Monday, May 05, 2008

Bank Holiday Monday - Tracy - Nice lunch

The galley at 11.50am prior to Tracy's arrival. The lamb chops et al were as successful as usual and the onion sauce was above average.

We had profiteroles & cream for pudding followed by cheese board and coffee. Followed in my case by an afternoon nap which I much enjoyed.

And it was a lovely mild, sunny day, 61F and a 8mph NE wind. Not ideal for photographing blossom due to petal movement in the breeze, tripod or not. But I did my best with the blossom tree in the front garden, which has proved an excellent example of 'sod's law'.

The tree has never produced blossom to the ends of the branches, choosing to leave the last foot or so bare of florets. Each year Y has carefully pruned and cut in accordance with RHS advice - all to no avail. Last autumn, convinced that we would have moved, she didn't bother and decided not to prune at all.

Result, as you can see, blossom all the way to the ends of the branches !

Comments.....Jill ....Thanks for mentioning 4.45am for peak dawn-chorus. I was explaining to Bungus that R.Nottingham's recommended 6am was far too late.

Thanks for your further paragraphs about Lisbon. Not at all surprised to learn about the World Fair site (1998) and how they are still paying for it. Flats not selling etc., etc., - as you say shades of the Olympics. Why is it that politicians world wide persist in flying in the face of common sense and previous experience by building these white elephants? Always of course with our money.

Vigo sounds interesting, particularly the addition of 3 floors of modern steel/glass plonked on top of old ornate stone buildings. I trust that the architecture-desk will add a couple of sentences re this. We will wait patiently for the arrival of your camera-wise granddaughter to sort out your photos.

Bungus..... If I had got in closer to the red tulips their impact would have been lost.

Well done with the 'faces' in Reg's tree. After reading your comment I had another look, and things keep emerging. I hadn't previously noticed the sabre-toothed tiger on the left stump, just above the Y and almost silhouetted against the water.

Quotation time...... I think this is probably correct >

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"



Tomorrow evening is the last of our winter 'first Tuesday in the month' National Trust meetings at Mansfield. The subject is Welbeck and the 5th Duke which should be interesting. Odd chap, weird buildings. All those tunnels ?? Tell you more later. Then on Wednesday we start our summer season with our coach outing to Brodsworth Hall. All this activity.




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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think ‘profiteroles & cream’ could well be tautologous. Do not profiteroles necessarily contain and include cream?

Only 61F? Sandra was complaining about the heat.

Very pretty tree. What sort?

I woke this morning at just after four and had my bedroom windows open. I stayed awake for the dawn chorus but was unimpressed. I much prefer my solitary blackbird singing though the day.

Quite right about the Olympics etc.
1946 was OK and led to the erection of some useful sports buildings. But things have gone completely out of control since then. When you add the fact that more and more athletes (esp Americans) are being investigated and found guilty of drug taking, it all seems a waste of time and money. Where is the glory of being awarded a gold medal stripped from someone else20 years after the event?

I have not heard before of ‘3 floors of modern steel/glass plonked on top of old ornate stone buildings’. It sounds interesting but I hope they check the foundations!

Re ‘Welbeck and the 5th Duke’, I suggest reading ‘The Underground Man’, a fictional account of his life based upon fact. It was about the only book upon which the reading group to which I belong agreed. Very good indeed.

Yes, Albert Einstein has a point.

Apparently we are to have a caravan on the drive to provide Jessica with somewhere private to entertain her friends. Gets them out of the house I suppose (not that she is in any way a nuisance).

Last comment on marriage.
“You have two choices in life: you can stay single and be miserable, or get married and wish you were dead.”
Anon (I’ll bet he didn’t dare claim authority!)

Anonymous said...

We returned from our sojourn to Tansley last night and a good time was had by all. The dogs loved it as the caravan site had a wooded dog walking area where we could let them off the leads. They like woodland anyway and, especially, enjoyed the scent of rabbits in the undergrowth of rhodedendron bushes.

ChairmanReg will be delighted to know that I did, indeed, stay out of Lumsdale mainly because of having no idea where Lumsdale is. Now, however, I do know and we have taken out a seasonal rental on the site so we will be up there most weekends. Consequently, I may venture into Lumsdale in the future unless somebody makes it worth my while not to.......

What, no congrats from the Sports Desk to Forest on achieving promotion? Local derbies against Derby next season; get your shop windows boarded up ready. A miserable end to a miserable season for the Stags.

Fancy an architect not liking blue prints.

Sorry to hear, Jill, that the cruise did not live up to expectations. The shore trips sound good but, I guess, with so much time spent on board the ship/boat needs to be how you want it.

What exactly is the difference between a ship and a boat? I know there is one but can never remember what it is. I suppose I could have a nifty google and find out.

I, too, was unimpressed with the dawn chorus which woke me up very early on Saturday morning. However, if I had woken up before it started I think I would have enjoyed it.

Rob

Anonymous said...

Sorry I forgot Forest (I didn't think i had). I have a friend who used to work at Rolls Royce and had a running bet on results (for Forest, against Derby)with several of his colleagues. He showed a steady profit and left at the right time.

Helo Rob

Good to have you back.

I like the joke but(for info)architects do not work wih blueprints. To, my knowledge only Naval architects do. Architects use dyeline prints (or did) which are black on white.

I always think a boat is a little ship?