Latest Moan From You and Me 2025

Midges are definitely not confined to Scotland... anywhere reasonably damp and not too cold seems to harbour them. Warm, still conditions near water and/or under trees are most conducive to midge swarms. We get them here in Ireland, and they were a nuisance where we used to live in west Yorks. OH once had a cricket match "midged off" - an unusual reason for abandoning play...

 

We did find Avon Skin so Soft to be extremely effective against midges. We sprayed it immediately before we started our walk around a Scottish loch and could quite literally see the clouds of midges parting as we walked.
I know some people say it doesn't work. All I can speak from is personal experience, and not having a single bite on that walk.

 

Different repellents seem to work for different people, @KT53 . I've tried the Avon stuff which works for you and many others, but I still got bitten. Max strength DEET is the only thing which works for me. Or a midge hood - but they make you very hot...

 

We get gnats, in the old days the saying was if they are flying around in the evening it meant a fine day tomorrow.

I dont think they bite though, I usually on suffer from ant bites.

 

@Liriodendron Actually the best way for me to avoid being bitten is to go out with my missus. She's an absolute mozzie and midge magnet. Unfortunately she's got wise to it and now uses bug repellent. Selfish or what!?

 

I don't have much bovver with mozzies as we have a very effective flock of barn swallows and sand martins that seem to scoff most of them altho one or two seem to find Possum's bedroom and buzz her. I suspect it's too hot for midges here.

We do get flies tho, various sizes attracted to the horse, cattle and goats in neighbouring fields and they seem to find me tasty too - flipping sharp, painful biters - as do harvest mites which must be due to show up soon. Oh joy. Haven't yet found an effecive repellent and can get thru loads of anti histamines and cortisone cream.

 

A horse fly got me last week. Thought I'd been nicked by a bramble, but it came up in a 4in red patch for days and my ankle swelled up. Fortunately I was already on antihistamines. It's best to wear wellies at the bottom of our garden and not flip flops.

 

We have had visitors from all over the world for the last 12 days due to OH's birthday. Thanks goodness, the last one will be leaving today. OH will be still busy and stays with family between Chippenham and Bath before they will be heading to London on Friday.
Speaking of Bath, I had the intention to go the farmers market in Bath to get a few loafs of rye bread. Some of the visitors decided to join me and so 2 cars drove to Bath.
I had one of the visitors in my car, a German with German phone, which turns out to be important later on.
On the way to Bath, my Apple Maps decided suddenly I should turn 3 o'clock on one of the roundabouts. I ignored it, knowing the way A46 -> A4 -> A36 and North Parade car park. Should be easy.
I use the sat nav, because I always fail to recognise the corners where to turn, and here from the A4 into the A36.
Instead of showing where to turn left, that bloody sat nav led me straight into the town centre.
Everybody who has been once driving through Bath as a tourist knows that Bath has got only tiny, winding, one-way roads, and is surrounded by high hills. That bloody Apple Maps was permanently redirecting and spinning around. Thanks to the German friend with German phone, obviously the internet from that provider used a British provider which had a better connection than EE or simply, Google Maps did the job.
Half an hour later, I arrived at the car park. Funny enough, on the way to find out of this chaos, I passed the farmers market, stopped, bought my bread.
After we had finished our walk through Bath, it was time to drive back, because the 25 guests lunch at a restaurant was due.
The second car claimed to need petrol, and so I followed car 1 to the Esso petrol station.
From there, OH changed into my car in the meantime, I had to lead car 2 out of Bath, because the German car sat nav didn't work in the UK.
Instead of giving us the way back to the A36, only a way to the left was shown. At some point, I was asked to turn left, which I did. I remember to have seen the "A36 Parade" on the road, but couldn't jump to the right because of the traffic and so I I turned left.
That road was a single road, increasing gradient, and higher and higher.
OH: Oh no, oh no.
I had to drive in the 1rst gear, up, up, up, no chance to turn and that bloody sat nav didn't work at all.
At the end of this road (it turned out to be Gay's Hill), seeing a car from the right fast passing us, I had to stop.
In that position, it was impossible to see if cars came from the right or left, and the hill in that part was so steep, OH said later "you have probably not realised it but it was almost 45%".
Apart from Malvern (Church Road) I have in my 10 years short driving life never been on such steep hill. I have got a 60PS VW Up, it's like a Morris Minor with a little bit stronger engine. It's no SUV, 4x4 or 80 PS car.
I screamed. Handbrake on, foot on the brake, the car still tried to roll back.
OH went out, hardly made it with that angle, I wondered that the door opened.
The German fried said, go into neutral and turn off the car. I was screaming, believing the car is lost, somebody has to drag us out here.

An Angel came down to earth, asking if we were in trouble, told me what to do to get the car stopped. I left the car.
OH tried to get into the car, but the Angle said, "get out, I do it".
An American tourist couple passing by was full of sympathy, she stopped the cars on the right, he stopped the cars on the left. The Angel started the car with handbrake on and hit the gas.

She was used to it, she lives there, is familiar with the challenge, and has helped the one or other in the same situation as we were.
I was so grateful, she was our lifesaver.
From there, we made it out of Bath and arrived 5 minutes before the party started at the restaurant.

The next day, I checked how on earth that bloody Apple Maps could lead us in this dangerous situation.
OH said, "from now on, we only use the train".

When I told locals here that story, they said, "we only take the train, you can't drive in Bath, it's impossible".

Even two days later, OH said: "this was really scary".
It took me days to bring my blood pressure down.

I tried to find out what is wrong with Apple Maps because I noticed the one or other issue in the recent months when Apple Maps suddenly changed directions on its own.
That suggestion to turn right on the way to Bath on the A46 would have led us downhill to Bath. It's like Apple Maps tries deliberately to confuse users and bring them into trouble.

 

Oh my goodness @simone_in_wiltshire what a horrible experience, I’m glad you escaped unscathed!
And thanks for the warning about roads in Bath. I have family who recently moved there, so when we visit at least I have some idea!

 

@shiney I can tog up like that in winter but not in summer when the buzzies are busy. Shorts, strappy top, flip flops and sunscreen are de rigueur in our summer heat and I only wear gloves if pulling nettles or brambles.

 

Thanks a lot Golarne for your sympathy. Much appreciated.

This gives you an idea what these hills can do to your car:
What it's like to live on one of Bath's steepest streets

 

Oh @simone_in_wiltshire , reading about your driving woes has made me so glad we got rid of our car 35 years ago . Hope you feel better now

 

Avon Skin so Soft has long been used by hillwalkers, and is sold in every outlet that has walking kit of any kind, especially on distance routes like the WHW because much of it is in pretty uninhabited 'midge prone' areas, therefore a captive audience that tends to do the route in the summer months [big mistake!] but Avon didn't like the fact that it was used for that, and refused to market it as a midge repellent. More fools them, because they could have sold thousands more items if they'd just put it in a different bottle, suitably labelled!

Hope you're ok @simone_in_wiltshire. That's a reason why I don't like sat navs, along with all the other gadgets on cars we've been talking about on another thread. They're often utterly useless.
Steep, narrow roads need a bit of confidence, so I can understand your trauma. Just don't try the Bealach na ba any time soon...

 

Oof, what an experience @simone_in_wiltshire . I've only driven in Bath once and I won't be doing it again if I can help it (the nearest I need to go is Chippenham/Corsham/Box area). I grew up in Sheffield but I didn't learn to drive until after I'd moved away so some of the hills still make me a bit nervous.

Google Maps isn't necessarily any better than Apple - when I go to my sister's in North Wales it always tries to take me up a narrow, twisty, steep single-track road for several miles. I ignore it - I'd rather do a little bit more distance and use the roads that at least have room for two cars to pass most of the way.