I think it's safe to say that the heat-wave may be over. Loverly frosty morning which we were both up for, even though we didn't get to bed till almost 2am. The 'neighbours' was a great success ; M & S did us proud and I didn't claim credit for the very popular filo-parcels, except for the unusual skill of putting them in the oven for 10 minutes. Most of the food went apart from the celery sticks which I should have known wouldn't - like the french bread - there is always some left. Y had put some Xmas cake, Mince Pies, and little Ikea Marzipan cakes on a small side-table, covered by a cloth. The cloth remained in place until we discovered it when clearing up. But people survived. We had the customary "people bringing one thing and then drinking something different syndrome". I always wonder if it's because they think the stuff is to awful to actually drink. It will doubtless finish up in a National Trust raffle.Everybody had a good time though, and Y rated it a great success, which is what matters. Wide ranging discussions took place and simple solutions to the world's problems were readily offered. Mostly from the far-right and I won't offend the sensitivities of readers by 'blogging' them. When everyone had gone home we had a blitz, stacked the dish-washer, picked up food scraps etc.; it's always been our practice because the experience of getting up to it is worse than tackling it, even if you are tired.
Picture 2 is another duck-shot. It dates from Thursday when I dropped Y at the tram and came home via Collier's Wood. It' a great idea, on a hillside and at the bottom is this small lake. All together it's maybe 10 acres and has only been planted 3/4yrs, with a wide range of trees and wild plants. It is attractive now and is visited by an interesting selection of wild-life. In 50/100 years it will be terrific.It's a good place for pictures and there are plenty of places to sit. I under-exposed this shot by half a stop, so as prevent the swans plumage from being burnt out. The adjacent modern industrial site doesn't contribute much - but you aren't forced to look at it.
Had a nice chat to David this morning and he seems to have faired better than most after the white-water rafting. He wasn't actually sick but just suffered some indigestion type symptoms. Apart from Y, everyone else was actually sick, in some cases requiring time off work. So Y seems to survived best, bless her! David and I talked about health-food, dietary advice and alternative remedies. My view is that allergy experts always recommend a wheat-free/dairy produce-free diet whatever the ailment. (however, if it works - who am I etc.?) He said that he thought there should be a list of recommendations for each day and, from his observations of the literature, suggests - half an aspirin, one cigarette, and one glass of red wine. Readers are invited to add or subtract from the list.
We watched our recording of The Culture Show and it was nice to have Verity Sharpe back. 'Casino Royale' seems a must for us and Mark Kermode gave it an excellent intro. The new Jude Law film he was lukewarm about. Although I didn't like the look of it, Y said it sounded promising. But it's only 'cos she's a Jude Law fan. Even at 70 - as I can now keep reminding her.
Byeeee...........
I am no longer easily shocked but I was just a little surprised to learn that you and your neighbours are into M&S (or am I thinking of S&M?). I’ll say no more.
ReplyDeleteI think that must be why somebody invented money – all the bottles of wine that were never opened but simply transferred from one party to the next (I have a bottle of Spanish that I’m waiting to offload – not on you of course!).
I know the targets: schoolkids, schoolteachers, illegal immigrants, other immigrants, asylum seekers, foreigners generally (often including the Welsh and Scots but seldom the Irish), travellers, the council, the government, civil servants, social workers and other do-gooders, judges, the police (esp traffic), etc, etc …
Unlike Sandra, I have always lacked the will to clear up at night (except in the pub, when it was part of the job) even though I think you are almost certainly right.
Does the name Collier’s Wood give us a clue? It sounds very like the reclaimed old pit tips here and at Bevercotes and elsewhere. The trees at Ollerton Pit Woods (recently handed over to the Forestry Commission) where I walk Ralph nearly every day, are just beginning to look like trees, having been planted 10 to 15 years ago in a thin layer of top soil covering the colliery waste. But it improves week on week and has had swans and other water birds nesting there for several years.
I share your view that alternative medicine can work in some cases. I am sure it is worth giving up milk and bread if it means saying goodbye to pain and distress; and especially if it also leads to losing reliance on pain killers and other prescription drugs with potentially unpleasant side effects.
David’s solution to life’s problems sounds appealing and I suppose my Adelat Retard and Simvastatin do the job of the aspirin. But what sort of masochist can have just one cigarette and one glass of wine a day? For me it is forty fags or none and a sort of modified binge drinking habit comprising about 3 to 6 units on an average five nights a week.
I suppose I shall watch the new ‘Casino Royale’ when it comes on terrestrial TV, even though Mark Kermode recommends it. Apart from his very strange retro hairstyle, I recall his father passing some very disparaging and dismissive comments upon my Socialist plea for a fairer system of taxation and reward than the ‘dripdown’ offered by Thatcherism. As I remarked at the time, “With a name like Kermode, what would you expect him to be full of?.”