After a few weeks of summer, we’re back to Autumn with drenching rains. That hasn’t quite dampened our enthusiasm for getting stuff done.

Yes, July is proving to be a wet month already. Good for the plants, but not quite as good for those trying to do things outdoors. We did have the odd sensation of cycling back from work completely drenched while smelling the enticing aromas of a nearby barbecue. On that note.

Gardening

We’re getting ready for Korean BBQ in Plymouth. Grilled beef in Korea is commonly eaten with garlic cloves and wrapped in the leaves of the Beefsteak plant. Also known as Perilla (or its Japanese name, shiso, or the Korean kkaennip or ggaenip), the leaves of this member of the mint family resemble nettles (but without the sting). This herb can be fried as tempura, used as a garnish, added to salads, and even used to make a mojito. The plant is considered a hardy annual in the UK, and was fairly easy to germinate. The next step is planting it out, then starting to use the leaves.

The rest of the plants are doing well although I had a shock when cutting back the cordon fruit trees. Some of the grafted fruit trees had been completely overtaken back suckers below the level of the graft. As a result the healthy looking tree had to be cut back to leave the wispy little stem that is true form. The cherries and apples have done the best by far. The plums and pears have had a bit more of a challenging time as they don’t tend to grow a strong central leader as easily.

Baking

I’ve been back in the kitchen again, this time reprising a favourite from my past. I haven’t baked scones for the best part of a year even though I love a freshly baked plain scone slathered in salted butter. Since moving to the Southwest my taste has shifted towards jam and clotted cream (occasionally butter too) and that’s exactly what I was planning this time. Remarkably, Tesco stocks Northern Irish buttermilk (Dale Farm) after a period of absence when it disappeared off the shelves completely. You can make a version of buttermilk by adding vinegar or lemon juice to milk, but it’s not quite the same. The rise wasn’t massive but the scones did end up delicious.

Climbing in the AM

The Climbing Hangar in Plymouth is open at 6.30 am Monday/Wednesday/Friday and occasionally I manage to muster the motivation to get there for opening. This time I made it round about half the blues in 25 minutes before leaving for work. It’s always a little disconcerting when you see blood stains from some previous bouldering victim. It reminds me of the bloodstains on the ground in Elden Ring where other players have died. I was half expecting to see a note with “Trap ahead” pinned to the wall.

On the climbing front I finally managed to mount my fingerboard. I’ve located it in the kitchen so it’s hard to walk past without attempting something, although I will be more than capable of completely blocking it out of my vision in a few months.

Exeter Travels

Another trip to Exeter to get the mysterious third key deleted from the Polestar 2 and we were given bus tickets from the dealership to get into the city centre.

I managed to squeeze in a trip to the Exploding Bakery Café which, although good, has been overtaken by several cafés in Plymouth by my estimation. I did spot a public bike pump in the wild which seemed like a great idea for encouraging cycling. It’s quite a bike friendly city in general with a lot of cycle paths and cyclists. Exeter seems to have become a smaller version of Bristol which in turn has become a smaller version of London. Being a smaller version of London is fine up until the point you try to rent or buy a house. Or even park the damn car. I think I spent in the region of £20 to park for four hours when we travelled up to see Hamilton in the Hippodrome.

Nope. For affordable housing, friendly people, and a moderately thriving coffee scene, pick Plymouth! We’re also by the sea which is always objectively better.