Saturday, October 18, 2008

Good Saturday - Y lunches with Sylvia

.
A pleasant Saturday. I took Y to town where she was meeting Sylvia for lunch at The Bell.

While she was there I went to Carphone Warehouse and bought a new mobile. The minor defects in my existing Samsung - 'warning tone of impending appointment too faint' and 'not going off at all in some circumstances' finally reached irritation point. In any case Hannah quite fancies my exisiting one. So I have returned to a tried and trusted Nokia 6500 slide.

It will take me ages to work out how to use its wide range of facilities but I shall get there. The warning tone is loud enough even for my wax-full ears. Having them syringed on Friday 24th though, prior to our holiday. And Yes, I have been doing the warm olive-oil bit.

The Bell has undergone a major re-fit which Y tells me has been mostly downstairs and affected them little. Her last visit had resulted in a 20% off voucher which made the meal and drinks under a tenner. Sylvia doesn't really like The Bell, preferring the fawning waiters at Café de Paris, and in anycase she had forgotten her voucher.

Picture 1 is, as you can see, a snap of a Small Tortoiseshell aglais urticae and I'm quite pleased with the photograph. Probably Bungus will manage some constructive criticism but we are used to that n'est ce pas?

Picture 3 is to keep you uptodate with the Liquidamber which gets progressively redder. In the course of the next few weeks some leaves go purple and all sorts of other shades in between. One of which is a virulent dark green. Watch this space.

Before setting off for town I got down on my hands/knees and cleared a patch for the gooseberry bushes. I have one of those kneeling things with handles which makes it all possible. The plants looked healthy, with little buds just emerging. Far too early of course, but a good keen frost will slow them down a bit.

This evening we enjoyed Strictly come Dancing and there were some excellent performances. Those at the top - Cherie, Tom, Austin don't need our support. In the end Y voted for Heather Small and I voted for Jodie Kidd.

Comments

Bungus ....... Don't let the Moon/melon similarity worry you. It's only my over-active imagination anyway.

The full moon we have just experienced was the Hunters' Moon by the way.

You weren't supposed to SEE anything in the Shower. It was just that we have had a new shower fitted, complete with new basin, and I wanted to 'record' that boring fact. For me the whole purpose of my blog is for family and friends to have access to our routine lives, both now and for the future. Hence the 'record' shots. How do you feel it should be?

As I keep advising you - "Write your own blog and then you can have whatever content and whatever pictures you approve of".


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

E-mail just in with this picture attached. Earlier in the day David rang for Delia's oven-baked winter vegetables recipe which I dictated to him over the phone.

As is so often the case with Delia, she helpfull says that the choice of vegetables isn't set in stone ! Use whatever you have.

He followed it and and was very pleased with the result, to accompany Jamie Oliver's Sea Bass á la Tony Blair but with Rainbow Trout substituted. As David says the trout is less expensive than the sea-bass and just as tasty. It eertainly looks excellent my boy! Congratulations !

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

Baby-sitting at Burton Joyce tomorrow evening. But plenty to do before that.

Bit tired - so I'm closing there..... David's always loved this picture -



Good night and sleep tight
.


















3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am no admirer of Mr Mugabe but his statement that "the talks had gone very well in the wrong direction", does have panache.

Some days ago I opined that Sarah Palin would be likely to attack Cuba before Russia.
My reasoning is that Cuba is a safer distance away, some 4,000 miles as opposed to 40!

BLOG COMMENT
Lovely tortoiseshell.
I think I may have cropped it more, had it been my decision, but I’m only saying that because you expect it!
When was it taken – not yesterday, surely?

I have always liked The Bell (from over 50 years ago when they did superb re-heated roast chicken). But I didn’t know they had an upstairs (not one open to the public anyway).

Before you go too far (unless I am already too late), you did offer me one of the gooseberry bushes. If they are both the same variety, it would be appreciated because Lidl had sold out before I got there. But if you have changed your mind, no worry - or urgency.

Now, now, dear boy; don’t get tetchy!
What had me looking for more in the shower photo is the obscurity of the following two cryptic phrases.
“Peter Pan plays in RG's new shower” and
“I didn't realise motion would be frozen to quite this extent…”
And if I want advice, I’ll ask for it, so there!
(I mean that, too, because I often find your advice useful).
And (if we are going to be spiky) as for my not doing my own blog goes, I hope you realise that if it hadn’t been for me you would have had no comment at all yesterday!
A bit of irritation is good for you anyway.

I too am very fond of mixed roast veg. Makes a good cob if any left over..

I can undertstand David liking the picture, which I presume he has known for some time. It is full of interesting details.

Now THAT spider photo DOESN’T give me the shudders. Lovely little fella (or, more likely, lass).

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the new mobile number, RG. Both Elaine and I have Nokia 6500 Slide phones and are very happy with them. My work mobile is a Samsung and I don't like it at all (as a phone that is, not because of the work connection).

Who is David Gibson? Or do you mean David Gibbens who is an ARPS, or was the last time I looked. Colin Gibson, from Long Eaton, has been an FRPS for over 25 years. He got his Fellowship with a panel of landscapes (monochrome, of course) featuring power stations. I doubt that he is the same Colin Gibson that you know Bungus as he is still alive. And no, he didn't play football for Villa or ManU.

Another normal sports Saturday. The top Premier League teams winning, the Stags losing by the odd goal after leading, Panthers losing to a team they should beat. Only Andy Murray upset the apple cart by beating Federer. I think I heard mention that Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix.

Bungus, re the shower, I think RG was trying to say that he used a torch to light the inside of it and expected the warm coloured light to have covered more of the inside than it did in the photo. If that is so, he should have used a longer shutter speed. I also think he is trying to say that the warm streak of light top middle reminds him of Peter Pan. If he's not trying to say those things, I haven't a clue what he is on about but as long as he is happy, who cares?

As far as the moon/melon is concerned, all I can say is:
The moon's a melon
Canteloupe or honeydew?
Galia surely!


Rob

Anonymous said...

Rob --- Cabbages and Kings Ring a bell