Short Blog only - MP4 Player excuse !

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Only a short blog this evening because apart from a lengthy nap, I have been preoccupied with Y's birthday present, a Creative Zen MP4 player. (see left - described as credit-card sized in the absence of 50p piece).

It needed to be charged, during which time we transferred selected tracks from Y's CD music collection onto her laptop, for onward transmission to the device.

Windows Vista dealt with the task quite well but, having done it, I read a disturbing sentence that Windows Media Player produces 'wma' tracks which aren't compatible with most MP3/MP4 players.

Oh dear ! I'm sure there's a way of converting them but it will have to wait till tomorrow because my eyes have glazed over.

>u>Comments

4 ticks ........ Thanks for your thanks !

I hope your doctor's appointment at Mansfield was successful. Perhaps let us know in due course.

jill ...... Obviously our votes swung it for John and Kristina. He was on the Claudia show about half an hour ago and was very gracious and intelligent. Perhaps now we have made the point, I might let things take their course - and return to my usual practice of voting for the best dancers on the night.

Likewise with HRH. I do support the idea of the Princes Trust and am pleased to hear that your silk/cashmere dying acquaintance obtained a grant. And a very reasonable proviso that she passed on her skills to someone else.

I can't go along with you and Bungus saying what a good sport etc., he is. I'm afraid that to me he remains a chump, albeit a gold-plated chump. As a future head of state he should never have become embroiled in public controversies, and should have kept his personal views strictly to himself. Much the same as his mother always has.

Bungus is right about the computer bit that the keyboard plugs into. It is called the tower. But now you have decided to keep the one you've got, the 'naming of parts' is irrelevant.

bungus ......... I do get out and I see lots of trees. But this brings me no closer to understanding the phenomena I described. These branches are not 'persuaded' as in a cordon, they are doing it of their own volition. Why ???

Re shirts inside/outside the trousers. Y always tries to persuade me to wear them outside, while I prefer them inside.

"Quotation tomorrow - kip calls"




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Quiet Sunday - Newspapers and Left-overs

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I've no doubt published similar before, at this time of the year when the late afternoon sun makes the trees at the far end of the football field so beautiful. But I felt sure you would enjoy them again.

We feel fine, post the soss-fest excitement - in fact much better than we thought we would. Everything was cleared up by just after 6pm so we watched 'Strictly come Dancing'. Y voted for Christine and Mathew while I, I suppose out of devilment, voted for John Sergeant again. I know he should go, and that keeping him in means that a better dancer is eliminated, but it has developed into a power struggle between the judges and the public. And I feel my place is with the proletariat rather than the judiciary.

Nice Sunday chat to David. They had been to The Theatre Royal to see Oliver and apparently it was super. They enjoyed the Opera and it was only when finding the link above that I realised how many well known and catchy songs there are in it.

Picture 2 is published because the Silver Birch tree in the rear garden fascinates me due to it's apparent 'brain'.

I think we have discussed this before but, since Alex lopped the top third out of the tree about 3 yrs ago, the tree is trying desperately to grow back into the traditional silver birch shape. My problem is with the top two branches which, at the point of cut, are vertical.

The branches a few inches below them are growing outwards at a more normal angle. The picture I published on 7th November still had too much leaf to see the effect clearly.

Do trees have brains ? If not, how do these branches come to a decision to act differently from the others ?

If we have any arbori-culturist readers your comments would be much valued.

Steven will probably say that I "ought to get out more". But these things interest me.

There weren't many left-overs but we nibbled away at cheese and bread-sticks for lunch, followed by fruit-salad but for tea we plan 'beans on toast' while watching the denouement of Strictly.

I've e-mailed Jill with some explanatory pictures about changing her keyboard, and thanks to all of you who e-mailed us with thanks for the soss-fest. We are so glad it was so much enjoyed.

Comments

bungus ...... I'm so glad that you feel the outing and the 'food' had a therapeutic effect. You did extremely well and although I know you would have enjoyed more WoW-ers, and Bloggers exposure, I think you were right to leave while you were still ahead. Sandra was very brave but I could see she was flagging, poor girl, and not surprising in the circumstances.

It must have tired you both, but your 'kip' till 10.30am this morning will have "knitted up the ravelled sleeve ........." etc.

Sandra was correct about the veggie sausages. There were only 5 which must be due to metrication. The pack was covered in cardboard and I assumed six links. A little embarrassing really because I catered for 3 each for Sandra and Helen. We marked them accordingly because from past experience some non-veggie person thinks "Oh they look nice" and suddenly there's none left for the genuine veggies.

The title about sorting out Virgin was semi-written to elicit some response. All it referred to was our success with Virgin Media.

anonymousrob ...... You and Elaine were great ! And you did help even though I made a joke of it. And the floral basket Elaine brought was quite beautiful, and it meant alot to Y.

Glad you got to meet Bungus and Sandra at long last and he did look smart, in a jacket an 'all !

Glad to hear that the football teams did so well.

Also glad that you had such a satisfactory day at the NEC. Hahnemuhle paper always looks attractive and I mean to try it.

Worried though at your 'funny turn'. I desperately hope it wasn't a sausage from yesterday. If anyone else was affected I hope they will let me know so that, at least, I can apologise.

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The Classic Serial in Radio 4 is The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek. It is one of favourite books ever and is being read brilliantly. He always means so well but gets into incredible scrapes. Well worth a listen. Please click here to listen. When the webpage opens click next to the little loudspeaker icon.

There is a Wiki page please click and this illustration is typical Sweik

Quotation time ........

Just got to be a Shweikism.....

'And so they've killed our Ferdinand,' said the charwoman to Mr Švejk, who had left military service years before, after having been finally certified by an army medical board as an imbecile, and now lived by selling dogs — ugly, mongrel monstrosities whose pedigrees he forged.

"Sleep tight all - Catch you tomorrow"




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Sausage-Fest a success - we're Happy tired

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I can't let this official photograph of our future leader pass without comment. The snap was front page of yesterday's Telegraph.

Anyone who suggests he was fresh from auditioning for the role of Baron Bomburst in a remake of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is clearly mistaken. That chest-full of medals has been well earned and his uniform displays impeccable taste. Baron Bomburst's homeland, you may remember, is Vulgaria and Charles is to be congratulated on getting it off-to-a-T. As anonymousrob said, if the picture was of the jumped up dictator of a third-world African Country we would applaud the fellow's subdued and understated approach to his job.

The sausage-fest was a success. Everyone was pleased Bob and Sandra managed it, not without difficulty though because Sandra's carpel-tunnel arm is still in a sling. So Bungus (Bob) finally became an in-the-flesh person rather than an ephemeral 'blog-comment' author. If we do it again Jill, it would be lovely if you came up and stayed overnight. I'm sure we could find you a bed somewhere.

I'd better explain the "Sausage Fest" - I had been to the butcher, and the supermarket, and bought 4 links of this and 4 links of that etc., finishing up with 8 different sorts of sausage from plain, through to 'pork, apple and chili' plus some veggie ones - all served on platters from which folks made their own selection. At the side was a big breadboard with some interesting looking loaves and 2 bread-knives. People cut slices/chunks and buttered them to their liking. The cheese-board comprised mature-stilton, west-country brie, basic cheddar and a selection of individually wrapped mini-cheeses.

This was followed by 4 tick's tiramasu, and fresh fruit salad which were great. "Absent friends" were toasted, twice, because some people missed the first. I'm a little afraid some people missed both. Roy said a "Thank You" which was much appreciated as was the Lancashire Cheese Bomb (photo later) which he brought as a 'prezzie'. Once, when I was out in the kitchen, I could hear a reassuring background hubbub of happy conversation. All the sausages went bar two links and one of those vanished on the way to the bin.

We had worked well together - I did the cooking and Y masterminded things like crockery, cutlery, napkins, table layout and essential things like coats, welcoming guests, drinks ! Rob came early to help and did errands and general back-up.

So we were well pleased and Y enjoyed it so. She really loves a bit of social ....

Comments

Too tired to deal with comments this evening but I will return to them tomorrow. In passing though Jill, keyboards are easy to deal with. It is just a matter of plugging the new one into the same socket the old one came from. And they are surprisingly cheap. Find a cheap-ish Computer shop and there will be a range of different keyboards. Pick a colour you like, as simple a layout as you can find, keys that suit you etc., and go for it.

Tomorrow I'll take a couple of pictures showing you plug-ends and where they go.

"Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow"



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Busy Friday - Preparations - Shopping

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Yvonne's birthday cards and afternoon sun behind. Today we have done lots of preparations for tomorrow, shopping for sausages, cheese etc., and almost all done except bread (we want it to be really fresh, in the morning).

All Y's cards were nice, with the possible exception of the mouse, but this one ( individually hand-crafted by Hannah) looks great. She draw the 'dancing couple' herself and in fact created the whole card without assistance.

John called in this afternoon to deliver our birthday books. Apart from it being smashing to see him and looking forward to reading the books, he tried to send a picture from my phone and failed. I said 'Good' not because I was pleased he had failed but because it makes me feel less of a chump for not being able to do it myself.

He suggests a trip to the Orange shop as being more likely to be productive than Carphone Warehouse.

There's no prizes for guessing whose book is whose.

I'm really looking forward to my Elements 7 Manual, I have a list of questions lined up already, and Y can't wait to read the Kate Summerscale - a real-life non-fiction mystery apparently.

It has attracted some marvellous reviews ! One of my 'life-hacks' has been to read book reviews rather than the books - it is less time-consuming but still allows you to hold down a reasonable conversation about the book in question.

If you quote me, I shall deny it !

While I was waiting for Y in the Hairdressers I nipped into the cheap computer shop and bought a cheap keyboard (£3). My expensive Microsoft keyboard drives me mad. The keys are too small for my stubby fingers, there are too many functions on it and I couldn't work them all out. This one is an improvement. Scaled down like a laptop keyboard, but the keys are actually bigger and there are no unnecessary (to me) functions. 'Less is more' yet again.

Comments

Jill ...... None of the properties we've been talking about are in the Lake District which is a long way away. Please click here for a page which will show you where it is. Between us and the
please click here Peak District you have The Yorkshire Dales please click here for the last one.

Quite right about the tinned fruit and evap though. What a treat ! I used to actually enjoy Camp Coffee with evaporated milk and two sugars in it !

And great news - Bungus feels up to coming over tomorrow ! Only wish you could be here too.

bungus ....... So please you now feel well enough to come over here tomorrow. I promise you you will be cossetted. Y was worried that everyone would talk photography all the time - and now she has you to talk to. I think the WoW people's ladies are not similarly obsessed - so it should be OK anyway.

I looked at the A319 pictures which I linked you to and I think the confusion arises, not because they don't show the 'pods' - they do. But my picture doesn't show an engine whereas their's do.

I will consider your helpful suggestion about manually inserting times in blog-drafts. But I wonder, does it really matter ? Yet another thing to need to remember, when blogger.com does it for me - even if faultily.

John explained a possible reason for that dam confusion ! He says that in all the years he has been going to the area for walk and things, he has never before seen the water coming over the top. It is what is designed to happen, but most years there isn't this much water around.

Quotation time ......

"To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost "

Gustave Flaubert

His name is the live-link to his Wiki page.

Lets hope nothing goes terribly wrong tomorrow ! And a blog-post will be subject to all sorts of considerations.


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BJ day for Y - 'Taking it easy' for me

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Picture 1 is from my Nokia mobile phone and the amount of detail is surprising. The phone has a 'Flight' mode so you can use it without risk to the aircraft's electronics which, according to Reg, is a load of old ******** anyway. So, I leaned across Y, pointed the phone out of the window and was gratified with the amount of sharp detail in the result.

The Aircraft is an A319, please click here for pictures. Described as an airbus and, looking at the snap, I am struck by how old fashioned the wings look. Almost like an ancient aeromodel ? Perhaps Reg could make a contribution here.
















I hope these pictures make sense because the light was poor. What I wanted to illustrate was the Rowan tree with its hanging feeders, and then the feeders from above, showing the contents. I could only do the 2nd bit by holding the Nokia at arms-length above my head and tilting it downwards. The camera that is, not my head - that was tilted upwards !

The feeders hadn't had a good 'fettling' since before our holiday and although the goldfinches remained staunch most of the others were turning their beaks up at the soggy mess-of-potage in the starling-proof feeders.

Y insisted (bless her !) on bussing it both ways to Burton Joyce so I could rest mi' legs and I've already let Reg know I'm giving EPS a miss again this evening. I need to be well punching my weight on Saturday. By tomorrow in fact, because we need to have a blitz on the shopping and do some preparations.

Looking forward to it though ! It should be a fun thing to do during such a wet and wintery period. My day has been mainly messing about with photographs and computer things but I have managed some reading, radio and Telegraph. Haven't got far with the Xword but mainly because I've only glanced at it. We are both looking forward to Strictly "It takes two". John Sergeant is due to make an appearance with Christina which should be fun. We can only hope he continues with his efficient hatchet job on Craig Revel Horwood.

Comments

reg ..... Thanks Reg for clearing up that dam uncertainty ! Howden it is then. All I need to do now is remember.

jill ...... Glad you enjoyed the photo, wherever it was. Your apology for confusing our beloved Peak District with the Lake District was disarming and you can now leave the naughty chair and rejoin the group.

The NT place you can't recall could be Hardwick Hall, Bess's place ? Probably our favourite of all and we went to The Hardwick Inn, see yesterday, for Y's birthday meal.

Re 'salmon on toast with cucumber'. Good old-fashioned tinned salmon, unheated, but on warm crisp buttered toast. The thinly sliced cucumber with the rind cut off, goes on top. 2 grains of salt and a dash of vinegar. Our tinned salmon comes from Lidl, in a traditional circular tin (which bears the legend Wild Salmon - Alaska). It really is very good.

Interesting aside. When we used to deal with incorrigible shop-lifters we often used to find, on searching their houses, loads of tins of salmon in the kitchen cupboards. I suppose it was because it was small, easy to hide, and comparatively high value in those days.

Thanks very much for the 'yarn harlot' quote. She is spot on ! Assuming it is a lady - you never know these days do you ?

bungus ...... So sorry to hear that you don't feel up to the Sausage Fest. People were so keen on the chance to meet you. But all that is less important than the sorrow and concern we feel that you have these ghastly symptoms of being unwell.

Sorry also that Sandra will be denied access to such an interesting, polymathic, well qualified and undeniably handsome group !

I regret not having watched the programme about light installations. As you know I share your enthusiasm for James Turrell's work. Please click here for his Wiki page.

The salmon & cucumber was fine for TJ, but I decided against following with tinned fruit salad and squirty cream. There are limits you know !

quotation time .......

"The world is not yet exhausted; let me see something tomorrow which I never saw before"

Samuel Johnson

Please click here to read the BBC History page about him.

n.b. Interesting thing. Using the 'save as draft' facility gives the eventual time of publication as the time I began, not the time I finished.

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow



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Wednesday - Y's Birthday - Lovely Day - Sunny and dry

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The picture is another from John's Derbyshire trek and is either Derwent Water, or Ladybower.

I also get confused as to which one the Dam-busters practised on. This link please click is to the Derwent Dams and it tells you all about it.

Good photo anyway - bungus will enjoy the subdued colours.

A quiet-ish day for Yvonne's birthday. We went to Mansfield to buy her present (a new MP3 player) and eventually we found just the thing. A Creative in Comet. David had spoken highly of their Creative and it seemed to answer Y's requirements. It is in fact an MP4 player so she can have lots of her favourite family snaps thereon, such is the advance of technology.

We also swapped my more-or-less moribund Logic DAB radio which had developed a loud and permanent hum, even when switched off.

So I now have a Pure Evoke which seems suitably straightforward. As we were in Mansfield we decided to nip into Derbshire and eat at The Hardwick Inn. A great meal it was too. We enjoyed the carvery (although more expensive, you could taste the difference between it and a £3.50p roadhouse). Lovely surroundings too. Please click here for details. As it turned out my legs would have been WoW-worthy but, having opted out I didn't feel like opting back in again. And anyway, it was more important to ensure that Y had a good birthday day. She had a super morning, grandchildren ringing and singing 'happy birthday', even Millicent managed the first two lines before shyness intervened. Handmade cards , the result of hours of attentive toil, and all the appropriate telephone calls.

p.s - an unforeseen problem with this 'save as draft' method of publication. Until I re-read this post following receipt of Jill's and Reg's comments I completely missed that I hadn't told you about Picture 2. It is another view of Jill's group's mystery blanket - seen this time as a 'throw'. Yesterday's version was to show you the woolly sheep in particular and today's is to give you a better overall idea of the blanket. better proof reading necessary - please - Editor

Everyone knows, I think, about Y's aversion to mice but one of her 'aged and forgetful' friends managed to send her a card with a portrait of a large vole on the front. The words inside were OK , so Y turned the card inside out before putting it up with the others.

Tracy came for tea and I made salmon and cucumber on crisp toast, followed by ice-cream wafers.

Comments

bungus ...... So pleased Sandra is OK.

Glad you enjoyed John's landscape - because you've got another today.

Pleased you approve of Penelope Wilton. She is a favourite with us to. Never seen her in anything that wasn't a success. We thought that, in The Calendar Girls, she almost stole the show.

The Common Blue thread is rather like the chip-shop proprietor in London who, upon being asked for mushy peas said "I keep telling folks - there's no demand for them".

Quotation time .........

"Be careful of reading health books. You may die of a misprint"

Mark Twain

The link (just click his name) takes you to a YouTube tribute page which I thought would be more interesting than his Wiki page which you can all access anyway.

Having used 'save to draft' earlier, this should be going out about 'normal' time.

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow !



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Y safely home - Legs horrible

.The photograph is one of John's from a trek they did round Derwent/Howden reservoirs a couple of weeks ago. He seems to have a naturally good eye for a picture and his shots including water always seem to 'work'.

Y is safely back from her 'grannying' at Palmers Green where she had a great time and she is less shattered than usual. I think she paced herself a little.

My legs are bad I'm afraid and I am opting out of things for a few days. Got to be in good form for Saturday.

Comments

4 ticks ..... Your Lumsdale watercolour is certainly being appreciated. As I think I've mentioned before, your 'foliage' is in the classic English Watercolour tradition and always looks good.

jill ...... Perhaps you are right about the 'Strictly' voting but, with so many exposés recently, I don't think they would dare. My suspicions are due to us not being shown the 'scoreboard' after the public have voted, so you can't ascertain accurately who moved up/down etc. Still good fun though.

How interesting about Judi Dench's brother-in-law in 'As time goes by'. All these links !

bungus ...... We don't want you discombobulated re blog publicarion times now do we. The answer lies in my using a blogger facility of 'draft'. I can prepare most of it during the day, 'save to draft' and then publish during the late evening as is more normal.

All our best wishes to Sandra for her op. day on Wednesday.

Re Alamy. I'm sure you will read anonymousrob's comment which explains the site much better than I did.

anonymousrob ....... Thanks for the fuller explanation of Alamy. I didn't really know all that myself. It's only use for me, and others who produce newsletters etc., is as a source of good quality royalty-free images. The amount of images in their data bank ensures that one is seldom stumped for a good piccie.

You are right about the world being riddled with Haikus. Once you know the format they tend to jump out at you.

As we all knew anyway, John Sergant isn't a man to be trifled with. On the nightly 'It takes two' show he pointed out that the shows rules give the public 50% of the vote, and they vote on wider issues than the quality of the 'fleckles' used. "If Craig Revel Horwood has difficulty with that perhaps he should consider his position" Good for you John !

How kind of you to say something so encouraging about the blog publication time. Much appreciated. !

Catch you tomorrow - sometime ??

Moist Monday - Virgin sorted out - Hobby pictures

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Picture 1 is a '4 ticks' watercolour of Lumsdale, at this time of year. Often described as one of Derbyshire's little 'secrets' because it gets little publicity. Please click here to read about the derelict mills.

The painting does the place justice, lovely that it is, and too many visitor's boots would soon cause damage. If you remember, both anonymousrob and incy wincy have produced some good pictures there. So have others of course, but I remember publishing theirs.

Picture 2 on the right is Jill's 'mystery' blanket. Members of her group are provided with wools and ideas (I hope I've got this right) and they then knit a square/squares and send it on - it just grows and grows - I love the long-haired sheep second row down, 2 in from the left ! But don't worry fellas - I'm not looking for my wellingtons !








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Picture 3 on the left is from David's mobile phone and shows the Remembrance Day Parade at Long Eaton. The girls were involved in their separate ways although you can't actually see either of them.

David liked the two WW1 soldiers nearly at the front. Long Eaton seems very much in favour of parades and carnivals and things - and very nice too. they contribute so much to small town, English village life, so long as 'elf and safety can restrain itself from strangling them.

Picture 4 on the right is from John taken during their continental camper holiday. In boyhood we just called these 'little blue butterflies' but I haven't seen one for decades. Thanks John.

I've had a productive day. Virgin Media visited to fix our fault - couldn't ! So we now have a brand new set-top box only slightly larger than a hard-back book. More importantly it seems to work and. compared with the old one, it is fast. So at least I can watch Claudia and Strictly 'it takes two' this evening. John Sergeant stayed in, against all the odds and poor Heather went out. It annoys the judges that 'the public' keeping voting for John - because he is hopeless. But the judges don't seem to realise that their constant chivvying causes a backlash and people ring up and vote because they don't like being told not to. Do you think I ought to get out more ...........?

My car has been in for service but they haven't returned it yet. And I want to do a little shopping before it gets dark. I've registered Elements 7 and I've been researching the programme. A nice touch is a 'guided edit' . Effectively you tell the programme what you want to achieve and you are guided through it. Open this, click that etc., with an example at the side ! Very user friendly for photoshop thickos like me.

I hope this 'earlier blog' approach isn't too disorientating for everybody because it suits me better. No more head dropping onto keyboard etc. And I feel sharper !

Comments

Jill ..... Sorry the early blog caught you unawares but please see my remarks above.

The Telegraph supplements seem good at the moment. I like the tabloid Digital Life one and I try to explain to Y that it isn't just IT stuff. but she isn't keen.

I'm not watching Little Dorrit. Like Rob costume drama rarely appeals. I find it hard to 'suspend my disbelief' to the extent necessary for enjoyment.

Thrilled that your girls get-together was such a success. I've spoken to Y and she says you looked really well and were on top form.

I think that, at the sausage-fest a toast to 'absent friends' will be appropriate.

4 ticks ..... My word ! Haven't you been busy. Do I understand you correctly that you are now running a blog, and people are 'commenting'. If so - congratulations - please let me have the address and I shall enjoy reading it.

I'm sorry Reg is having unpleasant side-effects from his 'flu jab. Well worth it though because I understand that the strain due to assail us this winter is particularly virulent.

bungus ...... Alamy is a website of free images for people to use. You can only use it for ID purposes by sort of backing into it. If you think a bird is a red-kite for imstance. type it in and check the resultant images against the bird you have seen.

Don't be self-critical for reading your own prose with pleasure ! You are in good company. Wilde said he kept his Diary with him because "One should always have something sensational to read on the train"

I can find very little to disagree with you about this evening. Summats amiss.

Lanayana ....... I am confused. You have left a 'comment' on my blog-post of Thursday October 25th 2007 . It simply says "People should read this" which appeared in my gmail inbox at 15.01 today.

anonymousrob ...... I think it is an 'ethocardiogram' or something you pull on over your 'ethos' if is chilly due to the winter weather. Jill would probably knit you one !

The haiku is much appreciated.



Quotation time .......

"You must not think me necessarily foolish because I am facetious, nor will I consider you necessarily wise because you are grave"

The Reverend Sydney Smith

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Sunday 'early blog' - Then Strictly

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A mixed day for weather, generally wet and windy but not too cold, and just a tempter of sun.

Picture 1 is our winter-flowering Jasmine, always a reliable performer and the flash of yellow is so cheering in these dark and dismal November days. We have it in three places in the garden having brought it with us and Y has passed spadefuls on to family and friends where appropriate and it always seem to 'take'. Y follows her normal careful husbandry methods - i.e. dig up a spadeful irrespective of the time of year, stick it in a plastic bucket, transport , dig a hole deep enough and water the plant into its new home. Away it goes.

Picture 2 is some fungus from bungus and I'm not sure from his garden or whether he has been walking in the woodlands again.

Ralph would have ensured the latter - none of this 'risk of infection' malarchy - he would have had him out there by now.

The photograph is hard to identify (thanks for the 50p piece btw) but the height from the ground is hard to estimate. These keen (20yr old?) wildlife photographers lie on the ground to get the 'best shot' but I'm sure that Bungus, as well as myself would find a polite reason to reject the advice. My wildlife reference books aren't too helpful and suggest, hesitatingly, 'pluteus cervinus'. Sounds more like a sexually transmitted disease amongst plutocrats than a fungus ! By the way, the best source of wildlife pictures, or nearly anything else for that matter, is Alamy (please click here) who have nearly 14 million royalty-free images available for free !

Picture 3 is my 'toad in the hole' lunch. I was pursuing my 'use fridge left-overs' policy and I had 2 links of sausage, some eggs, and a leek available. The chopped leek in with the sausage seemed unconventional but the result was good - and I would cook it again.

I had my normal Sunday morning chat to David and it was good to learn about their activities and hear the happy, busy chatter of Sky and Brooke in the background.

Exchanged texts with Y, Margaret Mulligan rang and Janice came for her tote-money. She said a really nice thing when she learnt that we had decided to take the house off the market and settle down for a couple of years. She said, "I'm sorry for your sakes, but it is nice for the village that you aren't going".

I've had a super, more-or-less pain free day, spent catching up with yesterday's papers and magazines and making a start on today's plus a nap. Catch up with 'listen again' on the radio but I've managed the latter while doing the former. You can't really do that with the telly can you ? If anyone doesn't understand the bbc's 'listen again' service please click here and all will be revealed.

I made a discovery about my new Nokia mobile this morning. The way I normally hold the phone places my forefinger directly onto the Carl Zeiss lens on the rear. Hence, badly smudged piccies. So now I try to hold it differently and give it a wipe regularly.

Tomorrow Y and Jill have a date for a meet up. I don't know the details but I bet tens they won't be slumming it whatever - and I can't envisage them having a picnic in Regents Park either. Y has the Casio so we might be lucky and get a snap or two.

Comments ..................

jill ........ just picking up on Bungus's comment. It would be good to see some of Carrie's glass-work and, with her permission of course, publish an example on the blog. Knitting, photography, art. glass-work, tatting, haiku-writing et al. We do try to cater for different interests. And we haven't heard from 4 ticks for a while. I hope I haven't upset her.

There was quite a big article on knitting in one of the Telegraph supplements and its rise in popularity. No doubt you saw it.

bungus ....... Fancy you resorting to google to rumble my little Chaucerian 'look alike' bit of prose. "Tha canna gerraway wi' owt these days". I suppose I'm flattered to have fooled you just enough to merit closer scrutiny.

I think I remember, dimly, you writing a short story in the manner of Lawrence's "Odour of Chrysanthemums" which was quite convincing.

Please click here for the full text of the Lawrence. If anyone hasn't read it, it is one of the great works of 20th century English Literature. In my opinion (shared by many) his short stories, poetry, essays, and nature-writing outstrip the novels - turgid things that they are.

Re the Brand/Ross matter. I think Fay Weldon has recently said that today, 'shock' is being confused with 'humour'. From what little I've seen of both of them, I seem to be offended by their mere presence and demeanour - they don't need to say anything.

Well - so early in the evening and the blog done ! ..... Might watch a bit of telly or return to the magazines, make a pot of tea, visit mi' forums, make a sandwich .... it's all 'go' innit?



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Sleep tight - Catch you tomorrow
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Late evening 'quickie' - post 'Strictly'

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Not been particularly busy but, after Strictly come Dancing, I was overtaken by a quick nap. 'Strictly' was good, but I am coming round to the widespread belief that Brucie is almost past it and should be replaced before the next series.

Of the dancers I feel, along with the judges, that it is well time for John Sergeant to go. He has entertained us but his performance this evening was lamentable. I voted for Jodie and Ian. For a tall girl she has such elegance.

Tomorrow I must try to do my blog during the day then, hopefully, I won't feel so exhausted.

Picture 1 is the 'mini-salad' - grown back yet again, and ready to be harvested. Probably it should be chucked but I so admire resilience I am reluctant to administer the coup de grâce . It is capable of one more plate-garnish - at least !

Picture 2 is my birthday camera-bag plus my birthday gorilla-pod threaded down a side-strap. It is good to have my WoW camera equipment all together.

The bag plus gorilla-pod makes me think of a set of bagpipes. Dunno why !

This morning I made some ginger tea, as recommended on Womans Hour by Lulu (I know I should be watching Football matches and things, but I can't help it) and, as predicted, google found me a suitable recipe. Please click here if you would like to try it. Although I don't like sugar in normal tea I felt, on tasting, that ginger tea needs a spoonful. Honey is recommended but we don't have it. Very pleasant I thought.

Comments

bungus ......... Such good news about your 'clinics' and not to have to return for a year is splendid. I would guess the blood-pressure problem is medication based. They will probably prescribe tablets to combat the tablets they prescribed to deal with the tablets ...... This is rather like mirror's repeating to infinity.

You are right of course to point out that sporting success by the likes of Jesse Owens did little to lower racial tension. And more recently of course Muhammad Ali. If anything, among certain groups, discrimination worsened I think and Barack Obama may well experience a redneck backlash. My hopes for the future of the world were strengthened however when I read in The Telegraph today that he s a poetry lover (Derek Walcott no less) and that Picasso is his favourite artist. Walcott is 'as sound-as-a-pound' and as most of you know I'm right along there with his Picasso rating.
(unfortunately 'as-sound-as-a-pound' isn't the ringing endorsement it once was)

Your mention of a 'slumping kiln' was fascinating. As somewhat of an adept at 'slumping' I had no idea a specially designed kiln was necessary.

jill ...... I don't think there is a chip-cob gene - just a strong local tradition. Y would eat one if she had to but she's not that keen on bread anyway, so she would probably decline.

I love the olde English 'chyps' - I think it is v.14 of Chaucer's prologue to The Canterbury Tales.

"Ful wel she ate the verray parfit gentil chyps"

....... No doubt one of our in-house poets will correct me if I'm wrong....

I'm with you about all the underwater faffing about on Autumn Watch. Simon King is OK coated with guano on a remote island but, for me, he is a little intense otherwise.

Quotation time ....... Having spent a fair portion of the day in bed, I had a re-read of Wilde's Ballad of Reading Gaol and looked .....

"Upon that little tent of blue/
Which prisoners call the sky"

Oscar Wilde

p.s. please remember that, if words are underlined and appear in orange colour, they are a 'live-link' and if you left click them you will be taken to an appropriate web-page. You get back by left-clicking the 'page-back' button at the top left of your page....... Editor

Catch you tomorrow - all being well !


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Free-wheeling Friday - Weekend Off

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To maintain some sort of order I decided to begin with this Carpenters Arms, Dale Abbey 'chip-cob' picture from Wednesday. And as you can see the cobs were quite respectable and the surroundings were most attractive. A nice looking, ivy-covered , proper Derbyshire rural pub. Good company, humour, and intelligent conversation - who could ask for more !!

I could have called today's snaps "Travels with my Nokia" because all three were taken therewith. And for record type grab-shots I consider them perfectly adequate. Rob and Elaine both have the same phone and I need to seek guidance over some points. But I am getting used to it and I like it.

Picture 2 is the view from the front door and the Liquidamber continues to 'redden' a little more each day. This year, the vivid green and purple seem to be missing - perhaps later !

Y's journey to London was uneventful and they were all so pleased to see her. My travels today have been within the house, walking from one room to another, interspersed with several lies-down. The big event was a visit from the window cleaner !

The weather has been wet and windy with some sunny spells and it has been fun watching the falling leaves blowing about.

I rang Julian to see how Helen is fairing with her cold and sore throat, only to learn she is still suffering ! She e-mailed me later but there seems to be 'lots of it about' and although Joan shows some improvement her cough certainly hasn't been cured. Lulu was on Woman's Hour yesterday and she is a great fan of 'ginger tea' which she claims to drink each day. Unfortunately she didn't disclose her recipe but I guess that google will find me one ! A task for tomorrow.

My final picture is the rear garden Silver Birch and it has been fascinating to watch the tree work away at recreating its shape since Alex cut a good third off the top for safety reaons. It is worryingly close to a public footpath and we wouldn't want to nobble a passing Brinsley-onian !

Were we to be living in Ollerton things would be different !

There is subject-blur in the picture due to the wind, and it was taken through window-glass but the exposure decision the camera reached automatically can't be faulted.

Comments

bungus ........ I am so sorry the boundary dispute has flared up again. Unfortunately I can think of 'naught for your comfort' because, in my lengthy experience, such things were never settled amicably and the Courts are your only defence.

Lets hope Sandra improves more soon, but I'm sorry your fungi-foraging failed.

You are quite right - "guffaw" is a strange word. My Etymological Dictionary suggests early 18thC and Scottish - imitative of coarse laughter. The only close word maybe 'chortle' I think.

When you say the Church may be RC - of course, at that sort of date it could be no other. All churches were RC until Henry V111 came along.

I enjoyed your Jesus joke. You certainly didn't telegraph the ending ! I chortled !

jill ...... I'm sorry your 'comment' suffered a google-glitch. Very frustrating when something you have crafted just vanishes.

The boat captain with his brolly is beginning to sound a little like Mary Poppins I think.

anonymousrob ....... Thank you for your welcome back. It is good to be back. It always is n'est ce pas ? Does anyone, ever, know who their MEP is ?

You are right. I should have mentioned Barack Obama, and Lewis Hamilton. Yes. They both did extraordinary well. And both events must achieve enormous good, in terms of race-relations.

Re your out of synch English Breakfast. "SOMERSET MAUGHAM once said that to eat well in England you must eat breakfast three times a day".

anonymousJBW ...... Thank you very much indeed for the info about Dale Abbey ! This is just how I like the blog to be. Different people contributing some interesting facts. (Or opinions for that matter - all grist to the mill so to speak)

reg ...... It would be really good if you could unearth an earlier picture with the tilted gravestones ! I suppose you dcould always tilt a few in Photoshop ! I speak in jest !

It would also be good to return soon in better light. And although I wouldn't be able to get to the Hermit's cave myself, I am very interested in it. As you know I have a powerful torch and some pictures of the crucifix you mention would be great.

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A little tired now - so no quotation - see you tomorrow


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Therapeutic Thursday - Tracy visited

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I have decided that Bungus's advice re snaps is sound i.e. use current stuff and drop in the occasional Rhenish picture. Guest pictures are welcomed but, although I can't promise publication, I try to use them if they fit in or look exceptionally good.

Picture 1 is such a case. The hand-painted glasses are by Bungus's daughter Stephanie and the photographic 'Collage' is by Bungus.

The nifty little text tool in Picasa 3 is a gem. You don't need to faff about making a copy without the text. If you need to remove the writing, all you do is open the file, open the text tool and click 'clear all'. Presto ! a refurbished virgin photo appears without text.

This morning, at my request, Y had left me a note to change a bulb in one of the dining-room overhead lights (if we don't write things down they don't get done) so, at a suitable juncture, I decided to get the steps and do the job. However, the Old Age Gremlins intervened and when I got as far as the table, I found I was carrying the ironing board instead of the steps. Ah well !


As our holiday was "The Castles of The Rhine" a picture of perhaps the most important 'Schloss' of all was inescapable.

The snap is of the

'European Union Parliament Building'

as seen from our canal-cruiser.

Obviously I didn't notice it at the time but I love the captain's rolled umbrella reflected in the windscreen, of the boat . Perhaps Nelson had one on the quarter-deck of HMS Victory. Google tells me that the weather at Trafalgar, apart from a fine period for the actual battle, was wet and stormy so perhaps a brolly would have come in handy. On the other hand .......


Picture 3 was taken during our WoW and is of an interesting building at Dale Abbey.

The left hand half of the building is All Saints Church, hence the gravestones, and the half on the right is now a private house.

Apparently, during its history, the house bit was once the Blue Bell Inn. To access the Inn one needed to enter the Church and turn smartly right ! What a cunning idea. Please click here to read all about it.

Sepia seemed to suit the mood and it also disguises how bad the weather was. Dark and wet. Also, I know Jill will enjoy it !

I had a fun day messing about with my pictures, and Elements 7, which seems to have most of what I am likely to need. Reg will be interested to learn that it has a 'clarity' button and enjoys the advantage of speed. Also I can open JPEGS as if they are RAW files. I think that Elements 7, plus my beloved Picasa 3, will be plenty for my simple needs and I have, of course, should I need it, a fuller programme on my laptop.

Still trying to master my new mobile phone and this morning, before chucking it's box in the bin, I discovered under the main tray a Nokia-user disc which seems likely to repay close scrutiny.

This evening I cooked battered haddock, chips and peas for Tracy. We sat at the table, which she prefers, and for pudding she enjoyed my genuine German smelly socks cheese with biscuits.

Tomorrow Y is off to Palmers Green to see Debra, Andy and the girls. And while down there, on the Monday, she aims to meet up with Jill which will be fun. Obviously it all depends whether or not Jill is well enough following her dentistry et al.

All I intend to do is rest and mess about. Following my very low blood-pressure, and blood-thinning medication, I have been suffering from coughing up blood and dizziness. Ah the joys of ones seventies !

Comments

bungus ....... Nice point about your relative Angus ! He must undoubtedly be one of the Aberdeen Angus family. Sam used to tell me that "the corner cut of the aitch bone" from a grass-fed Aberdeen Angus (hung for at least 4 weeks) was the finest beef joint known to man. Pricey though, because there is only one of them per beast.

Re The Rams. Even I remember Raich Carter and Jackie Stamps.

I didn't find Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" boring at all. And he is an excellent source of quotes.

Quotation time ......... You can't argue with this now - can you ?

"It is not hard to understand modern art. If it hangs on a wall it's a painting, and if you can walk around it it's a sculpture"

Tom Stoppard

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow


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WoW at Locko Park and Darley Abbey

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We had a good WoW day, first at Locko Park and later at Dale Abbey and finishing with a fine chip-cob at The Carpenters Arms' My pictures though are still connected with The Rhine. I can't quite decide whether or not to resume using current photographs and nip back occasionally for a holiday snap, or show you those I want to share before venturing into new stuff.

Picture 1 was at the beginning of our voyage and shows us leaving Amsterdam to travel down the canal to join the Rhine. I don't understand Bungus's comment, that it doesn't look like a ship - because it certainly did to us. The QE 2 would look pretty daft on a river, especially in view of locks and things. I liked his witty observation that the boat's reflection in the water makes it look as if 2 storeys are beneath the water line !

Something he may be able to help us with is a roofing matter and a practice which seemed to entail tiling round corners and curves.

Picture 2 illustrates my query. Unless the roof timbers are 'rendered' in some way and the tiles are laid thereon, it is hard to understand how and why it was done.

n.b. for new blog readers - If you left-click in a picture a full screen enlargement will appear. You can get back to the text by clicking the page-back button. Also, the underlined orange words like Lorelei for instance, are live-links and if you left click on them you are taken to an appropriate web-page.

Picture 3, on the right, is the Lorelei but, try as I might, I couldn't see any blonde-haired Rhine Maidens sitting there seductively, nor even hear their alluring song. Perhaps the ships engines were too loud.

I think that in Europe in general, autumn colour has disappointed us. Mike explained to me while we were WoWing, that after the sort of wet weather we have had all the foliage goes soggy yellowy brown at different times. Glorious vivid displays only follow hot, dry summers.

Our yesterday evening National Trust lecture at Mansfield was excellent. Margaret Harrison in full flow, despite a bad cough and sore throat. Margaret is a Blue Badge Guide for Nottingham and, if you click here Margaret is the diminutive figure on the right. Her talk was about Guy Fawkes and The Gun Powder Plot. If you ever have chance to see here in action, please take it. Her last talk to us was Bess of Hardwick and she has a satchel full of excellent subjects.

Comments

bungus not bunus ....... Are you related to our Scottish reader 'angus not anus' any chance ?

bungus ..... I quite like the 'come the revolution' stuff and the streets running with the blood of financial experts. Anonymousrob and I could drive tumbrils and perhaps Jill could be persuaded to knit, while sitting on a specially provided chair at the base of Madame Guillotine.

You are quite right that yesterday's modern building in Cologne appeared as if it was slowly subsiding into the river. It was directly opposite our cabin window though, and it didn't ! At least, not before we left in the evening. Whilst accepting that the design would offend Prince Charles, we both thought it fairly impressive.

jill ...... Re River/Sea cruising. Some of our fellow passengers made the point that with a smaller number on a river boat, 111 in our case, you get to know people better and keep bumping into them socially.

You would be quite right to fear Y's 'persistence'. Grown men reduced to tears, house-bricks split in half, that sort of thing....

We were like you with 'gremlins' and high-spirits. Still don't get it, either. I understand Bungus's semi-explanation with the 'known to inhabit aircraft' bit but .......

Also with you about dolls, ventriloquists dummies, puppets etc., - why they are so unnerving is a mystery, but they are. Can't agree with your daughter about pansies though. Their little faces are invariably cheery and lovely bright colours mostly. This does not of course include Craig Revel Horwood.

mannanan ...... Thanks for dropping in Pete. I shall drop in on you, when I've sorted myself out.

anonymousJBW ..... Thanks for all the Titan info. They maybe seem a little expensive but you get value for money I think. Our neighbours recommended them and we were more than satisfied.

Shan't see you Thursday evening because I'm still a little tired and however good the lecturer is 'Black and White Derbyshire' doesn't really appeal. They used to be The Rams colours - are they still please 'Sports Desk' ?

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

"I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity"

Tom Stoppard

The link is to a live interview with him conducted by Clive James.

Catch you tomorrow - all being well



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A holding blog-post - still catching up !

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Just a very brief blog-post because I seem to be suffering from task-lag.

Yesterday evening was our National Trust monthly lecture and when we returned home I was so tired I opted out and went to bed. If it wasn't that our responsibilities required our attendance we wouldn't have gone. After March 2009 though, we won't have them any longer.

There's such a lot I want to tell you about and I need the time to sort myself out.

So - catch you later as they say.

Thank you all for your 'comments' and I shall have the pleasure of responding to them soon !

I e-mailed the web-album link to our new friends and Mary Ann has already replied. Fortunately - she liked the snaps and promptly forwarded them to Carol who has also replied. There's American efficiency for you !

The picture is a modern building the other side of the river, in Cologne.

Byeeee for the moment.

Monday recuperation - Great Holiday ends

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We are now happily back home from a superb holiday. Our river cruiser shown above, was a 5 star Hotel on the water. The cabin, although small, was comfortable and well equipt. Lots of lovely touches like bath-robes provided and, as it was mainly an american holiday there was a regularly replenished ice-bucket. As 'brits' a kettle and tea-pot would have suited us. But the 24 hr availability of hot-drinks a few yards away down the corridor, meant it didn't really matter.

The king-size, freshly ironed linen table napkins were a joy.

Picture 2 is from the boat approaching Koblenz.

Out of 111 passengers only 4 of us were 'Brits'. Apart from a few Australians and a Canadian, the rest were USA citizens, mostly from Tennessee. Americans have zoomed up in our estimation; everyone was charming and good company and we have made new friends to exchange e-mails and Xmas cards - what fun !

I have promised to prepare a Picasa WebAlbum of the trip with maybe 20 snaps therein and send the link to our new chums.

The food on the boat was exceptional but, happy to report, due to a fair amount of walking, I have actually lost 3 lbs, and Y is exactly what she was.

Much re-surfaced from National Service in Germany in 1953/55 and some of my "german" came back.

Their habit of hanging bedding out of the bedroom window to air, was one thing I remembered and, as we went up a street in Obernai, an example presented itself.

The flight outwards was no problem, but Terminal 5 at Heathrow on Sunday was exactly as bad as people say. My wheels were lost and we were told, with confidence, there was no record of them having been loaded on to the plane. Y's persistence paid off (I was past caring) and after an hour a great young chap disappeared into the hinterland and found them. It was straightforward thereafter and the Titan taxi home was quick, comfortable and efficient.

Terminal 5 is described by those who work there as shambolic and, apparently a special hangar has been built just to house 'lost luggage'. Oh dear !

My Monday has been really "back to normal" starting with a blood-test and then, at lunch-time it was fun to return to my 'galley' and cook a spagbol for our main meal. Pasta isn't a big thing in Germany and we enjoyed the change.

Comments

When I opened my inbox last night, I was happy that you have been exchanging pleasantries. Worried though that 'illness' and 'not very well-ness' has occurred.

Bungus ...... I think you were quite entitled to a 'woe is me' paragraph when I read about your Friday/Saturday. Quite worrying in my opinion and there would have been no chance of my mowing a lawn. Sod the lawn - lead me to my pit, would have been my reaction.

I am steadily mastering my new Nokia mobile, or cell-phone as our american chums call them, but I still have a fair way to go. Great optics in its built-in camera. 3.5m.pixels of Carl Zeiss optics no less. Examples will surely follow.

In the RAF what you describe as FSMO was known as 'jankers' . I'm sure you are right that carrying 2 bren guns plus ammo boxes would have been too much, but we did have to learn to 'strip a bren gun'.

Your pigeon/pheasant cookery sounds great. I guess that instead of veg.stock my choice would have been chicken stock. But I am becoming very worried about the constituent parts of commercially prepared chicken-stock these days I don't aim to use it in future. If we have a free-range chicken I shall doubtless prepare stock from the carcass - but the resultant 2 pints or so, doesn't seem to go very far does it?

Re your finishing up with too much gravy. What's the problem ? I always simply freeze any excess, to start something else off with.

Sorry to hear of Sandra's various malaises both physical and inorganic (The Goldfish debacle) but pleased she got home OK.

jill ..... You are quite correct about the perils of changes in medication. My blood-pressure recently nose-dived due to an increased dosage of Cozaar, and I nearly followed suit due to dizziness and lack of balance.

Glad you are enjoying Simon Schama. I like his essential seriousness without being boring.

Some of our new chums love 'As time goes by' and 'The Vicar of Dibley' and could provide a accurate précis of each episode.

Your 'dentistry' certainly sounds problematic. We also use the Telegraph Xword as a 'yardstick' to measure our competence with. Nearly finished it today. But Monday always seems easier.

anonymousrob ...... Pleased to note the Sports Desk was so efficiently manned in my absence.

Although not a football fan, I always want The Stags to do well.

You and Jill were both right. The Rhine was distinctly chilly. But warm, waterproof clothing had been recommended and we were both very pleased we had complied. But I suppose Oct/November .............

I wish you well with your proper darkroom printing and I know how much you will enjoy it.

Quotation time ..................... This part of the Blog really makes me feel comfortably 'back at home'. It has been a marvellous holiday but it's great to be back !

"The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously"

Hubert H. Humphrey

He seemed a fairly sensible sort of chap, especially when vice-president in the sixties. When you compare Sarah Paling with the likes of Hubert Humphrey ............. Oh dear, oh dear !!

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Sleep tight - hope to catch you tomorrow !




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