black’s a modern hybrid cross based on the Maran.
With the girls moved in, we let them have lots of peace and quiet, but did hand feed them a treat just before they put themselves to bed.
By the next day we were surprised to find an egg, so its safe to say the girls are settling in.
Vintage Fairs – Lincoln Drill Hall
Vintage fairs have become very popular over the last few years. On our monthly visits to up hill Lincoln we often pop into a vintage shop and the antique shops in the Bailgate area and Steep Hill.
This Saturday there was a vintage fair held in the Lincoln Drill hall, a familiar location for those of us who attend the Lincoln Photography Show.
I picked up a few items to add to my collection of antique shaving equipment and a rather nice silver stamp holder and a leather match book holder.
Some had dressed the part, the visitors and some of the stall holders. I took a number of photographs with my Leica M8 and there was a number of photographers there taking pictures and making themselves known with their big SLR’s and flashguns.
Next week there is another vintage fare in Lincoln and we might pop over again, it made an interesting and fun morning out.
Cameras and Coffee
Well its taken some finding but I finally own a Leica 50mm Summilux ASPH Lens. A full frame f/1.4 50mm standard lens. I wanted the latest model but not at Leica new prices, I also wanted it boxed with a leather case.
One did appear a few months ago but we were in the middle of moving house and I just good not justify buying an expensive lens while purchasing a new home. Its taken another three months to find another one but finally I have one.
I have not done much with it yet, a few low light snaps of my lovely wife and the above shot at a local coffee shop. I am loving the out of focus details, and I look forward to trying it out in decent light and in the studio.
Make your own Coffee
I have to admit to being a bit of a coffee geek. In the office I make good coffee with an aeropress, I hand grind all my coffee fresh each morning. At home I tend to use a Chemex but also sometimes a Kalita pourover, and when the mood takes me even a Turkish Hob Coffee pot.
I like to support the local coffee roaster but also buy coffee mail order from great online shops like Hasbean.
Recently Hasbean have being doing monthly specials, coffee blends that are a bit risky, a bit different, some you will love some you will hate but always different and educational to the palette.
This month they are being different again and offering you the chance to make your own blend, four very different beans, which you can mix to produce your own, looks like I am going to have a fun month!