Friday, November 07, 2008

Free-wheeling Friday - Weekend Off

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To maintain some sort of order I decided to begin with this Carpenters Arms, Dale Abbey 'chip-cob' picture from Wednesday. And as you can see the cobs were quite respectable and the surroundings were most attractive. A nice looking, ivy-covered , proper Derbyshire rural pub. Good company, humour, and intelligent conversation - who could ask for more !!

I could have called today's snaps "Travels with my Nokia" because all three were taken therewith. And for record type grab-shots I consider them perfectly adequate. Rob and Elaine both have the same phone and I need to seek guidance over some points. But I am getting used to it and I like it.

Picture 2 is the view from the front door and the Liquidamber continues to 'redden' a little more each day. This year, the vivid green and purple seem to be missing - perhaps later !

Y's journey to London was uneventful and they were all so pleased to see her. My travels today have been within the house, walking from one room to another, interspersed with several lies-down. The big event was a visit from the window cleaner !

The weather has been wet and windy with some sunny spells and it has been fun watching the falling leaves blowing about.

I rang Julian to see how Helen is fairing with her cold and sore throat, only to learn she is still suffering ! She e-mailed me later but there seems to be 'lots of it about' and although Joan shows some improvement her cough certainly hasn't been cured. Lulu was on Woman's Hour yesterday and she is a great fan of 'ginger tea' which she claims to drink each day. Unfortunately she didn't disclose her recipe but I guess that google will find me one ! A task for tomorrow.

My final picture is the rear garden Silver Birch and it has been fascinating to watch the tree work away at recreating its shape since Alex cut a good third off the top for safety reaons. It is worryingly close to a public footpath and we wouldn't want to nobble a passing Brinsley-onian !

Were we to be living in Ollerton things would be different !

There is subject-blur in the picture due to the wind, and it was taken through window-glass but the exposure decision the camera reached automatically can't be faulted.

Comments

bungus ........ I am so sorry the boundary dispute has flared up again. Unfortunately I can think of 'naught for your comfort' because, in my lengthy experience, such things were never settled amicably and the Courts are your only defence.

Lets hope Sandra improves more soon, but I'm sorry your fungi-foraging failed.

You are quite right - "guffaw" is a strange word. My Etymological Dictionary suggests early 18thC and Scottish - imitative of coarse laughter. The only close word maybe 'chortle' I think.

When you say the Church may be RC - of course, at that sort of date it could be no other. All churches were RC until Henry V111 came along.

I enjoyed your Jesus joke. You certainly didn't telegraph the ending ! I chortled !

jill ...... I'm sorry your 'comment' suffered a google-glitch. Very frustrating when something you have crafted just vanishes.

The boat captain with his brolly is beginning to sound a little like Mary Poppins I think.

anonymousrob ....... Thank you for your welcome back. It is good to be back. It always is n'est ce pas ? Does anyone, ever, know who their MEP is ?

You are right. I should have mentioned Barack Obama, and Lewis Hamilton. Yes. They both did extraordinary well. And both events must achieve enormous good, in terms of race-relations.

Re your out of synch English Breakfast. "SOMERSET MAUGHAM once said that to eat well in England you must eat breakfast three times a day".

anonymousJBW ...... Thank you very much indeed for the info about Dale Abbey ! This is just how I like the blog to be. Different people contributing some interesting facts. (Or opinions for that matter - all grist to the mill so to speak)

reg ...... It would be really good if you could unearth an earlier picture with the tilted gravestones ! I suppose you dcould always tilt a few in Photoshop ! I speak in jest !

It would also be good to return soon in better light. And although I wouldn't be able to get to the Hermit's cave myself, I am very interested in it. As you know I have a powerful torch and some pictures of the crucifix you mention would be great.

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A little tired now - so no quotation - see you tomorrow


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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Friday, November 07, 2008
FRIDIARY
Last visit to City Hospital for a year, barring unforeseen events – next appointment 6th Nov 2009.
Today went OK; no particular travel delays but appointments were running about half an hour late. Head doc not there so I was seen by a pleasant lad playing truant who justified himself by making a rather more thorough examination than may have been strictly necessary. But no ill effects although my blood pressure (taken before the doc saw me) was surprisingly rather a lot higher at the top level than it was 3 days ago. No alarm bells but regular 3 monthly checks at GP surgery ordered.

I am impressed by the quality of the Nokia photos.

We have a silver birch in the front garden and Sandrs remarked only yesterday on its delicate beauty. That too was lopped a few years ago but you would never guess.

Your ‘visit from the window cleaner’ conjures up memories of ‘blue’ films of the 60s, the nearest thing we had to erotica in those days.
I recall visiting my oldest friend, down south. He had been invited to take me to a showing, courtesy of the school caretaker. My friend was trepidatious about it, having visions of a headline in the local paper ‘Local primary school head arrested at film show’. He expressed his unease to the caretaker and asked where the films had come from. The local ‘nick’, apparently; confiscated stock, courtesy of the sergeant.

My gut feeling is that the boundary dispute will not reach the courts. Some sort of arbitration may eventually resolve it but we shall see. It will be interesting to discover how the local authority react now that they have been made aware of it. It is not, of course, their responsibility to settle the matter.

I considered ‘chortle’, which is a nice easy word, but it did not seem explosive enough in the circumstances.

Re the church and Catholicism. Your history is impeccable. I was thinking, however, of the juxtaposition with the pub as being more at one with that faith,. But apparently the pub was post reformation.

I used to know who my MEP was when it was Ken Coates.

I agree that Lewis Hamilton’s success, like that of other sporting heroes, can only help raial tolerance (although Jack Johnson and JC Owens didn’t exactly create a favourable impression with EVERYONE, did they?).
But, although I think Barack Obama’s success is a marvellous thing, I fear there will be a ‘redneck’ backlash which could threaten him in a big way.

Jill:
Our ‘Delia Smith Complete Cookery Course’ is now very battered – stuck together with carpet tape. I think I shall have to try Amazon for a second-hand copy in good nick.

I am pleased to say that over the years Sandra has kept her cool much better than me about the hedge/boundary problems. But, apart from the early stages (2002) it is only recently that she has become closely involved.
Having finished her course of antibiotics and become bored with lying in bed, she has been 'up' today, tidying the kitchen but mainly supine setteewise. I think she has accepted, against her nature, that recovery will take time.

For several years Stephanie has been doing painted glass (special paints baked on) including a large fruit bowl for a cousin’s wedding present, decorated to show the countries visited and the route taken on the round-the-world cycling honeymoon (marriage now dissolved; don’t know about the bowl).
It is likely that the featured blue glass (just one, photographed from 4 sides) started as clear glass, painted and then decorated with hallowe’eny pics.
But a number of users at the workshop - a unique charity, effectively run by Sandra with help from a few other volunteers and a couple of part-time paid workers, one of whom is Stephanie (nowt wrong wi’ a bit o’ constructive nepotoism!) – have for several years been doing stained glass work, guided by a volunteer tutor. Recently, however a ‘glass fusing & slumping kiln’ has been purchased and several volunteers, now tutors, sent on courses in how to use it. This is utilised to produce decorative glass pieces of considerable, and often unpredictable, variety, as well as jewelry such as pendants and earrings. The large 'coaster' on which the glass is standing was a 'slump' product.

Anonymous said...

That's very good news, Bungus. And also pleased to hear that Sandra is taking it easy too.

Those trees are lovely, G, I was looking today at those round a local green, trouble is there is such a strong wind today it's blowing them off the trees very soon after they turn colour.

I still don't understand the attraction of chyps/cobs together. Perhaps it is inherited? Does Y have them when she joins you?

The bit about the glass was interesting, Carrie uses the special kiln at Richmond College, she is always doing some qualification or other there, basically they let her do her own thing using their equipment. She mostly does small panels for hanging in front of windows, but did a bathroom window for a friend's wedding presents, it was beautiful, all dragons.

I watched some of 'Autumn Watch' really for the birds, am not interested in the deer, or Simon King faffing about under water.....and far too much use of infra-red cameras, boys and their toys.

Anonymous said...

Note Olde Englishe spelling of chips.....