I reported yesterday that the birds were tucking in to the rowan berries and early this morning I took a few photographs. This one deserves the title "It's a fair cop Guv". But they really are welcome. The nearly white berries on our posh japanese rowan don't appeal to them until they have exhausted supplies of everything else. Then they force themselves. I'm afraid I have much the same attitude to wholemeal bread!Neither of us had a good night so we were out and about quite early. I tried almost everywhere to get a rush or raffia type magazine rack but so far have failed. The BuyRight, £1 or near, shop at Heanor seemed promising but no luck. Tracy and me and Lisa, all love £1 shops but Y hates them even though she accepts they are an excellent source of tat for childrens games etc. And not everything is tat. I regularly use a £1 set of ear-phones and a mini radio and a CD storage box, all sourced therefrom and they are fine. Argos had a magazine rack but it was around £15 and I had in mind a fiver at most. No luck in the charity shops either. Maybe Matalan...... However, while in Heanor we did Aldi and unusually for us Tesco. We try to be flexible. Needing tea, we decided to give Co-op 99 another try after a break of about 15 years. First pot seems lovely.
When we returned from shopping I did putting away in the cupboards and the fridge/freezer while Y did important things like beds and ironing which I really am not keen on. My ironing is good enough - with 20+ stone pressing down on it you can expect a fairly crease-free finish. But at food stacking I deserve a county trial. Y is always surprised at how much I can make disappear.
I am almost sure that Picture 2 is a juvenile starling. My first thought- of some sort of exotic visitor - was not borne out by research. But I rely on my 2 regular ornithologists.Fish, chips and peas for lunch - what else? Pineapple jelly, with chunks, and greek yoghurt for pudding. A Y signature dish.
And then I've spent hours trying to succeed with BBC iplayer. My system when something is tricky is to print it all and work from paper. As a trial I managed to get as far as downloading a programme about Clay which was broadcast on Wednesday. The download was successful but I can't get it to play any further than the channel introduction. So I went on their forum and lots of others are also having problems. It will yield eventually but my advice to both Jill and Bungus, when they receive their e-mails (containing 'user name' and 'password') is to hang on to it, and wait for my second report. Mind you - that is extremely pompous of me because there is no reason why either of them shouldn't sail through it and then explain it to the rest of us. Just as 1. across in today's Telegraph eluded us all day. I wanted it to be 'butcherstrap' for some weird reason until Y sussed it as 'authorities'. We had had 'ethanol' wrongly spelt as 'athenol'. Satisfying to finish it eventually though.
Our fairly keen potential purchaser returned for another look round accompanied with a young chap who we thought might be his son, and then, half an hour later another couple. Although they stopped ages and scrutinised everything very carefully we both formed the impression that the garden was going to be too big. One never knows though, and let us hope for the best.
Our local Police Force has done extremely well to secure the conviction of the Kray type figure, Colin Gunn who has been ruling Bestwood with a criminal rod of iron for many years, together with two bent coppers, and many underlings. There have been murders involved and I intend to write a letter of congratulation to the Chief Constable. Gunn type characters do not say "You are too good for me boss; I suppose I might as well tell you about it" and getting them convicted is a long, hard, hazardous even dangerous process for the officers involved.
Our south-coast caravanners were due to meet up again today, by design this time, and I hope the weather was good and they had a super time. On the phone Steven sounded such a lot better even though he still tires and gets breathless. He had to get someone to carry Millicent yesterday. Mind, she is pretty solid. At least in Swanage he can't keep nipping in to work !
Y's National Trust stuff arrived from Brodsworth Hall, and our next visit is to Dunham Masey. I've read somewhere about the Dunham Massey 'eco-housing project' so I must research that before we go.
My iGoogle quotes page managed this this morning and I quite like it:-
"I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something"
- Jackie Mason
Nothing planned for tomorrow. and it is weekend-off. We keep threatening Newstead Abbey. It depends on the weather but as it's only 5 miles away we can wait and see.
So long as it isn't cold. Sleep tight and I'll catch you tomorrow.
So long as it isn't cold. Sleep tight and I'll catch you tomorrow.
3 comments:
Re Rowan:
My tree book says “Fruit ripens scarlet very abruptly in August”, so no need for alarm. (there are sub species, of course, with berries varying from yellow to crimson).
I have no idea what the first pic bird is (unless it is a sparrow with chickenpox) but wonder (without certainty) if the second one might be a very young woodpecker (I don’t buy starling and young birds can look VERY different from their parents).
I prefer wholemeal bread to ‘white’, simply because it has flavour. Unfortunately I am off it at the moment as it seems to be the most likely culprit for stomach pains in the early hours. Is it still possible to get gripe water? I used to love it until I was in my teens and it might just do the trick. Not ‘bread & water’ but ‘wholemeal bread & gripe water’. That’d do me.
I’ll do as you suggest with BBC iplayer.
I have no faith in my ability to sort it out, so do not think you are being at all pompous (I’d say ‘realistic’). But I speak only for myself, of course; Jill skill might prevail
The Colin Gunn story is fascinating (and frightening).
I too am delighted that the difficult and protracted police operation was successful.
The Radio Nottm website earlier gave what seemed a pretty thorough history and analysis.
Like the Krays and others, he had built himself the sort of empire that one associates essentially with American gangsters. It makes excellent television entertainment when it is the ‘Sopranos’ but that is quite close enough for me.
It appears that many people in the community had come to rely upon Gunn and even to like him (a real Godfather figure) and everyone was justifiably frightened to cross him.
As you say, all credit to the local Police Force, although I understand that the National Crime Squad, Lincolnshire Police and others also helped in the investigation.
Gripe water is an old-fashioned remedy containing herbs (dill, fennel, ginger etc) and sodium bicarbonate. The herbs are said to warm the baby's tummy and break down air bubbles while sodium bicarbonate neutralises acid. Gripe water used to contain alcohol. Some experts believe it was the sedative effect of this that made gripe water successful in helping to sooth babies troubled by wind. Alcohol is no longer an ingredient but many parents still swear by gripe water so it may be worth a try.
Most babies outgrow the need to be winded as they become able to move and find a comfortable position for themselves.
I cannot say that I have noticed the heat today, even though I mowed the lawn and cooked myself a real winter meal of sausages in red wine (Delia but with chestnuts instead of mushrooms) with red cabbage and apple (Delia), broccoli/calabrese because it supposedly staves off prostate problems, carrots, and mashed swede + potato. I’m stuffed.
Sandra was manning a Community Workshop stall at the Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest and has rung to say that she is not coming home but going straight to bed, as she is so tired (she is house sitting while Steph and family are Stateside) so I have not seen her at all today and she probably hasn’t eaten!. Will she come home tomorrow (at Sherwood again)? Who knows?
Pic 1 is not really quite my favourite sort of building but I can understand the appeal. In fact, in the 1970s, we nearly bought one rather similar in Sutton-on-Sea. We had rented it as aholiday home several times and Sandra loved it. Loads of space. She has a thing about symmetrical semis with bays. I suppose it is Edwardian? But I am prepared to be corrected..
I too have trouble with the ‘surf & turf’. I would never order it because I am unconvinced that fish and meat go together (apart from oysters in a beef pudding or anchovies in a beef stew) and to me it suggests a grass sod cooked in sewage-infected seawater. But please don’t let that put you off.
A desert spoon sounds a bit gritty but a dessertspoon of sesame oil seems a lot (esp for a 3 chives man) if you are cooking for less than a dozen people; but, as I have said before, I think that is essential ingredient that adds the Chinese signature..
I found gripe water at our local chemist’s. Quite right, Anon 1, it no longer contains alcohol (I suppose because it is mostly for consumption by people under the age of 18) but it still tastes the same although possibly stronger and sweeter (but it is not easy to be objectively comparative after a lapse of at least 37, possibly 60, years).
I just love the flavour, which I always thought was caraway but mine (Woodward’s, since 1851) contains Terpeneless (sic) Dill Seed Oil, Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate, E217, E219, E215, and no alcohol. I’ve just had another swig from the bottle (max dose 2 x 5ml spoonsful up to 6 times a day, after feeding, but that’s for children 6 months to 12 months).
It only seems a couple of weeks since you were telling me that Cameron was slaughtering Brown at PM’s Question Time. Obviously something has changed!.
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