Before Sun-up - Bird Song - Packing

Thought you would like the sparrows and a goldfinch.

One seldom sees 'spadgers' as they are called round here, featuring in wildlife photography. Not considered exotic or interesting enough I 'spose. But to me they are adorable birds, friendly, not too aggressive and more than welcome in our winter-jasmine hedge. Yesterday I saw a lady-blackbird going into that hedge, with a beakful of nesting material. I hope they all get on well together.

The early morning bird song has begun to be quite noticeable. Not yet a fully blown 'dawn chorus' though. Bird populations vary a lot. Both Jill and Madeline have reported woodpeckers in their gardens and Madeline has jays - and I've not seen one for several years. I will fight back the temptation to show you my great tits, because Steven would convulse with laughter.

Yesterday's Blog wasn't missing due to 'matters photographic' as Bungus suggested, but because we had been out all day. Y for 'hair' and getting her nail fixed at the chinese place then lunch out with Joan (we went to The Travellers Rest - expensive but super food and ambience) followed by mini-shopping then I had my packing to do.

I called in to the Hospice book shop again and fortunately they hadn't sold the Film Review Annual for 1947. In fact they had two copies so I bought both for a £1. The pictures are incredible. James Mason looking very handsome and villainous and Jean Simmons described as a promising newcomer. I'm glad I acquired both copies because if any regular blog reader would like one I am willing to send it.

......Catch you all later. Take care.

7C - Sunny/windy Day - Barometer rising

Picture 1 is from a book Y has from Bromley House of unbelievable pictures from orbiting satellites. This is the Lena River delta in Russia which runs for 2,800 miles before pouring into the Arctic.

When I first saw it I thought it was a painting by Gustav Klimt that I didn't know.

My photo of it doesn't really do it justice. I can't attribute it to a photographer because unless someone is sitting up there looking out of the window and armed with a digital Hasselblad I assume it is all done automatically. Prolly with mirrors ! I know Richard Branson is going to offer space flights, bless him, but I personally have no wish to go. Every generation sees massive change don't they ? My grandma's name was Arabella, shortened by my grandad to Belle and my Dad used to tell a lovely story of grandad arriving home and saying - "They've done it Belle - 60 miles in the hour" - a Railway train I've always assumed. Perhaps one of our 'transport correspondents' could help us with more details, the year etc.?

Picture 2 is much easier to explain.

I liked this crocus with the sun shining through the petals. So I isolated it, made a 'selection' of it in PS Elements and then subjected the background to 'gaussian blur'. All it purports to be is a nice picture which was fun to do. It has so obviously been 'manipulated' and I'm not trying to fool anybody into believing that the photograph is 'as it was'. I think there is a subtle difference and I don't consider this sort of work to be against my self-imposed ethical code. Comments would be most welcome.

Quick shop this morning - some lovely fresh Pain de Campagne with which I made sandwiches for lunch. Y had ham with a garnish of nuts and grapes, while I had cheddar and lettuce with an antipasti garnish.

For evening meal Y is doing a steak and mushroom pie, with loads of veg and I suspect, a cherry scone to follow. With, of course, lashings of mugs of tea. While in Lidl I picked up a packet of Rooibos (Redbush)Tea. I understand it isn't actually 'tea' but seeds from South Africa. What I do know is Precious Ramotswe of No 1 Detective Agency drinks it all the time.

This afternoon the lady from our chosen Estate Agents came to take some photographs and she seemed very thorough. Fortunately the sun was shining brightly so the place should look attractive. Already some colour from the bulbs, and of course, from now till July the garden just improves. And from then on there's the dahlias and loads of other stuff. I'm not going to tempt providence this time by saying we don't expect to see the raspberries in full production, but lets just hope 'eh.

Dame Helen Mirren won an Oscar for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth the Second in the film. She got her 'thank you' speech just right, no faux tears, no over-gush. And she very nicely said that it was The Queen as a person who was actually being honoured, not her. Ah well !

....Off for me dinner now. Catch you tomorrow......

Pleasant Sunday - 10C - Good Sky

Lovely restful day; caught up on yesterday's papers. We don't have Sunday papers - there's too much of them and Saturday's supplements, plus the week's magazines and assorted leaflets through the door are plenty.

I mention leaflets because there is an ongoing thrash in the village between the Labour Party and the BNP. The Labour leaflet (short on publisher info. and including a website which didn't exist) arrived, making quite serious allegations against the BNP.

Then the BNP traced it to the Labour Party Offices and issued a leaflet in reply. Can't understand what the fuss is about. There only seems to be one black family in the village and they are super. They wave as they walk past and I wave back.

Pictures 1 is bright idea 6,323. It always took me much scratching about in the cutlery/kitchen equipment drawer to find a skewer of the right length because they seemed to become lost amongst sturdier items. When I decided to sort out some spice/herb jars I noticed the shaker top and thought "Ah Ha !". So I tipped the spice out, it was only about an inch of cayenne which had completely lost its colour, washed it and presto, a skewer rack. I shan't be patenting it......so feel free !


Thought I would share my recently acquired, early vintage, Pam Ayres anthology cover with you. I won't quote her today. But I will from my Hopkins. from his journal, and talking about the sky.

.."The whole round of skyline had level clouds naturally lead-colour but the upper parts ruddled....."

Ruddle comes from the 16C Anglo-Saxon rudu and was the red-ochre used to mark sheep. Almost worthy of Radio 4. I also said I'd have a look at Hopkins on the subject of trees. He was in Basel and Lucerne and said -

"Swiss trees are, like English, well inscaped - in quains"

'Inscaped' had me guessing. It means a things inherent quality and was a word he was keen on at the time. 'Quains' was harder. No Shorter Oxford etc., even my Etymological dictionary was stumped. Finally Goggle came up trumps. It is a dialect form of 'quoins' i.e. those wedge-shaped corner pieces which Bob explained to me only a couple of months ago.

Fancy the Chiswick OAG clipping the tops off the fingers of Jill's rubber gloves (see comment yesterday) the swine. Y has an aversion to rubber-gloves having once put her hand in one, only to find a piece of sausage wedged down one finger. When she turned it out it put her off Marigolds for ever.

Yesterday Y bit the bullet and rang the original chinese nail-salon to have her nail repaired. She thought that, due to the language difficulties, an 11.45am appointment might be difficult to arrange. But no problem at all and I guess she won't need to describe the problem, just show them.

Nice chat, as always, to David this morning. Helen continues to be on the 'up' and he confirmed that Sky's e-mails about the statues were 100% her own work and I was well impressed. Mind you I suppose we could write a reasonable letter at 8 - it just seems more of an accomplishment in computer terms.

Radiogandy will be off-air for a few days this coming week for staff-training. I'm going on a Powerpoint Course at Northern College. But, for security reasons, I not going to spell out the details.

....Enjoy yourselves.......

Weekend Off - Again ! - Mild and generally Wet

Although it has been mainly wet, there were some sunny spells, one of which produced this lovely English sky. That's prolly racist but I had a survey to fill in about our GP service (which is excellent btw) and I could only be British or Irish......they seem to be trying to get rid of us !

Some particulars arrived from an Est. Agent for a bungalow in Arnold, quite near Joan, and it seemed a 'strong possible' but it's far too early to become interested.

The OldAge Gremlins are back. I had just put 2 pieces of rump steak under a hot grill for lunch and. while my back was turned the OAG wrapped one of the pieces in cling-film. Fortunately, after a couple of minutes I pulled out the grill tray to char-grill some chunks of peppers , and was able to rectify what the bounder had done. Not satisfied with that he did more. Y picked up the outside keys, intending to put a box in the wheelie-bin then go to the garage. The OAG sneaked the keys from her hand and chucked them in the bin so that she arrived at the garage door unable to get in, and still carrying the box.!

It might be my imagination but I always think that, at this time of year, i.e. not quite Spring, the twigs and branches on the trees become more vertical and sort of perkier. Is it that the sap is rising?

Perhaps one of our arboricultural correspondents could comment. Certainly many things have leaf-buds on them and in a week or so we shall begin to see that lovely pale green shimmer to things. I must consult my newly acquired 'Hopkins' to see if he uttered on the subject in one of his diary extracts or letters. And sorry about the 'Gerald' instead of 'Gerard' - I must have still been thinking about Chaffinches. It's rectified now !

In his comment yesterday David asks, following two very witty lines, if he qualifies as a 'poet' or a 'versifier' ?

Definitely a Poet my boy !! And I publish in support a little piece he wrote when 9yrs old. I know I'm his 'fayther' as they say in Mansfield but I remember thinking how moving it was. Still do, actually !

Somewhat of a 'Paul on the road to Damascus' feel to it.

Everybody is delighted with the way the house-valuation is going and our choice of the local agent. We expected our young people to say "Oh you should have gone with a major firm" but no.

We've both been busy. I found some gloss and put a first coat on the 'room-freshener-stripped' window sill and Y has been out on the patio with a knife getting the moss from between the slabs. Hands and knees job, plus of course, the never-ending washing.

Y said this morning that I would miss my view over the footie feld but there will be a new view to know and love. If I couldn't see the sky I wouldn't be too happy. If they put me in a cell for years I would definitely go odd ! Even more? did I hear somebody say.

..See you tomorrow.

Good Day - 2 More Agents - Statues

First things first. I came second last night at the camera club. So at least I'm moving up. My 'Spiral Staircase' was much admired. The title caused the odd wry chuckle because camera clubs are rather into witty epigramatic titles for images.

"Winding wearily westwards" could have been more acceptable whereas "Screw you" which I contemplated, would have been a joke too far.

You must excuse me leaping about but I'd better explain the pictures. I had a lovely e-mail from Sky saying she had a tricky project at School and needed some 'statue-pictures'. I trawled through the Radiogandy archives and found a few. These Cowboys - aren't they great ? are in the inner courtyard of a motorway service station, somewhere in the West Midlands. But I can't remember the name of it.

Picture 2 is the bust of Charles Dickens at The New Mechanics. I'm sure her Dad will explain that head & shoulder statues are called busts.

I also sent her the Eric Morecombe statue in Morecombe, our own Theatre Square Bronze Lady, a couple from Yorkshire Sculpture Park and a few others. Hope they are what she wants.

We have had another busy day. Another Estate Agent visited us this morning, a local firm called David Hammond and then another one this afternoon.

All three are agreed on the price which gives us confidence that it is the right one. There is no way, being rivals that they have 'had their heads together'. All the people were very nice but we liked the lady from David Hammond best. Although they only have the one office in Eastwood, they are on the nationally run RightMove website. And lets face it, if you are searching for a house in the Eastwood area you go to Eastwood to look, not Coventry. We think that being on the main road leading to the motorway three miles away, is a good thing too, for 'passing trade'. All we can do now is wait and hope we are luckier this time and it isn't all too stressful.

Had a nice chat to Jason at the camera club about right-clicking RAW files and not getting Exif data. He booted up his laptop and had exactly the same result as me. Reassuring, because I was still was tussling with this fairly mild photo problem and had sought advice on the Amateur Photography forum. Wow - there are some bad-tempered, rude people on it. Not all I hasten to add. But I think I have been spoilt on WebUser forums where everybody is so nice, patient, and helpful. The chap who finished up helping me however, was pleasant helpfulness itself.

Y wanted to visit the nail place in Eastwood because she has damaged a nail but the girl in there was so offhand and discourteous that Y left promptly and is going to book an appointment back at the chinese salon. While she was in the place I went into the Hospice book-shop next door, for a browse and came away with a Gerard Manley Hopkin's collection of prose and letters, and a Pam Ayres anthology dated 1976 (must have been about her first). Critics say she isn't really a poet, just a versifier. But anyone who can write "I am a starlin' me darlin' " is a real poet in my book. She sums starlings up, in six words. Total cost for the two books, £1.20p !

....Hope everybody has a good night.....

'Orrible Wet Day - BJ - EPS

These are my pictures for tonight. You may have seen the 'Bromley House Spiral Staircase' before but I think this 'Full Moon in December' is a first showing.

I was going to spend some time today cutting bevel mounts just so. But I nipped into Brian's shop to discuss which he preferred out of a selection of pictures. And, bless him, he cut my boards and bevels while we stood chatting.

He liked the completely monochrome version best and I bow to his competition experience. Sorry Bungus! Who preferred a tinted version.

And Brian also chose this slightly orangey version of the staircase. Y didn't care for this one, liking a more muted print of it better. But Brian's view is that the 'high key' quality makes it stand out. We shall see !

I had to 'photoshop' the rather funereal black border onto the picture to prevent the white side of the stairs, top right corner, escaping into the mounting board.

Y was duly dropped at the tram en route to Burton Joyce and she will have a lovely day because the children are still on holiday. I'm afraid the park won't be an option though. The weather here is appalling and no doubt will be there too.

One of my today jobs has been rubbing down and neutralising an area of interior window sill on which we spilled some liquid from one of those air-fresheners that you plug into a socket. Be warned it acts like paint-stripper! And powerful paint-stripper at that. I thought at first sandpapering down the blistered bits would do it, but no such luck. It has inveigled its way underneath a more extensive area. Anyway I've done it but the 10 minute job took an hour.

No cookery today, good or bad. I've had snacks (no hardship!) and Y has some 'Pasta lax & sparris' to look forward to when she arrives home. Lidl haven't bothered to translate but the box looks fun -asparagus tips, carrot and whole lot more. They are usually fine and she does like frequent veggie meals.

I'm going to stop there and sort myself out for this evening. I've got a disc to take to Helen, copies of the AP article for people who are too mean to buy the magazine, my laptop, my prints for tonight and some prints for an upcoming exhibition. Oh - and my binoculars because from where I sit I've no chance of a good look at an A4 print on an easel 15feet away. I am beginning to resemble a packhorse, I realise that !!

...Now hear this you Judges..........

Still Mild - Bougton - Est. Agents

Picture 1 shows Bungus striding manfully towards The Snooty Fox where we had an excellent lunch; beef and all the tracklements, well cooked tender and very good vegetables. Then puddings and altogether including a round of drinks the bill came to just over £12. First-class value.

We enjoyed a good chat and it was lovely to see Ralph, who made a real fuss of me even though he is getting to be an old dog. Can't jump about; doesn't want to go very far; makes odd noises. And is keen to have his dinner on time, if not a little early - just like the rest of us !

I was up at 4am this morning, finishing off my prints for tomorrow evening plus, of course, messing-about on the internet. Read all the news and caught up with a couple of radio broadcasts I had missed. There is no doubt that, if one is a computer user, bbc.co.uk is a very rewarding website and the annual licence fee becomes excellent value. Being such a limited TV viewer I feel that I still get value for money.

Before setting off for Boughton I called in at our farm up the road for some fresh eggs and I couldn't resist a photograph of them in their original rustic state. Before serving them to anyone, I do give them a little cosmetic make-over.

And as I have mentioned before, it is so reassuring to see them happily scratching about, overseen by a lordly and inquisitive cockerell.

It goes without saying that the flavour is A1. For tea, I used one to make pancakes. A day late I realise but yesterday it didn't work out.

When I arrived home the Estate Agent (one of them) had been and gone and Y reported that she had been impressed by the young man. He had a good poke about - loved the view, loved the size of the rooms and the garden, and the large garage. He felt he would have no trouble selling it at a price we both consider to be fine. We intend to let the 2 pre-arranged others come, if only to hear different opinions about the price. But his firm subscribe to 5 websites and, according to him, 70% of house-searching is now on the internet. Y sounded persuaded, and happy and we both feel that this time we might be luckier. Didn't she do well ?

The tea I have in my room is often Assam and I usually buy tea-bags but this time, accidentally, I bought leaf-tea. Doesn't it brew strong compared to tea-bags? The old adage was 1 spoonful per person and one for the pot ! Far too strong in my opinion, and I'm a lover of strong tea.

Camera club tomorrow night so fingers crossed.

.....Talking about tea - I'm off to make a pot......

Mild again - Ikea - Morrisons Lunch

Very mild again, and we decided to go to Ikea while Karen was here. We intended to have a 'mooch' followed by lunch.

But the restaurant is closed till March for refurbishment. So we had to settle for a coffee, in those ghastly polystyrene mugs, followed by a our tour. Inevitably we bought things, as you do. Then Y had the bright idea of lunch at Morrisons which we did. I had 'liver & onions' which was fine and Y had 'chicken tikka' which was also good. She was asked if she wanted rice with it, or chips? Only in Eastwood.......etc.........

While we were in Morrisons I bought this week's issue of Amateur Photographer and 'lo and behold' there was my article in their 'Backchat' slot. If anyone wants to read it, please click here and, even though I say it 'as shouldn't' it doesn't read at all badly. I still agree with myself which considering I wrote it several months ago, is an unusual occurence these days. And £50 is winging its way towards me. I shall have to decide what to spend it on. Don't need another bag, or any more notebooks, and certainly not any more cans of WD40.

Picture 1 just shows how lovely the daffs are this year, even cheap ones from Aldi seem to last and last, and each bloom opens evenly from the unopened stage. I always remember the Malcom de Chazal bit though :-

......"The flower in the vase still smiles, but no longer laughs"


Picture 2 is Y's little woodland piece which has been truly beautiful this year. The aconite have now more -or-less finished but the snowdrops go on and on. There is lots more in there, just showing through. I hope the new occupants appreciate it.

The carpet cleaning man arrived at 1pm to do the big-room and the hall and Y insisted on going out in the garden, cutting back and clearing up and she tired herself out and gave herself backache, not to mention spraining her thumb. But she has now had a recuperative lie-down and feels buoyant again.
Worrying news on the World Service in the midle of the night that, in 2036, an asteroid will pass within 10,000 miles of earth and there is a possibility it might actually collide with us. I shall be 101 years and would personally think it an admirable way to go. But I certainly don't think that with regard to our children and grandchildren. And everyone else's of course.

Peace be on your cooking pot.........

Quite Mild - Shopping - Salad & Mackerel

Just the one picture today because I've had a 'picture problem' which I've been trying to solve.

Before today, if I right-clicked a picture and opened 'properties' I used to get a comprehensive list such as Camera, lens, aperture, exposure etc..... All I get now is the file-type and the picture size in pixels. No doubt I've done something wrong, but trying to rectify it is proving time consuming. If all else fails I shall seek help on one of my forums, but, at the moment I just feel foolish. Downloading the Nikon firmware could have done it, especially as I had such a lot of trouble doing it.

But, as Andrew W Mathis famously said "It is bad luck to be superstitious".

Bungus's 'comment' about the beef-topside joint being tough was no suprise. In my experience 'topside' is always tough ! They only manage to sell it, so expensively, is that its lean appearance, without fat, appeals to the 'housewife' so called. The practice in my boyhood, if there was no chine (forerib) or sirloin available, was to thread ribbons of fat through the joint with what was called a marbling needle. Then, if it had been hung long enough, it was possible to get it less chewy. Not easy though!

Today we had smoked mackerel fillets, with a jacket potato and salad. Looked good. Sweet Romaine lettuce, cucumber, celery, and cherry tomatoes. On Y's I did some sliced red pepper, and some halved grapes and a few nuts; all of which she likes and I don't. Our only real sin was butter (not stinted) in the jacket potatoes. And, as we bought fresh Pain de Campagne this morning, a few sandwiches for tea. Fillings to order !

Excuse short blog. Maybe back later.....

Weekend Off nearly over - Stew even Better

Picture 1 is an attempt to get a decent picture of a Great Tit but I fear that I am never going to make a wildlife photographer. As an avuncular Sergeant said to me long long ago about something I'd made a hash of. "Leave that to them what knows 'ow to do it mi' lad".

At least the picture records the bird's visit. But he isn't very sharp and you can't see his eyes.

The radio station OneWord continues to delight. We have at the moment for instance, in episodes, Tim Piggot Smith reading The Brothers Karamazov and there is a series called Poetry's Biggest Hits. The latest featured Kipling - "If", "The Road to Mandalay" and "The Female of The Species", I was supposed to be going to do something else but I felt compelled to sit still till the end. I must find something which contains the station's listings. I know they are in the daily paper, but not in my handy 'week's guide'.

What a poet? Which reminds me that tomorrow starts W.H.Auden's centenary celebrations. He of the extremely wrinkled face, about which I remember Dylan Thomas saying "If that's his face, what must his scrotum be like?" Mind you I can't see that being quoted by the current literati.

Before I leave quotations I would like to share this great Bertrand Russell quote which I came across at the top of a google page this morning -

....."I would not give my life for my beliefs, because I might be mistaken".......

Picture 2 is really for Bungus's Sandra. I know she dislikes purple crocuses (or croci for our resident pedants) and I wondered what her reaction would be to these tricolour jobs !

The Magnesium Sulfate has done the trick with my 'whitlow' which is correct according to ManxIslander who kindly included a 'link' in his 'comment' telling me all about them. In my conversation with the pharmacist I mentioned 'Tiger Balm' of which we had a tin for ages and which cured most things. Debra brought it back from her World Tour all those years ago. The pharmacist said that they used to stock it, but sadly no longer.

I think my incorrect 'wicklow' must be confusion with a place in Ireland. North or South I know not, without getting up to look.

When I spoke to David this morning we were talking about books and Libraries and I told him about the brilliant TFC link in WUforum please click here about podcasts etc. He told me that both the girls love the library and are voracious and quick readers. Twelve books a week was mentioned. Something else genetic? No I guess strictly environmental. I told him about Ashbourne Library which was up a little yard at the side of The Town Hall and how small it was. And that when I was 10/11, certainly less than 12, something like that, I semi-panicked with the thought "What shall I read when I have read all these books?" mistakenly thinking that the Ashbourne Library stock was the lot. I also used to get snooty looks for taking books back at lunchtime which I had taken out in the morning, 'cos I'd read 'em. Do you remember those little buff coloured cardboard envelopes, open down two sides, that they used to put the ticket in?

Y's faux-suede box is a success. I quite like the idea - It's like buying something for our new home - incurable romantic that I am.

The stew was even better today - they invariably are. And there are still 2 portions left. OK, I did put a lot of vegetables in it, but I only started with 300grms of beef. Not expensive for 6 portions, and not bad for us either. We are freezing the rest though and will have something different tomorrow.

......I don't think I've forgotten anything....

7C - New Coat - Shopping - Beef Stew

Sharp crocuses were promised and violá. A very dull day again though and they weren't open yet, but they are the same two, honest.

Quite chilly but nowhere near as wet. We had lots of things to do round and about and while we were in Eastwood I bought a new coat from Sanders. A very reliable old-fahsioned firm, and I wanted something not heavy, big pockets for notebooks, compact camera, mobile phone, gloves etc., and they found me just precisely the right thing. I tried loads on but this one we both liked. Y said, "It looks as if you've had it years". I have this effect on clothing - I could have walked out of the shop wearing it and no-one would have been even slightly suspicious. Except for the cardboard labels which festooned, that is.

In Boots I showed the Pharmacist my 'wicklow' or whatever they are called and she prescribed me some Magnesium Sulphate Ointment which I gingerly rubbed on around 1pm and already (at 8.30pm) it seems to have eased the pain considerably.

Then we went to Heanor because Y wanted a fairly large storage box and we found an ideal one in In-Store in faux-suede. It is so realistic I'm half convinced it IS suede. But, at the price, it couldn't be. I also bought a black canvas type shoulder bag for my camera stuff, slightly larger than the one I have been using. Lots of zipped pockets and internal compartments etc. The price, amazingly, was £3. And Y has been using a similar one from the same shop to take her essentials on the train to London. She loves it and pronounces it 'robust'. Who needs a Billingham camera bag at £75 minimum. Anyway it would look like a camera-bag and I'd prolly get it nicked.

Then we did routine Lidl and Morrisons and, as always, seemed to end up with a car-full.

Picture 2 is some daffodils which are going to be at least a month early. The year John was born, as 28th March approached, it was a toss-up whether he arrived before a daffodil in the border opened. They arrived on the same day.

I had decided to make a beef-stew and as we had veggie shopped I had a frugal use-up of odds and ends. Some swede (turnip to us northerners) a celery stick, a leek, an onion, a carrot, some potato to thicken it. Plus some fresh button mushrooms. As I had run out of beef-ctock cubes I used chicken. It didn't seem to matter. Plus a bay leaf and some fresh thyme. And Y made some dumplings - due to my 'wicklow' I couldn't roll dumplings with one hand! Accompanied by fresh broccoli and some fresh Charlotte potatoes. And, even though I say it myself, twas delicious.

The Culture Show was so boring we switched it off after 15 minutes. They had some weird art-critic reviewing the Gilbert and George exhibition and we just wished it had been Andrew Graham Dixon whose opinions we rate. We prefer Verity Sharpe to the current presenter who, as Bungus perceptively pointed out, never seems to listen to the answers the people she interviews give her. The architecture chap hasn't been on for weeks. If it doesn't improve I think we shall stop watching it.

I'd had problems downloading some firmware update for my Nikon D80 but a friendly expert on the Amateur Photography forum soon sorted me out. I don't know where I would be without my forums.

....Catch you tomorrow.

8C - Heavy Rain - Fence - Rest Day

I know I promised crocuses, sharp front-to-rear but I certainly wasn't going to stand outside in the pouring rain to set up a tripod etc.. So they will have to wait for better weather.

It really has been appalling and Alex was halfway through the fence repair. Bless him, he worked through it, saturated, but I suppose when you are young.

He has done a super job and also has lopped the tops off the conifers at the rear of the garage. We've kept him liberally supplied with tea and coffee and at one stage I offered to wring out his woolly hat. Anyway, as you can see from Picture 2 that aspect of his various jobs is now completed. The fence panelling is 'treated-wood' and doesn't need painting, thank goodness. It will just weather and blend in.

My competition pictures failed again. They really don't like that portrait. Apart from the portrait I would have been a strong contender, he said. It wasn't just me that suffered. A fellow member had submitted an excellent panel including a strong picture of two men on a building-site. The judge, from Leicester again, said "They don't look very cheerful". Then he rabitted on endlessly about "the rule of thirds" having not the slightest that what he actually means is "the golden-section" which is subtly different.

Not to worry; I'm still enjoying the club very much and the camaraderie.

Had somewhat of a triumph with NTL. The bills this month, particularly for the TV and Broadband seemed very high, so I rang up and did "reasonable but firm" fairly well. End result :- £20 credit to the account for this months bill and the monthly amount in future reduced from £42.03 to £20 on a regular basis. Lots of people on WUforums have reported that if you ring NTL and whinge convincingly enough you always get a refund. Y said that I dealt with it all rather well. (Wowee - Praise indeed) There is actually a website called NTHell but I haven't used it. Perhaps things will get better now its Virgin.

Being Friday we had fish, chips and peas. They were lovely (recipe not published) but I find I have gone off tartare-sauce. Strange. And thanks Bungus but I think we also can survive without Nigel Slater's recipe for Cabbage on Toast.

We have enjoyed our Rest Day so much we decided to put-off shopping till tomorrow. No doubt we can find a few scraps to survive on.

Out of the options Y has decided on toasted Pain de Campagne (it makes beautifully crisp toast) and crab paté. I atcually remembered how to do the accent - Alt Gr plus the letter at the same time.

.....Time to do tea.

12C - Mount cutting - Alex and Fence

This 'photograph of photographs' isn't brilliant but it will convey an idea of my panel for the competition this evening. The rules ask for 4 pictures of different genres or techniques i.e. you can't enter 4 portraits if you happen to be good at them. So I'm hoping that the portrait, the sports, the sunrise, and the interior church door by flash, will fill the bill. I've marked on the backs that they must go on the easel together and in this order. Because I like Lisa looking inwards, the white-water shot moving right, the sunrise pointing back to the centre, and finally the old church door to leave by. ! I guess that if you've followed the Blog you will have already seen them. Hard to believe but the Blog has its first aniversary next month !

Y returned on time, tired but happy, and she's gone off to Burton Joyce for more granny duty today. So I dropped her at the tram as usual, but we are both looking forward to a rest-day tomorrow.

Yesterday I bought a bevel-cutter at Maple Framing and I'm quite glad I had lost my old one because this Logan is much much better. Once I had started cutting, 'how to do it' quickly came back to me and I only messed up one mount by accidentally cutting an inward-facing bevel instead of an outer.

Picture 2 is some brave little purple crocuses just peeping through. The yellow ones have been out for some time. It isn't sharp but tomorrow I'll use my tripod.

Alex has been here all day repairing the large wind-damaged fence at the bottom of the garden. 2 whole sections needed replacing with new.

Vic finished his fence yesterday and I though "Whoopee a day free from banging" and then Alex turned up. His work-flow seems much quiter though. Perhaps its my imagination. He really is great; he takes everything to the tip in his trailer. And point-blank refuses to count such trips into his 'working time'.

A most useful 'comment' yesterday from our architectural-correspondent. About the technical term 'pile-driving' into the Venice mudflats. Previously I had mistakenly thought that a 'pile-driver' was the name of a punch in boxing, like a 'haymaker'.

....I'm off for a kip. Might be back later.

7C - Super Venice Class - Y back 10.30pm-ish

Super session of our Venice class. We moved onto how they managed to build the city at all, in the sea. Basically 'wooden posts driven into mud-flats' with the buildings on top.

This prescribed the weight and therefore the height of possible structures. It also explains why, and I'd never thought about this before, there are such a lot of windows. They are much lighter than stone. Or 'brick' in fact because, very much like today, the buildings are mostly brick with ornate stone fronts.

Picture 1 is San Marco and St Mark's Square which dates back to the 9th century. Napoleon described it as "the drawing room of Europe".

We then covered the architects, from Bellini onwards till the arrival of Palladio. And also the later people.

Picture 2 is a Palladio Church - The Church of St Giorgio - and it is easy to identify his influence across Europe.

I shall stop rabbiting-on about Art and Architecture because it doesn't interest everyone. We then covered the arrival of the printing-press from Germany and how Venice became such an important printing and publishing centre. One reason is that the city was prosperous with a big P and people wanting to set up businesses had access to venture capital.

The publishing house Giolito began in 1490 something and is still doing well. At that time they had a reputation for being unscrupulous i.e. if a book was banned they would stick it in another cover with a different title and bang it out again.

Lets hope that in 500 years they have mended their ways.


My day has been busy. I decided to visit Maple Framing in Stapleford and buy some big boards, to cut into 40x50cm mounts for tomorrow night's competition. Then there was lunch at the Mechanics (haddock and chips I'm afraid, although the salads looked very nice ha ha!). The my class and then home to start mount-cutting. All to save 'a couple of bob' rather than have Brian cut them at the shop. I must be potty. Mind you the 'sweating' must be good for me - do they call it 'anaerobic' or something ?

I've just had a text to put a tape in for 'Dangerous Housewives' at 10pm, then it will be off to collect Y from the tram. It will be nice to have her home on Valetine's day.

It's nearly 7.30pm and I haven't done the crossword yet.

....See you tomorrow..

Mansfield Court House - Tesco Restaurant

Not such a good photo as yesterday's goldfinches but today the chaffinches appeared accompanied by cousin sparrow. I wrote a poem once which began "The Chaffinch is a dapper bird, called Gerald........." I can't remember how it continued and I certainly can't find it. But they always look so well-groomed; a sort of blazer and grey-flannels sort of bird. I think the rather blurry one on the left is Mrs. Chaffinch.

The meal-worms went down a 'storm' the in-word for 'a success' according to TJ, although it sounds just the opposite. I put a handful in the blue pottery dish and they went in minutes. Mostly the blackbirds, and I had intended them for the Robin who didn't get a look in.

I had a lovely time in Mansfield. Nice time in the Library and a nearly new book (only issued once before) about landscape photography by Joe Cornish and others, all of whom I rate. Then to W.H.Smiths etc., and finally to the CourtHouse to meet Bungus whose bus was slightly delayed due to a serious, road-blocking accident between Ollerton and Mansfield. Bob had a pint, which he needed and I had a J2O (I really am becoming the sort of person I used to avoid) and then to Tesco for the all-day breakfast. It was a good meal but, although we sat well away from the smoking-area, I was very aware of the fag-smoke drifting around. When I finally returned to the car it was lingering on my coat. If the weather is OK in the morning, before I set off for my Venice class, I shall hang it outside for an hour. Bob said he didn't notice it.

Picture 2 is a larger version of the Witch Hazel which I published before. I've tidied the background up a bit but the shrub and flowers are 'as is'. Bob showed me his new Sony compact and it looks and feels a lovely piece of kit. It sits comfortably in the hand and feels solid and reliable. He had bought it at Currys as new and when he got it home in was sans manual, said inside the box 'pre-owned' and in the memory were 2 photographs of women Bob knew nothing about. I assume they were fully clad or I'm sure he would have mentioned it. Curry's have printed off the missing manual and made him a vouchers offer. And, of course, it will remain under the same warranty as if it were new. And, as he obviously likes the camera, he has decided to keep it.

I took him over a book about PhotoShop Elements. Even if he only uses it to clone out stuff to tidy up, it is worth having in one's armoury. I picked up a copy of The Evening Post because of a big photo inside taken at Hannah's dance school in Burton Joyce. She is on the front row and looks lovely.

I've just changed head to toe, because of the lingering smokey smell. It is a fact that "there is no-one so prudish as a reformed prostitute". When I've finished this I'm heading for the shower.

...If I've forgotten to deal with 'comments' please excuse me. I'll catch up tomorrow.

8C - Cold W wind - Prints for Competition

It hasn't been quite so 'springlike' today and there is a cold west-wind plus showers of rain. To be honest I have welcomed the rain because Vic, the other side of the footpath, has been constructing a new fence, which involves merry banging-away only interrupted by the weather. The old one was badly vandalised and he does like to have things 'right' bless him.

Hope this doesn't tempt providence but our side of the footpath seems to be too overgrown with shrubbery to permit of a good kicking. It would be good if something could be done about it though because it is a definite minus point to a potential buyer.

Picture 1 shows how prolific the catkins are this year. There is some folk-lore which predicts how the summer will be from them. But I can't for the life of me remember if 'prolific' leads to a good summer or a bad one. Perhaps one of our 'nature correspondents' knows.

Picture 2 shows how quickly the goldfinches have returned as I only I topped up their thistle-seed container yesterday. Since the level dropped below the little holes where their perches are, we have seen no sign of them whatsoever. Do you think they just cruise around 50 feet in the air keeping a beady eye open for refilled thistle feeders?

And they didn't rush away. I had time to set up my tripod, change to a longer lens and fit my remote controlled shutter release.

The were later joined by guests who also settled down for the 'taster' menu. Thistle seed followed by thistle seed followed by thistle seed................ I won't tell you what they had for sweet, or on the cheese board.

I've had a busy day messing about as usual. I installed a Greeting Card Maker programme. It was so awful that after a couple of aborted attempts I decided to uninstall it and bin it. It only came from Lidl anyway for a couple of quid and you could tell. But it was reluctant to leave via 'add/remove programmes'. Fortunately I had heeded the advice of Ray, and others on WUForums, and created a System Restore point before I installed it. All I had to do then was a System Restore and 'hey presto', Greeting Card Maker' bit the dust.

I'm meeting Bungus for lunch in Mansfield tomorrow and our scheduled venue is 'The Court House at Noon'. Why does Gary Cooper spring to mind?

Jill's references to slides in the playground brought Church Street Infants to mind where the boys with hobnails in their boots were much envied for their prowess on the slides. But Jill probably went to a much posher School. And Bungus's reference to the correct expression for one and a half pence. In Ashbourne it was definitely 'three 'ay pence'. But not having watched the relevent episode of Foyles Law, I don't know where it was set. Following on from the unnecessary school-closures due to the weather; as a letter to The Telegraph perceptively pointed out "They didn't close any shops or supermarkets..........."

My 4 prints for the 'Print Photographer of the Year' competition on Thursday are done and I'm quite pleased with them. I shall leave mounting them till tomorrow when I'm sure they are completely dry. It's rather like the lies adults tell you - this 'instant-dry paper' isn't !

......Going to catch up with my reading..

9C - Sunny Afternoon - Messing About

It has been a warm day and a sunny aftenoon which tempted me to Moorgreen Reservoir where, as you can see in the foreground, there are still sheets of unthawed-ice. They are too tidgy to qualify as ice-floes. I thought the odds, of 4 gulls preparing to disturb 2 moorhen was a bit much. But they were too far away to 'shoo' and in anycase one shouldn't interfere with nature. Red in tooth and claw and all that.

Glad Jill's Brighton trip was a success and I would love to Blog a picture of all that lovely colourful wool. Everyone I know agrees how outrageous it was to close Schools just because of a little snow and ice. Playground slides and snowball fights are part of childhood and should not be denied to youngsters. They wouldn't dream of closing Schools in Russia, Scandinavia, Canada etc., under conditions far worse than we experience would they?

Picture 2 is not one of mine (sorry to say) but by Annie Leibovitz, of Nicole Kidman. It breaks all the rules (so called) - the subject is looking out of the frame not into it.

She's got burnt-out highlights. 'Blocked' shadows in the curtain. The little door on the left and the assorted stuff on the right would be described as 'distractions' which should be cropped out. Actually, if they were presented with the picture they wouldn't dare say any of those things. Or would they?

But "Wow" what a brilliant photograph. If you've got it, you've got it and Annie has always had it in spades. She was born in 1949 and has been highly regarded in the photography world for the past 30+ years. This picture is in an exhibition of her work in San Diego so I'm afraid I shan't be going.

When I spoke to David this morning I asked if Sky had enjoyed her 'read in bed' with the 'book-chair'. Apparently Brooke has highjacked it! Nothing for it but to order another.

...Must go, at least for the moment. E-mails etc.....

6C - Fast Thaw - Y away - Long Eaton

Our long-tailed tits seem at last to have decided that I pose no threat and we had at least 6 this morning. As I went to top up one of the bird-feeders 2 of them sat on a bit of trellis fence no more than 5 feet away, waiting for me to finish the job. Before I had re-entered the house they had descended on the refilled feeder and were feeding voraciously. Perhaps after the snow they were feeling 'peckish'. Ha Ha!

We had an early lunch and I took Y to Phoenix Park for the tram. It is such a marvellous facility because it drops her right at the railway station.

After dropping her, I went over to Long Eaton to deliver the 'book chair' and the 'bag'. Sky was delighted with the book-chair and is looking forward to using it to read in bed. But she couldn't resist seating some of her play people in what, to them, is an enormous deck-chair. She is, after all, only 8. Then she suspended it from the fire-place and it became a chair-ride. A charming picture though and I shall e-mail it to my 'bookchair company' chum, the CEO, Gary, who I accidentally wrote to when I was working out how to order direct.

Brooke also loved her bag, and although it looks big in the picture you must remember that she is only quite small. But she left me in no doubt that she also, would like a book-chair !

I can understand because they are so attractive and beautifully made - in England, and from renewable timber.

David and Helen are further recipients of the National Trust, Mansfield Chapter, quiz-sheet. Joan has one, Steven has one, I'm taking one to Bungus on Tuesday which together with our own, accounts for the 5 we were issued with. If we get completely stuck, I shall photograph it, link it, and ask everyone for help with the offending questions.

By the time I arrived home Y had texted me to say she had arrived safely and I rang D & H to say I also had arrived safely. TJ had left an answerphone message to see if I was OK and she told me all about where she had skidded on the ice. Forunately she didn't hit anything but today, when she went past the same spot, a white-van had gone through a wall.

.....Lots of little jobs beckon, so I'm off.

Snowing heavily - 2C - Rest Day

Picture 1 is 'Snowbound Sparrowville' and I'll fix the wind-damaged fence when the weather is better. Honest ! Unless we grow to like its dishevelled but attractive appearance.

The sparrows are OK because they have ventured out as far as the feeders, but I must defrost the bird-bath which contains a 2" deep, solid block of ice at the moment.

The only thing that stops the photo being monochrome is a hint of green in the conifer. Maybe on the enlargement there might be a flash of yellow winter-flowering jasmine.

Picture 2 is a 'photoshop-piece' which I may well do further work on. It isn't really a photograph anymore. To use the medium in this way, where one isn't trying to deceive, seems entirely legitimate.
I hope Jill's Craft Fair in Brighton goes well and she managed the trains OK.

Google tells me that it is 5C there and raining. Mind you it says Nottingham is 2C and raining heavily but it's below freezing and the snowflakes are 50p piece size and so many of them I can only just see the garage. As Ray always says, it is much better to look out of the window.

To deal with comments now. It will always be a pleasure to publish a few photographs from readers. Jill used to send me pictures from The Baltic, St Petersburgh et al. But I haven't received any for ages. I'm not as keen on the guest recipe idea but if anyone has a real corker for the rest of us to try, please let me have it and I can aways publish a link to it, as Manxislander suggests. Then, as Bungus hints, if some people find it boring they needn't open the link.

I did a Spag-bol today but it was far from a triumph. Halfway through (I oven cook them) it looked a little dry so I added half a tumbler full of passata. The end texture was more similar to risotto rice, i.e. creamy and sticky and not at all like on of my usual bolognese sauces. And the flavour lacked any 'attack' quotient. I shall finish it while Y is away because, usually, my desire not to waste food overcomes my fastidiousness. My Gran's dictum was that "if you throw it away, you'll finish up needing it". To throw a stale crust on the fire would have been an affront.

Had a nice chat to Helen this morning because I need to deliver Sky's 'Book-chair' and the little bag I have for Brooke. It was wonderful to hear that she has had a good couple of days and is feeling much better. So good in fact that they were going to look for some fun place to go over the weekend. But, in this snow, it will be difficult. If the roads are OK though, Derbyshire under snow is a delight. When they were little we once had a great day sledging at Edale, plus picnic in the sun, in the shelter of a lovely stone-wall. Which reminds me, Y didn't know who Stonewall Jackson was ! It cropped up in the Mansfield National Trust quiz-sheet - a copy of which I shall deliever to Bungus (somewhat of a quiz-expert) on Tuesday - weather permitting.

.....I'll cook something better tomorrow..........

Snow as forecast - Melted - Snowing again

A familiar scene to you all but I wanted to see if I could capture the falling snowflakes. You can just see them against the dark background of the tree-trunk. It had snowed in the night but only a light dusting and it started seriously around 8.30am and Y decided to give Burton Joyce a miss. Then it more or less melted and has now (4.45pm) begun again. Some lovely snow-scenes from elsewhere in the country have been on the TV.

But no Central Trains delays announced yet. The overnight snow will influence Y's trip to London tomorrow but she will be very disappointed if she can't go.

Picture 2 is The White Swan at Drakeholes which Bungus tells me is all that is left of the hamlet. I sent him a link to the info. about it being a roman station, which even he won't remember. The photo appeals very much to my sense of 'artistic' construction particularly with that diagonal of the steps/handrail leading the eye to the building which is nicely placed with its central point within the golden-section.

If it was my picture I would 'clone out' those bits of strag foliage in the top corners. It has just occured to me to wonder when he took the picture because things seem still to be in leaf ?

Y has been on catering duty today and for lunch she did a super meat & onion pie with mashed potatoes, carrots and brussells. Delicious ! And sandwiches for tea to look forward to. Manxislander says that sometimes the food desciptions make him feel hungry and suggests I incorporate a 'favourite recipe' page in the blog. Thanks for the compliment Pete but TJ finds mentioning what we have eaten very boring anway - so I'd better not.

It's camera club tonight and, as it is only a mile and a half up a main road which has been clear all day, I'm not going to be disuaded by the weather.

.... Catch you tomorrow. Weather permitting.

Serenissima - Camera Obscure Part 2.

A couple of days ago I mentioned the camera-obscura effect caused by the magnifying glass in a jug on the desk, projecting an image onto my notepad.

These pictures are of the Camera Obscura on Douglas Head on The Isle of Man and were mentioned in a 'comment' and e-mailed me by my Lifeboatman chum, Pete Brady or, as he is known on WebUser forums, 'Manxislander'. The flag and tree give you a good idea of scale.

His website and Blog, please click here, makes mine look a little bleak & dowdy but, I speak defensively, he has been at it longer and is much better with computers than I am. If you want a lively read, accompanied by super pictures you should give him a click. He will be pleased to see you, and you will be brought uptodate on matters 'manxian'. I hope that isn't a no-no, like calling Scottish people Scotch.

Picture 1 gives you a good view looking up at the building, while Picture 2 provides a wonderful idea of what the lens is looking at.

I cribbed the line-drawing from an information site which Pete also sent me and it gives you an understanding of how camera-obscuras work. I can hear a pedant clambering up the hill towards me to point out that it should be cameras-obscura.

Thanks to all for their 'comments'. Jill's greater-spotted woodpecker in the garden is amazing. I'm not at all sure that I have ever seen one. In the woods at Renishaw last year we saw the really common one, would it be a green-woodpecker? It certainly had a tinge. The Romans at Drakeholes was due to a mention on a web-page claiming that the village was the site of a Roman Station. But I don't feel strongly about it.

And I've solved the ring-pull problem, finding one in an ironmongers on Carlton Hilltop while Y was in for her nail-service. Mine was £1.95p which I considered expensive for a plastic hook. Prolly Lakeland would have been cheaper I also found some bed-caster-cups to raise the level of my bed a little. Two reasons, 1. I find it increasingly difficult to get up from it to a vertical stance and 2. I wanted to be able to slide an underbed storage box under it, containing photo-mounting board et al. I'll leave you to work out which was most important Ha Ha! Excellent news on the Warfarin front though - my INR level is quite stable and I don't need to have another blood-test till March 19th.

After that it was lunch at The Mechanics. I had Sausage, Egg and Chips and Y had Double-Egg and Chips. Both were delicious and, together with a J2O and a filter-coffee came to £7.45. It wouldn't be much cheaper at home. Then our Venice class which was first rate again. One forgets how prolific Titian was in nearly 60 years of painting. There are over 650 known works still in existence. And how his style changed over his lifetime.

Last night's National Trust lecture, about Bolsover Castle was also v. good and the lecturer obviously loves the place and made it come alive. There was a wonderful turnout; an informed guess would be just under 90 people and Y made £50 on the raffle. And whether or not it is a product of Xmas, people are bringing in some much more upmarket prizes. We might even persuade our aristocratic lady to accept her tickets ! I know I've told the story but it will stand repeating. She always buys a £1 worth of tickets and never accepts them. Eventually Y asked "Is it because you may leave before it is drawn?". "No" she replied "It's because I don't want to win any of the prizes." Now there's style for you!

....Sleep tight.....

Global warming - suspended - 2C

Keen frost during the night and a beautifully crisp morning. Even google admitted to -2C but there was no wind so it was a pleasure to go out.

We went out quite early because it was a Karen morning and our absence lets her zoom about. I needed some underbed storage boxes and a little bag for Brooke, so that she has something when Sky gets her 'book-chair'. No problems with the storage boxes but the bag needed visits to several possible shops. In the end we found just the thing in Peacocks for £4. I know the clothes leave much to be desired but for some things 'not paying a lot' is a sensible criteria. Also, in the cheap shop in Heanor. I stocked up a 'fat-balls' for the birds and actually bought a large plastic bucketful containing 50 for £6.45. The best bargain elsewhere is 6 for a £1.

While I was in there I spotted these 'dried meal worms' which apparently Robins love. I shall report back.

I also wanted a replacement small thermos flask. Of the old fashioned glass inner type, rather than the stainless steel inners which, in my opinion, don't keep things hot as long. Again - many shops - Woolworths was the answer. I went to the butchers to stock up, and told Peter how good the rump steak had been. We also bought some lamb chops for lunch which we had with charlotte potatoes, carrots, and sugar-snap peas. Plus of course mint-sauce. Great success.

Some feed-back from yesterday's camera-obscura picture. 'Manxislander' Pete blogged a 'comment' containing a link to the big Camera Obscura building on Douglas Head. I have sought his permission to 'blog' it because it will be of interest to the readership. Likewise with a lovely picture from Bungus of The White Swan at Drakeholes which my research tells me was an early Roman station.

Re my birds, we had a greenfinch this morning. The first I have seen for some months. It's Mansfield Chapter National Trust this evening. The first Tuesday in the month seems to arrive so quickly. Our subject is to be Bolsover Castle which Y has been to but I haven't, even though it is so close. Hopefully there will be slides, or even a Powerpoint presentation ! Whatever, it will be nice to see everybody and I shall have to get my raffle-ticket stub folding technique smartened up. Some nice ladies usually take pity though. But Y is the acknowledged Queen of raffle-ticket selling and we feel they must be folded before the lecturer begins - so as not to be an off-put.

Two other things before closing. Y feels that computers are an 'invention of the devil' - she may be right, but I am absolutely 'sure' ring-pull cans are. They frighten me to death - Am I alone?

....Hope everybody has a good night...............

Messing About - Camera Obscura - The Witch

I took Y to the tram because she was meeting Joan for lunch and I decided to give it a miss, on this occasion, as lawyers say.

So, on the way back I picked up some fresh bread and milk. We are becoming quite continental aren't we? Fresh Pain de Campagne each day.

And when I got home I decided on the big table to work at, so I could spread everything out and was treated to this bit of beauty. My magnifying glass acting as a camera obscura and giving me an upside-down, back-to-front image of the patio doors and garden, on my notepad. I fought back the urge to do a Caneletto and trace round it and took the modern, easy way and took a photograph. Very interesting phenomena though and I guess some of our much younger readers won't have seen it before. Care and adult supervision is called for though because, if you focus the sun's rays to a spot, the paper will catch fire.

I answered most of my e-mails and Sky's book-chair arrived (it is fun being on first-name terms with the proprietor). The weekend will be a good time for me to take it over to Long Eaton and I'll cadge some coffee from David's espresso machine.

After lunch I had a nap and then Y rang to say that the Phoenix Park tram was shortly due and as I was going down Willey Lane, the lighting was just right on The Witch I have been intending to photograph for some time. Just a case of the Casio out of the car-window and minimal subsequent interference.

When we got home I cooked some rump steak, with mashed potato and turnip/swede, and carrots and brussells. Super bit of steak which I shall compliment Peter the Butcher on. I need an order anyway, but he is closed on Mondays. After dinner we caught up on the Andrew Graham Dixon that we had missed. It was in the BBC Series slot on our NTL digibox which we use a lot.

I must reassure Jill that the RPS is not in the slightest 'over-macho' and although only a few ladies appeared in yesterday's photograph, the fault must be mine. Admittedly there were more men, perhaps 6 out of 10, but the adjudicating panel of the 3 FRPS-s was 2 ladies and 1 man. It is probably the case that, as so often, when ladies take to a hobby, they do better than men at it. And you have only to look at the History of photography to realise how many prominent women there have been, and so early - from Julia Margaret Cameron onwards. And the food was done by outside caterers, so I don't know what their empoyment statistics are.

....Not a bit tired tonight.....

Frosty Morning - RPS - Witch Hazel

A very frosty morning. Google said -2C but I am beginning to doubt the programme's veracity. It felt and looked more like -4C. Not to worry - but it was a leather-coat day. Y doesn't like it because she says it gives me a gestapo look but, as she wasn't coming to the RPS do with me I decided to wear it.

Had a quick conversation with David and they all seem OK. They had taken the girls to see Peter Pan on Ice, which enthralled them. And half term is approaching.

Ravenshead Village Hall was easy enough to find and I thought that arriving at 10.20am for a 10.30am start I would be nearly first there. But not so. Unfortunately the chairs, as you can see were those village hall 'cripplers' out of which some designer must have made a fortune at the expense of countless million man/woman hours of discomfort. If I sat bolt upright I got back-ache, if I leaned back I got neck-ache. Next time I intend to take some sort of support cushion, at least. An excellent day though which was intellectually stimulating as well as simply enjoyable. There were people I knew but many more who I didn't know. A satisfactory turnout of around 50 I would say. I sought everyone's permission before taking the photograph which was granted without demur.

The 3 expert commentators all were FRPS's and adjudicators on the respective distinction- panels. Although I hadn't taken work, because I don't intend to submit for a higher distinction, it was a relief to see that, in my opinion, I would still qualify for my LRPS. Some things have changed, mount colours etc., but basically photography (apart from the advent of colour) hasn't improved much in the last 100 years. In fact, in some respects it's gone backwards.

The buffet-lunch was fine. Thank god you don't still get pineapple bits and cheese cubes on cherry-sticks and vol-au-vents !! There were some warm deep-fried savoury things, and super sandwiches and much, much more.

I sat next to a very pleasant chap from Loughborough who owns a Garage specialising in Audi and Volkswagen and who has decided at 53, to cut his working week from 5 days to 4 days to make time for his photography course at Loughborough College. It was the first time he had been to an RPS thrash, and really enjoyed it.

I had decided to make my finger-food my main meal; Y had a jacket-potato and salad (a favourite) so for tea she had ham on toast, and I had soup and bread.

When it got sufficiently 'dusky' I nipped into the garden to capture this witch-hazel which is about on schedule I think.

Then we watched Andrew Graham Dixon's programme on BBC4 'Art and Eternity' which again was quite excellent. One doesn't, in my opinion, have to believe in God or be a Christian, to find Christianity and its Art a fascinating subject.

After that just enough time for a 'quick blog' (that sounds faintly disgusting doesn't it?) and then it will be time for me to get ready for bed. It takes me well over an hour, then I sit and read, then I listen to the radio............yawn..........

All outstanding e-mails will be answered tomorrow. Or probably around 3.30am if I don't sleep too well.

... see y'all termorrer............

Shopping - Stir Fry - Messing About

The pictures are nothing to do with today's activities but I wanted to publish them. Both are Bromley House. No. 1 is the 'hallowed inner portal' to our beloved library and immediately puts one in 'shhh..' mode prior to actually going in. The picture was suffering badly from converging verticles and barrel-distortion (don't worry, I don't intend to bore you with an explanation) but I have a smashing progamme called 'PTlens' which fixed it in two clicks.

If you go through this door and keep straight ahead, without going up the stairs, you come to a door leading to the little private walled-garden at the rear of the library.

A treasure in the summer, situated as it is, a hundred yards from Market Square. Sitting there with four books to browse through, and a coffee in a private suntrap can be blissful.

Picture 2 gives a rough idea. The garden is maintained by volunteer library members and, were I fitter and less likely to fall over, it would give me great pleasure to help. I suppose that when we are settled in our new home I could satisfy my horticultural urges by growing a few plants.

This doorway also suffered from the same defects, always a problem on zoom lenses at the cheaper end of the market. But these days it is much less expensive to correct the problems later, on the computer, than to pay out say £900 on a classy lens. And not difficult either.

If it is raining or windy the porch is a welcome halfway house The garden is an original feature and the flag-stones are gorgeous.

Anyway, enough about Brommers. We went shopping, Lidl followed by Morrisons, and as if by magic filled three enormous bags. A boot-full. It amazes us how two people, both seventy-plus, manage to need so much revittalling. And we throw hardly anything away. I had to dispose of about a dozen yellow/brown brussell-sprouts and four shrivelled mushrooms the other day. Mind you it isn't just food, it's these wretched bargains Lidl tempts you with. Today we bought a full sized glass, spaghetti jar, at 99p it was irresistable and some clear plastic storage boxes which also were incredibly cheap and allowed us to chuck out some old, stained ones. I remember, way back in the 1950s before tupperware came along, covetting a square plastic storage box for my sandwiches. But we couldn't afford it that week and I had to carry on with the my red and white tin box. Nowadays they are disposable packaging - great shame too because they aren't bio-degradable.

For lunch I did a crispy-beef stir-fry. Thin ribbons of beef tossed in cornflour, and then lots of mixed veg. added for the last 4 minutes. An oyster sauce added, with a few drops of Sesame seed oil completed the stir-fry stage. And it was good, I managed to get the beef crispy without being over-done. OK Tracy, I'll stop there !!

This afternoon Y answered a couple of e-mails and carried on with her BBC webwise computer course which she is, obviously, doing well with. Her keyboard skills give her a racing start. I had a charming e-mail from Gary, the MD of the bookchair company. He dealt with my first enquiry which I sent to the wrong bit of the organisation, and he wrote yesterday to answer my concern that it hadn't yet arrived.

Tomorrow I have the RPS Regional Meeting about distinctions panels starting at 10.30am. They are meeting at Ravenshead which is all of six miles away; so I suppose booking in for the buffet lunch is a slight self-indulgence. But I shall enjoy the chance to mix and mingle and no doubt meet another batch of old friends.

...Catch you tomorrow, even if briefly.

Bees about - 10C+ - Fish & Chip Day

Picture 1 is an attempt to get whiter snowdrops. Some people are always moaning. And thanks Jill for saying you liked the nice bright sunrise. I shall continue to publish 'gaudy' pictures even if it means buying Bungus a pair of sunglasses. It's probably why Y and I also like Jack Vettriano, whose work has been compare to 'painting by numbers'. Shamefacedly I must admit that I used to quite like them too. So Bungus will not really take the fact that I also like most of his pictures as any sort of compliment.

Anyway, back to Snowdrops and Aconite. I don't think there was in fact any sort of green colour cast on yesterday's. It was quite early and there was a heavy dew and, with the flowers being tight closed I think they picked up on the surrounding greens.

Picture 2 shows a worker busily scouring an aconite for sustenance. Now, I do know from my bee-keeping days that the crucial temperature for them to be up and about is 56F (just over 12C) so noon today must have been warmer than google told me.

To yesterday's comment box. For Jill. Scotch-bonnets are probably the hottest of hot chilli peppers. So called because they resemble tiny scotch-bonnets slightly smaller than a table-tennis ball. If you ever use one, whatever you do don't cut it up and then touch any body part which could be called sensitive. And thanks for the long-tailed tit confirmation. The Wren Safari has not yet started, but I like a challenge.

And thanks to Pete for the 'phrases-thesaurus' link, click here if anyone else would like it. I have boomarked it, and the explanation of 'heard on the grapevine' makes sense. Isn't there such a lot still to be learned? And you realise at my time of life that you should have crammed more 'in' when younger. It becomes a matter of channel-capacity and I've decided to give brain-surgery and Formula 1 motor-racing a miss.

A good evening at the camera club yesterday and there were, as expected, only 6 entrants for the slide-photographer-of-the-year competition. However, as each entrant had to submit 4 slides on different themes the judging took quite a while. I was asked to form a third of the judging panel and I quite enjoyed it. I had plenty of 'chats' and didn't rush away till around 10pm. Thursdays work out pretty well at the moment, Y enjoys her grannying at Burton Joyce and then the chance to recoup at her own pace in the evening while I'm out gadding about.

....Sleep tight !

Burton Joyce - Camera Club - 12C

Yesterday's sunrise. Today's wasn't quite as spectacular. And I have 'panorama-ised' it rather than crop a letterbox from a normal shot. This morning was misty but I thought "I can't do another misty-morning shot". So, I took these Snowdrops and Aconite instead.

It is as if they are standing waiting for the sun to dry out the dew so they an open. I really wish I could get down on my hands and knees to capture a low-level picture. It would be possible I suppose just to hold the camera down and point it in roughly the right direction and then see what I'd got. With digital, of course, it makes no difference if I needed to take a dozen shots before I'm satisfied.

After delivering Y to the tram, for the start of her Burton Joyce day journey, I came straight home and started on loads of little tasks. Some computer, some photo, some writing . And then this afternoon I had an extremely satisfactory nap. One of my alloted jobs is "find out the date of Jill's birthday". Y knows when it is roughly because it is all to do with wedding days and things which ladies find logical, but she needs the actual date. I can't think of any other method than asking "Jill - when is your birthday?" An e-mail would be best, I don't expect you to 'blog' it !

Since I captured a picture (I think) of a long-tailed tit, and have 'set my sights' so to speak, on a wren - I haven't even seen one. Perhaps they have heard on the grapevine that I am on a Wren Safari. Wherever did 'heard on the grapevine' come from I wonder?

TJ gave us some special sausages to try "Mersajus" or something. Similar to chorizo she said and I tried two for lunch. They were ghastly! Perhaps it was wrong to grill them - but all this strong smelling orange/brown fatty liquid came out. We are both big fans of spicy continental sausage, and strangely enough, so are some of our little people. But these I can't recommend.

I'm looking forward to Camera Club tonight. It is the 'Slide Photographer of The Year' competition. But in this digital age very few entrants are expected. So we are all taking a few pictures for general discussion, which will be fun.

....Catch you tomorrow.............