tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23282643.post4293528851763653279..comments2023-10-12T15:59:35.120+01:00Comments on radiogandy: Attenborough Nature Reserve - Glorious Daytracyjameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00914991294683176018noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23282643.post-8559996611865242772008-05-12T21:11:00.000+01:002008-05-12T21:11:00.000+01:00We arrived back from our caravan yesterday lunchti...We arrived back from our caravan yesterday lunchtime (Elaine had to go to work) after a glorious weekend in the sun. I took advantage of the weather yesterday to follow RG's lead and give the car a good 'bottoming'. After an hour and a quarter of <BR/>hoovering it out I decided it was worth 5 quid for the local Albanians to give it a hand wash.<BR/><BR/>I am on the verge of getting my new contract at work after my current employers eventually got it right and agreed to my request for leave of absence or a sabbatical as they choose to call it. It's a complicated situation but, basically, I have left their employment but have a right to go back on the same salary band but not to the same job. Anyway, I am gainfully employed on a good salary until 31 March 2009.<BR/><BR/>Yesterday I also watched, via my PC, the denouement to the Premiership season and am more than happy to offer my congratulations to ManU. Despite Wigan not getting a penalty they should have had, I think Utd were always the likely winners. Good for the romantics that Giggsy got the second goal to seal the victory.<BR/><BR/>I love the 'bottoms up' picture and am sure it will work well as a statement.<BR/><BR/>Wasn't Kipling a weird person? Has anyone seen <I>My Son Jack</I>?<BR/><BR/>RobAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23282643.post-74891142976380277872008-05-12T11:48:00.000+01:002008-05-12T11:48:00.000+01:00Some readers may recall my mentioning that I had ...Some readers may recall my mentioning that I had eaten squirrel.<BR/>According to a near half page article in this week’s Observer, it is now regarded as a delicacy in places as far apart as Cornwall and Northumberland. <BR/>Game Shops in both places say thay can sell as many as they can get and are struggling to meet the demand (one has sold over a thousand this year at £3.50 a go). They say two will feed 3 people; I’d say one each. <BR/>The 2 shopkeepers differ on flavour (I would say tough rabbit); one says ‘wild boar’ the other says ‘a cross between duck and lamb’ (imagine one of those walking down the street). <BR/>They reckon its appeal is partly due to ‘greenness’ (no road miles) and partly to protection of their red cousins. There is a plentiful supply (estimated 5 million in Britain). <BR/>Suggested recipes? Southern Fried Squirrel, Tandooried Squirrel, Squirrel with sausage meat and bacon, Squirrel fricaseed with Cornish cream and walnuts. But the favourite is Cornish Squirrel Pasty (for which a recipe is given). <BR/>I’ll certainly give it a go again.<BR/><BR/>Glad the coot was reunited with her chick. They always seem to manage it after many repetitive failed attempts. <BR/>At Ollerton Pit Woods (the old pit tip) we had a swan which was similarly on the wrong side of the wire for about a fortnight until it realised it had wings!<BR/><BR/>We visited Blackwall Plantation a couple of times when we had a van. <BR/>I remember exceptionally steep hills and no birds (it being in the middle of a gloomy pine forest but with nice little clearings for four to eight vans).<BR/> <BR/>’Wheel him in’ will take over a whole new meaning. Pleased they are freeing you up. (‘But does he take milk?). <BR/><BR/>I am sure I have recipes for wild garlic if you want me to look.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the info on finding snaps in Picasa. My problem is that I give files a name like ‘flowers’ when they also contain steam engines. <BR/>But I was unaware of 'search' and will give it a try.<BR/>I’ve done it and it worked!<BR/><BR/>’Crises’ is the plural but I see no reason to not accept ‘crise’ as an alternative<BR/><BR/>I like the quote. Wasn’t Seneca the chap who invented laxatives? <BR/> <BR/>Your 'duck you' version of two fingers is lovely. <BR/>I recall seeing a duck do that and a moorhen nipped in and bit its bum before swiftly retiring. The duck swiftly surfaced and I will swear looked puzzled and affronted.<BR/>I once did a similar moorhen thing in the dinner queue at school. There was a second cousin of mine, Donald Renshaw (of whom I had previously been unaware) in the same Form. He was a morose, unfriendly lad with a chip on his shoulder (he did come from Skegby) and I didn’t like him. So, one day, I leaned forward in the dinner queue and smacked him on the back of the head before swiftly withdrawing and assuming an innocent pose. <BR/>I am glad I did, because some time later we started (unsupervised) boxing in the gym at dinner time (I had one bout against a close friend which ended up even). We gave encouragement to another friend who we thought would give Don a good hiding. But it transpired that Don was an amateur boxer of considerable skill and power (compared with the rest of us - he had a six-pack before anyone had heard of six-packs) and he took Mike apart ruthlessly.<BR/><BR/>What the hell is ‘google page-ranking’? <BR/>Do you make things up just to bother me? <BR/><BR/>Jill:<BR/>I thought your two different swimming pools were the same one. Are you sure you just didn’t come upon it from a different direction? Perhaps there was only one pool and they told you there were three just to make it sound better?<BR/>It sounds like Tesco. My dad always said that they moved things around weekly just to irritate him; a personal vendetta.<BR/> <BR/>Things usually happen in threes. <BR/>Sometimes it works well. <BR/>In the week before we moved from the pub the microwave, the washing machine and the dishwasher all broke down so we didn’t have to take them with us.<BR/>One interesting thing about the move was that none of Sandra’s underwear arrived at the destination. So she had to borrow some knickers (those that appear to have little holes all over) from our neighbour who was and is twice her size. And, oddly enough, the same thing happened to my favourite aunt when she moved house (but she didn't borrow off our neighbour).<BR/>So, everyone, beware knicker-snatching removal men.<BR/><BR/>More mysogony<BR/>“And a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke”.<BR/>(Kipling)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23282643.post-79814144925591881362008-05-12T11:47:00.000+01:002008-05-12T11:47:00.000+01:00Some readers may recall my mentioning that I had ...Some readers may recall my mentioning that I had eaten squirrel.<BR/>According to a near half page article in this week’s Observer, it is now regarded as a delicacy in places as far apart as Cornwall and Northumberland. <BR/>Game Shops in both places say thay can sell as many as they can get and are struggling to meet the demand (one has sold over a thousand this year at £3.50 a go). They say two will feed 3 people; I’d say one each. <BR/>The 2 shopkeepers differ on flavour (I would say tough rabbit); one says ‘wild boar’ the other says ‘a cross between duck and lamb’ (imagine one of those walking down the street). <BR/>They reckon its appeal is partly due to ‘greenness’ (no road miles) and partly to protection of their red cousins. There is a plentiful supply (estimated 5 million in Britain). <BR/>Suggested recipes? Southern Fried Squirrel, Tandooried Squirrel, Squirrel with sausage meat and bacon, Squirrel fricaseed with Cornish cream and walnuts. But the favourite is Cornish Squirrel Pasty (for which a recipe is given). <BR/>I’ll certainly give it a go again.<BR/><BR/>Glad the coot was reunited with her chick. They always seem to manage it after many repetitive failed attempts. <BR/>At Ollerton Pit Woods (the old pit tip) we had a swan which was similarly on the wrong side of the wire for about a fortnight until it realised it had wings!<BR/><BR/>We visited Blackwall Plantation a couple of times when we had a van. <BR/>I remember exceptionally steep hills and no birds (it being in the middle of a gloomy pine forest but with nice little clearings for four to eight vans).<BR/> <BR/>’Wheel him in’ will take over a whole new meaning. Pleased they are freeing you up. (‘But does he take milk?). <BR/><BR/>I am sure I have recipes for wild garlic if you want me to look.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the info on finding snaps in Picasa. My problem is that I give files a name like ‘flowers’ when they also contain steam engines. <BR/>But I was unaware of 'search' and will give it a try.<BR/>I’ve done it and it worked!<BR/><BR/>’Crises’ is the plural but I see no reason to not accept ‘crise’ as an alternative<BR/><BR/>I like the quote. Wasn’t Seneca the chap who invented laxatives? <BR/> <BR/>Your 'duck you' version of two fingers is lovely. <BR/>I recall seeing a duck do that and a moorhen nipped in and bit its bum before swiftly retiring. The duck swiftly surfaced and I will swear looked puzzled and affronted.<BR/>I once did a similar moorhen thing in the dinner queue at school. There was a second cousin of mine, Donald Renshaw (of whom I had previously been unaware) in the same Form. He was a morose, unfriendly lad with a chip on his shoulder (he did come from Skegby) and I didn’t like him. So, one day, I leaned forward in the dinner queue and smacked him on the back of the head before swiftly withdrawing and assuming an innocent pose. <BR/>I am glad I did, because some time later we started (unsupervised) boxing in the gym at dinner time (I had one bout against a close friend which ended up even). We gave encouragement to another friend who we thought would give Don a good hiding. But it transpired that Don was an amateur boxer of considerable skill and power (compared with the rest of us - he had a six-pack before anyone had heard of six-packs) and he took Mike apart ruthlessly.<BR/><BR/>What the hell is ‘google page-ranking’? <BR/>Do you make things up just to bother me? <BR/><BR/>Jill:<BR/>I thought your two different swimming pools were the same one. Are you sure you just didn’t come upon it from a different direction? Perhaps there was only one pool and they told you there were three just to make it sound better?<BR/>It sounds like Tesco. My dad always said that they moved things around weekly just to irritate him; a personal vendetta.<BR/> <BR/>Things usually happen in threes. <BR/>Sometimes it works well. <BR/>In the week before we moved from the pub the microwave, the washing machine and the dishwasher all broke down so we didn’t have to take them with us.<BR/>One interesting thing about the move was that none of Sandra’s underwear arrived at the destination. So she had to borrow some knickers (those that appear to have little holes all over) from our neighbour who was and is twice her size. And, oddly enough, the same thing happened to my favourite aunt when she moved house (but she didn't borrow off our neighbour).<BR/>So, everyone, beware knicker-snatching removal men.<BR/><BR/>More mysogony<BR/>“And a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke”.<BR/>(Kipling)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com