Archive for the ‘Gardens’ Category

For Sale: Lawnflite 603

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

Lawnflite 603 Mower

Downsizing means I have no use for such a large lawnmower, hence the sale of my MTD Lawnflite 603, bought new from a local dealer in 2005, the equipment is in excellent condition and comprises the motor unit with a cutting deck and fan assisted grass clippings removal. Demountable rear grass collector or external chute, to leave clippings on the ground. Tight turning circle, 30″ cut; Regularly serviced; 12.5 HP Briggs & Stratton electric start engine; 5 litre fuel tank; Front head lights; 5 level cutting deck; 5 speed shift-on-the-go transmission forward and reverse.

Rest in Peace Meg

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010



After a bad couple of weeks, our dog Meg has today passed away, she was around 14 years old or 98 in dog years, she has always been a true and faithful friend to all the family, and our friends also, so her passing is a great loss. I have selected a suitable location to bury her here at Parlington, following in the long tradition that the Gascoigne family undertook with their pets, as far back as the nineteenth century at least, to my knowledge.

Barbecue Turkey and a Weber!

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

Christmas Turkey BBQ

The intro photo was taken on Christmas day by my eldest daughter, Pip, she thought it worth capturing the moment! I have cooked the Christmas turkey on a Weber BBQ since the late 80’s. The BBQ in the image is the fifth I have owned, and with the ash collection system beneath the kettle, is, I can testify, the best yet! Behind and almost obscured is an earlier model, which had just completed cooking a duck to accompany the turkey.

Porcelain Figurine

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

The weather was too good to miss the opportunity after work, so I continued some excavations around the location of the fountain, the centre piece of the lawn in the nineteenth century. Of course I had to find the location first, but recent geophys scans gave some insights so off I went!

Geophysical Research

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

The old hall footprint is well established as a result of the ground plan produced by George Fowler Jones architectural parctice in 1885, this is still in existence and held I believe at Temple Newsam. I obtained a digital copy of the reference photograph some years ago and have used it extensively to assist in discovering how the parts of the hall were aligned on the ground. However with the recent discovery of the photographs taken by Jones in the latter part of the nineteenth century; held at the National Media Museum, Bradford, it became clear that the lawns had extensive flower beds. Moreover the plan shows drainage lines and the position of the fountain and the river Crow which runs across the lawns in a stone culvert. We decided therefore to undertake a geophysical analysis of the ground to determine if any of the earlier features could be discovered.

“Woody” Recent visitor to Parlington

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

You can often hear woodpeckers in the trees around Parlington, knocking seven bells out of a branch or bough, but you rarely see them. However, “Woody the frequent flyer to the peanut island on a pole” has become a garden favourite but less so to the more common birds queuing in the surrounding bushes awaiting their turn on the feeders.
Greater Spotted Woodpecker

Greater Spotted Woodpecker