How lovely to wake up and look out of my bedroom window and see such bright crisp light and a really black shadow. I went just outside the back door to savour it, and it felt like a July morning. Good old English weather -it will come good in the end in spite of Al Gore.
I spoke to David, they are at Carsington for the weekend and it was super there too. During the week Sky's School had been on a trip to a discovery park and my favourite little photographer had taken her camera and clicked 29 pictures and 2 videos. They were very good and David downloaded them onto a memory stick which she took to School the next day. And the teacher used them in class, projecting them all onto a big screen and scrolling through frame by frame. I am to be sent a summary. David is going to have a poke about in Picasa Web-albums and, if he decides to use it, he could send me them all ! Proud Granddads can be very demanding can't they ! David said he could tell from my voice that I am feeling better. When Tracy rang she immediately asked about my pains and I said I was now only 30% achy instead of 90%. She said a couple of days ago I had sounded as if I was 100% painful. I reported that perhaps 98% was about right because I think I had at least 2 fingers that were pain-free. And I am determined that they are my English bowman's fingers !! Spoke to Debra yesterday, and I guess John is working and Steven is still suffering and only managing to stay out of hospital by a whisker. (I've just been told that Tracy has now actually taken him to Hospital because she is so concerned - but he has unwisely been in the garden and doing heavy things).
Our Rose of Sharon or hypericum calcinum is doing well. Unfortunately because even though pretty it spreads like a weed and we have tried to eradicate it. It is extremely hard to dig out and like twitch, you only have to leave a cm and it is away again.The house-viewer came on time; a pleasant young lady with a little girl. She is looking for a bungalow in the area for her in-laws. She wasn't put off by the size of the garden and said all the right things. But we won't get excited 'eh?
My crispy-beef stir-fry was a success, and in the absence of Pak Choy I used thinly sliced courgette, beans, and some shredded green cabbage to provide the green colour. Plus all the other stir fry stuff (I insist on thinly sliced water chestnuts). A hint of sesame seed oil, oyster sauce and it didn't actually need soy.
At the moment I am a Wimbledon tennis-widower. But apparently the play is first rate, and Federer is not having it all his own way. I'm typing this in the spare bedroom, ex TV room, cum Study which, from tomorrow will become my Office. We aim to visit IKEA for breakfast and while there buy a purpose built computer desk, and proper swivel chair. It will be nice to have my own office again; I shall feel important.
Very witty Bungus about Pope Innocent X' s gas bill. But I fear that your very good (even if not original) witticism about Shakespeare and clichés will 'go over some people's heads' so to speak. Chaucer wrote a fair few too.
P.J. O'Rourke has the ability to make me laugh out loud, just like Auberon Waugh used to.
- "The weirder you are going to behave, the more normal you should look. It works in reverse, too. When I see a kid with three or four rings in his nose, I know there is absolutely nothing extraordinary about that person"
- P. J. O'Rourke
perhaps more 
I'm off for me tea !! Have a good night all.
The day started well enough here (at about 09.00) but I have been cold for most of it since.
ReplyDeleteI must be sickening, as my mother would have said.
Your picture of the hypericum calcinum bloom is lovely.
At Farnsfield the front garden sported an easily maintained carpet but, strangely, we have never been able to establish it here, although its upright cousins do well without becoming invasive.
Sesame oil is certainly the secret to getting the authentic ‘Chinese’ flavour just as fenugreek has the essential ‘Indian’ odour.
Our Cantones meal was excellent last night, despite there being only 4 people of the 16 who were prepared to settle for a set menu.
Sandra decided to organise the ordering which took a very long time. Apart from her own need to avoid wheat, dairy and meat, her niece is coeliac and the waitress taking the order seemed uncertain about several things such as whether rice contained wheat (not her fault, just a language difficulty). And, as is so often the case, the menu confused some people who kept changing their minds and couldn't decide whether to have 'plain rice', 'egg fried rice' or 'special fried rice'.
Rather to our surprise, what had been ordered was what arrived at the table and the only minor problem was with one dish unexpectedy containing soy sauce, which contains wheat. This was immediately detected, then speedily and ungrudgingly rectified.
The service was pleasant and effective, with lollipops to finish (NOT for me; I just had a huge pot of China tea and a couple of thin chocolates).
I don’t remember where I first heard or saw the comment about Shakespeare’s clichés but I’ll bet even the first person to remark on it had heard it before.
I suppose it is something of a cliché in itself?
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I visited your blog for the first time and just been your fan. Keep posting as I am gonna come to read it everyday and you have very sweet family and things to share
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