KW-42 Then we take Berlin
Guided by a signal in the heavens
It finally came. The week in which I left the barracks. For one night.
Those telly people sent one of their people down to look after the piggers. I was rather expecting a junior researcher to be press-ganged into it, but apparently, they asked in the office and there was a minor clamour for the place. The prize went to a sound-recordist not considerably younger than me.
So off I went to Berlin. I met with the telly people on Leipzig main station where they pressed a vegan MaccyDs into my hands, popped a microphone on, and started recording. We did a bit on the train going to Berlin and a bit getting off the train in Berlin. We were filmed walking over the bridge outside the station, at the Reichstag, and we did a couple of segments at the Brandenburger Tor. We were filmed on Unter den Linden, going up Friedrichstrasse; getting on, being on and getting off the S-Bahn. Then, off to the pub where we met daughter #2 and were filmed ‘aving a pint and some chit chat.
It’s not what you might call hard work, but it was exhausting. “Let’s just do that shot from a 5th angle, and remember to keep it spontaneous”.
I can’t say exactly when it will be on the tellybox, but some time in the next two weeks. Probably. I also neglected to take a single photo in Berlin. Oops.
Back to the barracks, I did do most of the things I said I was going to do. Nearly all the potatoes are out. This year, I am going to try storing some of them in paper sacks. I’ve not yet had a problem storing spuds, but I have so many potatoes this year - probably more than 200 kilos - that I’ve run out of the plastic grocer’s trays that I usually use. Which is probably a good thing. Maybe I’ll transfer some more over, maybe it’s better to just have 2 sacks full and see how they go.
The only potatoes left in the ground are the ones in the Vineyard (which is exclusively for pig food). It’ll be really interesting to see how they did up there. They didn’t get anything like the care and attention the ones in the veg gardens got. They are in the worst ground on the barracks (to be improved!) and they went in later. But, they look good above ground. I’ll let you know.
I sowed all the remaining winter rye, and it is starting to germinate already. This is very exciting.
I did screw up my shoulder a little bit, stacking wood, but nothing terminal. And I have some nicely stacked wood. The year in the garden was mostly very successful. Certainly, the intended trinity of potatoes, tomatoes and beans did extremely well. I may have been a bit backwards in the wood-chopping-stacking-drying stakes. I hope this doesn’t come back to bite me too hard on the ass in the winter.
This week coming I am planning on:
eating a pizza
eating my first savoy cabbage of the year
continuing to think about the insulation topic for the study
canning the last of the tomatoes.
and the chillis. Yes, there are still tomatoes and chillis in the polytunnel
eating as many carrots as I can. They got a touch of cold on them last week, and they are starting to taste properly delicious
sowing all bare ground with winter green manures
writing another blog post. If you love the easy, rolling nature of the newsletter, you may be put off by the contrast to the blog. It’s where I write longer, angrier stuff. The one I wrote last week is trying to answer the question “what does societal collapse feel like”. I think it’s important, you can read it here, but it does come with a bleakness warning.
Until then, me hearties, a very at-peace and content Grandfather Pirate bids you a week of successes and love
your
Pirate Ben
xoxo
I'm sure you had a full docket, but it would have been cool to hang. Consider this an invitation to give a heads up next time you're here :)
The idea of having your own pizza oven thoroughly excites me...