Just one more John holiday snap. A weir and I can only assume they were in their canoe. Proud of t'lad - the water looks like water.Mansfield Centre of the National Trust Silver Jubilee Annual Dinner. It went very well. But we had a busy day. Y had been charged with obtaining 3 potted flower arrangements, all the same, at £10 each, as presentations to long serving members who were leaving the committee. It took us hours and hours. Eventually we were successful at Reuben Shaw's Garden Centre about 3 miles away. Super arrangements, helpful staff and the end result was gratifying.
Y's walking shoes were duly picked up from Joan's and we managed a short rest before collecting Jean and going to Warsop for the Dinner. A pleasant meal, good chat, everybody happy, and our 'guest' was the immediate ex Regional Director, Hugh Mathieson. He spoke extremely well. You learn something everyday - I had completely missed the recent news that our Director General, Fiona Reynolds, is now a 'dame'. And well deserved too - competent, attractive, and formidable !
No navigation probs. thanks to Jean. And Wendy came too, surprisingly in view of the 'big match' which she would not be happy about missing.
Comments..... AnonymousRob ..... Hope your 'meal' was a success and you enjoyed the match. Did the best team win? Or are you a Chelsea fan?
Bungus ..... Trying not to let the NT become too time-consuming.
While at Joan's we discussed our visit up North to walk with you and it is just a matter of picking a mutually acceptable date.
Re old cars. I think that while at school the only teacher with a car was Mr. Dodsworth who taught Chemistry and had been a Squadron Leader during the war. He had one of those very stylish Rileys, long and low and us lads were most impressed.
Man eating sausages - not news ! Man eating lions - that's news !
I share your admiration of William Faulkner.
Jill ...... John will enjoy every-one's kind words about his snaps. He has a good 'eye'.
Re apparently dead plants. We had an outdoor fuchsia, base diameter around 3 ft, which died. Y cut back all the dead stuff and I meant to dig out the roots. Then winter came and I hadn't done it. The following spring it did a Lazarus, and thrived thereafter ! Amazing things plants.
I didn't enjoy Chelsea much either. The winning 'green' garden looked like somebody's allotment, with those plain rectangular containers. Sorry about your hay-fever.
After the travellers had de-camped the council came and cleared up. They didn't seem to have been too devastating on the environment anyway.
I used to use a product called 'Golden Egg', a lvl teaspoon of which in your Yorkshire Pudding batter, guarantees crispness. You don't seem to be able to get it now. If you could, I would still be using it.
Re the big match, and Chelsea. Obviously you didn't shout loud enough !
What a match!
ReplyDeleteTruly a match of two halves.
Man U missing chances in the first half, Chelsea hitting woodwork twice in the second – and John Terry slipping as he took the decisive penalty.
A few seasons ago I would have wanted Chelsea to win. Now I favour United while thinking their manager the most unpleasant man in football (Cloughie wasn’t perfect but he had wit and didn’t pick his chewing gum off the concrete and put it back in his mouth). And I hate the fact that most teams cannot possible win the Championship because 2 teams have the best 4 sides.
I just wish it had been Liverpool!
My uncle George (known as Bill) had a Riley as you describe. I nearly bought one too, much later (not the car). They had a split windscreen.
John’s phone pics continue to amaze. I very much like the composition of todays.
Pleased the travellers did not cause too much mess. If they left voluntarily I think they must be genuine travellers (not the sort that take months to evict).
Jill:
On wisteria; Sandra planted one and it thrived but did not flower for seven years.
This year (its 25th?) it is better than ever but unfortunately has a hedge as background which does it no favours – brickwork is best.
Devon/Cornwall fuschia are notorious for playing dead.
Sorry about your hay fever. Sandra gets it from the rape (which is even more abundant this year) but she has not yet been too badly affected.
I quite enjoyed the prog about wartime food.
I too loved powdered egg; it was the start of my cooking – I always made omelettes with it. They were very flat and dense; but tasty with a bit of apple chutney.
I think the best thing we had was when my landgirl aunty, Mary, took up with a GI (Merlin ‘Tex’ Ritter). She married him and they are both extant in Oregon, well into their nineties).
He brought us a tin of American sausage meat (about 6” high, 4” wide) which had a half inch layer of dripping around it. The meat was tasty and the dripping was lovely on toast. Merlin used to go 'hunting' blackberries.
I had feared that the Big Game would be a dull affair as the teams know each other so well. Instead it was highly entertaining and enthralling. Well done to both sides. Maybe United felt more at home in that weather! I thought there was nothing to choose between them. The first half was United's, the second half Chelsea's and extra time very even. I don't really see how any of the supporters and staff (both playing and non-playing) can claim their team was the better side. I'm also surprised that highly paid professional footballers, who should know the rules so well, cannot maintain their discipline in such an important game. Maybe it's the Gallic influence as my mind goes back to Zidane's headbutt in the World Cup Final.
ReplyDeleteI'm too young to remember powdered egg.
As I get older work is becoming increasingly more about having a good salary to pay the bills and maximise my pension. Job satisfaction is of much less importance than it used to be. This is probably because I want to retire and pursue my own interests but cannot afford to do that just yet. I could have a big whinge about my current management concerning themselves with trivial issues (such as where we should sit in the office) whilst the big picture starts to fall apart. But I would only bore everybody, myself included. Sport, art, photography, cooking and people are much more interesting topics.
Thanks for the encouragement with the haiku. I think it's a fascinating form of poetry but, as you say RG, a good time-waster. So, to answer your question...
Did the best team win
Or are you a Chelsea fan
I'm a happy man
Rob
I just watched the penalty shoot-out - that's about all the excitement I can take! This usually a football-free household.
ReplyDeleteAnother great photo. You're, he does make water look like water....
We used to have powdered egg as scrambled egg. Don't think my Mother had heard of omelettes then. I don't know/remember a product called 'Golden Egg' - I assume it was a sort of pwdered egg? I've seen packets of oowdered egg whites on the shelves.
I thought job-satisfaction might have become more important the older you got? To compensate for being at work when you had so many interests you would rather pursue?
NT are lucky to have volunteers like you & Y, I think it is very difficult nowadays to find people to do these things. I have a frind in a village in Lincs who has been trying to pass on her job as treasurer to the Village Hall (it's let put for functions) for three years, she has finally succeded, a newly-retired incomer has taken it on. So incomers are good for things sometimes.
Gardener came today, we have just about finished all the planting between us. I got some interesting bulbs and plants half-price at M & S - a chocolate-coloured and smelling cosmos? - and 30 double mauve gladioli. They will be a bit late coming up, but should be fine.
R staying up for the by-election result in Crewe - I'm not, I only do that for general elections!