Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Nails Day - Hot and Humid

Picture 1 is a venture into another Picasa trick. Multiple-exposure. Obviously with practice one would become more expert. It's in the 'collage' set-up and this picture was made up of a white rose, a tree branch and swift against a grey sky, and a fly-past of geese. It looks pleasantly ethereal and I intend to make it my desktop image for a while so I can ponder.

Today was 'nails day' at Carlton. Hard to believe that 3 weeks has passed and unusually the weather was cloudy and humid. The sun didn't emerge fully until teatime although we had glimpses.

I loved the quote the other day which defined a barometer as :-

"An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we are having."
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Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914),
We had lunch at our favourite Italian Restaurant and decided on Paninis. Different fillings but both were delicious. Completely different from Service area 'franchise' paninis. My customary trawl of the charity book shops resulted in not one solitary purchase !

Picture 2 is the emerging basil seedlings. Referring back, I set the seed on Friday and said they would germinate in 5 minutes. For them to be showing 2 leaves on the fifth day is proof that they are, as I said, speedy.

It is always my hope to set as few as 4 seeds because like Garrison Keillor I don't want the decisions over the spares. But more will come - I just know it.

No WoW photography outing tomorrow; everyone busy with other tasks. And I don't mind not going out because there is lots to do prior to our National Trust Weekend. If the weather is irresistable, Y and I might nip over to Wollaton Hall which is on our 'places to visit' list.

I told Y about Jill's comment that she feels she could live in a caravan. She said "Where would she put all her knitting wools and patterns?"

Sorted my blue badge application with photographs copy forms etc., it doesn't expire till 16th July but experience tells me they will need at least a month. Without it I would really suffer. Topped and tailed gooseberries; quicker because Y did more than me. They are rather like a cooked breakfast - preperation time much exceeds eating tim.

Till tomorrow then.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

To me the first picture looks like a rather grumpy god beset by flies. And how very interesting is the news that you did not buy a book.

Thank you for reminding me to check the gooseberry aftermath (although we still have two bags in the freezer from last year).
The first crop of this year all went into ‘Spiced Gooseberries’ which are delicious. I think I am right that you do not like fruit with meat (eg, apple sauce). But I believe Yvonne does (even though she obviously has no gipsy in her) so I shall offer her a small jar because they are delicious with smoked mackerel.

from Radio Nottm website:
“The inventors of one type of video recorder were two Nottingham men, Norman Rutherford and Michael Turner, in 1957.”
This was before anyone else (?) had considered the possibility of video tape and was based on audio tape technology.
A solicitor friend of mine, Michael Gray, took me to their East Bridgford workshop (in a windmill, I believe) to see a demo but they couldn’t get it to work on the day. The big problem was being unable to find a tape that could cope with the speed. Michael eventually went with them to the USA where they sold their patent to Cubby Broccoli (of Cinemascope and James Bond fame). Michel claimed that while they were there he became the world’s underwater skiing champion.
He also wrote a first (and only?) novel, a Cold War thriller, ‘Minutes to Impact’ published by Cassell in 1967. It is set in north Norfolk, which we frequently visited, having bought a delicensed pub at Brancaster Staithe) and where he now does B&B opposite said former pub. He gave me a 1st edition copy of the novel and, probably because of its setting, the anti-hero rather reminds me of Donald Sutherland’s IRA spy in ‘The Eagle Has Landed’ (which had an almost identical plot to Graham Green’s ‘Went the Day Well’).

Comfort for your cousin Kenneth.
My sister-in-law Jennifer and brother-in-law Baz (who recently retired from running his own successful one-man architectutral practice) have just returned from a holiday in Australia. Barry, who, it must be said, has a touch of the grump when he is not being insufferably and loudly cheerful, was unimpressed by both Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If I have it right, he thought the finish of the opera house crude and scruffy and the bridge no more significant than the Tyne bridgealike.
But, contrary to Kenneth’s experience, they did eat well, particularly in the veterans’ clubs (equivalent of our British Legion) which are very plush and upmarket with marble floors, comfortable sofas, and acres of glazing looking out over the sea (apparently wholly from the proceeds of gambling, ie, one-arm bandits etc). I suppose the inland ones have acres of glazing too, with views of roos? And sand.

Anonymous said...

You can tell Yvonne I would have a second caravan for all my knitting paraphenalia (love that word).......

I love the picture of the ghostly white roses, but am not really enamoured of the geese flying across them - just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you have to....

That sounds a bit rude - sorry, don't mean to be - what do I know?

Anonymous said...

Perfectly reasonable opinion Jill. You won't upset RadioG.