Going along with Anthony Aloysius St. John Rob I don't decry the virtues of monochrome work but, being a simple man, colour helps me to 'be there' or to unravel the artist's intention. Picture 1 is a 'now you see it, now you don't' almost monochrome. And we shouldn't forget that one of the greatest and most powerful paintings of the 20th Century - Picasso's 'Guernica' is monochrome. This is a surprise when people see it for the first time. Reproductions of the
image imprint on your consciousness so that you believe it is in colour. But it isn't. The link BTW is a YouTube about the painting.Picture 2 is from Delia's programme last night and she is eating Asian cuisine, out with friends. I think the chap sitting on her right is a football person. Perhaps someone on The Sports Desk could give him a name. She obviously told us, but I have forgotten.
Today has been a Karen day and although I didn't go out shopping, I kept out of her way. And the house was 'spick & span' in no time. Now there's another expression that everybody understands the meaning of but why 'spick' and why 'span' ? - there must be more to it than just sounding good. And 'Yes' Rob, the 'fowlness' of chicken dripping was on purpose. I try not to telegraph my punches - feeble as they are these days.
A worrisomely strong 30mph Westerly wind is making something bang. As a homeowner one always fears - 'It must be the roof!'.
Comments....anthony aloysius st john Rob ..... thanks for the additions to our list of sayings. Re plate-clearing. In our house it was "If you don't clear your plate you are helping Hitler to win the war". A heavy responsibility for a 9yr old, and perhaps something to do with my waist line?. 'Clooty' for left-handed is new to me - where I grew up it was 'cack-handed'.
I think Ken Holm, and Madhur Jaffrey are still writing, but I haven't seen them on the telly for years. Recently on the Radio I heard Prue Leith - I always rated her as a straightforward and sensible cook although I don't own her authoritive book. Apparently she is to head the Schools Food Trust. An excellent appointment.
Bungus...... I'm sure you are right about de trop. My little Websters has it as "too much, unduly, too many" and, probably wrongly I was using it to convey 'over-the-top'. But, I think we have enough on our hands boggering-about with English. Lets not start on French 'eh?
I'm also sure you are right about spices losing their flavour on the bedpost overnight. My pet theory is that flour acts similarly. We always buy the smallest package possible of plain white flour when making yorkshire puddings because, in my experience, to get the super-risen effect fresh flour is necessary. Whenever I've tried old tired flour they haven't risen much.
The 'umbrella on a motorbike' is good. And the Mencken quote is excellent. Was it Mencken (a lifelong atheist) who was asked "What would you say if, the moment after your death, you were faced by Peter and The Apostles?" He replied "I would say - Gentlemen, I was mistaken".
That will do for a quotation I think. I might re-open the blog when I return from National Trust-ing - it all depends on my knackered-ness level. If I don't; sleep well and I'll catch you tomorrow. I just love this train......
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6 comments:
Alan Hansen - Ex Liverpool, BBC match analyst. Quite good at beer drinking with what I saw. LOL.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Hansen
All the best Graham.
I have a feeling spick and span has something to do with ships? Wish I had a Karen!
I am enjoying my chicken dripping - on toast for breakfast and I did fried bread with it (an egg on top) for supper. You lot don't know what you are missing!
Lovely photographs of the snowy scenes, I particularly like the one on the right with the blue sky.
More - we have been looking through the papers to find the April Fool spoofs - found the one in the DTel, flying penguins....The one in the DMail was harder - there are so many peculiar stories nowadays - but there was a photo of Darling buying scratch cards.....
Hospital drip day.
Picked up at a reasonable time (although a little late) I was soon in the treatment room. I did have to wait nearly 2 hours for return transport (at about 4.00pm) but there were people there to talk to.
They included two women, one very elderly and wheelchair bound, who had been there since 8.00am when it was revealed that their blood tests were unsatisfactory which led to them having further tests and having to await the results. The younger one was taken in for treatment at about 1.00pm but the other was eventually taken home at about 4.00. On a previous occasion, under similar circumstances, she had been told she could go home at 9.00pm but that there was no transport (a taxi could have been arranged but she was expected pay, to Sutton) fortunately a relative arrived, having been led to believe that she was being kept in overnight, and took her home. At 11.00pm an ambulance arrived at the house to take her back in!
From The Observer:
... a new website ... you can brush up your vocabulary while helping feed the world's poor...
... a word appears with 4 possible definitions. Choose the right one and the website donates the cost of 10 grains of rice to the UN's World Food Programme.
... by last week the daily amount had reached 77 million grains.
I recall being surprised when I first discovered that Guernica is monochrome. Brave of Picasso.
I sincerely hope that it is not your roof that is banging. We have an intermittent squeak which cannot be located. It isn’t the chinchilla – a highly recommended, non smelly and affectionately responsive creature that loves attention.
I was never urged to ‘clear my plate’ perhaps because (as I may have mnentioned before) and certainly never asked to eat something I did not like. It may be because my father had been brought up always to leave a little to indicate that he had had enough.
Not exactly ‘sayings’ but my father was known for occasional aphorisms.
When he saw my lovely orange Humber Roadster bike with its narrow saddle, he remarked
“I’d sooner ride round on a spade handle”
and, when, as a teenager, I asked my mother for some money and she passed me a sixpenny piece, he commented
“He’ll play bloody hell on a tanner”.
'Clooty' is new to me too. 'Cack-handed', certainly.
I agree about Prue Leith (who is currently judging a TV cookery contest which may well be won by Sat Baines whose Nottingham Restaurant has been voted the best in the UK. We certainly had one of PL’s books but Sandra may have thrown it out as being too pretentious.
When a blogger or commenter uses foreign words and phrases I think such foreign words and phrases should be examined and commented upon. Allah’m’Allah.
I suspect you are right about flour, and believe I have heard Sandra express a similar judgment, but not in relation to Yorkshire pud.
I like your Mencken quote and will offer another:
“The older I get the more I admire and crave competence, just simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology” .
I think I did better at the former than the latter, but it was so long ago… and I believe that your ‘throwing people out of pubs’ may well have been competent if not artistic.
Ray:
Certainly Hansen Don’t know about his drinking but it was accepted as the norm in those days. (‘He’s a drunkard. Everytime I’m in the pub he comes in’). When ‘our crowd’ established a Saturday night drinking ‘relationship’ with some of the Stags’ players, I recall a friend of mine saying of Mansfield’s talented wing half Peter Morris (later player and manager with Norwich) “I’ve never seen a man so drunk’.
From The Observer:
"The golden moment of Golden Balls' golden career occurring when he equalised in the last minute ... against Greece.
He qualified. He won BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He disappointed.
And he won 100 caps ... that will soon be matched by giants such as Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole. They may be more tin than gold, but they (have) played a lot."
Jill:
‘Spick and span’ feels nautical to me too.
Please leave off about chicken dripping; I’ve just had my breakfast.
(since I wrote that I have had a scratch packed lunch at hospital and sausage casserole with mash, cabbage and carrots for tea/dinner. I'll sort a pud out later).
Just a few quick comments to catch tonight's post.
I've been reading up on the Stags. I don't doubt Bungus's analysis at all and the facts seem to fit. I've lost the bit of paper with my notes on but it was something like 5 points gained (one win and two draws) in the first 10 league matches of this season. Alan Hansen may like beer and eating with Delia but he would probably have been a good addition to the defence.
I don't like the Daily Mail and, especially, its politics. Whenever I have read it, it seems to be stirring up racial hatred. Didn't an ex-proprietor have form in that department? Just my personal, biased opinion, of course, and somewhat understated as ever.
Another saying: "I'll go to the foot of our stairs". Can't remember when I first heard it but it wasn't part of my childhood.
Now that the Sun Bug (could be my name) has linked St John to Liverpool I don't feel inclined to use it anymore. He was on the radio this morning about tonight's Euro game with Arsenal. He said the 'pool would win because they've won the European Cup 5 times and arsenal have never won it. Some logic! Real Madrid, 9 times winners, not in quarter-finals; AC Milan 7 times winners (5 in last 20 years) not in quarter-finals. Forest, twice winners and same as ManU, some where in obscurity. Football expert, don't make me laugh. He'd be as well off drinking beer and eating with Delia.
Rob
The Creswell Crags flower made a pleasant picture. It is at least ten years since I visited and has obviously been massively updated and improved. When I went, there was little to see apart from the caves.
It is the neo-Japanese simplicity of the cave paintings that attracts me. I believe it was Miro who produced similar line drawings of intense power. I await correction.
I feel sorry for the hyena (a sort of Elephant Man of the animal kingdom) and would welcome his return. If Sandra saw the picture I am sure she would want one to nurture.
I don’t think I have been to The Bird in Hand for many years. The last time was with Sandra perhaps 25 years ago, and before that, some ten years earlier, with my previous wife who worked behind the bar there and got in with some very dubious characters (something she was good at) .
It was nice pub then and doesn’t appear to have changed much, which I regard as a good thing.
Rob:
Mansfield’s defence has suffered for most of the season from the loss, through injury, of arguably their best player, Alex John-Baptiste, from Ollerton, whose West Indian grandfather is a lovely man whom it is always a pleasure to converse with and have a pint with. But Hansen in his prime would have been an adequate replacement. Delia could have been useful too; I wish she would buy the club.
I have never reckoned St John as a pundit (remember Saint and Greavesy?) and logic was never his strongest point, but he was not a bad striker.
I don’t even see the Daily Mail but still agree with you. And I feel the same about the Telegraph which I know will create a storm from the man who roots seem to be decaying! Yours is just the sort of understatement I like.
In the Mansfield/Sutton area, the popular expression of amazement, "I'll go to the foot of our stairs" is often abbreviated to simply ‘Well ah’ll gutter’.
Crosswords:
Can anyone solve this clue:
‘Energy shown by top lass playing more than one upright’ G * A * P * S * S (I thought it must be ‘girlpower’ but that doesn’t fit the ‘A’ or ‘Ss’ which I am sure are correct. The P depends upon ‘Used in Japan, gamekeepers knife’ being ‘PANGA’.
Unattributed quote:
“ Those who do not read are no better off than those who cannot.”
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