Foul weather - humidity 93%

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My igoogle homepage weather section tells me that, in Mansfield, the humidity is 93%. Not being a metereologist, this suggests to me that the atmosphere is 93% water. And it feels like it too, even if the real meaning is more sophisticated.

Yesterday my inability to fit in blog-time was explained by shopping, xmas shopping, buying and installing a new laptop and allied tasks. My old one now has to be coaxed into action and is quite unstable.

As I now use the full sized PC in the office more and more I have gone to the other extreme and bought a very small 'netbook' called an Asus Eee and, now I've installed the software I need, it's performancer impresses me.

Picture 2 shows the device at the side of Y's conventionally sized Toshiba which gives you a good idea of it. A good thing is that the keys are normal size and the space is saved by the keyboard only being 70% of a full one.

As I neither understood nor use at least 35% of my office keyboard this is no great loss.

The other great advantage is the weight and the carryaboutability.

Picture 1 is just another 'snow bones' scene from WoW at Hartington and I quite like the leafless trees in the middle distance, breaking the sky-line. A judge would like that.

Today has been fun. Y has done the Xmas Tree and Y's trees are unmistakeable and delightful (my Xmas would not be the same without one) a picture might follow.

Comments

mannanan ........ Thanks for dropping by. Nice to see you.

Jill ........ Thanks for your comments on the pictures. So encouraging. And I like it too when you give one the thumbs down. Don't want to get complacent.

Your cosmopolitan xmas knitting party with nibbles sounds fabulous. As you say, well worth suffering indigestion for. And by now you will have done the Peter Jones bit too. All this excitement.

Bungus .... Talking of TV, we have fallen in love with BBC iPlayer please click. Whenever we decide to sit down for a meal Y can usually find something of interest to us both. It really is close to TV on demand, but free!

This lunchtime we watched the Hairy Bikers cooking Xmas delicacies for people having to work over xmas. Great fun.

Re Rennies. Gaviscon is effective. Although double strength 'health salts' followed by a hearty belch is more satisfying.

Roy ...... Re the rock mound. I'm sure that, when we all next meet, Roger will be able to tell you fairly precisely where it was. My geography is hopeless.

Re sneaking off to take photographs. I agree that, amongst members of a camera club, such behaviour is quite indefensible. The past participle 'snook'. sounds like that whale-meat we had to eat during the war.

Re the lay figure 'shadow' picture. You are quite welcome to pop round one afternoon when the sun is sinking. Or of course I could always lend you the lay-figure. I wouldn't worry about originallity at all. Such fears have never weighed heavily on artists in other mediums.

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Strictly come Dancing should be exciting. In a few minutes too. Unless Tom makes a right pig's ear of it I think my voted will go for him. Neither of us is very keen on Lisa, or, more precisely her professional partner Brendan who is an ill mannered oaf.

Tomorrow we are out with Mansfield National Trust on a coach outing to Belton House. A lovely spot. Hope the weather is better.

Quotation time ..........

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it"

Pablo Picasso

The link behing his name is to some pictures - which say more than words.

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"


It's just got to be that damned train again. One of my favourites is all.




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Sorry no Blog - Too busy - explain tomorrow

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Just a picture of smokey/misty Hartington.

Been too busy to write my blog. No problems - but I will explain tomorrow. With pictures !

Quotation time ------

"Electricity is actually made up of extremely tiny particles called electrons, that you cannot see with the naked eye unless you have been drinking"

Dave Barry

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"

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A quiet day - as promised - still cold at 36F

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A very quiet day, plenty of naps, reading, radio and all the things I promised myself yesterday.

Y has gone to Burton Joyce and insisted on 'bussing' it both ways so I got a rest. I've really appreciated it but I don't like to think of her standing in the cold and dark waiting for busses. It doesn't seem a proper husbandly role for me to play.

The two pictures are from virtually the same spot and well demonstrate my searched-for 'snow bones'. The top one was on the Nikon and the bottom one was on my mobile phone through the windscreen while sitting in the car. Stationary, I hasten to add.

I am going to rally in a few minutes and cook an evening meal but prior to that I want to catch up on the 6pm news.

The meal was a success - gridled chicken and potato gratin, followed by my cream cake from Lisa. Always on Thursday when Y arrives back from BJ, Lisa has sent me a cream-cake which is never less than delicious. Today it was a cream horn covered in those unique large sugar granules.

Appropriately, in iPlayer, we watched a Stephen Fry programme about his 'guilty delights' one of which is Farleys Rusks with some cold milk to dunk them in. Nice programme. He is a very engaging fellow and so talented. He is also game to admit that he loves Abba and also Delia .......

Before we leave the matter of the cold weather I want to show you a collage I have made of 2 pictures Bungus sent me of his car with the roof covered in frost.

I put the uncropped picture plus the enlarged crop (on the right) together to make the detail more understandable.

Nature is an artist of overwhelming genius ! And she keeps popping in little thumbnails where you least expect them. As I discussed with Helen only yesterday, photographers love beauty and that love makes them look at things with great care and enjoyment.


Comments

Jill ...... I'm so pleased if the photographs give you a 'feel' for our local countryside. As the crow flies we are only a mile from Derbyshire and a half-hour drive takes one deep into the touristy and non-touristy spots. Reg and Roy are pretty expert on deciding whereabouts would be a good place to head for.

We ought to catch up on Boris Johnson - particularly now you have given his current 2 parter the thumbs up.

Ro's plan of action for the C&W in Harrow, sounds sensible.

bungus ........ Whether or not the illustrated hillock is mad-made or not, I don't know. Roy might. It certainly isn't a spoil-heap.

If you were to decide on a MacArthur Glen sortie, and we are free, we or I would be pleased to join you for coffee.

anonymousrob ......... So pleased to hear about Andy and Christine. I don't know where they are staying but it would be great to see them.

It will be good to see some Andy Snaps again at EPS in due course, or here of course if you both would like to drop in.

Quotation time .......

"Learning sleeps and snores in libraries, but wisdom is everywhere, wide awake, on tiptoe"

Josh Billings

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"


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WoW at Hartington - Super Day -

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After meeting at Reg's, the 7 of us (after collecting Mike) set off for Hartington in Derbyshire in beautiful strong sunlight. Perhaps a little glare, but whose complaining. On route we saw ample evidence of the remains of the snow. As a boy, in Ashbourne, we called these remnants in the corners of the fields 'Snow Bones' and I was quite keen to seek some out.


Success came during our trip from Hartington after the chaps had had their walk, when we veered off the main road to Winster and drove to the top of a rise on a farm road. Picture 1 is the sort of view, as is the snap on the right.

When we emerged from the car the temperature was icy. The farmers wife, on her way out in a 4x4, far from wondering what we were doing on their farm road stopped to see if we had broken down. She wasn't at all grumpy and suggested that when we had finished our photographs to drive down to turn round in the farmyard rather than risk the grass.

Hartington is now a sleepy Derbyshire village. If you open the link you will see that in the middle-ages it was a market town. An excellent centre for walking because they have provided a useful amount of parking. The chaps found me a good parking spot in the market-place from whence I ventured to the Cheese Shop, the duckpond, and enjoyed my flask of coffee etc., unfortunately though, the spot seemed too remote for my vodafone dongle. Maybe because I was in a valley or simply out of range of a suitable mast but I couldn't receive a signal.

For our chip-cob we returned to the Miners Standard at Winster . Lovely chips and a wholemeal baguette all for £1.85p. Much enjoyed by all present.

By the time we left the pub the light was starting to go but, as Helen pointed out it was probably the onset of dusk. Dusk seems to start around lunchtime at the moment.

In the northern hemisphere I think the shortest day is 21st December but I'm willing to give way to an expert.

When I arrived home a pleasant surprise awaited me. David was visiting having called in for a cuppa on his way back from a 'teaching day' at Ripley. It had been about the presentation of Maths as a subject. He said it has been good and useful.

This evening Y and I watched Andrew Graham-Dixon on BBC 4 in his latest Art series. The programme was about the Medici family's influence on Art. WoW-ee I'm so glad we have a decent telly because pictorially the programme was superb and he really knows his stuff.

Comments

bungus ....... Re the 'misty photo'. Best stay with your dream image. As you say, the picture was mundane. But so are many of my pictures. Record Shots to illustrate the Blog - nothing more pretentious than that.

Re lametta/lamella. As Jill confirms, the former has been around ages. I had never heard of the latter until you introduced it.

Thanks for reminding me of the stage-death of Shirebrook Writers at Wentworth Castle. And the piece in question was actually quite good I thought ! Ah well.

anonymousKevin ..... when we went, we didn't realise it was bargain time at McArthy/ MacArthur Glen/Designer Outlet Village/East Midlands Designer Outlet etc. The case which Y bought was £19.99 instead of £30. Good for you with your hiking boots.

Jill ...... Re 'ankles and BP' - My GP is indeed hoping to pitch it just right between the 2 extremes. AnonymousJBW helpfully e-mailed his experiences with the same problem and suggested tablets which I am more than willing to discuss with Dr.Latimer. She wants to see me again when the reduced dosage has had time to take effect.

Your story about the closure of Ro's C &W club was so sad. You did the right think by going with him to offer support. I hope he feels he can manage the trip to the one in Harrow. Google tells me it's around 7 miles, but I suppose in the winter, as you say ....................

Quotation time ......

"What's another word for Thesaurus?"

Steven Wright

Y at BJ tomorrow. A rest-day for me. And I'm giving EPS a miss tomorrow evening because it is a 'judged' competition. And although my blood-pressure is very low I don't want to run any risks. I shall catch up on reading, radio, and kip.

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"

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Doctors, Macarthy Glen, Sausages, 37F

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A beautiful frosty start to the day. Misty and lovely light. Hope its like this for WoW tomorrow.

Apart from a little shopping, our day began with a visit to the Doctor. As I suspected, my blood pressure was far too low at 104/50 and the Doctor has reduced the dosage of one of my tablets. She had increased them in October in an attempt to overcome the swelling of my legs and ankles.

We discussed it and I decided I would rather live with the swelling than with the fatigue, nausea, and dizzy spells etc. The Doctor concurred. She is a lovely person - small and so neat ! She could 'neat' for England, and you can have a laugh and a joke together. At my request Y had accompanied me because I was worried I might forget something important.

This is getting boring so I'll stop ........ It has been a Karen day, and she makes us laugh and leaves the house so wonderfully clean and sweet smelling. She really enjoys cleaning and when we told her about family coming for a sausage-fest on Xmas Eve she said "Oh goody. Plenty of cleaning up to do. Peanuts under the sofa - that sort of thing"

Y rang Peter's Joan and she sounded buoyant apparently. Still some pain but getting better. We must go over and see her in the near future.

We then went to McArthy Glen, or as Karen's 10yr old daughter always corrects her 'The Designer Village Outlet' just off Motorway Point 28. Y needed a more manageable case for Palmers Green trips. After a few shops she found exactly what she wanted in an outlet imaginatively called The Bag Shop. The weather was bitterly cold and we were pleased to get home and have a hot meal. Sausages (from Shirebrook and excellent) mushrooms, carrots, potato wedges and brussels.

By the time I had had a nap the sun was setting and the shadow of the lay figure on the wardrobe made me think 'even the shadows are legging it'.

Soon be time for Claudia's 'It takes two'

Last night featured Austin and Erin and everyone had been devastated at their losing. He has been so entertaining and is such a smashing chap.

Comments ......

bungus ...... Hope you got some glasses to suit. I need my eyes testing too. There's just too much to worry about at the moment.

Had we been free, we would have nipped over and joined you in Wetherspoons for an hour but couldn't really fit it in. By the way, in Lidl they regularly have something described as 'Goose Breast'. Not a 'Crown' and they are more expensive, namely £11 plus. We didn't buy you one but please let me know if you want us to.

Re the OT and the 'Silent Years'. I wasn't kidding. It cropped up briefly in the 'Rise of Christianity and the Early Roman Empire' component of my degree. But it wasn't a major part and I don't really know much about it at all.

It wasn't me who introduced Neville King and 'Grandad' - I think it was Roy.

Re 'lametta' - I am afraid you are simply wrong. As you will see from this picture -

My Shorter Oxford has it from 1858. But, if you will rely on some over-edited and trimmed-down reference books ..............

Helen C ....... Oh dear ! Sorry you had a bad experience at The Hardwick Inn. I think that to recommend a Restaurant is becoming far to dangerous a practice. They seem good and then a week or so later they are awful ! I fear that many people go to The Hardwick Inn because of the grotesquely large portions. Not you and Julian obviously but, although our food, was very good I couldn't help noticing meals being served on the sort of plate you would carve a turkey on.

With regard to vegetarian food I am sure Bungus will have local recommendations because this furrow is one regularly ploughed by Sandra.

Quotation time .......

"Do not do unto others as you would that they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same."

George Bernard Shaw

If you click his name, it is a link to some early footage of the great man himself. Only a few seconds though.

I'm looking forward to WoW-ing in the morning even if I shall need to take it easy. My flask of coffee will be a comfort and I can always sit in the car and play with my dongle.

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"


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Bitterly cold - or is it just me ?

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In some Radio Nottingham stuff Bungus was kind enough to send me, there were pictures of "author's creative work-spaces" and readers were invited to send in snaps of their own.

I didn't send this in but I thought, as a record, you might like to see my creative-space. My alternative creative place is my bed. But that wouldn't be an attractive picture due to the chocolate stained pillow, rumpled duvet, table festooned with a tangle of wires, and odd socks...... Y is a 'tidy' person but unfortunately I am not, and I am a constant problem to her. She 'sorts me out' and an hour later .........

Picture 2 is a straightforward 'old man's grumble'.

This box of chocolate biscuits (see re pillow above !) looked attractive, capacious, and most suitable for my bedroom.

When opened, I felt I had been conned. The black plastic bit which held the biscuits was mostly black plastic spacers. The biscuits all went in to my fairly small biscuit tin. A presentation box half the size would have been more appropriate. We still feel that firms like Fox's Biscuits are reputable traders don't we?

Routine Blood Test this morning. My INR has been stable for a week or two now, so lets hope it still is. We went shopping and I felt groggy again - hope I'm well enough to WoW this week because, as you know, I enjoy it so.

Comments

bungus ..... Please put us right about 435BC and 435AD. I know that from 435BC (the end of the Old Testament) and the arrival of John the Baptist are referred to as 'the silent years'. But other than that I am at sea.

Re Toasting Forks - Trust you to have a posh one !

Re Neville King - I draw a blank on YouTube too. What a pity - he really ought to have some permanent record.

Surprised re had trouble with 'lametta'. It is all over the place on the web. See picture on the right. They had it in silver, gold, and brown even.

Google has it thus:-

Thin wire or foil made of brass, gold or silver; now especially thin strips of metallic foil used as Christmas decoration

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lametta

Y is a keen John Harvey reader. His detective Resnick was based at Canning Circus Police Station for some time and his novels were based in the locality. Canning Circus is well known to me, having been stationed there from 1976 to around 1982.

John was almost at the beginning of the lift-off in his writing career when we met him. Plus of course, the irreplaceable Jack Trevor Story. I remember Jack telling us that although he wrote on a computer (PCW) when he had finished he used to retype them manually on an old Olivetti portable typewriter. complete with a few deliberate typos. He said "otherwise my manuscripts wouldn't be worth a bl**ding light. No university would be interested in them on disc" Typical Jack.

jill ...... I will ask TJ about the country of origin of her humourous bag. China or the Far East seem likely, but I wonder who designed it ?

For good measure here is the rear view.

Like you our home Xmas decorations are minimal but we both enjoy Y's Xmas Tree. You have to have somewhere to put people's presents - not least our own. And with the two families coming on Xmas Eve we need to look a little christmassy. And it is Sky's birthday which, poor girl, usually gets lost within all the Xmas shebang. I'll say no more about that because the blog does have a wide readership.

Ou cards go on some vertical hanging strips we acquired from Lakeland some years ago and have given us excellent service.

It is such a pity you are so far away - it would be lovely if you could just 'call in' wouldn't it?

We are missing the hyacinth scent. Our blue ones died and went unreplaced. I think that, with almost a fortnight to go, a bowl bought tomorrow would just about make it for Xmas.

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John just rang and told me up to date news. All seem OK and a nice bit about Laura's fella Joe. After his MA his 'Doctoral Proposal' has been accepted by Newcastle and while he is studying for it, the University are going to employ him tutoring. Very good, and I am very pleased.

Quotation time .........

"Platitude: an idea (a) that is admitted to be true by everyone, and (b) that is not true"

H. L. Mencken

His name is a live link and well worth a read. We would have had a good hour in the pub with him.

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This closing image is by Hans Jean Arp courtesy of my ArtDaily newspaper wherein I regularly lurk.
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Pleasant day - still cold 33F

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The Saumon aux Provence was a great success. Moist and full of flavour.

The picture was prior to oven and although not compulsory, the two little dabs of butter contributed to the tender/juicy texture when cooked.

The fish was accompanied by some Jamie Oliver type potato- disks cooked on a flat baking tray, mange-tout peas and a jug of white sauce.

The profiteroles and cream were a hit too.

Picture 2 is of TJ's bag. Rather witty in my opinion.

We were up early again but had a relaxed start with the papers and I had a nice chat to David about this and that.

Wasn't it strange (see his yesterday's comment) that both he and I had plucked the number 435 'out-of-the-air' to indicate a large amount ?

They are looking forward to sausage-fest (mk 2) on Xmas Eve. It will be super to see the kids altogether. It's a pity Debra is so far away. And Laura, Philip and Alannah are now so grown up they all have their own things to do.

David told me about using their open fire in the evenings. Lucky them in this weather - really cosy and such a learning experience for Sky and Brooke. I told him about toasting forks and this evening, while googling for a picture for the blog, I came across this diagram showing how to make one.

The one illustrated is a little fancy. Ours at home didn 't have the ornate bits sticking out above the tines. It used to stand, propped up in the hearth, readily to hand. The taste of coal-smoked toast, burnt at the edges but lathered in butter is a potent memory. No doubt my love of toast (don't forget the butter. ed) is a consequence.

The 3rd picture is the barometer in the hall (not the one you saw earlier, that's in my loo) and I am showing it to record the enormous change in barometric pressure since yesterday when I last set the brass arrow. That's the arrow on the left at 29. The black one on the right shows the pressure as it is. After your have tapped it. Tapping barometers is an age-old custom !

TJ and Y just returned from BJ and tell me that Hannah danced very well and collected top marks. She was on last and my reporters ( not at all biased ) said she was clearly the best !

Comments ......

Jill ....... We are together re Strictly then. I thought Tom and Camilla were definitely best on the night. Soon we shall know the result. My only criticism of him is that his 'head position' looks too stylised and artificial. We shall see !

Y is very taken with the 'Norse Morse' series, and programmes about it. She told me how good last night's documentary had been.

David ..... Please see above.

bungus...... Perhaps it was my sepia rendition of the Slab Square picture that was reminiscent of Butch Cassidy. I agree with you.

I think the WoW people are aware of The Rocking Horse and David's work. Certainly Reg and 4 ticks are habituées. If we decide to 'chip-cob' in the Eastwood area, it is usually at The Nelson and Railway where they are always first class.

If you decide on a sortie to Carrington Street Lidl please let me know and we would join you for an hour. Maybe take you for lunch at The Old Spot at Daybook, where you could rejoin your bus for the journey home.

Helen ...... Yes indeed. Our village is a little notorious for having a BNP councillor. But, I understand, she is now ex-BNP.

4 ticks ....... I fully understand your wishes for the burglar's 'gastrics' but I feel your excellent cholcolate cake , though a few days old, would be an unlikely cause.

Good for you ! Putting grumpy bungus in his place about Xmas decorations. I always love Y's Xmas Tree and the more lametta the better.

Roy ....... The bomb is innocent ! The 'runs' and the 'trots' are indistinguishable. But almost completely recovered ta ! Thanks for the birding info. - whether or not I shall remember is a different matter.

I too well remember Neville King and 'Grandad'. As you say perhaps he was an East Midlands taste. Please click his name to read a useful piece.

Quotation time .........

"Don't drink and drive. Don't even putt"

Dean Martin

Just watched the Strictly come Dancing results. Austin goes out. Click here if you are interested. Tom and Camilla were justifiably and safely in.

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow


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Much better - only been to 'loo' 435 times today!

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Brian was kind enough to bring me this picture of Old Market Square, Nottingham (circa 1928?) He has the glass negatives for a series, so I assume each one is a contact print. The quality amazes me ! As I have previously said our photography hasn't actually leapt ahead in 80 years has it? Please note the depth-of-field, sharpness front to rear, and an exposure fast enough to prevent any blurring due to subject movement.

I am much improved today and thank you all for your good wishes. The 'runs' have slowed to a gentle saunter and I have eaten. It was obviously nothing serious although I felt proper-poorly.

Picture 2 was through the bottom of the tumbler containing 'health-salts' a tried and trusted remedy for upset stomachs.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly…” (1 Cor. 13:12)

The bottom of the glass seemed a reasonable telephoto lens and my Nikon, bless it, actually managed to auto-focus through it.

AnonymousRob hopes the problem is now behind me. It certainly was !

Awful thing has happened in the Reg and 4 ticks household. While they were away on Holiday they were burgled. By youths in balaclavas who broke into several houses in the area. 4 ticks has had jewellry of a sentimental value stolen and, of course, no amount of insurance payout is proper recompense for items like that. Our thought are with you both. It is such a trauma.

Comments .......

bungus ....... You were quite right. I meant to say that hard-drive failure seemed imminent. Certainly not eminent. Straightforward carelessness. Today I took the back off and carefully hoovered the fan area and the filters and the machine still functions. For how long I wouldn't be prepared to wager.

As you say, being in bed is not a problem for me, at least, not now I am safely in my 70s ! I try to use the time productively. Yesterday though was an exception - I could do nothing but lie there, in between loo-dashes.

Very good to hear that your "evening with David at The Rocking Horse" was so successful. I agree about turkey - I decline unless I actually see the meat carved from a whole bird.

Jill ..... Thanks. As you will see from above. I'm a lot better today. TJ coming for lunch tomorrow so I have got to 'rally'. I'm doing fresh wild salmon aux Provence. And for pudding - profiteroles (bought - not home made) and 'poury' cream which is one of her favourites. Then she and Y are off to BJ because Hannah is dancing (her exams) in the Village Hall and cheer-leaders are required. Doesn't involve me though.

I'm so sorry to hear of the closure of Ro's Country and Western Music Club. Especially if it figures highly in his enjoyment of life. I really hope someone can carry on with it elsewhere and not too far away.

AnonymousRob ...... I think that next door to AnonymousKevin lives our ex-BNP Councillor. So maybe she was involved in the 'leak'.

I know we agree about 'lecturing' strengths/weaknesses. And you put it so well. I learnt such a lot from Professor Fletcher, who incidentally is not at all well. He had a bad Deep Vein Thrombosis problem, is allergic to warfarin and has almost lost the sight of one eye. His brain remains unaffected - thank God !

Helen ..... Thanks for your good wishes. I'm more or less recovered. Shall be pleased if I can get a decent night's sleep. Last night wasn't wasted though because I figured out how to send/receive e-mails on my new mobile phone. Had to create a new Yahoo e-mail account - I couldn't use my old one, nor my gmail.

Can't remember if you are WoW-ing this coming week or not. I'm sure we shall be in touch.

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We've just finished watching Strictly come Dancing and it was very close indeed. The standard is excellent. I voted for Tom and Camilla, and Y voted for Austin and Erin. It'll be exciting tomorrow night. I have now reverted to my last-year's method of voting for whoever, in my opinion, performs best on the night. No favourites ! No preconceptions.

Quotation time .......

"The petty economies of the rich are just as amazing as the silly extravagances of the poor."

William Feather

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Editor sends in Sick-note

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I regret the absence of a proper blog this evening.

A 'lurgie' has me firmly in its grasp.

Straying too far from the loo is not a good idea.

Thank you all for your much appreciated comments, which I shall take pleasure in responding to - perhaps tomorrow.



All the best - love G

EPS this evening - Y at Burton Joyce

.On Sausage-Fest day Roy brought a Cheese-Bomb as a present, and which I should have photographed before digging into it. A lovely crumbly white Lancashire, wrapped in a spherical black wax container. A belated 'thank you' Roy. The cheese is delicious and, as you can see, it makes excellent cheese-on-toast.

Picture 2 is a hangover from our WoW day at Bakewell.

As Helen told me, the water there is a favourite haunt for many different types of duck and gull and these three gulls looked so contented on their log.

Duck and Gull I'm afraid is more or less the sum total of my water-bird recognition knowledge.

As with swans, it is difficult to get the exposure right photographically. The camera averages out the scene in an effort to get it right overall, which so often results in detail in the whites being burnt out.

There are strategies, but I won't bore my non-photographer readership with them.

Y is over at Burton Joyce today and, as always, looking forward to seeing the children and I have had one of my messing-about days. Radio, newspapers, crossword, computer, pictures, magazines et al plus of course a lengthy afternoon nap which I have just risen from.

And if any of our recently surfaced grammarians tells me off, I shall spit. I know I ended the last sentence with a preposition and it should have been ".....from which I have just risen". As Churchill famously noted on a document which a civil servant had similarly corrected "This is the sort of English up with which I will not put".

I've just moved from laptop in the bedroom to PC in the Office because I fear eminent hard-disc failure in the former. The screen jumps about and flickers badly, the colours aren't stable and the picture looks as if it as about to vanish completely. Fortunately most of my stuff is online anyway and I have copied all National Trust documents to this computer already.

Our lecture at EPS this evening is "A Winters Tale" by Robert Falconer. I duly googled him and his lecture but, apart from being able to tell you that he delivered the same talk at Dronfield and Bolsover, I can help you no further. I do wish more photography lecturers would have websites. And before AnonymousRob tells me - I know that most of the more famous photographers do have their own website. They need to for commercial reasons.

Comments

bungus ...... May be I should have blogged about the front wall being vandalised but it has been piecemeal over a matter of months. It is a matter of editorial space. As Y often tells me, if I write too much people won't read it all anyway.

McAfee is simply my anti-virus security system. And I know that you know you have been cold. I was just mentioning the weather here as a matter of record.

AnonymousJBW ...... I feel sure that your recommended website for weather is a better one. But I use the one published for two reasons.

1. I don't really want or need to know too much about the weather. I look out of the window generally.
2. The one I published is a widget which fits conveniently on my igoogle homepage and was easy to clip with my Clipmarks.
   

AnonymousKevin ..... thanks for the additional information about the decline in English pubs. But I suppose 't'was ever thus'. The saddle-makers must have felt the same.

Jill ...... Please see above re the wall. Over perhaps 3 months a group of drunken yobs on turning left having come down the footpath thought it fun to push over a segment of wall. The footpath isn't generally a problem. A group will congregate there, then grow up and we will have no trouble for a couple of years, then another group will start to congregate and so on.

I know Ham Common. I used to pass it on my way from Surbiton to Richmond Hill. My memory tells me there was a large house on the corner which was reputedly owned by Tommy Steele. The Restaurant sounds marvellous. No 'Incy Wincy' type banks of microwave ovens in their kitchen I wager. And no slot-machines or music. So often I am sure the music is more for the benefit of the bored staff than the customers. My feeling is of a niche market amongst older people who enjoy quiet places to eat home-cooked food, and it is up to owners to find it and cater for it.

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I have just returned from the Camera Club, and both lecturer and pictures were of a high quality. Perhaps he could have done with editing somewhat. From a lecturer's point of view it always seems to me that, if you show too many near-identical images, it saps strength from the others. I must stress that my 'lecturing' was not in photography and I simply make a general point.

No time to research a quotation tonight. Plus - I'm too tired.

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"


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Still Cold - Lots of Jobs done - McAfee

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Picture 1 is a Collage of front wall snaps. After the vandals, and then after Alex. He is brilliant the lad is !

Although you can't see it, he has reinforced the left-hand end column with a steel post going through the centre and 18" into the ground.

He feels confident that they will have difficulty pushing it over again. But who knows ? All we can do is to hope for the best. It looks good and we must text him to say so.

We consider ourselves very lucky to have Karen to sort us out indoors and Alex to sort us out outdoors. And they are both such nice young people. Gives one hope for the future of the country.

I said I would post a link to the Junior Doctor article about the rudeness of some NHS nurses. Please click here if you would like to read it. Bungus however makes some good points (see his comments).

The paragraph below shows the temperature at 5am this morning, and appears courtesy of my Clipmarks system. Basically it allows you to 'clip' a bit of a web-page and post it onto your own website or blog. Very handy, and if anyone is interested I'll send a link to it.

clipped from: www.google.com

Nottingham

28°F

Current:Clear
Wind: W at 6 mph
Humidity: 86%

Today

37° | 32°

Thu

39° | 35°

Fri

42° | 33°

Sat

42° | 26°

We were supposed to be having a relaxing day, but technological problems beset us. McAfee kept telling Y that her laptop was not properly protected. We fixed it in the end by an amalgam of system-restore and repeated clicking of whatever buttons seemed like a good idea. Then National Trust made it extremely difficult to achieve something which should have been straightforward. This was definitely their fault, not ours. They need to hire a good IT person from Amazon to sort their website out. The Nat Trst website is clunky and unpredictable. It asks stupid questions and doesn't make itself clear etc... Rant over !

Y is doing so well with her laptop. She is learning fast that 'shut down and re-boot' cures many ills and if it doesn't, just keep searching pages and clicking things till you get it right.

Just had an update from Peter. Joan's 'op' was successful and although she has a bad pain in her back she is doing fine. At least post-op pains eventually go away, whereas untreated pains just get worse.

Andrew Graham Dixon was super again with the second half of his 'Travels with Vasari' please click here. The link is to Part 1 I'm afraid, Part 2 isn't there yet.

Comments

bungus ..... Jessica's revision of Little Red Riding Hood sounds typical of her, and good fun too.

You are quite right to remind me of 'abit' and 'alot' even though too considerate to utter them out loud.

Re 'irreligious'. I stick by my usage. There are several definitions -

- hostile or indifferent to religion
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

- hostile to, or disregarding of religion
Shorter Oxford

Jill ...... Your fresh pasta which enjoins you to eat it within 48hrs sounds much more realistic. But as Bungus says, in Italy, they go for the dried sort anyway.

I think we are all of the same mind re 'dear' or 'sweetheart' etc., in Hospitals, or anywhere else for that matter. And Christian names before being invited so to do. It seems much the same here as for you further south.

And if, additionally, there is a language difficulty things become dangerous. Last time I had to visit the Hospital, I tried an experiment. When asked for the third time to confirm my 'date of birth' I replied 28.10.53 instead of 28.10.35. It was accepted without demur !

My 'mittens' are proving invaluable in this cold weather. I can hold the steering wheel firmly and my hands remain as warm as toast. Great ! Thanks again.

anonymousRob ...... My blood pressure varied not a single bar. Even if my synapses were firmly twanged. But thank you for asking.

You do well with the Sports Desk. Keep it going - our readers expect a little local colour.

Y and I seldom go to pubs other than at lunchtime - and usually only to meet someone socially. It seems as if the drinks price/food quality are linked together in some sort of equation. If the food is cheap the booze is expensive and vice versa. And if out, to eat a meal of home-cooked quality, is unbelievably expensive. Incy Wincy is persuasive on the serried banks of microwave ovens he has seen in alleged restaurants. The pub closures are not surprising.

I prefer the title 'desk' to 'chair'.

anonymousJBW ...... lovely explanation for the twist in the spire at Chesterfield and I believe it completely. All this rubbish about green timber is clearly misleading. It was obviously the devil's work all along.

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Quotation time ......... I think I believe this anyway .....

"We learn something every day, and lots of times it's that what we learned the day before was wrong"

Bill Vaughan

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First Snow - Mansfield NT - No WoW

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Picture 1 was my bedroom window view first thing this morning. Real snow. It didn't make it through the day though. There are a few snow 'bones' left but now mostly slushy.

This morning was Y's 'nails' day at Carlton. The journey was uneventful. I just hope that this evening's to Mansfield is also.

A good example how, if we didn't have to go we would be giving it a miss.

Picture 2 is to illustrate a point. We needed 'fresh' pasta for our planned lunchtime meal and bought Linguine in Morrisons.

As I have indicated in text on the picture of the pack - how can they call it fresh and then give a 'best before date' 3 weeks in the future ? I would have expected fresh pasta to be 'eat today'.

Anyway the result was fine and we enjoyed it.


Comments

bungus ....... I thought Carrie's house well worth sharing with everyone. My joke about obliterating the house-number was obviously too well disguised.

Sorry about the 'junior doctor' bit lacking explanation. Max Pemberton writes a regular column in the Telegraph describing his experiences as a Junior Doctor. This piece was about a prominent neuro-surgeon who went into hospital for a hip replacement and decided to go 'incognito' as an ordinary patient to check out her experiences in a multi occupancy ward.

Even though she was booked in as Professor Mason her treatment was appalling. When Max visited her, in a private capacity , he asked to see Prof Mason. After the customary 'Don't know what you are talking about routine' the reception nurse eventually exclaimed "Oh. You mean Mary". Taking him over to the bed the nurse said, in a loud voice "You've got a visitor dear".

It was only when a consultant brought in his copy of one of the Professor's text books, with a request that she sign it for him, that the situation improved. I will scan the piece tomorrow and post a 'link' to it.

anonymousRob ..... I must stand by my punctuation throughout ! I suspect you are pulling my leg ? 'You're' is an abbreviation of 'you are'. 'Your' is the second person possessive form as in 'Your use of apostrophes'. 'Demonstrates' is the present tense of the verb 'to demonstrate'. For example 'I demonstrate', 'he demonstrates'. Demonstrate's would be completely wrong. It would mean 'something owned by the verb 'demonstrate' and an example eludes me.

Using an apostrophe to indicate a missing letter is always tricky and people, including me, often get it wrong. Isn't and can't are easy, the ' replaces the 'o'. Others can be more tricky.

You were just twanging my wires, were you not?

I enjoyed yet another haiku. Keep 'em coming - they grace the blog. Traditionally the haiku should hold a single thought and your 'captures mist' 'releases beauty' is excellent and qualifies for a Radiogandy Star

Jill ....... You are right to give me a mild ticking off for being sarcastic about the shop-window ad. As you point out, it was probably written by an elder, and that generation suffered enough without me poking fun at somebody's english.

I hinted that the practice is not PC and then went ahead and ignored my own reservations.

Can I come back in from the naughty chair please ?

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It is now after our National Trust evening lecture and we arrived home well before 9pm. Toast and tea and we caught up on Claudia's 'It Takes Two' show, thanks to BBC iPlayer. She is a bright girl and puts together a tidy show.

Our evening lecture 'A twist in the tail' by Tony Hallam was about Chesterfield's famous church with the 'crooked/twisted spire'. Please click here if you would like to 'read all about it'.

He taught us a lot. I use the word 'taught' advisedly because as a retired teacher he had a tendency towards being patronising and over-emphasising his points. Having said that, his lecture was full of interest and his pictures were first class. He showed us a medieval font which looked well worth a visit all by itself. Y and I are both 'irreligious' but share an interest in church architecture and interior paintings, stained glass, and indeed everything about churches.

Tomorrow at 7.30am Peter's Joan is going into QMC to have her hip replaced. Our thoughts will be with them both.


Quotation time .........

"I am a deeply superficial person"

Andy Warhol

"Sleep tight - hope to catch you tomorrow - no WoW, so should catch up on jobs"

My favourite train must be due ------- !




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Nat Trst Cttee Meeting - Very Cold here -38F

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The above picture was sent to me by Bungus and I am aware that it isn't politically correct to say nasty things about people's prose.

So, let me just say that the above ad. demonstrates an admirable use of the English language, with a masterful grasp of punctuation. The possessive apostrophe in particular is deserving of praise.

Did he perhaps see it in a shop-window in Shirebrook ?

There had been quite a frost during the night but there was sun and the day looked promising. However, while we were at Jean's for the Committee Meeting it started to rain and has continued since. The meeting went well however, so I am only semi-fraught. We've just got the 'minutes' to deal with now. No rush though because the next meeting is in March 09.

No pretty pictures today. But I wanted to share with you this picture of an accidentally torn tea-bag.

It is sometimes said that the makers use 'dust and left over rubbish' in the manufacture of tea-bags. This Twinings English Breakfast gives the lie to it in my opinion. Although the tea is small it is certainly not dust.

Also Thomas Twining, who features highly in my authoritative book about Tea (Xmas prezzie from David last year) still has an excellent reputation. They do their best to be environmentally friendly whilst still providing a first class cuppa.

The picture on the left is a photographed extract from my Tea book. It is a marvellous book for 'dibbing into' when you've done the Xword, read the paper, and your computer magazine doesn't arrive until tomorrow.
I might just go and brew a pot of tea !

The last but one picture is of the front of Jill's daughters house. I have obliterated what I took to be the house-number. Hope I haven't accidentally wiped out an essential part of the mural.

If you have been following these pages you will know that Jill is justifiably proud of her daughter who is currently sharing exhibition space with Banksy and Damien Hirst in a Notting Hill Gallery.

And also that, on the first day, she sold several thousand pound's worth of ceramics and things.

So, here you have an original. Well - an original blog-post of someone's photograph of someone's daughter's mural. If you see what I mean.

Tomorrow we have Y's 'nails' at Carlton, rest in the afternoon, and then a National Trust, Tuesday meeting in the evening. The lecture is called "A twist in the tail" and is by Tony Hallam, more than that I cannot deduce. Google is silent on the matter.

Comments

bungus .......... Although no longer a drinker I fully share the despondency at all these pub-closures. A matter of great regret and concern for local communities. But, like the closure of coal-mines and post-offices, Capitalism rules OK ? Unless of course it involves greedy fat-cats and banks and building-societies !

( less of this political stuff please ---- Editor)

Scrooge didn't die in vain. He just moved to Boughton.

I much enjoyed your couplet about the spider's web. Thanks for the thumbs up re 'subscribe'.

Re 'mittens'. This what my Etymology Dictionary has to say.....

mitten

c.1386, from O.Fr. mitaine "mitten, half-glove," from O.Fr. mite "mitten," and from M.L. mitta, perhaps from M.H.G. mittemo, O.H.G. mittamo "middle, midmost" (reflecting notion of "half-glove"), or from V.L. *medietana "divided in the middle," from L. medius.

The "divided in the middle" supports AnonymousRob's picture, please see left.

In the enlargement you should be able to see that they are in fact divided in the middle and the usual finger-covering bit folds back to allow the fingers to be used.

anonymousRob ......... Thanks for the illustration and, as you will see in Jill's comment, these are excatly as she describes some from Canada except that in her version the top is secured to the bottom by velcro. Perhaps yours are too and it isn't clear in the snap.

I think "String of Pearls" although a little mundane, does the job. Photography judges, present company expected, generally need the lump hammer approach don't they?

Jill ..... Aw ! Go on ! you are often right !

Y really rates Kenneth Branagh in the part and I suppose they were lucky to get him. The script must be good. Please click here for the promo.

10 out of 10 for 'Norse Morse' - very good.

I haven't yet read the ' junior doctor' piece in today's Tel. - I'll go and do it now.

Quotation time .........

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good."

Samuel Johnson

"Sleepy tight folks - hope to catch you tomorrow"

"But it will be brief, due to Nat. Trust"


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