Y at Burton Joyce - Me messing-about

I decided on a play with my Sigma 10-20mm and it is a super lens. This is just sitting on the end of my bed and snapping the view from my window.

Picture 2 is from sitting on the wall, nearly at the bottom of Steve's garden at Burton Joyce. You can see where the money is in our family? Proud of him though, he's done well and he works so hard. The lad is shortly off to see the Normandy beaches (Omaha in particular) which he is interested in. We got him a good book about it from Amazon and as he is going with chums I'm sure he will have a great time. Hope he brings a few snaps back.

Y had a great time today at BJ doing her granny bit and aren't kids amazing. When she fetches Millicent from Windmill they have a set walk with rituals, walking on walls, posting stones through holes in fences etc., and one important one was to pause and look at a poster for a 'lost cat'. It wasn't there this morning. The cat has either returned or the 0wners have given up. Millicent stopped and looked at the empty spot on the fence and said "Cat gone" - she's only three !

Ray had sent a photo of Dylan who has now started nursery, so I sent him one back of Millicent feeding the ducks at Attenborough.

After collecting Y we decided to eat at The Old Spot again, and again it was fine. 3 times as good as The Hutt and less than half the price. But when we arrived home we were both far too tired to contemplate the EPS get-together at The Foresters. We want to go, it's just that, on Thursdays, 9pm is a little late.

While on buildings the picture on the right is Sky and Brooke's 'Dolls House'. It is apparently 1/12th scale which means it is a 1/12th of the size of the real house (it doesn't actually look big enough to me - but I'm way out of my depth here). They are apparently built to standard scales and the link there is rather charming. It makes purchasing or collecting furniture fairly straightforward.

Comments..... Bungus .... Thanks for the 'roofing' info. If, as I believe, pantiles are the wavy ones that fit over each other, the answer is No ! These were just ordinary tiles - not modern but they didn't seem as old as the stone-slabs.

I enjoyed 'wheelie well'. Glad you are going to have a poke about in Picasa. Re: gravy. In my part of the world "Dip yer bred in" was used as a general phrase to mean "Take full advantage of something on offer".

Also glad that you enjoyed 'Fern Hill'. Dylan could certainly be obscure but, over the years I have found, occasionally something which was difficult has become easier.

Jill ..... The Richard Burton reading of Under Milkwood is generally viewed as the 'classic'. When I went into hospital once Y bought me the George Martin version with Anthony Hopkins as Captain Cat and Bonnie Tyler as Polly Garter. That was excellent too. Dylan himself describes it as 'A play for voices' and it was actually written for the radio. So your theatre version was quite kosher.

Your Fortnum & Mason's tea sounds wonderful. All that lovely paraphernalia. My Gran not only insisted on sugar tongs but also a slop-basin !

The building shown yesterday (Grade 1 listed) is no longer lived in but used as workshops.

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

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WoW at Crich - Y rambles from Hucknall

After a false start at Alfreton Park WoW decided to go to Crich Village. A typical Derbyshire Village really and picturesque although most webpages want to tell you about the Tramway Museum rather than the village. We spotted this architecturally interesting building which we eventually learned was built in 1720. The owner was very prickly and reluctant for us to take photos but eventually calmed down when we explained our strictly amateur status and our interest.

The bottom portion of the roofing was stone-slabs not slate and we also liked the look of the dove-cote holes. Perhaps the 'architectural desk' could pen us a paragraph about stone-slabs as roofing. Each picture above is separately click-able.

There were six of us today. Brian looked very well after his Gran Canaria holiday and it was great to see Roy. Up and about again and walking with a will. Helen is getting to grips with her new camera and, we all think, achieves some first-rate results. A smashing day out. We chip-cobbed at The Peacock and enjoyed a most enjoyable chat. Nice link that - it includes a 360 degree moving webcam. They all pull my leg about my 'wheels' and Brian says I am getting about so well he expects me to be doing acceleration 'wheelies' soon. I don't mind at all, everyone is so helpful and kind.

This evening Y went with Joan on a Notts County Council walk organised and led by Chris. A good gathering of 20/30 people and they walked round the Misk Hills. Y founded Hucknall Ramblers and was its Chairman for many years.

And one cannot visit Hucknall and drop someone off in the Market Place without sneaking a look at Byron's Statue above where the Co-op used to be. It's made of concrete and went A.w.o.l for some years. He's back now though, thank God.

Comments..... Bungus ..... and others .... Thanks for the work on 'painted sweetlips'. What a weird name for a fish. Nice tasty creature though and I shall have it again.

I don't think Christina Rosetti was the 'closing the stable door after the horse has bolted' author and I can't find out who was. Probably Chaucer. But maybe a case for 'nifty-googler' if he can work out whether or not he is at work, or even has a job ? The rest of us are confused.

Glad you enjoyed the 'If' reading. As I said, personally I find it mawkish.

I've lost count of the times I've driven off with something on the roof. The most recent was a walking stick a few weeks ago. Y went to recover it seconds after an articulated lorry had driven over it. She rescued the bit with the rubber ferule though !

Bungus ..... and Jill ....If you click 'help' in Picasa, and then 'Help contents and Index' then 'Picasa help' you should have this page please click. Full of useful information and easy to access. Anyway, save the page I've sent you the link to because all it's links are live, and should be of assistance. Good luck.

AnonymousRob..... Rather than the 'tart' being Kipling's legacy, I'd go for the 'cherry bakewell' anyday.

Jill ..... I've probably been unnecessarily harsh on Kipling. I agree that the Just So stories were first rate and he wrote much of such high quality. We can be proud of him.

The DUKW sounds marvellous. 'Chugging along' sounds just right.

We knew who you were, even as anonymous. And if Ro wants Tomato Ketchup or HP Sauce by the bucketful why not? 'Free the Chiswick One'. And I seem to recall somebody who likes their meal floating in a lake of gravy !

Roy .... tells me he has been trying to leave a 'comment' but seems not to have clicked the right buttons. Stick at it Roy ! Everybody would like to meet you herein, and your comments would be valued. Likewise Brian and Mike and Helen. Reg appears from time to time, when we all need putting right.

Quotation time...... Back to 'Fern Hill' and a favourite couple of lines :-

"Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means,
Time held me green and dying,
Though I sang in my chains like the sea"

Dylan Thomas

And try not to let the stupid animated figure spoil it because this link following will take you to a recording of Dylan Thomas himself, reading Fern Hill.

Sleep tight. Thursday BJ day tomorrow, and if we are up to it, we might go to The Forester's for an hour for EPS informal chat. Chances are though we'll be past it. Y likes the train too, so here goes.

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Sorry ! No blog today !

Guests left some time ago - so Sorry ! No blog today ! (sounds abit Kiplingesque)

Lovely comments will be answered tomorrow. Sleep tight RG

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Nails Day - Charity Shops - Chicken

Before starting on today I need answers about yesterday's tea. These fish kebabs (Lidl) were delightful and inexpensive but, as you will see from the enlarged picture, they are made from 'painted sweetlips'. I assume this must be a breed of fish which I simply haven't heard of and I've had no time to 'google' it.

Picture 2 is from yesterday at Attenborough and although the seeds look like dandelion-clock seeds I suspect they were from cow-parsley or similar.

I intend to e-mail the Nature Reserve to compliment Elle on the excellence of the arrangements. The feedback from the children and their parents has been first-rate.

This morning it was Y's 'nails day' so we nipped over to Carlton and I took my recalcitrant phone into Carphone Warehouse - again! This time it was because the warning noise for an 'appointment' had stopped working. It would vibrate but nothing more.

It took him 40 minutes and lengthy phone calls to fix it. Hence, time only for one charity shop !

But I did well. A small but efficient looking microscope. Noel Coward's 'Collected Letters', a reference book 'The History of The Church of England' (of academic interest only) and a selection of Christina Rosetti (for Y) who has already found the gem about 'you can take a horse to water but you can't make him drink'. Not many know the source of that reliable old cliché.

Then to The Cheesecake Shop for soup & ciabatta and then after a country-lane tootle, home. For main meal I roasted a free range, corn fed, chicken from Yorkshire. Delicious it was too. I can claim credit for cooking it moist and tender but the farmer deserves praise for the flavour. Well worth the money.

As you will see from Picture 3 we now have in kitchen window-sill residence, the three Basil Waiting brothers. I must remember to take one to AnonymousReg on Wednesday morning.

Comments......Bungus .... Eating squirrel would not be a problem for me, but it might be for Y - we've never discussed it. Recipes abound. One chap suggested stuffing them with peanuts, fat-balls, bread chunks - in fact anything you would normally leave out for the birds !

Please don't bother to look up 'wild garlic recipes'. Googling that phrase produced 22,300 pages. Wild garlic pesto sounded promising though.

You are quite right that Seneca invented laxatives, everybody knows that. Don't worry about google page-rankings. If you have the tool switched on while you are googling, there is a small white letter-box icon with a movable green bar from the left. The amount of green indicates how reliable a site is. You don't need it.

AnonymousRob ...... Glad your caravanning was so good. And I'm glad about your employment situation even though, as you say, it sounds complicated. You will enjoy a 'sabbatical' - you will be able to come WoW-ing or similar !

Kipling was indeed a weird man. As we used to say in the Triangle days, - "Weirder than weird Jock McWeird and he was pretty weird". Although of the 'right' he remained a staunch defender of 'the common man' and much of his poetry is memorable because he put his finger on essential truths. And, unlike more obscure but more highly regarded poets, his work is 'readable'. Probably better 'read' than listened to because of a tendency to sound mawkish and sentimental. A definite hint of the 'parson'. So much quoted though. Who doesn't know chunks of 'If' for instance? (That must be the smallest link ever) This is the poem recited - make your own minds up.

Jill ..... Although this isn't a response to a comment, it is about Picasa. When you have the programme open go up to the top of the page and click 'Help'. From the drop-down menu select the top one 'Help contents and Index'. This will open a treasure trove of useful info and answer many questions.

No quotation tonight. Too tatered. Catch you tomorrow.

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Attenborough Nature Reserve - Glorious Day

A very busy day but nothing wrong with that. The above are separate pictures and hence separately click-able

John rang - they are back from their euro-touring in the camper-van and had had a great time. The side roads over the Pyrenees sounded a challenge; as did the whitewater canoeing on the Ardèche River.. Although they had taken their own canoe they hired one for the 3 chevron 'adventurous' section of the rapids. Main reason was the return journey for the canoe back to their starting point. With the hired one, the hirers took care of it.

John and Yvonne managed to capsize at a point where spectators gather on the bank in anticipation.

I had rung David, got no reply and assumed they were off somewhere enjoying the weather. They were. Helen had managed to obtain a last-minute cancellation to their favourite Blackwall Plantation which overlooks Carsington Water and is a very attractive place to be.

But we also managed to be in a very attractive place. Attenborough Nature Reserve where Miles was having a small birthday party for his school chums. And how nice it was. They cater for small parties and had laid it on just right for the age group. Apart from the usual party food their hostess Elle had organised a nature-trail which involved 'finding things in the woods' and then sticking them on sticky note-boards. But the highlight I think was the 'pond dipping'. Each child had a net with which to drag a pond, and the contents were tipped out and examined under magnifying glass/cum microscope. Everyone succeeded in a haul of creepy-crawlies and Hannah found a leech, but I don't think it was used medically.

My Picture 1 is a coot who managed to get herself on the wrong side of the wire from her chicks. And Picture 2 is an Egyptian Goose. (at the top) But I could be wrong ! Miles's Uncle Mark, who works on the Reserve, took us to see a fairly rare Garganey.

I managed the snap on the right but unfortunately the bird was 200 yards away and I didn't have my long-lens with me ! I'd left it in the car of course.

A pleasant surprise was bumping into Dennis with his wife and Mum and we stayed for ages chatting. They are now back for the summer and looking very well indeed.

My 'wheels' were a marvellous help and I managed a distance roughly 4 times what I would have managed just with sticks. As previously noted I am well aware of the ' does he take sugar?' syndrome. But I've decided not to worry about it. The answer is 'Not in tea, but just the one in coffee!' by the way.

Sorry about all those live links folks. I must be in didactic mode again.

Comments...... Bungus ...... We shall just have to agree to disagree about vibrant colours. But you aren't alone, our EPS Secretary isn't too keen either !

I didn't mean that I have ever used wild garlic in the kitchen. Just that the smell makes me think of cooking. There is such alot around though I guess I could try a soup !

My guess is that Jill will be a little more organised than you, in the matter of Picasa folders. If one gives each folder a clear title, the title appears in the left hand column and things are not difficult to find. In fact Picasa's 'filing system' is one of the best around. And if you are searching for a picture, don't forget the 'search box' in the top right hand corner of the window. Type in a word and Picasa will find the picture 9 times out of 10.

Jill ..... I like 'domestic crise' as a plural of crisis. Is that what it is? Or did you coin it? Sympathies with you about the actual events though.

Fancy Cunard hiding a swimming pool ! How inconsiderate.

Quotation time ........

"I shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good"

Seneca

With you there old chap !

..... This is to be one of my own icons for future use whenever I pointedly disagree !

Have a good week. Sorry for those who have to go back to work - let us just hope that the sunshine continues.

By the way my google page-ranking seems to have gone back to zero and I miss that reassuring green bit. I shall have to research why ?

p.s. There was a happy ending to Picture 1. Mother Coot and chicks were eventually reunited.

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Weekend Off - Kitchen Floor - still warm

In her comment Jill was sorry there were no bluebells in the sunny bit in yesterday's woodland.

Sorry Jill; and by way of recompense here are some bluebells at Renishaw Hall, even though last years.

From e-mails it seems that Jill has suceeded with Picasa and has also, with Bungus's help, set up a googlemail account. She won't regret it; it's a brilliant system.

Before we leave the subject, this is a link to some of Jill's Cruise photographs - I don't like to overburden her by telling her how to do it, so I did it. But she will soon learn. As elsewhere, a left click on a picture should open an enlargement. They are very interesting and, in particular, the new style building work on top of older structures, looks fascinating architecturally. She mentioned it earlier and, as I recall, Bungus expressed concerns about the foundations.

I don't usually like formally laid out garden beds but these at Brodsworth, against the backdrop of mature trees and topiary, did have a certain charm. Rather like a vivid and skilful piece of graffiti on a boring council wall.

On Tuesday morning we are having the kitchen floor recovered and there was a problem of getting up and disposing of the old flo-tex. Angel Karen zoomed in at 10.45am, clutching a stanley-knife. She ripped it up, put it in her car and took it to the tip - and then stopped to buy for us an old fashioned mop and bucket plus flash. She had done the whole job including mopping down the bare kitchen floor and by 12,30pm she had gone. Bless her!

Comments...... Bungus ..... Thanks for your kind words re picture. I think that, up to a few days ago, we still had wood anemones. One of my favourites, wild garlic, is abundant and I love shuffling through it just for the cooking smell.

You were spot-on with the food at The Hutt and in anycase I was not in my best humour, being preoccupied with some minor Nat Trst problem.

I agree absolutely with the case for selective deafness. There is a marvellous piece in one of Philip Larkin's letters to Barbara Pym where he reports that his hearing aid is broken. He then says "I have decided to leave it a fortnight before having it repaired".

Jill ....... In Picasa whenever you upload photos to it, you are invited to give the 'folder' a name. Picasa will give it a date etc. It is a good idea to do this because your photos are then easy to find.

Today we also had our first Jersey Royals, from Morrisons, and they were delicious. I took the trouble to scrape them because I firmly believe that this brings out the flavour. I'm not a fan of just washing them and boiling them in their skins.

After much messing-about I succeeded with the yarnstorm blog. When I tried to open your link all I got was a 404 error. It is to become a website rather than a blog I see! The tulips are as you say, glorious!

It is late - past my bedtime in fact. Sleep tight everybody.

....... AnonymousRob sent me this delightful smiley. He is away caravanning by the way.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!O}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Shopping - cut back hedge - mostly Rest Day

Apart from routine shopping, Lidl and Morrisons, a fairly quiet day.

We both tackled back-ache inducing garden jobs but after a lie down we were fine.

Picture 1 is another AnonymousRob Cyanotype and I think subject and treatment synchronise well ! At least 17 out of 20, and I might go higher depending on the opposition. If I felt the need to cavil, it would be about the lack of sharpness round the upper edge of the leaf.

Unfortunately my over vivid imagination sees an unfurled city gent's umbrella. It looks as if it was plucked straight out of Richard Dadd's 'Fairy feller's Master-stroke'.

If you open the link, in the right hand bottom corner of the Wiki-page is a reproduction of the Fairy Feller. An unfortunately drab repro. though. The actual painting is flamboyantly colourful and jumps out at you. So dissatisfied am I that I googled another link, this one is better, but still doesn't do it justice.

Picture 2 is a woodland glade, anywhere in England, in early May. From a photographer's viewpoint though there is always a lot less light about than you expect. Unless you lug a tripod around with you, you have to either crank up your ISO to 400 +, or suffer from camera-shake. You can, of course, buy one of these vibration-reduction lenses but they aren't cheap.

Comments.....Bungus .... I didn't even notice your change of pseudonym to 'blogger'. Your comments are instantly recognisable.

Although I personally am often attracted to the odd bit of road-kill - pheasant, partridge or even deer, Y draws the line !

The 'architect's office' material was very interesting, as are the inside details of all professions. Whenever in the future I pause to admire one of those panoramic paintings I shall speak authoritatively of the 'rendering'.

How unlike you to admit to skim reading something ! I do it all the time, hence my propensity for forgetting things I have to do.

Jill ...... Hope you are having a Picasa-dabble. I haven't forgotten I am to e-mail you about it with a little further input. By the way 'delete' is easy, left-click the picture and then use the delete key on your keyboard. Or 'right-click' the picture and click 'delete' from the drop-down menu that appears.

Quotation.......Rather sad this, but probably true :-

"England, you had better go,
There is nothing else that you ought to do,
You lump of survival value, you are too slow."

Stevie Smith

Another nice day forecast tomorrow. If we go out I feel some water would be attractive. Perhaps Attenborough Nature Reserve. Sleep tight.

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BJ day for Y - The Hutt for evening meal

The last Brodsworth Hall snap but this one does give you the feel of the place.

Apparently the object of the architecture and the interior was to impress guests with the family's opulence. But so much was faked - the staircase walls are not marble but painted plaster to give the effect of marble. The pillars are wooden or iron cores with a plaster covering made to look like stone etc., etc.

My membership of the Nat Trust is because I love fine architecture, works of art, statuary and all things beautiful. This place I'm afraid merely tweaked my socialist neurons.

Nostell Priory which followed was much, much better although I left the interior to Y. The link will let you have a short tour by clicking on the succession of pictures. But Adam interiors, Chippendale furniture for starters.

With my 'wheels' I managed a satisfactory walk round outside and not being one to let a 'tree-face' escape this one appealed. I can't be sure if it's Roland Rat peering out or a Hamster version of Munch's 'The Scream' (blogs passim).

At teatime I collected Y from Burton Joyce where she had had a good day. In the absence of Hannah the little ones had grandma all to themselves.

Picture 3 is the current situation in the nesting box. Apparently Mum or Dad are sitting constantly now relieving each other for meal-breaks.

What a snug fit the nest now is and there can't be many days to go before the chicks hatch. That will be an exciting event and I'll keep you informed.

At 8pm on Radio 4 I listened to a lovely programme about Bravo-November the grandma of all Chinook helicopters. The series 'It's My Story' is usually about people but this was an half-hour's gem.

Comments.....Bungus ..... My etymological dictionary has this to say :- vessel

c.1303, "container," from O.Fr. vessel (Fr. vaisseau) from L. vascellum "small vase or urn," also "a ship," dim. of vasculum, itself a dim. of vas "vessel." Sense of "ship, boat" is found in Eng. c.1300. "The association between hollow utensils and boats appears in all languages" [Weekley]. Meaning "canal or duct of the body" (esp. for carrying blood) is attested from 1398.

So, as often we must thank Latin. Even so, a 'small' vessel is implied I think.

I did actually read most of your technical stuff about the reproduction of documents and found it fascinating. Aren't people clever at devising answers to problems. Quite apart I've always loved the architectural drawings which look like panoramic water-colours. Probably not much help to engineers and builders but impressive for clients I guess.

This folks is a Bungus drawing of the device he describes as used in his Architectural Practice



AnonymousRob ...... Although this s a family journal I think we can imagine the expletive that you deleted. It was like work, reading it, wasn't it.

Glad you enjoyed the video. I haven't had chance to watch the Candela one yet.

Jill .... Pleased you've had a go with Picasa. It is a great little tool. I'll come back to you with a separate e-mail but good for you for starting.

A good first tip is, when your pictures are on screen, in a folder which you have given a title to, left click a picture then go up to the very top lefthand corner, to 'file'. Left-click that and you will get a drop-down menu, half way down which you will see, 'Save a copy'. Left click that and a copy of your picture will appear in the same folder as the original. You can then experiment with all the functions, safe in the knowledge that your original print is safe.

I'm so glad that Bungus thought to mention it to you.

So glad the Katharine Whitehorn quote was spotted in different places. No quotation tonight but I'll find one for tomorrow.

..... Bit tired now. But I'll catch you tomorrow......................

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Brodsworth Hall and Nostell Priory - Nat Trust

Sorry for these short, rushed blogs (an improvement Y says) but today has been our first National Trust outing of the season. Then I had a problem downloading pictures.

The picture is the Nostell Priory Stable-Block and was taken just before we left. Our day involved Brodsworth Hall in the mornng followed by the afternoon at Nostell. A gorgeous day - the weather was best-english May and both places had lots of interest. By the time we arrived at Nostell Priory I decided to give the interior a miss and mooch about outside. Y said it was very interesting though.

There were rumblings about the coach (well deserved) it seemed to overheat inside, was old enough to still have ashtrays, the 53 seater when we had only ordered the 49 hence little legroom. The driver got badly lost (refusing to use his sat-nav) and he hadn't put out the customary plastic bags for rubbish. Nevertheless we decided not to let it spoil our day.

Comments..... Jill ...thank you for your praise for the cherry-tree at night, echoed by both Bungus and Rob. I took lots of pictures today so will have plenty to go at. How interesting about your Chiswick avenue of blossom. Y says you know quite a lot about Queen Mary.

I always go for the 'dd' in the middle of granddaughter etc., unhyphenated and so do the kids involved. If she hasn't fixed your photos do have a go with Picasa 2. It is a brilliant programme and a doddle to use. You can download it from that link. It's completely free and rarely suffers from problems. Not 'never' but 'seldom'.

Nice to have you back 'aboard' !

Bungus ..... Your creamed mushrooms does sound a little chive-y for my taste. Interesting about the traditional method of making toast. Until I was 14yrs I thought that to make toast you put the bread under the grill until it caught fire. Then you blew out the flames and took the result to the bin and scraped off the black - because that's how my mother did it every morning !!

I certainly didn't intend to belittle the 5th Duke's benign character. Perhaps you have heard June Ibbotson lecture. She is getting a little old now but is still a qualified bluebadge tutor/guide. If you haven't heard her, seize the opportunity if it occurs.

Really really good stuff about 'blueprints'. Please do similar for the diazo process which replaced it !

AnonymousRob ...... Thanks for the boat/ship research and I am sure that we all now have it. Where does the word 'vessel' fit in? Is a boat a vessel or does it imply ship?

I hope your concert-going proves rewarding. As it happens I managed to find the Buena Vista Social Club playing Chan Chan. I'll have a go at Sherman Robertson tomorrow.


Reading my Telegraph weekly arts-supplement I came across a very saucy quote :-

"Outside every thin girl is a fat man, trying to get in"

Katharine Whitehorm

I'm surprised at a woman of her age etc., - She still writes a tidy column though.

Sleep tight. Catch you tomorrow.

Nat Trust about Welbeck

Bit short on snaps this evening; been too busy. So I thought the 'flowering cherry' at night might be of interest.

A quick google failed to locate the actual variety. In the light breeze this afternoon I noticed petals falling so it won't be in flower much longer. It's been pretty though.

This evening's lecture at Mansfield, about Welbeck and the 5th Duke was fascinating. June Ibbotson did an excellent job. What an interesting man the 5th Duke was.

There was a large turnout - I would guess 70/80 and the raffle made £63 - a record !

Comments.....Bungus .... Most of the definitions of 'profiterole' endorse your point that they contain cream. But I guess is our readers realise that my meaning was that we poured additional cream over them.

Thanks for your many interesting points but I'm too tired to react in detail. And we are off out again tomorrow.

AnonymousRob ...... ditto to above. But I must report a eureka moment with blueprint. Known the word for 60+ years without ever thinking of its source.

Catch you tomorrow. Sleep tight.....

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Bank Holiday Monday - Tracy - Nice lunch

The galley at 11.50am prior to Tracy's arrival. The lamb chops et al were as successful as usual and the onion sauce was above average.

We had profiteroles & cream for pudding followed by cheese board and coffee. Followed in my case by an afternoon nap which I much enjoyed.

And it was a lovely mild, sunny day, 61F and a 8mph NE wind. Not ideal for photographing blossom due to petal movement in the breeze, tripod or not. But I did my best with the blossom tree in the front garden, which has proved an excellent example of 'sod's law'.

The tree has never produced blossom to the ends of the branches, choosing to leave the last foot or so bare of florets. Each year Y has carefully pruned and cut in accordance with RHS advice - all to no avail. Last autumn, convinced that we would have moved, she didn't bother and decided not to prune at all.

Result, as you can see, blossom all the way to the ends of the branches !

Comments.....Jill ....Thanks for mentioning 4.45am for peak dawn-chorus. I was explaining to Bungus that R.Nottingham's recommended 6am was far too late.

Thanks for your further paragraphs about Lisbon. Not at all surprised to learn about the World Fair site (1998) and how they are still paying for it. Flats not selling etc., etc., - as you say shades of the Olympics. Why is it that politicians world wide persist in flying in the face of common sense and previous experience by building these white elephants? Always of course with our money.

Vigo sounds interesting, particularly the addition of 3 floors of modern steel/glass plonked on top of old ornate stone buildings. I trust that the architecture-desk will add a couple of sentences re this. We will wait patiently for the arrival of your camera-wise granddaughter to sort out your photos.

Bungus..... If I had got in closer to the red tulips their impact would have been lost.

Well done with the 'faces' in Reg's tree. After reading your comment I had another look, and things keep emerging. I hadn't previously noticed the sabre-toothed tiger on the left stump, just above the Y and almost silhouetted against the water.

Quotation time...... I think this is probably correct >

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"

Albert Einstein

Tomorrow evening is the last of our winter 'first Tuesday in the month' National Trust meetings at Mansfield. The subject is Welbeck and the 5th Duke which should be interesting. Odd chap, weird buildings. All those tunnels ?? Tell you more later. Then on Wednesday we start our summer season with our coach outing to Brodsworth Hall. All this activity.

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Short walk - Cloudy but only shower

I managed a short walk, with wheels, along the Brinsley Headstocks disused Railway Line and came upon these magic tulips. Not photoshopped - just there by Vine Cottage (I believe) referred to in this link as once belonging to Lawrence's Aunty Polly. The linked page shows the front of the cottage.

It is a little tedious for Y having to walk at my pace - but I have to study the flora and fauna and listen to the birdsong !

Picture 2 is courtesy of Reg from last weeks WoW at Highfields.

Who can spot the most faces? I can see a boxer-dog on the left hand stump. Maybe we need the software used for face-recognition in modern compact cameras. The whole image looks rather warlike to me with the right hand stump resembling a clenched fist ! I've just looked again at the thumbnail - perhaps it's Bugs Bunny?

Talking of modern compact cameras leads me to Picture 3 from John who is off touring in his camper-van.

The snap is the old fort at Carcassonne, France and was from his mobile phone camera and sent to me via a text message. The quality amazes me and we oldies can only sit back in wonderment.

I was pleased to see however that the 'main door to the fort' is in the golden-section. Must be his genes.

Had a nice chat to David this morning and they are all fine. Except that Helen's neck is still troublesome. I wish the girl could have some pain-free time with it.

Tracy is coming tomorrow and I'm cooking her favourite lamb chops accompanied by mashed potato with swede. Plus the inevitable onion-sauce and carrots and greens and things.

Comments...... Jill ..... Welcome back and of course we've missed you ! Sorry the cruise didn't match previous ones but the 'upside' of good food, a balcony with chairs and a table and such lovely accommodation sounds idyllic. Mind you, if I snored and grunted, Y would probably make me sleep out on the balcony.

Bungus ...... I didn't make myself clear over the bullfinches - implying that you already had them. What I wanted to say is that I hoped you weren't to be subjected to a raid. Thanks for finding my curser and shouting 'HOME'. He returned unscathed and is dashing about the screen looking for links and radio buttons.

It is a relief that your Blackbird (blackleg?) flouted Union rules over the issue of the dawn-chorus. He would no doubt be joined by the Robin, who also accepts no restriction on working hours.

Office is just a generic name given to a set of Microsoft tools such as Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint etc., - don't worry about it !

Quotation ..... It's this time of year, and Fern Hill is one of my favourite poems. Here are the opening lines :-

"Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green"

Dylan Thomas

Not much planned for tomorrow, except TJ for lunch. They don't do blood tests on Bank Holidays. Might try another short walk with the wheels. Sleep tight and I'll catch you tomorrow.

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Summery Day - Warm but windy

As promised a foray into cyanotype country following my enthusiasm for some of AnonymousRob's.

The technique is a throwback to the early days of photography in the 1840s, when the blue was a by-product of the relationship between ultraviolet light and ferric salts. Nowadays they are a bit of a novelty I suppose. Sir John Herschel had something to do with it so Wikipedia tells me .........Ok. But I like them anyway!
Picture 2 is Bungus's Bramley and the blossom promises a bumper crop, so long as the bullfinches don't annihilate the florets.

And then there is the June drop to contend with. We should be alright for a bit of apple-sauce though, or even a crumble if I'm in good books.

Generally a quiet day, first thing, I helped take down our Exhibition in Kimberly Library, then finally I got round to cleaning the inside of the car. Our £10- vacuum cleaner from Lidl is an excellent tool but it still took me 1½ hours to clear a large plaggy bag full of junk and make it look something like respectable. And I don't intend to leave it so long next time, certainly no longer than 2 years. I know I am too fastidious !

Then I cooked Fish, Chips and peas because we missed out yesterday. For a change, and because it's healthier I oven-baked the fish in breadcrumbs rather than battered in deep oil. Slightly misjudged the cooking time though and although Y proclaimed it delicious I consideed it undercooked.

This afternoon we did a collated information note about the School Visits that Mansfield Centre of the Nat Trst are funding in 2009. As usual we enjoyed working together and Y is quickly learning Office 2003 and the laptop. Although I quite like being the Secretary's P.A . I know that Y will be happier when she can fly solo.

Comments...... Bungus .... Without doing a Humpf I must agree with you about Great Tits. The Photobook is available fro the Aldi online Photoservice. If you click on price-list (upper right corner) it tells you the price of the books. A4 prints are still astonishingly cheap at 35p.

And it will be good to have Jill back. I don't know if Bob Charlesworth is a Mayor, or a Lord Mayor - I don't really understand the difference. He is Mayor of Eastwood and the Leader of Broxtowe Borough Council. Seems like a nice chap too.

Thanks for giving my cursor a pat on the head and shouting 'HOME' because he turned up this morning unscathed keen to dash about the screen recovering links and the like.

I will e-mail you with (as lawyers say) - 'further and better particulars' - of the amended comment. Rest assured, you were not defamed in the slightest.

I note what R.Nottingham say, but I would have thought 6am a little late for the dawn chorus. Most places and the RSPB recommend around 4.30am to 5am. At 6am it is fully light and it will all be over.

Due to watch The Book Quiz at 7.10pm. For some reason the critics don't like it. But we do. It's light hearted and Kirsty is a cracker.



Sleep tight and I'll catch you tomorrow.

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Quiet Catch-up Day - EPS last night

When I collected Y from BJ on Thursday I was able to capture a picture of the bird-box with the nesting great-tits therein, which has been the source of so much excitement.

Unfortunately Hannah had gone to her dancing-class so I missed her verbatim account. The wire (upper-right) leads from the internal webcam to the telly and Picture 2 is what appears.

The fuzziness is due to me, handholding the Casio without flash, in an attempt to take a picture of the television screen.

It conveys the general idea though. Apparently when the parent leaves the nest he/she more-or-less covers the eggs with feathers. You can, just about, see one egg just above centre of the snap.

Rather like Reg (whose long lens frightens away low-flying aircraft when he wants a picture) during my time sitting waiting neither of the parents returned. As Lisa said "As soon as you've gone they will be back".

It will be good when the eggs hatch. and I must ask Steve, or Hannah or Miles for that matter, whether there's a 'record' facility ? because a link to a video may be possible.

I'm assuming from the picture on the right, from the bridge webcam of the Cunard Queen Victoria. that Jill and Ro have returned. Hope you both had a good time and we are looking forward to hearing all about it. And a couple of 'guest pictures' for the blog would be welcome.

The EPS Presentation Night was a great success. An excellent turnout and although Paul Alexander almost cornered the market for awards, there were others. AnonymousElaine, and Andrew, and one of our teenage young ladies, and Mike all won prizes.

Rob showed us a photo-book of their Cuba holiday which had been quite beautifully produced by the Aldi online photo-service. You lay out the pictures in one of their templates as you want them to appear and a hardback glossy book around 10 x 8, with 64? pages is the result. The finished product looks completely professional and would make an excellent Xmas or Birthday present, or simply for one's own use as a pleasant hand-roundable record.

Our local Lord Mayor awarded the prizes, a good photographer himself and he said all the right things about the quality of the Exhibition. A slight 'downer' was the quality of the images as projected. . Several people commented on the problems and it does seem as if the projector needs a tweak for optimum performance. Nevertheless it was an excellent evening which Y enjoyed. Although she actually knows quite a lot of the people it was nice for her to meet more. At one stage she and Julian (Helen's husband) were deep in an academic sounding discussion on Jane Austen. And no quips please about "What sort of photos did she take then?" We had a super little corner with Rob and Elaine, Peter and Louise Clarke, and to our left Helen and Julian. Y did the circulating bit and had good chats with loads of people and I did my best.

Helen has more or less recovered from her dental-surgery and her face seemed quite normal; I don't know if it's still painful though.

Comments......Bungus ..... As with Marmite, one either loves or hates tulips. Y is a lover Joan is a hater. A very good photographer John Blakemore got a whole book of tulip pictures published and jolly good they are too

LouCeeCreations Thank you very much for your comment and Y and I certainly enjoyed the event. I've already visited your blog and left you a 'comment' - I love the design aspect. You are now 'bookmarked' for future visits.

AnonymousRob .......The eulogy to Humpf is well worth the 'listen again' treatment. So many people whose opinions I respect, thought so highly of him.

Bungus ...... I'm glad you didn't let the absence of the blog deter you. We would have become quite out of sync without the City Hospital report. And I agree with Rob. Show me a taxi driver who rings customers up, twice, and I will show you the traditional airborne pig. You'll have to tie coloured balloons on the front hedge. That seems to be the in thing.

Your return journey does sound scary. I hope the driver's unused left hand was not holding a fag, just to complete the picture.

I loved the Sam Goldwyn quote..... but top of my list of mixed metaphors is Bill Deedes' ......

"We will burn that bridge when we get to it"

AnonymousRob....... I think you are quite right about the projector - several people commented.

No doubt when you read this you will have returned from your caravan holiday at Tansley and Reg's in junction to stay away from Lumsdale will be too late.

I'm keeping well away from the Sports Desk but no doubt tomorrow Y will have read the reports and may have opinions to offer.

n.b. I seem to have lost my cursor. So if you see it wandering around please e-mail it back.

Since Rob's tutorial I've been messing about in cyanotype country and I think the results are fun. An example will be published tomorrow.

........ Sleep tight and I'll catch you tomorrow..................

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