Homemade Firewood.

 My homemade axe chopped logs.

We go through a bag of discount supermarket logs in a net bag every night.  They charge the kings ransom of 5.99 for them.

So to save a few bob or Euros I have been chopping some old timber up with my grandfathers axe.  

It's had 7 new handles and five new heads.  But it is still my grandfathers axe!  "I'm here all week".

It only takes me about ten minutes to retrieve the wood and attack it with my axe and make pieces that will fit in my big weeding bucket and fit in the stove.

Anyone else making their own firewood?

A 20 kg bag of solid fuel costs 18.50.  This lasts us 2 nights.

Cost of Carbon Tax in Ireland from May 2024:

6 Euros on a 40kg bag of coal.

One Euros on a bale of briquettes.

15 cents on a litre  of diesel/petrol.

127 Euros on the average gas bill.

141 Euros on 900 litres of heating oil.

Are carbon taxes a good idea?  Do they have carbon taxes in other countries?

You must save a lot of money if you live in a hot country in winter?

Does Rab Read My Blog And Look At The Picture For Garden Makeover Ideas?

 Apologies to regular readers for showing the following video again.  But it cracks me up.  I wish gardening programmes were not so serious and middle class.  If I presented a gardening programme it would have lots of jokes and comedy sketches.

Any way going off the video I think Rab gets his garden makeover ideas from looking st my blog.  Do you think so?

Have you any garden projects for next year?  Maybe a pool/bath for "Govan fish? Or "Single parents fish?"😃

Santa Claus, A Rush Guitarist And A Bit Of Black Sabbath.

 Instead of a Christmas card blog post this year.  I am going to gladden your hearts with a festive tune.

Canadian Rockers The Bare Naked Ladies recently team up with for Rush lead guitarist and added a bit of Black Sabbath to a famous festive song:

If you are Prog Rock fan like me you will like the video.  I would love to have seen Rush back in their 2112 days playing this Toronto theatre.  Fortunately I did see them a couple of times in dear old Blighty.

Who would you love to see play live? I would love to see Styx.

A Picture Mug Of A Four Legged Pal At Christmas.

 This a picture of Diesel (Weasel) our Bernese Mountain dog.

Diesel is two years old and she's got the manners and temperament of Paddington Bear.

She's probably the kindest sentient four legged pal I have ever known  She nuzzles me with her nose and rolls over on the couch next to me to tickle her belly!

According to Professor Google her ancestors in Switzerland use to pull carts for the Romans.  Diesel is very friendly like the Swiss, Czechs and of course the Portuguese people.

The photo on the cup is Diesel with her Christmas lights last year.

A lot of my blog friends are poets like myself.  I composed this poem/song for her which we often say or sing:

Diesel Weasel.

Diesel weasel met a weasel,

 Going to the fair,

Said Diesel weasel to the weasel,

What you doing there?

==================

Perhaps I could become the West Cork Poet Laureate?

Apparently there are no weasels in Ireland.  But there is a smaller look a like creature called the Irish Stoat.  

In Connemara it's called: Beanin Uasal.  Which means 'noble little woman'.  Thus reflecting the belief that the Stoat was a witch in animal form.

Perhaps our Diesel's weasel was going to the fair to tell people's fortunes?

More Charity Shop Finds.

There are not many carboot sales at this time of year.  Fortunately there are charity shops to satisfy the inner Womble and I  was sent a whattsapp message and a photo of  these two ornaments:

On the base it says Naturecraft Congleton England.

One figurine is two crown green bowlers having a relaxing pint and a chat about their bowls match.

The second figurine looks like a Grandfather and Grandson fishermen chatting next to the freshly caught fish.

I text back and told J to buy the ornaments.  They cost ten Euros for the pair of ornaments.

I looked them up and they look like they are probably made in the seventies.

I don't know if they are worth much but I like them.

It is good to add to our ever increasing collections of dust collectors or ornaments even.

Are you a collector or are you a minamalist?  I am a collector or Womble.

Holding Up The Garden Centre.

 I found this comic gem on You Tube recently.  If anyone would be daft enough to try to hold up a garden centre?  Well Rab was.

A Retirement Home For Incurable Tyrants And Kings.

 In 1983 English Prog band Pink Floyd released their twelfth album entitled: The Final Cut.  Roger Waters penned: The Fletcher Memorial Home.  

It was a fictitious retirement home for tyrants and kings and people like Thatcher and Reagan, Napoleon and Brezhnev resided there.

 Fletcher is the one of the names of Roger Waters father who was killed in Italy in WW2.  

Although a lot of the world leaders  in the video have passed on.  I think the lyrics are still relevant today.  Especially with what's being reported on the news at the moment.

I saw Roger Waters in Warsaw in 2013 on The Wall tour.  He's some what of a rock genius and he is not afraid to call out injustice in the world no matter who they are.  All he wants is peace.  Don't we all.

I think most world leaders would be my choice for residents in the Fletcher Memorial Home

Who would you place in the Fletcher Memorial Home?  

It's good to play a bit of Prog on a Wednesday.