Happy Christmas Everybody
love Gillx

Winter stores

Hello All
 I took few pictures this summer but here is one I just had to take. This is one Turks Turban squash plant. It rambled and rambled over the peas and along the broad beans and I eventually had to stop it before it pulled the beans down.  There were twelve fruits on this plant all of which grew bigger than shown on this pic. The thing about Turks Turban is that is a winter squash and therefore a keeper.

Our potato crop wasn't good as usual this year, this is most of it, Sarpo Mira ,getting ready to dry before being put into paper sacks .

Once the potatoes are dry and the squash ripened they go into my vermin proof containers (old broody and rabbit hutches) in the barn. Here they join with the brilliant crop of onions ( Red Baron, Ailsa Craig, Centurion and Marco) shallots and apples.

Here is a picture I hope w ill make you smile. Baloo found the newly potted on catmint!!
I

And lastly, its that time of year again. David is back on Santa duty. He was too unwell to step up to the task last year, but this year he much better, though still on restricted duties. Here he is on "Birdswood", on the Cromford Canal at Cromford last Saturday and will be again this Saturday. He has done a stint at Chesterfield Fire Station and he then just has a private party (friends) and he can hang up his reds for another year,

All for now, two posts in one week,Whatever next  ?
Love Gill x

Warning! Wedding Pictures

Hello All
This is a little picture heavy, but I thought some of you might like to see a picture or two of the surprise wedding of our eldest granddaughter at our family festival.
We now have HUNDREDS of pictures to choose from from those taken "officially" (until the wedding was announced he got rather funny looks as he was dressed in a suit like a photographer and everyone else was in shorts and tea shirts) to all those taken on phones by the guests. Consequently I had far too many to choose from.
I will sort of lead you through the day..
Here she is with my younger granddaughter on the far right, my goddaughter standing behind her and her  two dear friends. There was also a little bridesmaid age 2 and a bit , picture below .The bridesmaids dresses were just summer dresses that she bought from Top Shop(I think) we cut them down from long dresses which they thought were too restrictive and made a dress for the littly and bows for her two dogs, from the off-cuts

Here is their wedding cake. She and I made the cakes and my eldest daughters mother in law iced it to a design by our younger granddaughter. As you gather we are all Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter fans and She and her husband have a yellow lab male and a bernese female

Here they are playing a modern version of Mr and Mrs. with questions set by the bridesmaids

As it was a nice day the youngsters made for the river once the "ceremony" was over

Several tug of wars

On to the 40 -a- side rounders

after the buffet tea (which stops open all night, being regularly replenished) It was time for the Country Dancing

As you see it is now going into the evening and by now the accordionist was rather "mellow"

So after a top up it is time for  Dancing and more drinking .The bar is in the goathouse

And then one last surprise .Ladies and Gentlemen. For one night only .. I give you "Nell and the Tena Ladies"!!!!
Oh my, how did I get talked into this?! on the right is my eldest daughter, next to her is her daughter, next to her is my youngest daughter (brides mother) and on the far left is moi

I hear you crying !ENOUGH!
I've now got that out of my system and promise to show you no more. Thank you for bearing with me.
All for now
Gillx