juliachalkley

Harvest – the seeds

As a young child, I sat through school assemblies where September meant singing the hymn ‘Harvest Home’. Girl Guides’ church parades involved bringing something to add to the pile of harvest ‘stuff’ at the altar – the lucky kids with a fruit tree in the back yard brought an apple, some of the parents tookContinue reading “Harvest – the seeds”

Apple Mad

Last Friday, we went to the orchard in the local community wood and picked specimen apples. A lot of them. Five typical apples from each tree. And like a true fanatic, I even took apples from the four trees where I had found a name tag or thought I knew the identity of the appleContinue reading “Apple Mad”

Iron Rules

We had 24 hours to spare before picking up our cats from the cattery, and my original thought – a night’s stargazing in Northumberland’s dark sky reserve – was scuppered by the almost-full moon. Instead, we went to Ironbridge. I’ve been there in July of this year, but again, himself was left behind to lookContinue reading “Iron Rules”

Ambitions

Back in March, I reported on a trip to Melrose in Scotland. The intention then was to let himself see where I’d been with my OU writers’ group, and to finish a long-held ambition to climb the Eildon hill where Thomas the Rhymer was said to have followed the Queen of Elfland before being takenContinue reading “Ambitions”

Kingdom

I may have some followers who don’t agree with the idea of monarchy, but I do. It isn’t the people involved, but the system. I knew I would outlive Queen Elizabeth the Second (barring serious health problems or accidents) but yesterday’s news of the Queen’s death was a shaker. My passport, the notes in myContinue reading “Kingdom”

Yes, sort of – and No, sort of

I submitted a few short pieces recently, and I’ve had a verdict back on three of them. Nothing to crack a bottle of fizz over, and nothing to send me weeping to a lonely spot to reflect on how baaad my life is. First up was an entry to the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation’s ‘InspiredContinue reading “Yes, sort of – and No, sort of”

Community Orchard – the Verdict

We’re back from an intense session of learning how to prune hard-stoned fruit trees (plum, damson, cherry and gage) with Dr Anna Baldwin leading a group of students in a theoretical and practical course in the local community orchard. It was different from the January course on pruning apple and pear trees. For a start,Continue reading “Community Orchard – the Verdict”

Community Orchard – Part 3

When the orchard expert came to teach fruit tree pruning in January, she told us that we needed to remove the shoots that had grown from the base of the trees, to let the tree have the full benefit of any water and nutrient in the soil. As nurseries graft wood from the trees theyContinue reading “Community Orchard – Part 3”

Pygmalion

I’ve been following Dot Productions like a stalker for the last few years. They formed in 2008 and tend to have five actors, a producer and a wide view of what they want to perform. Three years ago, we saw Sense and Sensibility – last year, we saw their adaptation of Jane Eyre. Both wereContinue reading “Pygmalion”

The Potato Mines

It’s been too hot to sit outside beyond 10am here through much of August, let alone work. There’s no pleasure in barefoot gardening when the grassy areas are worn down to straw and bare earth, especially as we have a cedar tree that sheds dead needles all year round (and needles is the word forContinue reading “The Potato Mines”