Monday, May 19, 2008

Nice to have Y back - Travellers leaving


Panoramas 1 and 2 are from exactly the same three shots, but merged by different programmes. No 1 is courtesy of my new programme and I've semi-cracked it. But it seems determined to produce these strange shapes. Maybe it is to mimic an old 'fish-eye' effect and the narrowed centre is to ive the impression of depth. Interesting to note that nothing is cut out of the picture ......... I obviously need to shin further up the 'learning curve'. I've also worked out how to simply join two photos together, like yesterday's 'Laburnum Arch'.

Panorama 2 is courtesy of good 'ol Serif Panorama 2 which maybe took a few minutes longer but we aren't talking long anyway.

I also thought a picture of the Travellers Rest over the football field might be of interest. In the last few minutes about 4 of them have moved off. Let's hope the others soon follow. The free spirit in me must confess a certain sympathy with them and I can see an attraction to that way of life. There presence is certainly not worth getting in a tizzy over, like our neighbours.

Y arrived on time at the Tram terminal and it is good to have her home. For main meal I cooked sausages, mash with swede in it, carrots, spring greens, courgettes and battered onion rings. Plus of course, plenty gravy. Y said all the right things about a proper meal, because in London they tend to eat differently. Andy is an excellent cook and finds it relaxing, as I do, and he does a tidy sausage, egg and chips. But they eat more pasta than we do.

The moon has just risen - a beautiful shade of orange. Didn't have time to set up a camera though.

Comments..... Roy.... What can I say but 'welcome aboard' and I'm so pleased you've mastered the technology. Your comment is spot on for accuracy. It is in fact the second stem of the plant. I just hadn't looked carefully enough. No wonder I was never on CID.

Bungus ...... Sorry you have been feeling 'under par' or, I always think, pedant that I am, if it is a golfing metaphor, it should be 'over par'.

You really mustn't overdo this physical activity thing though. Y might read your comment and get ideas. So pleased your coming off those awful chemicals seems to be having a benificial effect. It has been a rough-time for you and we all admire the good spirits which you have managed to maintain.

AnonymousRob..... Congratulations on a new laptop ! I'm sure your output will remain of high qualty. And it's 'writing' when your are the author, 'typing' is when you transpose something that another person has written. What exactly is a dongle and do I want one?

Elaine's new motor sounds fun. And you are right about gossip travelling fast. But it isn't gossiping when men do it - it's called discussing things. As you say 'vive la difference'.

I can understand your connecting in your mind 'haiku' with the first three lines of the Dylan Villanelle. Strictly speaking a 'haiku' is three lines with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line and 5 in the last line. The Japanese master Basho was a main protagonist around 1681 onwards. If you open the link and notice that the syllable form isn't strictly followed, it is just due to translation. We have an Algonquin friend who used to spend some time with us and when he went home he gave me a book of traditional haiku which I treasure.

Jill ....... We have had three orchids altogether. At £4.94 at Lidl they were too good to miss. The original pink one (of which Reg has a marvellous example) has been in flower months. The white one which I 'blogged' is not so old and is dying first.

Y has been cold but she's had a good time. She did lots of child-minding, visits to the Park etc., and felt that in 'Thomas The Tank Engine' terms she has been a really useful engine. She is tired but happy.

Kendall Mint Cake should not, in my recollection, be as you describe. Chewy and soft according to that link. And it helped Hillary conquer Everest according to the blurb. I'm afraid, with regard to yours, the bin calls.

................................

Busy day tomorrow. A Karen day, and the lawns need doing again too. Nat Trst Committee meeting at Jeans. Catch up on things.

Quotation time ....... This is a Haiku which seems timely:-

"As the wind does blow
Across the trees, I see the
Buds blooming in May"

I nicked it from the UCLA Asia Institute. It isn't a very good haiku because it is just 17 syllables forced unnaturally into the three line form. It would have been 'thumbs down' from Basho, I fear.

An animated line follows. Did they used to call this character 'funf' or am I getting confused with old radio shows again?




.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Apparently ‘Vaseline Body Wash for Men’ gives stronger skin. Does that mean one is less likely to burst when sunbathing?
I enjoyed discovering that the Cuban National Newspaper is called ‘Granma’.

I am very impressed by the way the Chinese have tackled the outcome of the earthquake. The silence on Monday I found very impressive and it all contrasts very favourably with what has happened in Burma.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Maybe I am missing something but I cannot see any difference between your new and old panorama programmes apart from the ‘dip’.

Are you in a tizzy about your neighbours or are your neighbours in a tizzy about the travellers. They are certainly there (or have been) in significant numbers.
I prefer the ones in the ‘proper’ caravans with washing on the hedge and a horse tethered close by.
Like the Arabs, true gypsies are much cleaner than us; eating only with the right hand, separate bowls for washing and dish washing, etc.

They certainly eat differently down south. My 2nd wife came from Chippenham (unfortunately) although I found her in Norfolk. When her parents visited their other daughters they would take their own joint to cook alongside their hosts’; and no one who called was offered a cuppa.

I cannot fault your logic but I have never heard anyone say they felt ‘over par’ when poorly.
I see no point in being a miserable pessimist. I shall tackle the remaining lawn later (I badly need the exercise).

No, Funf was a character on ITMA; a German spy, “This is Funf speaking”.
The character looking over the wall is Chad, “Wot no …?”.

AnonymousRob.....

In response to Graham’s query I only remember a saying, viz: “Never let your dongle dingle dangle in the dust”

I always thought a Haiku was 13 syllables (or am I confusing it with 13 lines in a sonnet?). Hikus always seem far too simplistic for me (compared with the fiendishly difficult villanelle) and I have never seen one witty or clever or profound enough to make me want to remember it.
Basho sounds like someone out of the Beano or Dandy

Your job sounds a bit like the last one I had. I taught myself to type and wrote a lot of poetry and half a novel (still not completed after 20+ years) in the time I was there. AND I had 2 assistants plus a photographer.
Good luck with your alibis and such.

Sorry to hear that you have joined the 4x4 brigade (I presume that is what a Nissan X-trail is). Do you intend becoming an off-roader?


Jill:

I recall Kendall Mint Cake as being very hard.


Quote:
“You cannot open a book without learning something.” (Confucius)

Anonymous said...

I have just got home from a full day of visiting various parts of Nottingham and Mansfield. I and a colleague have been trying to get employers to think about recruiting offenders. It's a bit like bashing your head against a brick wall - it's a relief when you stop doing it.

Yes, the new job will be very similar but the 'beneficiaries' will be people with disabilities. Maybe employers will be more sympathetic.

CS3 and the dongle have arrived safely. All we need to do is install them on the laptop. A dongle is a device that you plug in to a computer or laptop via a usb socket and it connects you to the internet wherever you are. It's also known as mobile broadband. It's provided, at a price of course, by mobile phone providers and uses the same technology. No more wires, no more wifi hotspots. It's a hip, happening thing and is proving popular with people who spend time in different locations and want to get internet access. Students who move digs every year, or less, like them as well as there is no need to keep paying an ISP for changing everything to a new address. Do you need one, RG? I can see the benefits on your WoW-ing days. You will need to check with your mobile phone company to see if they do them. You can also check out www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/04/02/cmdongle102.xml... or just type dongle into the search engine.

The Nissan X-trail is a 4x4 but is mainly driven on the 2-wheel drive setting. Despite having a 2200cc 136bhp engine, it is more economical on fuel than Elaine's Seat Ibiza 1.2 was. Its main benefit to us will be in getting the dogs in the back and towing the caravan. We keep it off-road at nights - does that count?

I have only ever experienced very hard Kendal Mint Cake. I can't see what the fuss is about.

The quoted haiku is indeed timely, but boring.
And now the time has
Come for me to depart and
Go see my true love


Rob

Anonymous said...

I forgot to say earlier that Granma is an interesting read as it's written in the old-style communist dialectic method. it is named after the boat that Fidel, Che, Raul and the other heros of the revolution arrived in/on to start the aforesaid revolution. We bought a copy when in Cuba last year, English language version of course. the same is available on the internet I believe.

Rob