Y all OK at Doctors - Then a Rest Day

Back to normal layout this evening because I wanted to use this sunrise, and a titchy little sunrise is no good to anyone. Mostly a Rest Day, but I had finally bullied Y into going to the Doctor with this chronic cough (2 months) and she confirmed what I had already discovered via Google that it was probably due to the ace-inhibitors prescribed for her blood-pressure. Don't ask me what ace-inhibitors are because my googling fell short of reaching there. The doctor didn't seem to mind at all that we had researched the problem ourselves. It must be irritating for a doctor to be challenged with pages and pages of printed-off internet 'stuff' so Y introduced it discretely. The doctor has changed Y's tablets but says she might cough for a few days yet.

I knew she was worried though, so there was no real decision to make between WalkingonWednesday, and the doctors. My place was with Y - as hers has always been with me under similar circumstances. Tomorrow is Camera Club day and I shall hear all about it and, yes Rob, I will bring the Aldi prints (closer scrutiny of them reveals minor probs, the main of which is that the paper was not of identical size, so to make a panel presentable, I've had to guillotine off some information - qualitywise though OK). Also Terry S. gave me the details of the 'scratch and dent man' and he is coming to inspect the damage on Saturday morning. Ergo, I would like to clear it before putting you in touch - mainly because he stressed that although he is supposed to have retired, he has an order book stretching till after Xmas. I'm sure it will be OK though.

Comments now Thanks Pete for the link you posted. What a super site. Pictures and quotes together ! What could be better for a person addicted to both.

Thanks Madeline and later Bungus for the comma ID. Here they are courtesy, as Madeline suggests, of 'google images'. Looking back at my photo I don't think any doubt remains. And re SAD syndrome Bungus, I'm much sooner over it than you. Once I see the Aconite and the Snowdrops I start to get excited for the Spring.

Such a relief Jill to have you safely returned from Tesco. Like you, we can be intermittent with AutumnWatch - we like Simon best - such an enthusiast. Even though during The Enlightenment' being an 'enthusiast' was a boo-category.

After the minor rocket from Pete (Manxislander) yesterday about 'no quotation' I decided the best thing was to 'lift' one straight out of the link he sent me.

So here it is. Great photograph and lovely words. Remember, if you can't quite read the words, all you need to do is left-click the picture and a larger version will open in a fresh window as if by magic.

This morning I made Sweet Potato and Parsnip Soup out of Joan's National Trust Soup Book which has become a valued tome.

At lunchtime I had reached the 'blend' stage and although Y was chatting to Joan on the 'phone I asked if she wanted it 'smooth' or 'with bits in' ?. She opted for 'with bits in' but Joan assures us that the correct terminology is 'rustic'. We like to get these things right.

For main meal we finished off the chili and Y made Butterscotch Angel Delight for pudding. Magic.

Grannying at Burton Joyce tomorrow for Y. Surely it can't be a week since I was showing Hannah how to do links? Then, after collecting Y, it's EPS and a lecture for me.
Wow Sleep tight everybody and I'll catch you tomorrow.
I think I've found another smiley for WalkingonWednesday.


p.s. Here is a wiki-link for Elizabeth Kubler-Ross - the author of the quote.
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Hair - Sainsburys - Nails - Cheesecake Shop

Slightly different layout this evening folks and the 'thumbnails' are smaller. According to fellow bloggers on the blogger forum if you publish them small they have less of a tendency to vanish from past blog-posts. When left clicked a full size picture will appear as normal.

Picture 1 is the CheeseCake Shop where we enjoyed out soup of the day with toasted ciabatta. Delicious as always. A fitting end to our busy morning. We did coffee in the new library, Y's hair, then to Sainsburys at Arnold, then 'nails' at Carlton Hill and finally Mapperley top for lunch. My charity shop sorties yielded nothing. Then home to admire the Liquidamber which is still strutting its stuff. In the leaves competition it looks like Liquidamber 1, 234 v Lime Tree 12. Hope our purchaser enjoys it next year.

When we arrived home the books had arrived from Amazon, and my four 8 x 12inch prints from Aldi. Excellent quality on reasonable weight paper and the total bill at 35p per print plus p & p came to £2.43p. Amazing ! The chaps will be v. interested. The other good thing is that I finally managed to contact the scratch & dent man and he sounds as 'sound as a pound'. He is going to come and look at it, but won't actually be able to do the work until after Xmas.

Comments now.....Y says thank-you Pete for the birthday greetings from the Isle of Man.

Bungus. Thanks for trying but this picture is a Small Tortoiseshell i.e. nothing like yesterday's creature . which didn't have the black and white bits or the same wing shape.

Anonymous Rob. I don't think my dislike of this time of year is anything to do with SAD syndrome, or the general look of the place with all the colour and lovely light. I just don't like such early sunsets and late dawns.

Don't know if Jill is still at Tesco, or whether AOL is playing up.

I cooked a chilli for main meal and it tasted fine and there's plenty for tomorrow when it will be even better. Strictly come Dancing 'it takes two' was good. They had Philip Jackson on. he is the expert's expert who provides the technical commentary behind the red button. To have him explain what the judges see in terms of technique is good. I might watch Autumnwatch but I'm a bit done for. I caught up on The Genius of Photography last night and that was good too.

No quote today. Too idle.................. Sleep tight. Catch you tomorrow.

Over to Joan's - Cold but pleasant

As you can see from Picture 1 the Liquidamber is still gamely hanging onto its leaves even though the lime tree and many others have lost all of theirs in the wind.

I really don't like this 'sunrise 7.20am and sunset 4.17pm' business at all. And it's got to get worse before it gets better.

As it really is Y's birthday today we have done exactly what she has wanted. We nipped over to Joan's and then for lunch had the second two of the Lidl Rainbow Trout, with the baked winter veg, followed by Xmas pudding and (to Bungus's horror) cold custard. Naps this afternoon, nearly finished the crossword. And 'strictly......' to look forward to. Y likes to keep an eye on Claudia's shoes. What is it with ladies and shoes? They are all Imelda Marcos at heart.

Picture 2 is I feel either a skipper or a fritillary. Matters lepidopterological are a closed book to me. I have left the chestnut paling clearly visible to give some idea of size.

To comments now ........The Derbyshire Building Society's lack of accurate information about me, AnonymousRob, was precisely the point I was making. Pay attention that boy at the back but a house-point and a gold star for spotting the similarity between Hannah's plate-layout and the carpet-pattern. I certainly hadn't noticed it. And 'Yes' I'm sure that is the only Ken Rockwell.

And also 'Yes' to Bungus. I have another dent in the car. Roy was chatting to Reg in the Conservative Club Car Park and ............................. Hadn't blogged it because I didn't want to embarrass him but, via Terry, I've discovered an excellent Mr Fixit. Your exchange between photographer and critic is excellent. Can't wait to plagiarise you!

To Jill now. So pleased you eventually managed to arrive in person. Must just have been a glitch - they happen all the time don't they? I'm sure the Wilfred Owen programme was excellent and I have great respect for him as a poet. But I felt it would be too harrowing, and I don't do 'harrowing' any more. I've restricted my news intake to the 30 second summary of 'what the news is going to be' on the Radio 4 News Programmes . For more information I rely on the following day's Telegraph and even then I often only read the first paragraphs. Colin Fletcher gave up on the news for quite a while and operated on the theory that if something important enough happened, someone would tell him about it.

Glad you voted for John Barnes and I'm so glad he is still in.

"Popular opinion is the greatest lie in the world"

Thomas Carlyle

That will do for today folks. Over on her own blog Hannah is trying to master HTML code and I know she will do it. Steven knows all about it because he is almost through adding the final touches to his website. But it's best if she learns at her own pace. She and Y have exchanged some pleasant words on Google Chat and Y is getting to be quite good at it. She only needed a start.
Bye for now

Tracy's for lunch - Her new Honda

I've been 'beaten to the blog' by Hannah who has already published her blog, complete with happy granny pictures. Slow old Grandad !

We had a great time over at Sherwood and we both loved every minute of it. Lunch was lovely, she had done us lamb-shanks with all the tracklements. For pudding we had some smashing fancies which Hannah had laid out on the plates with lashings of cream -not shown. She also did the place-setting cards.

Y had her presents, cards, lots of flowers and lots of love.


After lunch David, Helen, Sky and Brooke arrived and the children had an absolutely marvellous time playing together. Sky and Hannah are fairly close in age and so are Miles and Brooke and they all make a great fuss of Millicent who loves it. I went for an afternoon nap and drifted off to sleep accompanied by that happy, happy sound of children playing.

Picture 3 is Tracy's new vroom vroom and I've photoshopped it a little to show it without the distraction of the surroundings. It looks like a two-door but is in fact a four-door because the rear doors are concealed and, I think, only open from inside.

Very urban-chic what? Yvonne has sat in it and proclaims the car very comfy and TJ says it's good to drive. Although I like Civics I'm not tempted though, and this morning I got the name of the bodywork man from Terry. He sounds efficient and reasonable and just the man to pull out my big dent and touch up my scratches.

John came round while we were out to drop off Y's present and it was well dark by the time we got home. But I came the well-lit route which although a little further is less stressful. Then it was straight into Strictly come Dancing and after a dance-off against Matt and Flavia, Penny Lancaster finally went.

My quote for the day is a photography one:-

"Some photographers think that fuzzy B&W images of poor people are Art"

Ken Rockwell

His name is a link to his website because he doesn't have a wiki-page, but ought to. I might just post one. He can be infuriating at times but so often what he says about photography is spot on and 'cuts the crap'.

Just two more things. Sometimes I think that the worries about information being stored about you are just scares. At 72, I had a letter from the Derbyshire Building Society yesterday inviting me to a seminar entitled "Planning for your retirement". The other is - How nice it is to hear from you Madeline, or 'Rock Granny' as we should call you. Please don't leave it so long before your next 'comment'. I'm sure you can find something to get onto Bungus about !

.......Sleep tight everyone. If I've missed anthing I'll catch up tomorrow..
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Jessica's Poem - Weekend off - Lots done

Jessica is Bungus and Sandra's grandaughter and her poem about her Gran certainly deserves publication in this modest outlet. The young certainly "tell it like it is" as Madeline agreed when she read the last one.

So, if you are still a reader Madeline, we would love to hear what you think this time? In any case "Best wishes from all". The portrait of Sandra is pretty good too and the MBE drawing is excellent.

Y is still not 100% even though better and I hope she is well enough to enjoy her birthday. The kids do her good and it is always nice over at TJ's. And yes old eagle-eye, I do accept that Sunday and not Saturday is a day before Monday.

Birthday greetings have been passed on. This morning we ordered books from Amazon, I won't say what, because they are for Xmas presents but the 3 altogether (including p & p) came to less than one of them which Y priced yesterday in Waterstones. I know it's tough on retail booksellers, but I'm afraid I think it is their own problem to deal with.

Picture 2 is from the Magpie Mine day and is an example of the old adage "photograph the light not the land". And briefly, while on matters photographic, for Rob's benefit - nothing I said about his lecture was an exaggeration. And I will send Bungus a copy of the 'reflections snap' the right way up, under a plain cover. And both of you are right - Oh dear! what long memories people have! I did indeed develop the film, print the pictures in my darkroom and then cut the mounts myself - for my LRPS panel. How time flies. but I'm glad the 'cookery pages' are stimulating taste-buds.

If you haven't yet seen the ArtDeco video in ArtDaily I strongly recommend it. As is the Robert Mapplethorpe even though it suffers a little in presentation. There's such a lot in ArtDaily at the moment - such a shame we can't get a full-screen version. In ArtDaily, if you open the link, you can access the videos simply by clicking one of the exhibition titles and the list of videos then opens down the left hand column.

Quote of the Day.......

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer"

Albert Camus

So, tomorrow we are off to Sherwood for Y's birthday do. Blogging therefore will be a fairly imprecise matter. May get chance, may not. Strictly come dancing was its usual good fun. Y voted for Gethin and Camilla, and I voted for Alesha and Mathew because I thought they were the best of the night. Alesha is a great little mover and one sexy young lady (I still remember about these things) but I nearly voted for John Barnes because he did so well. I hope enough people ring in for him because he doesn't deserve to go out.

...........This counter is about as confused as I am re how many people read the blog. I had a cumulative one once, which only I could see in my dashboard. But when one day it gave me a figure lower than it had been the day before. I abandoned it as useless and depressing. Sleep tight everybody and have a nice Sunday.

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EPS - Rob excellent - Nottingham trip

Left over from Thursday when I decided at lunchtime to make welsh-rarebit and this is how they looked. This picture certainly would not be improved by converting it to monochrome. If anyone is interested:-

• Grate the cheese (cheddar with a touch of blue stilton.
• Melt it down in a saucepan in a little butter.
• Add a tbsp+ milk.
• Thicken slightly with cornflour-in-water, - till spreadable consistency.
  
• Spread thickly on toast which you have toasted on one side only.
• Grill under a fierce light until it looks like the picture.

Talking of monochrome, AnonymousRob's lecture on Thursday evening was first class and went down very well with the membership. There was a wide variety of his pictures, including pinhole work (example published in blog of 30th October). Also he showed us a panel of "available light" pictures of flamenco dancers which were great. The low light conditions and resultant slow shutter speeds captured the slight movement-blur just so. He finished with a panel of letter-box prints of some marvellous after dark, street scenes from Venice which will win awards anywhere. Brilliant Rob, congratulations - I won't go on, although I could easily, because our readers who are not as photo-addicted will skip. The title of his lecture was "Nearly in the Black" because of its monochrome theme. Although not a monochrome aficionado I found myself moving closer and closer. Perhaps I'm 'on the turn'.

Picture 2 is another hang-over from Walking on Wednesday and it is, apparently, the done-thing to display 'reflections pictures' upsidedown - so here goes.

This morning we nipped down Nottingham by tram, because we each had things we needed. Diaries, cards, and assorted bits-and-bobs (I wonder where that expression came from - the 'bits' is easy but the 'bobs' ?) We went on the tram - of course! When we arrived home I cooked our traditional Friday Fish, Chips and Peas. Naps this afto. and then Strictly come Dancing.

Today's quotation is courtesy my igoogle home page:-

"I've always found paranoia to be a perfectly defensible position"

Pat Conroy

Happy birthday Debra. I know you got your e-card because you've just e-mailed me. Hope you had a lovely day. Y's on Monday 12th of course, but we are semi-celebrating a day early, by going to TJ's for lunch on Saturday. That will be nice. Have a nice weekend everyone. Sleep tight..



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Over at Burton Joyce - 'Links' for Hannah

Here are some badgers in Hannah's garden last year. If we now publish the blog everybody will be able to open the link.

As good a starting point as any, prior to taking Y home and then going to the camera club. Hannah has been keen to understand live links, hyperlinks etc., and it was easier to guide her through doing it herself.

We also carried on with smileys and she is thrilled to bits with the range available. She aims to put lots in her own blog and also to e-mail them to people. She likes the animated ones best.

I'm going to suspend publication there, and may return later tonight - unless 'done for'...........

See you later.....

WoW at Magpie Mine - So Windy - Robin Hoods Stride -

Our WoW destination this morning was the Magpie Mine near the village of Sheldon in Derbyshire. If you open the link you will see that it is a disused lead mine dating back (allegedly) 300 years.

Although the pictures in the linked page show the mine in more detail I think my 'record-shot' Number 1 shows part of it in context in relation to the skyline. The site is so remote and it was so windy I wasn't so much worried about my tripod blowing over as 'me' blowing over. My flask of coffee was more than usually welcome.

En route we went through the via Gelia and passed near Robin Hood's Stride and near to Birchover had to pull quickly off the main road because we noticed the light on the rocks in Picture 2. There were only small intermittent gaps in the cloud for a little sun but the strength of the wind soon blow the clouds together again.

Good fun though. Brian S (Commercial) came with us for the first time since his retirement from the shop, and I think enjoyed himself. As he said he has been looking forward to it for so long. We stopped for our customary chip-cob and got home around 3pm. Brian tried to convince me that Adobe Photoshop 7 is the same programme as Adobe Elements. When I got home I checked on the Adobe website and it isn't. And the latest from the Elements stable is 6 not 7. Not important anyway.

Our last night's National Trust Lecture, about National Trust Gardens was quite excellent. The lecturer Stuart Dixon is extremely well qualified having recently retired from teaching horticulture at university level. And he certainly knew his stuff. He did a lot about the Garden at Snowshill Manor which we visited earlier in the year. He was spot on about the plant collection but as Jill commented ages ago, the house and its contents are weird, weird, weird. The owner was an eccentric collector who eventually had to move out of the house and into a small cottage opposite because there wasn't any room left for him.

Re Comments. About 'Room with a View'. You may be right Jill about the over-acting. But it suited me fine. I am sure Y, or Bungus, or anyone will tell you, subtlety is lost on Radiogandy - it's a sledge-hammer job most times. And I agree with AnonymousRob and Bungus about Timothy Spall (who isn't Denholm Elliott or Ian Holme) he is underrated. I think that he was so good in 'Auf Weidersehn Pet' that everyone now expects him always to be 'Barry'.

I'll leave you with a video of some pretty pictures and Sinatra singing Autumn Leaves. You can't complain of not getting your money's worth on this blog, now can you?

This quotation may amuse our older readers :-

"When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not"

Mark Twain

A note for new readers. If it is in orange writing it will be a live link so left-click it. Also, if you left-click a picture you will get an enlargement, sized just right to fit your screen.

Y at Burton Joyce tomorrow. And I've got Camera Club in the evening and the lecturer is - drum roll............AnonymousRob. And he will be good. He always is. Here is our Wow logo


Catch you tomorrow......

Room with a View - AnonymousRob's tutorial

When I was getting dressed this morning, quite late (my EXIFdata says 10.10am - should be 9.10am, my camera hasn't adjusted from summer-time) I thought why search for autumn colour when I can just look out of my bedroom window ?

I know I am lucky but my view at the new house (god willing) will be even better although different.

First things first though and Picture 2 sums up a most successful tutorial with AnonymousRob. He had asked what in Photoshop I needed particular guidance with. I said "I don't really understand Layers". He replied that he didn't really understand Layers either, and then displayed what to my mind seemed like a post-doctoral grasp of the subject. I learnt so much and perhaps a little has sunk in. He was kind enough to offer further help if I get stuck , which is almost inevitable. I promise him that the first 'buttletin' I find will be purchased, to deal with his 'moisty' vegetables.

We picked a picture and worked on it and Picture 2 is the result. The idea was to transform The Corner House into a futuristic one-armed bandit. I fully accept that this isn't a photograph as such any longer but gosh, it was fun. It would be totally improper to enter it in a competition because it should be attributed to him but I might take it along for discussion on a suitable evening.

The next thing is I am multi-tasking and sitting with Y watching her recording of 'Room with a View' and I must recant. A quite excellent production - great acting, beautifully directed, and stunning pictorially. Now there's a link worth a click, all the pictures are live links and is you use IE7 a super little video, Firefox isn't too keen.

Y had a great bonfire evening at Steve's and Hannah sent me a piece of her ginger cake - lip-smackingly good as we used to say. The girl does seem to have the cake-making knack. This evening we are at Mansfield Centre for our National Trust Gardens lecture. That's a link if anyone fancies a glimpse.

p.s. for Bungus: If you 'fing' a 'buttletin' before I do, grab it. Who needs spell checkers when typos can be such good fun?

The daily Quotation :-

"A truly great book should be read in youth, again in maturity and once more in old age, as a fine building should be seen by morning light, at noon and by moonlight"

Robertson Davies

Quick cup of tea and a sandwich and then over to Mansfield. It will be lovely to see all our chums, AN other not withstanding. Peter is bringing me a bqag of green tomatoes - I wonder if they will all go red like Reg's. I'll out them in exactly the same window-sill spot and will report back.

Much cooler - Y over to BJ - Mouse pad idea

A one picture blogette today due to time constraints.

We've been busy; doctors this morning for blood tests and things, and I've got to go back for another tomorrow. Little shopping then, we were going to have a salad but decided that the weather demanded cooked food. So we had a Fray Bentos pie, mashed potatoes and brussels. Karen (cleaning lady treasure) seems to have done a bunk. We knew she was having domestic problems and this morning she texted us saying sorry but she was hundreds of miles away and wasn't coming back. Ho Hum ! I'm sure more information will emerge.

I took Y over to Burton Joyce for the bonfire this evening and she has wrapped up sensibly and I'm collecting her from TJ's in the morning - after my blood test ! Tomorrow evening we have our monthly National Trust meeting at Mansfield. The lecture is to be about National Trust gardens. Should be good.

Let me explain 'good idea 6,327'. Some time ago I had the notion of using a ring-bound sketch pad as a mouse mat because, not only does it provide a good surface for the mouse you can also make notes on it while you are working. The only snag proved to be that, as one worked down the page, the surface the heel of your hand rests on became, due to grease, impossible to write on. Solution - start making the notes from the bottom !

Comments Pleased Bungus that you owned up to refilling the Sarsons bottle from the Blakeleys. And I accept that it is for pragmatic rather than posh reasons. I accept everything you say about 'that programme' but I'm still glad I decided against watching it. Important it no doubt is, but I don't watch much TV anyway and that didn't figure for us. I guess Jill will be of the same mind.

To AnonymousRob. If I come across a buttle-tin for your baked winter veg I shall obtain it for you. Perhaps one of these moisty mornings when I'm on charity-shop patrol.

......I'd better shut up shop. You will be here in 20 minutes or so. No time for a quote. Sleep tight everybody. Looking forward to Hannah's post bonfire blog.

Amother misty morning - still mild

I'm not sure that, as is alleged, I could bore for England on the subject of misty mornings. However, I will concede that I'm probably worth a county trial. And Picture 1 will just about make it into my panel of 3,420 exhibits.

Gorgeous this morning and I suppose 6.55am is not as eccentric as when I'm at it in May.

Done lots of odd jobs today as well as Steak, Chips and button mushrooms at lunchtime. The steak had been a few hours in a Teriyaki marinade and cooked a treat. I have the butcher cut sirloin steak about an inch thick so I know I can keep it succulent. Then we had Xmas pudding and custard for pudding.

Picture 2 is to prove to Bungus that, whilst I may be intransigent over trivial matters like politics or current affairs, I am Mr. Flexibility when it comes to important things like brands of vinegar. As you can see the Sarsons has nearly gone so Blakeleys is the replacement which I can't review because we have'nt used it yet.

Interesting Jill that you and Ro share Dr. Johnson's view of cucumber. He said "Cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing".

I also did a couple of prints of Hannah for Y which those of you who have her blog address will have seen. They had to dress up in Victorian outfits and she looked delightful in a white apron/smock and her hair in ringlets. Also Hannah published a story by Miles about their day at the Zoo which was remarkably good bearing in mind he is only 6. Had a nice chat to David this morning and they are all OK - I didn't keep him long because they were in the process of boiled eggs for breakfast. I also brought myself up-to-date with WU forums which I like to do from time to time because it is such a helpful and friendly forum. Quite different from Amateur Photographer for instance where they can be positively ill-tempered.

Bungus added a comment about ArtDaily and an ArtDeco video and the reference must have confused some readers. ArtDaily is a daily online newspaper devoted to Art and including matters Photographic and is an excellent read. The Art videos vary between brilliant and hopeless - one of the current ones about the Sistine Chapel falls into the second category.

Tomorrow I'm taking Y to Burton Joyce for the bonfire but I'm not stopping. If driving alone these days I like to do it in the daylight. It will work out well because AnonymousRob alias 'nifty googler' is nipping round to give me an hour's tuition in matters where I need it. Which gives him a pretty wide scope.

'Strictly come dancing' soon and it will be nteresting to see who is in the bottom two. My guess is John Barnes and Kate Garroway And I guess if they 'dance off' the judges will to keep John Barnes. We shall see. If the result is really dramatic I may re-open the blog with a 'stop-press buttletin' (nicer than bulletin, so I'll leave it) and earlier I had 'moisty morning' and it was too, but I corrected that one.

Quote for the day

"Why is it that our memory is good enough to retain the least triviality that happens to us, and yet not good enough to recollect how often we have told it to the same person?"

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

........... Sleep tight folks. Catch you tomorrow.

p.s. Kate wasn't even in the dance-off, to her relief and surprise. The dance-off was between John and Dominic and yet again they kept John Barnes in, which Y and I were pleased about. And Jill will be pleased to see the back of her 'twerp' I'm sure.

Still Mild - Shopping - Trout & Baked Veg

This afternoon I was clearing out pictures, not that I'm short of disc space but I fancied a spring clean. Picture 1 is of The Corner House, Nottingham opposite the Theatre Royal and its where we go to 'the pictures'. It was taken without flash and is blurry - but then I thought that, rotated through 90 degrees it makes a rather futuristic looking one-armed bandit, if photoshopped a bit.

Basically we have had a quiet at-home day because although much recovered Y still tires very easily. We shopped and then for lunch I cooked Rainbow Trout. My google for suitable tracklements suggested baked winter vegetables. So it was back to Delia's old and trusty. I love the way she makes recommendations as to content but then says, as she so often does "use whatever you've got" and Picture 2 will show you what we had. I know my oven needs a good clean but more important things etc..etc....... If any bugs are lurking in there I always think 190C for a couple of hours should sort them out.

The trout were frozen from Lidl and cooked deliciously. The purists wont approve of the heads being cut off but Y doesn't like them staring at her. And a sensible 20 minutes, not like silly Jamie and his 12 minutes for fish. The trout were just right; still moist, and on the plate, the skeletons lifted out in one piece and the skins came off with a gentle knife swipe. It goes without saying that the Delia vegetables worked perfectly.

Comments Bungus. Re Britz. The Telegraph TV critic considered it powerful and persuasive until right at the end when the girl suicide-bomber laid the blame on us all for being anti-muslim and electing the present government. As he astutely pointed out, the innocent children she had killed weren't anti-muslim and they didn't elect this government.

And your italics are working perfectly. n.b. bold is the same principle but 'b' instead of 'i' and 'u' will give you underline. Remember to put the < /? >at the end of the bit you wish to emphasize otherwise it will embolden, italicise or underline all subsequent words. Also, in the comments box, if you click on 'preview' your comment can be seen as is, in a window on top of it. The window has a greeny/yellow background. Then if you are happy, click the 'publish' button.

Jill ...... Y says thanks and she continues to improve but gets so tired. She too is aiming to watch 'Shooting the Past'. Strange thing in Strictly come dancing - we both voted for Camilla ! Although I still like John Barnes I like to vote on merit. Both Letitia and Alesha were excellent and it was to good see the grin wiped off Kelly's face. And I'm warming towards Penny Lancaster.

It will be good to see what sort of a fist they make of 'Room with a View' this time. I didn't like No.1. having read the book, even though the cast was outstanding and I'm such a Maggie Smith fan. Come to think of it I didn't much rate the book either. I simply didn't like any of the people enough and I remember thinking "I don't really mind what happens to you."

Hope you enjoyed your tinned salmon sandwiches......... Great ! Hope you also inserted therein the statutory thinly sliced cucumber with the merest shake of Sarsons vinegar.

On my internet travels I spotted this crazy arrow and want to see if it works. I think I can use it but I want to see if it is suitably animated.
Have a nice Sunday. Catch you tomorrow.

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Weekend Off - Warm and humid

Picture 1 is from WoW at Tansley and is entitled - "Laptop addict found slumped in car having just learnt how to operate his infra-red shutter release" - Reg was holding my camera and I clicked the device so I'm not too sure who the author is.

And thanks for all your comments. I'll try to cover them now. If I miss anything please forgive me.

AnonymousRob Your comments about camera-clubs are sound. I think a streak of masochism is necessary to suffer judging over a prolonged period. Bungus may have a point about the more 'discursive' arrangements in Writers Clubs but even there, in my experience, competitions are 'judged'. I used to judge Derby Writers Club competitions for many years.

I like the Bill Brandt quote and I've always been a Chuck Close fan. When he was in his 'photo-realist' phase I remember a picture of a large liner arriving at Manhattan and it was eerily photographic, but you couldn't have placed a camera in the spot necessary for the picture. Both the Chuck Close quotes are bang on the button - thanks !

And here is a link to some car-parking arrangement at Lumsdale Valley. But closer down to the bridge at the bottom of the hill there seemed to be room for about 4 cars to park. Bearing in mind that we were there at an off-peak period. Pun completely unavoidable.

Bungus And Rob. I'm glad we've sorted out the HTML tags and yours did work Bungus. You are no doubt right about the house-sale. I must be getting paranoid. Re the lintel, the builder said that when the bungalow was built it wasn't customary to put a lintel, because there are only 2 rows of bricks between window and roof and the weight supported is negligible, he said "about 6 bags of sugar" but I guess that is an exaggeration. He made a similar point about the 'bracers' in the roof.

Re the PG tips. He was speaking specifically of tea-bags which, as I think we know, are made of sweepings up and leftovers but are caffeine-laden and produce a strong brew. He described it as having "the kick without the horse". No. I didn't watch the TV drama but here is a link to it anyway Britz I am afraid it doesn't sound like my sort of thing in spite of your strong recommendation.

Jill. Going back a day Jill, you are quite right about the diet/cancer link. Y says it is so ridiculous that people will just ignore sensible dietary advice. And we are all living too long and suffering from conditions that our forebears would have been dead before they had a chance to catch.

Picture 2 is all that is left of Reg's green tomatoes. Not one remained green and we have been enjoying them for weeks now.

Quote for the day:-

"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one"

George Bernard Shaw

Can't fault yer George!

I've found a nice smiley for our WalkingonWednesday's activities I might use it, but only occasionally, because it is abit in your face I suppose. "Strictly come Dancing" soon and some toast or a sandwich. Sleep tight, see you tomorrow, and I hope I haven't forgotten anything.
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BJ Day - Builder - EPS

Today is Y's 'granny day' at Burton Joyce I called in at Lidl to see of they had any cheap digital watches. My old Casio has finally yielded after 6yrs service and although Lisa is asking Santa to bring me one I needed something to tide me over.

They hadn't got any in stock but my route takes me past the Langley Mill Boat Basin and the light was good. So remembering Manxislander's enjoyment of previous coverage I nipped across the road with my compact. And when I got home I found an old Accurist ( a 21st birthday present) wound it up and it has been happily ticking away all day and it seems reasonably accurate. There are things to be said for hoarding !

Our purchaser's builder, extra to the surveyor, arrived mid-morning and found it hard to believe what he had been asked to do ! He had the 10 page survey and he was supposed to estimate the cost of what need to be put right. He had a chuckle when he got to 'the sealant round the bath' fault, so I think he put 'tube of silicone sealant - 85p' and so it went on. I'm beginning to think we might as well put the bungalow back on the market and I now regret telling the agents not to send further viewers.

Picture 2 is just a Derbyshire 'tonal recessions' shot. My entries in the EPS monthly competition fared as well as they usually do i.e. bottom. I think I might stop entering because doing the sort of photography required to win doesn't really appeal to me. I won't talk you through the pictures - it would be tedious. It would however be refreshing to have a judge whose line was different from "I'm a dinosaur and I do real photography in the dark room" . My picture of a Zaha Hadid piece of sculpture at Chatsworth was dismissed with the words "This is a record shot". That is precisely what it was intended to be ! At least Trevor, our Architect member, could see its purpose. These comments should be read as a critique of my photography rather than as an attack on the judge though - because he made valid points based on his wide experience.

My 'Tea' book continues to delight. It is a good straight read, also equipped with an excellent index which makes it good for dibbing into. This morning I wondered if there was anything specifically about PG tips - builder's tea - and there were several illuminating paragraphs. Also about samovars !

.....Sleep tight, catch you tomorrow.

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