Wednesday, October 31, 2007

WalkonWednesday at Tansley - Lovely day

Yet another great WoW day, five of us went to a Roy location near Tansley called the Lumsdale Valley and I hope that Picture 1 conveys a feel for it. So many derelict and truly ancient buildings; coupled with a day full of autumn colour, water falls and general interest.

As usual I didn't tackle the walking or the steps etc., but there was plenty to photograph near where I parked. Plus of course I had to drink my flask of coffee and transfer my pictures to the laptop almost as soon as I had taken them. An interesting passerby told me that in summer there are guided tours because of all the history associated with the place. All our chaps expressed an interest, because the place reeks of an exciting past.

As I had hoped, Reg sorted out my remote shutter-release, so an ill-tempered trip to Jessops won't be necessary. The trick is to set one of the controls on the camera to the correct icon which, on close inspection, looks like the actual device itself. Easy when you know how; but it took Reg a few minutes, so I didn't feel completely stupid. Picture 2 is some blurry water which have been trying to do for some time. Now that was straightforward. Pick a low light place, put on a light-blocking filter to produce a longer exposure time, tripod and bingo ! candyfloss water. But I still hate the effect anyway. So I shan't be doing it again.

Lots of road-closures in the area we wanted to be but we lunched at The Peacock at Oakerthorpe again. Busy but pleasant and we got the table in the corner which we like. Now that is a nice link. So much to read you won't need a morning paper.

This morning I left a chicken-thigh stew with leeks, celery, mushrooms, plenty tarragon, a clove of garlic, in the oven on the timer so that it cooked for 5 hours at just over a 100c. Y did a tray of winter vegetables - celeriac, potato chunks, carrots, butternut squash and largish pieces of pepper (green and yellow) added around 20 minutes before the end - and some brussels. It worked beautifully and the gravy was a 'need your dessert spoon at the end' sort.

We watched 'Strictly......' while we ate and later the last episode of Michael Palin. Another excellent series.

My Nikon flatbed scanner (£4.99 from e-bay) arrived and now I need to figure out how to make it go. Spoke to National Trust Peter about the Tuesday meeting and during the afternoon Jean had rung Y and everybody is of the same mind.

Comments now AnonymousRob's pinhole camera shot has earned glowing praise and nobody doesn't like it. It grows on me - I love the uniform focus from closest foreground to background and it is so atmospheric. The occasional 'Gallery' use of the blog appeals to me so contributions are always welcome. They will always be properly attributed naturally and, as Picasa WebAlbums keep a time/date file of everything I publish, any plagiarism would be easy to prove. And thanks 'nifty googler' for your nice remarks about the blog. Re: the news widget. I intend to delete it tomorrow. It doesn't fit in with the 'house-style' and from 1st November 'it can spend more time with its family'.

Thanks Bungus for your support over rude barmen ! And even with my 'shrinking violet' persona I don't let them get away with it. Doesn't happen often to be fair. 99% of the younger generation are polite and helpful. If you want real rudeness and lack of sensitivity go for the over 65's every time. And they are usually snail slow and tedious as well. . I fixed my google-glitch but it was time consuming.

You are quite right Jill. A moderate approach to diet is the thing. The current cancer-link horror story is just a programme filler for some news-editor and not worth watching or reading about. Which leads me to:-

"Moderation in all things"

TERENCE (c. 190-158 B.C.)

The date when that was written amazed me. We all know the quote and I had always supposed it to be quite modern.

Y over to Burton Joyce tomorrow; a builder engaged by our purchaser to look at a lintel, and me to camera club in the evening. Hope David has had a good birthday. Sleep tight folks and I'll catch you later.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Smashing Autumn colours in pic 1.
Your mention of guided tours leads me to remind you that farmer Stuart Rose still does these around the mediaeval 3 strip system which prevails at Laxton. Your WoWers may be interested. Google Laxton (or Stuart Rose) to find out more.

The water in pic 2 looks fine to me. Perhaps just a little too much detergent.

Yesterday Sandra pot-roasted a topside joint. It took longer than expected because her Tower pressure cooker, inherited 30 years ago from an honorary ‘aunt’ who had used it for years, failed. It appears that the only 2 things which could go wrong are the valve/weight or the sealing ring (the latter the most likely). I shall be googling shortly. The pot roast was delish: with its root veg, celery and onion and accompanied by mashed and roast spuds, cabbage and (for me only) Yorkshire pud (Tesco’s finest which are VERY good, if expensive).

Not so much barmen who are too familiar. I noticed that hospital porters are inclined to the ‘matey’ form of address too – but who wants a rough ride?
Both Sandra and I agree that old folk (present company excepted) are generally far less considerate than youngsters (I recall my mother being pleasantly surprised at being helped to her feet after a tumble by a concerned Mohican adorned punk).

Useful Tip:
Sandra spends Monday mornings cleaning for an old lady in Bilsthorpe (having spent the rest of the week cleaning up after an old man in Boughton). This week she discovered that multipoint plugs have slots in the back which means that if 2 screws are inserted in the wall, the multipoint can be wall mounted. Amazing!

Stating the Obvious:
“Government policy was too dependent on intelligence in the run up to war with Iraq”, Ex-MI6 boss Sir Richard Dearlove.
No wonder they got it wrong!
Since serving as a Sapper, I have always thought the phrase ‘military intelligence’ to be a prime example of an oxymoron.

Echoing Jill:
What joy!
Today’s advice to avoid bowel cancer:
Do not weigh more than you weighed aged 21.
Do not eat any processed meat such as ham or bacon.
Eat no more than 1lb red meat a week.
Avoid anything else that tastes nice.
Don’t think about it so much that you absent-mindedly step out in front of a bus.

Anonymous said...

I never realised that Oakerthorpe had so much history to it. I feel it might be time to visit the Peacock again, or the Butcher's Arms, or both.

Lumsdale Valley looks good as well. Where did you park? Maybe I should just have a nifty google to find out for myself.

What have you got against candyfloss water? Looks OK to me.

Nifty Googler