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Articles
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Weather woes and more to learn
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- 14 June 2021
Yet again different weather patterns present challenges but getting to grips with soil nutrients is latest development in the Seeds and Weeds veg garden. -
Winter harvest and first bumble bee of the season
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- 04 April 2021
A pleasing harvest of early spring cauliflowers and cabbages from my first winter season with the poly-tunnel -
Valley of the Tombs
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- 26 March 2021
After our first impressions of Palmyra we return next morning to visit the tombs of its ancient citizens -
Chilli start
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- 08 February 2021
First seeds sown for the year: chillis. Mixed success in previous years. Will we do better this time? -
Flash
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- 24 January 2021
Flash, the failed sheep dog with traumatic early life finds his final home at the Sticks. -
December in the poly-tunnel
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- 11 January 2021
This is my first winter with a poly tunnel and I am eager to discover whether I can get an early spring crop of brassicas
Spotlight
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Weather woes and more to learn
- Information
- 14 June 2021
Yet again different weather patterns present challenges but getting to grips with soil nutrients is latest development in the Seeds and Weeds veg garden.
Recent features
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December in the poly-tunnel
The snow and sub zero temperatures that arrived in late December... -
Transformed with flowers
Restoring our neglected garden has involved a lot of hard, strenuous... -
From Refugee to Slave Trader
When their church, the Bretagne Church in Pons, France, was burned... -
Spring crops reach our table
It's raining today so I have postponed some of the tasks I was... -
Constructing our poly tunnel has kept us busy
April has been a busy month. Constructing our poly-tunnel has taken... -
Spring sunshine, puzzled dogs and nettle roots maintain "social" distancing
After a cold, wet, windy and bleak winter which saw floods in many...
More Sticks Stuff
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Can we can or did we bottle it?
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- 25 November 2020
A first attempt to bottle summer surpluses to cheer up a depressing winter & "survive Brexit". -
Palmyra at sunset
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- 04 September 2020
After a morning in Bosra, lunch in Damascus we arrive at the desert city of Palmyra just as the sun is going down. Wow! -
Highs and lows in a reliably unreliable summer
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- 02 September 2020
As summer begins to fade into autumn a look back at the successes and failures in the vegetable garden at The Sticks -
Mexican Warrior arrives at the Sticks
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- 28 August 2020
After months of separation and a few last minute problems the Student and her dog are finally reunited.
Old Favourites
Travel Diaries
Transcription of travel diaries made during the last 36 years starting with India and Nepal 1981 and including USA 1983, Syria 1993, South America 2000 and South Africa 2014 together with photographs. This is a work in progress as the diaries are transcribed, so check for updates.
History of Ladymoor Gate
Tracing the history of the house from early 1800s to the present day using historical documents and idenitying people who lived here before us
Maps for local Walks
Selection of our walking routes on the edge of the Staffordshire Moorlands. All accessible from convenient public car parks
Genealogy
20 years of family history research available in our webtrees database (over 800 surnames and nearly 5000 individuals) plus a collection of birth, marriage and death certificates.
The Good Life
Seeds & Weeds
We weren't gardeners, we don't even listen to Gardeners' Question Time very often, but we have a large garden with plenty of potential and since retirement at the end of 2017 we have become amateur gardners. We favour the wild, natural look and like the birds, butterflies, frogs and other small animals but we want it to be looked after and we have recently revived and extended our vegetable patch. Ths Seeds and Weeds section is dedicated to reluctant gardeners in constant fight against the weeds - solidarity among the nettled and scratched - the caterpillars, slugs, snails and multitudes of insects, and those with the romantic idea of growing most of their own food.
From the plots
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Winter harvest and first bumble bee of the season
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- 04 April 2021
A pleasing harvest of early spring cauliflowers and cabbages from my first winter season with the... -
Chilli start
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- 08 February 2021
First seeds sown for the year: chillis. Mixed success in previous years. Will we do better this...
From the Diary
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One pumpkin is a relative success
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- 05 October 2020
Wet start to the month but on the bright side the webmaster may finally succeed in growing a pumpkin -
Cucurbits and cabbage but fewer beans
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- 08 July 2020
After a wet few weeks there have been problems in the garden but successes in the poly-tunnel
Other stuff
Route to the Soul
Began as a romantic mixture of emotion and practical tips from two young students discovering themselves and life as they recounted their adventures away from home. Now the blog is maintained by the Student who studies and works part time on-line while she and her boyfriend continue their travels to explore the world. Her blog focuses on healthy lifestyles, wellbeing and politics affecting the state of the planet & the lives of its inhabitants.
Rooted to the Spot
Magazine style section with articles about life at the Sticks on a theme inspired by Brexit.
DizzyMissLizzie
General, occassional blogs about the small (or sometimes major) incidents happening, usually outside the safe zone of the Sticks, that left an impression. Often but not always political. Uses Beatles song titles to set the themes.
I used to think when I'm sixty-four the world would be a better place, now I'm not so sure.
Don't Let Me Down! Altogether Now.