Notes from the country with Vicky Turrell

  We have squatters. Last week the little house was empty and now there are occupants making a great deal of noise and fuss. I had hoped that the great-tits would come back for a second brood. We could see them all the way through the building of the nest to the feeding of their young. Only two weeks ago they were so busy, there was hardly any time between one parent leaving and the next one arriving with a caterpillar or fly. We did not see them fledge. One minute they were there and then they were not. The box was silent. All was deafeningly quiet until the male house sparrow arrived. ‘Look what I’ve found,’ he seemed to be shouting. And in no time at all a female had arrived and they were busily ‘decorating’ and doing all the things you do to make the house you have moved into comfortable. In our new house we have been busy getting our dining room sorted. I had worked hard to find chairs that were comfortable for me. At last, I found the perfect chairs and they are all I h...

  It has arrived at last. We have been waiting for nearly three months, but our new table is here. We had to ask the delivery people to move the old table into the garage for us., which they did and it stands there dejected amongst garden tools. Our new table is splendid; I have never had a new table in my life. Our farmhouse table was mahogany with huge carved legs and two ‘leaves’ that you could put in if a lot of people came for dinner. You had to crank a winding handle at the side and turn to expose a big gap in the middle. This where we played table tennis, where my mother ironed our clothes with a hot flat iron from the coal fire and where my cousin had her tonsils out with the local doctor operating. When they moved to their retirement bungalow they bought a drop-leaf second-hand table from a sale room. Mr T had a table he rescued from a chicken shed and I had an ancient writing table from an ‘emporium’. So, this is my first new table after 81 years. We are still waiting...

  Is that robin or a red kite? A recent survey found that many people struggle to know the difference. Even the blue tit was apparently hard for some people to recognise. Is it because we are too busy or do we see most of our wildlife on screen? It was hard to recognise the robin yesterday when walking by the canal a red and brown ball dropped from the tree. If it was autumn, I would have thought that it was a ripe apple falling. Then the loud chirping started and the ball began to jerk as I realised it was two robins in combat. They rolled along the towpath until finally giving up and flying off in separate directions. I nearly gave up on our delivery of a compost bin I ordered online this week. They indicated the delivery time as 8am to 8pm. I tracked it on the link. Any minute now it would arrive. The line showing progress on the ‘Out for delivery’ page was nearly at our house. We waited in the front room so we could easily see and hear the van. But no van came and soon my p...

Here it comes again. ‘Please book your free spring NHS COVID-19 vaccination’. It was apparently recommended because of my age. I could book an appointment or find a local drop-in centre if I pressed a link. I did this, but the nearest places offered were about ten miles away. I waited another week and there it was – the local Fire Station offering jabs. My original short sleeved t-shirt especially for blood tests and vaccinations (it is my age) has grown decidedly worn and grubby. I have bought a new one with hedgehogs printed on and it doubles as a pyjama top. Quite a few of my friends are not bothering with the COVID jab these days. They say that they had all the injections and then got COVID anyway. Some are saying that it is not worth it because the risks are small. I talked to the nurse about this and I noticed that there was no rush and no queue. She said that the jab only last six months and that it changes as the virus mutates. She also said that the jabs cost a lot and the...

  ‘Road ahead CLOSED’ How often we see this sign and carry on as if it does not apply to us. But this time we were unlucky. We were going shopping, a quiet day out, looking for a lampshade for our lounge which so far has sported a bare bulb. But the road was certainly closed and the barriers were up. We went back to follow the diversion signs with our sat nav screaming, ‘Turn around when possible’. The trouble is with diversion signs that you do not know whether they are for you or for some other road works long forgotten. Eventually we found our way through but had a surprise. Whatever has happened to lampshades? When I last bought one, it was made of patterned cloth with special trim at the top and bottom and a fringe. But now they all seem to be plastic or harsh metal. We went home empty handed and bought a fabric one on-line, with no trim and no fringe. Then to add insult to injury we have apparently, according to my friend, hung it up-side-down. We went to the theatre ...

  ‘Tap, tap, tap.’ I heard the noise clearly as I was sitting on the patio enjoying the early spring sunshine. What could it be? I thought it was coming from the people who have just bought the house over the field. They have been working on renovating and I often see a bright light which they use to focus on their work. But no, I looked over and no one was there. Could it be a woodpecker? But no, we do not have mature trees near enough for a woodpecker to drill. In the end I saw a great-tit tapping away at the entrance to our new bird box.   The hole was the exact size for this bird so why work on the entrance when there was no need? The house sparrows which showed an interest in the box early in the year have long gone so there were no other contenders for the nest site. I talked to my friend about it. She said perhaps the bird was simply claiming the box for his family and putting his marker on it to make it his own. Just like when we came to this new house, we gave it ...