Lucky Captain P! O, what a fantastic idea Lego was and is!
Dry and cloudy in Arkland the Humid at the moment (90% ), with Rain imminent - well, it's a Bank Holiday weekend, so...
Much traffic (mostly stationary) on the road leading into and out of Arkland, because Young Persons' football tournament on a nearby field. The grass is just beginning to perk up after The Great Drought, but the hundreds of feet trampling it today and tomorrow (players and spectators - it's a Large Event) may put it back a bit.
I'm just home after taking our guests on a bit of a pub crawl. Husband and I opted out after the third pub to leave our town clerk taking our guests on to a fourth pub.
I'm off to bed feeling rather drunk.
Everything in moderation including, occasionally, moderation
The water butts would collect rainwater if the lid was left off, but would also collect a lot of organic matter from neighbouring trees and become smelly. We are getting a bit too old for climbing inside to scrub them out.
There is nowhere to site butts to collect the water from the roof of the bungalow as there is only a narrow path going round the building.
It is very frustrating, although not as frustrating as the plumbing here with a mixer tap in the kitchen that usually delivers a gallon of water of the wrong temperature before giving us what we need, and no way to get anything under bathroom taps to collect water from there.
I had set up six water butts, linked by long lengths of hose down the length of the large sloping garden of our last place
I was so proud of them!
I've had a very enjoyable day: my brother came out as arranged (sadly without his wife, who hasn't been feeling very well), and we had a nice lunch and catch-up followed by a mosey round the classic car show.
The weather gods were with us: although it was raining when he arrived, by the time we were actually walking around the rain had stopped and it was just muggy. It had the decency to wait until it was well over before the heavens opened and chucked it down.
There were some absolute beauties on show, including a beautifully restored Hillman Imp, a few Jags and an Aston Martin Vantage - phwoar!!! Pure car porn!
Snoozage has been achieved, and I think laundry can wait until tomorrow.
Not sure what to have for supper: the fridge is looking decidedly Mother Hubbard. I might go full-on lazy slob and phone for a pizza ...
Better have an Expotition to a food emporium tomorrow.
Spent the day setting up for the village Gala (fête) tomorrow. There is a beer tent but alas most of the village are beer philistines so there's absolutely no demand for any decent ale, bar me. I just hope the high point is slightly above the cans of John Smiths I saw, but I'm not hopeful.
I shall spend most of the day tomorrow telling disappointed punters they have, predictably, picked the water rather than the wine as I always end up with that stall.
It was more of a tribute act to Sole Veronique - all the ingredients (fish, shallot, mushroom, vermouth, grapes, cream) - but just all done in a pan. Mr F enjoyed it, but I had zilch appetite. Nevertheless I saw off my half of a bottle of Cremant de Limoux.
That really isn't fair @Firenze. I hope you feel a bit better tomorrow.
We had a lovely final evening with most of our Twinning guests this evening. I am feeling very fat as we were in a pub that did a very large traditional Sunday dinner. Yorkshire pudding was a bit of a puzzle to some of our guests.Tomorrow most are going home and the Ukrainians are hoping to go to London for the day. Tomorrow evening there is a big event in the Market Square which should be fun as we're promised tributes to both Dolly Parton and Tim Curry by one of our local brass bands. Other than that I don't intend to do much, though there is rather a lot of cleaning that needs doing.
Last weekend we had a classic car show here which my son enjoyed. Not a Hillman Imp in sight @Piglet! The worst car we ever had. It broke down en route for a holiday, just after being serviced!
Today proved sunny until about 6pm when the sky turned black and torrential rain followed. Fortunately I had got the washing in.
Tomorrow I am off to a Come and Sing: three pieces by Mendelssohn. Looking forward to it. If I go early enough I should be able to park for free, so I’ll probably stay on for the organ recital afterwards.
I am suffering badly from insect bites, as the change from hot dry weather to warm and humid has brought the little blighters out in force. They lie in wait for me to step outside for the daily watering and harvesting of tomatoes and beans, and feast on every uncovered portion of my anatomy. They can even find their way to some of the covered bits
I wake in the middle of the night scratching my ankles raw from the itching.
This morning I wore a roll neck sweater tucked into my trousers, which were in turn tucked into long socks and finished off with a pair of hiking boots.
I think I escaped without any new bites, but was decidedly warmer than was comfortable.
I am feeling very fat as we were in a pub that did a very large traditional Sunday dinner. Yorkshire pudding was a bit of a puzzle to some of our guests.
When we lived in Malta a German family lived in the flat adjoining ours. We had them over for dinner and Mrs S did the obvious roast beef with all the trimmings. They loved it, all of it, especially the Yorkshire pudding and onion sauce, so in a corner of Stuttgart, the everyday pancake batter mix goes into the oven, pretty much on request. @Puzzler
My memory of the Hillman Imp is that nearly sixty years ago a neighbour owned one. We thought this strange, as the Imp was, let’s say, compact and the driver was a massive man, perfectly built for the second row of a rugby scrum, that he had to hunch over the wheel to drive the thing. He drove us from Chippenham to a resort near Portsmouth one summer and I think he had to be extracted from the car rather than get out himself.
The Imp didn’t last. I think he got a Cortina.
We had a big leak in the bathroom last night. Not sure if it's due to failed sealing around a skylight or poor installation of our new solar panels - or both. Very worrying as rain is not unknown in south Wales.
@Baptist Trainfan I hope and pray you get a roofer/plumber/whatever in soon. Why do these things happen on bank holidays?
It took ten days to get a minor tap problem fixed a couple of weeks ago.
I advise any school leaver to go into plumbing or gas fitting. AI won’t make much difference there for a decade or three yet, and unlike retail, leisure and hospitality, and care, the rewards are substantial once you are qualified, have your tools and a van.
Another cloudy day, with bouts of Sun-Shine, in Arkland the Autumnal. I, too, have the beginnings of a Cold - runny eyes, snotty nose, sneezing etc. - and may have to empty my Diary for the next few days...Pilates tomorrow, and a Blood Test (O! the excitement!) on Thursday.
I'll see how I feel later today. I did wonder if maybe the pollen count was high, but no, it isn't.
@Baptist Trainfan I hope and pray you get a roofer/plumber/whatever in soon. Why do these things happen on bank holidays?
It took ten days to get a minor tap problem fixed a couple of weeks ago.
I advise any school leaver to go into plumbing or gas fitting. AI won’t make much difference there for a decade or three yet, and unlike retail, leisure and hospitality, and care, the rewards are substantial once you are qualified, have your tools and a van.
I tried to persuade my stepdaughter in this direction. She went into landscape gardening instead, which has proved similarly financially sound and fad-proof, but does ebb and flow a little with the weather and the economy.
Sorry to hear about the leak @Baptist Trainfan. I popped in to see my husband at the end of his Quaker meeting yesterday. I'd been in our Town Hall and their Meeting House is just round the corner from it. They were mopping up after a big leak. Not sure quite what happened but the electricity was out and the floor and ceiling very wet. Hopefully someone was coming in to fix it today. Hope yours is sorted pronto too.
Today we've been to a sculpture exhibition at a stately home about fifteen miles away. Some of the sculptures were lovely, shame I haven't the budget to buy them. The grounds were also great and I really enjoyed the walled garden. They had so many squashes of so many different varieties.
I've been practicing the Time Warp ahead of tonight's band concert, though as my hip is still pretty dodgy it will be a rather gentle version.
Talking of leaks, the Pills promise to tackle a runny nose, but are not so far doing much. Actually, it says 'blocked or runny nose' - I would have thought these were opposite conditions.
Meanwhile the 5 ft deep trench is moving up the street, with its retinue of diggers and lorries and men with shovels. It is quite noisy, and I can feel the vibrations. I hope they don't worsen the already widespread cracks in the plaster.
I hope the various leaks and colds get sorted soon.
The Come and Sing was an enjoyable day, but for what it’s worth, I wonder if the title misleads some people into coming who really shouldn’t, as they haven’t a clue/ can’t hold a tune/ their mind is elsewhere. Unless specifically advertised as a fun day for all and sundry, C and S are usually aimed at moderately competent singers. Even more annoying for me was the person next to me who spent the first 15 minutes texting on her phone. I will take my rant elsewhere.
I suppose one of the risks you take in going to a Come and Sing event is the possibility that you might be next to someone who isn't as good a singer as you are!
The texting is another matter, and the person concerned would have done better to have simply left the event, and gone elsewhere.
I don’t mind if others are less good than me. I wasn’t always as good a singer as I am now. I just want them to pay attention and do their best to follow the conductor, not have their mind elsewhere, for whatever reason.
In contrast, the young apprentice soloists were brilliant, the orchestra fantastic and the conductor indefatigable even at the end of a three day festival.
Back to ‘ normal life’ tomorrow plus my youngest grandson is coming for his tea.
I agree re: the texting - that is just plain rude.
Adding my prayers for everyone's colds/leaks/etc to be fixed presto pronto!
After a lovely, lazy Bank Holiday morning, I embarked on Lunch, Laundry and Shopping. Luckily, while I was engaged in the latter, the weather behaved in a most uncharacteristic way for a BH, and I made it to Tessie's and back without getting wet.
Having decided I fancied making a chilli, I bought the ingredients, made it and the first third has been consumed for supper.
Glad to hear it @Bishops Finger I have been very shivery and despite lack,of sleep unable to doze off. Dinner was a glass of whisky, a glass of red wine and a fruit jelly. There was a pizza as well, but I couldn't face it.
The diggings are creeping up which for a household like ours, so reliant on taxis and grocery deliveries, is a bit of a problem.
@la vie en rouge , and Captain PJ may like to know that Durham Cathedral Museum has a Lego model of the Cathedral that used 298,000 bricks. Very detailed, it was thought up and designed as a fundraising effort when a new roof for part of the Cathedral was needed. They charged £1 to lay a brick, and then made a bit extra by raffling off the laying of the last brick.
Next to it is a very quirky little video of the short version of the Reformation told by mini-figures.
I’m amazed at how realistic some of the Lego models are. I remember Lego as just being bricks so everything was very angular and not realistic at all.
Lego came in very useful some years ago when I helped lead a church service on Nehemiah and the wall. I gave everyone in the congregation, a small bag of Lego bricks and I had prepared a base plate with an unfinished surrounding wall which had uneven gaps in it. People had to cooperate in order to complete the wall.
It seems to be a day of problem solving here.
The main road is closed again today but the work is nearly finished.
My neighbour has fixed my downpipe problem which was causing damp in his garage.
My grandson is coming today and has offered to do various jobs, so he will resolve a few more problems, by virtue of being taller and stronger.
But now I have a new issue. The Chair of my local choral society has overruled a Committee decision taken last week. It is about issuing music to potential new members and ensuring it gets returned, which caused the Librarian a lot of problems last year. The solution was agreed in Committee by general consent, no vote, but the Chair has now arranged a different solution, to be implemented tomorrow. In short, she has acted unilaterally.
I have no particular view as to which would be the better solution, as each has its drawbacks, but I find it unacceptable that she has acted in this way. As you know, this Chair is a pain in the proverbial. Any thoughts?
Your Chair clearly needs to be removed asap, so some sort of coup d'état is called for. How about a vote of No Confidence?
ION, another fine late summer day in Arkland the Elysian, with Sun-Shine, a few cotton-woolly Clouds, and a gentle westerly Zephyr. Just the day for Paint Ing, but after Pilates (because Tuesday) I'm in no fit state to do anything other than Restage and Quaffage.
Never mind. There is LIVER n'BACON n'MASH for lunch - one of Tess Coe's easy meals for Feeble Old Fingers. Nice CHEESE for later...
It's turning into an unusually busy week for me. Yesterday, after a brief Shopp Ing trip, I had an unexpected but very welcome visit from my Sister-in-law. She was visiting a friend in Croydon, and thought she would do well to look up her Brother-in-law before heading home to rural Shropshire (A E Housman country). A 50-something alpha female, who published her first novel a couple of years ago, she's always a delight to see and converse with - very left-wing politically, like the rest of the Family!
Today was Pilates, tomorrow is another Shopp Ing trip with Neighbour S (who doesn't drive) and on Thursday I have a blood test booked...
Also hope your cold clears up soon @Firenze ; definitely not what you need just now. I find Night Nurse gives me around 5 hours of sleep, which is a very good thing with a cold. It has a different effect on Mr Nen, however; the last time he took it he hardly slept at all which was very unhelpful.
I took advantage of a cooler morning to go for a walk straight after breakfast, headed out over the fields and saw a couple of cheeky robins and a deer.
ETA - that's a busy week, @Bishops Finger ! One of the things I'm thankful for about moving here (and I must add it to the list I'm making) is no longer feeling obligated to go to the Pilates class we attended for a while. I felt I should, and it probably Did Me Good, but it was such hard work and at a really awkward time.
This morning we went to meet Captain Pyjamas' new teacher. She seems like a very nice lady.
Apart from that, laundry has been laundered (Empty Laundry Basket achieved, with the exception of one errant sock ) and the Captain and I have prepared stuffed aubergines which will go in the oven for dinner later.
It's a pleasantly warm day, so I think playing in the park is in order.
There is an enormous Basket in Hell, which contains all the socks eaten by terrestrial washing-machines...but there is not a single matching pair to be found among them...
@la vie en rouge , and Captain PJ may like to know that Durham Cathedral Museum has a Lego model of the Cathedral that used 298,000 bricks. Very detailed, it was thought up and designed as a fundraising effort when a new roof for part of the Cathedral was needed. They charged £1 to lay a brick, and then made a bit extra by raffling off the laying of the last brick.
Next to it is a very quirky little video of the short version of the Reformation told by mini-figures.
We had "build a Lego church" as an adult activity in Cafe church in July. Each table of six was given a picture of the Lego Durham Cathedral as inspiration, a small bag of Lego bricks and 20 minutes to work together on our "church". The results in no way resembled the inspiration picture. Indeed, in most cases they in no way resembled a building of any description.
Linguistic question for British shippies. It was only this year that I learned the British definition of "mooch". LC used the expression "mosey around" above which we use in Canada. Are mooch and mosey essentially synonyms in British usage? ( I have an Australian colleague who used the expression "dead rubber" the other day, a term I was not familiar with me. I am fascinated by the variations in English usage across the Commonwealth.)
Comments
Dry and cloudy in Arkland the Humid at the moment (90%
Much traffic (mostly stationary) on the road leading into and out of Arkland, because Young Persons' football tournament on a nearby field. The grass is just beginning to perk up after The Great Drought, but the hundreds of feet trampling it today and tomorrow (players and spectators - it's a Large Event) may put it back a bit.
Everything in moderation including, occasionally, moderation
There is nowhere to site butts to collect the water from the roof of the bungalow as there is only a narrow path going round the building.
It is very frustrating, although not as frustrating as the plumbing here with a mixer tap in the kitchen that usually delivers a gallon of water of the wrong temperature before giving us what we need, and no way to get anything under bathroom taps to collect water from there.
I had set up six water butts, linked by long lengths of hose down the length of the large sloping garden of our last place
I was so proud of them!
I only have 3 linked, and no eoom for more, so you can colour me impressed!
The weather gods were with us: although it was raining when he arrived, by the time we were actually walking around the rain had stopped and it was just muggy. It had the decency to wait until it was well over before the heavens opened and chucked it down.
There were some absolute beauties on show, including a beautifully restored Hillman Imp, a few Jags and an Aston Martin Vantage - phwoar!!! Pure car porn!
Snoozage has been achieved, and I think laundry can wait until tomorrow.
Not sure what to have for supper: the fridge is looking decidedly Mother Hubbard. I might go full-on lazy slob and phone for a pizza ...
Better have an Expotition to a food emporium tomorrow.
I shall spend most of the day tomorrow telling disappointed punters they have, predictably, picked the water rather than the wine as I always end up with that stall.
As @Piglet says, the father and mother of a thunderstorm, which will have flooded the diggings due to advance up the street tomorrow.
Dinner will be Sole Veronique and Day Nurse.
Early night.
We had a lovely final evening with most of our Twinning guests this evening. I am feeling very fat as we were in a pub that did a very large traditional Sunday dinner. Yorkshire pudding was a bit of a puzzle to some of our guests.Tomorrow most are going home and the Ukrainians are hoping to go to London for the day. Tomorrow evening there is a big event in the Market Square which should be fun as we're promised tributes to both Dolly Parton and Tim Curry by one of our local brass bands. Other than that I don't intend to do much, though there is rather a lot of cleaning that needs doing.
Today proved sunny until about 6pm when the sky turned black and torrential rain followed. Fortunately I had got the washing in.
Tomorrow I am off to a Come and Sing: three pieces by Mendelssohn. Looking forward to it. If I go early enough I should be able to park for free, so I’ll probably stay on for the organ recital afterwards.
I wake in the middle of the night scratching my ankles raw from the itching.
This morning I wore a roll neck sweater tucked into my trousers, which were in turn tucked into long socks and finished off with a pair of hiking boots.
I think I escaped without any new bites, but was decidedly warmer than was comfortable.
@Puzzler
My memory of the Hillman Imp is that nearly sixty years ago a neighbour owned one. We thought this strange, as the Imp was, let’s say, compact and the driver was a massive man, perfectly built for the second row of a rugby scrum, that he had to hunch over the wheel to drive the thing. He drove us from Chippenham to a resort near Portsmouth one summer and I think he had to be extracted from the car rather than get out himself.
The Imp didn’t last. I think he got a Cortina.
Sadly, no sleep after 1 a.m., nose running like a tap, cough setting in. Bleurgh.
It took ten days to get a minor tap problem fixed a couple of weeks ago.
I advise any school leaver to go into plumbing or gas fitting. AI won’t make much difference there for a decade or three yet, and unlike retail, leisure and hospitality, and care, the rewards are substantial once you are qualified, have your tools and a van.
I'll see how I feel later today. I did wonder if maybe the pollen count was high, but no, it isn't.
I tried to persuade my stepdaughter in this direction. She went into landscape gardening instead, which has proved similarly financially sound and fad-proof, but does ebb and flow a little with the weather and the economy.
Lunch will be fresh baguette with copious amounts of cheese.
I hope those with colds are better soon.
Today we've been to a sculpture exhibition at a stately home about fifteen miles away. Some of the sculptures were lovely, shame I haven't the budget to buy them. The grounds were also great and I really enjoyed the walled garden. They had so many squashes of so many different varieties.
I've been practicing the Time Warp ahead of tonight's band concert, though as my hip is still pretty dodgy it will be a rather gentle version.
Meanwhile the 5 ft deep trench is moving up the street, with its retinue of diggers and lorries and men with shovels. It is quite noisy, and I can feel the vibrations. I hope they don't worsen the already widespread cracks in the plaster.
The Come and Sing was an enjoyable day, but for what it’s worth, I wonder if the title misleads some people into coming who really shouldn’t, as they haven’t a clue/ can’t hold a tune/ their mind is elsewhere. Unless specifically advertised as a fun day for all and sundry, C and S are usually aimed at moderately competent singers. Even more annoying for me was the person next to me who spent the first 15 minutes texting on her phone. I will take my rant elsewhere.
The texting is another matter, and the person concerned would have done better to have simply left the event, and gone elsewhere.
In contrast, the young apprentice soloists were brilliant, the orchestra fantastic and the conductor indefatigable even at the end of a three day festival.
Back to ‘ normal life’ tomorrow plus my youngest grandson is coming for his tea.
Adding my prayers for everyone's colds/leaks/etc to be fixed presto pronto!
After a lovely, lazy Bank Holiday morning, I embarked on Lunch, Laundry and Shopping. Luckily, while I was engaged in the latter, the weather behaved in a most uncharacteristic way for a BH, and I made it to Tessie's and back without getting wet.
Having decided I fancied making a chilli, I bought the ingredients, made it and the first third has been consumed for supper.
Back to the grind tomorrow.
I hope...
The diggings are creeping up which for a household like ours, so reliant on taxis and grocery deliveries, is a bit of a problem.
@Baptist Trainfan hope the leak gets sorted ASAP!
Next to it is a very quirky little video of the short version of the Reformation told by mini-figures.
Lego came in very useful some years ago when I helped lead a church service on Nehemiah and the wall. I gave everyone in the congregation, a small bag of Lego bricks and I had prepared a base plate with an unfinished surrounding wall which had uneven gaps in it. People had to cooperate in order to complete the wall.
The main road is closed again today but the work is nearly finished.
My neighbour has fixed my downpipe problem which was causing damp in his garage.
My grandson is coming today and has offered to do various jobs, so he will resolve a few more problems, by virtue of being taller and stronger.
But now I have a new issue. The Chair of my local choral society has overruled a Committee decision taken last week. It is about issuing music to potential new members and ensuring it gets returned, which caused the Librarian a lot of problems last year. The solution was agreed in Committee by general consent, no vote, but the Chair has now arranged a different solution, to be implemented tomorrow. In short, she has acted unilaterally.
I have no particular view as to which would be the better solution, as each has its drawbacks, but I find it unacceptable that she has acted in this way. As you know, this Chair is a pain in the proverbial. Any thoughts?
ION, another fine late summer day in Arkland the Elysian, with Sun-Shine, a few cotton-woolly Clouds, and a gentle westerly Zephyr. Just the day for Paint Ing, but after Pilates (because Tuesday) I'm in no fit state to do anything other than Restage and Quaffage.
Never mind. There is LIVER n'BACON n'MASH for lunch - one of Tess Coe's easy meals for Feeble Old Fingers. Nice CHEESE for later...
It's turning into an unusually busy week for me. Yesterday, after a brief Shopp Ing trip, I had an unexpected but very welcome visit from my Sister-in-law. She was visiting a friend in Croydon, and thought she would do well to look up her Brother-in-law before heading home to rural Shropshire (A E Housman country). A 50-something alpha female, who published her first novel a couple of years ago, she's always a delight to see and converse with - very left-wing politically, like the rest of the Family!
Today was Pilates, tomorrow is another Shopp Ing trip with Neighbour S (who doesn't drive) and on Thursday I have a blood test booked...
Also hope your cold clears up soon @Firenze ; definitely not what you need just now. I find Night Nurse gives me around 5 hours of sleep, which is a very good thing with a cold. It has a different effect on Mr Nen, however; the last time he took it he hardly slept at all which was very unhelpful.
I took advantage of a cooler morning to go for a walk straight after breakfast, headed out over the fields and saw a couple of cheeky robins and a deer.
ETA - that's a busy week, @Bishops Finger ! One of the things I'm thankful for about moving here (and I must add it to the list I'm making) is no longer feeling obligated to go to the Pilates class we attended for a while. I felt I should, and it probably Did Me Good, but it was such hard work and at a really awkward time.
Apart from that, laundry has been laundered (Empty Laundry Basket achieved, with the exception of one errant sock
It's a pleasantly warm day, so I think playing in the park is in order.
We had "build a Lego church" as an adult activity in Cafe church in July. Each table of six was given a picture of the Lego Durham Cathedral as inspiration, a small bag of Lego bricks and 20 minutes to work together on our "church". The results in no way resembled the inspiration picture. Indeed, in most cases they in no way resembled a building of any description.