Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Boughton - Lovely lunch - Sun at sunset

Picture 1 is the Ferris Wheel being erected in the Old Market Square. (Read all about 'em under that link). Courtesy of Y, on her mobile phone, when she met June for lunch yesterday.

They certainly are the 'bizz' for grab shots. Y's is a Samsung and only 2mp, and I rate the result highly. She knew I would be interested so, phone out>picture taken. It was a dull stormy day and the camera has balanced the light bits well against the dark bits.

Picture 2 is the last of the 'Gussy Moran' shots; they are falling apart. But Joan brought them on Saturday and tulips don't last long do they?

About the longevity of frilly knickers, I am unqualified to speak.

Pleased to hear from AnonymousReg that WoW had a great day. I quote:-

Thought you would like this qoute which came to me from Canada
"Blessed are those who are cracked,
for it is they who let the light shine in."
We had a super morning on Stanton Moor around the Nine Ladies Stone Circle. Great light in the sky, chip butty at The Miner's Standard

and I love the concept of those of us who are 'cracked', letting in a bit of light. Who could ask for anything more?

Picture 3 is a further attempt to master my 'extension tubes' for a close-up of some bread. The exposure was fine but the depth of field was a devil. Choosing an aperture where there was an acceptable sharpness all over proved tricky.

This isn't my "illustrate a pub-name" competition entry, but it is linked. More will be revealed after judging.

Comments.....Jill... you are quite right re ny breadcrumb usage. I use them in making fishcakes and potato cakes but these WERE intended to be sprinkled on the cauliflower cheese. But, in the end, I didn't cook it because we had such a lovely lunch at Boughton.

Bungus... your Tesco do call their 'French Sticks' 'Baguettes'. I wasn't doubting you, but, as you now know, I needed one for a project. I suggest we grant AnonymousRob the pleasure of the last word etc.... with "in France, they are one and the same thing" which I think will do for me. i.e. carry on as we were.

AnonymousRob......I find the current ministers spouting about Council Housing a complete laxative. With regard to Alan Johnson I think we should bring the old quip about Nixon, out of retirement. i.e. "Would you buy a used car from this man?"....... It is quite possible to have 'government by the authoritarian left' (your Stalinism) and a simultaneous lurch to the extreme right all at the same time. But, I aim to leave politics alone now.

There was a first rate turnout at the National Trust meeting and Y took £57 on the raffle. An all time record. There were 5 new members, and one of our friends Ron Fletcher has agreed to serve on the committee. An exxcellent thing because he has a lively mind and a keen sense of humour.

We arrived at Boughton at 1pm and we both thought Bungus looked stronger. He said that yesterday he been very low but today he felt life was worth living again. Certainly in conversation terms he was well up to form. Sandra had done a magnificent lunch, a 'sit in a comfy chair and keep refilling your plate' sort of meal which is one of my favourite's. Sandra knows by now to make at least a firkin of strong hot tea. Bob had also obtained for us a pack of the Captain Scotts Antarctic tea - see previous 'posts' and I'm looking forward to trying it.

Being short of a good quotation, apart from Reg's, further up the page, I thought I would share this Wallace Stevens with you :

The Man With the Blue Guitar

The man bent over his guitar,
A shearsman of sorts. The day was green.

They said, "You have a blue guitar,
You do not play things as they are."

The man replied, "Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue guitar."

And they said then, "But play, you must,
A tune beyond us, yet ourselves,

A tune upon the blue guitar
Of things exactly as they are."

................................

I've always thought it one of the most enigmatic poems in the English language. Once you've read it it never quite leaves you. Wallace Stevens would be a shoe-in for Reg's 'slightly cracked' group. But he certainly let some light in. What does "A shearsman of sorts" mean for instance?

.....I think I'll go to bed and think about it.............Sleep tight folks.



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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel that I should point out that having suggested that the 'workhouse' idea is not necessarily a bad one, I did say that they should be run in a humane matnner. I certainly would not want to see anything like a return to 'Oliver Twist' or 'Great Expectations'. The education and medical treatment side of it is what I was thinking of and I do not think families should be broken up unless for exceptional reasons (eg, abuse).
Good conditions and good care would be essential and would cost a huge amount that we can well afford.

Anonymous said...

We heard about the Ferris Wheel on Wed evening. Sandra is determined to have a ride on it. Without the carriges it looks just like a big bike wheel. I wonder if it has Sturmey Archer gears or Derailleur?
The photo is remarkably good for 2 Mp. It captures the moment in excellent fashion. I shall have to resist getting one!

Re frilly knickers: I still have the ones I wore in the army.

"Blessed are those who are cracked, for it is they who let the light shine in." is a concept I support wholeheartedly.
I remember a thoroughly enjoyable visit to a patient in Mapperley Hospital with whom I spent a very pleasant half hour talking absolute nonsense.

Re your "illustrate a pub-name" competition entry, I wonder if anyone will think it is ‘The Bread in Hand’?

After what you describe as a ‘magnificent lunch’, I managed an evening meal of smoked venison (a present from Danny).
I committed what is no doubt a cardinal sin by having it with a jacket potato and baked beans! I thought it was pleasant but, even though very thinly sliced (like smoked salmon eg) rather too chewy for the presently sensitive state of my mouth.

I like the 'slightly cracked' poem which I have not encountered before. I suppose "A shearsman of sorts" must be ‘a part-time or amateur shearer of sheep’ which locates him in the social order (ie, he wasn’t a pretentious wandering minstrel or pro musician).

I fought as I ‘ad broke us new car yesterd’y.
It has an automatic gearbox with safety features which were not on the earlier model. The ignition key cannot be withdrawn unless ‘park’ is selected and the gear stick will not move from park unless the button is depressed. I was finding this extremely difficult even using both hands (no handbook was supplied) until I discovered that it was necessary to apply the footbrake while doing it.
Presumably as a result of my ham-fisted efforts, the button flew out as Sandra arrived on the drive last night (Wed). She pushed it back in but could not get it to work.
But time is a great healer and when I went out this morning everything was back to normal except that when putting the button back Sandra had missed a spring which had shot out. Now we cannot get the button out to replace the spring. But the gear change appears to be working. I thought you would like that little tale.

Anonymous said...

You are quite right, Bungus, you did say workhouses (should they return) should be run in a humane manner. I guess I just think the work could/should be taking place in the community and not an institution. I fear if people are separated out and made to look different, they will be treated as different in the same way that other people in our society who look different (because of their skin colour) are treated differently. But it's probably time to draw a line under the discussion?

On the subject of the longevity of frilly knickers, it appears Gussy's are lasting a long time. I don't remember hers but I do remember Virginia Wade's.

I thought, RG, you had published two pictures of tulips. The 'frilly knickers' variety and the close-up of the bread looks like two lips (geddit?).

I assume your extension tubes allow you to get in closer than a macro lens or lens with a macro facility. As your lens is further away from the film plane/ccu device, you lose light so f-stops behave differently. Basically if you have a 2x extension tube you lose 2 stops of light at each f -stop, so you need to select a much smaller aperture leading to longer exposure times. Guess who's got a 105mm Nikon micro lens you can borrow?

I cannot possibly lower my professional standards and make a judgement about an individual, even an MP, on the basis how he looks in a photograph. No matter how sleazy he appears I'm sure his mum loves him. And you are right, the old quip fits and the answer is obvious.

Oh dear, I feel I'm becoming less tolerant as I grow older.

Rob