Lala Ween World

Habitat

2012-01-28T14:09:00.001Z

Habitat, a photo by andrewhallpics on Flickr.

Celestial bodies or Pumpkin and Photoshop?

Have a nice day.......

2012-01-27T08:34:00.000Z

It's 8.31am.
It's 1 degree Celsius, and cold, cold, cold.
The local snack wagon, where I get my normal (read ritual) bacon buttie on a Friday morning wasn't there this morning.
A whole load of work information that I have to do analysis on is rubbish.
And....
A snapshot news headline this morning, says that there is a cancer risk with oral sex!

Have a fantastic Friday why don't you.....

Happy Australia Day - pt5

2012-01-26T19:06:00.001Z

Two Hands 001, a photo by andrewhallpics on Flickr.

Peter and Me at Two Hands in the Barossa Valley with our great friends, Paul, Max and the wonderful Felix... one of the best holidays ever guys!

Happy Australia Day - pt4

2012-01-26T19:04:00.001Z

Mt Gambier 005, a photo by andrewhallpics on Flickr.

Mt Gambier Harbour

Happy Australia Day - pt3

2012-01-26T18:58:00.001Z

Great Ocean Road 001, a photo by andrewhallpics on Flickr.

Great Ocean Road

Happy Australia Day - pt2

2012-01-26T18:56:00.001Z

Sydney Panorama002B&W, a photo by andrewhallpics on Flickr.

Happy Australia Day

2012-01-26T18:55:00.001Z

Sydney Opera House023, a photo by andrewhallpics on Flickr.

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 128

2012-01-23T22:16:00.000Z

Hey hey

Hell's teeth were do I begin. Right, check this out... please

The singer's name is Matt Alber, and I found this link while checking another blog, but for the life of me I cannot remember whose it was. I think this is a wonderful song, and it just made me feel good, so I hope you enjoy it.

On the same blog, I was reading about the trend for members of the gay (and I am using this as a catch all word, so forgive me) community to tell their coming out stories. They can be awful, sad, funny or truly inspiring, and they are playing a big part in helping people understand one another, and see a different perspective. Each contributor, some famous, many not, should be applauded for their courage.
I was tempted to record mine, however something happened at home, and I thought, no, maybe I should start from that leap into the unknown, all those years back and see where we are now.

Coming out is a very individual thing,and I have been blessed by having friends and family that accept me and my partner for what we are, however, all that aside, I realise that, over the years, I have never stopped coming out.

Now I don't work in the most, shall we say, "politically correct" of trades, as I work for a building firm, and I believe, I am the only out gay person out of a workforce of around 400 people. Does it bother me, not at all. Does anyone actually bother me either....no, not at all. From working in Hotels, Bars, Restaurants, for Catering firms, or buying Furniture, Car fleets, Photocopiers and a hundred and one other sundry things, I have been very fortunate to have not once been on the receiving end of a bad word, or malicious comment.

They have been hysterically funny moments when I maybe could have saved the embarrassment of another, usually when a foot is about to be firmly "put in", but then my weird sense of humour takes over, and I let people fall into their own trap, but lightly, with laughter and we carry on.

So over the years, you develop a sense that, with a new job, or a new social situation, that eventually some one will ask about your own personal circumstances, and once again, you come out. And with the good will have been fortunate to have, the conversation carries on, and you enjoy your new role, or make new friends.

Imagine then, being completely wrong footed the other day, by a call to a technical help desk. Now we have a supplier of our internet access, something of an international player, BT (British Telecom). Well after many access crashes, pleas, line tests, and the involvement of local councillors from our Parish council even (on a more local scale, not just for our own cause) we have managed to get a super fast whizzy internet connection.

The problem arose, when two departments didn't communicate.... So while one was supplying us a service, the other thought we didn't have it, with the consequence that all our free virus protection went poof.... for want of a better word! Time top call the Held Desk....

Putting the kettle on, I merrily called the help desk, and proceeded to describe the fault, and give my details, and at one point I mentioned the account was under my partners name. "And that name?.. So I duly proffered the name, and was asked "Sorry, the account is your partner, so what is your wife's name?" I said Peter's name again, only to be asked the same question, so I said " My Husband's name...", at which point I got a "No sir, you are the husband, what is your wife's name?" We ding-donged this one back and forth for a couple more times, before providence stepped in and the line died. Someone's god was looking after them, as I was building a good head of steam and was positively bursting with expletives.. if we had had a cat, I would have kicked it (sorry cat lovers).

I was furious.... and then I started to laugh, and I laughed until it hurt. I laughed at the thought of me getting wound up, because the indignity of someone thousands of miles away, not getting that I had a husband. Did they not know any better... well, truth be told they may not. So I must say thank you to my friends, and family and all those around me, for making me feel a part of life, and thank you to that wee man a thousand miles away, for making me feel grateful and humble for what I have, as that is a precious thing, and isn't open to everyone.

Stop SOPA & PIPA

2012-01-18T12:03:00.003Z

Understanding SOPA

Flickr - Darken this photo

Wiki - making a stand

Yes or No?

2012-01-17T22:20:00.002Z

I think I prefer it......

Hmmmmm...new template, Yeah or Nay?

2012-01-11T19:27:00.000Z

I'm still not convinced I have done the right thing.

I love the look of the new layout, but I think I really do miss all the other bits and pieces you get with a more standard layout.

I miss the little side lines from other blogs, with a catchy line that makes you want to go and read the rest. I miss the fact that I can't preview this post first, to see if I have got it right or not.

I miss the music links, and all the other bits and pieces that make a blog a touch more personal, my very own bit of space that I have tweaked and amended, and shaped.

I miss the fact that if I was running a more standard template, I could add a questionnaire, so you could all vote on it too..... hmmmmm

Love

2012-01-10T22:31:00.001Z

Poppy

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 127 - The Late Edition

2012-01-09T19:32:00.001Z

Start the year off promptly, that's what someone once said...........hey ho!

So, what do teenagers behaving badly, an Oxford tree lined walk, a view of the lake district, snowy footprints and the number 17,159, all have in common? We'll come back to this later, I need to go and take something out of the oven...... back in a mo...

Phew.. roast squash and sweet potato, all golden and roasted. I'm going to mash them both into some fluffy white King Edward potatoes, then use them to top off a melange of fresh fish and silky white sauce, to make the perfect fish pie. Well, "perfect" in the sense that we are both watching blood pressure and weight, so that means the silky sauce has less butter, less lip-smacking strong cheddar, and certainly no cream in it, but I did add a touch of fiery English mustard, so it has some bite, but not enough to overpower the fish.

The potato has less butter (read nil) but I have subbed in some light olive oil, and I couldn't resist beating in a fresh egg (from the estate dont'y'know) and some wonderful freshly ground pepper (if they could bottle that scent I would wear it)... and not a drop of salt in either! I have also missed out the quartered hard boiled eggs I usually put in before the potato topping too. Ho hum.

Oh and top chef's tip... want an easy sure fire way of getting all the seeds out of a small squash?. Just slice it through in one fell swoop and watch in amazement as both halves roll past you, on either side, and then off the board, to land with a thud on your tiled floor. Seeds everywhere, and I laughed so hard I had to sit down.

So, back to the first question... they all have my Flickr account in common. 17,159 is the number of times my photostream has been viewed... ooooooh,....... I know there must be a nought missing or something.

One Giant Leap , wins for the most number of comments (it was a tie but this had the most views), so wins on that.. odd.

This view of the Lake District in Cumbria topped off the most popular "favourited" photo, and although it wasn't the most viewed, it had more comments (there must be some bizarre logic in rating these). And when I am on about numbers here, in the main we are in the low number, not the thousands (I wish).

Topping the charts at number one for " interestingness" (not my word!) is what I thought a fairly easy on the eye view of a tree lined walk in Oxford, but hey, who am I to wonder.... (which is exactly what I am doing I suppose)

And finally, when teenagers behave badly? Well here we all are.
Today's children have different needs, values, and goals, than when I was a child. Teenagers are almost a different species.

The pressure they are under at school to perform, the social pressure from their peer groups and today's "nuclear" family set ups are incomparable to the sort of family life I grew up with, having been born just 16 years after the end of the second world war. But was my life so different as a teenager?

I think not.. we've all been here, one way or another!

Remember the first time you were ever drunk in front of a parent, or so dizzily happy that they thought you were?

Remember the very first time one of your parents poured a drink for you, leaving you shaky, slightly slack jawed, and bursting with an un-named pride, and thinking to yourself, "crickey, hold on here, I think they might be treating me like an adult". You may not, but I know I did.

I know this too, that despite the number of times I haven't managed to get around to seeing all the teenagers in my life, the nieces, nephews and god-children, the one overriding feeling I have, which is a constant, is that I am immensely proud of them all.....And if it all goes to hell-in-a-hand cart kids, you can still have the last line......

Apologies to M, for using this, but it is about time it saw the light ;o)

2012-01-02T15:45:00.004Z

Happy New Year - new year, new look, new goals, new opportunities, new horizons......

Time to look forward

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-28T15:22:00.000Z

So where did December go?

24 days ago I was prepping to celebrate Peter's birthday and pow.... the holiday season has been upon us, Christmas Day has been and gone, and here we are!

So what's been happening? Well, my man had a good birthday and I managed to find a suitable present, and we celebrated over the first week of December, catching up with friends along the way.

Planning for the Christmas holiday (as we are both off work between Christmas and New Year) was fairly low key, and very stress free. Gifts bought and sorted (even at the last minute) proved to be hassle free, as did picking up the meat from the butcher, and the various staples needed to see us through ( as we worked on the principle that the shops will only be closed for one day only - honest, 1 day)

We also worked out Christmas gifts for each other, before hand (I know, no surprise, but honestly, we have been together for 18+ years now..)
We still have a couple of gifts to give people that we haven't managed to catch up with, but all in all it has been a fairly quiet affair, and to be honest, it has been lovely, despite the weather's best efforts to make it feel very un-christmasssy (it's a positively balmy 8 degrees outside)

We are both looking to catch up with more friends throughout the week, and over New Year's Eve, but to be frank, for the first time ever, I cannot wait to see the back end of this year.

I can't begin to reflect on what has gone on this year, not only to us, and our friends and families, because in the overall picture, there are many many people much worse off than us. We still have our homes, health, families, friends, and the options to directly change our situations if we choose too.

So, for now, this is my last post for 2011. I hope to see you all at the back end of the New Year Celebrations. I hope too, that my enthusiasm returns so I can keep this more up to date and also get outside more with the camera, but for now,

Love and best wishes for the forthcoming year, and positive thoughts xxx

Sunday Morning Musings - part 126

2011-12-04T22:10:00.001Z

Hey hey

I know it's late and I have oodles to catch up with on every ones else's blog, so bear with me, as I will get around to it this week (at some point, fingers crossed)

I'm having an early night, as we part celebrated Peter's birthday this weekend, and had a lovely time, however it was the wee small hours when our bed gratefully accepted my tired & befuddled body/brain, so today has been chilled to say the least.

It is his birthday proper on Tuesday, then it appears that almost everyone else I know has their birthday in December, then Crimbo hits us!

However I already have plans and ideas in mind, so hopefully I will cope, and not miss anyone out (speak now or forever hold your piece)
I promise to post more soon, sorry that this is short and sweet.

Have a great week, oh, and this is my 901st post....

..... Don't you just love Autumn.

World Aids Day

2011-12-01T13:35:00.001Z

Wear your's with Pride

A doubling of new HIV infections in the UK in the past decade is leading experts to tell GPs to offer testing to all adult male patients in some areas.

Health Protection Agency data shows new UK-acquired cases rose from just under 2,000 in 2001 to nearly 3,800 in 2010.

There are more than 30,000 men who have sex with men living with HIV in the UK and experts estimate nearly a third of these are currently undiagnosed and unaware that they are infected.

The impact of late diagnosis is clearly demonstrated when you look at deaths among people with HIV - three out of five of HIV-positive individuals that die are diagnosed too late to gain the most health benefits from their treatment, like increased life expectancy.

In this decade, with the wealth of information available, HIV should never be on the increase. Be you Gay, Straight, Bi, White, Black, Yellow, Young, Old, Pink or Blue, the simple message must be that it is up to you, no-one else. So be safe, be secure, be careful.

Last Day of Movember

2011-11-30T19:41:00.001Z

Thanks for all the support!

We had a laugh and I think the Mutton Chops will stay on Steve St.John Pegg III. I would like to keep mine for a while longer (I'm holding out for more money to shave it off, from you know who), however I think Clod Morton will be shaving his orf, before he gets more offers of Chaplin lookalikes......

'Tache-tastic! Thanks again for all the support, and thanks too, to my two compatriots, and to all the Mo supporters out there... Cheers chaps and Chap-esses xx

Movember - progress!

2011-11-23T18:50:00.001Z

Three of us that work together in the office are sticking with it, as we have all got past the itchy scratchy stage.

Cheers!

"Own your Mo"

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 125

2011-11-20T18:30:00.001Z

Hi folks

Well I hope it has been worth the wait for everyone, as here we are, back again! There is loads to catch up on, so I am going t plough on and see where we get too, and I'll try not to have your minds spinning by the end of it.

So in first place, lets sort the petrol heads out, as everyone is dying to know what the new wheels are.

It's a spanky new Ford Focus, in Ice White, and runs on diesel. It goes like sh*t off a shovel, drives like a dream and the dashboard lights up like the Starship Enterprise. It syncs with my phone, mp3 player, refrigerator and any passing heart monitor. I even had to read the manual to see how some of the tech works, and I still don't get some of it.

Now, did you read the part where I said it was Ice White? This is one of those paint colours that is as only as Ice White as it can be, in the length of time it takes to explain what the colour is. After that it looks like you've driven through the hell looking like you have tried to find the source of the of the Nile or something... Thank you to all those people that have said, " yeah, white.. stay reasonably clean, doesn't show the dirt".... are you insane! Hit a fly and it looks like a leaking body bag was dragged across the bonnet.

Anyhow, we took the new motor (toot toot) orf to the country not so long ago, for a weekend away. I was given a wonderful gift by my fab in-laws and we went to Cliveden for the weekend. This is a rather special Hotel, compromising a truly wonderful building, with National Trust grounds and top notch food, drink, service and ambience. So we were expecting it to be a tad nice, when imagine our surprise, when, being informed we had had an upgrade, we were shown to......

...... our room!

I'll never sleep in a motel again.

Over the 20 odd years or more that I have worked in the Catering and Hotel trade, I have stayed in some incredible hotels, but this is the very first where I actually stood in the doorway and said "wow" and meant it.

We only had the weekend stay there, but we still managed to cram in a walk around the grounds, Afternoon Tea, a rather fabulous dinner, then the Sunday papers and a full English overlooking the grounds down to the Thames on Sunday morning.

It was a pretty neat birthday gift. There are more photos over on my Flickr account.

As you can see, I have been doing a little blog houskeeping, and splashed a little colour around. I almost made some big changes to the layout, but every time I kept coming back to this two column set up, so I'm going to stick with that for now. Let me have any thoughts on the new look, it can always be tweaked

The week before last saw us away with both of my Sisters, and Brother-in-law, Niece and Great niece, up in the Lake District. We rented a wonderful cottage in Troutbeck, and had a great time, relaxing, enjoying each others company and getting to know our Great niece, Poppy. She was adorable, was no trouble at all, and is one of the cutest babies I know ( I may be biased, she may be spoiled rotten too! ).

We had incredible weather and although we were a bit later staying there this year and some of the Autumn colour had gone over, we still managed to get out and about and enjoy our hill walks.

I managed to gather the enthusiasm to take the camera out on a couple of occasions, but all in all, most of the times it was about enjoying the views and more so the company. I couldn't have been more relaxed. I hope we don't tire of these weeks away as a family group and I hope one day to see Poppy dragging me up a hill to see the mist coming down over the lake.

Thanks to Andy & Clare too, for Chicken-Watch, and I hope you enjoy the puddings!

We have been back to work for a week, and you'll be pleased to know I am not being made redundant. I put up a case for my role to be kept, and they rescinded the notice on Thursday last week. It will have repercussions though, as I am assuming that my going was part of a cost saving exercise, so it will be interesting to see what happens!

A couple of months back, our friend Glen asked if we wanted to go up to the top of the BT Tower in London, as they open it up once or twice a year for charity, and let BT employees bring a number of guests along, with all the monies going to Children In Need. Now I remember going up to the revolving restaurant when it was open to the public many, many years ago, but the thought of being able to go up as an adult was too good an opportunity to miss. So we all met up, and off we went. It was great!

The photos may look a little hazy and have some reflection blur on them, but remember, we were looking through some pretty thick glass, but the chance to see London from 360 degrees, as the restaurant platform we were in rotated, was incredible. It was a great opportunity and a great day out with G&F and their son too. We went a little way back into town for an early dinner, and then Peter and I tootled off back home.

So, things are back to normal I suppose. I hope I've eradicated all the spam that has been pinged around the globe attached to my (old) email address, and once again, sincere apologies for that to all that had it. The moustache is coming along for Movember and Peter still hates it.... hey ho!

Have a great week folks, see you next week, cheers

Movember!

2011-11-03T19:53:00.000Z

Otherpeople train and trim up, run hundreds of miles, and do good works.

Otherpeople do death defying events, and do good works.

So far inmy life I have dyed my hair blond, and jumped out of an aeroplane (twice infact, as once it was on the ground during training) and played the maddest gameof speed golf, and all of it came down to getting sponsorship and doing theright thing (with the minimum amount of physical pain)

This timearound, the training is all in (I shaved Tuesday morning) and we are off. I’mnot sure of the look I’m going to go for, and I know Peter will hate it, butfor more information and a chance to sponsor me, please go to http://mobro.co/monkeycage

Movember isall about growing facial hair for one month and getting sponsorship fortesticular cancer initiatives.

Me, I’mgoing to grow the maddest moustache I can, and along the way, I hope youfind time for a little sponsorship,

Love

Andrew

PS - I will get around to posting on the new auto, impending redundancy, the weekend away, and a host of other things, but for now I have to cram in a week away with family.... such a social butterfly..... love to all

Spam

2011-10-29T09:47:00.002+01:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(electronic)

Apologies to anyone that has recently had a weird email from me, I think I have got to the bottom of it, but I am crediting you all for being of sound mind not to have opened it or the link, and recognising it for what it was.

What worries me most is that the only thing I have done differently or out of the ordinary, was to use a recently uploaded app to my phone, to email a couple of people. The PC and hard drives I used are so locked up and regularly scoured and checked, that I was really surprised that the spam went out.

Not to be confused with;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(food)

.... which is not something I eat much of now, but was a firm favourite in my formative years!

Cheers

Roo

Sunday Morning Musings

2011-10-22T10:04:00.005+01:00

No musings this week, we are orf to the country, in our new auto, pip pip!

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 124

2011-10-16T18:11:00.003+01:00

Well it's actually coming towards the end of the day here (in sunlight terms), and we have managed to have another not too exciting weekend.

Over the past few weeks I haven't mentioned the Rugby World Cup, rugby being the one sport I have managed to follow over the years, that still grabs my attention. However this year, the RWC this time around has been if anything, uninspiring. I think the standard of play overall has been flat, with little enthusiasm shown by many of the top teams. England had an appalling run, and frankly deserve the early flight home.

One of the best games was yesterday, with the quarter final between Wales and France. Despite Wales being one man down from early on, I think they had possibly one of the most inspiring games of the tournament, and through what was a questionable sending off, I think they would have been in the final.

I think one of the other problems was the fact that being over in NZ, the coverage of the games was so early if you wanted to see them live, that if you recorded them, there is so much exposure to media now, that the results got to you before you could watch the recording. It got to the point that the whole house was devoid of a radio, email or newspaper until we had watched any of the games... even 'phone calls were preceded with "don't tell me the results"!

So we have been taking it easy, although today has been filled with redecorating the remodelled en-suite bathroom, baking (and the smell is wonderful), checking and cleaning the chickens out, and at some point I should iron some shirts for the working week.

I have learnt a lot over this weekend, and one more thing will come about during the coming working week. This weekend I have learnt two things;

1) If you keep chickens, prepare for them to eat anything that you don't want them to, Spring Bulbs, vegetables, recently potted plants, etc.

2) If you are painting an en-suite bathroom a clean fresh light colour (in this case white), you will question to your dying day why you painted it that dull shade of "Heritage" green. You loved it once.... now you hate it with a passion, as you look at the walls and think, "they'll need a fourth coat"....bastard "Heritage" collection....

The thing that will come about in the week?... .. . well I will learn if I am to keep my job, as one again the entire company has been put under a 30 day notice. Ho hum, what will be will be.

We are away next weekend, taking advantage of a birthday gift from my in-laws for my 50th. So think of us as we spend the weekend here. I'll tell you all about it when we catch up next!

Have a great week, look out for your loved ones, cheers

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 123

2011-10-09T16:40:00.000+01:00

After the veritable heat wave of the last weekend, Autumn has really kicked in now. As fast as I can sweep leaves from the decking outside the kitchen, the trees drop another load. I think they are winning.
With a gust of wind behind them, the Hens take on an extra burst of speed and also look like they have been puffed up with a hair dryer. They get the best part of an hour to roam around the garden of an evening now, before nightfall arrives, and then off they totter back to the coop, without any encouragement, and snuggle up together and settle in for a nights sleep.

We seem to have caught our breath at last, and we have began to settle into our comfortable routines again. Today we have spent a fair time sorting out the garden for the end of summer, and dealing with the tops of two of the smaller trees, that we lost in the high winds a week or so ago. We were fortunate though that the surrounding trees held up the snapped tops, so they didn't come crashing down into the conservatory or more importantly, on the hen house!

We had a friend over last night, and stuffed ourselves on a Chinese meal, with probably too much wine, and laughed our way to our beds after watching "Paul" on DVD. It has the sort of slapstick humour that I love, and I laughed like a child.

So today was an easy day (wine notwithstanding) with pancakes, bacon, bananas and maple syrup for breakfast, with pots of tea and coffee on tap. The house currently smells of fresh coffee, just baked bread and a batch of banana muffins that Peter has just put into the oven, so I am going to keep this week's musings as short as this, as there are crumpets under the grill, papers to finish reading, and the rest of the daylight left to enjoy, as we watch a blustery day through the glass, as we sit warm and snug, cocooned with delicious smells.

Keep well, stay safe, and we'll catch up soon

Hens, Eggs, and posh egg stand!

2011-09-26T16:28:00.001+01:00

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 122

2011-09-25T16:58:00.000+01:00

So we have reached the end of Summer, and the days have faded into my favourite time of the year, Autumn. It's the time of the year where nature bows out from the first flush of spring and the hot colours of summer, and fades into the glorious multi-coloured hues of Autumn, and the days get shorter, and the nights draw in.

The air takes on a quality all of it's own, fresh, with that underlying scent of leaf mould, and decay, as the summer plants recede into their dormancy, storing energy for the next first flush of spring and summer, the following year.

The garden has changed shape again, with the fruit of our home grown adventures all but finished now, and we are looking to see what we can grow through the coming months, that will sustain our joy for home grown produce. We still have some potatoes, earthed up and ready to crop, and the tomatoes are only just turning red and becoming ready to eat, and the ones we have had have been sweet delicious and juicy.

The Hens continue to produce two eggs a day (they sometimes take a day off) and we have been lucky to get a couple of larger ones with double yolks, and although they look eye wateringly larger than the normal ones, we were grateful. It's something simple and wonderful to pick up a warm freshly laid egg. It never fails to impress me, and make me smile. They have also redefined the idea of growing produce and plants, with the rule of thumb being, if you want to keep them (the plants and things), and the Hens like eating them, make sure you keep their wings clipped and whatever you want to save, fenced off or up on high. It's an eye opener to see what they will eat, as you watch them strip bare the plants you have just potted! Little buggers....

Still they bring something to the table, in this case supplying key ingredients for baking. I promise to post the recipe for the fruit cake next week!

A huge thank you to Val.... I still haven't quiet matched yours, but this was the second attempt and was delicious, but could have done with another 10mins, as it was still a little wet.

Right folks, I'll try and catch up with you all when I can, but for now, it's hen house cleaning, and a cuppa, with maybe a slice of that cake......

One last thing, as we read the papers over the weekend, I simply had to snap this, as I looked at two magazines on the table, they just sat right. Take care, have a good week.

Sojourn

2011-09-11T15:11:00.002+01:00

[n. soh-jurn; v. soh-jurn, soh-jurn] - def: live temporarily, a temporary stay.

A transcript from "Thought for The Day", BBC Radio 4, Saturday the 8th September, by Dr Courtney Cowart of Trinity Wall St. Church, New York

"On 9/11 I was in Trinity's office tower, only one other tower stood between us and the World Trade Centre site. We had been working for months to prepare for a special broadcast. Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, was with us to deliver four meditations on the shaping of holy lives. The recording was scheduled to start at 8.45am, and at 8.46, the first 'plane dove into the North Tower. The programme was never made.

Instead, our lives were re-shaped forever, by what we saw and felt. When the South Tower collapsed, we were suffocating, I remember holding wet baby bibs over the faces of children from our day-care, so they could breathe. I remember looking into the eyes of fire-fighters running toward their deaths.

The next morning, Archbishop Rowan preached on a text from Ephesians.. "but now in Christ Jesus, you, who were once far off, have been brought near". He said the acts of the previous morning had initiated a conversation in the terrorists language, and then asked "Is this how we will go on, in that language?". The question shaped everything we tried to do from that point on.

In the following days, we moved through the city, encountering pockets of extreme fear and hate, and yet I began to notice that sometimes in them, another language was spoken, and when it was, conditions changed.. ..like the language of the orphans who came from the original ground zeros, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to our American Church, to deliver a message of condolence.. .. like the street folks of the neighbourhood, who arrived in a gang, and gave us all their cups of coins.. .. like the language of the 15,000 workers who dug on their hands and knees for a year to retrieve human remains, they literally reached into the grave and would not let go.

Ground Zero became a congregation of 20,000 strangers, brought near. People said the atmosphere of love was so thick, it was like touching the face of God.

Witnessing all of this convinced me that love is a power. Where violence and hatred reign, I watched as extreme acts of love drove the darkness out.

It taught me a lesson, that we choose the conditions we create. Humanity has been blessed with the full capacity to generate, in any place, the safety, dignity, alliance and resilience, ALL people need to thrive."

Today is the tenth anniversary of that day. The only, and hopefully the last, event, where when asked, "where were you", I know of in fine detail. Something I hope never to repeat in my lifetime.

It's fitting then that, without thinking about it, I choose this weekend to get back into the blogosphere and add a little life back into Lalaweenworld, as it has been sadly neglected for a wee while.

The truth of the matter is, without dwelling on it too much, is that our world, mine and Peter's, has been rocked over the past few months, and because of it, I have selfishly kept him near me, to try as I might to protect him, from what I don't know, from anything and everything, but all I know is that it has been a trying time for him, and I just hope that I, and like many, many, of our friends and family, have been able to support him. In the past six months, he has lost his brother, his father and his best friend. I am not so sure I could have coped with that, with the humility and forbearance that he has.

It has been a roller-coaster year for our families and our friends, and while we personally have been gathering our strength behind closed doors, I would like to publicly take this opportunity to thank all of our friends for all their love and support. Every card, every 'phone call, every visit, has been appreciated. I also wanted our friends and family to know that we are only too aware that crisis' are not exclusive to us, and that support is reciprocated from us, even though it may not be most evident. You are with us in our thoughts more than you think.

Next week, more colour, more chicken news, and a gentle run into Autumn, but for now, I'll leave you with a quote from Dr Courtney Cowart's words at the beginning of this post.. .. "we choose the conditions we create" . See you all next week, if not before.

Lalaweenworld

2011-08-01T09:16:00.002+01:00

Is taking a short break. We'll be back before you know it.

Bliss

2011-07-23T11:21:00.001+01:00

Banana pancakes for breakfast, with crispy bacon, and fresh coffee.
Two weeks vacation as of NOW
Sunshine

Bliss...... how do you start your weekend? ;o)

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 121 - The Egg Edition

2011-07-10T14:48:00.001+01:00

Well this past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic, and although life carries on at a normal pace for many of us, every now and again something crops up that makes you take a step backwards, and think, or reflect, or smile.

Last weekend we celebrated a birthday for one of Peter's closest friends, a birthday we were glad to help celebrate. Friday of this week, we went up North to the Lake District to help another friend celebrate their birthday. Friday's birthday was for someone I worked with many years ago, who took a leap of faith with me, and gave me work, love and understanding. Wildly different parties, with different people from different circles, yet the one defining thing was that we (and all the friends, family and loved ones) were there because not being there would have been unthinkable. Every now and again, things like this make you realise just how lucky we are to have our friends.

On a lighter note, another thing that stuck me this week, is this.. "What came first, the chicken or the egg?" Well, I know! The Chicken, and what came second.....the eggs! We have had 4 so far, not sure if they are taking it in turns, or only one of them is laying, but we shall see.... ( Oh, and we had the eggs for breakfast this morning...super)

We saw this week an end of an era, with the last flight of the Space Shuttle, as Atlantis blasted off on July 8th.

Courtesy of Paolo Nespoli - MagISStra

I have always been, and always will be, in awe of the Shuttle flights. My biggest regret is never seen one of the take-off's live, and now it looks like I won't be able to.
As a child, I used to get the "Look and Learn" magazine, and remember vividly the article they had on the up and coming idea that NASA would be building a space ship that would go into space and then return to be re-used. I was 11 or so, it was literally out of this world, an implausibility, a fantasy.
And now, well, I think most folks don't blink at the thought, in fact it has very little impact on most people, and I feel truly sorry for them. Many, many years ago, my Grandmother was getting cataracts on her eyes, and was once asked "Are you have them done?" and her reply was, "Why, they've seen more than you ever will", and she was right. For her, as a child, the moon was made of green cheese, no cars, no planes, no 'phones, no TV.... boats were wooden and sailed.
She lived through a depression of such magnitude we really haven't seen the likes of again (and I hope we never do) and lived though two world wars. During the Great War, as kids, they watched a Zeppelin try and bomb out the steel works in Sheffield, as they had never seen such a wondrous thing. Can you imagine! I can only begin to imagine what it is that sparks the imagination of today's youth, but I do honestly think that we got the best of things, as technology has burgeoned in the past 20-30 years to create the everyday, yet almost science fiction like products, that we see all around us today.

There is one thing that we have seen the development of in recent years, and that is the love of Retro, specifically with some iconic cars, and the new "look"

The Fiat 500 has undergone a makeover, from this

To this,

Done with an elegance that the Italian's have a flair for, the new Fiat 500 is becoming as increasingly popular as the original, and to be honest, for a small car, they have a lot of appeal.

To see how not to do it, we need to look at one of the most Iconic cars ever, which of course is this,

Starring in one of the best heist movies around, the Italian Job, the BMC Mini was a sensation that nearly stole the limelight from the actors. Recently re-invented after BMW bought the marque, the mini relaunched (about 3 years ago), as this,

Not a bad effort, but dear god, look what they have launched now,

This is the Mini Crossover. A mini that has obviously been crossed with the arse-end of the ugliest hog on the block. It looks like the bastard child of a Porsche Cayenne and the Nissan Juke. If this was the runt of a litter, you'd slap the mother. Kill me now.

Right, I'm off, leaving with you two things. The first is that I have started a new role at work, that sees me back in an office, looking forward to flexible holidays, and trying not to loose my sanity as I get to grips with everything. And secondly this ... http://papertoys.com/shuttle.htm. Go and make your own shuttle, and dream wonderful dreams.

Have a great week folks

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 120: The Chicken Edition

2011-06-26T18:15:00.001+01:00

Well they arrived, safe and sound on Friday as promised, from those wonderful people at Omlet. Big thanks to Angus, the delivery driver, who set everything up, showed me how to clip their wings, and after he had ran through some of the basics, we were ready to go.

We have two Ginger chickens (they had ran out of the Pepperpot ones) and they seem to be settling in nicely. We haven't named them, and refer to them for the moment as "the girls", we'll see if names come along later. But for now, they are confined to barracks for a couple more days, until they settle, then we will gradually let them explore the garden. They should start laying in a couple of weeks, and then that's it, no stopping them ( well I hope). The Eglu is brilliant, really well thought out, and so easy to maintain and clean. So, here they are...

I promised to share a recipe this week, Sue has a hankering for Strawberry Tarts, so it would be a complete shame if I didn't post a couple of pictures, and the recipe along with it.

As you can see, start off by rolling out your pastry, and lining either a large or half a dozen individual flan tins. I used a short pastry recipe, as I think it gives the pastry cases a much crisper finish, but be wary, once cooked it tends to be more fragile. The easiest get out of jail free clause is to use bought pastry, especially if you don't feel too confident making your own, and if you have hot hands. (Hot hands for bread, cold hands for pastry - this has always been a rule of thumb that seems to be true, most of the time)

Pastry -
200g / 8oz Plain/Soft flour
50g / 2oz Lard
50g / 2oz Butter
Pinch Salt
2-3 Tablespoons of water (approx.)

Sieve flour and salt into a bowl, rub in both butter and lard until you get a biscuit crumb/ sandy texture.
Make a well in the centre and gradually add the water - enough to make a firm paste, but not sticky
Handle as lightly and as little as possible.

Line the flan cases with baking parchment or greaseproof paper and add baking beans to bake blind. I baked them at 200c for 12-15mins in a fan assisted oven, but be prepared to alter times accordingly to suit your oven. Once cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Oh, and with baking beans, always allow them to cool before you put them back into their storage jar, especially if it is glass (they have been know to explode before now) One other thing too, always remember where your baking beans are (if you don't use the ceramic beads) as I once added mine to a slow cooking stew, and despite all attempts to cook them, I couldn't understand why they were like bullets. I only realised the next time I went to use them!

Next it is the pastry cream. If you don't fancy making this from scratch, again there are ways around it, as you could just make up a slightly sweeter than normal and thicker than normal custard using a powdered brand.

Creme Patissier / Pastry Cream - (sometimes known as confectioners cream)
1/2 litre / 1pt Milk
100g / 4oz castor sugar
50g / 2oz Plain/Soft flour
4 egg yolks
Vanilla essence

Whisk the yolks and butter together until almost white, then whisk in the flour.
While doing this, heat the milk in a pan to boiling point.
Remove from the heat, and whisk into the egg/sugar/flour mix, pouring gently to make sure it mixes well.
Return to the pan, adding a few drops of vanilla, and bring back to the boil. Be careful, as the mixture begins to thicken, make sure it doesn't stick to the pan
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Top tip - sprinkle a little sugar over the top to prevent a skin forming.

So, once you have the tart cases baked, your pastry cream cooked and cooled, all you need to do is to put a decent layer of the cream into the bottom of each tart case, and garnish with fresh hulled and halved strawberries.

To round everything off, glaze the tarts. I normally have some sort of red fruit coulis in the fridge (yes, I know how foodie that sounds, but I do, so live with it).
Usually I make it up from various red fruits, tinned fruit syrups, sugar and wine, anything really, and it comes in handy for sauces on rich meats or ice cream etc.

For the tarts, I added about 1/2 a pint to a small pan, then added a good dollop of a clear jelly jam, and as it came up to boiling, a little cornflower and water. Take it off the heat and keep stirring until you get it thick enough to glaze the back of a spoon. If it goes too thick, just cut it back with a little water.

Once you have your tarts assembled, gently spoon over the glaze and allow to cool. Enjoy!

While I was baking off the tarts, I also made up some "Cherry Ripe". It's a recipe based around a candy bar that our antipodean friends (NZ & Oz) have, and something which we had to bring back for our friend Haley, when we went out to Oz. She's from NZ, but seemed delighted that we brought them back, as we haven't got them over here. I do recall something we did have, and I think it was called a Ruffle Bar, but I haven't seen one in years.

Anyhow, this was from a recipe out of the Guardian magazine from a few weekends ago, and on the first taste, they are gorgeous! (Haley is away on holiday at the moment, but I did send her and MMS photo, apparently she seems to think we may have some left by the time they get back...... cue evil laughter)

Have a great week folks, I hope you like the photos (I have been messing with light boxes and a macro lens), I hope too I have inspired a little baking. Cheers

Recipes

2011-06-22T18:25:00.000+01:00

I promise to post some recipes for Sue on Saturday - I could even bake my own Strawberry tarts......hmmmmm ;o)

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 119

2011-06-19T17:11:00.000+01:00

You can tell when summer finally hits our shores, the sun lulls us into a false sense of security, gently bakes us for a week or so, we launch Wimbledon, and hey presto, we'll have rain for a month!. This is another version of sod's law, akin to the moment I take the hard top off the Triumph and decide I can safely drive around in a convertible car!

The weekend before last saw us catching up with a lot of friends and, as usual, combining it with laughter and food. We had a picnic on the Saturday, and I made a couple of (I know I shouldn't say it myself, but..) delicious game pies with hot water paste. I also tried a feta and cornmeal cake recipe for the first time, for something a little different and savoury. I think next time I might pep it up with some herbs, and see how we go. That evening saw us catching up with yet more friends for gumbo, brisket, beans, cornbread and roasted belly pork... and sweet potato pie!

As you can imagine, we were plenty stuffed!. The belly pork wasn't the best, I was a little disappointed with it, I think it could have done with much more slow roasting, basting and marinating, but it made a hell of a Tuscan Pork and Bean stew as leftovers, so there's the silver lining.

Last weekend saw the social butterflies that we are partying away on Saturday night for Fernando's 40th birthday party, and we had a super night. In fact I think it's fair to say we haven't had as good a catch up as that for a long time, it was great to see old friends laughing 'till tears and hurt sides made us stop.

Sunday last week saw us (Peter and me), in church. Two of our god-daughters (twins) had their first holy communion. Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the church, I have always support my god-children in their choices, and I was as pleased as punch to watch them take theirs. Afterwards was a get together at their mum and dad's and again, an easy catch up with friends was on the cards.

So as you can see, life is beginning to get back to normal.........

This weekend we have managed to chill at home, where I have continued my constant battle with technology, baked a few things, sorted out a few things in the garden, and prepared for Chickens!

This chill out mode also has something to do with the parlous state of penury that I find myself in. Friday I had a haircut, a dental check up and an opticians check up. Haircut, easy; dental appointment, no issues.... Opticians... new prescription, new lenses, new vast hole in my finances... that's what you get for having vari-focal lenses, the eyesight of a mole, and serves me right for sitting too close to the telly when I was younger.... damn you, Champion the Wonder Horse! (The Lone Ranger takes some of the blame alongside Casey Jones)

My battle with technology came to a head when we were off. We have had, over the years, middling to awful internet access, with various excuses from service providers; too far from exchange; non compatible cables; wifi interference; day with a "y" in it, that sort of thing. But we have persevered, as most of the time, our needs were catered for - music downloads, emails ping around the ether, that sort of thing.

But while we were off, our access became so bad, that while trying to download three MP3 albums, it took so long, that the links for the last album had expired, before it could even be downloaded.

So after a number of 'phone calls, (and a missed appointment by the engineers) this Friday just gone, we finally had a proper line test, had our router updated and, so far (touch wood) we have a much better service.

Now while I am happy with that, I think BT really need to get their act together. It is extremely frustrating dealing with a foreign call centre when you are trying to get a paid for service sorted out. Especially when our service is being advertised with anything from 20mb to 40mb download speeds, and we get aything from 0.25 to 1mb. (this correct at this time as I have just done a speed check with BT) At one point we were told by a call centre assistant, that they thought 0.9mb was really fast..... whaaaa?

Similarily, when the engineering part of the business rings you, on the wrong day, to tell you they can't make it, on that wrong day, there is a thought that there is nothing joined up with the level of service being offered. I think that advertising broadband speeds that they do, is bordering on deceitful (and this applies to all of the service operators to be honest, not just BT)

My only issue now getting the Zeppelin to work again, as it hasn't taken too kindly to the change in access keys and has refused to play ball since we switched routers.... well, life would be boring if everything went according to plan....

I thank my lucky stars that if that is all I have to worry about, then we are blessed. Have a wonderful week, catch up soon,

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 118

2011-06-05T16:44:00.000+01:00

Greetings!

Apologies for the break in Sunday Morning Musings, but as is the way of the world, life and death have made their mark on our lives here, and so with life nearly back to normal, our usual routine is beginning to become the norm again. This has been helped too, by the tremendous support from our families and friends, and thanks too, to everyone that has been a support for Peter.

The saving grace really has been the friends and family that have rallied around, and offered support, and time and time again, got past the maudling and turned the whole affair into one of laughter and love. Jonathan had a wonderful funeral and wake, back at his local pub, and the music, laughter and honest and heartfelt love from that day will stay with me always. So too will the genuine love and heartfelt loss felt from his close friends in Sheffield, where he lived. It has been an incredible support to his folks, to know that he wasn't alone, and had this brilliant support network. We are lucky to be surrounded by these wonderful people.

We may have missed out on a number of things while we have been busy, but after having a week off work last week, we have managed to catch up with a lot of things. Some things have gone by the wayside, but one thing less likely of all, we appear to have missed the end of the world. Now I am with Morgan on this one, the rapture never dropped in on us, not a rap, not a ture, in fact not a gnat's fart on anything to be honest. No big damning pointy finger from the skies (more likely in my case if you believe my last Parish Priest), no choir of angels either, or the flaming swords of the Archangels, so I guess we all carry on and learn from our mistakes? All I know is this, that if I had dropped that kind of bollock in a weekly project meeting, I'd be expected to give up the other too...... I'm only saying......

While life has been trundling along, we have had a number of super-injunctions going through the courts in the UK over the past few weeks. Now the simplified version is this.....

In the old days, if you were in the public eye, you'd get into a spot of bother, and the press would rake over your life, find out you killed frogs as a child (or that sort of thing), or nicked your best friends trike, slapped a nun, a basic rummage in buried histories and any muck they can sling, they sling. (I've no idea were the redtops in the UK got the tag "Gutter Press). Then they would publish your picture, but for decency (Something not normally associated with the British press), black out the face....but everyone knew you were that dog!. Now with a super-injunction, the injunction is granted and this is what happens. You can't tell anyone about it, you can't report that it has been made, who it was for, why it was made, and best of all, you can't even mention that said super-injunction has ever been granted. Nix, Nein, Nada, Nothing.

So we were in a situation here in the UK, where we were at the point that if somebody that talked or published anything about it, they could have been arrested, charged and jailed, and because of the way the super-injunction works, no-one would ever know. That, ladies and gentlemen, is wrong. The law is there to protect everyone, not just for those that can afford the law. If you cannot keep your bits in your pants, then be prepared to be pilloried by those people that respect and admire you, and be prepared to be ashamed, AND don't twist the law to suit your own needs. The Law too needs to be reformed in this area, because unfortunately the Law is making an ass of itself.
(No chickens or Asses were harmed in this post)

While we have had a break, yours truly celebrated a relatively significant birthday.... I know dear reader, how can I be that old and remain so young looking. (slather on moisturiser every night, drink the blood of newborn babes, sell soul.... take your pick)

We had a bit of a party, catching up with loads of wonderful friends (and yes, if I could have magicked some of you over, I would have), and I received some wonderful gifts. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the main present I will be getting is ..... CHICKENS!
Mine arrive at the end of the month. Hurrah!! Arriving as part of my 50th birthday gifts, paid for in the most part by the generosity of my friends and family. Watch this space!

My gift from Peter was this wonderful docking station for my iPhone. For all you tech heads, this is just simply one of the best. I adore it, and I know it is materialistic, possibly shallow, but as a piece of engineering it is incredible.... as a thing to covet and look at, it is drop dead gorgeous, and mine!

Thank you cards are on the way folks.I had a blast at the party and I hope everyone else did too.
In one of those bizarre moments of irony, I also found out that in 1961, both the Berlin Wall was begun, as was Amnesty International...... hey ho!

So there we are, have a great week folks, and I look forward to catching up, take care.

Oh, and finally.... Good on you Brazil, for finally recognising same-sex unions. Bravo.

2011-04-30T13:56:00.000+01:00

Jonathan James Cannon

5th April 1963 - 19th April 2011

Son, Brother, Brother-in-Law and Friend

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 117

2011-04-17T14:43:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry that I haven't been around, online, at the end of a 'phone, catching up or generally calling to say hi or hello, but as things go, we seem to have been catching up with ourselves the past few weeks, enjoying the garden, being bathed in the glorious spring sunshine, and slightly selfishly, enjoying our own company for a wee while.

We have had a wonderful (so far) weekend here in the UK, with the days being bathed in glorious sunshine, almost as good as last weekend.

Last Friday afternoon saw me back home from work, desperately trying to start my Triumph Stag, to get it to the garage for it's annual check-up and MOT, but also to get it out of it's winter stasis and drive off into the afternoon sun with the roof off. No luck, so I had to contend with lazing in the garden for the rest of the afternoon, reading and dozing off in the warm spring air, listening to all the little ticks and creaks of the house and deck, as the sun filtered through the trees in the garden and warmed everything through. As it is, I did get the Stag started, only to have a strange clanking noise appear as I accelerated away at one point, so after the Easter break it'll be going to get some pampering at the garage, to see what is what (as I haven't the faintest idea... some kids watched their dads tinkering with engines, I watched my mum bake apple pies.. reach your own conclusions.......)

Last Saturday saw both Peter and I working in the garden for the first serious weekend of the year, now that Spring has finally banished Winter for another year. We have planted potatoes, carrots, beetroot, salad leaves, pea shoots, chillies and squash. Then we managed to re-paint the shed, re-oiled the board walk in the hedgerow, worked on mulching around the apple tree at the front and setting in some sleepers to keep the soil off the drive. We re-set boards in the ground down the side of the gravel path and made a start on clearing the patch in the hedgerow were the chicken run will go.

Moving the pile of logs and twigs wasn't so hard (these are gradually mulching down) and although I didn't see any Stag Beetles (pity) I did managed to leave the slumbering Hedgehog in situ, and made sure he had enough covering once the main body of logs and twigs were moved. I still think some of the ferns will need to be re-sited, but we shall see,

Last Sunday was a lazy day too, catching up with the papers, and the Grand Prix on the TV, then catching up with friends this afternoon, over tea and coffee and a rather delicious Pear tart. Ilva over at Lucullian Delights had a super recipe for Pears only the other week (do try it, delicious), and our friends that came over today requested (in the best possible way) the Pear tart for afternoon tea, and it was a simple pleasure to make it from scratch, and even better to share and enjoy it with them.

I have to thank Ilva again for the baking. Prompted by many reviews of the fabulous "Baking Babes", I was determined this year to start baking more, and so far I have had more successes than failures. I got out of the habit of making my own pastry and using ready-made, and while I can see the convenience, now that I have made my own again, I don't think I'll go back to shop bought (I'll make an exception for puff-pastry) As for today, well I've managed to make a couple of Rhubarb fools, and I had some egg whites left over from last weeks baking so, fingers crossed, I have some meringues in the oven. I'm normally pretty crap at making them, as for years I have insisted on always beating anything manually with a balloon whisk, but since we invested in a wee electric hand whisk, the whites are much better! Just had a peek and they are looking pretty good... hurrah!

Last Sunday night we caught up with more friends, who seemed to spend far too long (lucky them) over on vacation in New Zealand this year, and that was the first time we have seen them together this year!
But we drank far too much for a school night, Monday morning was a struggle to get up for work. Why....why....
So as punishment I have had a cold for a week and a bit... Ask yourselves this, how can one small body produce so much mucus? If it had any weight loss benefit, I'd have lost two stone by now!

One thing I haven't really mentioned to anyone is the fact that our entire company has been put on 30 days notice, in view of declining sales and a look to overhaul and reorganise the company. We'll know what is what at the beginning of May, and see where we go from there. Personally, if they do make my job role redundant, it'll beat all the other times, when it seems to have happened in October and winter, at least if it happens to me this time around, I'll get the Summer off! And I can do the final planning for my birthday coming up.
I found out that being 50 this year, I also celebrate with the Dulux dog, and they have brought him back in a celebratory TV advert,(it might be naff, but I like this sort of thing!)

Tomorrow (as it is Saturday night...I'm early) sees us looking forward to breakfast, the papers and little more than some shirts being ironed, unless I pot up some herbs that need attention.

Have a great week folks,

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 116

2011-04-03T17:58:00.000+01:00

Well, as spring sprung a few weeks back, this weekend we managed to get out into the garden in sunshine to do some work. As I sit here now, a quarter past 5 in the evening, it has clouded over and started to rain, which makes sense, seeing as I spent the last half hour in the garden before I came in, watering the bloody garden...

Last weekend we were away, visiting friends up near Manchester, and helping to celebrate a 40th birthday. We had a wonderful time, had a great laugh, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, despite the best attempts of the rail service to spoil it!
We booked our tickets in advance, on the web, got to the station early, whizzed over to the spanky new machines, typed in our password, ping, tickets are spat out and then we were away down to the platform.

We bought a decent snack and coffee and found our spot on the platform, and looked up at the new digital display boards, to see that between the main concourse, and us walking to the platform and getting settled, the bloody train had been cancelled! We then spent the next 45 minutes awaiting an alternative train, listening to tannoy announcements every five minutes advising other travellers of the ream of cancelled trains and sincere apologies etc etc. By the time we got onto the alternative train, we had managed to see the funny side of it all, especially as we realised that two trains worth of people were shoved into one, and meant us standing the entire journey in the buffet car. At least we could have a drink..... well it would have been rude seeing as my backside was pressed up against a fridge full of beer, wine and spirits for and hour and a half.

Imagine our surprise though, when our friends dropped us back off to our connecting station at the end of the weekend, to find the Sunday connection trains were cancelled and we had to take a bus. Hey ho! Considering as a nation we pioneered railway travel, we have made an almighty cock-up of it over the past 20 odd years... a big yeah for progress.... ahem.

Last week we also witnessed the Ipad 2 frenzy, sorry, I meant launch. Jeez, you would have thought it was the second coming of Christ. Never have so few, been briefed to tell so many, that the "must have gadget" they seek, was out of stock. Nerds the world over were beating themselves with sticks... well you should have pre-ordered you muppets! You had plenty of opportunities, hell I had a total 76 emails from various tech sites, mobile operators and Apple themselves, just letting me know that the damn thing was being launched and did I want to guarantee myself one. You may have guessed by now, that I haven't bought one.

As I look towards next month, I celebrate my half century, and while I have been reading the papers over the weekend, I see that I am in some pretty good company.

Yuri Gagarin became the first man into space On April 12th 1961. And one of my most favourite cars was launched - The Jaguar E-Type

Voted one of the most beautiful cars in the world, the E-Type is sublime. I could wish that I will look this good over the next few years, or that I achieve such a momentous reputation, but to be honest, I don't think I will, but that doesn't detract from the fact that I am very happy with my lot. Have a wonderful week folks, hope you've enjoyed the ducks!

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 115

2011-03-21T19:47:00.002Z

Spring has sprung! Sorry not to have caught up last week, but things have been pretty hectic with work and home the past few weeks.

Last week at work saw me out and about with the camera at the Ideal Home Exhibition, where our company took the centre stage with a building developed for the Princes of Wales, a refit display and over in another corner, a super Beach House development. I swanned around on the first day of the show opening, snapping away, and although technically not getting a shot of any of the great and the good and celebs around (actually I had no idea who most of them where) I managed some wonderful photos of one stand in particular... see below..vroom vroom.

The build up to the show was exciting and exhausting, the day down there was spent with my good friend Glen, so we had a bit of a hoot too, but we didn't get to glad hand any royalty... ho hum!

I did manage to buy a few things there too, and believe it or not, I'm a Crocs convert! I have avoided them for an age, and then saw these wee things and I haven't stopped schlepping around the house and garden with them... brill. And, I've spotted some even nicer ones, now that I have just checked out the web site for the link.... hmmm

The best though, was a new saucepan! I know, I know, I go on a mission for work, to spot and photo gods and monsters and end up having a laugh with a friend, a reasonable pizza and beer for lunch and spending money on things for me... well hell, it's a tough life and someone has to do it!

So here is the latest addition to my kitchen, and it is perfectly gorgeous!

This weekend was spent with my in-laws, with Anne & Huw over from Spain (Peter's Mum and step-father), his brother JJ stayed over too, and his stepsister Hannah popped over yesterday, and we had a lovely lunch together. It was great to see them all again, (even though I am a tad jealous of H's new Porsche Boxter... it's fab)

Next weekend we are out and about too, so we may get another late post, but I promise to catch up with everyone's blogging this week, as I have seen snippets that I need to go and read more about!

So in this time of strife and stress, from NZ to Japan, an through to the middle eastern struggles, this may seem like a frippery of a post, an ode to things, and shopping and inconsequential stuff.
But, while all this is going on around me, I can still manage to devote private time and thoughts and my own prayers, and this small message, to the thousands of others, asking and hoping and wishing for peace, and humanity and compassion to come to the fore and bring some hope and spirit to lives that have been changed in ways that we can only begin to comprehend.

So let's hope the sun shines warm upon all those faces of humanity that need it, and see you soon

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 114

2011-03-06T19:32:00.002Z

Well, we made it through another week of work, relatively unscathed. I missed the big Trafalgar Square opening of World Book Night, as I had to work later than expected on Friday, bum!

As you can see, the books have arrived, with Sue being the first to get a copy, then one each my two sisters and a copy for my good self. I have 46 left to give away, so let me know if you'd like a copy! They all have a unique number in them, so if and when they are passed on, they can be tracked, and then anyone can see were they have been!

The rest of the weekend has been taken up with baking, gardening and general food making, alongside the excitement of preparing for an up and coming celebration, the fact that I will be allowed something I have wanted for ages, and the arrival of a new chair for the kitchen.

Last week I made two types of muffins, using the previous week's fab recipe. Some savoury sweet potato ones and some apple ones. They were rubbish! All soft gooey and bordering on rubber. The moral of the story (and I really, REALLY should know this) DON'T KEEP OPENING THE OVEN DOOR- you idiot!
This week, the Tea Bread loaves have faired better, alongside the mushroom risotto on Friday night, the pork and bean stew with herb dumplings that we are having for dinner tonight, and the superb "Hairy Bikers" Banana pancake recipe, with streaky bacon and maple syrup, that we had for brunch, sitting in the sunny (unbelievable) kitchen.

And, while we are on the subject of food, a good tip came my way by chance (from Peter's father). If you make bread in a bread maker on a regular basis (like I do), use the medium recipe but use the settings for a large loaf on the maker, and you get a lighter more open texture to the loaf!

The new chair for the kitchen has arrived. The lovely cream tub chair we have is good, but we wanted another chair and maybe one that would be better for a book and moreover, easier for a snooze. This leads onto the big celebration coming up... I'll be 50 this year! The chair may be a sign of things to come, but not before I have a hell of a party!

This then leads onto the fact that I can have chickens for my birthday! WoooHOOOO. He (Peter) has already told me in a stern voice that I will have to care for them, but we've been out comparing coop prices today and I've been smurfing the web too...... can't wait! So for the rest of the week I plan to do two things. 1) Get a guest list sorted, decide on food options and how many beds we may need for the party (it is a while off yet in case any of you need to get flights.....) and.... 2) Email all my freinds and ask them to remind me of all their birthday dates, as the last hellTunes update appears to have wiped them off my calender.... you've got to laugh!

Keep well, have a great week, and I'll catch up with everyone's blogs soon! Take care and see you next week.

Countdown to Saturday!

2011-03-03T18:55:00.000Z

Books arrive tomorrow!

Countdown!

2011-03-02T20:01:00.000Z

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 113

2011-02-28T19:44:00.000Z

So this should be starting with "Well, it's sort of late on Sunday afternoon really", but I gave up trying to publish the post after a while. I'd highlighted a couple of links, but for some reason, I couldn't get the highlight function to stop, desist, or cease, and everything I tried made it worse. Imagine the preview, it looked like a redacted document on prisoner movements. So I gave in.

I went outside and took some photos of the early morning sun and the snowdrops, and thought I'd load them up and sort them out. I did, only to the wrong part of the program, so when I wiped the camera, I lost the bloody photos bar the few I had processed... I kicked myself. I swear, technology and me go through 7 year cycles, like eczema!

So anyway, we had a bit of a lazy day Sunday really, although we caught up with the last of the Six Nations rugby for the weekend, so it wasn't all bad. Saturday we caught up with friends for a pizza, a DVD (Despicable Me) and a catch up and general chill. It was our first real opportunity to catch up with them since they where flooded out of their home in the New Year, and fingers crossed, they will be back in their home soon.

Friday night was taken up by a small and extremely pleasant beer festival, arranged by the "Cock & Bull Society", which is based in Stony Stratford. There were some fine ales, from independent breweries, on the bar. Brewsters "Hophead" was a good ale to start with. With a pleasantly fresh and floral after-taste, this was a good hoppy ale. The "Pail Ale", from our own Concrete Cow Brewery, was a refreshing pint, being a very pale ale, which uses Lager malt and hops (I can't believe it either!) "Shoemaker" from the wonderful Frog Island Brewery in Northamptonshire, our next county over, was an excellent bitter to move onto, coming in slightly stronger than the two previous ales. It had a great initial taste of malt, but with a compliment of citrus flavours and just the right tang of bitterness from the hops, it really got the taste buds singing. Another brewery, Phipps, provided a fine "IPA" halfway through the evening. It is a delightfully golden ale, taking its hue from the pale ale malt in the grist. With a perfect balance of bitterness and sweetness, it performs well as a good session ale, and it is brewed to an authentic 1930's recipe. Another "Indian Pale Ale" was on tap from Hoggley's, based near Towcester. At a full 5%, this was one of the stronger ales on offer, and it was a lovely full-bodied beer, chock full of hops.
It was a great evening, in good company, and we are looking forward to the next one in September (2nd & 3rd, so make a note).
All the breweries, organisers, and the good folks from the York House Centre, did a fantastic job.

We also managed to get hold of our friends in Christchurch, NZ, last week, by text. They are alive and well, but camping at Sally's cousins at the moment, and say things are pretty bad. But they are all safe, which is the best possible news at the moment.

So, just to round off the post, I'm going to leave you with the few snaps I managed to sort out, and one last thought, if bad things come in threes, it explains the camera, the post errors, and this....

..... To finish off the weekend, I got some fish fillets from the fridge, and thought I'd dust them in chickpea flour, and sauté them with a little shallots, and capers, in some butter, with a dash of white wine, just a splash. We had some sliced potatoes and herbs in the oven cooking nicely, and the two would go together well. So as I was turning the fish, crisping the delicate golden fillets, scenting the aroma of butter and caper with the wine, so as I lifted my pallet knife, I hit the neck of the bottle, that toppled towards me and the floor, and in catching that, I then hit the handle of the pan and catapulted the fish in an defined arc across the kitchen, to land with a resounding "plop"....

Think positive thoughts folks, feel free to laugh, and hug your nearest and dearest, cheers ;o)

Graffito

2011-02-21T18:29:00.002Z

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 112

2011-02-20T10:41:00.000Z

Well here I am on Friday night, starting off my" Books meets Forests, meets Love, meets Food" edition of Sunday Morning Musings.

I have realised the symmetry (possible irony) that I see between the title words, as inevitably books come from forests, either managed or not, and I have a love or affinity for both. It could be said that a love of the forest and trees and books is a torn or damaged love, as so many trees have, now and in the past, been stripped out to make wood pulp for our books. Great libraries have been built upon this, a somewhat horrific thought to today's enlightened society, but as I look at the back of the book that sits beside me, I can garner some comfort from the FSC logo, that should be guaranteeing that my read does come from a sustainable source.

I have dabbled with the thought of a Kindle (Amazon can feel free to send money in unmarked denominations for this blatant plug of both brands) and on first sight, I do think they are fantastic. A brilliant idea for the reader that is short on space but loves their books, and maybe needs to pack light for a long break, and in the right circumstances, the Kindle is key for enabling people to read (thinking here of my friend in hospital with limited use of one arm), however I am not so sure that they will replace the bound book. A good book can be a wonder.

My delight in the written word and the book as a form has to be credited to my Library teacher at school. For a state school we were blessed to have a Library, with it's evocative smells of floor polish (a floor which always squeaked as you walked on it), combined with lavender polish on the big wooden reading desks, and the subtle scents of paper. We had a Library lesson once a week, which for me was an hour of solace from the mad world of, among other things, Maths and Sports (possibly my least favourite lessons). Our teacher, Miss Geddes, was very brogues and tweeds, with a delightful soft Scottish accent, speaking the perfect Queens English, with a wonderful burr of rolled 'r's and a gimlet eye and a 'look' that could silence even the most unruliest of teens.

Even now, after all these years, I read a book as I was taught to. I never crack the spine, nor bend over a leaf to mark a page, or leave it open face down. I run my right hand along the top of a page, to run it down the open side to turn a page, and I use a bookmark. Some are marks proper and right, sometimes I use an old gift tag from one of the first gifts Peter gave me, other times it is a freebie from the store, advertising an upcoming event or offer. It has taken me a long time to be able to lend a book, as I used to be precious about them, and I love giving them as gifts, almost as much as I love receiving them.

As good as the Kindle (other readers are available from all good retailers) gets, nothing can replace that feeling of curling up with a good book, something I intend to do very soon, as the afternoon (we are on Saturday now) is drawing to a close, and I have just been out and about, walking through a local wood, taking photos, so a cuppa and a muffin is in order I think! (more on both later)

While still on the subject of books, I am happy to announce "World Book Night" on the 5th of March, and I was delighted to have been picked as a giver. I will be receiving 48 copies of my chosen book, to give away. I think this is a truly ambitious and fantastic venture, and I am really pleased to be a part of it. My chosen book is "Toast" by Nigel Slater, and I would like to ask now, that if any of you that drop in on a regular basis would like to receive a copy, then send me your snail mail address on an email and I'll wing a copy to you! You are the first to get to know, and as I get around to letting people know, I'll be able to adapt my strategy for giving them away. It will all happen on the 5th of March and not a moment before, so wish me luck. I have read my choice, and it brought back an avalanche of food memories, as well as being an evocative biography of a young boy growing up through a family tragedy, and all that entails.

So on to another love, as this week saw Valentines Day pass us by. Now I don't know if you do or don't celebrate Valentines day. You may think it is a complete and utter waste of time, or you may be hopelessly romantic, and choose this day to emphasise the romanticist in you. I fall into the second category, but we keep it simple too, so before you get it into your heads that the house is festooned in pink paper hearts and fluffy white bunnies are gambolling underfoot, we gave each other a card (which we still add a question mark to, and no names) and exchanged small gifts. In truth, I don't need a 'special' day to tell my man how much I love him, as he is truly the centre of my universe, however, I just like to remind him I do, so sue me ;o)

I took the camera out with me for a walk this afternoon, so take some shots of a wonderful wooded area in our locale, which, in turn forms part of the many green areas of our city and is run as a nature conservation area. Part of this was to get me back into the swing of going out and about with my camera, the other was to pay some small tribute to our wooded and green areas that the city looks after. It was also in part to emphasise, in a round about way, the power of the pleb. I'll try and explain.

Over the past few weeks, there has been an outcry here in the UK, over the governments proposal to sell off the national forested areas to private enterprise. Cue national hue and cry, from farmers, walkers, riders, kids, grannies, families, cyclists, birders, campaigners of all sorts, shape and sizes and Uncle Tom Cobbley and all... the nation was up in arms, and as such things go, unbelievably, the plebs won!. The government has backed down, and u-turned on the policy, the consultancy, et al. That's the simplistic version of events, but if you type "uk government proposal to sell forests" into Google UK, you get 2,130,000 results in 0.21 seconds. It looks like we get to enjoy our forests and wild areas a little while longer, huzzah for everyone involved.There is one other thing about my walk too, and it is a gentle reminder to all budding photographers out there. If, and when, you take the tripod with you, remember to have the tripod fitting on the base of your camera, otherwise you lug around a tripod you don't use, and secondly, no matter how many years you have been photographing, make sure your batteries are fully charged! Just don't ask......

So, that's me really. We have a Tex-Mex dinner to look forward to this evening (which we are doing ourselves, no packet stuff) but for now, that cup of Tea and muffin are beckoning. I made the muffins this morning, recipe below! Enjoy, have a great week, and look after yourselves....

Fruit Muffins - Courtesy of the Edmonds Cookery Book, from New Zealand, and given to us with love by Rob & June Hundleby.

1 egg
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups plain flower
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries/blackberries/ or chopped apple
Icing sugar to dust

1) Beat egg, oil, milk and sugar together
2) Sift in flour, backing powder and cinnamon into wet ingredients
3) Add fruit and combine all into a batter
4) Spoon into greased muffin tin
5) Bake at 200c for 15mins or until golden
6) Cool and dust with icing sugar before serving

Ok, now for the changes! (the presence of chocolate may be a give away!)

Instead of fruit, I added around 8 soft chocolate and cherry cookies, that had been left out too long. I just crumbled these into the mixture. To add a little more moisture, I soaked a handful of chopped dried cherries in some kirsch (I couldn't find the Kirsch, so I used a Wild Berry Vodka) and chucked them into the mix.
I didn't use a muffin tin either, but individual silicone cupcake cases. These mean the cakes pop out sooo easy, the cases are washable and re-usable, and you don't have to grease them (healthy option?)

The recipe uses New Zealand/Australian cup sizes
cup flour = 125g
1/2 cup caster sugar = 125g
cup milk = 250ml
standard egg = approx 50g

I used a set of cup measures we bought here in the UK, to get as much as a uniform measure. If the batter looks too dry, I suppose you could add a touch more milk.
I also used fully skimmed milk, as that's all we have in the house. I imagine with semi-skimmed or full milk, you'll get a richer texture.
As for the baking times, it will always vary between gas/electric/fan ovens etc, so near the end of cooking, test a muffin with the flat of a skewer, if it comes away clean, they are cooked.

Varying the standard recipe is easy, you can make savoury ones, swap the fruit for cheese/spring onion mix, and add a pinch of celery salt, or paprika instead of cinnamon. Top them off with a sprinkle of rolled oats and cheese while hot, and they are delicious split when warm and slathered with a little cream cheese! Or, try adding in mango chutney instead of the fruit, and a pinch of cumin for a spicy taste...

.........................and one last final word (for today is Sunday, and still morning), for all the lovers of old fashioned good home cooked food, we have a TV series here in the UK, presented by two large hairy bikers ( I kid you not) and currently they are travelling the length and breadth of Britain, getting together recipe favourites passed down through the generations, and having big swap meets to share them. To get a flavour of this, (pun intended) look them up on their website...cheers.

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 111

2011-02-13T20:02:00.000Z

So here we are, at the end of a dismal day for rain and dull skies, you find me sitting in the kitchen listening to the Songs from the Auvergne, with a glass of Ozzie Chardonnay to hand.

Now there are two things to consider here, in first, since our trip to the antipodes last year (that sounds so long ago) we have seriously got back into our Oz Chardonnays. Gone are the days of the big fat bottomed buttery Chardonnays of the 80's and in are the crisp and delicious Chardonnays of 2010/2011, and they are not to be missed. The second thing that may strike you, is why have a glass of wine to hand? Well I could go down the medicinal route, as my hand is killing me (ironing and mashing potatoes may not have helped) but in truth it's that we've ran out of gin.... well, who doesn't have an aperitif before dinner? As for the Songs from the Auvergne, or "Chants d'Auvergne", these are a collection of folks songs from the Auvergne region of France. Originally arranged for soprano voice and an orchestra by Joseph Canteloube between 1923 -1930, they are sung in the local language, Occitan, and I remember hearing the in a music lesson many years ago at school, and I'm still enchanted my them.
See, there is a smattering of culture on here now and again!

On the subject of wine, one of our supermarket chains in the UK has developed a "House" range, and I have to say, they are not to be sneezed at. They basically do what they say on the tin, and are good easy drinking everyday wines. In fact I'd go to say that they can be better value than more expensive branded wines. If you get the chance, check them out.

The weekend for us has once again been taken up with watching a lot of the 6 Nations rugby, with, in my view, the Ireland/France game today being one of the best of the tournament so far.
We also managed to get away to visit relatives, spending Friday and Saturday night with Peter's father and step-mother in Somerset. As always, it's one of my favourite places to visit, and his brother joined us too, so there were a few pubs involved too!

We decided this year to try and get away to visit folks for weekends, where we can, over the course of the year and catch up. Peter's mum and step-father tend to lose out, as they are in Spain, and due to the fact that I have fixed holidays, we can't just scoot over to see them when we want, which is a real pain in the arse to be honest (it also means we run out of duty free Spanish gin too... but don't tell anyone I said that)

So that was our weekend. I hope that you have enjoyed yours and that somewhere someone is watching over you, have a great week.

Today's date

2011-02-11T09:27:00.001Z

11 02 2011

Not that rare, but unusual in it's symmetry (in the western world discounting the colonies across the pond where it would read 02 11 2011)

Holy Crap

2011-02-10T09:44:00.009Z

Off sick today, fell out of a home I was inspecting (no.. the ladder skittered out from under me, I'm not that stupid) and have my hand all strapped up and the back is not good.

Double Holy Crap... it seems all the emergency chocolate has been eaten............ whimper

Addendum ... do you know how difficult it is, for a normally right handed person, to use an ice cream scoop left-handed! I nearly had to fall back on my "cleave it in half with a knife" method ;o)

6 Nations Rugby

2011-02-09T17:58:00.001Z

I forgot to mention on Sunday that most of the weekend (Friday night and most of Saturday) was taken up with the opening games from this years Six Nations Rugby tournament.

It coincided with the Superbowl 2011 final over in the States (American Football)... I once stayed up into the wee small hours to watch it live.. never again! It goes on for hours. And, if you think rugby is complicated, then your brain will implode if you watch American football for the first time. And they get huge stars to sing the National anthem, we just get a whole load of semi drunk blokes, ex-rugger players, families and the like to sing ours.... still, at least they get it right ;o) tee hee........

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 110

2011-02-06T18:04:00.004Z

Well

Here we are again. I've managed to catch up with everyone on the blogosphere ( I hope) and as the light begins to fade into another winter evening, I thought I'd catch up, before I curl up with tea and a book (and maybe a buttered toasted crumpet.. we all do this in England in winter, and afterwards I'll probably beat the scullery boy, see what cook has on the stove, before dressing for dinner and waxing my moustache)

I thought I'd get around to posting some pictures this week, using my new Adobe Photoshop Elements, setting the camera up for some action birdy shots, from the comfort of our kitchen, using my super remote gizmo... did I hell! Not a damn birdy in sight.. again! Either the little buggers are being coy or the last remaining squirrel has spread the word.... hmmmm

So instead, you have sausage rolls. Warm, delicious and baked by my own fair hand. These, two fruit loaves and a seedy white loaf, were dashed off in a frenzy of baking, while I made soup for lunch. If there is one thing so far this year that is going our way, it's my promise to myself that I do more baking. Lets hope by the end of the year I'm not complaining of being the size of a house end! :o)

My ongoing battle with technology took another twist this week. Last week you may recall, after no end of issues, PC World finally took in my newish PC to repair. On taking it in, they said they would try and repair it over the weekend, and if that didn't happen, book it in for a repair on Wednesday and then call me. So come Friday, they still hadn't called me (this, despite the best efforts of the assistant to extract every bit of information about myself from me, short of the name of the midwife that birthed me).

So, come Friday afternoon, I duly went back to the shop, and on enquiring after the whereabouts of said PC I was told it had been sent away, as it needed a new hard drive. Fortunately this is under warranty, however no time was given for its return but they still couldn't tell me why it gave up in the first place, and due to certain circumstances, I was actually hoping that I would be able to pick it up and use it on my return home.

Now you may ask, why would I need to use it on my return home, and what are those "special circumstances?" (well pretend you did ...) Well you see the simple reason is, my back up PC finally passed into PC heaven by failing massively on Thursday night. It has served me well, but was only a stop gap, and, despite my lack of tech knowledge I do honestly and truly know it is beyond repair..... mainly because I kicked three shades of shit out of it, in sheer unadulterated, tears in the eyes, frustration. BUT.. and this is the key thing dear readers, I HAD BACKED UP ALL MY DATA... so when I had finally calmed down and put away my air rifle (kidding.. I couldn't hold it and the hand axe all at once) I planned my trip to PC world for Friday.

So as you can imagine, in store, even I, blessed as I am with the patience of the Archangel Gabriel himself, was a tad miffed.... so now when the assistant told me that they had sent it away, you can imagine, after no 'phone call, I was surprised, and maybe, just maybe, a little pissed off. So, I mentioned this to the assistant, and, while appealing to their sensibilities, and by checking out their wargaming tech/nerd t-shirt, I may have mentioned that if the duty manager wasn't at the desk in under 60 seconds, I would make a scene that would make "Warhammer - Dawn of War" look bloodless by comparison.

Before the duty manager opened his mouth to apologise he caught the look in my eye, and within 20 minutes, I came to a happy compromise, while I awaited the repair of my laptop. I'm not sure he was as happy as me, but frankly I couldn't care less. Here I am, writing on a spanky new (and remarkably cheap) Toshiba laptop with the assurance that as soon as my other PC is back, they will call and have it sent around to me at my convenience... now all I have to do is work out what the hell "Warhammer - Dawn of War" is..... hey ho.

Have a good week folks, wherever you are, and whatever you are doing, and take care.

PS - has anyone else had an email asking if they want to sell their blog?

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 109

2011-01-30T17:25:00.002Z

Well its late afternoon here, with the sky just beginning to darken outside, the sort of time on a Sunday afternoon where your mind strays to thoughts, such as "I wonder if it is the right time for a scone and a cup of tea", that sort of time of the day, the snugly sort of winter time.

So as Peter makes tea and warms cherry scones (true) I'm sitting here listening to the radio (sounds of the 70's) having just completed the The Big Garden Birdwatch for the RSPB. Every year they ask people to complete a survey to garner a snapshot of what is, and what isn't, out there. Over the space of the weekend, you pick an hour to see how many, and what species of bird, come into your garden, or park, or open space. Bizarrely, whatever hour you choose, that is the hour that everything buggers off!

Normally it's like Hitchcock's "The Birds" out there, any minute you could see Tippi Hedren screaming across the lawn batting away at various malevolent winged tyrants, but the hour I want to watch them... nothing (well, a few) Still, I've submitted my results, so we shall see how our birds are fairing.

While we are on the subject of nature's bounteous flora and fauna, so far, it's Andrew 2 - Squirrels 0. No.3 has not been heard of, but he was sighted today, snacking on the bird table (the little bugger likes the large seeds, but the upside is it prevents the pigeons from get any fatter) We'll see how things go over the coming weeks I think.

We managed to catch up with a couple of friends for brunch today, which was lovely. I like having people over for breakfast, and I can't wait for the spring, so we can open up the doors and let in the fresh warm morning air. We mused on work, life, illness and wish lists, drank pots of tea and coffee, touched upon birthday plans, and demolished sausages, bacon, french toast, and mushrooms. We sampled a hazelnut and honey cake I made too, which was very nice, but could do with the top frosting (which I forgot about, but it was pretty good for a bread maker cake)

And here's a question for you too, where do you write your blog? At the moment I write mine sat at our kitchen table, and like today, even after my tea and scone, I'm positively salivating, as all I can smell is freshly baked bread and biscuits!

This though (the writing position), has more to do with the fact that I am still using my old laptop, which, even after buying a new battery, relies on mains power, and because many moons ago I managed to delete it's own internal wifi gizmo (I and many others have no idea how or what I did, but believe me, I did it) it is not too sharp on being moved or anything, as it immediately drops all signals and will only start again after a reboot.. please.... don't get me started!

Anyhow, my newer laptop has finally been taken into the (hopefully) loving arms of the tech guys, who are going to repair it, as the reboot discs I bought for it arrived on Saturday, and unfortunately it still won't work. I finally persuaded the vendor and the manufacturer that they needed to fix it, or change it or give me the money back... it's only taken 6 weeks!

Right I'm off, the comfy corner chair is beckoning to me, so as Peter heads of to catch up on his rubbish TV programmes (we all unwind in different ways) I'm going to sit in the chair and read a book (and possibly have a snooze)..... it's all go here!

Have a great week, the snowdrops are out here, so maybe we'll get some sunshine soon, but wherever you are, I hope the sun shines warm on you,

My mate Marmite, you either love it or hate it!

2011-01-23T15:55:00.000Z

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 108

2011-01-23T14:41:00.002Z

I have been trying to start this Sunday Morning post for the best part of three weeks now. I've attempted to start it a number of times, and to be honest I was never quiet sure how to start, or what to say.... most unlike me!

I think this was due to a combination of things, post Christmas blues, seasonal blues, work blues, squirrel blues, whatever, whatever, but I realised after a reality check that to be honest, ........all I need to do is say "Fuck it!" and get on with it.

This is due in part too, to the long term illnesses of two close friends, another old friend that was involved in a head on crash just before Christmas, and two more friends and their son being flooded out of their home for the next three months. This, more than anything, has made me realise that I should shut up and put up. We have a nice warm home, are in work, we have love, friendship and our health. So to this end I am going to lift myself out of this blue fugue, and march on.

To emphasise this point, I was awake this morning at 7.30am, dealing with a trapped squirrel in the loft. The loft in question being our attic space in the roof, not a really posh factory conversion overlooking a rejuvenated harbour area, for a squirrel in that type of loft would more than likely be a really "way out and whacky" pet. Those of a squeamish disposition may skip to the next paragraph...... as when I say "dealing" with a trapped squirrel, I mean just that. Me, a trap, bin bag and a 177 air rifle.

By 10am I had ironed all the shirts for the week, made bread, loaded the dishwasher, fed the birds, watered the conservatory plants, filled the coffee machine, checked my emails (thanks for the update Lee xx) and quickly scanned the interweb. I need to answer emails from last year, catch up on everyone else's blog, and sort out some damn photography. We have had breakfast, caught up with the in-laws on Skype, and I am onto the last 40 cd's that I am burning onto my (reserve) pc, so I don't loose them again (I refer to hellTunes). I refuse to be undermined by my woes at work, and I have uploaded my CV onto a number of sites to see what will come of it.

The car got through it's MOT last week (an MOT is a legal annual check for road worthiness here in the UK), however it cost me over £500 to do it ( new brake pads, discs and rear suspension.... so probably £100 for parts and the rest, alongside the life of my first born, for the labour costs) however, this is the most I have spent on it in 5 years, so again, I think that's pretty good (this despite that fact that I have actually bought a car for less than that before now).

I still need to spend a little more on it though, purely cosmetically however, as when the catch on the glove box broke and it slammed down all of a sudden, spewing it's contents across the car, and making me crap myself with surprise (not literally) I thought it best to have it looked at... no they cannot repair the catch, it needs a completely new door....hmmm. That said, it is only half the cost of me having the electric window switch repaired, this I flicked off and onto the back seat a few weeks ago. Can it be glued back on.. no, I need to change the whole unit, for both front windows, wing mirror adjuster and all!

So there we are, life is interesting, but things and money cannot replace love and life. I'll leave you all with this. Our house, here and now, is warm. The kitchen is filled with the smell of warm, freshly baked bread, and coffee. We are sheltered from the elements. My husband and love of my life, is sat opposite me reading the Sunday papers. We have chatted with friends and relatives, eaten our fill for breakfast and the most difficult thing we will need to do today, is decide on what to have for dinner. We are lucky beyond belief.

So moving forward, I hope the rest of my posts reflect this new mood. Live life, laugh a lot and I'll see you next week x

Addendum - posting has not been helped by the fact that my internet service has been SHITE every weekend for the past three weeks either - get your finger out BT! If Virgin tell me we can get their service, be afraid! New mood restored ;o)

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T23:59:00.032Z

As the sun sets over your year, wherever you are, and we look forward to the new (while possibly wearing our new Christmas Jumper, and yes, I do have a Stetson), and with hope in our hearts, love for our friends and family, and the energy and health to carry on into a new year and a new decade, I'd just like to take this opportunity to wish everyone that has looked in, commented, dropped by and offered criticism and encouragement in equal measures, a really happy New Year from me and mine, to you and yours.

I don't have any resolutions for the year, although keeping up to date with this and my photos is always in the back of my mind, but I do know that I will be a better friend to the people out there that I know and love, even in the smallest of ways. There is always some small way we can improve our life and of those around us, and I hope I can do something in the new year to justify that statement.

Here's hoping you have celebrated in good fashion, and for the new year ahead?...... well may your god go with you

Love xxxx

Christmas Cheer

2010-12-21T19:46:00.000Z

"What's the one food that sums up Christmas for you", I was asked.... hmmm good one.

Is it the scent of ripe Satsumas, all golden orange with a bright green leaf attached. The heady spices of a Christmas pudding, or the tang of a good Wensleydale cheese with some fruit cake. Is it the warm golden roasting smells of Turkey or beef or a glazed Ham... no I have it.....

It's the little baby cheeses........................................................

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 107 - The Christmas Edition

2010-12-19T21:21:00.001Z

Well it snowed here yesterday and at one point we thought it would never stop. I know a lot of people complain about the effect is has on transport and everything else, however I'm a sucker for it. I love the way it shrouds everything in a clean white blanket, blurring the sharp edges of buildings, highlighting the red breast of our Robins, and most of all, the way it muffles the sounds of the road noises and all that background noise we live with, yet seems to add a clarity to the bird song. And if I can't get to work tomorrow, well I suppose I could wrap up in the duvet a little longer..... you can guarantee that all will be clear for me, oh well!

In good tradition, the tree is up and decorated, and all our cards are written, the bird feeders have been filled, and the Squirrels have taken to nesting in the insulation around our cold water tank (not quiet a Christmas tradition, and yes, still in the loft, but I haven't the heart to turn them out... just wait and see, if they chew through a wire, you'll hear about it)

We had friends over for dinner last night and it took them 3 hours to get 30 odd miles, due to the snow, so you can understand how bad it has been. Just yesterday mother has just got out of her house for the first time in three weeks! The temperature hit a low of -7 Celsius during last week, and let me tell you, no amount of layers keeps that cold out. There was one point at work were I couldn't feel my nose for most of the day.

Peter and I have had a good year this year, despite my changing role at work, and a pretty hefty cut in the household income, we have coped, changed the way we look at things and carried on. We have been exceptionally lucky.
Over the course of the year we have witnessed the ups and downs of the national and international news, and along the way, we have been able to see how life has developed not only for us, but for our friends and families. It has not been all plain sailing, from redundancies through to illness, we have watched and been a part of how lives have been put on hold. On the positive side we have also managed to witness the joy of seeing new families coming together too, and no matter what has happened I count myself very lucky to have the friends and family that I have.
As I said, we are extremely lucky.
I hope your year has been good for you, where there has been a low, I hope there has been a positive to help put a spring back into your step. As for me and 2011, well I'll be walking into the new dawn with my man at my side. I couldn't ask or wish for anything better.

If I don't get to post next weekend, can I send in advance my love and best wishes from Peter and me, to everyone who drops by into my little blog world. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, and wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas. Have a great time celebrating with friends or family, and once again, spare a thought for those that are less fortunate than us.

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 106

2010-12-12T08:56:00.003Z

Morning folks! It's actually Saturday, I thought I'd get my post in early (ish). Mind you, that all depends if Peter gets back from shopping early, in which case newspapers, coffee and porridge will get precedent. ;o)

No post last week as we had a busy weekend helping Peter celebrate his birthday. It was on the Monday proper, but as he had to spend most of the week away in Paris (France) with work, we decided the weekend would be the best time to party. Now before I go any further, can I just say, between a snowy, hailstoned, dull Paris, attending a conference about credit cards and ID; and staying at home watching favourite DVD's that P doesn't like and eating leftovers and takeaways, I think I got the better end of the deal! It was good to get him back though,

So on the Friday night I took him out for a meal to celebrate, at one of the best restaurants I think I have eaten in, The Crooked Billet. There are some restaurants that you go back to with a fondness, and there are some that always blow your mind, with the quality of food, service and ambience. Well this one does both, which is a credit to everyone involved with it.

We started with a quick G&T and delicate little canapés of Pork Rillet with chutney, and delicious Parmesan Biscuits.
Ordering is always a dilemma, as often you want more than one dish, but, once the food decisions were made, we had a good long hard look at the wine menu. Eventually we plumped for a Pouilly Fume 08 and a Crozes Hermitage 06. (Yes... we came by taxi)

Sitting at the table, we were offered a selection of home made Parsnip and Basil breads, and as pre-starter we were offered a delicate little cup of Cauliflower Soup with a little White truffle oil drizzled across the top. The combination of the smooth soup and oil was like drinking liquid silk. Delicious, just a couple of mouthfuls, but enough to whet your appetite for what was to come.

P started with Skate fritters with a home made Mayonnaise, and I had Scallops on a bed of Linguini. Have you ever been sitting and find yourself eating something so good, that as you put your knife and fork on your plate when finished, you realise, suddenly, that you have finished and you quite possibly may have blacked out and inhaled the lot? Well it was like that! The Pouilly was up to the job, complementing the richness of the food, with sublte smoky overtones and a pleasant minerality.

The mains were equally stunning. I had Pheasant with Pear, wrapped in Brussels leaves (almost like a stuffed vine leaf) on a bed of smooth Celeriac and Potato mash, served with home made Pigs-in-blankets and a jus. Peter's Venison was dark, rich and pink in the centre, served with Venison sausage, a mash and Red Cabbage. The Hermitage balanced the gamey earthy flavours of the food, with a rich ruby colour, and a nose of prunes and plummy overtones, with a rounded palate that had lots of ripe front up front that stretched nicely out to a spicy finish.

Dessert was all about lemons, which we both had, combining a smooth lemon panna cotta, a tangy lemon jelly, a deliciously sharp lemon sorbet and a melt in your mouth lemon mousse. We complimented this with a sweet Essentia Orange Muscat, with heady scented overtones it cut through the sharp zingy tang of the lemon. Perfect.

This wasn't everyday, "lets go out and eat" food, if it was, I think I would have to up the heart pills, and the income, but it was, from past experience, and still is, great food, and a great way to start the weekend celebrating.

Saturday we sorted the house out for guests coming down to stay, and we all went out in the evening to meet up with a bunch of friends for drinks, and finished the night off at home with cheese, wine and a catch up. It was really nice to see everyone, and it made Peter's birthday a good one, so thanks folks.

So here we are, Sunday morning, I did get sidetracked by breakfast and the papers yesterday, but to ease our guilt, we did spend a few hours in the garden, sweeping leaves off the deck, taking down the nets on the veg garden and doing some general overwintering tidying. Not too much though, piles of leaves were left (in case of hedgehogs) and nothing has been pruned as we have a number of birds in the shrubs. We have made a conscious decision though not to encourage the squirrels into the bird feeding area, as we are trying to keep them out of the loft (rodent scarer installed in said loft) .. fingers crossed.

The week while Peter was away flew past, mainly because we have a change in the way the working pattern works at the back end of the build process, so we shall see how that works out. I did manage to go out on Tuesday night to with G, F & J, to celebrate F passing his Masters degree. I know you worked hard, through some testing times, so well done, you deserve it. Happy Birthday wishes also go out to all our friends and family too, as well as Peter, there was G and J and my niece H, and today, C.

And then suddenly.... we find ourselves two weeks away from Christmas! So we have tree to pick up, cards to write, house to decorate, gifts to ponder over, and a short space of time to do it all in.. it'll be fun ;o)

I also have everyone's blogs to catch up on, I know, I am useless at the mo. I was thinking yesterday, that if I don't pick up my camera again soon, it'll need dusting. Have you noticed how time seems to snap tight shut at this time of the year.. where does it go! Still, if that is all we have to worry about, shopping and squirrels, then spare a thought for this family in South Africa.. I laughed like a drain! Also in the news this week, it pays to be kind.

Catch up with you all soon, have a great week, don't stress about Christmas, it comes around every year. Cheers

World Aids Day 2010

2010-12-01T20:03:00.000Z

1st December - World Aids Day. Did you wear your ribbon with pride today?

It's.......

2010-11-30T19:23:00.000Z

BIG, it's THICK and it's going to keep me PINNED to the bed ALL night.....

............................................................................... Yes it's winter duvet time......... why? what did you think I meant?

Happy St Andrew's Day too!

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 105

2010-11-28T09:01:00.001Z

A tad late for last week, but on time this week! However I can blame an old friend for shocking me into speechlessness, she just popped up out of nowhere and it is great to hear from her, so everyone shout out "Hi Ronnie!" ;o)

Ronnie we missed you, lovely to hear from you.

Actually the main reason I was late was the fact that on both Friday and Saturday night of last weekend, I was out with people for a curry and a few beers. Friday was relatively impromptu, with me and Peter meeting up with our friends K&H, and Saturday was an old work reunion for me. That was a stopover in a jolly nice hotel near Rugby, and catching up with some of the reprobates that I used to work with when I was in hospitality. Sunday was all about catching up with Peter, relaxing and having a cooking frenzy.

After being given a whole load of cooking apples, by the afternoon on Sunday I'd managed to rustle up a batch of apple crumbles for the freezer, bake a loaf of bread (bread-maker style) make a casserole and Peter made some oaty/seedy healthy snack bars for my lunch box (and very good they are too). Throw in the usual ironing a dozen shirts, catching up with a weeks worth of washing and the general stuff and I could have given any domestic goddess a run for their money. And I managed to shake off the nagging of a hangover without resorting to a) more alcohol and b) tablets. I know, I know, I can feel my halo shinning above me!

Work this week has been hectic, as well as bitterly cold, and I can only see it getting colder in the coming weeks, so it'll be back to the thermals again! Even now, as I look out of the windows in the Kitchen, we have had our first dusting of snow through the garden. it looks like everything has had a fine sifting of icing sugar. It also makes everything that needs doing in the garden stand out a mile, so I may be getting a few lungfuls of fresh air today as well. Mind you, all wrapped up and in the garden, it's very therapeutic.
We have a lazy weekend planned this weekend, so it may all boil down to sitting in the warmth and pouring over the papers, and hey, so what! ;o) We'll see.

Harking back to my meltdown with my PC, after asking various opinions and getting advice, I have decided to buy a recovery disc from the manufacturer, that way it will be the correct disc for the model, and they will send an idiot proof guide to getting it back to life, as a lot of the advice I have had has been conflicting and/or too technical. I have resigned myself to the loss of a fair bit of data, but nothing that can't be reproduced, and eventually stored on an external drive. One thing I have done, is to disable the webcam on this pc, and sync my phone, with both the PC and hellTunes, and so far (touch wood) everything is tickety-boo.
If and when I do recover the newer PC, I think I am going to look at seeing what Photoshop can do, and leave Paintshop Pro on this machine, and see which I prefer. If anyone has used both and has a preference, please let me know.

Well, it is 8.30am on Sunday morning now, and I'm sitting in the kitchen all wrapped up with a hot coffee and the radio on turned down low. The sun is just leaching across the sky, not quiet touching the whole of the garden, and the air has such a chill to it..brrrrr.

Yesterday wasn't so much of a lazy day, as we went and bought curtains to go over two internal doors that connect the conservatory to the TV room, so hopefully they will keep some of the chill out, as the conservatory doesn't have any direct heating.
We could easily hang sides of beef in there at this time of the year. Now that would freak out the window cleaner! He was very cagey when he asked us about the plants we were growing in there a few years back... they were chillies by the way.
Going back to our shopping trip yesterday, something struck me about the way we view cash transactions, because as I handed over a £10 note for a small purchase, the cashier swiped the note with a UV pen. It wasn't until we were leaving the shop, as she had handed me my change that included a £5 note, that I said to Peter, "How come I don't get the opportunity to test her note"...... just a thought.

I also managed to carpet wash some of the carpets upstairs yesterday, which is great, but then my mind began straying to the thoughts of having the carpet changed, which is always a bad sign, because if we do that, then I'll have to redecorate. And as I type, I'm thinking, no, decide to redecorate, then get new carpet, so there are no nasty accidents.... It's far to early to think. Anyhow, I was getting to the fact that as I was upstairs, I could hear this scratching about in the loft, so thinking it may be a trapped bird (it has happened), I duly dropped the ladder and went up.

Imagine my surprise when a spotted a cute fluffy squirrel! ...........................................................

Actually, imagine it leaping out of a space, me bellowing at the top of my voice, it screeching and me nearly stepping backwards out of the hatch........... as the little bugger darted here and there, me lobbing stuff at it until it eventually escaped.
Cute in the garden, but not in my loft. Anyhow, you'll be pleased to know that without resorting to violence (the lobbing stuff was just the natural reaction of a man trying not to have a coronary and trying not to trip over and expire amongst the detritus of 3 house moves ) I think I have managed to keep it out (sprayed the loft with furniture polish).... we shall see! Mind you, if it can repair a PC it can stay.

So on that happy note, I'm going to see if my man has woken yet, and see about foraging for breakfast. Enjoy your week, keep well

adendum - If next week, you think you are having a bad week, spare a thought for the person that thought "Spastic" was a good name for another Transformer.... I kid you not!

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 104

2010-11-14T19:25:00.001Z

Here we are, at the start of another week.

We started the day tidying up after dinner guests last night, and, while Peter was out hunting and gathering, I cleaned the last of the glassware, and listened to the Cenotaph ceremony on the radio, along with joining in with a contemplative silence for all those people that have sacrificed so much, including life itself, and said a little prayer for those that continue to do so, so that we can enjoy our freedoms, as we see them.

The particular radio station I was tuned into, after tuning back into it's programming, played John Williams' "Hymn to the Fallen", more commonly known from "Saving Private Ryan", and I just sat in the chair, in the corner of the kitchen, and listened to it.
I thought of my father, who never much talked about his time during the war, keeping it a particularly private thing. I thought about a colleague at work people may think of as being too officious, or strict, or plain picky, but very few know he spent many years voluntarily jumping out of a plane as a Paratrooper. And I thought of another, who has recently gained citizenship to the UK, having fled internal horror and conflict in the East, who can never talk too much about what happened, or about her loss. Our show of respect shouldn't just be about commemorating the loss of hundreds of thousands of dead war, and mankind, has inflicted on our world, but should also be about honouring those that have come face to face with conflict and come out of the other side, maybe damaged, maybe not, but also deserving of the right of our respect, be they civilian or soldier. Every one of them deserves our thoughts.

Going back to last night, we had a wonderful evening dinner with our friends and their two boys. It was particularly good, as, after promising an age ago, I picked up the eldest at 9am on Saturday morning (he's 13) and we then spent the day planning the menu, shopping for the main items, and then cooking dinner for the 6 of us. He is so interested in food, is exceptionally capable, and if he really wants to work on his skills, he'll make an excellent chef. We had a great day, mostly spent on our feet, chopping slicing, cooking and tasting. It was a pleasure to do it, and I think everyone was impressed with Dinner, including his younger brother, as we made homemade burger for him, which did the trick!

The rest of today has been spent catching up with the papers and each other, then working out how to stuff all the yummy leftovers into the fridge, and then the usual, ironing shirts for the week. The new iron works a treat, but, if you have been following, no joy on getting my newer laptop to spring to life.

In trying to track down what has happened, I very carefully tried something out on this laptop, to double check my own theory. So with tender loving care, it has been scanned, defragged, cleaned, and stripped back to the barest minimum. I have updated all my programs, (from secure sites) checked all the drivers, and after a final check, restarted the pc, and when ready, plugged in my iphone to sync, at which point this happened -

I immediately switched off the PC, rebooted without the iphone attached, rescanned for any errors, and then when satisfied, searched the web for issues, and I was staggered by the number of them, all with the same problem. As the iphone was the only common denominator between the two PC's my theory was confirmed.

So now I have to resign myself to the fact of a) how to get my new laptop functioning, as I think whatever the conflict, as I wasn't watching it as I booted it at the time of the initial "Holy Crap" moment, it has done something beyond my capability, and b) do I want to disable functions on either of my laptops, to resolve the many and obvious issues that the iphone has with the both the Windows operating systems, or in particular with Acer PC's and their Logitech in-built webcams.

The cynic in me says that Apple will never be satisfied with iphone users syncing their incredibly wonderful 'phones into anything other than an Apple pc of some sort. The optimist in me says that eventually all will be well, between Apple, Microsoft, and other software and hardware manufacturers.... I'll leave that bet for you to decide.....

Have a great week,

Holy crap!

2010-11-12T15:12:00.003Z

Blue screen of death and no Laptop boot up on my 8 month old Acer! Thank Christ I didn't wipe this trusty and reliable old one! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaargh.

I know, a tad melodramatic, but I haven't the faintest idea of what to do - call Acer support at a squillion pounds per minute, take it back to the shop I bought it from and see if they can help (Sorry PC World but I'm not that confident) or call all my techy friends and/or hope that at least one of them reads this!.....guh!

PS
Oh and the iron blew up last night too... so if you don't hear from me on Sunday, the big tree has blown down in the gales and killed me sat at the table.... I'm not stepping outside again today in case I'm killed in a comedy piano falling from the sky incident.

PPS - bad luck comes in threes - I have to redownload helltunes onto this pc and I can't remember my Flock password on this one... these I can sort! I can go out again.. hurrah!

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 103

2010-11-08T19:55:00.003Z

Ok ok, so it's Monday, and in the evening, but I'm here.

This, despite the British weather attempting to freeze and/or drown me today. It has been a cold, miserable, windy and downright wet day, with the only good thing about it being getting home, and that elation lasted all of one brief minute, as I found a wet ceiling and a distinct drip drip drip coming from the loft!

Fortunately it was only one of the pipe joints on an overflow that had popped apart, the downside is a small patch of ceiling that is going to dry with a tide mark, so I'll add that to the list of things that need doing over winter, which is mainly painting ceilings from the last leak! Bum

So, enough of me bitching, as I wanted to talk about Violet and Allen Large. I would hope that one day that I will turn out to be like this incredible Canadian couple. To be able to do what they did in such a selfless way, should teach us all a lesson in humility. To win 11 million dollars and then give most of it away, well, that's a lesson indeed. Incredible.

The weekend was spent helping my old friend Glen celebrate his birthday (well Saturday night to be precise) and for the record, I haven't drank quiet that much gin for an awfully long time, but as god is my witness, no hang-over on Sunday, so once again, my deity of choice is shining on me. Or else I sold my soul to the devil for another shot, either could be feasible.

Sunday was a lazy breakfast with our house guests, Paul & Eileen (who were at the party), with lots of bacon rolls, tea, coffee and the papers, then a lazy afternoon with one eye on the Grand Prix and the other on my PC, migrating all the pictures over from Beyond Gumbo, before I close it's Flickr account. (yes I was multi tasking!)

There are mainly three sets of photos, one from Tahoe in 2007 which was a skiing holiday, one from Paris 2007 where we caught up with friends from New Zealand (don't ask.. it was easier that way) and one from Spain 2007 where we attended a wedding and spent a week touring. Not all the pictures will be public, but I thought it was time to migrate them all over, especially as the Beyond Gumbo blog was migrated over some time ago to merge with Lalaweenworld.
For anyone interested in doing something similar, it's a balls-ache. You have to download each photo one at a time and then reload them onto your site of choice, unfortunately there is no other way, if you have more than one Flickr account, at the moment.

Also, I broke my hELLTUNES duck, and actually bought an EP from the site this week. I have to admit,(as I have already stated) I do like it.
So flicking through YouTube one day I came across a Cat Stevens cover version of "Here Comes my Baby", sung by "Sons Of Admirals".
Now I defy you not to hum along, tap a foot, or generally smile when you hear it. There is a quailty about it that reminds me a little of Billy Bragg, and something else, but whatever it is, I bet you'll tap a foot.
Take a tip from me, next time you are in the house by yourself, turn this up LOUD, and dance yourself silly, you'll be surprised how much better you feel afterwards! Thanks to Steve Betts from Radiopromotions for the permissions, link is above or over in the Sidebar.

Have a good week, Cheers

Buzzy Bee

2010-11-04T19:53:00.002Z

This is for Morgan, who is missing her bees ;o)

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 102

2010-11-01T22:57:00.000Z

Hi folks (it's late on Monday now... sorry, had a wee hiccup with Flickr)

While I'm sat here (well I was trying to) downloading pictures, Peter is sitting in the Lounge, ready to spread chocolate and fear through the neighbourhood children as it is All Hallows Eve. Frankly I see nothing wrong with tying the chocolates to a moving chainsaw, if they get a piece, then they get the treat.. right???

I jest ok, although I don't approve, as for 364 days of the year we tell kids not to take sweets from strangers...... hey ho. In fact we had about three lots of very polite kids come to the door, and now have a bucketful of crap candy to eat... so there is an upside in all this.

Anyhow, we've been away to the Lake District the past week, staying in a lovely rental house, with my Sister and Brother-in-law, my other sister and my niece. We had a wonderful time, getting out most days for a decent hike/walk/photo-dawdle, and enjoyed each other's company and had a laugh. We also managed to eat and drink enough for a small town, which is just as well that we went walking nearly every day.

I know that Lee and Chuck have Acadia, and I think the Lakes is my place to go. Most of the days we had were crisp Autumn days, with the wonderful colours autumn brings and occasional hazy sunshine in the mornings that lent everything a clean hue. The views were unbelievable, as they always are, the locals friendly, the beer very quaffable and the livestock, well I think Herdwick sheep have to be some of the nicest.. trust me on this ok, they look better than most, and no, there is nothing salacious about that! Less salacious and more delicious, grilled with rosemary!

We found time to do a little shopping, so I managed to buy another flat cap, as the one I have had for many years is beginning to feel it's age. I feel I can wear a flat cap, as I have done so for many years. I like the easy tweedy quality of them, and have come to the conclusion that anything else makes me look like a fat tourist or a pervert, with the exception of my Stetson, but that only gets good comments when I wear it in the States, it looks a tad odd at the local shop, mooching around for cornflakes and coffee.
Now one thing about a good cap is that it has to be well made, and Failsworth come up trumps, so anytime you feel the need, get thee a hat from these folks. Mine's a Harris Tweed Stornaway, and I love it.

I also managed to find, again, a wonderful shop called detail in Ambleside, home of many Herdy products (pertaining to Herdwick sheep), and just when I thought things couldn't get any better on buying some gifts, the kind lady promptly gave me a discount voucher for their online store.... I feel the need but I'm resisting (so far)

The final evening we all dined out at the wonderful "Eltermere Inn". Top marks for excellent service, superb food and a wonderful ambience. We dined in the bar area, on a large table in front of a roaring log fire, and if the food in the dining area proper is better than what we had, then a second visit is most definite. I do think though that a stay at the Inn is a must.

So as you can see, we had a week away that felt more like two, and we are back home now, refreshed enough to keep going until the Christmas Break, so we shall see what happens in the coming weeks. The rest of the holiday Photos are on Flickr, I thought I'd not add in too many slideshows with this post.

We caught up with friends last night, and visited a local village firework display, that, as usual, provides everyone with joy and wonder, all done through donations and fairs throughout the year. Then it was back for food and conversation, and a good catch up.

Congrats too, to Mr Morgan Mouse, a promotion indeed, and surely well deserved.
Lastly if you get spare time in your thoughts this week, send a little love this way so I can share it with a couple of friends that are feeling low, in the meantime, may your deity of choice go with you, cheers all, watch out for the spooks!

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 101

2010-10-17T17:53:00.000+01:00

Well afternoon it is, but my excuse this week is the fact that we have family staying with us for the weekend, so we are well fed and tired ;o) (too many late nights with a bottle of red wine methinks)

Finally, this week, I have managed to tame iTunes (other more practical, intuitive and easier to use better alternatives are available from all good retailers) and I now have a comprehensive list of tunes, that don't disappear, alter or waver, that can be home-grouped so we can both use them, and remain more or less in the same place...finally. It could only have been slightly easier if I had all my music transcribed onto wax cylinders and broke out the gramophone... bloody thing.

Still, the snazzy app for the 'phone that turns it into a remote is cool... I could be warming to it...hmmmm

I mentioned we have been well fed, as we took the opportunity to cook for our guests, and we've enjoyed it, with the top trumps being the individual small baked apples off our apple tree. This year was the first crop and although about the size of a tangerine, they are delicious. I cannot remember the variety, but they are cookers and eaters, and are lovely. Cored and stuffed with Muscovy sugar, dried cranberries, sultanas and raisins, with a knob of butter on top, and baked for 20 mins, they turned out wonderfully well, and just the right size for a sensible portion if you pop two into a dish, ladle over a little of the syrup and add a dash of cream!

Yesterday I made a home-made tomato sauce from the last but one batch of tomatoes from the garden, and tonight we'll have it served with some small mackerel fish cakes for supper, once I've worked off our lunch though!

This will probably mean that I will have to run around at work and work it all off, but I'm off the mind that I feel a little bleagh anyway, so comfort eating is helping (I had my flu jab on Friday and it always leaves me feeling a little head achy for a couple of days) Actually we are coming up to a week shutdown for the late holiday the week after next, so if everything goes true to form, I will be running around like a blue arsed fly, as it always seems to be hectic the week before a break.

Right, that's it for now, short and sweet. Have a great week,

2010-10-15T09:00:00.046+01:00

Blog Action Day 2010 - Water

The topic of today's Blog Action Day is water, and Bloggers across the globe are being asked to blog on this today, to highlight some of the issues surrounding this precious natural resource.

For many people in the world, turning on a tap and having potable water to hand is as simple as breathing, it is one of the most natural things in the world. But for many many people around the world this just isn't an option.

An awful lot of people may think like us, and say that we know this and understand the issues, but what can we do?, where can we put our efforts?, our donations?, our expertise? There are many numerous ways to help, far too many for me to list here, but by checking out the Blog Action Day link, you may find something that engages you.

As for us, well over the past few years now, as a household, we have been trying to find ways to offset the amount of water we use;

Rain water run off from the roof is gathered in three water butts in the garden, instead of going down the drains. This is also used to water plants during the dry season, and in the home.

Each cistern in the house has a brick in it, reducing the amount of water the toilet uses to flush.

Both of us shower, and turn of the shower at the washing stage, reducing the amount of water going down the plughole.

Water from the condenser clothes dryer is recycled and used to water house plants and to top up the iron

Many of these things are simple to do, and may sound pretty lame, in the whole scheme of things, especially when you think of the global situation, but for us and for many people, it is a start. The intention is there, how you progress and how dedicated you find yourself being, well that is entirely up to you. But in some small way, we can all save water, and with those small savings, maybe something big can grow.

Anniversary

2010-10-11T19:22:00.000+01:00

Today - 2 years since we had our Civil Partnership and became Husband and Husband

On this day in history;

1982 - Marie Rose rises from the Waters of the Thames
1987 - Sonar sweep of Loch Ness fails to find Nessie
1963 - Edif Piaf sings no more
1844 - Henry John Heinz is born
1965 - Luke Perry is born
1958 - Elvis Presley enters the singles charts with 'King Creole'
1969 - Jane Birkin and Serge Gauinsbourg reach No1 with "Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus" ... that song!
1919 - The first airline meal was served on a flight from London to Paris and costing 3 Shilling (15p)
1983 - The last hand cranked phones in the US went out of service as 440 customers in Bryant Pond, Maine, where switched to the modern dial service.

Cheers for all the best wishes, big hugs all round ;o)

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 100

2010-10-10T09:34:00.000+01:00

Greetings and welcome to SMM100 ( at this point imagine a trumpet tada sort of thing) I never thought I'd get this far with it all in truth, but I am glad I have, and I hope on some level that the people that read it enjoy it as much as I do.

Autumn has set in here in the UK, and as with Weather Forecasters the world over, and in true traditional style, ours have been pretty wrong so far over the past month. No Indian Summer for us, but rain, winds and warm days, then humid, then something else again. I'm looking forward to getting the camera out and making time to take photos again, and when we visit the Lake District later in the year, I hope it will be fine enough to get out and about (remember, last time it poured, and poured, and poured with rain)

I forgot to mention these during my Oz Tour postings. These were the wonderful boots that I bought to travel around in, and they came up trumps. I have never owned a pair of Desert Boots before, and now I can't understand why ... they have to be the most comfortable shoes/boots I have worn in ages. They've become a favourite, I may even have to stop wearing trainers all the time... ok, maybe not. I will definitely think about adding to my meagre shoes pile though!

We've had a bit of a "doing" weekend so far (I imagine you have already grasped the fact that this is a morning post, and it is still before 9am) We have people staying over tonight, Pete and Ali are coming over for dinner and the long awaited Lobster ( I also promised my Peter this dish years ago..) and then it's a turn around again as we have the in-laws coming over next weekend, which I'm looking forward to as well, as we haven't seen them in ages.

So my list for the rest of the day involves cleaning, cooking, floor washing, ironing and re-potting some plants if I can!

Still, if the sun comes out, we can have a warm sunshine breakfast together and reflect on the fact that two years ago tomorrow, we had all these wonderful friends and family around us, celebrating our civil partnership with us ;o) I can't believe it was two years ago, but it was.
All in all, Peter and I have been together 17 years, and just as a wonderful reminder of that, this year saw some of those godchildren, and children of cherished friends, that we love and hold dear, start charting their own paths by spreading their wings and stepping off to university. I hope they have a wonderful time and build friendships that last a lifetime. I only thank god that I deleted my Facebook profile, so I don't have to find out what they are getting up to! ;o)

In a bizarre turn of events too, I turned down a promotion at work this week. It would certainly have paid more money, and offered a company car. It would have raised my profile yet again, and the offer came direct from the Chairman. It probably is an offer of the like that I won't see again in a hurry, and yet it wasn't enough.

It wasn't about the money, and don't get me wrong, it is always nice to have a little extra, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. But it would have meant spending time on the road, away from home and involving an element of work that holds no interest for me, sales.
I'm flattered that they though I could do it, and up to a point I know I could with my combination of skills, but we sat and discussed it here at home, and weighed up all the facts, and it still came down to the fact that I also really enjoy what I am doing now and I just don't want to work in a sales environment. So there we are, we'll see what next week brings.

And that is about it, apart from one last thing. There is a new link on the sidebar to the "Break the Illusion" blog, by Davey Wavey. I caught up with this while mooching through YouTube originally and Davey's posts made me smile, and in most instances, laugh out loud, in a good way. He sees life from a slightly different, and younger perpective, than me, and he has grown up with changes to the general social acceptances in life that seem positively the norm now. Thanks to Davey for the permissions, enjoy your week folks, I'm off to marathon iron....

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 99 - AKA Saturday Evening Post

2010-10-09T18:45:00.002+01:00

So Australia seems to be far away now (well, it is, I know, we did the flights) but I was alluding to our vacation. In the intervening weeks between then and now, we seem to have been pretty busy, so I thought I'd give everyone an update. That and disregarding the blatant manipulation of the post numbers, so tomorrow's will be SMM 100.....

Work has been keeping me occupied in new ways, as I have been working on a new project, which I have had to fit in between the usual day job, but the reaction from the main Board at work has been good.

I know my contemporaries like to have a dig, and ask how the "Caravan building" is coming along, and I know I rise to the bait, very easily, but truth be told, our business (modular buildings) was hard hit by the recession 18 months ago, and despite (or maybe because of) this, we have worked hard to keep the order books open and people in work. Ultimately we have a new concept home, that ticks all the boxes for social housing, and delivers in spades on renewable energies, green resources, and sustainability, and it looks spanky too. I'll post more on this when we get more info sorted, but hopefully these will give you an idea....

As a building concept it takes plug and play into fantasy realms, as it is built in two halves.. (spot the join anyone?), but more importantly, using the same design, you can start with a one bedroom apartment, then when you decide to expand, add another section on top, to make it into a family home. We shall see where it take our business, but I think the market place is growing for this kind of modular design, and hopefully we can move the whole concept forward.

Back on the home front, we've also managed to catch up with friends for the annual Pidley Mountain Rescue event, the world renowned "Pidley International Teddy Bear Freefall Championship", and as you can see, they enlisted a gorgeous hunk to model their new Polo shirts too....

Except the gorgeous hunk didn't turn up, so I had to do it...... (yeah... right)

Not only did all the highly trained Bears make their jumps, but the Police Helicopter put in a brief visit, so all the kids (include most adults too) could wave. A local venue also had a static hot air balloon on site, and I thought it looked better as it was deflating, but it reminded me too, that so far, it has to be one of the few things left on my wish list that I need to do.

Anyhow, we had a great day out, finishing off with a super BBQ hosted by Paul and Eileen. As always we had a great time, and I even managed to play football with J, who basically beat me at every turn, but he is 42 (maybe 43) years younger than me ;o), and as such, has stamina by the bucketful!

Paul and Eileen have a super home and as always, we enjoyed our overnight stay and their hospitality, and who wouldn't like visiting such a place when you get such wonderful views.

Yes the bush does look a little wierd as I not so expertly remove a traffic sign... it was an off day.

I've taken quiet a few photos in and around their home and I just wish I had more time to wander around there.

Right folks, I'll catch up with you all tomorrow, have a good evening, cheers ;o)

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 98

2010-09-26T16:39:00.000+01:00

So, hey there, sorry I've been off the radar a little since we came back from vacation, but as usual, as soon as you go back to work, spare time seems to be sucked into a vacuum. It all must be out there somewhere in an invisible bubble, just waiting for someone to find it.

So we left off last time, with us winging our way to Sydney. Now I know some of you may be getting bored with hearing about our trip down-under, but I promise you, this should be the last entry, and then we should get back to the normal drivel (critics and nay-sayers insert caustic comment here)

There may also be other photos to come, as we both realised yesterday that we haven't downloaded the pictures from Peter's camera yet! Just when you think you've waded through them all.... As an aside, when I used to manage a Pub here in the UK, we once had a regular that brought his holiday snaps in from his Antarctic/Arctic Cruise....all 36 reels of water and ice... so I hope I have given you enough variety.

So we land in Sydney on late Sunday morning, having left Melbourne earlier in the day. We grabbed a shuttle into the city that would take us direct to our hotel, and in hindsight, if we go again, we may take an alternative. If there was one person that you could have put up as the most miserable person in Australia, it would be the minibus driver. Now I know he must deal with so many people all day, every day, but a modicum of civility would have been nice. He wasn't the best ambassador to the city, and he was just as bloody miserable when he picked us up to leave too... grumpy sod.

So we arrive at our hotel, The Menzies, and check in. The hotel is nice, and as we are a bit early to get into the room we decide to dump our bags and go for a wander. So camera in hand, beloved beside me, we step out into this much hyped and vaunted city, hoping it lives up to it's reputation. So I'll say it now, yes it does, with knobs on. We both loved the place. We were really lucky in some ways, as our first wander around the centre of the city coincided with an annual race, the Bay Run, so we got to wander around just after the runners had gone through, but before they re-opened a lot of the roads, giving the place an enormous feeling of peace and space, a great first impression. Even when we wandered around the city again, during the working week, the place still had a really good vibe about it.

This was the first photo I took in Sydney, and I'd stepped all of a 100 yards from the hotel (if that).

We where mindful of the time, as we took a wander, as we didn't want to get lost, and we realised we needed to get changed and scrubbed for the big meet, later that day.. hush, it was all very secret.
In true James Bond style, we walked our route to our rendezvous, to time our arrival, and checked out local landmarks along the way, to see what promise they could give an inquisitive tourist with wanderlust, and, in keeping with the delicate nature of our meeting later on, we kept to the shadows......

With time to spare, we wandered back to the hotel to chill, and and then get ready for the afternoon. The hotel room was very pleasant, with enough space for us to relax into during the week, and hats off to the hotel staff as they were excellent, especially the concierge team. I tend to be hyper critical of hotels, having spent most of my working life in and around them, and apart from the ludicrous mini-bar prices (standard in any hotel) the overall experience of the hotel was excellent.

So, later, showered, changed and with Fedoras donned, Trench Coats tied, Ray-Bans tucked on tight, and false moustaches firmly glued on, we where ready for our big meet. We set off, not knowing what would become of us, and, meeting on neutral ground for the first time, we took a measured walk to our destination...... ..... ... .. . high Tea with the MorganMousers!...squeak! Identities have been kept secret to protect the innocent

High Tea was a delicious affair, and it was truly an honour to meet up with a fellow blogster (and MouseSpouse) and we would have loved to have stayed and chatted more, but the time flew past, and before we knew it, we were saying our goodbyes. So Mousers, should you ever get over here, we would love to return your hospitality and generousity. It was the most wonderful start to a brilliant week in Sydney.

Note - not sure who the cricketer is in one of these photos, but as I took the snap I noticed the bouncers, especially the one that appears to be taking an interest in me... hmmm

Monday saw us emerge into another wonderful sunny day, so we took ourselves off to the Botanic Gardens and had our first good look at the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, before we met up later in the day with our hosts from the Barossa, Paul & Max with baby Felix, as they were flying in to spend the last week with us in Sydney. Max and Felix would be flying off to Singapore and then onto the UK on Wednesday, leaving us boys to climb the bridge on Thursday, before we all fly back to our respective homes on Friday.

My first close up view of the Opera House was incredible. Having seen so many views and photos of such an iconic building, it still doesn't fail to impress on the first view. Truly, if ever I was told that an ancient alien race had left Earth and left it with one building as a reminder, I'd believe it when they said it is the Opera House. I have never really felt overawed by somewhere, but the Opera House just took my breath away.

Tuesday took us on a tour of the City with all 5 of us having a good wander, and we had a lovley day out, meeting up with a couple of Paul and Max's friends for dinner in the evening. Rob is an old freind of Paul's and it was lovely to meet him and his partner Ronald. We had an excellent dinner at Bill's (we think in Surrey Hills.. sounds a bit vague but I can't read my handwriting)

Wandering the city is such an easy pastime, there is always something around the corner to look at. Both Peter and I have said how much we really like the place. We didn't wander too far through the 'burbs, but for a major city, the centre and hub of the place is so different and vibrant, friendly and confident, and on first impressions, safe. There are a lot of places that could do worse than to try and capture the feel of the Sydney. I loved the variety of the old and new buildings too, and I think on one level at least, is shows off the city in a great light. We loved wandering around the Rocks area, near the start of the Bridge Climb, and found a couple of good pubs too! Well, it wouldn't be right if we hadn't.... The Lord Nelson gets top marks and in the city the Bavarian Bier Cafe seemed to have a regular pull for us.

Wednesday saw us all having breakfast, before Paul, Max and Felix waved us off as we boarded the ferry to Manly, with us also saying bye to Max and Felix, as Paul was taking them to the airport for the first leg of their trip.

I'm pleased we went on this one, as I think they are the smartest little ferries.....

We were taking a trip out to Manly, as Peter and I were going to catch up with a colllege friend of his mother, who hadn't seen him since he was about 6 months old, or some such age (the college friend, that is).
Most of the panorama shots were taken from the ferry, with one of the views back to Sydney taken from a lookout from Manly.

Jeni and John met us at the ferry and they where (and I keep having to say this) the perfect hosts for the day. They showed us the sights of their area, and we had a delightful lunch in their apartment, with stunning 360 degree views of the bay and harbour.

Before lunch, John insisted on taking us to see a friend of his, who is making a carriage for a rather special lady. There is a small shot of a wheel in the "variety" slideshow, and I do have a full shot of the carriage, but I'm a little unsure if I should post it or not, so for the time being, I'll keep it under wraps. I think though that you'll get the jist of the thing, and how utterly amazed and honoured we were to be able to see it first hand, and to meet the man building it. Incredible.

One thing to remember here; make sure your bloody camera battery is fully charged.... I managed to get two shots, then ..... ffphump, nada. If you switch from a 350D to a 450D, using a battery pack on both, the 450D uses both batteries in tandem, in the 350D you had to swap them over... just an aide memoire.

After lunch Jeni, who is a friend of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, and is helping to organise a charity artisan auction/festival, whisked us off to meet a couple of the people she is working with.
So we find ourselves meeting and wandering around the studio of Ben Edols and Kathy Elliot, of Edols-Elliott fame. The studio was amazing, and the work on display was breathtaking. There where more than enough pieces in there that I could cheerfully have displayed at home, if only luggage and cash allowances would have allowed! I know Peter has a shot of some of the work on his camera, so as soon as I load it, I'll post it, but check out the website, the work is incredible.

So if both of those visits were not enough excitment in one day, we finished up in Paddington, visiting the Barry Stern gallery. I could quiet happily have asked our host to package up a couple of pieces, any one of the incredible sandstone sculptures of Michael Purdy, or one of the ceramic panels by Bern Emmerichs, but unfortunately, neither of us wanted to sell off a kidney.

We'd already had an incredible day, so with one last "oh but you must" from Jeni, she dashed us across town to Bondi, for a drink in the Icebergs bar, beacuse she said we couldn't come to Sydney without seeing it, even if it was winter.

So after a drink and a sit down to catch our breath, she dropped us back into town, and wizzed off with a wave and a toot. I'm telling you now, I want to know what they put in the water at Manly, we had trouble keeping up. Jeni & John, you are wonderful, thank you for a marvellous day.

Finally we met up with Paul, went for a drink and then took a stroll off for dinner keeping in mind that we shoudln't drink too much, because tomorrow was our big day, the Bridge Climb, and they breathalise you before they let you go up......

So Thursday arrives, and after breakfast we walk through the town to our destination, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and our Bridge Climb experience.

WOW.

Did I say WOW, sorry, I meant to say;
"OhmygodwhatamIdoinghereIhateladderscrikeythiswindyjesuslookatthatspanohmy
godthisviewisincredibleisthatahawkcrikeythatsunbeliveablethisisincrediblethishas
tobethebestthingIhaveeverdoneinmylifeohisitover"

I have also realised that it is not heights I don't like, it is ladders (I think), as that was the only scary bit about the whole experience. And believe me, it IS an experience, and it is fantastic. Suffice to say though, we hit the Bavarian Beir bar first, then met up with Rob and Ronald to go out for dinner.

As this was our last night, Rob & Ronald took the three of us to the Sailor's Thai in the Rocks. The link takes you to a review, and I agree with everything. If this restaurant was in my area, I'd go back every week too!
We finally ended up in a wee bar recommended, again by Rob and Ronald, a hidden gem of a place, in, of all places, Temperence Lane! If it is still there when you visit Sydney, let me know if the drinks are still served in jam jars, and if all the Bike Couriers still hang out there!

And that folks is that, with the exception of checking out, and making our way to the airport.
Peter, Paul and I had lunch in Wagamama there, and very soon we had finished and the time came to say goodbye to our friend and host, and goodbye to Australia.

I hope I've given you a snapshot of our travels, and the incredible place that Australia is. We've only scratched the surface of the place really, there is so much to see and do, and hopefully we will find the time to get back and see more, not only of the place, but the people and friends too. We had a fantastic time, saw fantastic things, met fantastic people, which is pretty much what a holiday should be about.

On a final note, we met up with Max and Felix on the second leg of our flight home, as they were coming back to the UK to visit family. We did manage to catch up too, one night a week or so ago, as Max was on her whirlwind tour of friends and family. I hope you haven't missed them too much Paul, and hope that you all meet up in Cyprus (I know, how globetrotting is this family) soon.

So, normal service will be resumed soon (I think). Have a great week folks, hope you've enjoyed the travels. Cheers

Project

2010-09-24T19:18:00.000+01:00

Well done Kasper

2010-09-16T19:06:00.000+01:00

It's sure that if you don't have Gout, I bet you are praying to your God that you wish you had..... looking forward to more inclusive and progressive remarks.......

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 97

2010-09-12T19:26:00.001+01:00

Hell's teeth - where does the time go?

We've been so busy since coming back from our vacation, that I still haven't found time to process the final photos of the holiday, or from last week's Pidley International Teddy Bear Freefall Championships.

Admittedly spare time has been taken up by completely restoring my PC, going through music files one by one and, by trial and error, get a fully working model of hellTunes on my PC. Everything now works, and all I can say people is BACK-UP your PC! Let me tell you, it is worth it.

The next couple of weeks see us going to my folks for a weekend gathering, to look at the work my sister Angela has done so far on the family tree, followed by a weekend of in-laws and relatives staying with us, which means the quiet weekend we have had has been spent doing loads of those "things" that should have been done when you first thought of them.

The good news is that we are cropping deliciously sweet cherry tomatoes, and firey chilli peppers! And wee posies of sweetpeas for the table (I know, but am I the only man that likes cut-flowers ... I think not, I just must be more comfortable with it)

I've been pretty lazy at keeping up with everyone so forgive me, although it has been great to get all your comments so far from the holiday photos. Speaking of photos, no news yet of the competition I have entered, but don't worry, any news and you'll hear!

Right I'm going to dash, potatoes need mashing, the bread maker is on, and I need to decant some stewed apples into a container... who said men can't multi-task.

Have a great week folks, look after you and yours, normal service will be resumed soon....

Bon anniversaire Thierry

2010-09-11T19:23:00.000+01:00

Happy Anniversary Lee & Chuck

2010-09-06T19:55:00.001+01:00

Hope you both have a great day xxxxxx

Dear Steve

2010-09-03T17:57:00.002+01:00

Most people that have followed my blog for a while, will know two things about me (at least). You may not have followed it, so just as a heads up.......

The first is my vehement dislike (rational or not) of all things Apple (sorry but it is a fact), but, it is due mainly to my constant fight with iTunes, the functionality of the software, and the lack of general support. Now one thing I have always stated though Steve, is the fact that what Apple make, the actual "hold it in your hand and feel me, because you know you want me" goods, are in a class of their own, way beyond anyone else's, second to none.

The second thing that may have been picked up about yours truly is the fact after so many years dealing with the public, I have a general standard of acceptable customer service.

So here's the rub. In first, I have succumbed to the dark side, and now both Peter (that's my partner) and I, own one of these -

Yes, well spotted, yes it is one of them, yes I KNOW, it's an iPhone 4..... after all Steve, you know your product ( my wi-fi works fine by the way).

So anyway, in one fatal 'phone call, we upgraded with our provider and they had the best deals out on these babies, so before we knew it, they were winging their merry way to us. So before charges of hypocrisy are laid at my door by the bucketful, I stand by the fact that they live up to the look, they are a wonder of technology.

So why the long face Andrew?...... well Steve......

To use this marvel of the modern world, this sleek amalgamation of technology, this glossy black and chrome tablet, one must download iTunes, to wit...

4 downloads
3 reboots
4 days
11 process disabilities
2 hard disk scans
and a few choice words, like SHITBUGGERYBASTARDWITHEARSFECKINGCRAPPYGODALMIGHTYJESUSMARYANDJOSEPHIAMGOING TOTHROWTHIS FUCKINGTHINGOUTOFTHEWINDOW later,

I have a semi-functioning iTunes loaded onto my PC. Yes, its V10. Yes, its the 64bit version. Yes, I have made it my default music player. Yes, I have enough physical memory on disc and more than enough virtual memory to run iTunes and the Hubble Telescope if I need to. AND YES, it still fecking freezes every time I plug in the phone and try to do something with the almighty clever sleek tablet of frustration. Not only is it content with the application freezing, it is more than happy to freeze the WHOLE FUCKING PC! ........
for FUCKS SAKE!

So.. that aside, I thought that I would go into the Apple Store, here in Milton Keynes (that's in England, Steve, you know, the bit attached to Scotland, way over the water, near Paris France). I thought I'd pick up a shiny new case for me, so I don't drop and break this precious gem, especially at work, and get some protectors for my beloveds shiny new 'phone too.

In I waltz, into the glitzy, calm and uber trendy hushed hall of technology, where people wander with glazed looks of awe, as assistants look on and smile beatifically while trying not to Tazer anyone that touches the shiny things.

Duly I trotted up the edgy, clear, glass stairs, and entered the domain of the accessories area.
I looked, I hummed... I looked again... and with a suspicion forming in my mind, I looked at the nearest assistant and said with a levity I knew was tinged with imminent disappointment, "I'm looking for cases for the iPhone4?", and without blinking, breaking the sound barrier with the speed of it's delivery, came the reply "we haven't got any"....... I should have known then not to continue, and despite my inner mind calling to me " He's 19, looks utterly trendy, what with his big beanie hat and lip ring, and you are making him talk to you.. stop, stop, stop".

"Do you know when you will have some in" I asked..... "No" came barrelling at me, so fast that I felt the breeze, as the word shot past me. Swiftly followed by "You could always try another 'phone shop". I stopped at that. I didn't want to ask if he knew why my pc and the software were not getting on, just in case he exploded at having to break out of his, "look at me, I am so darn cool" pose and look me in the eye and attempt something akin to positive customer service.

I walked away, mindful of the fact we are not allowed to carry guns in this country, thinking to myself what the spray would have looked like if I had just yanked out the lip ring. It may happen yet.

I went to the O2 store. The guy even asked if I would like to try the case first (before I bought it), just in case it wasn't what I wanted. I probably spent less than 15% of what we had just spent (albeit through a 3rd party) with Apple. Makes you think Steve, what would I have spent if I went to the Store first?

BUGGER ALL, that's what.

Adendum - I have checked out a number of website forums over the past few days and there seems to be an inordinate amount of people having trouble with iTunes v10, 64bit version.

In the end I have had to completely restore my PC to a previous back up point, as the iTunes applications were not completely removing themselves from the PC as I uninstalled them, hindering any reload.
I have now installed iTunes v9.2 and this works. I would recommend that you do not upgrade to iTunes v10, unless you are 100% competent with your PC workings or feel you won't have an issue. Personally I think there are a lot of bugs that need sorting, with very little support from Apple itself.

I apologise for the bad language, I do that when I am frustrated. I also do that when I spend hundreds of pounds on something and the support that should be there doesn't give a flying fig. I can't say how well the trainee assistant in the O2 store should be praised, or qualify how the assisant in the Apple store should be ashamed of himself.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as I have my Sydney pictures sorted.

No assistants were harmed in the making of this post - pity.

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 96

2010-08-30T11:21:00.001+01:00

So we pick up were we left off, (yes, it is Monday, but a Bank Holiday over here, so I thought I'd slack for a day).. anyhow, we have Peter and I heading down the road from the Barossa, past Adelaide, and onto our road trip to drive the "Great Ocean Road".

Most of the Barossa photos above are views from our hosts living room, and as we head off, our only regret may be leaving behind that rather special cellar! Ok, and leaving behind our generous hosts too ;o)

So off we go, car packed and on the road. First stop is Mount Gambier, staying in the Mount Gambier Hotel in the centre of town. Having got settled in, and after a few beers (For your info - beer, ANY beer, served in Australia has to be served at minus 1000 degrees Kelvin, otherwise the barperson is shot, a little known truth..... fillings in your teeth scream in agony as you enjoy your drink) ... where was I.. so after a few beers (honest I could only drink small ones, the thought of a pint made my blood run cold, literally) we explored the town. Famous for large holes all over the shop, it is really an interesting place, and once we found ourselves back at the hotel, we decided on a Thai restaurant over the road for dinner, and very good it was too.

Setting off in the morning we had time to take in one of the volcanic lakes ( I think the Harbour view is somewhere else but I can't recall where, so just enjoy it)

So off we set again, driving through some spectacular scenery, catching sight of Whales at one point, stopping off for a break in Port Fairy (I know), and ending on our second night a Warrnambool, staying in the hotel of the same name... a really lovely place with smart contemporary boutique bedrooms, a great bar, and a superb restaurant.

We had dinner that night in the Hotel, and enjoyed an excellent meal, and again, some good honest Australian wines, a perfect end to the day. To be remembered most though, for my dessert, a Rocky Road Pizza! From a proper wood fired oven, it came larger than anticipated, was gorgeous and far too filling, and Peter ate most as I was honestly that full, so that when they offered to box up the rest I said no (what was I thinking, as in hindsight, I reckon it would have made great snack food for the road .. oh well)

The Great Ocean Road was spectacular, and the photos here are not in any order, but I hope you get the gist of the awesome power and beauty of the sea. It really was amazing. Oh, and the fearless Sparrows joined us on our last morning in Lorne, before we set off for Melbourne.

Setting off for Warrambool the next morning we took to the coast road again, enjoying the drive and looking forward to our next destination, the Otway Fly Treetop Walk. This is a spectacular attraction, and we took a couple of hours to explore this wonderful place. Just adding the link now and I see that from October this year they are adding a Zipline tour of it too.... practice your Tarzan cry folks as that will be a blast!

Driving out of the area, we came to a turning point...literally... do we go back on the Ocean Road for a few miles, or turn right and take the logging road over the top to Apollo Bay... we turned right. Can I just say this now...... never ever take this road unless you are in a 4x4 and think you can compete with a logging truck, and, don't be a nervous driver. As you will see at the end of this post, when we say goodbye to our transport, we may have been able to think it through in hindsight. Still some of the views were pretty spectacular, when I could risk taking my eyes off the road, and we got to Apollo Bay safely.

We had a quick scoot around Apollo Bay and decided to push on to Lorne for our last night, before hitting Melbourne the next day. Lorne was really nice, some spectacular real estate in the hills (Melbourne is close), the town is named after a Sausage from Scotland (I may be making this up), or a character from Buffy. But... it probably has one of the best fish and chip shops in Australia (comfort food) ;o)

So, early the next morning, we set off from Lorne and headed to Melbourne, to check in our car and book into a Hotel at the airport, for our early flight to Sydney the next day, and our last week in Australia.

We managed to get a bus into Melbourne, and although we only had a few hours there, I really liked the place, and hope sometime to get back to explore the city more. We did manage to enjoy lunch in a nice little restaurant, Cafe Segovia, and sat for a while, people watching. Lunch over we were heading off, when I decided that I needed a new backpack (after spotting the Crumpler store) and the assistant in there was brilliant. I had decided that a slightly larger bag would help us packing for our return trip home, the old one was getting very worn (sorry little Fat Face bag) but I didn't really need it until we got to Sydney... no worries, the assistant gave us addresses and numbers of both Sydney stores, checked the stock, chucked a couple of freeby bits at us and said enjoy the rest of your trip.

This is typical of the generosity of spirit and friendliness we found across our entire trip, and gave us the feeling that we really will be welcomed back.
Also, our little car, what a trouper. It was possibly the smallest car I have ever driven, and it just kept on giving..... no V8 engine, no 4x4, but a lot of guts. Bizarre too, as all the switches etc were on the wrong sides, so I apologise now to the odd motorist that had no idea where I was going and why I had my wipers on.... sheez! Oh and now you can see why the Logging Road wasn't such a good idea......nerves of steel, that's me.....

That's it for now, next stop Sydney!, Have a great week folks.

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 95

2010-08-23T19:43:00.001+01:00

Dear Rolf.....

Well you never know, he might read it... So this is today's post, delivered with a touch of jet lag, seeing as it is the afternoon (strike that...Flickr took so long to download the photos it is now Monday evening...sorry!)

It's also Part One of our trip "Down-under" diary, as I have decided that if I wait to go through all the photos of the entire holiday, you'll get nothing for the next month or so, as I took quiet a few!

So, where do we start. Well, the flight with Qantas was good, both ways, all legs of the journey. Plenty of refreshments, seating was OK, entertainment was good, they dimmed the lights often enough for sleep, the landings and take off were noteworthy due to the fact nothing happened untoward, and with the exception of one passenger being escorted off the last leg to London Heathrow, by three efficient looking policemen, the flight was as unremarkable as every other flight. I have no idea why the passenger was escorted off either, as there was no fuss on the flight at all.

We managed a decent break within Singapore airport on the way out, and had a refuelling stop on the way back, giving us enough time to stretch our legs and meet up with Max and Felix, as they were joining the flight back to the UK. Max was meeting up with her family and friends in the UK as some of them haven't seen baby Felix yet. Paul is left to hold the fort in Oz, but I believe they are all meeting up in a few weeks in Cyprus to see Paul's family out there.

We did fly in the new Airbus, which was nice, as I do think they have given everyone more room, and they have a neat idea of having a camera in the tail of the plane, so you can see your own landings and take-offs and see what the inside of a cloud looks like (wet, by the way).

So we arrived in Adelaide, to be greeted and picked up by Paul who ferried us off to the Barossa and their home there.

We are very lucky to have friends like this, as their home became our home for the duration of the first week or so, while we where touring the different cellar doors across the area. They where marvellous hosts, and we had a super time with them and their friends, as well as being treated to some great days out visiting various cellar doors. The hospitality shown to us by everyone in the valley was superb. We where genuinely touched by the warm and honest openness of the people we met.

Admittedly, no-one called me Cobber, or a Limey or a Whinging Pom. We didn't see one live Kangaroo, Akidna (Spiny ant eater), Koala, or any other dangerous, poisonous, or much talked about marsupial or odd looking animal. The two Kangaroos we did see were both dead. I am seriously beginning to think that the Ozzie's are laughing up their collective sleeves, and have been winding us all up about these weird creatures, and posting beware signs, just to slow down gullible drivers. It's all a big conspiracy! The two "dead" kangaroos are probably just props, and are moved around various county roads at night to reinforce the belief that they exist! Not one, seriously! The closest I came to Kangaroo was the twice I ate it.. and very nice it was too (if that is what it was)

It took us a couple of days to adjust to the new times and days, but once we got over the jet-lag, with the help of our hosts ferrying us around, we sorted out a car and "Made A Plan".....

So our first trip out was off to Clare Valley, to visit some fine Cellar Doors, and maybe to have a light lunch somewhere. Ahem.. there is no such thing as a light lunch in Australia, they like their food and it comes big. Lunch at Skillogalee was very good though, and comes highly recommended. We managed to get into Penna Lane and Mitchell's cellar doors that day too. One of my biggest surprises, or should I say one of the earliest surprises of the holiday, as there were many, was my informed change of opinion on Chardonnay.

Gone are the big fat bottomed buttery Chardonnays, and the ones that where so oaked you had to chew them. Secretly Australia has reformed this much maligned wine, and has been keeping it secret, as they where fantastic! Run out and buy some now!
The lady that met us and took our orders for lunch at Skillogalee was brilliant, we didn't manage to catch her name, but she had a voice that was like melted chocolate. She could have read the car registration and I would have ordered it! She also recommended the Chardonnay, and she was bang on.

Our biggest issue with all our cellar door visits, was not being able to bring all of the wine back that we wanted, as with a 23kilo weight limit, we would have had to leave all our clothes and everything else down to toothbrushes, out of our cases. Fortunately everyone was willing to let us have details of where we could buy some of the wines over here, but they will most probably be quiet expensive, and we'll never get some of the smaller, more boutique wines form the smaller vines. Ho hum! We'll just have to go back I think! Compensation came our way though, as our hosts had a well stocked cellar, and were more than generous in letting us help them drink it. Seriously, we can't thank them enough for making us feel welcome, and slightly squiffy too ;o)

We did manage a half bottle of Muscat from Two Han d s, and a half bottle of Fino Peter Lehmann, but that was it for the packing case!

And as for the rest of the Cellar Doors... Well in first it helps when you visit with a manager from another Cellar Door (Paul) but even without his excellent efforts, I am sure that everyone we met would have been just as genuine, informed and passionate as they were.

Special mention goes to Rachel at Rockford's, for her hospitality and generosity. It was lovely to meet her, and I hope we can repay the favours sometime. The two guys at Torbreck excelled themselves too, with an excellent portfolio of wines.
We got to visit Yalumba, which has been on an unknown wish list of mine for years, (for many years I have dreamt of visiting, after drinking their sparkling wine many years ago) and I wasn't disappointed.

Two Hands was classy and very nice, Rockford's was so quaint and wonderful (and has the marvellous Rachel).
Peter Lehmann's was very nice, and the people at Langmeil where ever so hospitable (thanks folks for the cards). Val at Seiber was one of the most charismatic people I have met, and I thank her for welcoming us into her vineyard and home, and for her warmth and hospitality too.

We were treated to an excellent lunch at Jacob's Creek, and I mean most excellent (exceptional cooking) and the wines were superb. And finally the last Cellar Door we visited was Richmond Grove, which is Paul's kingdom, and again we were treated to some fine wines. I have to say I was incredibly impressed every step of the way along our tour of the Barossa and Clare Valley, with the knowledge and dedication everyone seemed to have that worked with the Cellar Doors. If you are thinking of visiting, get your hands on a copy of the "Barossa Wine Traveller", plan your route, take a tea-totalling driver and the world is your lobster.

I have forgotten to mention that quiet often it was all of us on the road, me, Peter, Paul, Max and Felix, and for one, Felix is just the best behaved one year old in the world (and, yes, I know I can say that as I don't have to live through the early mornings etc, but he is gorgeous, and I am allowed to be biased) Thanks again for Max and Paul sharing the driving most days, and for showing us around where they live, I could be quiet jealous.

But before we departed for a few days to hit the " Great Ocean Road", we managed to visit some fine places, and check out Maggie Beers place for lunch too. So, before the smuggled "Drop Bear" needs feeding, I'll leave it there for now, see you next week for the next instalment!

Take care folks

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 94

2010-08-15T16:15:00.000+01:00

Vacation over - ho hum!

Well, we made it there, and we made it back. More soon I promise, but in the meantime, here's something to keep you going

... and yes, we did climb it, right to those flags on top! Cheers

Photo Comp Results!

2010-07-23T16:28:00.009+01:00

With not as many votes as I anticipated, but grateful thanks to all of you that did vote, the results are in, and "Pea PodII" is the clear winner.

No.1 - "Fruit & Veg"

I am always appreciative of all your comments on what I take, as I am my own biggest critic, so it's nice to hear that I'm on the right track. And, praise where praise is due, I also have to compete with some of the most competent photographers and bloggers around, there is a wealth of talent there, you know who you are, and I am awed and inspired on a regular basis by you all.

I've decided to enter three pictures, Pea PodII (Winner), one of the Sweet Pea photos (Thanks Maninas for the nudge to do this one) and the newly posted Dragonfly picture. This will give me three categories with The RHS Photographic Competition 2010

No.2 - Abstract

No.3 - Wildlife

So wish me luck, and bon voyage, as we set off for the Antipodes!
See you all in a while, hopefully I'll be able to keep you updated on our trip, if not we'll catch up at the next instalment of... Sunday Morning Musings ... (play the "Herges Adventures of Tin Tin" tune in your head at this point).

One last thing to keep you amused, and pander to those "something special, something different" shopping needs, I have added 2 new links, one to the "Wines, books, food and other good things" section and the other to the "Scary Minds and more" section. Pedlars has been a particular favourite of mine for a while, and whilst being selective with their prices, they have a genuine passion and feel for their goods and their customers, something that is sadly lacking in many places today, but it seems to thrive with them. I like the way they think, I love the products, and I'd give my eye-teeth to work for a company like them. Do check out both the website and the blog, and see if it takes your fancy. Many thanks go to Charlie Gladstone for the permissions to link.

TTFN

Here be Dragons........

2010-07-20T19:46:00.000+01:00

This wee beauty was trapped in the kitchen, so I had to snap him before I let him out... I am always overawed by these creatures.

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 93

2010-07-18T12:26:00.000+01:00

Well here we are a week away from our big trip down under. I have to say that I am excited, but this is tempered by the thought of such a long flight ahead of us. The sting is taken out of the tail though, as we will be on one of the new Airbus planes, and the fact that we have a few hours stopover in Singapore airport, which has to be one of the best I've landed at.
The fact that they have a health club, where for a few dollars, you can shower and change for the second leg of the journey, is a real treat.

Peter is taking his eee netbook, (his runs Linux btw) with him, and as a pre-holiday treat I bought him a neat little external hardrive, so we can download both his, and my, camera to it. One of the websites I regularly check out and sometimes buy kit from, always has really good articles that they update folks on, and yesterday I read this excellent article while trying to determine what bits of camera kit to take on holiday.I think I have it sussed... OK, so I may have changed my mind about 12 times so far... hey ho.

One other pleasing outcome of the article was a lovley quote, just added to the top of the "Who said that" list on the right. I was rather taken by it.

We have our friends C&A looking after the pad, as well as our local Neighbourhood Watch, now all we have to do is make sure we eat as much of our produce or make sure it is picked and eaten/ frozen / preserved... you just know though, that the tomatoes will be perfect this year ( the first in ages) just as we are away! hmmm.

Right, depending on access, I may be here next weekend, if not, be good, and look after yourselves, and we'll catch up the other side of the vacation. Cheers!

Photo Comp

2010-07-16T17:14:00.000+01:00

Two votes!!

Ok gang (that's you DMM and you Lee - both of you, and the rest of my followers, friends, occasional visitors etc)

Now pay attention, here's the plan. If you tell at least 10 other people each to vote, then I'll have loads of votes and will feel suitably honoured and humbled... or if it's just Lee and DMM, I'll have 22 votes.

I don't mind partners voting, pets, babes in arms, visiting medics, door knocking evangelists, whoever.... but two votes...come on!! (I thank you both: DMM, first drink is on me; Lee, delicious words are on the way, I hope the stitches hold....)

So as an overview, it looks like my adoring public is waning.... I could be hurt.
I may just have to go out and buy some fancy electronics for Peter, a big new SD card for the camera, some new boots or shoes prehaps. I may just have to book a table at the new Italian restaurant in town .... too late, done it all! And we have our leaky shower mended! HA.... ..... maybe too much coffee do you think?? ... hey ho.. and get voting, Please...

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 92

2010-07-11T08:32:00.001+01:00

Here's a little bouquet for Lee. Get well soon, Chuck has been brilliant in keeping us up to date. I hope you both like Sweet-Peas.

It hit 30C here on Friday, and typically it was the day I had to drive to a site! I swear I will never ever, ever, ever drive through Dunstable again! It took me over an hour to get through the town.. and it was hot, damn hot. Never again!
Saturday was a little easier, just around the 28C mark, but with a cool breeze. We had the wall open and sat and had a wonderful breakfast listening to the birds first thing.

So by the time both Peter and I got home on Friday night, we decided that instead of the usual (well, pretty usual) Chinese take-away, we'd take a leaf out of the book of slow life, and we helped ourselves to a crisp glass of white wine, and sat and shelled fresh beans and peas, from our garden

Now, they may not be the biggest or best of crops, but for us, they are the sweetest and tastiest beans and peas we have had. So I decided we would have a Pea and Bean risotto to eat that night.. if they were enough of the delicious wee things left for us to cook with!

Now everyone should have a risotto recipe to hand, I know I have. One good basic one that I change and tweak to suit the mood, the weather and the ingredients to hand. I love a risotto, and again, I love the fact that you can chill and just stand and stir one and loose yourself to a slower pace for a good half hour. There are three things though that I always use regardless of the style, ingredients or mood. One is that just as the rice has gone translucent, I add a dash of Vermouth, the smell as the alcohol burns off is incredible. Secondly, I always add a knob of butter at the end, just gently stirred in to give the dish a glossy finish. Lastly, I always try to use fresh products, with a nod of thanks though, to tins of various beans that we simply can't get fresh here.

Friday's risotto turned out to be delicious, with hints of fresh rosemary and sage along with the "pop in your mouth" beans and peas. To give it added texture, I sprinkled pan fried bacon, crisp and roughly chopped, over the top as I served (pancetta is much better, but we didn't have any), and then topped this off with freshly picked pea shoots. Just sit back, enjoy a glass of wine, and dinner is the simplest thing in the world.

The last of the strawberry crop are small sweet and delicious, ideal for single portion Pavlovas... hmmmmmm. As for the tomatoes, well I hope they grow to be equally delicious, so fingers crossed!

Today sees us off for Afternoon Tea with friends, helping celebrate their birthdays. Much more relaxed than the past few hectic weekends. Mind you, we are gearing up for Oz, having just ordered currency, so all we have to do now is pack..... I think I'll be going with a tan, and coming back without one, looking at the weather! Hey ho, onwards and upwards.

Before I go, I'd like to ask everyone a favour, as I would like you to vote on three of the photographs on today's post, using the voting widget on the sidebar. I've decided to enter a competition, and would like to involve everyone that stops by, the friends that I have made, the folks that have commented on my photos, or just those that dip in to see how we are, or what's happening etc. I'd love you to pass on the invitation to as many people as possible, and the one with the most votes in the next two weeks will be the one I submit.. over to you!

Have a great week, cheers (oh, and apologies if there are too many slideshow elements, I know they can take time to download)

Sunday Morning Musings - Part 91

2010-07-04T19:20:00.000+01:00

Well you'll have to forgive me for not posting anything last week, but as Peter and I sat down to recover last Monday, we worked out that between Friday and Monday evening, we only had two meals at home all weekend!

Now I know quiet a few of you think we have a hectic social life, but even I did last weekend.

First off we attended a very lovely 18th birthday party on the Friday night (thanks agian Rosie for the invite), and we also managed to catch up at that party with more old friends and godchildren. Saturday was a spin out in the Stag, taking my godson Christopher out for a whirl, (it's fair to say the car will be his one day)

Saturday afternoon we visited more friends and godchildren for a catch up and another sunny day of easy glasses of wine and a BBQ. Saturday and Sunday Breakfast where the only two meals we had at home by the way.... as then on Sunday afternoon we visited with yet more friends, for yet another lazy afternoon of wine and BBQ into the late evening then home. I even managed to feign enough interest to watch England get knocked out of the World Cup too... ho hum.

We've had the first delicious crop of Charlotte new potatoes too, deliciously earthy, soft and waxy.. the best, especially when you know you've just dug them up.

The Thursday before last weekend saw us entertaining relatives, and it was lovely to be able to pick produce from our garden and share it, as more often than not, when we visit Ed & Catherine (the owners of that wonderful Somerset garden) we sample the marvellous food they grow. It was such a pleasure to return the favour.

On Friday night we had friends over for a Chinese meal , and this remarkable moth joined us, and I was amazed, as I have never seen the like. I'll pop it onto the iSpot website, but Lee, let me know if you identify it first ;o)

Unfortunately, we had to miss out on a Christening today, as we had an alternative party to go to last night that meant us staying overnight, so I hope you can forgive us D&D, and we hope everything went well, and we'd love to catch up soon, before your delightful daughter is old enough to drive ;o)

Our countdown to Oz is coming on a pace, not too long now, three weeks! Visas are done (all on line, very snappy, no probs) All I have to do now is decide on summer or winter wear! Feel free to help out with suggestions.

That's it for now, but I'll leave you with this. If you do one thing this week, and need to recommend one thing to one other person, please, please, please, go and take a look at this young lady's website. We sat outside last night, at our friend's house, and Peter and Ali's niece (Zoe) sang a couple of these songs for us, just her and her guitar, and her confidence, and we were enthralled. Zoe (and her extended group of players) deserve as much attention as they can get... Oh, and I can't forget her brother David for entertaining us with balloon animals, I kept the orange dog ;o)

Enjoy your week folks, and take care of each other