Wulf's Webden

The Webden on WordPress

5 July 2026
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Verjus?

I think the wine I tried brewing last year is unlikely to lose its sourness but perhaps what I’ve succeeded in creating is not wine at all but verjus (or verjuice)? This is a traditional concoction made from unripe grapes and was often used to add an acidic component to dishes in the past. It certainly worked well in the beef stew I made for dinner tonight. I mixed about 150ml with about double the quantity of stock and, cooked with beef, onion, carrot and various herbs and spices, ended up with a very palatable result. You don’t always get what you want but, if you try, sometimes you get what you need.

4 July 2026
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Spots of Rain

When I set off from Loughborough this morning, it was warm and sunny and I was mainly concerned about overheating at the Chatsworth gig. I even put on some sun-cream but I didn’t think about packing a waterproof coat. It turned out the hour and a half drive put me in a place that was a lot more overcast. Sun wasn’t a problem but we did get a few spots of rain although, fortunately, not too much. I’m glad I at least remembered to pack a tarpaulin – I didn’t need it but it gave some peace of mind in case I needed to quickly cover my electronics!

3 July 2026
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Chatsworth tomorrow

I’ve had a fairly quiet day today… just as well as I’m headed over to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire tomorrow for my last gig of term with the Charnwood Symphonic Wind Orchestra. Should be fun once I’m there and set up. I’m just hoping not too many other people decide they want a day out there as the small roads in the vicinity can get pretty congested.

2 July 2026
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Making Connections

Yesterday’s early start, the long drive up and the long drive back today were definitely worth it. I’ve had a brilliant time up at the Wydale retreat. I did some useful research for a work project, enjoyed some fun and also some profound moments of sung worship and made solid progress on my next sermon (for Sunday week). Perhaps best of all through was making connections with lots of people.

Some of that was face to face time with people I’ve only met online or even just seen as names. However, there were a couple of extra special connections. One was sitting down to breakfast yesterday morning and discovering that the person I’d joined at the table was a friend of one of my brothers from North Wales. Another was spending sometime with a university friend who I’ve not seen for over 30 years. In that case, I knew he was due to be there but it was so good to see him again face to face.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity and look forward to more such connections in future.

1 July 2026
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Early Start

I’ve got an early start today. The charity I work for is running a song writing workshop in North Yorkshire this week and I’m going up for the last day and a half to meet some of the people who will be using one of the websites I am working on. Breakfast is at 8am so I need to get on the road!

30 June 2026
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The Sheep Detectives

The Sheep Detectives (2026) is a recent murder mystery film where the victim is a shepherd (played by Hugh Jackman) and most of the detective work to find out who killed him gets done by his flock of sheep. In the world of this film, humans still don’t understand sheep but the sheep can pick up every word we say, even though plenty of aspects of human life evade them.

Jackman’s character, George Hardy, is a kindly man who settles down outside his caravan each night and reads to them. Since his favourite type of book is the murder mystery, the sheep (or at least the brighter ones among the flock) are not as woolly in their thinking as you might expect. It is a pleasant film and fits well into the cosy mystery genre that Jane and both enjoy.

The film only came out in the cinema at the start of May but we spotted it was available for free on Amazon Prime and Jane was able to sign up for a free 30 day trial. That means we might get to watch it again and, if not, it will probably go on a Christmas or birthday list.

29 June 2026
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Relief

What a relief to have a normal British summer’s day – often overcast and with temperatures in the lower 20’s (Celsius). We might even be lucky and get some actual rain at some point this week…

28 June 2026
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Hathern Open Gardens 2026

Jane and I finished the full set of open gardens this afternoon, including #14 (which didn’t get into the programme) and revisiting a few that I got a preview of on Friday evening.

There was a wide variety on offer, from small to large and with all sorts of personal styles on display. Some were densely planted without any space wasted on a lawn while others were more traditional with lawns and narrow borders with specimen plants. One was a tiny oasis, where we found the owner sitting on a bench almost hidden by a beautiful jasmine in flower. Another had almost everything labelled in botanical Latin (certainly more comprehensive labelling than most public gardens manage).

If we lived in Hathern, I’d definitely sign our back garden up for the trail and, as it is, I look forward to seeing which places are open for visiting next year.

27 June 2026
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Community Events

Various types of community events were going on in Hathern today. One was the first day of this weekend’s “open gardens” events. Jane and I were helping at Hathern Baptist but also managed to tour a good number of gardens in the area with a few left to finish off tomorrow.

The other, less scheduled was some kind of police chase of a stolen car, a crash on the A6 and an extended hunt for the perpetrator who fled on foot. We heard the chase and crash while visiting a garden in Anchor Close (the A6 runs past the Anchor Inn, on the other side of their back fence) and, for the next few gardens, we had the sound of a police helicopter circling overhead. One of the places we visited even said that the suspect had temporarily entered their garden. He couldn’t stay of course because he hadn’t bought his Open Gardens brochure!

I think the Police got their person and it seemed calmer later. I’m hoping it continues that way tomorrow afternoon when we come back to polish off the last few gardens we didn’t get to.

26 June 2026
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Bike Brakes

This evening I need to get over to Hathern to represent the baptist church at a meeting about tomorrow’s Open Gardens event. We’ll be opening not as a garden (we’ve got a beautiful yew tree and quite a few plants in pots but it really is just a car park at the back) but as a place for people to get some refreshments and use the loo as they visit other gardens in the village. Jane is out with the car and it is hot weather for a long walk but I figured a slow bike ride would be okay.

The problem is that the brake pads on my bike got rather worn down when I was using it regularly last year so this morning I swapped them out. Being out of practise on bike maintenance, it took quite a while but I think I’ve done a decent job in the end. The old ones were certainly past it – one side had the detailed grip pattern worn off and the other side were even further gone than that, so a job well overdue.

I probably should be making a start on the journey soon – I’ve got almost an hour to do what Google says is a 13 minute cycle… but I’m going to need a good amount of time to cool down once I get to the other end!