Tag Archives: garden

Greedy goldfish and slapdash workmen ruin house and garden (Rousse)

The house and garden were a complete mess: the house because workmen had damaged the newly wall-papered corridor at the back of the flat; the garden because two enormous, greedy goldfish had taken charge the pond, recently flooded to cover … Continue reading

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2023 sycamore seedling infestation reaches new heights (Rousse)

I climbed high up the red brick wall that separated our back garden from the narrow yard next door. When I reached the top, I complained to myself about the mess of smashed clay plant pots and broken plastic containers … Continue reading

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Thirsty in Tain (Rousse)

By the time that we arrived in Tain, my throat was so dry that I could hardly speak. TPR and I stood by JS and AT’s garden wall and waited until one of them appeared. Soon JS returned to her … Continue reading

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Scruffy cellar dwellers (Rousse)

I dropped a line of muddy footprints along the pale blue carpet when I came into the house from the garden. I really should have taken off my wellingtons at the back door. Now I would have to waste time … Continue reading

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Urban garden woodpecker and wood (Rousse)

I looked out of the bedroom window and couldn’t believe my eyes: there was a woodpecker on our bird feeder! I looked out a second time and saw my old colleague BP picking up logs from the lawn. ‘Please just … Continue reading

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A boat trip to Greenock (Rousse)

I couldn’t reach SD’s house in Stirling in time for our book group meeting so made a separate arrangement to meet LM in Greenock. While I streamed the gathering in SD’s garden to my phone, I negotiated the ticket barrier … Continue reading

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A pocked-marked, cabbage-eating, intruder with a deadly disease (Rousse)

The pock-marked intruder was chewing on a cabbage leaf from my vegetable patch. There was no indication of how he had scaled the high wall, and I was certain that he had not come through the house, so it was … Continue reading

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A cottage in Lanarkshire (Rousse)

TPR bought us a second home in Lanarkshire – without making a single viewing. The details in the printed sales brochure was enough to convince him that this was an excellent investment. On arrival at the cottage for the first … Continue reading

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A swing, a helicopter, and a sauna (Rousse)

Even I was doubting the sense of my latest charity shop purchase: a plastic orange children’s swing set, just about the right size for a Barbie doll. The others at AH-S and CH-S’s vast house looked at me with pity … Continue reading

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House dressing (Rousse)

From the outside, my sister’s flat looked pretty much the same. The only difference was the selection of handmade cat greeting cards for sale to passing tourists on the window ledge. Inside, however, a huge transformation had taken place. The … Continue reading

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