Reg and Maureen - Roast Chicken

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Chronological order seems appropriate so we will start with daybreak out of the Office window.

It was better than this but sunrises don't really give you time to go and get a camera before they've gone. 'Ephemeral' you might say, but Aunty Polly's 1922 Shorter Oxford tells me that, strictly speaking, the word means 'lasting only one day' and daybreak is shorter than that 'innit?

I think though, with current usage I would be OK, unless in erudite and pedantic company. And where would I find that ? Ha Ha!. Which leads me unerringly to my experiment with the copyright watermark. To be called pretentious by Bungus is a cross I am not prepared to shoulder. So I shall cease immediately. In the unlikely event of someone pinching any of my pictures I shall establish their provenance by other means.

Nice weekly chat to David, coughs and colds seem to be visiting Long Eaton though. As always, he said sensible things this time about my search for the perfect mobile phone. He aims to visit in the near future which will be good. Re my phone, on Tuesday there is a Carphone Warehouse near Y's 'nails' place. It isn't a firm I like but at least I can ask questions and look at some.

Reg and Maureen called in after their trip to Hayley Conference Centre... (where they are members) for a swim. The boiler had blinked, the water was cold, so they didn't take the plunge! Nesh or what ?

There was a reference book Reg wanted to borrow and while here, he tried to fix me a computer problem, to do with installing a troublesome programme, but the answer eluded him too. Probably a case for Brian.

n.b..... if you open the link Reg, you will see there are 150 bedrooms at the Hayley, so your employee informant was way off the mark.

Picture 2 is a result of a find at Lidl.

At the moment they have these little trays of growing mini-salad plants (several different types available). Living on the kitchen window-sill they work on the 'cut and come again' principle provided you remember to water them. Ours has Pak Choi, a variety of Frisée, and something else which I've forgotten. Tried a snipping or two last night and they're fine. The steak knife is there in lieu of a 50p piece, for scale.

Lidl have started doing Free Range Chickens too. We had one for lunch, plus all the tracklements, and it was very good for texture, moistness and flavour. £5.35p for a 3 pounder seems most reasonable. Plenty for today and another couple of meals to come, at least.

Picture 3 is the red Maple, without the sun behind it. Still attractive but less dramatic.

I also managed this morning to do some necessary National Trust work for the Committee Meeting at Jean's at 10am tomorrow, following my INR blood-test at 9am. So we are starting off busy again aren't we? Y needs to be down town at some time to buy her rail-ticket and then have her 'nails' serviced on Tuesday. Then this afternoon we had a run through the Rhine Cruise holiday stuff. Not long now !

This evening we have the results show for Strictly come Dancing which will be most interesting. Y voted for Christine & Mathew and I voted for Cherie & James. Both were quite excellent for so early in the competition and neither actually needed our votes to stay in. So I reverted to my old system of voting for who seemed best on the night.

OK it's corny, but we both love the show and vote like big kids. If you open the link , the clip is Christine and Mathew's dance.

p.s. The results were - Jessie Mathews & Darren -'out' - after a dance-off against Heather Small & Brian. The 'correct and fair' result was reached. Jodie Kidd & Ian (to their obvious amazement) were 'in' with no problem.

Comments

bungus ....... Nice joke about Sarah Paling/Palin - can't be sure which spelling is correct.

What worries me more is the report (not denied) that she sacked a senior civil servant because he would not sack a chap who had divorced her sister. If McCain (apparently with a weak heart) comes to power I hope they will featherbed him, make sure no-one bursts a paper-bag behind him, ring him up when he's asleep, or anything like that. I think for starters she would bomb Russia, at least.

I agree with you about monochrome. In film, if the story is strong, after 2 minutes you completely forget the absence of colour. Likewise with pictures. But, apart from Bridget Riley, the only monochrome which really works is Picaso's 'Guernica'. This of course, is strictly a personal choice. I am not speaking with an Art Historian's hat on, although it is generally agreed to be a work of singular genius.

You have known me long enough to realise that I don't ever take offence at honest criticism however forthrightly expressed. Mealy mouthed, sneaky, unconstructive criticism is a different matter. You were right - to add academic letters to a simple © watermark was pretentious. Only an experiment though and I shall promptly drop it.

Thanks for the 'further and better particulars' about Colin The Bark. More please ! She might like to know that an anagram is "Lick no Bather".

Beecrofts The Toy Shop was just round the corner from Angel Row Library, at the bottom of what used to be Mount Street I think. Dunno what it is now, since Maid Marian Way cut it in half. I guess Reg, with his modelling hobby, would remember it and can put me right if I'm wrong.

Jill ...... You certainly aren't being perverse by, for a change, preferring the 'colour' to the 'sepia' version. A lady's privilege !

As you point out, the merest hint of 'salivation' in Peter Jones would probably have got you chucked out. And I must point out to Bungus that the colours weren't enhanced. Except by the flash firing perhaps, under strip lighting.

Interesting piece about the knitting needles and the metal-detecting arch. And good that someone present had the authority and the common-sense to ignore it, and send you round the side. I can't imagine that you and your knitting chums looked remotely like terrorists anyway !

So pleased that your recovery continues apace. Hope you have had another quiet day of recuperation.

The 'blanket' sounds a fabulous idea and I am so looking forward to a photograph of it. It seems like the knitting equivalent of 'Consequences' do you remember the game? The link says suitable for 6-10yr olds. But I've played it at adult dinner-parties with hilarious results, depending on the amount of alcohol consumed it can hover between libellous and soft porn. This latter sentence is, of course , absolutely nothing to do with your unfolding blanket.

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This blog-post is much earlier than usual so comments may well be added to earlier posts. No matter - I shall sort them out.

Quotation time ................... Back to Thomas Fuller bless him !

"Often drunk, and seldom sober
Falls like the leaves in October"

Thomas Fuller

As I have the time today I googled Fuller in depth, but the best link, as is so often the case was this Wikipedia page.

Can't really say 'sleep tight' at 6.45pm - Anyway, catch you tomorrow !




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Flu' jabs - New Shower - Sausage, egg, and chips

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I don't think, after last Sunday's lamb, I showed you a picture of the resultant Shepherd's Pie, so here it is. It looks good enough to eat.

The yorkshires were from the freezer. Whenever I roast a joint I make a tray-full (12) and freeze what are left-overs. They only need, say 6 minutes from frozen and are put straight into the oven.

Picture 2 is yet another from our Longshaw WoW trip looking towards Hygger Tor.

Underneath it, specially for Jill, is a version in sepia and I shall be interested to find out which is the more popular.

The © watermarks are just an experiment and I suspect they are too prominent anyway.

The builder fitting our new shower basin and new shower has been with us most of the day. As we have suspected for years the old basin wasn't sealed or fitted properly and the years of water seepage had caused the timber supports to rot away.

The new one is much better but the re-tiling is not taking place till Monday and everything will need to dry before we can use it. Good job we have the bath !

This morning we both had our flu' jabs. Pleased to report - no painful arms, and no feverish symptoms.

Comments

Jill ..... Glad you enjoyed the maple leaves and Yes, the Sunflowers were from the supermarket. With us, they seem to last OK (perhaps a week) but this current lot have developed a sulphurous whiff which is off-putting.

How wise to have a quiet weekend ! Blanket-square assembly sounds pretty grim though.

Re the apples. Tomorrow I must deal with more that we have been given. Been putting it off I'm afraid.

bungus ...... My research reveals that 'font' is correct and traditional usage, and not as you aver a modern americanism. Wiki tells me that a 'typeface' is made up of 'fonts'. This is only marginally more interesting than spiders webs.

Re gooseberry bushes. We only bought 2 suspecting a pollinator was necessary. No I know t'aint so, you are welcome to one of ours.

You are right about the location of Josiah Brown. And thanks for reminding us about Burton's. For many years they had a branch in Southwell, directly opposite The Minster. Such a classy grocers with super produce.

reg ...... I love the lady with the laffing tabs. Classical 'Erewash Valley' can be so expressive.

We also experienced Eastwwod traffic this morning when, after our flu' jabs, we were silly enough to go to the bank. Couldn't work out what caused it to be so 'solid'.

4 ticks ...... The thing I used to love about Pearsons was going in via the Angel Row entrance and then emerging on Parliament Street - some 40 feet higher? As if by magic. As you say, "sadly missed". Lucky old you with your long-lived dishwasher ! And of course we all remember Beecrofts. I served with a son, -at least a relative of some sort, - called Malcolm Beecroft.

We didn't see the bluberry bushes in Lidl. If we did we thought they were blackcurrant bushes. Perhaps a further sortie is called for.

I'll keep my eye open for cane/wicker chairs.

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No quotation - sorry ! - too tired.



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Quiet Friday - Start of our Weekend Off

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Pleased to see the font has found it's way home. I didn't like the 'serif' version as much as plain old Arial. I could re-open earlier posts and change it, but it hardly seems worth the faff.

Picture 1 is the late evening sun shining through the red Maple in the rear garden. All its had is a severe crop. The dramatic effect is how it looks.

We zoomed around this morning and managed Ikea for a voucher as a wedding present for one of our neighbour's sons, then Lidl where perhaps ill-advisedly we bought 2 gooseberry bushes as well as shopping and finally to Morrisons for bread etc.... Then fish, chips and peas for lunch. Short nap before the Burglar-alarm man came to service the alarm.

Eventually tea, while watching Claudia with her daily programme about Strictly come Dancing.

Picture 2 has had more photoshoppery because straight out of the camera it looked boring. A little excitement this morning when I opened my wallet to pay by debit-card in Lidl, I couldn't find it. The details would be boring but I finished up ringing the company and they've blocked it and will send me another. Most helpful and understanding young lady who merited a tick in all the boxes. Much easier than it used to be 20years ago when I last lost one. Without a big fuss she put our minds at rest about the balance, and Y can continue to use her card to the same account while mine is being processed.

Comments

bungus ........Thanks for the Apple Scone Recipe which will certainly be tried and reported on.

Here is the recipe for The Bath Bramley Apple cake and The West Country Apple cake - each of those is a specific link to the underlying recipe. Both are superb. At least they are when baked by 4 ticks - it might be a different story when baked by RG.

Thank you for the family photos from yesteryear and you have used the text tool very discreetly. At the right is Jessica's 'Barque called Colin' - again please accept praise for your adroit handling of the two juxtaposed frames.

You must tell us more about Colin.

There was no real significance to yesterday's Picture 2 - the light and the detail of flora on a rotting log pleased me - is all.

Thanks for reminding us about Griffen and Spalding. Other long-gone quality shops were Dunns (gents outfitters) and the tobacconist Josiah Brown. An excellent name for his trade I always felt. I think the last proper Grocers to go was 'Hammond and Carlyle' on Alfreton Road.

Y will be delighted and amazed to hear you describe me as 'tidy'. Bit worried about the little labelled boxes though - you make me sound anally-retentive. My excuse is the tablets anyway.

I've known about your 'bridge and heght' phobia for years of course. Colin Fletcher is much the same. The only way to get him across any substantial such structure is to put him in the back of the car and cover him with a blanket.

Jill ..... I may have told you that I used to keep bees. Stings of course are frequent. And eventually I had one which was serious and the consultant at the hospital advised me to give up the hobby. Apparently most people build up a tolerance to bee-venom, but in some people (me for instance) become progressively less tolerant. And the results can be serious. On his advice I keep Piriton handy - it is an anti hystamine tablet.

The Show at Alexandra Palace sounds great but I fully understand your position especially with a 2 hour journey. We are on the verge of substantially cutting down our National Trust commitments. We want it to be an occasional voluntary pleasure - not a commitment.

Quotation time ....... To continue with GBS for another day ......

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

George Bernard Shaw

Hope you all have a good night - I'll catch you tomorrow




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EPS - "Farming for Wildlife"

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Unusually for me I started the blog in Word, so that this evening, when I return from the camera club, I can more or less just copy/paste into my blog - (which I am now doing). First thing I notice is that the font is different. Not to worry eh?

Picture 1 is the wind-turbine from which the central ‘boss’ formed the face I published yesterday. I deliberately used a shutter speed slow enough to allow the rotating blades to show a little movement blur.

And Picture 2 was taken within yards of the Car-park. I had an e-mail this morning from Incy Wincy saying how awful he felt, walking off with the others and leaving me all by myself.

What a kind person, with a sensitive soul. No wonder he is such a brilliant photographer !

I reassured him that I have always impressed upon ‘the chaps’ (which includes Helen) that I prefer to be left because if they stayed with me and travelled at my pace, I would be self-conscious about holding them back. And in anycase there is always something interesting nearby.

Picture 2, to prove the point, was taken about 50 yards from the Car-park. Isn’t nature wonderful ?

As also is 4 ticks’ apple cake. Two varieties – both delicious. You might remember from her yesterday’s blog-comment that I was invited, if passing, to call in to join in the first tasting. I nipped over just after 10.30am and I’m so glad I did. The first cake I tried a slice of was lovely and moist and had cinnamon and mixed spice added to the apple. Superb. The second was more traditionally cakey and had cinnamon alone. Gorgeous. Greedy-guts that I am, I polished off both portions with relish.

And beforehand, Reg had cleaned my camera sensor. I won’t go into details, out of consideration for those less obsessed with photography. Suffice it to say that the blemishes on my pictures are no more – saving me much unnecessary work ‘photoshopping’ them out.

Picture 3 is the Michaelmas Daisies near the kitchen door. And I am finding them a difficult subject. The colour is quite difficult to get precisely right. These were taken in bright sunlight and they just don’t give that impression do they?

Tonight at the club the lecture was 'Farming with Wildlife' by Andrew Parsons ARPS. Basically Andrew is a working farmer supported by Nottinghamshire County Council and various Trusts to farm his land in a manner conducive to Wildlife. The snaps were excellent, and once one became accustomed to his style and delivery, his talk was first rate. An excellent 'booking' and I note from his website (which is linked under the lecture title) that he does other talks too. I would love to see others. School visits, and group visits, are also organised - which sounds splendid.

Comments

bungus ..... You are certainly easy to understand - since you had your ears syringed. If I could get rid of this nagging cough I would be able to hear you better.

Amazing stuff about your mice.

Re the wind-turbine face. It wasn't my aim to set my blog-readers a puzzle - only future viewers if I use the picture competitively ever.

It would be counter productive to try and explain google's filing system to you. You stick with your metaphorical piles of papers - it seems to work for you. I simply like to keep the items in my in-box down to around 10, which involves labelling letters and then 'archiving' them. Thereafter they are so easy to recover. I think Y's in-box is going to be even leaner (maybe 6) because almost immediately after sending something she wants it filed and out of the way.

Re Sunflowers. Jill immediately understood your drift, as I am sure did others. Just 'old flat-top' here got it wrong.

4 ticks .... The apple-cake was worth the risk of getting tired !

Re spiders' webs. We have a quiet day tomorrow, so I can start my research. You will be kept informed.

I will probably store the recipes in Walagata (my file hosters) and I can then publish a link to them, in the blog, rather than copy/paste them straight in.

It seems that Bero books have varied quite alot in the matter of content. I'll let you have a look at mine to see if there is anything different and interesting.

You are right about Pearsons. And Boots used to be better than it is now. If I was feeling self-indulgent, buying trousers in Austin Reed's was a delight. I certainly don't want to emigrate though - I love this country far too much - with all its faults.

Jill ..... Re the 'face'. Like you I don't immediately feel it reminds me of anyone in particular. If I do some work on it, it may emerge.

Trust you to grasp Bungus's 'Sunflower' subtlety straightaway. It must have been only me who misunderstood. Nothing new there then, I can hear Y saying.

Lovely paragraph about the air-raid shelter and your early knitting projects. My mother used to knit socks and I remember the complexities of turning heels. And they used to wear well - I remember the wooden mushroom shaped thing she used to push up the inside to darn them with.

Perhaps the economic situation will worsen to the extent that these type of activities will have to return. And maybe it wouldn't be all bad if they did. By the way Helen tells me that Lidl are selling fruit trees, gooseberry bushed etc., for ridiculously low prices like £1.49p.

Re TV - there are so many things I would love to watch (your list sounded great) but one job leads to another and I finish up not watching anything. Strictly come Dancing excepted of course and yesterday evening we watched and enjoyed The Book Quiz - Kirsty Wark does very well. The link under the title will take you to the BBC iPlayer recording, should you want to watch it.

Almost predictably the Guardian's TV critic was po-faced about it. Often the case that, if a show earns bad reviews, we enjoy it.

Quotation time .......

"The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time"

George Bernard Shaw

Good Socialist, great writer, super sense of humour. His beard was impressive too.

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow

WoW at Shipley Park - then The Bell

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This morning our WoW took us to Shipley Park nr Heanor, Derbyshire and the weather was fine. Not much wind and lots of sun and blue sky

While Roger, Denis and Reg went on a more serious walk, I messed about closer to the car-park. Even so I found plenty to interest me.

Picture 1 for instance is the centre of the wind-turbine vanes. Can you see a face saying "Wind-turbine in Shipley Park? Oh no !" ...... Perhaps I should crop even closer ? But I want people to be able to have a guess at what it is.

I also found more mushrooms (see Picture 2) for us to talk about. These certainly look edible but I'm hoping for reassurance from Bungus.

The Visitors' Centre was pleasant and I then sat in the car and enjoyed my flask of coffee. When the chaps returned we went to The Bell at Smalley for our chip-cobs which were adequate but not absolutely top of the pops. I couldn't find a decent webpage to link you to but please click here for a local newspaper snippet of information about the pub being broken into over the weekend just passed.

Y has been using her laptop to send and receive several e-mails - she has now mastered this aspect and also understands Google-mail's filing system.

Comments

bungus ........ I am so glad to hear of your 'more reasonable' blood-pressure. Y says it is high but quite good. And she knows. Pleased also to hear about Dr Ward - our lady doctor is similarly lovely and we both have confidence in her.

I didn't realise you have a touch of arachnid trouble because today there is yet another picture of our porch dwelling garden spider. A large insect had become entrapped and during the day the spider wrapped it up in silk and then devoured it.

The outside edge of the porch roof is obviously a prime spot to site your web because many smaller insects are caught there. Perhaps these are for pudding ? I don't know if spiders realise that they have web-sites !

For the benefit of other readers. Re your "Who are the Beatles?" point. This is a 'criticism of Judges' cliché regularly trotted out by media hacks who should no better.

It is simply that, if a Judge feels that a term being used in Court, is new and hasn't been properly defined, he needs to take 'judicial notice' notice of it. As a for-instance, some lawyer might use the term 'Web-site'. The Judge might then say "What is a Web-site please Mr. Lawyer?" and some pig-ignorant media hack would have a field day saying how out of touch the Judiciary is. Fancy a Judge not knowing what a Web-Site is. etc., etc.,..... The Judge no doubt fully understands what a web-site is - but he is just doing his job.

No. I can't say I ever practised these acts of sadism to animals of which your speak. I did collect birds eggs and blow the yolk etc., out through a hole in the shell and I tried, most unsuccessfully, to net butterflies and pin them out on cardboard sheets. But I was hopeless at it and soon gave up. These however weren't gratuitous acts of violence but necessary in pursuit of the hobby.

Without opening up the 'camera-club judges theme' again, I must say I love 'snap judgement' - precisely right !

I think you are wrong to caution 4 ticks against painting 'Sun Flowers'. I am sure that, if you were to have accused Vincent Van Gogh of 'gilding the lily' he would have cut something off ! Off you, not off himself.

reg .... Thank you for the 'sparrow information' and your 1980 reference book sounds authoritative. As you know, I trust books that have stood the test of time. One of my favourite quotations dictionaries is my Penguin Dictionary of Quotations which set me back 10/6d in 1964. New too ! I wasn't such an aficionado of charity shops in those days. Come to think of it - I don't think they had yet been invented.

jill ...... Thank you also for the low-down on Sparrows. From all of your accumulated knowledge I realise that black heads, browner/greyer birds, ground-feeding, thick beaks, finely pointed beaks, come into it. All I need to do now is to remember which is which !!

I must apologise for publishing out of date stuff about Peter Jones. Y has been telling more about it, and she had a really super day with you there.

I think we would also enjoy Paul Merton's India Journey. You no doubt read the Telegraph reviewer who identified him as successor to Michael Palin. We shall no doubt find it on BBC iPlayer or the commercial equivalent.

4 ticks ....... The spiders webs intrigue me too. I must google until I discover how and over what period they build their webs, and then perhaps sit quietly for an hour or two to see if I can see one actually at work.

Thanks for the invite to the cake-tasting ! And, if it fits, I will certainly pop-in.

Quotation time ...... A Peter Kay one-liner ! May have a certain resonance in this organ.

"Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time. I think I've forgotten this before"

Peter Kay

The link behind his name is a bit of YouTube for your amusement.

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow.




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National Trust - Life in Uganda

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Just a little out of synch... because when we arrived home from yesterday evening's National Trust meeting I was simply too tired to write a 'blog-post'.......

The group photo from the Southsea holiday went very well. I should have printed more.

The dramatic Picture 1, is anonymousrob's , and I quote him "The picture is from the northern slopes of Mt Etna" . In my opinion the graininess of the film adds atmosphere to a mean and moody shot. Contrary to his own 14/20 assessment I feel that 'judges' would like this.

Later on Reg's 'St Johns Chambers' picture is mentioned. The 'judge' for some weird reason, wasn't enamoured of this great picture. Blogger.com's efficient filing system tells me I published it on 15th February 2008 and should you wish to see it again a few clicks in the Blog Archive column on the left should find it.

Anyway, back to the present. Yesterday evening's National Trust talk was about living and helping in a Ugandan village and offered us a fascinating glimpse of other people's lives. But I was tired out when we got home.

The picture on the left is of a 'tatted spider's web' by 4 ticks and what can I say except 'brilliant'. It is rewarding to feel that the blog served as muse.

The original idea, and then the work of creation are truly first rate. By hook/crook etc., we must ensure it gets published somewhere..... I know it is actually being 'published' here - my meanng is somewhere with a wider audience.

Picture 3 is a web under the porch roof and my recent interest in spiders' webs has led me to discover the differences between them.

The picture from a couple of days ago and 4 ticks' version above was the 'garden spider' whereas the circular web in Picture 3 below, seems quite different.

More research necessary I think.

Y's meet-up with Jill, in Peter Jones, was a resounding success. Much chatting, good food, lovely shop. Click here for a page-about and although Y had nothing but praise, some of the reviewers here felt differently. A big adventure though and a helluva day-trip for a lady of mature years.

Comments

reg ...... I don't think any apology is needed for using the blog-comments system to have a good old 'chunter'. Discussing the matter with anonymousrob on the phone I said maybe 'judges read blogs' and he said that most judges wouldn't even know what a computer was, let alone a blog !

In any case, subject to the libel laws and anti-racism legislation, I like people to express forthright straightforward opinions. Honest criticism is miles away from any legal reach.

Some years ago I was worried because I had described (in an article) a Chief Constable as being a 'hypersensitive paranoiac'. My guru Ken Coates reassured me that it was 'common abuse, not libel'. In general terms, it is libel if you accuse somebody of something illegal. If I had called him a 'thief' that would have been libellous. 'Idiot' would have been OK

Jill ............. Thanks for the info about judging 'knittings'. Just the same there then, obviously. Perhaps introducing 'competition' into creative hobbies is simply not a good idea. Competition is fine for longest, tallest, quickest etc., but not for 'most beautiful'.

bungus ...... How pernickety can you get ? Quibbling about the exact placing of a photo-caption. You can stuff the caption up ................... .

Glad you enjoyed the sunflower though. Hope the mouse's problem was sorted. I think I would have been able to get his cute little head back through the hole ..... with a hammer ?

And I willingly confirm that you do understand the foreshortening effect of a telephoto lens.

It is also good of you to point out that the human buttocks is specially designed for 'sitting on the fence'.

anonymousrob ....... Glad that we now have both comments. And your resumé of judges remuneration etc., was necessary. I think the difficulties entailed in attracting people to the 'panel' is the reason for the poor calibre of those we have.

Thanks for your encouragement with the sunflower picture.

Re Reg.s - St John's Chambers - picture. If it doesn't yield to a left-clicking exercise in the Archive column on the left (for 15th February 08) I will, as you ask, republish it.

4 ticks ...... Thanks for all that bird information. The low-down on the sparrows will surely help the questioner to sort his dunnocks from his house-sparrows etc.

I agree completely about the Canada Geese. They are becoming a problem I understand, from 7yr old Miles who is somewhat of an expert.

Quotation time ...... While the following is true, there are many more means these days of giving the brain a gentle touch of the aerobics. Devising 'blog-comments' for instance.

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body"

Sir Richard Steele

Monday - Weather surprisingly good

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After I'd dropped Y at the Railway Station, for her trip to London to meet Jill for lunch, I came home via Colliers Wood. I had rather hoped for some different birds but these Canada Geese rather dominated the lake. Why they all suddenly decided to follow the lead goose was a mystery. After not finding anything interesting they dispersed and started milling about again.

One always suspects 'food' but there wasn't anyone with a bag of bread or anything.

I was home for 11am and then spent half an hour installing McAfee 'total protection' on Y's laptop. The problem was that there was a period of 3 days left to run on her previous 30 day free trial. In the end I had to uninstall that before I could install the new one. Anyway, job done, and she should be fine now for a year.

While in the kitchen I spotted this young Robin at his ablutions. Due to adverse conditions there aren't many robins around this year but this chap seems settled and happy enough.

Y has just texted me that she and Jill have had a great time and she is now at the tube. Hope to see her shortly after 8pm.

Nice e-mail from Sue Lewis who has read the blog-post about Calke Abbey and wants to have some of the images. I made a Picasa Web Album of the whole folder and e-mailed her a 'link' to it, with the message that she can use whichever she wants to.

Bungus sent me photos of his (almost pet) mice whose activities in the garden, and ingenuity in reaching the bird-feeders fascinate him. I'm afraid I don't share his interest ! Unpleasant, creepy, creatures in my opinion who deserve their verminous classification, and although I don't suffer from Y's near-phobia they certainly aren't going in my blog.

The sun, shining through the sunflower petals on the other hand does appeal. They really last suprisingly well as cut flowers and look so bright and cheerful. And we know how much Van Gogh loved them.

I just hope that my snap does justice to the Chrome Yellow which Vincent used. The pigment (as oil paint) had only just become available in 1888 when he started painting the series.

Comments

bungus ..... Can't find much in your comment to quibble about. Is this good?

I think we all agree about the merit, and humour, of Helen's 'tent' picture. There is, of course, nothing to stop her using it again in a different competition, with a different judge.

Whatever, - I shan't be there. I've decided to let people tell me about 'judged evenings' rather than sit through them.

anonymous JB ..... You are quite right of course to speak up for camera club judges ! There are problems, and they do give up their time. But one of the pleasures of a blog is that, subject to the laws of libel etc., I am free to enjoy a good old rant.

There is a facility called google blog search which has a search box to enter any subject in which one has an interest. I regularly use it for restaurants, or places we are going to visit etc., and you get some blog-writer's unadulterated opinion about whatever it is. Power to the People !

quotation time .......

"Many would be cowards if they had courage enough"

Thomas Fuller

Catch you tomorrow - Sleep tight !



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Super Sunday - Lovely Lamb - PC fixed

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The above are three separate pictures to show the interesting roof at 'The Riding School' at Calke Abbey. It was built in the mid 18th Century and most of the main roof timbers are original. The brick-walls are lime washed as they would be. At one stage it had a corrugated iron roof (which obviously did a fine job) and a concrete floor to enable it to be used as a farmer's barn. Now, after extensive National Trust renovation, it is a marvellous 'open space' for our use. Yesterday it housed 150 people in the main part, with enough room at the rear for a buffet-lunch. It has only been opened this year and what a facility. Shall we stage a YeeHah ' barn dance' for the over 70s?.

Thank you Bungus for the "Tricholoma (T terreum?) or Lyophyllum (L decastes?)" illustrated on the left. Although the fungus on the right looks odd. I am undecided between a pair of lambs kidneys and a dog turd. Whichever - I don't think I fancy it. No doubt you will blog tomorrow that they were delicious.

Nice also to see you experimenting with Picasa 3's 'text tool' although a slightly larger font size would help those of us with less than eagle-vision.

Easy to do, and a useful refinement is that. as you scroll through the fonts the explanatory text in the middle of the picture varies in tune with the font you are looking at. Ditto with the 'point size', so it's straightforward to get it just how you want it. Much more user-friendly than photoshop.

But isn't it great in our 70s to have new toys to play with?

Our day has been great. Tracy arrived quite early and then Helen and David and family around coffee time. Lots of nice news. Sky had come top in the School with a 'PowerPoint presentation'. Well done Sky. David quite easily, for him, fixed my big computer problems. So I now have sound, - my keyboard and mouse are plugged in to the 'correct' output sockets, thereby freeing up two USB ports. They'd had a super time at Goose Fair and sent me a picture from David's phone to my computer which I recovered from Orange by using an 'ID and a Password' which had arrived on my mobile. But I do know how to deal with these because John has sent me quite a few from Europe.

During all this activity I managed to cook a leg-of-lamb with roast potatoes (desirée), yorkshires, fresh carrots, broccoli, and thinly sliced 'cabbage and leek' which has become a favourite of Y's. Proper gravy made with the caramelised juices at the bottom of the roasting tin. It all worked, and I must remember to compliment the butcher at Watnall Farm shop on the quality of the genuine English Lamb which was succulent, slightly pink and flavoursome.

This afternoon I managed an hour's lie-down and now feel fully refreshed and looking forward to the Strictly come Dancing results show. We both voted for John Sergeant who dances charmingly. He has a unique and attractive style all of his own and he may be onto something.

I know I avoid current affairs but feel moved to speak about the current economic crisis. As a little bit of a socialist I can't understand why failing banks/building societies should be nationalised so the tax-payer is forced to rescue rich businessmen/women who have made poor decisions. If this is OK, why not nationalise a few when they are making obscene profits, so the tax-payer can have a little share of the largesse ?

Comments

bungus ..... I fear you may well be right with the chuck-everything-in soup. Once I had half a tray of oven baked vegetables (The Delia recipe) which included squash, sweet potato, celeriac, and swede from the previous day. That made quite a respectable soup, made with chicken stock. But I counted myself lucky.

Only partly agree with you about luck in photography. Jill said she kept looking through the viewfinder till something appealed. That isn't trusting to luck is it? And I certainly wasn't being 'judgmental' in a sense of putting it down - I was assessing its merits in art-appreciation terms.

Re the Chinese Restaurant picture. All the words in the hoarding were of my introduction. And I wish I hadn't. It was close to racism to mock the pronunciation of another race. And I put my hands up to trying to raise a cheap laugh. Anyway, it failed because the judge didn't see the joke and criticised it as a photograph - which he was fully entitled to do.

Jill ...... Coldharbour Mill looks great I just wish we were closer to North Devon as it obviously of interest to people other than knitters. An Aladins Cave for you. And the restaurant sounds fabulous too.

Re Flu jabs ..... I've heard of people having unpleasant side-effects. We were going to give them a miss this year but Y read a piece warning strongly about an unexpectedly virulent virus (ha ha!) being around. So we are booked in, about a week hence.

helen c ...... Re the judging. And there was me feeling sure that your 'flooded tent' would do well for you. But what pitifully stupid comments. It sounds very much as if he has had a 'sense-of-humour ectomy'.

Hope to see you Wednesday. Unless there is anything to the contrary - "usual place, usual time" as they say.

quotation time ...... This should suit Bungus, and me, very well .....

"I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."

Robert McClosky

Y is off to London tomorrow, for a day with Jill. She will be tired when she gets back but happy-tired which is the best. Messing-about day for me - and make a shepherds pie ?

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow




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Calke Abbey - "A celebration of Supporter Groups"

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Only a brief blog tonight, due to tiredness.

Our National Trust gathering at Calke Abbey, entitled - 'A Celebration of Supporter Groups' - was flawlessly organised. And it was nice to see Sue Lewis again (her responsibility at Heelis HQ covers the subject) and Steve LeMottee on arrival.

150 people attended, representing the different Centres, and it was all jolly good fun. Our guest speaker was Radio 4's John Waite and he was first rate. Light and amusing but also informative - as you would expect from an experienced journalist of his calibre.

I was sitting facing into the Hall and suddenly thought "I know that voice...." and I did - it was John Waite talking to some people immediately behind me. He and I had a good chat, ranging from Radio 4 in general, to The Miners' Strike and Max Hastings and The Telegraph.

After obtaining his permission I snapped a mug-shot, just as he began his talk. Please see Picture 1. It is good to see a face behind a voice.

Picture 2 is one of Jill's holiday photos from Devon. Taken from their hotel bedroom balcony at Sidmouth. In her e-mail she doesn't rate them and says they aren't up to usual blog-standard. Quite wrong ! I think this is an excellent picture. The curve of the shore-line takes you from the bottom right corner, all the way round the bay to that nicely lit bit at the right hand end edge of the far cliffs. That brightly lit piece of cliff-face, bang in the golden-section on the left, is a brilliant touch. Congratulations !

Comments

mannanan .... Thanks for the directions to the Queen pictures. I thought you had had a visit from Elizabeth R herself. Unfortunately with being so busy I've not yet had chance to visit RasmseyRamblings.

Jill ..... Welcome back. We've missed you. The Westcliff Hotel sounds good. Their webpage (click the link) shows your view, at the left hand side - but your cliffs are better !

The food sounds excellent. And, as you say about the town, geared up for 'those of mature years'.

Re your computer/mouse. Your solution of shut-down/ wait some minutes/ re-boot is the answer to many, many problems. It is often necessary to unplug everything too, rather than simply shutting down. Now please don't ask how or why it works because I don't know.

anonymous kevin ..... Thanks for the EPS notes. You views were shared by most, I think.

bungus ...... Thank you very much for the continued mushroom info.

Re The Farm Shop. I think there is a grave danger of it expanding so much. they need to buy-in. So long as one gets a straightforward answer if the question is asked, I guess it is OK. Provided the stuff is locally grown, and the quality is good .....

On the right is a further picture of Reg's Fungus. This shows the full extent of it. I chose the other picture because I felt it showed more detail. I hope this helps.

Likewise with the picture on the left which was my competition entry in the 'Advertising' section.

As Kevin has said (and later similarly from Helen) the judge discussed the technical merits of the picture (which I accept are close to zero) without actually understanding the joke.

But I hope you know now what was being talked about.


helen c ....... The only thing I regret about not being there on Thursday, is not having seen the pictures.

I am assuming that one of yours that did well was the 'flooded Campsite' which readers have already seen. I published it on Monday June 30th 2008. Although I'm not absolutely sure what the blog looks like at the readers' end, presumably somewhere on the left hand side there is a facility to trawl through the blog-archive.

Incy wincy will be pleased you enjoyed his Lumsdale sepia picture so much.

You aren't becoming "like one of you old camera club cynics?". You are simply understanding how things often are with camera club judging. It is a serious matter and has been for many years. As anonymousrob will possibly remember, Dr Eddie Sethna and I were going to do a pamphlet about the matter. I was going to write it with him, and he was going to do the pictures - he was a prominent and much respected photographer and critic in addition to his day job as a consultant psychiatrist. Unfortunately he died.

Quotation time .......................... All I can say is 'Don't we all ?"

"I'm glad I didn't have to fight in any war. I'm glad I didn't have to pick up a gun. I'm glad I didn't get killed or kill somebody. I hope my kids enjoy the same lack of manhood."

Tom Hanks

David and family are calling in for coffee in the morning, and Tracy is eating lunch with us. It will be lovely for the children to see her and she will enjoy a chat with Helen and David. Helen and David can't stay for lunch because they need to be at Helen's niece around 1pm.

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow



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Watnall Farm shop - Shopping - Computing

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The picture above isn't a true panorama, as you can see, I have just joined the two images together because they 'adjoined' in fact. I know I have mentioned it before but The Watnall Farm Shop really seems to have taken off. Each time we go they seem busier. Mostly I guess it is word-of-mouth because the quality is excellent. All the chicken products are 'free range' the meat is reared on the farm and the pâtisserie shouts 'home-made'. In the meat pies they don't stint on the meat and a single-size one is ample for us to share. We are particularly keen on the fruit cake, and the jam and lemon-curd tarts.

Our main purchase was a leg of lamb (a 'gigot' for cordon bleu people) on the bone, because the practice in this part of the country is to bone it out and sell it rolled. Not a good idea for flavour in my opinion. Tracy is coming for lunch on Sunday, and lamb is her favourite.

After that we had a little more shopping and then home, putting away, lunch and enjoy the rest of the day. Fun on our computers and although Bungus or Jill mentioned it in jest, we do actually e-mail each other. Mostly to share incoming things but, if I am in The Office and Y is online in the Big Room it is as easy to e-mail her as it is to get up and walk there. Is this what 'Relate' mean when they say a couple have a 'communication problem' ? .. Oh what fun !!

Incy Wincy e-mailed me this lovely Lumsdale sepia. I love the treatment of the margins although I know it won't be to everyone's taste. His treatment, in sepia, is in-keeping with the subject matter of the derelict mills and factories of Lumsdale. He is keen to have the right conditions for infra-red and I would really like to see the results.

An informant tells me I made the right decision to 'bunk off' from the EPS judging last night. Apparently my blood-pressure would have beaten Bungus's by a neck. Congratulations to Helen though... I understand she collected 3 second placings !..... Well done you.

Comments

bungus ....... Thanks for the 'drip-trip' saga episode. And get you ! discussing Buddhist mantras with the nurse. I bet she was well impressed.

As you know, I am not a muso but I will try your recommendation.

Re Picasa 3. There certainly is NO problem. Last time I mentioned it, I made the title, a link to the download page. But I guess you didn't open the link. Here it is again - Click Here - I hope it works. As you know, all your pictures are safely in your 'My Pictures' folder and nothing can be harmed by the download.

Nice to read the chip-cob, and chip-butties info. During boyhood I have no recollection of the 'cob'. Even finger rolls were considered somewhat daring. There was white-bread, brown bread, hovis, and then, along came bloomers! Certainly not the done thing to put chips inside any sort of bread. A slice of bread and butter with chips was considered the norm. But it's progress mon brave......

Sorry for any editorial errors in attribution, whereby some gems of wisdom have been credited to the wrong source. But my RG editorial chair can be soporific as bedtime approaches. I ought really to write in the mornings. But some 'comment' writers don't add their comment till the evening and we would all become confused if people were leaving comments on the last-but-one blog-post.

mannanan ..... Glad the book arrived safely and you like the look of it. It didn't take long to reach you. Would it have come on the splendidly named Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. Such a romantic name I always think.

p.s. to all - Please click here for Pete's latest webpage. But I've searched without success for the Queen snaps. Please give us some directions.

anonymousrob ...... Please see above apology for editorial miss-attributions.

You are probably right that 'chip-buttie' is a Coronation Street legacy to the Nation.

I share your reservations about the quote. But it was contributed by an occasional reader and I felt I should include it. It was, as you will have noticed, very carefully attributed. We are, as you say, much better with Gordon Brown than George Bush who is way out of his depth in the current crisis. As the Editor of The Telegraph said .... "He doesn't understand the questions, much less the potential answers".

Is it really 18 months since you were in Cuba ? Surely it's about 6 weeks ago ?

The last picture will also do as the quotation. It is from my slim cherished Tennyson. As the quote is not attributed I assume it is one of his own.


Tomorrow we are at Calke Abbey for a National Trust Conference about Volunteers and Supporter Groups. Although we are going as representatives neither of us has anything to present, so all we need to do is sit and try and look intelligent. But Y, as Secretary, will need to produce some sort of note, for 'report back' purposes. Should be a nice day, and we are looking forward to it.

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow



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Quiet but rewarding day - Y at Burton Joyce

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Picture 1 is a monster fungus from Reg, posted as a 'bungus-baffler' ? At first I thought it might be 'honey-fungus' which is bad news. But a low-level 'google' has convinced me it isn't. The matter will have to be resolved by reference to Bungus's Bible, or he may of course identify it from his own knowledge bank.

Reg has also set a 'spot the 50p piece' competition for the above. If you download the picture, you will be able to use Picasa 3' s 'Text' tool. Find the 'symbol' font and use an arrow to show where you think the coin is !

The Michaelmas Daisies are breaking colour and at about the correct time. They are usually out for Goose Fair, which is this coming weekend. (the link is to a nice bit of YouTube shot at last year's Fair).

The snap on the left explains itself (with the text) and it was an excuse to use the programme's user-friendly text tool - having previously used 'retouch' to 'airbrush' out a few unnecessary Japanese Anemone flowers.

It is most fun to go in the evening for the lights and the atmosphere. Most Nottingham people love it, and the pleasant air we have been having, with a nip in it, is usually called 'Goose Fair Weather'. David tells me the grass is now covered with an open mesh metal carpeting so, even if there's a lot of rain, it isn't the squelchy experience it used to be.

I took Y to the tram, the start of her journey to Burton Joyce where she had a lovely but tiring day. Miles is off School but nearly better, and when I went to collect Y around 4.15pm, I had a good hour with the children. On the return journey we stopped for a 'carvery' at Seven Mile House (I would have done a link, if I could have found a decent one. They all seemed to be PDF documents, without pictures) and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality.

Brian came round this morning and we messed-about doing 'links' and 'attachments' and had a good laugh about things in general. I decided against the Camera Club this evening because it is a judged competition. Honestly, I don't mind what people say about my pictures. It's just that camera-club judges can be extremely tiresome about anyone's pictures. They are invariably poorly informed in art-critique terms and utter the most vapid drivel ! I've had a much more stimulating evening at home.

The last snap is a close-up of the same michaelmas daisy on a wide-aperture, hence the softness of the furthest away flowers.

Comments

bungus ...... Thank you for reminding me the other day about the demo in support of John Crosby !

An interesting feature was that one of the policmen policing the demo actually called me Sir, as I stood there with my placard ! which was nice. I gather that, as a boss, I was not too unpopular.

The chowder recipe sounds well worth a go. I think I still have some dried fenugreek leaves you gave me years ago. A few days ago I had occasion to check it and it still seemed fine.

The difference between The Cliff Inn and The Bird-in-Hand views is that from inside the Cliff Inn you can't actually see the view. It is from the car-park on the opposite side of the road.

Re your blood-pressure. Y tells me that the figure you quoted is really high, and must be of concern to your medical advisers.

Re Thomas H Huxley. He was related to Aldous. Please click here for the Wiki page about the family.

anonymousrob ...... "we were in Torremolinos again in ’64 which, as ......." So this neglecting your Sports Desk duties in order to toddle off on holiday is not a new thing !

I think you are right. We will not pursue the question of camera-club judges !

Indeed it was a neat pick-up of the 'after the hanging' line, by Bungus. I would like to say I penned it with that in mind. But I didn't.

Your 'rear-view' ideas for my wheels are good. Interestingly enough - if I put the brakes on and sit down, I am facing backwards anyway.

I don't understand the next-to-the-last line. about your job?

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Quotation time ......... in an e-mail from the other Brian ........

"The Americans have George Bush, Johnny Cash, Bob Hope and Stevie Wonder. We have Gordon Brown, No Cash, No Hope and no BLOODY WONDER! "

Sleep tight - catch you tomorrow



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WoW at Ripley - Cliff Inn - Chip Cob

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Picture 1 is the view from the car-park of The Cliff Inn, Crich. We visited for our lunchtime chip cob.

The morning began at 10am when 7 willing helpers arrived at Ripley Town Hall to hang the Amber Valley Exhibition. And a very good exhibition it is too. It knocks spots off the Nottingham and Notts exhibition we saw a couple of weeks ago at the Brewhouse Yard Museum.

Ours was high-quality and lively and innovative. Theirs was high-quality but boring and same-ey.

After the hanging we adjourned to the pub where, as always, we were made most welcome. And the chip cobs were excellent. The original idea was that the chaps (inc. Helen) would go for a brief walk before lunch. I opted to go straight into the pub, and Brian decided likewise, and 30 secs later were joined by Helen who said it was cold and windy and a storm looked imminent. 5 minutes later the others reached the same decision and came back to the pub.

We enjoyed our usual lively conversation and Brian made an excellent point. When on a photo jaunt, and you are walking forward looking for pictures ahead - it is a good idea from time to time to stop and turn round. There may be great pictures behind you which you haven't noticed.

A quick addendum to yesterday. Of course Bungus lives at Boughton and not Tuxford. It should have read Tuxford Road, and I omitted the 'road'.

Picture 3 is especially for Manxislander alias Mannanan alias Pete Brady. I spotted it in a second-hand book shop and acquired it for him. The title explains the book, but it was published in 1977 and therefore forms a historical aspect to his subject. (if you would like to e-mail your postal address Pete, I'll pop it in an envelope and send it to you).

Pete is certainly IT savvy enough not to put either his e-mail address, or his postal address, on a blog.

The little bit of 'text' on the picture is courtesy of Picasa 3, just one of several additional 'tools'. Please click here for a download page if you would like a look at it.

Y is really seriously 'cracking on' with her Laptop and Vista. She's mastered 'attachments' and this afternoon went into 'Pictures' and deleted unwanted material, also adjusted the size of her thumbnails, and 'rotated clockwise' relevant pictures that were 'landscape' instead of 'portrait'. And she is much enjoying 'googlechat' with the Burton Joyce branch !

Comments

bungus ...... Re the Jools Holland line-up. I agree The Kaiser Chiefs are first rate and I always thought Boy George and The Culture Club were a good 'turn'. (Live links there folks).

Re the fungus. Whatever you tell me I shall believe because, like Football, it is not my subject. I simply admire your 'take' on living dangerously.

I absolutely agree that 'Coleman balls' was a great slot in Private Eye. Sadly missed.

The poem was enjoyable, but not one of your best. By the last two verses it had developed a distinct limp. Mind you, so had Byron - Ha Ha !

mannanan ........ please see above..... great soup, and if future recipes are similar they will be tried immediately by our discerning readers.

4 ticks ...... I don't understand the problem with the recipe ? Can't you just copy/paste it into somewhere? Y is on Vista too and there doesn't seem to be any problem with highlighting some text, the right-click and 'copy', decide where you want it to go and then 'paste' it in there.

I guess there must be something I'm not aware of.

Re spiders 'tatting'. One morning after a heavy frost I said to a granddaughter "I wonder why they build webs in such silly places ?" She replied "Perhaps because they are so beautiful". She is obviously right. I think I'm going to take her out on a fungus hunt - she would soon find some fairies.

Re medical matters. I too would welcome less involvement with the NHS - but have decided to concede defeat and try to hang loose - as per bungus. Jill, is excellent at 'making a fuss' and occasionally scores effective goals.

She should be back off her holidays I think - even as we speak. Hope she has had a good time.

No doubt she will soon post a comment and tell us all about it.

Hope your lesson-prep went well. I've decided to give EPS a miss tomorrow night, so I shan't see you.

Quotation time .........

"The great tragedy of Science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact"

Thomas H Huxley

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Sleep tight - catch you tonmorrow




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