Early Summer Bits and Bobs.

[retropants]

Kudos to him, what a fantastic achievement for a great cause x

[Geoff]

Well done to Chris, great achievement both physically and financially. I've often wondered why Kilimanjaro has become the go to charity mountain, they seem to have made it into quite a business.

[Monika]

I suppose Kilimanjaro is achievable for a fit person, rather than a seasoned climber, Geoff. At more than 19,000 feet (nearly 6,000m) high, it's the lack of oxygen and the freezing and windy conditions at the top which makes it such a challenge. The ascent had to take five days, almost zigzagging all the way, to get used to the thinner air. The descent is only two days and a bit.

[Primrose]

Yes, ometimes it,s the unexpected conditions whixh often cause the most problems.
A relative of ours has recently achieved a long term ambition - a Cross Channel swim and ended up suffering severe sunburn despite generous layers of sun cream.

[tigerburnie]

I climbed a couple of Munroes last year, only 3000 feet and I was gasping for air(I am over 70 though), have to admire anyone who takes on a challenge like that.

[oldherbaceous]

How are your beetroot doing, Clive?

[Clive.]

All Ok, if just a little slow.. so I sampled a feed of Boltardy from the 'big garden'

Radeo need a big pick this weekend and a freezing session..... I need a little refresh of energy first but must tackle them tomorrow..

C.

[oldherbaceous]

That’s the beauty of having two gardens, Clive….
This hot weather always steadies me up…probably why I love early mornings so much.

[Primrose]

Anybody got any interesting recipes for cucumbers, apart from pickling them?

My two plants are producing them in abundance and even if you like it is only so much Greek tomato & cucumber salad one can eat!!

We could do with a night of steady rainfall here but it doesn,t look like we,ll be getting any for a while. Bad for the farmers who are already struggling with fuel prices.

[Stephen]

Bravo young Chris!

[tigerburnie]

Not used to this heat up here, over 20 degrees already, most unusual for us in the frozen north, at least the grass has stopped growing so fast.

[Clive.]

..Radeo pea picking completed, now to find a spot in the shade for some podding... with accompaniment from Radeo Caroline, live from the Ross Revenge, via 648Khz. ..and then the freezer needs switching to Overdrive

...and today's beetroot sandwich ingredient once again followed me home, a Red Ace that had gone two tone and a couple of Boldor to sample..

C.

[Shallot Man]

Clive. And what do you do in your spare time.

[Westi]

Hi Primrose,

Have a look on Pinterest for recipes for cucumbers. Huge recipe site from around the world. They also have a section on gardening, It USA focused but there are some good ideas you can pick up. You get your own page to save the recipes that interest you are well which you can catalogue & return to for inspiration.

[Primrose]

Thanks Westi, Not a site I've previously come across so will have a look.

It's going to be another scorcher here today. A couple of years ago we invested in one of those automatic roll out sun veranda awnings. One of the best things we've done in making heatwaves bearable. They're not cheap but our living rooms gets the heat of the sun until around 2pm and it massively drops the temperature indoors and makes it bearable, and also means we don't have to huddle up to all get the limited sun protection from an umbrella