Last time I was with my friend in Perth, I made a huge amount of my world famous chilli for her always hungry son to portion for the freezer. Kangaroo mince was half the price of beef mince in Cole's. 2kg kangaroo mince, 4tins tomatoes, onions, peppers, chilli mix. He needed the bounce, he's a keen basketball player.
re flooding My family originate in Gt Yarmouth. Grandparents cottage was about 18" below road level (ie you went down steps to access the front door) and their house was flooded to ground floor ceiling level during the1953 floods. The houses there were demolished in the early 1960's but I can clearly remember being lifted up to see the water stains which were still evident 10 years after the event.
It was an incredibly traumatic time for my grandparents who were rescued by boat from the first floor windows. My grandmother never fully recovered from the event and was always very nervous when it was high tide and windy.
It has made me so cross to see people accusing the emergency services of over reacting. Are they supposed to just sit there and toss a coin as to whether or not the sea defences will be breached? - or (as they did) ensure everything is in place for if they are?
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
One of the first things I noticed when we moved to Belgium was that the supermarket meat counters had ostrich, kudu, kangaroo, emu and crocodile meat. Game followed in season but was always the three kinds of venison - red, fallow and roe deer - or wild boar. Never partridge nad only occasionally pheasant breasts in the freezer section. Then the usual cuts of beef, pork, poultry and some lamb but not a lot.
Here there was venison just before Xmas but I can buy half a pig's head, its throat, cheeks, tail, trotters and all the bits in between. Same for beef with all the unspeakable bits except for the head but they do whole tongues...... probably Dove paradise.
Never seen partridge on sale but they ran around loose near the Belgian home. We used to like pigeon but it's become very expensive and I haven't seen it here yet.
It's a brilliant sunny day again. OH is off out with the dogs while I mind monsters and rest my bashed toes. It's working so I hope to be back on walkies in another week or so. I have kitchens on my mind as we're seeing local chappy at 3 to get the first estimate. I already have changes planned......
Hosta - what a numpty! Good prezzie indeed.
Clari - stop trying to be superwoman and put OH to work.
Pat - you need a map with pins. Stay cool.
Busy - enjoy your M&S dinner. I have a home made one on slow cook for tonight. We've been recording Unforgotten.
I'm glad the east coast didn't flood. A palaver to move out but best to be safe. There's a whole area here at La Faute-sur-mer that was wiped out in storm Xynthia combined with high tides in Feb 2010 with all lives and homes lost. They're talking of making it into a golf links course now rather than risk new homes. Seems to me there's enough of those about so maybe a wildlife reserve?
Stay warm and safe everyone.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
If people had been flooded I expect the sea defences people would have been blamed, sounds no win situation for them.
The M&S beef stew was surprisingly good, tasty and no fatty bits.
It's sunny today and I'm feeling much better than a few days ago so OH says he's booked a table somewhere nice for lunch. Then we'll share the crab I bought in the market for a light supper, it's only a small one.
Lovely surprise in the post this morning. A friend I met originally on this forum a few years ago has sent me some packets of seeds, including Ammi Visnaga and Tithonia that I couldn't get in France.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
How lovely Busy. Lunch and seeds. You can buy both of those from Chiltern seeds, si jamais.
Reminds me, I must check the other home saved seeds I brought as we've had a rat in the garden shed and I know it's eaten the echinops ritro, blast it. Got my revenge tho. Found a sleek corpse after I put poison down.
Set to be very wet but mild here tomorrow and Monday. Good job I have indoor projects to get on with.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Thankfully the wind wasn't as strong as it could have been so the storm surge wasn't too high and people's homes seem to have escaped - however Wells car park was flooded, and as I expected the Harbour Inn down at Southwold Harbour was under water - but they're used to that http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/landlord_des ... _1_4849244
I expect farmland was flooded too - my brother lives and farms in the area shown in red here
He should know pretty soon what's going to happen ... the problem with flooding caused by a storm surge is that the farm land is covered with salt water ... and we all know what that does to the soil
Last edited: 14 January 2017 11:46:08
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That's one reason why it's not always great to have nature reserves in areas prone to occasional sea flooding (see Obx suggestion above).
The problems arise when a normally fresh water environment is inundated with salt water. Destroys a lot of vegetation / habitat and the nests of ground nesting birds. I think there was a huge problem at the very special Minsmere RSPB site a few years ago - a lot of damage which takes a long time to recover.
I do, however, agree that almost anything is more desirable than yet another golf course...
Last edited: 14 January 2017 12:01:30
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Salt marsh makes a unique habitat, of course... I believe there's an area of Wales where farmland severely damaged by sea water is to be turned into a new salt marsh, which is apparently what it is likely to have been before drainage in the Middle Ages. I think it takes a very long time to get the same diversity of plant species in the "artificial" area as you'd get in a natural salt marsh, though.
I agree, Topbird and Obelixx - too many golf courses in beautiful areas already.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
If it drains away fairly quickly, as is likely this time, the damage from the salt isn't too bad. However a big problem can arise when the salt water flooding combines with heavy rainfall which prevents the flooded areas draining properly and the salt water sits on the land.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Posts
Last time I was with my friend in Perth, I made a huge amount of my world famous chilli for her always hungry son to portion for the freezer. Kangaroo mince was half the price of beef mince in Cole's. 2kg kangaroo mince, 4tins tomatoes, onions, peppers, chilli mix. He needed the bounce, he's a keen basketball player.
I'll get my coat.
Fidget - boing boing
re flooding My family originate in Gt Yarmouth. Grandparents cottage was about 18" below road level (ie you went down steps to access the front door) and their house was flooded to ground floor ceiling level during the1953 floods. The houses there were demolished in the early 1960's but I can clearly remember being lifted up to see the water stains which were still evident 10 years after the event.
It was an incredibly traumatic time for my grandparents who were rescued by boat from the first floor windows. My grandmother never fully recovered from the event and was always very nervous when it was high tide and windy.
It has made me so cross to see people accusing the emergency services of over reacting. Are they supposed to just sit there and toss a coin as to whether or not the sea defences will be breached? - or (as they did) ensure everything is in place for if they are?
One of the first things I noticed when we moved to Belgium was that the supermarket meat counters had ostrich, kudu, kangaroo, emu and crocodile meat. Game followed in season but was always the three kinds of venison - red, fallow and roe deer - or wild boar. Never partridge nad only occasionally pheasant breasts in the freezer section. Then the usual cuts of beef, pork, poultry and some lamb but not a lot.
Here there was venison just before Xmas but I can buy half a pig's head, its throat, cheeks, tail, trotters and all the bits in between. Same for beef with all the unspeakable bits except for the head but they do whole tongues...... probably Dove paradise.
Never seen partridge on sale but they ran around loose near the Belgian home. We used to like pigeon but it's become very expensive and I haven't seen it here yet.
It's a brilliant sunny day again. OH is off out with the dogs while I mind monsters and rest my bashed toes. It's working so I hope to be back on walkies in another week or so. I have kitchens on my mind as we're seeing local chappy at 3 to get the first estimate. I already have changes planned......
Hosta - what a numpty! Good prezzie indeed.
Clari - stop trying to be superwoman and put OH to work.
Pat - you need a map with pins. Stay cool.
Busy - enjoy your M&S dinner. I have a home made one on slow cook for tonight. We've been recording Unforgotten.
I'm glad the east coast didn't flood. A palaver to move out but best to be safe. There's a whole area here at La Faute-sur-mer that was wiped out in storm Xynthia combined with high tides in Feb 2010 with all lives and homes lost. They're talking of making it into a golf links course now rather than risk new homes. Seems to me there's enough of those about so maybe a wildlife reserve?
Stay warm and safe everyone.
If people had been flooded I expect the sea defences people would have been blamed, sounds no win situation for them.
The M&S beef stew was surprisingly good, tasty and no fatty bits.
It's sunny today and I'm feeling much better than a few days ago so OH says he's booked a table somewhere nice for lunch. Then we'll share the crab I bought in the market for a light supper, it's only a small one.
Lovely surprise in the post this morning. A friend I met originally on this forum a few years ago has sent me some packets of seeds, including Ammi Visnaga and Tithonia that I couldn't get in France.
How lovely Busy. Lunch and seeds. You can buy both of those from Chiltern seeds, si jamais.
Reminds me, I must check the other home saved seeds I brought as we've had a rat in the garden shed and I know it's eaten the echinops ritro, blast it. Got my revenge tho. Found a sleek corpse after I put poison down.
Set to be very wet but mild here tomorrow and Monday. Good job I have indoor projects to get on with.
Thankfully the wind wasn't as strong as it could have been so the storm surge wasn't too high and people's homes seem to have escaped - however Wells car park was flooded, and as I expected the Harbour Inn down at Southwold Harbour was under water - but they're used to that
http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/landlord_des ... _1_4849244
I expect farmland was flooded too - my brother lives and farms in the area shown in red here
https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/target-area/054FWCDV4A3
He should know pretty soon what's going to happen ... the problem with flooding caused by a storm surge is that the farm land is covered with salt water ... and we all know what that does to the soil
Last edited: 14 January 2017 11:46:08
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That's one reason why it's not always great to have nature reserves in areas prone to occasional sea flooding (see Obx suggestion above).
The problems arise when a normally fresh water environment is inundated with salt water. Destroys a lot of vegetation / habitat and the nests of ground nesting birds. I think there was a huge problem at the very special Minsmere RSPB site a few years ago - a lot of damage which takes a long time to recover.
I do, however, agree that almost anything is more desirable than yet another golf course...
Last edited: 14 January 2017 12:01:30
Salt marsh makes a unique habitat, of course... I believe there's an area of Wales where farmland severely damaged by sea water is to be turned into a new salt marsh, which is apparently what it is likely to have been before drainage in the Middle Ages. I think it takes a very long time to get the same diversity of plant species in the "artificial" area as you'd get in a natural salt marsh, though.
I agree, Topbird and Obelixx - too many golf courses in beautiful areas already.
If it drains away fairly quickly, as is likely this time, the damage from the salt isn't too bad. However a big problem can arise when the salt water flooding combines with heavy rainfall which prevents the flooded areas draining properly and the salt water sits on the land.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Not sure how it got there - hasn't appeared just there before and it's not one I planted, but look what I found!
Its our first this year!!!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.