Paul Spencer

Rhubarb syrup. See you all round ours tomorrow for a rhubarb Old Fashioned or three?

Also a small batch of syrup for cocktails.

Crumble is happening.

We only force every other year as apparently it weakens the plant. I split this one last year though so now we have four plants.

So if you ever want any rhubarb…

I’ve released the Triffids into the wild.

I promise I don’t do it on purpose, but every time I make a flat white they come out looking like this.

Very similar memories! I remember loving a trip to the local brickworks, but hating a trip to Riber Castle Zoo (as seen in Dead Man’s Shoes).

Kids nowadays are so lucky! One of my middle school trips was to the sewage works. Although to be fair, it was pretty good.

😂. Yep. Lucky little sod.

Hard to believe, but colder even than that.

We took him there last year! Or it might have been the year before. Time flies 😂

I remember the good old days when we had proper newspapers with news in them. Now we have the clickbait shite of Reach Media. No link, because I don’t want anyone clicking on it.

No, but it is an island beginning with “I”. A lot colder than Ibiza though.

The Boy is going on a (very costly) school trip in a couple of weeks. Guess who has been volunteered to deliver him to the coach at 4am 😭

Something purple is peeping out! #rhubarb

@aldiviolin.bsky.social Tristan 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. Also chuffed about Eugene Onegin.

Even though I’ve had a bit of a sniffle this week, I’ve still managed to heroically drag myself into work. It’s the dedication and stoicism of folk like me that keep the economy going 💪🏻

Totally agree with all of that. At some point I also want to be able to find the time to do some volunteering work. Even if it’s just litter picking or fishing dead rats out of the canal.

Put me down for at least three of those. Perhaps four if the budget will stretch that far.

2026-27 opera season annouced!

Read all about it 👉 bit.ly/ON-2627

Tristan und Isolde staged for concert halls, the return of multi award-winning Orpheus with South Asian Arts-uk in a new staging, a revival of Femi Elufowoju jr's 'landmark production' (Bachtrack) of Rigoletto and much more...

Noted.

I can just imagine it.

Well that was the worst night’s so-called sleep in a long time. Today is gonna be tough.

Today I was delighted to receive unsolicited junk mail from the R*form Party for the second time in as many weeks.

Shredded and mixed with chicken shit and kitchen scraps they are an excellent source of carbon in the compost heap.

Joey Barton eh? It’s always the ones you least expect.

Thanks, but the ones I’ve got are taking over as it is and rarely get used.

We are. The one before is south-facing. This one is in a bit of shade and is further behind.

Ouch!

In more cheerful news, behold my hop plant!