Friday, February 01, 2008

Coffee - Lunch at Edingley - Stormy weather

Picture 1 is a left-over from our Headstocks walk.

The day has been stormy and changeable from sunny through raining to snow and hail together with a cold blustery West wind. I had a Dr's appointment this morning and then we went over to Peter & Joan's at Forest Town for morning coffee with them and Dorothy and Joan, all National Trust stalwarts. We had a great time and lots of laughs.

Peter has this bush just outside their dining room window and I was fortunate to get this (not very good) picture of a long-tailed tit. They don't seem to visit us.

Around 12noon we set off for Edingley and had lunch at The Old Reindeer. Mostly people had the cod & chips, which were excellent. It seems to have recently changed hands and I saw no evidence of David Johns (mentioned by Bungus) and that was indeed a treat. Personally I can't stand the man and I am surprised to hear that he is still around. After a leisurely lunch we returned to Forest Town for tea and carrot cake and finally home after a most pleasant chatty day.

Comments....Bungus..I think that a 'stable' of tripods is first class. A clear winner.

My comment was supposed to be light-hearted. It is a nice thought though, see AnonymousRob's comment, and I've never feared plagiarism so long as someone doesn't print it for money. Even then, they've only got to put it into their own words. You can't copyright ideas; as the academics found when they unsuccessfully sued Dan Brown over the Da Vinci Code. As Colin Fletcher memorably said "If you use one source, that's plagiarism; if you use two it's called research". As you know, I've never been precious about ideas. I fear that if I was, the well would run dry. Colin has had to have eye surgery and I haven't found out yet how it went. I must ring over the weekend.

Incidentally, you know I agree over the power of art to convey more than a photograph. But photographs are historically important documents. Just consider what we would give for a photograph of Shakespeare instead of the old Droeshout engraving. The engraving is fine but what about a mug-shot 'eh?

Your shopping sortie would have been too much for me. It wouldn't have been bed for the 'rest' of the afternoon (very clever by the way) it would have had to be the 'rest' of the week I fear.


AnonymousRob...... Don't disagree with your additional comments on the judging. Elaine's pictures were good and she is really doing well. I also agree with you about presentation and know that I should be more careful in this respect but I fear, deep down, that my heart isn't in camera club competitions. Photography and Art excite me, cutting mount-boards doesn't. This is certainly not to knock Mike's work. His panel was first class and, as always, his presentation was exquisite.

We have dinner guests tomorrow, Joan and Chris, and by request I am cooking Panfotheram again. Chris is a joy to cook for because he can be relied upon to have seconds, and even thirds, which I always take as a compliment. I just hope the dish is a success again.

I note that Microsoft has made a bid for Yahoo of £24.4bn ! Which gives you some idea of the amount of our money this wretched government has ploughed into Northern Rock.


.....Sleep tight and I'll catch you tomorrow. If David and Helen read this apologise to Brooke that I didn't ring for her birthday. We sent a card and some pennies, but we should have rung, and it just slipped both our minds. This therefore is just for Broooke

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, it was windy yesterday although we otherwise had pretty good weather The wind had blown a panel out of our boundary fence during the previous night.

I share your opinion of David Johns although I believe you knew him better than I did. ‘False bonhomie’ is my view.

I would not have been able to identify the long-tailed tit but I know you would not deliberately lie about it and the photo is a record

A friend of ours has recently had a cataract removed from one eye with fantastic outcome. He cannot believe what he has been missing and is eager for the other eye to be treated.. I hope your friend Colin has fared as well.

I cannot disagree with your view of plagiarism, particularly as I know that, like me, you always endeavour to credit a source.

I think we agree that both paintings and photographs have a respected place and that both serve to enrich our lives. How pompous does that sound (it could almost be you talking!).

Your gourmand Chris sounds like my late mother-in-law and my-sister-in-law; the idea of leftovers is a sort of sacrilege. I hope he enjoys his Pantolamb.

I think the government was right to protect the customers of Northern Rock but I can see no reason why the shareholders should be protected. Will they be giving money back to people who backed the wrong horses in the Grand National?

Re AnonRob’s comment:
My supermarket trawl was not too bad apart from Asda which was packed. I only wanted 2 or 3 items from each. Again, Asda with which I am unfamiliar, was the nightmare; Aldi. Netto and the freezer shops were all easy in themselves but the cumulative effect took its toll. Our local Tesco is seldom a problem, partly because they so often do not have the things wanted (pudding rice for instance). What they do have, if one goes at the right time, is an excellent ‘reduced’ section; a source of real bargains.

Anonymous said...

PS

I forgot to say how much I like pic 1: seasonally muted, atmospheric, intriguing (where will the path take us, and nicely composed.