Captain Lawrence Oates & the Karoo

Hi everyone

On a visit to the tiny Karoo town of Aberdeen in South Africa,  my eye was drawn to a blue plaque on a house in Brand Street & I walked over to read it.

What an amazing history collided in this tiny town! 

I am a great Boer War follower, having had family who fought on both sides of the war .... 

One of the famous historical figures that saw action in the Aberdeen district during the 2nd Anglo Boer War was Lawrence Edward Grace Oates. Serving in the 6th Inniskilling Dragoons he suffered a gunshot wound to his left thigh in March 1901 which shattered his leg and left it an inch shorter than his right leg when it eventually healed.

In that skirmish he was twice called upon to surrender, and replied “We came to fight, not to surrender.” He was recommended for the Victoria Cross for his actions. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1902 and Captain in 1906. He later served in Ireland, Egypt, and India. He was nursed by the Harvey family of 16 Brand Street in Aberdeen where he celebrated his 21st birthday. The wound caused him a lifelong limp. 

The name of Captain Lawrence Edward Grace Oates is well known & it is forever associated with his selfless act of walking out in to the snow blizzard on his 32nd birthday, to his death so that he would not hinder the rest of the Antarctic team. 

According to Capt Scott's diary, his last words were: 'I'm just going outside and I may be some time.' 

What an amazing story of an amazing person whose life is celebrated in the tiny town, where his injury in the Boer War led him to make his final decision. 

I did not know this connection to Aberdeen until I walked over to read the blue plaque on that wall but now that I know the story, I have a deep respect for how history was shaped in Aberdeen. 

I hope you have enjoyed this story with me. Thank you for stopping by, 

Dee ~♥~

Harvest time in the Shire

Hi everyone

Suddenly it seems like Autumn has arrived in Shropshire, especially when I was out walking around a local farm with the Godsons & I saw the harvest stacks ....

The farmer suffered a devastating fire in his winter stacks some winters back so he has moved them far away from the road - this is the smaller stack ... 

A walk just a bit further revealed this enormous hay stack ...

To give you an idea of the size, that is me standing next to it - I was dwarfed by the stack ...

The fields also had loads of lovely carrots - Godson with some from the edges where the wildlife had nibbled on them too ...

It is brilliant to see the harvest out in the fields, it signals the start of Autumn & the Harvest celebrations which start soon.

Hope you are enjoying the start of Autumn too. Thank you for stopping by,
Dee ~♥~

Winter salad greens for my planters

Hi everyone

I have neglected my blog over the summer due to an extended holiday. However, now it is time to get some of the jobs done ahead of Autumn.

My 4 tomato plants survived being left outside while we were away - fortunately, we had regular rain which kept them going, Hopefully they will still ripen because there are a lot of small tomatoes on the plants.

I shared my new salad planters with you earlier in the year - they have provided us with a plenty of salad greens over the summer - it has been brilliant to just open the back door & pick enough for a salad - the simple things in life are often the best!

My Elho planters have been absolutely brilliant & I am determined to make the most of them.

On my return from holiday, I knew it was time to redo them with the hope that I would have enough greens & salad leaves for winter. Do you also eat salad all year round?

 The straggly, last lettuce leaves were pulled out, then it was time for a trip to the local garden centre.

However, they only had kale plants or some swiss chard with its bright, colourful stems.

Fortunately, I found some salad seeds in their sale section so perhaps all is not lost.

The planter with the kale plugs has the first of the salad seeds sown - these are meant to be ready in 25 days so I will see how that goes ...

I love the bright stems of the chard - the ones at the back are from an early planting but they have not done too well so they will stay for the time being. 

These two planters have swiss chard in them ...

Planted & covered up again with their lovely covers that keep the soil warm & the plants protected. They benefit from radiated warmth from the house walls too in this sunny, protected spot.

The green planter on the left by the water butt, has the kale & first salad greens in it ...

A quick rain shower waters the planters before I had a chance to put the lids back on ... 

The Elho planters were a great idea for growing some bits at home.  I will give you an update on their use in winter ... 

Do you grow any bits of your own at home? I find it hugely satisfying to see things progress. Thank you for stopping by & visiting my blog ...
Dee ~♥~