After a leisurely start, Saturday papers, Telegraph crossword, etc., we decided on a quick raid on Mansfield and with the sun the town glowed. The picture doesn't really convey it because of the amount of shade.The Country & Western guy was very good indeed. I put the necessary in his guitar case and asked permission for a photograph. He really went along with the idea and raised his head a little so his stetson didn't completely shade his face. I did minor shopping like carrots and mushrooms off the Market and batteries for kid's toys whil Y did important things like jewellry shops and Marks & Spencers.
And while I was standing listening to the music I bumped into a retired colleague and we realised we hadn't seen each other for 30 years. Dave Brown is a smashing bloke and a copper of the old school and we reminisced happily until I noticed Y waiting v. patiently. She said she hadn't liked to interrupt because we were having such a good time. I gave Dave the blog address and when I booted-up to do today's there was his 'comment'. Most welcome and I hope Dave you will become a regular 'reader and commenter'. By the way it isn't that you can't find my e-mail address on the blog in spite of what I said; it's because it isn't there. I decided that to have my e-mail addy universally available would be to ask for even more spam than I now receive.
However I've decided on a strategy. My e-mail address is G****m1186@gmail.c*m. I'm sure you will be able to substitute the correct letters for the asterisks but I suspect that spammers wouldn't go to the trouble. We shall see !
I thought of entitling Picture 2 "Do you come here often?". It's reached that time of year hasn't it? and no doubt Bungus's randy pigeons will be visiting for their annual weekend away.Like you Anon 1 I keep missing QM2 actually doing anything. The webcam picture changes each minute so we ought to be able to see either a 'docking' or a 'sailing'; I don't think we would mind which.
Thanks Jill for your continued information about the Ship and harbours etc., I would guess that if one is a paying customer it is frustrating to be unceremoniously dumped at a container-terminal some distance from the pretty bits and the shops.
Anyway, for the benefit of new readers who won't have a clue as to what I am rabbiting on about, I have a link to the Queen Mary 2 Bridge webcamera. This is it - please click here and at the moment the Ship is docked at St.Kitts.
Re Jill's and Anon 1's 'chicken casseroles' - sympathy with Jill and congrats to Anon 1 I think. I long ago decided on the following maxim - "If you eat it youselves it's a stew; if you serve it to guests it becomes a casserole". And Y and I agree Jill that it would be lovely if you lived nearer. For you and Ro I would cook an exceptionally fine sausage & mash, with swede in the mash, and I would even go so far as to do a large jug of my signature 'onion sauce' and you could have your sausages floating in the sort of lake I know you like.For the benefit of new readers - if you want to see an enlargement of a picture just click on it. However the webcam picture won't enlarge much though, as it only started off around 25o pixels wide.
And Bungus is quite right about picture content sometimes being more important than any other factor. The picture he cites in evidence - the napalmed little Vietnamese girl was so powerful , in many people's opinion, it was almost responsible for bringing the Vietnamese War to an end. The sharpness of focus etc., didn't matter a toss.
Early night called for. Although it's only 8.30pm I'm crackered. Been digging dandelions out. I levered with a big-spade and Y pulled. Mostly they snapped halfway down.If Brinsley pit was still open I could go down and cut 'em off at the bottom. I didn't create that line BTW - wish I had.!!
We went into Retford today because an old friend who lived there died last night.
ReplyDeleteShe went into hospital 17 years ago to have a cancer partially removed from the top of her spine and at that time we gave her a month max. Since then she has had great difficulty holding anything and has had problems with balance and walking. Her husband has given her constant care.
She has suffered several broken legs and broken arms. She also lost half a thumb to MRSA or similar and became diabetic. She has had, to my knowledge, at least 3 heart attacks.
Last night she fell (again) and broke her pelvis and the shock was just too much. She was in her late 60s and she and her husband celebrated their Golden Wedding a few weeks ago.
She was a feisty fighter with whom I had for several years shared a running joke about how lucky she was (eg, that once when she fell out of bed and broke a leg she was lucky enough to be in hospital at the time, with the other one already broken). But ironically her luck ran out on Friday the 13th.
A short but very interesting postscript to Frday’s blog.
In her Complete Cookery, Delia gives a recipe for ‘Punchnep’, ie, potatoes and swedes (which, as it is a Scottish recipe she calls ‘turnips’) cooked separately and mashed together. The word swede derives from ‘Swedish turnip’ and, to confuse things further, Americans know them as ‘rutabaga’ which is itself derived from the Swedish dialect word ‘rotabagge’ (root – bag).
I had some (punchnep) for dinner tonight with a pheasant casserole from the freezer, an organic carrot, and purple kale stewed with shallots in olive oil (I am no lover of most of the cabbage family and kale is the roughest and toughest; but it turned out to be surprisingly edible).
I’ve solved it; it has to be ‘Gollum1186@gmail.’ and as that sounds Welsh, I suppose it must end ’cwm’?
If I mentioned that the swans appeared to have been driven from and abandoned their nest at the old pit tip, I am pleased to report that the pen was back sitting today, presumably having laid again.
BBC1 also showed the macabre picture of the croc with a vet's arm in its mouth. The picture looked posed; a smile not tears (but I am not suggesting that such was the case). The arm was rescued and rushed in a picnic cold box to hospital where it was reattached, The Korean vet looked remarkably cheerful as he waved to the camera (with his other hand) although he must wait to see whether the op has been successful.
Time flies, but thanks to a Country and Western singer our paths crossed. Funny how faces and stature change but the eyes, the glint of recognition, never does. Always a pleasure to meet old friends.
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