Oh, My Days!

Hello everyone! I hope you are all keeping safe and well, with chins up, chests forward and buttocks clenched in determination against these testing times? Here is the next (belated) episode of 'Clive and Min.' It's a complicated thing, writing. Hugely enjoyable, but full of endless edits, frustrating rewrites, finding oneself up cul-de-sacs with no escape, fretful plot unscramblings and sometimes completely forgetting where you are and why. And then things like a week of sunshine calls one into the garden, and one becomes involved in one's embroidery course and...well, you know... Therefore, I hope this episode doesn't feel too unpolished, but I wanted to get something out there, as you've all been so understanding and patient. Forgive me, then, if this falls beneath the usual standard. Here we go... Min and Willow were standing side by side in the garage of Satis House, staring at Clive’s taxidermy collection which was staring back in a manner tha...

Who knew just a month or so ago that we would find ourselves in this current situation? And yet here we are, and Himself Lord Malarkey and moiself shall, of course, be doing our bit and not behaving at all like some of the mop heads who are out there treating all this like great larks, imagining they are invincible and in no way potential carriers of a nasty virus. Presumably because they are alien life forms of some sort from the Planet Plank. Or made entirely from Dettol. Andy is self-isolating and working from home and has been doing so for almost a week now. His job is a difficult one to manage from home but he is doing his VERY best and cracking on. I am now home, too, my workplace having closed from today. But I am allowed out if needs be, to collect essential shopping, nothing more. I remain optimistic that things won’t be as bad as predicted, and I am aware that some people of my acquaintance find this stance annoying, but hey - I’m a born optimist, it’s the way I think and...

It suddenly occurred to me at the beginning of last week that I have lost sight of the reason we moved to Shropshire in the first place, and that was to live in the countryside in a modest house with a huge garden. So that we could have an allotment on our doorstep and feed ourselves as much as possible. And I remembered the times over ten years ago, the exciting times when we got our first allotment. Long standing Much Malarkey Manor readers will likely remember those times, too, as I documented them on my blog - first the allotment, then the little greenhouse, then the hens, then the bees, then the polytunnel and fruit cage. Remember the sausage machine, the hops, the Plague of Courgettes? The willow arch and its accompanying and hideous giant willow aphids? All that stuff myself and Himself Lord Malarkey did to move towards a little bit of self-sufficiency? I had a sudden thought, too, about the little Kentish cobnut tree I planted in the front garden of our old place in Maidstone...

Sorry I'm a bit late posting today - busy, busy, busy here. Lots happening this week and lots happening next week. I've had to make lists, for goodness sake, just to keep on top of all the progress and excitement! Anyway, here we go...thanks for waiting... ‘Well, that went well,’ said Harriet, carrying a pile of plates into the kitchen to where Audley was standing at the sink washing up.  ‘It certainly weren’t what I expected,’ Audley agreed.  ‘Sylvia wasn’t happy,’ said Harriet.  ‘That she definitely weren’t,’ said Audley. He took the plates, scattered with crumbs of mince pies and Battenburg, from his wife and put them in the washing up bowl. ‘Never in a million years did I see that coming.’  Harriet laughed. ‘Worth it, though, to see the look on Sylvia’s face.’ The meeting of the C.O.P.S had started well enough. The members were in good spirits, most having recently returned from summer breaks and all raring to commence the new perfor...

Don't the weeks fly by? Here we are, almost a third of the way through March already. Here is the next episode of 'Clive and Min.' I need down my embroidery needle and devote some enormous time to writing in the coming week as I am running out of decent edited material for you to read. And I don't want a riot on my hands! The picture I've used to illustrate the episode is an Autumn tree embroidery I completed yesterday. It seemed pertinent. It was September. The weather still held balmy, allowing final treasured days of outside socialising to continue, for a while at least. Trees were still frothing with greenness although some were edging with Autumn colours in a hint that the season was about to turn. Children were back to school, clutching new pencil cases, new ambitions, new resolutions, resolved to wiping the slate clean on the previous academic year as they moved upwards through the education system, yet all knowing full well they would be back to their ...

Good morning, and happy First Day of Spring! It's sunny here on the Three Counties Border, if a little gusty. Gorgeous blue skies, though - the stuff of cornflowers! I've hit the day running, having already baked a fruit cake and prepared a fish pie. I've spent all week sewing and it's been THE BEST time spent for a long while. Here, then, is the next instalment of 'Clive and Min.' Enjoy!   Min handed sets of house keys to both her new lodger Connie, and Willow who was starting the decorating project on 1 st August, fitting it in around her outstanding commitments until she could devote herself to the renovations full time. Min herself would be working out her short notice at the housing association office and Connie might not always be home to let Willow in. However, Min felt she could trust them both and was glad to see that they appeared to get on well together.             ‘I’ll keep the noise down...