Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Here are the Donkeys - Rainy day

I promised donkeys - here are donkeys. They are living in the same field as the llamas who, if the weather becomes colder, I guess will have to go inside. Shame really because they have added an exotic eastern touch to Brinsley.

Donkeys aren't as sensitive so they will probably be visible for some time yet. Whoever the farmer is, his animals always look very well cared-for and healthy and I am certainly no expert when it comes to animal husbandry.

Picture 2 is a more common sight. A Sumac Tree which at least seems persuaded that autumn is finally upon us. If younger viewers ever contemplate planting one for autumn colour there are a couple of things to beware of. There is a poisonous variety to avoid. It is simply called the Poison Sumac (rounded leaves) and is distinguishable from the non-poisonous Staghorn Sumac which has pointed leaves. Even if you settled for a non-poisonous one, whatever you do, don't plant it anywhere near a lawn. The roots spread over an extremely wide area and upper roots grow through the lawn surface and quickly make new little trees all over the place. Within a couple of years your lawn will be ruined. It is Sumac versus Grass and Sumac always wins. If you were really anti-neighbour, plant one near your boundary and close to HIS lawn. Not serious folks !

Y enjoyed her lunch with Sylvia. She is doing a course at The Broadway Cinema about Pinewood Studios (Lavender Hill Mob, Titchfield Thunderbolt - et al) Isn't there a lot to be learned when you get older?

I spent a good hour messing about with PhotoShop and still find it impossible to make a selection and copy/paste it into another image. To be fair - I have managed it ONCE and now I can't remember how I did it. Y did a nice salad for tea, and had made a jelly which we had for pudding with a dollop of ice-cream. I think it must be true about reverting to childhood. Well it's not really reverting because I've always loved jelly and ice-cream.

Yesterday's Telegraph crossword was a team effort which involved the exchange of e-mails. We were stuck on a couple and Jill was stuck on a couple. Fortunately not the same ones so we could swap. Also, I changed my signature on WUforums because I had a very polite PM pointing out that poor old Bertrand Russell was a little larger than permitted. I promptly substituted a mini Thomas Hood with the quote "....I saw old Autumn in the misty morn......"

Catch you tomorrow..............

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I know too little about the hardiness of either llamas or donkeys to offer any suggestions. Animal husbandry, now … no, better not!

Sumac, hey? There’s an idea. “It was him what told me, mister”. I had not thought beyond Japanese Knotweed.

Technically, I think there is probably more to learn when you are younger, simply because you don’t know so much then. When you get older I think learning becomes more interesting and there is certainly more to FORGET.

On the copy/paste business, does the Northern College Photoshop Course Level 2 (online) offer any help? These various programmes often appear to have similarities.

I liked jelly as a child because it squished through the teeth so sensually. I avoid it now because I would be unable to resist and would no doubt be reprimanded. That is sweet jelly I speak of, I must emphasise; I hate savoury jelly without ever having been able to bring myself to taste it. I always remove it from pork pie, pate, etc. As with MIFs and MILs, I think the world is divided into jelly eaters and jelly haters.

Why was Tony Blair so concerned about Bertrand Russell? (who had hair not altogether unlike Cherie’s wild father who appeared on ‘The Bill’ tonight).

On a cheery note to finish: Everyone must have noticed a surge of interest in things Pythonesque (3 one hour long programmes in succession on BBC2 one night a couple of weeks ago).
Although not a lover of stage musicals (nor, for that matter of screen ones with a few notable exceptions – 'Cabaret', ‘Words & Music', and ‘West Side Story’ immediately spring to mind as favourite examples) I do think that Eric Idle’s ‘Spamelot, based on ‘The Meaning of Life’ with many of the best known Python sketches built in, and recently brought over from Broadway to the London stage, does look very well worth seeing. ‘A veritable feast of hilarious entertainment’, as one critic has said. Not that I have any intention of going to the dreaded capital to see it (the foreigners are all right but the place is full of southerners) – I am afraid it will have to come up here to see me.