Quiet day - Y to Nottingham for lunch - 71F - No Wind

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Sorry to open with yet another artichoke picture but there were lots of hoverflies and I wanted to capture one hovering.

These all seem to be settled and feeding.

The weather has been first class and Y enjoyed her trip to Nottingham to meet Sylvia for lunch. It worked out well and, although Y had booked a particular favourite table, there proved to have been no real need. When they arrived the place was empty. Their meals were good and Sylvia was in good form. She also thinks the Market Square is great, with The Beach, so I think the 'for' votes outnumber the 'against' votes. At least in our small circle.

I've done a few small jobs but mainly 'messed about', did the Crossword, listened to some radio, read the Telegraph and caught up with magazines.


In the garden the Asters are just coming out. We both like them. The colours and double-daisy type flowers are so cheerful.

My responses to your previous comments

jbw .... Re the knives.....As you say - "Well used" not sure about the vicious.

Bob .... Of course you must point out that the ham knife is fourth from the right.

I'm surprised that you are still buying tomatoes - even from Lidl.

Jill ..... I think I'm going to stop messing about with artichoke pictures and admit defeat over the 'blue'.

I'm quite keen on my kitchen knives and can usually find just the right one for whatever job. You are right about the handle of the big carving knife - I guess it is deer horn or very similar.

Morrisons do vary from store to store. Our nearest, in Eastwood is quite good but our favourite is a few miles away in Bulwell - their stuff just seems to have the edge and, being a bigger shop, there is more choice.

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No quotation tonight.

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"


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Everything occured in order, and to time - 72F - Little wind

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I dashed out early to do the shopping, leaving Y to see to the bed-man (if he arrived) and I was back home around 9.30am. He arrived around 11.30am and in spite of my yesterday's grumpiness he proved most affable, polite and helpful. My bed is now 4½ inches higher and much easier to get up from. I no longer need to hook a walking stick round the loo door-handle to pull myself up.

Picture 1 is a collage of the artichokes - the first on my D80, under-exposed by 3 stops and then brightened and the second on Reg's D300 as a Raw file. There is, in reality, a hint of magenta in the blue. (Brian S dislikes magenta almost as much as I dislike blurred water). Reg's version of the artichoke is certainly the more realistic. As we discussed at WoW on Wednesday Adobe's 'shadows/highlights control' produces a most unrealistic looking snap.

Picture 2 is my collection of old carbon-steel knives, all of which when sharpened in the traditional manner with a 'steel', take a very sharp edge.

Perhaps the sharpest of all is the white-handled ham knife third from the right. I can produce a slice about playing card thickness.

As a general purpose kitchen knife though, my vote goes to third in from the left. You can see that, over the years, the act of sharpening has produced this crescent shape from what no doubt started life as a straight-edge. William Morris said you should only have things in your house which are both beautiful as well as useful.

I put my knives in that category because I use them all.

My new mobile phone is still beating me though. I am supposed to dial 333 and then key in my new mobile number. When I get to stage 2, the phone 'ends' the call. Back to Carphone Warehouse I'm afraid. Never mind - it will get done - eventually !

The weather seems likely to improve. A pleasant evening now - warm and no wind. Hope it is like it for Peter & Joan in Northumberland. Debra rang to tell us about her appeal yesterday to get Ruby into the same Broadstairs School as Elli. Both are good schools but it would be best for them to be together when you consider their age and that it will be strange environment and new people. The interview seemed to go well Debra said, but it will be a relief if the outcome is satisfactory.

I'm glad you all enjoyed yesterday's Nottingham snaps. There was a great atmosphere in The Beach and if I've managed to get that across I'm more than happy.

My responses to your previous comments

Yvonne .... Thanks for mentioning the Aldi teapot with its 'built-in' cosy. The 'cosy' is a solid plastic hat, lined with thermal insulating material. The pot is amazingly efficient and an hour-old mug of tea is more than acceptable. Still hot and, as if by magic, not stewed. We have occasionally seen them in Lakeland at about 3 times the price.

Congratulations on your 'googling' away at the Nottingham to Broadstairs journey. Six months ago you would have been grumpy had it even been suggested !

Enjoy Petit Paris tomorrow and I hope you have a good chin-wag with Sylvia. It will be interesting to know what she has made of the Desperate Romantics - if she's watched it at all that is. Also, remember to ask if she watched the Open University 40th Birthday programme ? She was after all, an A student.

Bob .... Matalan check-outs. The queue of 20 would probably be serving perhaps 6 check-outs. That's the way they do it and we never have to wait long. Can't think what it is about the interior which puts you in a tizz. It's never claustrophobic or noisy, and the aisles are wide.

Jill .... You are right in thinking The Beach is free. One has to pay to go on the rides though.

The painting of the old man with the magnifying glass is older than me. I grew up with it and still love it.

Glad your first experience with Morrisons was at least tolerable.

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Quotation time .....

"No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately."

Michel de Montaigne

"Sleep tight - Catch you tomorrow - all being well"


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Y at BJ - Me busy - Nottingham trip - 75F at warmest

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This morning I took Y to Angel Row for onward transmission to Burton Joyce. I wanted to visit Jacobs to sort out my faulty Fujiflm A100 ( the lens doesn't retract properly) but, as I hadn't a receipt to show that I bought it on 28th April 09 they proved unhelpful.

Y has now unearthed from her own laptop an e-mail from Fuji acknowledging the purchase and offering a warranty. Perhaps that will do.

Also, I wanted to visit Carphone Warehouse to buy a Blackberry/iPhone type mobile phone which is better for surfing the internet and sending pictures with e-mails. I eventually decided on the Renoir KC910 8GB which ticked all the boxes.

It was nice to be in Nottingham this morning. Part of The Square has been filled with sand and transformed into The Beach. There is of course the usual choir of 'nay-sayers' but Y and I think it great fun - if this morning is anything to go by.

It was busy, busy, with Mums and Dad's playing in the sand and building sand-castles and Grans and Grandads sitting in proper old-fashioned deck chairs. By the way, for photographers, if you like the barbeque flames (bottom right corner of the collage) I got them just right by spot-metering a flame.

Y also had a busy day over at Burton Joyce. She played all the games and even managed a chat with Steven - she always likes that. When she arrived home she was tired, but happy tired.

I had a call from the disability aids people and the bed-raising equipment will be delivered tomorrow, between 9am and 5pm. The person on the 'phone insisted on calling me Graham, without being invited to do so, and, as far as I remember we have never been introduced. So impertinent. But, more importantly, she refused to give me a more specific time. I suppose Y will have to stay in and I'll go and do the shopping.

My responses to your previous comments

jbw .... My knowledge-box about steel will soon be overflowing. Trouble is, in a month's time, I shall probably have forgotten half of it. Never mind, the remaining half will, I am sure, prove invaluable.

One day, in the near future, I shall photograph my collection of Victorian and early 20th Century carbon-steel knives which I feel sure will interest you.

Reg ..... Please see Yvonne's comment further down.

Bob .... I don't think the pictures reproduced in the link actually did them justice. They were mostly printed big and square (18" by 18" at least) and on a sort of watercolour matte paper. The look, in the flesh, was generally great, and very little jarred in the way you describe.

I do actually like pound shops. Never been in Primark. But I will spring to the defence of Matalan. My Zantos T shirts and shirts have proved attractive and hard-wearing. And one of my favourite of all saucepans (a big copper-bottomed job with a glass lid and short side handles) came from Matalan at least 10 years ago.

Jill ..... Sabatier is another excellent steel knife. French this time. And I'm sorry yours suffered a broken blade. I think you were probably misinformed about the current state of production though. I'm sure they are still made.

Glad you enjoyed the Masters of Vision pictures and the Charlie Waite cottage is indeed a beautiful thing.

You certainly deserve an A+ for 'Application' re the 'Transport for London' summons. They no doubt, as a matter of policy, make it as difficult as they dare. But please stick at it gal. We are behind you. Perhaps worth making enquiries but there used to be people called process-servers who were court-officers with just that precise job to do.

There is a whole legal history of acceptable methods of 'serving' - one I remember is nailing it to the outer door etc.

Helen C .... You don't sound too 'agonised' about your tooth extraction. Don't worry about the gap - it will probably give you a slightly dissolute look. You really need one of those long 1920s ebony cigarette holders, empty of course, to pop in the gap.

You will both enjoy the Southwell Exhibition when you finally get there.

Yvonne .... I'm sure in my own mind that Hayley will settle down. They are in a bit of a cleft stick I suppose. They need to attract more patrons but, if they succeed, the pool is overcrowded.

I agree with you that Reg did well to fix the car rattle. I was certainly an irritation. It seemed that, by a process of elimination he identified the central, high on the rear door rear light as the culprit and then, in true engineer fashion, he whacked it hard and, lo and behold, the rattle vanished. He suggests that an additional refinement would be to wedge some draught-proofing tape, or some strips of rubber, between the plastic and the glass.

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Quotation time .....

"A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company."

Gian Vincenzo Gravina

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"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"



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WoW at Southwell Minster - 70F - No wind

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"Is there anybody there, said the traveller, knocking at the moonlit door"

I managed WoW this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it as usual. The venue decided upon was Southwell Minster due to a first class Photography Exhibition therein. Entitled Masters of Vision there were top landscape photographers led by Charlie Waite and others, all of excellent calibre.

The link will take you to their website and enough pictures to give you a good flavour.

Of course, we all did some nit-picking, but we are entitled to do that. All in all though, an excellent exhibition and I'm pleased we went.

In Picture 1, Bill, Brian and Reg are trying to figure out how to leave.

A great pity Helen C wasn't with us. There were a couple of Iceland snaps she would have loved - much more so than having a tooth extracted, which is what ruled her out. I'm sure she and Julien will fit it in though - I think it is on throughout August.

After Southwell we adjourned to The Bird in Hand at Blidworth, one of our favourites. Lovely view, never too busy, excellent chip-butties and a nice round table which housed all seven of us while we talked our usual ..........

After that it was back to Reg's to drop people off but we interrupted our journey so that Reg could have a go at the 'blue' of the artichokes with his new Nikon D300.

He has already e-mailed me the result, and I think it is certainly an improvement. Not dramatic though. I suppose it must just be a difficult blue.

My responses to your previous comments

Pete B .... Bacon certainly seems to be the 'pulling' stuff for crabs. Y mentions it later.

jbw .... Thanks for the info about Solingen.

Re Kitchen knives. My favourites, and I have several, are Victorian non-stainless steel. They need careful looking after, but when sharpened on my 'steel' they take an edge like no other. I don't like modern stainless steel kitchen knives or bread knives which rely on a serrated edge and act like a fine-toothed saw rather than a knife.

Jill. .... Glad you enjoyed Pete B's daughter's crab picture.

Your daughter's Japenese knives sound too lethal for me. I bet they are sharp though.

I didn't take your WoW-ing advice I'm afraid. I decided on 'stick' rather than 'wheels' - but I walked too far. I shall recover.

Bob .... You make a fair point about this generation of students being to young to recognise Betjeman. But one of them was reading English. And, like you, I recognise very few of today's celebrities.

Yvonne ... I suppose once one crabber succeed with raw bacon, the rest would follow. But you are right - how did someone latch onto the idea in the first place ?

To ring the Hayley Leisure Centre before going is an excellent idea. I'm sure that, for whatever reason, August is proving busy and it will soon be back to how you like it i.e. nice and quiet.

I also agree about the proposed use of the old Woolworth's site. Hard to believe that one £1 shop will be able to fill it though. Perhaps there will be a sort of franchise system, with several different but similar businesses therein.

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No quotation tonight - too tired to sort one out !

"Sleep tight and I'll catch you tomorrow"


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Karen Day - 66F - Full Moon - Aldi

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At long last here is Pete B's daughters 'crabing' picture which is to do with when he took them crabbing on the River Dart. Or, I think, more accurately to watch people crabbing.

If I've got it wrong I'm sure he will pop in and put me right. And I only managed to 'open' the picture due to the good offices of JBW.

We made another early start, mainly to get out of Karen's way. She can play her music loud and zoom around with Henry the Hoover without having to bother about us old fogeys.

Aldi instead of Lidl was the big decision. We hadn't been for some time but, before Lidl, it was our favourite shop. Still much to commend it. I couldn't resist this set of three kitchen knives of Solingen Steel. Solingen has a worldwide reputation for the manufacture of fine steel.

On this occasion I followed Y's dictum and binned three kitchen knives when we returned home. Some time ago, I had only wanted one, a little paring knife, but Morrisons insisted on selling me a pack of three - made in China - all the same - all useless. They simply wouldn't keep a sharpened edge. These latest three are first class. I must devise a storage system so I don't take the end of a finger off.

In the £1 Shop next to Aldi it was interesting to see they are selling lots of ex Woolworth's items - seems a sensible solution to me because there must have been millions of £'s worth of stock floating around.

We seem to have returned to intermittent rain, a blustery wind, and not very warm. Unfortunate really, because Peter and Joan G start their holiday today. Mind - it might be different up in Northumberland - I've just googled it and although warm, 21°C there is a 9mph wind and mostly cloudy.

I've spoken to Reg and, all being well I shall join the WoW pack tomorrow. I won't be able to walk far but they will park me somewhere interesting - and I can certainly manage the pub at lunchtime.

My reponses to your previous comments

I must work out a different sentence to introduce this section. 'Responses' has overtones of High Anglican Choral Evensong I think.

jbw ..... Many thanks for your input re the 'crabing picture'. Today it the file opened without demur. Yesterday I was getting all sorts of error messages etc.

Your advice re 'gardening in small doses' is sound. But I disagree about 'can't have a day off when one is retired'. I seem to manage it regularly and as Jill (previous comment) says, she has her 'dormouse days' when she retires to her bed and only surfaces occasionally.

Bob .... The 'blue' of the artichokes is troublesome. I think I'll try to hold my old Casio together long enough for a snap, and see what that camera makes of it. I don't seem to remember it this innacurate in previous years.

Brian S .... Great to have a comment from you ! and you good wishes healthwise are much appreciated. With you 100% about The Street. Each episode deals with an important current issue. And, as you say, the acting is excellent.

All being well I shall be WoW-ing tomorrow.

Yvonne ...... As you know I share your concern about 'what shall we read when we've read all this?" I was very young and in the small Library in Ashbourne when the thought first struck me. But I soon realised that wasn't the entire world's supply of books.

Jill .... Great to hear that Ro came through with flying colours.

Re .. University Challenge. Like you I was suprised no-one recognised Betjeman sitting there with an old BBC microphone. Easpecially as one of the contestants is reading English !

Good for you with the birdsong recognition. I don't think we got any of them right. I was waiting for a wren because for a tiny bird they make such a loud noise. But they didn't have one.

A 73yr old chap found a talking frog in his garden so he picked it up. The frog said, "If you kiss me I will turn into a voluptuous 25yr old princess". The old boy put the frog in his top pocket. "Didn't you hear what I said?" said the frog "If you kiss me I shall turn into a voluptuous princess" "I heard you" said the old guy "but at my age I'd rather have a talking frog".

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Quotation slot ......

"Popularity is neither fame nor greatness"

William Hazlitt

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Monday trip out - lunch - garden jobs - 68F - Light wind

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We got going quite early this morning because we'd both had a better night's sleep and the weather looked promising.

Peter G had said that Dobbies Garden Centre near Chesterfield was worth a look. And so it proved. Well stocked and I found my Goldfinches a bag of their beloved thistle seed. They have been turning their beaks up at 'canary seed with thistle seed in it' which I bought in Pauls for a £1 per bag.

The whole place has a nice 'feel' to it but Oh Boy ! the prices. Picture 2 is included to give you some idea. WoWee, what a bargain, two potted fuschias for £20 eh ? How about that ?

The food hall was v.good and well stocked with high quality and interesting things. A bit reminiscent of Chatsworth. I bought some links of 'interesting' sausages. Thai sausages, some from Toulouse, and some Venetian links of a rich orange colour, and by the sniff, liberal on the garlic and tomato. A report back can be expected.

Anyway we had a pleasant lunch there. The restaurant is light and airy and although busy we found a corner table with a bench back OK. Y had a cooked lunch, centre-ing round chicken-curry while I settled for a Panini. I only ate half and wrapped the remainder in a paper napkin to bring home for my tea. Just eating it now in fact.

Picture 1 demonstrates the Artichoke plant almost in full swing. Barry Marlow, at the club, prizes his as a delicacy but we prefer to enjoy the flowers and eventually the dried out seed heads. I'm far from satisfied with the 'blue' though and am thinking of asking Reg to pop over with his new camera to see how it deals with the problem. I can change the hue in Photoshop, but none of the options I'm presented with on the slider accurately captures it. Neither my D80 nor the little Fuji A100 are better than the other. By the way - the A100 could distort barrels for England !

Y suffered some aches & pains again and needed a 'lie-down' when we got home. I certainly wasn't going to argue. When adequately rested I dealt with our food purchases, topped up the bird-feeders and fed and watered the Courgette plant and the Tomatoes. There will be at least one tomato ready for the table tomorrow and a couple of courgettes.

In idle moments we completed the Telegraph Crossword. A good team effort. A couple of clues were anagrams which Y had solved without spotting that they were anagrams. Is that a gift ? I always used to consider Monday's an easy one anyway - I think they didn't like to stretch you too much after a weekend off.

My responses to your previous comments

Pete B ..... Thanks for your good wishes and I am pleased to be so much better. Y is good too but increasingly subject to aches & pains. In her head she fells 52 but her body keeps telling her she will be 73 next. She does wonders though.

I sincerely hope that things work out so that you can retire at a reasonable age. The Good Lord didn't design us to be working in our 70s.

I really like the story about your daughters and the River Dart and it would have been lovely to be able to open the picture. Unfortunately the link in the comment didn't work and, whatever cunning wrinkles I employed I couldn't open it anyway/anywhere. Madeline discovered some days ago that you can't post links in comments-boxes and resorted to e-mailing me a Norton Hotfix I needed. I think you will have to do the same with the picture.

But please do it. Because I think other readers would like to see it too.

Bob .... The newspaper wasn't a surrogate table cloth. It was there to stand the steamer top on and I hadn't got round to moving it.

As you know - I also am a prominent member of Hoarders Anonymous. I found some bicycle clips the other day - well you never know do you .......

Pleased about your credit card. It is a fact that 99% of people are honest and will hand in anything they find.

Jill ..... Y isn't keen on gravy, and I'm trying to eat without it mainly because of its fattening effects. However, and you never know do you - if ever I have the pleasure of cooking a meal for you I shall prepare the requisite gravy pond ! And it will be good gravy too - you will need a round of bread & butter to mop it up with.

We hope that Ro's checks prove satisfactory. And it is so good when sons and things mastermind transport arangements isn't it ?

I think Y has given up on the notion of converting me into a tidy person. I do try - honest.

I'm loving all the coverage of Tennyson's Bicentenary, particularly on the radio. What a tortured soul he was. The classic serial reading of Maud was excellent, all 3 times I've listened to it. And I'm now giving his Ulysses the same treatment. The poet Sean O'Brien is reading it very well indeed. The Poetry Archive, which the link takes you to, is well worth having on your computer - mostly thanks to Andrew Motion - it is a well stocked resource. Even, by the way, an early wax cylinder recording of Tennyson himself reading The Charge of The Light Brigade.

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Quotation slot .................

"Do you realize if it weren't for Edison we'd be watching TV by candlelight?"

Al Boliska

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"

Almost better - say 80% - Y still 'beavering' away - 67F

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Bob sent me this collage of flies/bees and it is so cheerful I thought I'd 'blog' it. There seem lots of different winged creatures around at the moment - some glossy, some matte, some hairy some bald.

I suspect the bottom-left one is a hoverfly but, as it's already landed it is difficult to say.

He also sent me a collage of his wounds sustained during the stair-fall but they definitely weren't cheerful so the picture remains unblogged.

The weather here remains changeable - as it is all over the country I think. BJ folks are back and Hannah has kept Grandma informed. LE people are still away. I had a nice chat with David on the phone yesterday evening.

They are soon to move a Caravan Club site in Suffolk and, in readiness for The World Crabbing Championships, they have printed T shirts with that legend thereon. The championship is an annual event and sounds great fun. Definitely their sort of thing !

Yvonne had a bad night's sleep and mine was about average. I've still got aches/pains and slight feelings of nausea but nothing to confine me to bed.

For Sunday lunch I cooked Lamb Chops, with New Potatoes, Carrots and Courgettes out of the garden. I also made genuine Mint Sauce ( with our own fresh mint). Made with white balsamic vinegar and a little sugar, in a pestle & mortar because, made with malt vinegar, all one can often taste is the vinegar instead of the mint.

Picture 2 illustrates and I'm not boasting about the smallness of my portion (on the left) but, if I had more, it would make me ill. For pudding Y did Fruit Compote and Greek Yoghurt - one of my 'in' puddings at the moment.

Y is still working very hard and seems to have been ever since we returned from holiday. It's hard to believe how much washing we generate. I think she has more or less finished cupboards and drawers in the kitchen now - God only knows what she will start on next.

And OK - we've got twelve jugs ! To me it isn't a problem but Y would love a completely clutter-free life. I can picture her in Japan with no furniture and me sitting on a carpet on the floor. But then, she wouldn't be too happy about the carpet.

My responses to your previous comments

Bob ..... I think the chemical used to artificially ripen bananas is ethylene so perhaps it is that which ripens other fruit too.

Does your choice in the matter of appointments affect just the appointment itself? If so, and you specify say 1pm they will still probably feel free to collect you at 8am. I shall be amazed if it works out in a way satisfactory to the patient.

Jill ... I think these days devoted to recuperation are an excellent idea. As you report, one always feels the benefit. My feelings go out to the people in the future who will be made to remain working till they are maybe 70 plus !

The orchid stem had become bent by growing too close to my bathroom window and the pressure against the glass had bent it. I just felt that a tiny little bit of pressure would bend it back again. Ah well ! Had Y been around she would undoubtedly have told me not to be so b..... stupid.

Nice idea - to be able to un-ripen bananas. But I think not.

My guess is that you will enjoy Morrisons. I know you will report back.

Yvonne ...... Your replacement approach to household items/clothing/ is, of course, well know to me after all these years. But I suspect that you always secretly envied Imelda Marcos with her 3,000 pairs of shoes !

As you say, our Lib Dem people were disappointed, and Jason worked so hard. A relief though to finish up with a Tory rather than the BNP. Lets just hope that the main parties realise how discontented people are.

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Quotation time .....

"The English winter - ending in July,
To recommence in August"

Lord Byron

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On the mend - 60F - heavy rain - awful

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Firstly - I am much better today. I slept, a bit, more 0r less sitting up in bed with my hot pad in the small of my back. Food wise, I had food but have returned to Lactofree stuff and very little produce from the cow. This seems to have dealt with my upset stomach.

I seem to have what, when we were children, used to be called 'bilious bouts'. My recovery is such that I managed almost an hour in the garden first thing this morning, de-twitching a square metre or so just outside the big front window. I planted in the space a beautiful pink Phlox we got in Lidl. A fine well rooted plant and a delightful aroma. I haven't previously noted Phlox for scent.

My thanks to Y for occupying the RG editor's chair because I just didn't feel well enough. She has been very very busy clearing out the kitchen - cupboards, shelves, drawers and things. Vegetable storage, and she even found time to fit a new shower curtain. Not an easy job because she isn't very tall.

Picture 1 shows the result of my efforts to straighten an Orchid stem. I should have known better. Anyway, a good lesson learnt and I shan't try it again.

Picture 2 will be of interest to WoW-ers, particularly those who don't receive the Country Images, North Edition, August issue.

The article is about The Cliff Inn at Crich, a regular chip-cob place when we are in the area.

Whilst abed, apart from lots of kip, I've caught up on lots of radio. What a boon bbc iPlayer is. Together with their website I feel I get my licence fee's worth from those alone, not to mention the occasional hour of telly.


My responses to your previous comments

Bob .... Re ripening tomatoes. An old gardener's ruse used to be to hang a ripe tomato among the unripe trusses. Apparently it gives off some chemical which encourages ripening.

Sorry to hear about your Hospital appointment. The system is hopeless anyway and to be given a choice of time is, I agree, just window dressing. Anyway, all I can do is hope for the best for you.

Of course it isn't compulsory to open links. But, when the answer to your comment is contained in the link, it seems a bit discourteous not to have read it and then ask the question anyway. Perhaps the answer would be, if you don't want to read the links, to leave such paragraphs uncommented on .

Jill .... I certainly agree with your points about 'full disclosures'. I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that we have, more or less, a free press. But they run a story and then lose interest in it and we hear no more - certainly not a conclusion,

The M & S tomato plant does sound like an attractive bargain. But if neither of you like that type of tomato it would have been daft to buy it.

I love all sorts of jelly, but your black-currant with black pitted cherries sounds great. Our source of Mandarin Oranges is Lidl, of course, and I have spotted in their Greek section, sour black cherries. Not yet tried them but intend to.

Although it is now only 5.40pm, I aim to go back to bed - I don't want to 'push my luck'.

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Quotation slot .....

"Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of witnesses."

Margaret Millar

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow - God willing"




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No blog today

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Graham is unwell so there will be no full blog today.

He knows you'll all wish him well but no comments please as he would have to address them on his return.

Yvonne.

Better Day - Some rain some Sun - 61F

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I think we have a couple of tomatoes 'on the turn'. Please scrutinise carefully the bottom truss of the second plant from the left. It is only the 30th July and I didn't expect them to be ripening till mid August in their outside location - even if it is a sunny spot.

I saw the Doctor this morning and she didn't seem terribly worried about my rate of weight loss. My 'kidney function' is too low on a scale where I can't even remember the acronym let alone what the letters stand for. Normal is 80, they worry if it falls below 60 and they really worry if it gets down to 30. Mine is 49, up from 45 last week, but I am to have it tested again. My 'normal' aches and pains continue, as does my sickness. But she is a sensible lady and is willing to leave things a fortnight before recommending hospital checks. I hate hospitals.

After Doctors we shopped. Lidl and Morrisons and Y didn't have a Lidl back-twinge. The I cooked a chilli for lunch which was a success. For pudding we had a Y speciality Orange jelly and our favourite Greek Yoghurt.

Picture 2 is the view out of my office window, a few minutes ago. We feel honoured by a sunny evening.

I also managed to top up the bird feeders. How awful if the goldfinches went off in a huff ?

Rick Stein appealled to me for this evening, but it's an hour and I decided to watch it another day on iPlayer. Strange to have Y at home today but Burton Joyce people are on holiday. The meet-up between David's lot and Steve's worked, We know because both texted a picture of the children. I've been trying to work out how to download them onto the computer, but I haven't managed it yet. I used to be able to transfer the snaps but I've now forgotten how.

My replies to your comments

Jill .... We don't seem to have had a good drying day for ages. If the clothes dried once the onset of torrential rain has been so sudden they easily got soaked again.

I'm really sorry your Saga holiday has been cancelled. And we sympathise with Ro. He enjoys his Country & Western so. We sympathise with you too, but you know what I mean !

Bob .... Yes. I do realise the record-shot aspect of Paul Sandby's watercolours. Like Turner's water-colour notebooks. And the WoW group people are also well up to appreciating them.

I don't really need to 'confirm' that Wiener Schnitzel is veal in crumb. Yesterday, the link to the Wiener Schnitzel wikipedia page was to the same page and described it perfectly. I guess you omitted to open the link. It isn't a big read and the words about 'veal coated in breadcrumb' are on the third line down.

Perhaps it's just not worth doing links.

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Quotation slot ..............

"By far the most dangerous foe we have to fight is apathy - indifference from whatever cause, not from a lack of knowledge, but from carelessness, from absorption in other pursuits, from a contempt bred of self-satisfaction"

William Osler

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WoW at Nottingham Castle - weather awful - no let-up from the rain

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It was simply good to be out with my WoW chums again. It seemed ages and ages. Five of us met at Reg's and decided to visit Nottingham Castle.

Our luck was in, because there's the Bicentenary Paul Sandby exhibition on until October.

Nottingham is indeed fortunate for the curator to have put together such an exhibition. HM The Queen has lent works, as have Yale, The British Museum et al ranging from etchings, line-drawings, water-colour sketch books and the odd full scale oil.

Although not photography as such, the chaps loved it and were taken with the detail and the overall range of the bloke's achievements. In some works he really came alive. Y knows the Exhibition is on and it won't pain me at all to pay a sceond visit. As a watercolourist herself Reg's Maureen will love it - so I think Reg will be visiting again.

As always with the Castle, the staff were superb, and by prior arrangement (thanks to Y and Helen) I was allowed to drive right up to the castle itself and park in a disabled bay. Picture 1 is of the middle gate, on the way back down the drive and I hope it suggests the sort of weather we enjoyed throughout !

After the exhibition we chip-cobbed at The Nelson and Railway at Kimberley. Excellent as always, and reasonably priced.

If you open the link you will see a similar snap in the middle of the second row. However, the one on the left is an original, courtesy of Helen who was closer to the hatch illustrated. For the blog I'm not at all precious as to who actually clicks the shutter.

For our evening meal I cooked some Ikea meat balls, and mixed veg and for pudding Y had done an orange jelly and ice-cream. Gorgeous ! While we ate we watched the Scandalous Adventures of Lord Byron and different from Jill, we thought it was OK. Not a brilliant piece of work but watchable and the scenery was good. Personally I preferred it to the Desperate Romantics about the PRB which really is flailing about abit and apparently losing 500,000 viewers a week. Rafe Spall who plays Holman Hunt seems only to have one facial expression. And the Dante Gabriel Rosetti character is beginning to irritate me a lot.

My responses to your previous comments

Bob ..... Re weight-loss. I don't like the sound of ..."Perhaps a bit of lead...?" it seems rather too final to me.

You seem to be making a steady 'stairfall' recovery. We are looking forward to the 'full colour' leg bump.

The curry sounds great !

Jill .... As above - I think you are perhaps a little excessive in your criticism of Everett's job on Lord Byron and, as I say above, the scenery was nice.

Your lunch at daughter's pub sounds good too. I know people are agin veal, but whilst serving Queen and Country in Germany I did enjoy Wiener Schnitzel. I've tried to cook it over here and failed miserably. The proper job has a certain 'crispness'.

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Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow

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Tuesday - Karen - Fat Clinic - Blood Test

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We started the day by 'getting from under Karen's feet' i.e. we went to Ikea for breakfast. I had a child's portion of two hash-browns and baked beans. Y had a more normal 'middle' breakfast - plus free coffee. One of the reasons for going (to collect Peter G's Ikea card) proved unnecessary because it had already been sent to him via snail-mail.

After that, and a couple of jobs in Eastwood, I went to my Obesity Clinic (I used fat-clinic in the title line for space reasons) and the practice-nurse told me that the 5 kgms I had lost in the month was perhaps a little too much. She made a note for the Doctor who I am due to see on Thursday anyway for the result of my kidney-function blood test. It's all getting too complicated.

I told her I was wearing my lightweight underpants, but she wasn't really impressed.

Picture 1 is of Derek & Betty's new five-barred gate, fitted this morning by Alex. Sepia seemed to suit the subject. Alex had Reuben with him, fast asleep in the passenger seat. Y nipped out to see him and was surprised to see a sturdy 4yr old. It doesn't seem 5 minutes since he was born. Alex had taken him to the scrapyard with him and the cranes had impressed him. I bet 'going to the scrapyard with Daddy' will be a treasured moment.

I couldn't resist 'googling' to discover the history of the five-barred gate but it is going to need more time and effort than I have available this evening. What we really need is for 'nifty-googler Rob' to have a go at it.

Picture 2 is of the recently blooming Echinacea, or purple cone-flower. I know they have medicinal properties but I don't know if you are supposed to brew them, chew them, or grind them up ? And is it the flowers or the roots which are efficacious ? I suppose you could 'suck it and see'.

The sharpness of the front flower and the gradual blurring-away of the rest is deliberate - with my 50mm lens at f2.

We bought Y a new Fujifilm compact, also to serve as a replacement family compact for the old Casio which has become almost impossible to hold together long enough to take a snap.

But I really can't function without a viewfinder ! Even on a dull day, the LCD screen isn't bright enough for me to compose a picture. I'll have another 'go' with the old Casio - perhaps stronger rubber bands round it ?

We both enjoyed The Street last night, by Jimmy McGovern. As before, a well written play, well cast, well directed and well acted. The clumsy stitch-straps across the soldier's horrendous facial injury were probably over-done for effect. They just wouldn't have sent him out looking like that.

Nevertheless - a powerful, thought-provoking story which went some way to making more possible to comprehend what 'our boys' are undergoing in Afghanistan. I hope some politicians watched it. I am indebted to Y for drawing the series to my attention in the first place.

This afternoon on Radio 4 I heard an excellent episode of A Good Read, introduced as always by Kate Mosse. The programme featured poet John Hegley and singer Imelda May. A high spot for me was a piece about 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Matsuo Basho' which would have pleased Rob, with its emphasis on Haiku. Written in the 17th Century of course - but what's wrong with that ?

My responses to your comments

Jill ...... I agree with you about the noise in these 'hell-holes'. It is unique. The noise of happy children playing in an outdoor playground is also unique - but pleasant !

I think you should watch The Street Episode 3 on iPlayer - and we will do likewise with Byron - so a critique would be valuable.

The Bramleys do sound early. But Bob will know - they have a tree.

Bob .... My taking the 'p' out of Pompidou was quite unintentional I assure you. Mind you, I spotted the error during my editing preview - and decided to leave it uncorrected, just for fun !

I hope your fall down the stairs hasn't left you with any serious problems. You sound perky enough ! However, at our sort of age (and I know you are a few years older) these falls are a major problem. You could have easily broken a large limb and finished up in hospital again.

Yvonne ..... As you know, my admiration for your AquaSplash activities is second to none. Volunteering to be the 'nominated adult' in the first place was a major undertaking. But I know from your telling me about it, that you enjoyed it all immensely.

All those slides and chutes and splashes !

You are right about the LibDem sign. Neither of us expected it to survive the first night. But it did, and 5/6 more too ?

I'm looking forward to 'Desperate Romantics' again this evening. The link is to the programme's actual website - and good fun it looks too.

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Quotation time .......

"Like a god going thro' his world there stands One mountain, for a moment in the dusk, Whole brotherhoods of cedars on its brow "

Robert Browning

Personally I rate his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning the better poet. especially the sonnets.

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Return to bad weather - 67F - 6mph West Wind

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The purpose of our visit to Palmers Green was to attend Ruby's AquaSplash birthday party which was held in the Leisure World complex shown. For grownups, Tracy warned me, inside was like hell on earth. Unbearably hot - enough to make one feel queasy and noisy enough to do damage to your ear drums.

But the kids loved it and Y was designated as the adult to go in the pool - there had to be at least one apparently. She went down slides and chutes etc., - some of the blue coloured external tubes shown in the snap are water chutes leading down to the pool. Pictorially, I love the garishness and the feeling of vigorous life, and those external tubes make you think of The Pomidou Centre.

Tracy thought it would not be a good idea for me to actually go in to the AquaSplash bit. so the closest I came was to walk into the building and peep through a large window. I managed to wave to people.

Then she took me just over the road to the MacDonalds where I installed myself with my laptop and my Vodafone dongle came into play yet again. Excellent 3MB broadband signal - later a nice MacDonalds lady told me that they are a WiFi hotspot which is available to customers free.

I listened to my radio and, in fact, quite happily did the sort of thing I usually do. At intervals I saw people. Elli and Ruby came separately to see me. and check if I was OK !

We eventually returned to Palmers Green and I took them out for evening meal to the Rimini Italian Restaurant and everyone enjoyed their food. Although the menu was very small print Andy found 'calves liver and onions' for me which wasn't too rich. Only the girls could find room for pudding. Elli chose ice-cream which people had a spoonful of here and there.

I was very comfortable in my room and managed to install myself satisfactorily. Just next door to the bathroom, which was good. In the morning Tracy brought me a muf of tea which was most welcome. She certainly looked after me extremely well.

Andy cooked two gorgeous meals. Bubble & Squeek for Breakfast, with a poached egg and some bacon. Then for lunch he did an equally sumptious Fish Pie. And everyone was happy for me to only have very small portions.

Tracy drove us home, and although there were lots of 50mph areas on the Motorway, we made good time and arrived around 6pm. We both slept well and when I weighed-in prior to my shower this morning I was delighted to find that I hadn't gained anything. We have had a quiet day today and although Y was a bit off-colour first thing she relied by mid-morning. I managed to do a few gardening jobs too.

We really have been lucky with weather this year. Each time it has been fine at the place we have visited and awful back here in Nottingham/Mansfield. Since we returned we have had the torrential squalls again.

My responses to your comments

Yvonne ..... I bow to your accurate memory of the outdoor-shower incident. I know you regretted not joining me - perhaps a chance will occur this autumn !

Madeline ..... Thanks for your good wishes ! As you will see above - we did indeed have a good weekend.

Bob ..... The bottle-bags are designed in pleasant cheerful designs and have draw-strings at the top. They are intended for use when you give someone a bottle of wine rather than to transport it around in.

Jill ..... Your spag/bol at a nudist beach café incident raised a smile. Where do you carry a tissue to wipe it off with ?

I haven't been watching New Tricks so I can't comment. But I think Y still enjoys it.

This evening we intend to watch the third episode of The Street. Having read the link I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to it or not.

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Quotation slot ......

"Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity."

Frank Leahy

And if I hear anyone mutter "physician heal thyself'" I shall be down the line to them - ed

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67F - 10mph W Wind - Odd Rainfall and squally

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Picture 1 is a scrn.prnt to demonstrate that Madeline's solution worked brilliantly, and I now have my Norton 'safeweb symbols' happily in place (the little green ticks - if there are problems with a site you get a red cross etc.). Thanks Madeline ! I feel much more confident opening unknown sites when I know they have been checked over for viruses and other malware. This is definitely an area of computing where 'prevention is better than cure'.

We nipped out to Morrisons this morning to buy some decent wine to take with us tomorrow, and also to Paul's bestbuy shop in Eastwood for some bottle-bags. His are great, and 35p as against 99p or similar elsewhere. And they aren't cheap & nasty either - or perhaps they are but not to our downmarket tastes.

Picture 2 shows my 'successful' attempt to collect Basil seed. I say 'successful' because an earlier attempt ended abruptly when Karen tidied up and washed the plate. My fault entirely because I hadn't explained what I was doing. If you look at the enlargement you will see the little black seeds which will form the basis of next year's basil population. Anyway, it is more satisfying using home-produced seed rather than buying someone else's from a seed-catalogue.

A strange experience with the weather this morning. Y went to the Hayley Centre about 10.15am for a swim. It wasn't a good experience because of the large amount of people milling vigorously about in the pool, to the discomfort of casual gentle swimmers. There is some sort of trial-period offer on for a month and this might be the cause. Also the Jacuzzi was knackered. About half an hour later Y rang to say could I pick her up due to the torrential rain ? ..... There hadn't been a drop here, some 1½ mile away. As I drove down the road towards the Centre there was almost a definite line across the road surface - dry one side and wet the other.

John e-mailed me to say that granddaughter Laura and her fella Joe were back safe and sound from their adventures. They had now gone up to Newcastle, where Joe is doing a PhD, to find somewhere to live, and also jobs. Good to have them back.

We are away at Debra's for the weekend. Chauffeur TJ - picking us up at 7.30am.

My responses to your comments

Jill .... Glad that you too are back to normal and I'm glad you enjoyed your 'knitting workshop' so much.

Glad also that you are enjoying the 'collages'. The flower in the bottom left corner of yesterday's is a 'frond/flower spike?' of the cotinus (smoke bush).


The picture on the right shows it more in context.

Poor Y also suffers when furniture is such that her feet don't reach the floor. I'm sure the things Nicola intends to provide for me will prove a success. In any case I'm not really bad at the moment - the unsteadiness on my feet is a bigger worry. Although I have now lost over 2 stone it would be a major problem if I fell over. This is yet another reason why the present gusty/gale force winds unsettle me.

Madeline .... Please see above re Norton's safeweb symbols. A very sincere 'thank you'. I didn't mention an additional plus - The symbols are operative even when I have the Norton toolbar 'unchecked' and even when I use an alternative Search Engine.

Yvonne .... re outdoors showers. I have at the back of my mind that I once did it, under some leaky guttering. Wherever we were living I know we weren't overlooked. Could have been here ? Or have I imagined all that ?

Bob .... Thank you for your e-mail explaining the pseudonym. Certainly as a 'one off' I don't intend to be picky.

Interesting that your period of watching the PreRaphaelites has now stretched from 15 minutes to half an hour.

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Quotation slot .....

"Thou fill’st from the wingèd chalice of the soul

Thy lamp, O Memory, fire-wingèd to its goal."

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Have a nice weekend folks - there won't be a blog-post tomorrow


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Routine Thursday - Y at BJ - Me messing-about - 67F and 5mph W Wind

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Having done a collage of flowers out in the front garden yesterday it seemed to naturally follow that I turn my attention to the rear garden today. And there they are. I suppose we could have a 'name that flower' competition, but then again .......

I took Y to the 9.38am tram and then went to the doctor's for 10.10am - she had had a cancellation and saw me at 10am. Dr Chamberlain, another young lady doctor who I hadn't seen before. I was quite happy with her and she put my mind at rest about certain things. She took yet another blood test and I am to see her a week today for the result.

After the doctor's I went shopping to Lidl and Morrisons - it takes the pressure off tomorrow. I know we are going to Debra's and don't want to leave a fridge full of commodities we shan't use.

Picture 2 is a photoshop drawing of The Pantiles.

For those of us who can't draw these sort of programmes create for oneself the illusion that one can - if you see what I mean.

I shall probably print it as a 10 x 8 print, just to see what it looks like.

The weather is really weird isn't it ? Here today there's been sunny spells, but all the time that niggly wind - and now it is raining again, quite heavily. So much for the bit of gardening I had promised myself this evening. And I don't know if there is anything we can watch together on the telly.

My responses to your comments

Madeline ..... Thank you very much indeed for your input. The Norton Safeweb symbols are simply Norton's equivalent to McAfee's siteadvisor symbols. Green tick for 'site clear' etc ...... Allegedly updated more often than McAfee though.

I haven't yet got round to working through your suggested 'workaround' but it all seems to make sense and I'll have a go either this evening, or in the dead of the night. By the way, I don't think one can do 'links' in the comments box.

During today there has been a 'Firefox update' to build 3.0.12 so. if that goes onto the laptop too (I'm on the PC at the moment) it may have solved the problem anyway.

I shall report back.

Thanks for the kind comments about the blog !

Bob ...... I thought Epoisses would appeal to you. It really is worth making a special trip to Sainsburys - although I don't know where your nearest is. Perhaps on one of your Newark or Retford sorties !

No problem with flies - I feel the aroma would knock-em out rather than attract them.

The bed-height isn't really a Karen type problem. There are these special cuplike devices braced across for safety. I already have some on an easy chair, and they work well.

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Quotation slot ......

"There is nothing more dreadful than imagination without taste"

Johan Wolfgang von Goethe

"Sleep tight everybody - I'll try and catch you tomorrow - prior to a break over the weekend"



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Busy Wednesday - OT - PC - Garden - 61F - Southerly Wind

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We bought this cheese on our Monday visit to Sainsburys. All I can say is WoW ! and nothing to do with walking. Unless the delightful smell is too much for ladies of a sensitive disposition and causes them to walk briskly away from the box.

The cheese is Epoisses an apellation controlé etc., and will appeal to lovers of strong attractive cheeses. On the box it says it is runny and it is. First day I kept it at room temperature and I could have poured it on my breakfast toast. Second night I kept it in the fridge which maintained the cheese in a more manageable state i.e. spreadable. The flavour did not seem to have been impaired. The best 'new' cheese I've sampled for many years.

About 25 years ago I was at a conference in Bruges, in a good hotel, and after dinner I had an excellent cheese of a similar stamp. Y was with me, and the following morning bless her ! she went into town and bought me a box to bring home. Subsequently we had no difficulty locating our luggage on the carousel !

Our day started with a visit from the Occupation Therapist, Nicola, who is going to sort out my problems with rising from bed. She agrees that 'hooking my stick round the toilet door-handle and pulling myself upright' is not the best strategy. I am to have some things fitted under the bed legs to raise it 4½ inches exactly. She measured me, and the bed precisely.

She also wants me to have a new frame to fit round the loo because she didn't like the rusty state of the existing one. Nicola was the sort of person who inspires confidence - and attractive with it !

Then the MegaTech computer lad arrived to do the annual health check, to which I am entitled under my warranty. No problems with my PC and he also explained my Norton 'safeweb symbol' problem on the laptop. Simple really - Norton 360 and Firefox 3.5.1 are not compatible.

So - either uninstall Firefox latest version in favour of an earlier build - or live without the 'safeweb symbols'. I favour the latter. However, if Madeline, or Ray, or some other WebUser forum person knows of a workaround and is reading this - please e-mail me, or add a 'comment'.

This afternoon I managed a few minutes in the front garden. I hadn't got my watch - so I was amazed when I came back in the house and Y told me I had been 'at it' from 5pm to 6.40pm. I only tidied the 'ringaround' under the tree and then hoed it smart.

Picture 2 is a collage of some of flowers in the front garden which I took when I had finished. Just a record-shot to show what's out - nothing purports to be arty.

I spoke to Helen on the phone to find out which Caravan Site they are actually booked in it from this weekend on. It is The Wareham Forest Touring Camp and from the website it looks superb. Two swimming pools no less ! Here's hoping they are lucky weatherwise.

Tomorrow I'm due to see the Doctor at 10.10am prior to which I shall have dropped Y at Phoenix Park for the 9.38am Tram, the start of her Burton Joyce day. Then there are things I need from Aldi and Lidl, after which my day is free.

My responses to your comments

Bob .... I agree that 'transvestite' doesn't matter either way - ha ha! But the voice can be a distraction.

I agree about The Snooty Fox food. Whenever I've been with you the standard has always pleased me and I can remember some very good meals. I think I once had 'liver and onions' and jolly good it was too. All that fuss about the loos - we all remember outside ones where the urinal was just a wall with a gulley at the bottom of it.

Congrats on your level of knowledge about Macbeth. If I had to select a Shakespeare 'specialist subject' it would be The Sonnets. Although I did neither for GSE.

Hope Jill's trip went well and, when she next comments, she will perhaps give us an update on Barbara.

Yvonne ..... I agree with your 'romp' assessment of the Desperate Romantics. The Telegraph didn't like it at all did they ? Mind you, as we both know, for us that can be a plus point.

If you aren't looking for historical accuracy I thought the programme was good. The hour passed quickly and that is as good a measure as anything.

I particularly liked their use of the David Bowie 'Heroes' track as a background for their joyous marches down the street.

I agree with you about Ro's great nephew being a handsome little chap. He certainly loved the yellow duck.

Interesting info about the 'whitening of the skin' chap and Michael Jackson. Google tells me the condition is called hypopigmentation and the site I have linked you to explains.

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I've decided to end tonight with a photograph sent me by JBW




Perhaps we need something similar for Britain - It isn't racist, in fact the precise opposite
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Typical Tuesday - 61F - 10mph SSE wind - Jobs

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I'm not obsessed with the front garden but, a comment alleged that my photography 'blew it up'.

Had I wished to make it look bigger I would have photographed it thus. Had I wished to 'blow it up' I would have used a well known horticultural explosive like Nitro-glycerine.

Y managed yesterday, as she notes in her comment, in the sun, to dead-head the roses and other things and you can certainly see an immediate improvement. From tatty to dapper at once. I think she has the 'twinges' to show for it though. Y now understands my Magwitch analogy - the pain does hit you that suddenly.

Our day has been fairly typical for Tuesday, which is a Karen day. My first appointment was with my blood-lady Sheila and she was delighted with the holiday postcards I took in. Her surgery doesn't have an outside window and she brightens it by encouraging her patients to send or take postcards. It is also nice for people, whilst sitting there wincing, to look how widely travelled are one's fellow patients.

Then we had several calls in Eastwood, Y's 'hair', The Library, and the Bank. We called in at Paul's for some large rubber bands but to no avail. However, later in the day, Y obtained some just-right ones from W.H.Smith's. I need broad ones to hold my collapsible sticks together - thin ones don't last five minutes. After that I took Y over to Sherwood for her Nails service.

Picture 2 features 'Dragon fruit' which we hadn't previously sampled. I can't recommend it. Not a trace of redeeming sweetness - at best bland and tasteless, for all it's exciting looks.

I still haven't fixed my Norton problem. Another go tomorrow.

This evening we aim to watch a drama/documentary 'Desperate Romantics' based on The PreRaphaelite Brotherhood. How true to history it will be ? and how much just an excuse for another costume drama is anyone's guess. The trouble is that, unlike Cranford for instance, there wasn't a well-written novel to hang it on. The programme well need plenty of 'water on its wheel' to pass muster because I know a fair bit about the PRB and Y knows even more.

My responses to your comments

Yvonne .... Well done with University Challenge ! My only recollection, from passing through the room, was the lady team captain with the male voice. Not a tenor either, more a baritone. Not that these things matter but they do draw attention rather.....

You are right about the moon-landing conspiracy theory ! Load of ....... ! Mike H has sent me this recently published photo that shows the lower half of the lunar module in situ. The bit which was left behind when Armstrong and Aldrin blasted back up off the surface.

Jill .......... You certainly were busy and anyway, you don't have to comment. It isn't like handing in homework. It is just that we all enjoy your comments so much.

In the garden I only manage to do the fiddly bits. Y does the real graft. But she does enjoy 'cutting-back' and moving things about. With these twinges though I try to persuade her to only do tiny little stints - if it gets too much for us we can always have Alex for a day or two !

The garage-door frame badly needs painting but, I mentioned it to Karen yesterday and she said "I'll do that for you - I love painting & decorating" .... So there you go.

Hope you have a good time in Sussex - and I hope that soon your hot water becomes more reliable.

Re Carrie's conspiracy theories and The Moon. Please see my note above to Y. I know it isn't conclusive evidence but ......

Bob ..... Glad The Snooty Fox has re-opened. I always enjoyed our visits to it but as you will see ( if you open the link that is) the 'reviewers' had a wide range of opinions.

"Through a glass darkly" is indeed 1 Corinthians 13. Perhaps you are getting confused with "The dark lady" of Shakespeare's sonnets ?

Thanks for the advice to address the Russian Soldier in the terms ‘привет, привет, привет. Что мы получили здесь тогда?’. That is what I was going to say to him anyway.

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Quotation time ......

"Cabbage: A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and as wise as a man's head."

Ambrose Bierce

"Sleep tight - Catch you tomorrow"

'