It’s that time of year again - tractors all over the land will take to flailing vital food sources in the form of berries along thousands of miles of hedgerows. PLEASE, if you are a landowner or know someone who is, wait until Feb/March & leave nature’s larder for #wildlife 🙏🍒

Mixed weather today so focused on the inside of the bay windows. It’s going to be a long slow job. Just finishing the final coat of Dead Salmon on the walls. The wall lights will go up tomorrow.

It’s still dahlia time 😍

Progress on the bay window. In places the inner wood was missing, replaced by now rock-hard old putty. How it was & how it is now after new oak sections spliced in with new putty. Amazing to think this window was installed in 1831 after having had a previous life in a local shop!

Just when you thought you’d got all the loose bits out, you find some more!

Sash window in the dining room finally finished, with secondary glazing now refitted. Everest double glazing system, (whatever happened to them?), easy to reinstall once you figure out how!

Did somebody say it’s time to make Sloe Gin?

No Northern Lights visible here tonight, but lots of stars, & is that another planet bottom right?

The elderberry & blackberry wines are now in demijohns. Had too much of each from the starter buckets to all fit in 2 demijohns, so mixed the left over liquid from both to fill this 3rd one, which is a mix of blackberry & elderberry. It’s popping away😊

Slow Gin. How it started, how it’s going. Never heard of Kingston Gin before. It’s a French gin, & only £17/L in Morrisons, yes, only £17/L! Makes a reasonable G&T too😊

Bales of straw in a field in the Yorkshire Wolds today.

Great to be back in Durham St Mary's College for the annual St Mary’s College Society reunion dinner. It’s amazing to think it’s now 13 years since I left as Principal.

Lovely to be reacquainted with some of the sculptures that we installed in the grounds St Mary's College during my time as Principal.

Durham Cathedral from Prebends Bridge. What a view😍

Today HarrogateFlowerShow Newby Hall, fabulous venue for the autumn flower show.

Giant vegetables HarrogateFlowerShow autumn show today, umbrella for scale with the cabbage😂

Dahlias HarrogateFlowerShow show today, fabulous! My absolute favourite was Ashpire Fancy😍

Perfect end to a great day.

Walking home from the pub. (They are con trails, not shooting stars)

Wonderful weather today at the fabulous National Trust Belton Estate.