Category: Local (To Me !!!)

Restaurant closure – What a surprise, NOT !!!


Fast food giant McDonald’s has closed its Waterlooville Branch

McDonald’s said it was down to ‘changing trading patterns.’

Far be it for me to point out the obvious but this closure was guaranteed to happen, from the moment that the planners gave their blessing to McDonald’s new Larchwood Road development.

McDonald’s managed to railroad our local councilors into letting them build a new restaurant alongside ASDA at Larchwood Road, Bedhampton. Despite there being objections from the Highways Agency about the extra burden on an already overloaded road system.

From McDonald’s perspective it is obvious what the advantages are for them. They have a new facility with drive thru and adjacent parking, which Waterlooville does not. Being right next to ASDA means a much higher rate of passing trade. Certainly much higher than they could ever hope for from the diminishing numbers of shoppers in Waterlooville. And then there is the drive-thru facility which the Waterlooville branch did not have. All those ASDA shoppers who, being pestered by their kids, will drop in pick up a quick burger tea on their way home.

One has to wonder just how many outlets McDonald’s need in this area. A quick check of their website shows that they have 7 within 7 miles of Waterlooville.

I feel that our councillors have let us down, once again. They are responsible for controlling developments in this area. And yet they failed to see what  the obvious effects would be, of allowing McDonald’s to proceed with the development. They should have dug their heels in and said no.

This closure is just part of the ongoing pressure being applied to turn Waterlooville town centre into a residential area while shoppers are pushed out. Squeezing the heart out of this community.

Once again the council planners have failed this community.

Restaurant closure – Local Business – Portsmouth News.

Garden Furniture


Gorgeous Colours, Solid Teak, naturally pale when dry but just look at it when it gets wet.
Gorgeous Colours, Solid Teak, naturally pale when dry but just look at it when it gets wet.

We got ourselves a new table and chair set for the garden. Just look at the markings when it gets wet.

Birthday Cake – What a Cracker


It was my great-granddaughter Summer’s birthday last Thursday but we had her party today. Here is the cake that my neighbour made.

Madagascar themed birthday cake
Madagascar themed birthday cake

View From The Conservatory


Well not really. It’s been too hot to sit in the conservatory, other than late at night and then you can’t see anything. In fact the conservatory, at night ,used to freak out my granddaughter because she couldn’t see if anyone was looking in. With the lights on the windows pretty much turn into mirrors.

Anyway, the conservatory, is pretty much just a link into the garden and I just wanted to share some snaps taken this morning. So here goes.

If you have read my post from yesterday, we are getting our garden back in shape after some harsh clearing which also meant the severe cutting back of our rose bushes. We have several roses which had gotten pretty straggly over the years. They had all been cut, more or less, back to the main stem (trunk in some cases) feeding from the graft point. Much to our surprise they are all coming back to bush form at the rate of an express train. So much so that we have our first bloom. And here for your delectation is a picture..

Yellor Rose - I just wish you could smell the scent.
Yellow Rose – I just wish you could smell the scent.

just along from the rose we have a Lavatera which is also busy blooming. This one is in a pot, we have had them before but they don’t seem to like our soil and none survived. But this one is giving us a beautiful splash of pink.

Lavatera - Candy Floss
Lavatera – Candy Floss

This variety claims to be “Candy Floss” according to the tag supplied by Keydell Nurseries, the garden centre from which we purchased this example.

A first for us this year is growing tomatoes in a hanging basket. One of our baskets is ripe for picking while the other is still in that transition mode betwixt flower and green fruit. Here is a shot of the crop ready for picking so far.

Tomato
Tomato

I don’t know the variety but the plants are producing small but sweet and juicy tomatoes.

Last, but by no means least, I present to you a frequent visitor to our garden. No name, no breed variety, not ours.

Not happy to have been discovered
Not happy to have been discovered
Kitty1
Why are you pointing that thing at me ?

I had just sat down with a cup of coffee when I saw this black shadow sneaking up into our apple tree. I managed to get in close without scaring kitty into a panicked descent which wouldn’t have ended well for either of us.

Bye bye for now folks.

We Are Getting Our Garden Back Together, Slowly


After a couple of years of near total neglect we are starting to get our garden back together. Last year was such a crap year weather wise and I was so wacked out from work that I really didn’t feel like gardening. They say “You reap what you sow”. Well we are reaping the rewards for all that lack of maintenance.

All green, before we started the clearance.
All green, before we started the clearance.

Like a lot of big projects it takes a relatively small catalyst to get the ball rolling. In our case it was the state of the perimeter fence. This fence has not had any treatment since it was erected over twenty years ago and, apart from taking an outward lean following a storm in 1988, it has served us well.

A list that started in 1988 and has slowly increased over the years. A bit like the tower in Pisa.
A list that started in 1988 and has slowly increased over the years. A bit like the tower in Pisa.

So we bit the bullet, got a quote and ordered a new fence. Well just the back part which is seventy-five feet long. There is another fifty feet or so, which is in much better shape, but we’ll save that for another day.

Having made the decision we set about clearing the way for the new fence. The contractors would dismantle the existing fence but we thought we would clear as much of the over growth, brambles and ivy, as we could. After a couple of body shattering weekends we had cleared almost all of our side of the fence and I had also made an attempt on the outside so as to give the fencing contractors as clear a space to work in as I could.

So that's what the fence looks like.
So that’s what the fence looks like.
Before_3_IMG_8790
I cut myself a gateway to the outside world.

I have to say that the old fencing didn’t look quite as bad as I thought it would once it was undressed. I knew the posts were rotten at ground level but apart from a couple of arris rails the timber was still sound.

At this stage we were pretty much ready for the contractors to come and get started although they weren’t due for a few days.

Come the due date and there was no sign and I had to phone them to find out that they had buggered off to do another “emergency” job and hadn’t bothered to let me know. Erection day was renegotiated for a week hence with me grumbling under my breath that should they miss that start date then they would be out on their ear. After all, no money had changed hands at this time. Anyway one week later they arrived and set to work.

Out with the old and in with the new.
Out with the old and in with the new.
Day_1_IMG_8797
Nearly there. Only a few more feet to meet up with my neighbours back fence.

The previous photos show the progress at the end of the first day.

By noon the following day they had completed the fence. All was looking good. The shine was taken off, a little, later in the day when my neighbour came round complaining that he had a hole in his fence.

For some reason the guys hadn’t linked my fence to my neighbours, leaving a gap just over a foot wide. My neighbour has a small covered area in the corner of his garden which hid this “gap” from view. Well except that his son could see it when sat in a deck chair. It seems that the new fence has equal spaced posts where the original didn’t. So the guys finished the fence with the new equidistant posts. Out of sight from me in my garden. Out of sight from their boss who didn’t climb over the fence to check their work. Anyway, one phone call and he had them back the next day to complete the job.

New fence, new plants. Getting our garden back.
New fence, new plants. Getting our garden back.

Its amazing how big the garden looks now that all that ivy and other green stuff has been cut back. I’ve also cut back a lot of overhanging branches from the trees so we have more space vertically. A couple of trips to the garden centre to add a splash of colour and we are getting our garden back together, slowly.

View From The Conservatory


Couple of snaps of this seasons squirrels who, once again, have proven themselves adept at getting past any obstacles that I put in their path in my failed attempts to stop them from stealing the bird feed.

Forward Observation
Forward Observation

Thieving Squirrel
Thieving Squirrel

At Last !!!


“18 months” they said. Then “Open by Easter, 2013” they said. That’s how long they said it would take to reinstate the shops and takeaway following the fire that destroyed our local shopping centre.

Here we are, at the end of June, and the pharmacy has opened. Hooray.

I feel for the staff at Rowlands who have put in a stalwart performance since the fire. The following statement by the News doesn’t really recognise the conditions that they have endured.

Since then, staff have been dispensing medicine from a cramped portable building in the car park of Stake Lodge Surgery.

The “cramped portable building” was really little more than a converted shipping container and working there must have been like being in an oven in the summer and being in a freezer in the winter. And yet, throughout it all, they still managed to put on a cheery face and I for one would like to thank them all for the service that they provided in those less than kindly conditions. I hope they like their new accommodation.

Joy as Waterlooville fire-hit pharmacy rises from the ashes – Local Health – Portsmouth News.

Serious concerns over Welborne


And well there might be serious concerns over Welborne, the new town to be built north of Fareham.

Welborne - An artists impression of the new town to be built north of Fareham
Welborne – An artists impression of the new town to be built north of Fareham

It doesn’t require expensive surveys to be carried out. It doesn’t require the employment of expensive consultants. Anyone with half an ounce of common sense can see what is going to happen, knows what chaos will descend on this area once those new houses are built. One only has to take a look at the Segensworth area, try travelling through it during peak traffic times.

Once complete, the town, to be named Welborne, will have 6,500 homes, roughly the same amount as Petersfield.

So a town the size of Petersfield will be created just over a kilometer from the town of Fareham. The amount of traffic that the new development will generate on the M27 corridor is truly unknown but it can be guessed at. I guarantee that we will see similar log jams on the new, yet to be built, M27 slip roads, similar to those seen at Segensworth.
The traffic levels around Fareham are already high especially with access to the M27 and also on the road down to Gosport and Lee. Welborne will certainly add significantly to that since the local councillors have indicated that future Welborne residents will also be looking to the new jobs being generated at Daedalus.

Fareham Councillor Sean Woodward is being quite disingenuous when he says of opponents to Welborne …..

‘I’d love to know what their alternative is. It’s easy to say do not build anything, anywhere, but councillors are charged with providing new housing and we have 2,000 families on the waiting list which need housing.

Woodward states that the current  need is housing for 2000 families is somewhat less than the 6,500 homes proposed for Welborne.

Planning for future demand is all well and good but its the density of the housing being proposed that is the concern.

Woodward certainly  knows the chaos to come because, despite all assurances, the infrastructure will not be in place to support the additional load. The roads, the utilities, the available employment, all will be sadly lacking.

This will be an urban disaster.

Country campaigners raise serious concerns over Welborne – Politics – Portsmouth News.

View From The Conservatory


What Am I ?
What Am I ?

Well it’s been a while since I posted one of these.

I’ve been up and down healthwise, flu or something similar, and the weather has been dire to say the least. Now we have had a few sunny days and all the plants seem to be exploding into growth and the colours  are fabulous.

Our remaining cherry blossom is looking beautiful and the lawn in our back garden is totally out of control. I’ve taken a few minutes out from work to make a quick perimeter patrol and fire off a few snaps.

Up above is a shot of a butterfly. I don’t believe I have seen one of these before, certainly never in my garden.

Does anyone out there know what it is ?

Here are a few more pictures, some with titles where I know what they are. Some remain anonymous. However, I hope you enjoy these facsimiles as much as I am enjoying the real thing.

Dandelion
Dandelion
grape
Grape Hyacinth
pansy
Pansy – Always happy to see you
shrub
A Shrub ?
shrub2
Another Shrub ?
tulip
Tulip – with Primrose back-up

My perimeter walk has also highlighted the amount of work that needs to be done around the “estate”.

This weekend has been earmarked for  “slash and burn”. Perhaps not much of the burning but certainly there will be much slashing.

We have also decided to replace the fence which marks the back border for our property. fencing

As you can see the fence has a somewhat laidback attitude. Something it took on early the year after the “Great Storm” of 1987. Slowly but surely the post has rotated in the ground and many of the other posts have rotted out so the whole fence has to go. Thats not bad considering it has had no treatment during the last 30 years. So, 25-30 meters of wooden fencing, a task which is a little to big for my DIY skills, will be replaced by a local firm. They have done work on two of my neighbours properties so I have been able to see the quality of their work.

Once that is done we will have a blank canvas against which to plan the transformation.

Here are couple of general shots showing the desperate state of my garden.

Over grown
Over grown
lawnflowers
Primroses and Daisys
overgrown
Some significant trimming needed here.

It would seem that something has taken up residence under our shed. A large hole and signs of escavation. Maybe that tatty fox, I spotted a couple of weeks ago, has decided to move in.

Foxhole ?
Foxhole ?
shed2
Foxhole ?

And finally I submit this image. It is pretty much indicative of the general state of my garden which is in dire need of a make over.

Even my spade is over grown.
Even my spade is over grown.