Wulf's Webden

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11 August 2026
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Bin Day in Clacton

Recently Nigel Farage called for a by-election in his Clacton seat. He claims it is to prove that he has people’s support in the face of claims that he has mislead Parliament over his financial affairs but it is a costly exercise. The major parties have chosen not to stand against him but I’m not alone in hoping that he gets soundly beaten by the most popular opposition candidate, Count Binface. Binface has been the absurdist runner in many local elections but I’d not only love to see Farage lose this selfish gamble but also see Binface (AKA Jonathan Harvey) have a chance to prove what he does with actual power. I suspect he might actually both to spend some time in Clacton and make an effort to represent the constituency.

What really puzzles me is how Farage has been allowed to do this. I can see the argument for him stepping down and out of politics but to step down only to contest the seat again sounds like the gambit of someone taking voluntary redundancy in order to come back to the same role as a consultant – a crooked deal and one that is not for the benefit of Clacton. If he does win, he’ll simply be back where he was before, polarising opinion and facing a resumption of the investigation into is dealings.

I don’t get to vote in this one but I do hope Farage gets put out with the rubbish. Not least, I fully endorse the fifth point of Binface’s manifesto: MPs who resign mid-Parliament should be banned from participating in the resulting by-election. The job is a serious commitment and not a popularity contest.

10 August 2026
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Potato Wedges

Today I discovered that potato wedges are pretty easy in the air fryer. 15 minutes at 170°C coated with a little oil and then, after additional seasoning, another 5 minutes at 180°C. The method I used emphasised washing and drying the wedges before starting the cooking and it definitely works. Given that I’ve got two cooking baskets in my air fryer, I’m tempted to try a side by side comparison and see how much difference it makes. Anyway, here is the video:

9 August 2026
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Air Fryer Chicken

I did my first whole chicken in the air fryer yesterday and it worked very well. Rubbed with softened butter that I had seasoned with tarragon, salt, pepper and garlic, I cooked it upside down for half an hour at 170°C and then right way up for another half hour at the same temperature. I reckon I could probably even have reduced the cooking time a bit.

The main limitation with my dual drawer air fryer is that you can’t cook a large bird. I got the smallest one I could find in Lidl, which was about 1.4kg and slightly smaller than that would be ideal (although perhaps I could have removed the crisper tray to give some extra height). More experimentation to come but it was a worthwhile start.

8 August 2026
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Singaround Songs – 8 August 2026

Today’s sing around was in Mo’s back garden – a nice place to be in the hot weather but you do have to think of songs that you can project in a space without reflective surfaces. Jane was out with the car so I walked over with my ukulele. Having done my long journey yesterday, I started with a couple of songs that reflected a travelling theme: Ride On (C) and Wayfaring Stranger (Dm).

My final song didn’t quite fit the theme but was one that I recently learned on bass and wanted to try on the uke: Holding Out for a Hero (Em). All good fun and a nice way to spend a sunny afternoon.

7 August 2026
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Travel on Saturday

Mainly as a note to self, next time we go to the Keswick Convention, aim to travel back on the Saturday even if it means not arriving until Sunday and missing the first 24 hours. That, in any case, runs on a light schedule, but our journey home took us about 7 hours! That did include an extended break where we enjoyed some lovely ice cream at a place called The Barn in the village of Scorton but that was just to get some relief from the traffic. Friday afternoon is never a good time to be on the motorways and I think there had been several incidents that compounded the sheer weight of traffic.

At least we’re safely back now.

6 August 2026
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KU Scratch Choir

This week I have been taking part in the Keswick Unconventional Scratch Choir. We have been rehearsing each weekday afternoon and learning songs by ear rather than singing from a page of dots. For someone like me, who is used to choral singing from full notation, that makes it a little more challenging but it is coming together. There is certainly ample enthusiasm from the room and from the front.

We are performing at 1:30pm today for the KU lunchtime concert slot. I don’t think I know anyone in easy reach who hasn’t been a regular part of convention events but, if I somehow do, you can just turn up to the Pencil Factory site!

5 August 2026
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Table Service

Today we had breakfast at a Wetherspoon’s and I had my first experience of putting in the order via my phone. It worked smoothly although I’m not entirely sure it was easier than just going up to the bar, especially when it came to jumping between the pub app and the bank app to do the payment. This is a bit of the future but not one of the most essential bits.

4 August 2026
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Always double cheque

For about a year or so, we’ve run three main bank accounts: one as the hub that receives our wages and from which we make large payments, one for online shopping and, since last year, one for taking out and about. We set the third one up last year for the band tour in Belgium as it didn’t charge a transaction fee for foreign currency purchases.

That third one is easy to keep track of via an app and I normally double check every time I transfer in more funds from the first account. However, I must have missed that the other day when I thought I’d transferred money in before our Keswick trip and I found I didn’t have funds for purchasing some books. Fortunately I had an alternative way of paying and, back at base, I’ve double checked. I did note the transfer on my finance spreadsheet but it looks like I didn’t make the transfer itself! I must have done it in a rush – normally I’d check the message to say it had gone out and the app to see it had come in.

So, reminder to self – always double check (or cheque – I couldn’t resist the homophone). Now time to do some reading.

3 August 2026
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Via the Back Streets

The place we are staying in Keswick is about seven minutes walk away from the convention entrance but that does include a stretch where you have to go along a busy road with no pavement on either side. Yesterday afternoon we went the opposite way out of the front gate and tried a route that leads through a local park, across a bridge and through the back streets; it takes longer but is very pleasant. We even saw bats and rabbits on the way home last night.

One thing that was very helpful was spotting a group of other likely convention goers ahead of us once we had cross the bridge. I wasn’t quite sure how to do that last bit of the journey but, following their footsteps, we discovered what is probably the quickest route. It is still slower than the more direct one but will probably remain our main choice. Not least, you get to appreciate the landscape more when you don’t have to keep an eye out for cars, like the moment we crested a hill and saw Grisedale Pike (which I painted on our previous visit) rising up ahead of us behind the town:

Grisedale Pike - Watercolour

2 August 2026
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Passing by Bridgewater

Heleniums - 1

We had a long journey yesterday, made much easier by stopping half way at RHS Bridgewater. It was a beautiful day for it. I particularly enjoyed these heleniums. I don’t think think I’ve managed to grow them successfully in the past but I also don’t think I’ve tried in this garden so perhaps time to try them again.