Hello Hosta,knew you would be there somewhere! We tried a 12tog duvet in winter....stuck it one night. We did have an electric blanket in our last house,but we didn't have central heating or double glazed windows,we did have ice on the inside of the windows. Don't think any of us,will be able to afford heating this year, after hearing ofgem are reviewing price 3 monthly
Since yesterday, August 2nd, like most of my Département, I am now in a total watering ban for ornamental gardens. Since there is no rain forecasted for the rest of the month, I'm wondering what is going to happen to my mixed borders. This morning I took a number of photos of the garden, in order to document the effects of dryness in the coming weeks.
You must be heartbroken @Papi Jo, I know how you love your garden. I am worried about mine as it's a new garden and I planted nearly everything in the last 18 months. It wasn't cheap and was a lot of work. Where I am is in a river valley, not at crisis level yet but if we don't get rain it probably will be.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I am so sorry to hear that @Papi Jo . The situation is bad here but, at least for the moment, we are able to water as our time, purse and enthusiasm allows. I shall be watching your photos to see what dies,what survives and what copes well with the conditions.
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
We are to have water restrictions from next Tuesday. We can only water our potagers and ornamentals before 8 am and after 8 pm, no lawn watering - which we never do, no car washing which is rare and no topping up swimming pools which we don't have.
@Fire This is one of those articles why I came to the conclusion that the Guardian has not really a clue about many topics. I assure you that Thames Head has only water during an extremely wet winter. There are years when there is no water at all coming out, even if the meadowlands at Cricklade and Lechlade are flooded for miles. That’s why many say it shouldn’t be called as the source of the Thames, because the Thames has always started at Ewen.
By chance, we live here, and I was almost going to send a complaint to the Guardian about spreading fake-news just for the sake of creating panic.
The article is wiley. The say the Thames source has dried up "for the first time" but don't say who that quote is from. I don't think they are trying to create a panic - more just generating clock-bait and so increasing sales.
It does seem to be Dr Rob Collins, director of policy and science at the Rivers Trust, who has stated that the source has shifted for the first time.
@Topbird@Busy-Lizzie@raisingirl Thanks for your kind words and sharing my concerns. I'll keep you posted with the water situation of my garden in the coming weeks. For the time being there are no noticeable effects of non-watering in my mixed borders. I particularly watch the potted ferns on my fern-wall, and give them a minimum dose of water. I'm allowing myself that extravaganzza by reasoning that, by doing my peeclying duties on the compost as often as possible I save some toilet-flush water which I can guiltlessly use for the thirsty ferns.
@papijo - are you allowed to use water that would otherwise go down the drain? - such as washing up water, water run to get hot water to the sink (=5 litres in my house!)?
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
@Fire in one of the other entries I said that the groundwater is down here at least 4 meters if not deeper. I’m not surprised that the little underground source is dry too, but this is not the same. That little source hardly made it to the daylight. It’s quite disappointing if you walk 20 min over the farmland passing several cow herds and there is no water. Finally you stand at a stone that claims it’s the source of the Thames. The Thames begins literally where the A433 is. Just look at The Thames Head Inn on sat nav/map. Yesterday the Thames at Cricklade was normal and last week the Thames was not much lower at Lechlade. Reason is that there are several sources which build the Cotswold Waterpark and the River Churn, which leads into the Thames by Cricklade.
I was once a subscriber of the Guardian but cancelled after reading too many of stories which were wrongly judged or spread fake-news. Also, many of the readers’ comments are an embarrassing shouting down of everybody who disagrees and the usage of language, I have hardly seen such rudeness in other newspapers. I suppose a team of 20 years old students censors the comments and are used to this shouting.
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“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I ♥ my garden.
I ♥ my garden.