What’s been happening lately? It was my birthday yesterday and I spent much of it at a highland dance competition with Elizabeth. She got third place overall which was a wonderful birthday present as there’s nothing better than seeing your child happy. The last two competitions she entered she came away with nothing so I was naturally worried about possible disappointment.
Her trophy is so old it has names going back to 1992. The way it works is you get it engraved with your own child’s name and in a year when they hold the competition again you return it for the next person. There’s barely any space for Elizabeth’s name but I think we’ll be able to squeeze it onto the bottom.
She’s moved up a level now too and has gone from beginner to novice. I’m not sure whether she’ll do any more but seems interested so possibly.
A few weekends ago we visited the Ferryhill Railway Trust which was originally a Victorian train depot next to Duthie Park and is now run as a charity restoring old trains and the original Victorian building. Despite living very close to it we’ve never visited it before. It’s an interesting place, although a bit of a mess, but with an overwhelming amount of stuff to restore I’m glad there are volunteers willing to give their time to it.
There’s an original manually operated train turntable which is currently a grade “A” listed structure on the buildings at risk registry.
Daniel had a go of turning it. It was quite hard work I think.
The train shed was built in the 1850s and 1860s and is a B listed structure.
The volunteers have spent a lot of time getting it watertight and digging out the trenches beneath the tracks so trains can be worked on from underneath.
There are several old coaches waiting to be restored.
This one was built in 1898. It would be lovely to see it fully restored one day.
It is blackberry season again and Ben has been making his annual pilgrimage to collect berries for the crumble. They seem particularly delicious this year.
I took this photo recently of the King Edward VII statue on Union Street. There’s always a gull on his head as evidenced by the poop dripping down. I’m not sure who put the traffic cone there.
We’ve had so many insects including butterflies and bees in our garden this year. The warm weather along with plenty of rain has helped. Plus I’m hoping my better understanding of how to create habitat for little beasties is paying off. I took this photo last month of the butterfly-loving buddleia in our garden. I counted more than 20 butterflies as I took the photo although some aren’t in the shot but if you look closely you should count at least a dozen there.
What have I learnt about improving my garden for insects like butterflies and bees? It’s simply really, they just need food and shelter like us. Leave the nettles as butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves and then the baby caterpillars eat them. Keep piles of leaves, sticks and rotting wood in places for small insects to live. Provide lots of pollen-producing flowers for food. Replace grass with garden or let the grass grow and don’t mow it. Provide water, either with a pond or just some bowls of water. Definitely do not use any chemical sprays. Then sit back and marvel at the life that moves in and thrives.
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