Friday, May 23, 2008

Busy days continue - New Butcher


The Lumsdale Valley Mills which EPS walked last night with an Arkwright Society guide was most interesting, or so I was told. The guide warned of lots of steps and hills and it really wasn't a possibility for someone with mobility problems. So I busied myself at the bottom of the hill. See Picture 1. If it looks dark and gloomy I have done well. It had been an overcast evening and the light was failing. Definitely a tripod job.

The Valley is a dark and forbidding place. The last time WoW saw it as a group, it was a glorious autumn day with plentiful light and beautiful fallen leaf colours.

If you open the link and scroll down the page there are some 360degree panoramic shots which set the scene well. People enjoyed it and congratulations to Helen for sorting it. The walkers were given a leaflet about the Lumsdale project but there wasn't a website mentioned. Y said she heard conversation that 'they' don't want to draw too much attention because of a fear of excessive visitor numbers. And Lumsdale will remain a 'secret' shared by the cognoscenti.

After the walk people went to the Duke of Wellington at Lumsdale which looked good, but both Y and I were too tired by that time. Y was sorry, because she does enjoy a little 'social'. Not to worry there will be other occasions.

Reg's RAF videos from the Telegraph had arrived and I intended to give them to him. But they've had an unplanned holiday to Lumsdale and back. Please remind me Reg !

Bungus sent me some delightful flower pictures. But he describes the plant on the left as a 'nice weed'. It looks to me suspiciously like a Rape plant which has escaped from a farmer's field. If he waits for it to seed he could perhaps manufacture a tiny mustard-spoonful of rape-seed oil. There's nothing like having an aim of self-sufficiency !

The picture on the right is his prolific Wisteria. Lisa will be really envious. I don't know if Bungus's plant is a result of careful cultivation or benign neglect. If the latter, I feel Lisa should follow that example.


This last picture is of the Great Tits at Burton Joyce. As you will see they have finally hatched. Five fit ones have been counted but unfortunately there is another at the bottom of the heap so to speak who never 'gapes' for food like the others.

I s'pose its the way of the world but nevertheless sad. Maybe AnonymousRob or Bungus could delight us with a suitably sombre Haiku. That isn't intended to preclude anyone else. Jill perhaps ?

I think I have discovered a new Butcher. We needed to go to Arnold to take some papers to the Accountant and about a week ago I spotted this chap on Mapperley top. So I gave him a big order and it looks good ; we are having two ribs of forerib on Sunday when Lisa and the children are coming. Took me ages to sort the rest out for the freezer though. I go to the trouble of preparing things and wrapping things in twos, with loads of explanatory labels. It makes things easier at the other end ! Y is always impressed with my fridge/freezer stacking skills. Everything always goes in - even if only just.

Comments..... Jill .... I guess you would enjoy the sepia - and phase two is at the top. It just needed me to swivel through 180 degrees from the last one.

Going back a day. I researched 'Golden Egg' powder but I won't bore you with a link. A woman bemoaned not being still able to get it, as she also considered a great aid to successful batter.

I'm with you about staying up for election results. Couldn't be bothered except for a General Election. Mind you ...... if they become really important .....

Bungus .... I agree and I can visualise the scene you describe. But there was a codger-shortage. I think they were all in the pub. Having hung up their floppy hats they were probably on the gaming machine and falling-out about the big match.

AnonymousRob ...... Your approach to 'work' is the only possible one at the stage you have reached. One has to treat it as pension-cultivation and make it as pleasant as possible under the circumstances.

Keep going with the Haiku though.

Quotation time ...... Back to a favourite poet, and a verse from a favourite poem (about blackbirds)......

"I was of three minds,
Like a tree,
In which there are three blackbirds".

Wallace Stevens

Although a poet of world-renown Stevens carried on working full time in the Insurance industry until he retired. No doubt for pension purposes !


Sleep tight, catch you tomorrow.............................. .............

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Since 'Gold' tea dissapeared from Morrisons' shelves, we have struggled to find one that we liked for anything longer than a week or so. Eventually we tried (having once dismissed it) Yorkshire tea. We are pretty happy with this plus Darjeeling for a lighter brew. I would try the hard water variety but that seems only to be available as tea bags.

Good panoramas if a bit samey. Can you do yours like this?

The wisteria (Sandra’s not mine) is now some 15 to 20 years old. For the first nine years she pruned etc as instructions; no flowers at all.
She then threatened it, “Flower next year or you are out,”
Since then it has flowered, fitfully and ineffectually, with some pruning until it became inaccessible.
For some three years it has not been pruned. This is the first year it has flowered prolifically.
I would say follow the approved pruning procedure and have infinite patience.
A lot depends upon whether it was grown as a grafted cutting (good) or from seed (it will probably never flower).

Five fit tits flourish
One misfit cannot compete
Only fit survive

I cannot agree that Anonymous Rob’s approach to 'work' is the ONLY POSSIBLE one.
It depends what you want from life. Provided I have enough banked/invested to cope with emergencies, I am OK on my state pension. Different strokes…

I like the Wallace Stevens quote without needing to understand it.

Jill;
Yes, John’s 2 sorts of water are impressive...

I do not recall ever having scrambled egg until I was in my thirties. With bacon and egg a close second, my favourite is still poached egg on toast which I had for breakfst pretty well every morning from 1950 to 1971.

Opinion seems to be that it was a very significant by-election result. Oh dear!

Quote:
“What gunpowder did for war the printing press did for the mind”
Wendell Phillips (19C American abolitionist)