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"longer off topic comments" - Episode 16 Life Outside Ambridge
"longer off topic comments" - Episode 16 Life Outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
Good morning Archer friends.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful ! Picture any of us there, draped in a sarong, sipping at a long cocktail. Thanks, Ruthy.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures as usual Ruthy.
ReplyDeleteDrove past a shop called Love Cheese yesterday and it got me wondering about the sage derby hunt.
Can’t remember who it was that was trying to get some now, but whoever it was........were you successful?
On another topic....gardeners world was very good last night with Monty advising what to do with regards this drought. Carol and the hydrangeas.... they were absolutely stunning. My mother always called them “changeables” too.
GG....love your little travel blogs. Everything sounds fabulous.
Archerphile - in reply to your anxiety re sedation on the previous blog:
ReplyDeleteMy first hip replacement took place under sedation and the anaesthetist sat with me the whole time. He explained that when the action got too noisy he would increase the amount of sedation, and if anything 'untoward' were to take place during the operation he could send me completely to sleep.
As it was, I lay dreamily on the operating table with soothing music playing in the background(can't remember what), with occasional sleepy verbal exchanges with a charming - and quite funny - anaesthetist beside me throughout. The surgeon and his team behind me seemed to be discussing the prowess of their various children at school (I couldn't help wondering if the conversation would be quite so innocuous if the patient were unconscious) and the sound of the business taking place was not a problem: I was completely detached from it, so it was like dozing in bed on a summer morning, half-aware of a neighbour several doors down repairing a garden fence. I hope that helps to put your mind at rest.
Mrs P: unfortunately the veins on the back of my hands are no more co-operative than the rest of them; by now my hands are liberally scarred from failed attempts to insert cannulae, or where they pulled out post-op. I'm just an awkward customer, I'm afraid!
I posted this on the other blog by mistake. Apologies.
Janice, there is an awful lot of snobbery and nonsense talked about wine. I do like a nice bottle of port, but am no authority on it or wine. Just to prove a point at the world Champagne and sparkling wine world championships in 2017, according to the telegraph, the CO OP £17 champagne received a gold medal , this was ranked along side another bottle of cristal blue rose 2004 priced £396 (and no I haven't got my figures wrong) and others priced up to 23% more
ReplyDeleteMy attempts at wine making produced undrinkable rubbish. More success with the elder flower champagne which was delicious and yes it did blow corks.
to add to the subject of decanting vintage port ( essential) a silk stocking was supposed to be ideal..!
ReplyDeleteI have not drank port for very many years (although I do have a bottle, which I purely use in cooking). I had a very bad experience one New Years Eve, at a dinner party with friends. An Australian vintage port appeared, which was exquisite. I remember mid-night on Dec. 31st and Jan.2nd, but as for Jan 1st.New Years Day? I still have no idea as to how I got home!
DeleteI first drank port as a young woman.
DeleteMy father promptly told me that port and lemon was a prostitutes drink.
( apologies to whoever said it was theirs mums favourite)
I didn't drink it again until much older, and whenever I did, perhaps two or three times, I was very ill the following day.
I did enjoy it I remember, but have not drunk it for decades and never will again.
We have been having rain almost every day for many weeks now. I wish some of it can be transported to England. My potted flowers 🌺 are soaked.
ReplyDeleteIn my part of England, it is perfect. I am having cool nights, lovely sunny + warm days (temp about 24C) with a breeze.My family in London though, are having very hot weather, yet again. It is still very dry though, so I am off to water my pots, window box, hanging basket and most important, my runner beans.
DeletePS I have given up on the rest of my garden. I am taking the attitude that if it doesn't survive, i can then replant and give it a "make-over"!
DeleteI am having a very difficult situation. My neighbours have installed a type of "soft tub" 'spa, with jets. They are enjoying it, and why not, but they are "skinning dipping". I went out to do some watering in the garden, but I can see them! I have scurried back indoors.and I just do not know how to adress this "problem/eyeful". Even with my "bad eye" I could still see everything.
ReplyDeleteHas any-one been in a similar situation?
Oh dear, Miriam. I suspect you don't see the consumption of excessive quantities of vintage port as an acceptable means of blotting it all out?
DeleteThis would make a nice Archers story. Who would be the dippers, and who the reluctant Peeping Tom? I think I could see Lynda in either role, but Ambridge Hall probably isn't overlooked.
Matt and Lilian had a hot tub I believe and also Adam and Ian?
DeleteI don’t envy you that Miriam. It’s enough for me when the neighbours chat outside late at night with their extra bright outside lights. Last night they sat at opposite ends of the garden so had to shout to make each other hear. Our bedroom is just above and I like to sleep early so we are not very compatible. They also water the garden at midnight.
When the hot weather started it was said on the radio that it is an offence to sunbathe naked in your garden where you can be seen by neighbours. Think this would apply to hot tubs too! You would think they could put a screen up.
DeleteHave just googled it and it can become an offence if it causes distress or alarm to others. You could discuss it with it with the police or better still maybe let them know quietly that they may not realise they are in full view of your garden.
DeleteHmm... Or we could try not looking into neighbours' gardens ?
ReplyDeleteSorry that sounds a bit terse, I really didn't think my comment would be published, it was the fourth time of writing and so a bit tired after going through the Google obstacle course. But I really think we should live and let live and not take offence where none is intended.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Minty.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Mirium and neighbours gardens are very close and impossible not to see.
It's difficult to know how and or what can be done.
Agree it's unlikely that offence is intended.
Next doors cat not there again this morning and no food consumed.
ReplyDeleteBut neighbour returned this evening and says cat is in the house.
She was also quiet cheerfully positive about the cat finding food from someone else.
She also apologised for any worry that I might have had and added that it would not have been my fault if the cat had left home.
Hello Mrs P,
ReplyDeleteI looked back at last week's posts and saw your dilemma re neighbour's cat . (Is cat ugly or neighbour??). Anyway what a relief that cat is now in house and all okay. I have a dear friend who feeds and talks to our cats if we are away, don't know what I would do without her. And I can't often reciprocate as she finds it difficult to drag her husband away on holiday, so he is nearly always available to look after their own animals.
Yes re neighbours - maybe difficult if you can't avoid seeing into their garden. But while excessive noise / bright lights may be difficult to avoid, why - embarrassing sights - I'd just look the other way! Wonderful scene from Room with a View springs to mind.
This is very embarrassing for Miriam and she shouldn’t have to scurry back indoors when going out to water her garden.
DeleteIf you have a hose pipe Mirian could you" " accidently " spray over the fence?
DeleteGood to hear the news about the cat ,Mrs P
'Twas I who mentioned my mum and the port and lemon.
I had a laugh at your comment about what your father said about that particular drink.
She also drank gin and orange.
Mind you we are talking Christmas Day and New Year's Eve here not regularly.
My Londoner dad often said that someone was like "some old tart"
I hadn't a clue what a "tart" was and assumed it was a rather untidy old woman.
I
Ev, re your earlier comment about it being an offence to be naked in your garden where you can be seen: just out of curiosity, does the rule apply if said discreetly secluded garden is near an airport and therefore visible from low-flying commercial aircraft landing and taking off? If so, I wonder about my neighbours... ...
DeleteThey’d have to fly slowly to get a good glimp! Makes you wonder though as to how private you can be!
DeleteOh LanJan loved your hose pipe suggestion - it gave me (and Mr R ) a good "belly" 😂 laugh!
DeleteHowever I feel for you Miriam (maybe the sunglasses suggestion is a good one at least you will feel less exposed (oh dear 🙄) yourself.
(This was suggested by Carolyn Aug 5th - 1.07 PM)
In answer to an earlier question - ‘‘twas I who was looking for Sage Derby cheese. I have not found any locally but it is possible to buy online though quite expensive plus postage costs so I have not ordered any yet.
ReplyDeleteAnd very many thanks to Sarnia for your description of surgery under sedation - you made it sound an almost enjoyable experience! Mr A suggests I ask if I can listen to my iPod while the op. is going on. I could download some podcasts of radio comedy shows to keep me amused or some of my favourite classical music. Shoshtakovitch’s Romance from The Gadfly suite would be perfect. Anything to drown out the sound of sawing ! 😱
The Co-op sells Sage Derby, if you are lucky enough to have one near enough.
DeleteActually, yes it was, and I promise you, you'll be too sleepy to concentrate.
DeleteGosh, thank you Maryellen, we do have a very small Co-op not far away but I never thought of trying there as it’s not somewhere I usually shop. I’ll try them next week. 🧀
DeleteI saw it in the Co-op in Church Stretton while on holiday last June. Hopefully, it's available in all their branches - sadly we don't have one here.
DeleteLove that area of Shropshire, one of my favourite counties. Did you go up Long Mynd? We visit most years because Mr A likes to go gliding at the club on the top of the Mynd where they still launch the gliders with a huge bungee rope - always looks terrifying to me!
DeleteI fell in love with the Shropshire Hills too, Archerphile! We spent a day walking on The Long Mynd (after driving to the top - to save time, we told ourselves) with an extended lunch stop surrounded by a panoramic view of Housrman's Land of Lost Content. Stokesay Castle ( actually a fortified Manor House) was also an unexpected delight.
DeleteGlad to hear from Mrs P about your neighbour’s cat and the neighbour’s empathic response. I imagine it is a relief to be stood down now.
ReplyDeleteSarnia your description of your surgery reminds me of when I was six and the school dentist decided I needed four of my milk teeth removed. I had “gas” as we called it then by inhaling and during the work I thought I was dreaming of the dentist and nurse moving about in front of me in time to music.
The worst bit was afterwards when the gum wouldn’t stop bleeding. That traumatised me but not the treatment itself.
This happened to me too as a child. They put an evil smelling mask over my face and I remember being surprised when I woke up as I thought I had died! I too had constant bleeding overnight and had to have the hole plugged. It makes you wonder whether the teeth were ripped out in these circumstances as after all they were only milk teeth. Happily modern dentistry is far better! Even an injection isn’t painful after a spray is applied!
DeleteMe too !
DeleteBut I had an entirely different response.
I enjoyed the gas, didn't mind the mask, ( presumably I had experience from the blitz, so it was not a new experience to wear it ) and when I woke up I had a threepenny bit on my knee.
I still enjoy enormously the sensation of ' going under ' though now days it is too quick for my taste. I used to like the sensation of counting down.
I'm afraid I don't have any memory of bleeding gums.
Yes I have always been ' perverse ' !
As far as next door cat is concerned. It is the cat that is ugly, (IMO), but I also have to admit I didn't have the opportunity to ' stand down '.
Perhaps I will have to wait for the next request to feed the creature.
My Grandma's drink of choice at Christmas/New year was port & lemon, sometimes brandy & ginger, & if taken out for a meal, gin & orange!
ReplyDeleteMy Grandad was a merchant seaman in his youth, before becoming a lumper - he & his mates got absolutely r.t-a...d on port while in Oporto, & were hosed down on deck, being turned over at regular intervals. He never touched port again....
🍷🍷🍷😞🤢🤮
DeleteSorry, those emoticons probably not very suitable for a Sunday morning!
DeleteMy grandsons have started emailing me with missives almost entirely made up of emoticons, so I am practicing the art!
I like them - your skills are developing fast !
DeleteMariam- that is a difficult neighbor situation. Do you know the neighbors well enough to talk to them about the embarrassing situation? Is putting up a screen a possibility?
ReplyDeleteI do understand, Miriam, that going into your own garden to do some watering & being met with sprawling nudity was somewhat unnerving ! I giggled, smutily I'm sorry to say, but have never been faced with that situation. I wouldn't want to confront them, but wonder if wearing sunglasses might help ? At least then they they can't gauge your reaction if your eyes inadvertently move in their direction ( if they spot you at all, that is). Pretend to be in your own bubble, & you could get used to this.
ReplyDeleteI nearly got caught skinny dipping myself years ago - only time I've done it since last day ever at school. Staying with friends in Florida who had an outside pool, they were at work, it was just us in what I thought was a secluded space. Turned out this was the morning for the communal caretaker, or whoever, was mowing all across the back of the properties....hasty grabbing of towel, end of being a free spirit...
I too feel for Mirium.
DeletePersonally it wouldn't bother me, but I can understand that it bothers Miriam.
As it's likely to cease once this weather has passed, I think it would be best to ignore it.
Reminds me of when, decades ago we had a large garden with a very heavy and large hedge between us and the small modern development on the other side. The nearest of our neighbours on that development were two elderly spinster sisters, who complained, loudly, to each other, that we ' still have their
door open at ten o'clock of an evening ' during hot weather.
They would have been able to see the open door from upstairs windows, and it seemed that they felt personally offended by it.
Not that I am comparing that situation with Miriam's present predicament.
I have just listened to an episode of 'Desert Island Discs' with Pam Ayres. It was very entertaining and highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great episode that was, Gianna. I think she's about my age, because a lot that she said, and the records she chose, brought it all back to me so clearly. Lovely too to hear her accent - one that is similar to mine, and sadly missing from the airwaves I'm afraid. She sounds like just the person I should like for my very best friend.
DeleteYes what a lovely episode that was this morning.
DeleteA lady of very little, if any, pretence.
And still going strong, at our age.
Wonder if she listens to TA ?
I need a moan.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the last fifteen hours, I have become sick and tired of the massive vehicles rolling past my cottage.
Very large horse boxes on the way to Gatcombe ' Festival of Eventing', several throughout the night, and multiple trailers behind tractors carrying the rolls of harvested hay, throughout this morning.
Thank you.
Do you have the same racket to look forward to when they go home tonight or tomorrow ? How unpleasant. Earplugs ?
DeleteIt has continued throughout the day Carolyn. I've lost count of the straw trailers and the horse boxes started on the return journey just after I had posted earlier.
DeleteIn addition the pub has been playing reggae since one o'clock and will continue until very late.
Apparently it is Jamaican Independence Day.
Oh how I sometimes yearn for the quiet of Putney.
Putney
We have the festival here on this land once a year with the boom boom boom of the music. Also you see some very strange types up in little Tesco just up the road. Men in frocks with dreadlocks and young ladies wearing not much! Thankfully this year I was away for most of it! Traffic is also disrupted as two way main roads become one way. However it is only once a year! This week is Cowes week but it doesn’t affect us this side of Newport! Princess Anne is coming along to this watching from the Royal Yacht club apparently. We lived in Dartmouth for a while and tourist season was a nightmare. I had to go shopping early or would be caught up in the small supermarket and shops behind whole families strolling around! Oh, well, they do bring some cash into the local economy!
DeleteFirst line should read the island not this land!
DeleteI have to comment on my sighting last night with my neighboors. I saw them, as 2 weeks ago the hedge between the 2 properties was reduced by about 1.5 feet, as it was blocking their evening sun. They since have had an outside electric point put in, so the "tub" was moved to another part of their garden. As I opened my patio door, which opens outwards. I was standing in the house, and pushed the door completely open, as it has a "stay" which clicks in, so the door is kept in place. I couldn't help but see! I am not a "prude"!.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbours were doing a BBQ brunch this morning, when I was out having "elevenses" in the garden, so I just said how lovely it smelt. It was obvious that they knew, that I saw them, without anything actually being mentioned. I was embarresed for them, not myself.
Problem solved.
Sounds like it - good ! They might have offered you a chicken leg or something....
DeleteIt was bacon + sausages! Why does bacon smell so good when cooked outdoors? A bacon sarni, would have been lovely.
DeleteMmmm
DeleteI'm suffering from Poldark withdrawal symptoms. Onset last Sunday 10.05 p.m.
ReplyDeletePoldark's Cornwall, like Ambridge, has its' own micro-climate. Hardly anyone wears an overcoat or cloak in winter (except Ross - old riding coat); even when snow falls it's safe to go outside with bare bosom without catching a chill; Ross & Demelza possess no warm nightwear. All that bracing sea-bathing and cliff-top walks must make them hardy.
Yes hardy indeed. In my childhood farmhouse home it was common in Winter for the glass of water beside the bed to have frozen over, and we thought nothing of it.
DeleteMy moan about passing traffic (apart from the fact there is too much of it, it travels far too fast and uses our road as a rat-run to avoid the M3) converns the avalanche of straw that flies off the huge trailers transporting straw down to the West Country at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteOur front garden, path to front door and area where I hang my washing are quite deep in layers of straw that fly off these huge lorries, Why can’t they net or sheet these travelling straw stacks? They must loose a high percentage of their load by the time it gets to its destination! 😠
I have the same moan Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteWhat little pavements we have are almost knee deep in the stuff.
No moans about flying straw over here amongst the thirsty trees, MrsP, but lots of moans about boys on unlicensed and amazingly noisy motor bikes tearing around the roads late at night when I'm trying to sleep with the windows wide open to gather all the air I can. In fact, they are a nuisance all year round because they ride along the tracks in the forest and churn them up into mud as well as being a hazard to walkers and animals. I see there's a leader in the newspaper this morning about the problem, so, obviously I'm not alone in my irritation!
ReplyDeleteMrs P and anyone else interested🐱🐱🐱🐱
ReplyDeleteYou may remember how upset I was about the four cats who were alone after a neighbour went into hospital.
The "Carer" was supposed to be feeding them and she having been informed by "Nosey neighbour" that I was giving them food told me in no uncertain terms that I must not do so.
Mrs P recommended the Cinnamon Trust so this morning I rang up the Social Worker who promised to keep me in touch but hasn't and left a message to say that to save the Carer who was presumably doing it out of the goodness of her heart from popping in briefly to feed the cats (she is actually being paid for half an hour each time even if she is there for less than 10 minutes) ,perhaps it would be an idea to contact the Cinnamon Trust who could get someone to look after the cats until Mrs D returns.
I don't expect a reply from the Social Worker but thank you Mrs P for suggesting the CT
I too was put in touch with the Cinnamon Trust when I had the problem with my brothers cat. They were very sympathetic but couldn’t help as they didn’t happen to have any cat ‘foster parents’ in his area. It was the Cats Protection League who turned up trumps in the end. Hope fully the CT will have someone in your locality who can help.
DeleteAt he beginning of Lan Jans cat saga, I rang the Cinnamon Trust and was told that they do have someone in west London, which I believe is where LJ resides.
DeleteMy pleasure LJ. I hope something positive comes about.
ReplyDeleteOh dear LanJan I feel both your concern and frustration re the ongoing saga of the 🐈🐈🐈🐈puss cats! It would seem that authorities and charities alike are bound by the data laws and the fact that the cats are being fed is all they need to know re care (but their overall welfare is not being attended to in our eyes) especially in this hot weather.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyone who can tell you if or when Mrs D will be returning, or is to be hospital until a place in a Care Home becomes available?
One more little moan about nuisances in my area - the lamping brigade! We are often disturbed in the evenings and throughout the night by land rovers or 4x4 vehicles zooming around the fields opposite with large searchlights on the front, shooting rabbits. The noise of the vehicles frightens the rabbits out of their cover, the searchlight picks them up and then the men let off their shotguns. Amazing how many shots are required to kill one rabbit! The searchlights play backwaters and forwards across our bedroom window and the guns are very loud! We have informed the police but they are not interested, it’s just seen as a country pursuit, even though we find it very anti-social!
ReplyDeleteYes Archerphile. We used to suffer from that when we lived right out in the countryside too :(
DeleteSome people have permission to shoot in my brother's fields, and I know rabbit pie is nice, but when I saw the red night vision light getting to the field next to my horse's I would worry about him so I used to walk up the field in the dark talking and generally making a racket which frightened the rabbits away and let the shooters know someone was about, and the red lights would move further away. Once when I said to a nice person I went to School with that I'd prefer it if he didn't shoot in my field, he fell about laughing and said "maid do you really think I can't tell the difference between your horse and a rabbit!" But not everyone is as good a shot as him. I still think ferreting is safer, and a lot quieter.
DeleteI wonder where GG is. There is a heat advisory in my area until 8 pm tonight. Was watching some program that showed a weather map of the US and many places have above 90 deg F (about 32 deg C). So the entire mainline is suffering. Of course, the worst of it right now are the wild fires in California and across the western states. There should be no complaints from me about how much rain we had last week.
ReplyDeleteI think the climate changes naturally periodically but there is no doubt that the carbon dioxide and pollutants we are and have poured out has harmed the environment. When I was a child my dad had the only car in the street as he needed it for work but now most households have at least one or two. We don’t walk children to school, we buzz around in cars everywhere. We need to think long and hard about the changes our activities bring about. The problem is that modern life demands easy movement and we are all guilty of travelling! It is worrying that the heat we are feeling now may become the norm instead of being exceptional. We are off on a cruise on Sunday and yes the ship will emit pollutants, guilty as charged! I am so relieved we are going north to Scandinavia
ReplyDeletewhere the temperature is in the mid 20’s and not south to Spain or Portugal.
I do envy you Ev, for your Scandinavian cruise. We went around the Baltic 3 years ago visiting Kristiansand, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, St Petersburg and home via the Keil Canal. It was our very first cruise (bit of an experiment to see if we would like it) and it was fantastic. Especially sailing up the Stockholm Archaepelago first thing in the morning. We chose that itinerary because I don’t like the heat (!) and thought the Baltic and Scandinavia would be fairly cool, especially in early May. Unfortunately for me they had a very unusual heatwave with temps up to 32C in Tallinn! But it was a wonderful experience which we are hoping to repeat next year, calling in to different ports like Helsinki and Riga next time. I wish you a truly marvellous holiday
DeleteThank you, Archerfile! Our cruise starts with the Kiel Canal and then Bornholm, a Danish island, then to Finland and Sweden. We will be sailing up the Stockholm Archipelago and know it is lovely as I did it with my husband a few years ago. Two of our booked excursions were cancelled as not enough bookings so put the saving towards upgrade to a balcony cabin so hopefully the weather will be kind! We will do our own thing in those ports. We go from Southampton. So easy from the island! No airports!
DeleteEv, are you going with ‘Fred’ on the Breamar by any chance? Our trip was from So’ton on Balmoral, also with a balcony cabin. We loved being on a smaller ship as you can get into small ports and cruise narrow places like the Keil Canal. All the Fred ships have been upgraded and refurbished in the past year. I really don’t fancy one of those floating blocks of flats that are becoming so popular nowadays with around 3000 passengers, I prefer small!
DeleteYes, we’re on the Braemar. Have done several Fred cruises with my husband. Having spent all his working life in and with the RN he would never have gone on the bigger ships as in emergency he didn’t feel they were safe.
DeleteThe New York Times had only 1 article in their Sunday Magazine. I have extracted the first paragraph here. Link to entire article further below (you can read a few articles for free each month without a subscription.)
ReplyDelete"The world has warmed more than one degree Celsius since the Industrial Revolution. The Paris climate agreement — the nonbinding, unenforceable and already unheeded treaty signed on Earth Day in 2016 — hoped to restrict warming to two degrees. The odds of succeeding, according to a recent study based on current emissions trends, are one in 20. If by some miracle we are able to limit warming to two degrees, we will only have to negotiate the extinction of the world’s tropical reefs, sea-level rise of several meters and the abandonment of the Persian Gulf. The climate scientist James Hansen has called two-degree warming “a prescription for long-term disaster.” Long-term disaster is now the best-case scenario. Three-degree warming is a prescription for short-term disaster: forests in the Arctic and the loss of most coastal cities. Robert Watson, a former director of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has argued that three-degree warming is the realistic minimum. Four degrees: Europe in permanent drought; vast areas of China, India and Bangladesh claimed by desert; Polynesia swallowed by the sea; the Colorado River thinned to a trickle; the American Southwest largely uninhabitable. The prospect of a five-degree warming has prompted some of the world’s leading climate scientists to warn of the end of human civilization."
Read the full article here:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/01/magazine/climate-change-losing-earth.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fmagazine&action=click&contentCollection=magazine®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront
Yes I think the seeds were sown with the industrial revolution but since then we have emitted ever more pollution into our atmosphere. Treaties can be signed and hopefully honoured. All we can do as individuals is to try to limit our own output. It doesn’t bode well for future generations.
ReplyDeleteIn 1911, the UK suffered a massive heatwave, very similar to 1976 and 2018. Was this a type of global warming?
ReplyDeleteMaybe post industrial revolution. Who knows?! Could also be natural climate change going on. We will have to wait and see. Still think though as a precaution we should watch what we put out there. I can remember smokeless coal coming in. Before that we had thick fog as everyone’s chimney belched out smoke. Some things have improved!
DeleteWhat about the very cold winter of 1962, when coal fires etc. were normal, i remember it well.
DeleteYes no central heating for many of us then. I think it might have been smokeless fires by then but not sure! Our house only had a coal fire in the living room and occasionally in the front room too but the bedrooms were icy!
DeleteAt the risk of re-enacting the Monty Python Yorkshiremen sketch, Ev, yes. There's a kind of myth that you got a fire in your bedroom if you were ill, but in my memory you spent most of your time downstairs if you were unwell, and there was _never_ a fire in the bedroom.
DeleteHello everyone! We are now in Monterey, California after a couple of days in San Francisco and a wee jaunt to Petaluma. And in lighthouse news Ruthy, we stopped off at Pigeon Point which was as picturesque as it gets... San Francisco was amazing! Had a strange flashback while we were wandering around the city - remembered a tea-towel that my mum had when I was young depicting all the SF landmarks! Hadn't thought of that ugly piece of tat for over 35 years... (the tea-towel that is!!!) Have been keeping a VERY close eye on all the fires - have had to change our plans as Yosemite roads are all closed, so that's a complete no go. Was hoping to go through there and end up at Mono Lake, but have just booked a hotel in San Simeon instead where we will go to Hearst Castle and pootle along Highway One all the way to LA. Has been very warm - I am now in the bizarre situation of not having felt rain on my face since the beginning of April! And from someone who lives in the West of Scotland, that's just plain wrong!!! Hope everyone is as well as can be expected...
ReplyDeleteGG What an adventure seeing and experiencing so many wonderful places.
DeleteThank-you for spending the time, as after all you are on your honeymoon, to keep every-one up to date as to your travels. I am sure that I am not the only one, who has a slight green tinge, of envy! I eagerly look forward to fhe next chapter.
I left my heart in SF a very special place! Sorry Yosemite is out for you but this really is the trip of a lifetime and have followed your travels with great interest! Bon voyages ahead!
DeleteGG.....what a shame about your Yosemite visit. I hope these fires get resolved ASAP. It’s lovely hearing about where you’ve got to on your honeymoon of a lifetime!!
DeleteWe are doing the San Fran /Yosemite/los Angeles bit of your trip later in the year so I’m keeping my fingers crossed Yosemite will be reopen by then.
Lovely to hear from you GG.
ReplyDeleteHearst Castle will be v. v. Interesting I imagine.
Envy you your trip.
Hi Fellow Archer bloggers. I deleted the previous comment that had a link to something unknown. Please be careful not to follow any link from a blogger that we are not familiar with. This blog is accessible to anyone but if we get more spams bloggers, we may in the future institute a registration process. I really want to try to avoid this, so hopefully I will be able to contain these spam comments. Ruthy
ReplyDeleteThanks Ruthy. I did ignore it, as I do anything from an unknown source. What a shame it would be if we have to start to lose the free and easy feeling of our group.
DeleteAbsolutely Suz! Thank you for looking after us so well Ruthy 💻 👏
DeleteI cannot agree more. I used to read but not contribute to, the BBC site.There always were so many posts, which were just "not nice + dictatorial". This site is so nice, calm and friendly, and when there are differing points of views, I just love that there is no animosity.
Delete👍🏼👏✔️
DeleteRuthy. Thanks for the two new blogs, I think we have sussed when a blog is dodgy. Non Archer individuals who enter here must think "what parallel world is this". But we love it and you for saving us.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Perfect. ✔
DeleteRUTHY.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful two sites you have provided. It is so nice to see how interactive they both are.
I have also noticed that, week by week, the number of comments are becoming more numerous, lengthy and there are more regulars.
You, have done amazingly well.
I am sure that like Stasia, many of us, would just to say;-
THANK YOU.
PS I had a day, yesterday, when I had over 10 "cold calls" on my-landline. I wonder if my details have been "hacked" which includes this site.
I am watching my bank account etc but so far OK.
I have no objection about having to register, but I just feel very sad, that this might have to become necessary. This, I know, is not what this site is about.
Thanks for all your efforts, Miriam. ✔✔✔
Miriam we used to suffer from multiple 📞 cold calls so much we invested in a BT call blocker phone, the peace and quiet is bliss. 🙏
DeleteSaw the strange comment, considered remarking to you, Ruthy, but decided you would deal with when you became aware of it, as you have done.
ReplyDeleteLike others ... I thank you !
Miriam - "cold calls" is a problem as well for us. I get multiples of them on my cell phone regularly. I just ignore any phone number that I don't recognize and if it legitimate, the caller will leave a message. We live a world apart, but face many of the same issues.
ReplyDeleteGlad to be of service to my blogger friends. I have set up two new posts and ready to go when these fill up. Going away for a few days, back to Montauk, but will have internet service so I can stay in touch.
Miriam: we have a landline with answerphone on permanent demand with 'caller recognition' , so like Ruthy we only answer calls from numbers we recognise, on the grounds that anyone genuinely wanting to get in touch will leave a message. I have also registered with the Telephone Preference Scheme, which on the whole manages to filter out most 'Withheld' numbers except Council departments and hospitals. If I pick up expecting one of these and find it's a cold call, the person on the other end of the line (if indeed there is one, as many of these calls are random computer-generated dialling) is told this very firmly and that they should therefore not have access to my number. There then follows much grovelling and apologising with an assurance that my number will be removed from their list.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately our names and numbers are available in all kinds of public directories and can be acquired quite legitimately. For this reason my e-mail address is only given to a select few, although somehow people have still got hold of it: I've recently reported two phishing e-mails, one purporting to be from RBS and another from NatWest to say they have the wrong mobile number for me and could I provide the correct one. The clue here is that I don't bank with either, nor do I have a mobile phone; however, I do know what a mobile number looks like and these were both very unconvincing, suggesting possible foreign origin.
i have stopped watching Gardener's World much as I like Monty Don as I am tired of all the padding there is in order to use up the hour.
ReplyDeleteHowever I almost watched it last Friday to see if Monty has come up with any ideas about how to deal with the heat wave.
He has already told us not to water little and often but I wondered if there is anything else I should be doing in order to save as many plants as possible.
Try and cover the surface of any pots or tubs with a layer of gravel or stones to stop the mousture evaporating. The same with shrubs and specimen plants in a border - water thoroughly then cover the area with a mulch of compost, bark chips or even dead leaves from last Autum that have only partially rotted down. Looks a bit messy but might save the plants.
DeleteLanjan. I bought a little basin for use in the kitchen sink,which allows me to save water for the garden. When the bowl in nearly full each plant receives a portion, it's a bit of chore. The only alternative I can see is to set up an electrical watering system which will distribute water strategically via plastic piping around the garden. With potted plants make sure you don't over water, I think everyone is experiencing the difficulties is guardeningn and trying to keep plants alive in this drought.
DeleteOn the allotment it's a watering can on veg I can save, but things like potatoes and sweet corn have to survive on their own. Potatoes not so good, sweet corn thriving.
Unfortunately with gardening, you will always win some, and lose some.
We are now in the middle of a terrific downpour, the birds water bowl was filled within seconds. I'm dreading the possible destruction caused on the allotment.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.
Thank you ladies.
DeleteI actually have some wood bark.
The Council had a big mound of it near to the allotment plotwe used to share.
When we decided to give the allotment up we brought some bark back with us .
I am so pleased we packed the allotment in.
It was a car ride away and it was always a worry as to whether we would be able to park the car -(we got fined once) .
We dug up all the pathetic raspberry bushes last November and brought them back here.
They have performed quite well for thir first year.
Envious of Miriam though.
No runner beans and disappointing potato crop.
Got excited last night,Stasia,there were a few drops of rain.
I rushed to put out the orchids but it was hardly worth it.
For the first day in ages we have not got the fan on.
Could I ask that anyone who receives an unsolicited or scam call, where the number is visible, reports it to the The Office of the Information Commissioner at www.ico.gov.uk.
ReplyDeleteThey have an online form to fill in with as many or few details as you can give.
When they see a trend of similar numbers occurring they make strenuous efforts to get these firms shut down and are often successful
The fact that these scammers can now generate random phone numbers that look like genuine UK numbers, to fool us into answering, is becoming a very great nuisance. So please help get them stopped (huge fines can now be levied personally against the directors of these companies and is starting to prove a deterrent)
There have been times in the past year when I have written down 6 or 7 scam call numbers, all slightly different, in a day and it is my mission to report them all ! ☠️ 🕵️♀️
I am ex-directory, so this is why I was annoyed + angry, as to the number of random/cold calls I received in just one day. My 'phone number has obviously been passed on!
ReplyDeleteThere is also a web-site called "Who Called Me". This, when on entering a 'phone number, can give some idea of where, from whom, and other comments.
PS I have reported many scam 'phone calls to "Fraud Alert". The last one I did, i had to write a report on a police site. A few weeks later, there was an article in the local newspaper highlighting this scam, as my area was being targeted (single, over 60's home-owners). I felt so justified, with my action.
DeleteMy potted outside flower pots are doing terrible this summer. It has been so very hot and no rain, or so very hot with tons of rain. The plants are all confused. I have given up and will try again next summer.
ReplyDeleteLanjan. My runner beans are planted in a big pot, which is sited in s corner, at the bottom of my garden. This is an area of solid clay, and no matter as to how I have tried to improve the soil quality, nothing has worked. The pot was a way of utilising this "dead area", where there is also a rowan tree in my neighnours garden, which obviously takes the moisture.
ReplyDeleteI water the beans every night, (+ feed once a week) and there are so many young beans and massives of new flowers + buds. I won't get a picking for a few days now, but I am hoping for a good crop very soon. This is a patio variety - called "Dwarf Patio - Hestia" and are ideal for a large pot.
The rest of my garden is dire, but it can be re-planted.
I just need to give a very quick extra post! I am spending tomorrow with my gt. niece Chayya (7yrs) and gt.nephew Harish (4yrs) and Grandma (my elder sister). The kids are staying with grandma for a few days, as the family move into their new home in Nantwich, Cheshire on Friday, relocating from Croyden, London. The kids names are Hindu, as they are half British + half Mauritian (though "dad" was born + brought up in London).
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely family day Miriam, look forward to hearing how it goes. The children are lovely ages and you will no doubt be kept (both) busy and amused, and catch up time with your sister. Both of mine live 100 miles plus away, one just outside Cambridge and the other in Devon.
DeleteI don't know it well, but I remember Nantwich as a nice place. Not too far from where I grew up, but posher! Cheshire is rather lovely.
DeleteAh - Nantwich.
ReplyDeleteAs a child our beloved next door neighbours moved to Nantwich.
Never been there but never forgotten either.
Anyone got any ideas for what to do with a glut of tomatoes? Mostly the small cherry variety at the moment but masses of medim and beef sized ones rapidly ripening up. I have never had such a huge crop before (must be all the hot weather). Can’t give them to the neighbours as husband is very allergic to them (and potatoes, strangely) so wife won’t have them in the house.
ReplyDeleteWe are currently eating as many as we can in salads, sandwiches etc and I made a tomato quiche last night but am running out of ideas! 🍎🍎🍎
Chutney! Made some last year & it was delicious - the smell as it simmered for hours was intoxicating... There are oodles of recipes online. Enjoy!
DeleteTomato sauce to freeze, we find it a very useful standby.
DeleteTomato soup to freeze also, all ready for chilly, winter days.
Delete:-)
Deleteall those.
we have a soup-maker, known as the Soup Dragon.
I just love fried tomatoes.
DeleteApparently they are more nutrional once cooked.
Talking of fried tomatoes
A lovely book I am sure will have been mentioned before-possibly by me - is.
"Fried green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café " by Fanny Flagg
An excellent film too.
Tomatoes and potatoes both belong to the nightshade family, so he might well be allergic to both. I feel sorry for him as home grown cherry tomatoes taste so wonderful.
Deletestorms overnight & our first rain for weeks - deep joy!!
ReplyDeleteI also have a glut of tomatoes which I pass on to neighbours. I wash them, put hem whole a into a freezer bag and over the winter I then make soups, pasta, curries. Unfortunately at this stage in the growing with any rain they might split.
DeleteLanjan, I also read Fanny Flaggs book many years ago. Green tomatoes are wonderful fried with bacon and egg. My brother in law, who comes from Georgia coats them in seasoned flour before frying. Delicious.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to listen to The Archers or read the blog for the last few weeks. My daughter who is currently living in Singapore and her 4yr old son have been staying with us and it's been pretty hectic. There have been a lot of visitors and we have been out and about visiting friends and family. I've just about managed to keep the garden watered and harvested the produce but everything else has been neglected. They flew back on Monday (very sad farewells at the airport) and now I have 3 weeks the get the house and garden straight before we go to my other daughter's near Bath to help out with childcare at the start of term.
ReplyDeleteWe also have a glut of veg in the garden this year, particularly the broad and climbing french beans.
Thank you to everyone for 🍎 ideas. Especially to GG who must have much better things to do at the moment than consider my tomato problem!!
ReplyDeleteI have made chutney before but only with the unripened green tomatoes at the end of the season. Using ripe ones will be a novelty.
Parsley 16, I love the sound of your Soup Dragon - shades of The Clangers! I have seriously considered buying a soup maker but wondered if they are worth the money. Just use a saucepan normally, then blitz. However now my liquidiser has broken down it might be worthwhile getting one. Can you recommend it as a useful piece of equipment?
yes, got fed up with all the blitzing + cleaning....
Deletesoup dragon v useful, like a big kettle! just make sure to put some liquid in first & mix ingredients well, as tends to catch on the base -
also quantities are necessarily limited.
wouldn't be without it now, but also sometimes resort to big pan + blitzing.
Clangers :-))
DeleteCheshire Cheese - good to see you here again after a break. Sounds like you've been having a hectic summer and then off again in a few weeks. Hope you'll have time to drop by again soon!
ReplyDeleteGG - I love how you just pop in with the tomato chutney post. I've never had tomato chutney before and will take your advise on looking on line for recipes.
ReplyDeleteWhen my son was graduating from high school, I took him on a trip from southern California, drove through Death Valley, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Painted Valley, and up Utah. No rain except when we arrived in Moab, it was so hot and dry, some of the merchants had misting water sprays under the sidewalk overhangs (never before or seen anywhere else). It wasn't rain, but felt joy to be misted. Living in the Northeast where we get regular rain and the humidity, though we complaint about it, I prefer it to the dry desert.
ReplyDeleteGot misted at Hearst Castle 2 days ago Ruthy. Also experienced it outside Washington Zoo some years back... It was touching 100 in Santa Barbara yesterday - there is no need for that kind of temperature in my eyes!
Delete“Fried Green Tomatoes...” I enjoyed that film although haven’t read the book.
ReplyDeleteThe Clangers are on TV again and we record it on Sundays to watch at bedtime. No children in the house - just ourselves🙂🤫
I can’t wait to start work on my Yorkshire garden when I get it back. It is the size of an allotment and slopes up from the front of the house. My father grew veg and fruit on it. I might have to start small though as I won’t be there full time and I don’t want to ask the neighbours to water it and get into problems other bloggers have had this summer 😯
Ruthy enjoy your break and Gary continue enjoying your 🍯🌑
green tom chutney is a staple in the parsley household, consume vast quantities over the year, so always freeze 2lb bags at the end of the season.
ReplyDeletealso St Delia's Old Dowerhouse for a plum variant with a bit of a kick.
I had an enormous glut of toms, a few years ago. I picked them all, "stewed" them down and them I sieved them, but I had to admit it was time consuming. The result was a thick tomatoe puree, which I froze in portions, and I then used in many recipes eg spag. bol, chilli, and very many other recipes eg. my lovely "sausage + bean" casserole, a wonderful "Spanish Pork" casserole etc. I haven't grown toms for a couple of years, as I had no crop.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, the last years I planted toms, the fruit was eaten or rotted. I have not grown any last, or this year.
DeleteI have had a wonderful day with Big Sis and the two youngsters. We went to a Park Farm, grooming ponies, feeding young goats, a play area, then space hoppers, many rides on a zip wire, but my highlites were the Maize maze (didn't Adam do one?), and yes we got lost, but the pig racing, that was hysterical! A good day out and great fun.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a really happy day, Miriam !
DeleteSounds like a lovely day Miriam.
ReplyDeleteWe lived on green tomato chutney when growing up, along with Piccalilli and pickled onions. Autumn was a busy time for us and we all pitched in with the preparation.
I think now that we bonded in these activities and it brings back happy memories.
GG - I would love to hear your impression of Hearst Castle some time after your return.
And it was mentioned yesterday in this weeks History of Antiques on R 4
The misting sounds perfect in the heat we have recently experienced.
What a great idea.
yes, have made tom purée in the past & it takes ages...
ReplyDeletewhere I used to teach there was an old cognassier (quince tree), I scrumped the fruit that wasn't too grotty & made membrillo! (quince paste, delicious with cheese)
Mmm delicious. I first discovered quinces in Devon staying in an ancient farmhouse on a writing retreat. Brought one home and made quince and apple cake.
DeleteI have never made chutney but now I’m retired it’s probably time to have a go.
the green tom chutters recipe I use is from Elizabeth David, Spices Salt & Aromatics in the English Kitchen. All sorts of goodies in there!
ReplyDeleteI have an old Radiation Cook Book from the early 1950's (from a Gt. Aunt). There are so many recipes in it for jams, preserves and chutneys, which I still use.These were normal in this post-war era. in which I was born.
DeleteI have a recipe book called Gleanings from Gloucestershire housewives, a W I book from the 1940’s inherited from my mother in law. It tells you how to kill a pig! I used to make a lovely madeira cake from it but as my daughter is GF I would have to try it with wheat free flour. I can make GF pastry. It just needs a lot of kneading or it falls apart when making into pies. Ref the pig, I think some country households would keep one and when killed would divide it with neighbours who in turn would kill their pig.
DeleteEv. I am sure that you should be able to reproduce that delicious sounding Madeira Cake, There are so many differing GF flours, baking powders available now. What annoys me, is why are they so very much more expensive. esp. as GF foods are now no longer available on the NHS, due to the many "cut backs". It is a type of discrimination, for a condition,which cannot be attributed to any known source.
DeleteOn a different tangent. I was reading the back of a glasses prescription, about who can claim help for costs for eye-tests and the provision of glasses/contact lenses. I was appalled to read that someone who qualifies for "free" everything, is a prisoner on leave from prison!
I don't dare write my thoughts on this.
Aldi did have GF flour very reasonably priced but have stopped it along with most of their GF range. Obviously didn’t sell well enough. After that Morrison’s are a bit cheaper than most but not a lot in it. You also need Xanthan gum in most recipes which is costly relative to usual ingredients but goes a long way! Am learning to cope with it and find myself that it helps with the digestion!
DeleteLovely to have rain today.
ReplyDeleteReal rain.
Me too! It has been very welcome, but I have had to put socks on for the first time for ages!
DeleteWe have had quite a downpour tonight. The end of Cowes week and the Red Arrows had to delay their fly past for half an hour. Later there are fireworks so hopefully the rain will hold off. Sadly a competitor in the yacht races died today. He fell overboard and was dragged along by the boat. A rare occurrence but how sad.
DeleteMiriam, I had to dig out a cardi today! It is colder but welcome after the heat!
DeleteSocks and a cardigan for me too last evening.
DeleteHow quickly we have become used to the heat, and feel the difference when it subsides.
So impressed by the culinary skills & knowledge shown here by so many of you. Quite a relief turning to this upbeat blog, after tonight's dreary TA.
ReplyDeleteYes, isn't the rain delicious, & the cooler temperatures these last few days. Mind you, hope the skies don't open tomorrow evening as we're off to a BBQ !
Gosh! What with chutneys, quinces and pigs, we are more country folk than the Archers!
DeleteHelp please needed.
ReplyDeleteOur Poppy isn't the brightest cat around and when we got a microchip cat flap she refused to use it because she didn't realise that she could move the front cover to get out.
In the end we decided to cut our losses and break off the microchip cover so in theory any cat can get in but so far none has.
This evening I looked outside and there was a small fox near to the house and I realised that it could probably get through the flap.
I chased it off and it ran down to the bottom of the garden and leaped over the fence.
I don't know what we can do.
Has anybody any ideas please?
Oh dear .
What with Percy being petrified of thunder and the cats across the road ,
this really has been cat problem time one way and another.
My sister is having the same problem with one of her cats and a "micro-chip" cat flap. Strangely it is the timid one who can use it, but the feisty one cannot. She is taking this cat to the vets, as there is a thought that her micro-chip (the cat's not my sister) is not completely in the right place, so it is not triggering the mechanism. Both cats were "programmed" in but, as my sister said. they were well moved around when doing this.
DeleteAlso Mirium. Chips can move around, particularly in cats.
DeleteI comb/ brush my cat daily and his chip, ( not the cat flap one, as I don't have a cat flap ) is often in a different position to the day before.
I’m delighted to be having lots of rain forecast for the weekend, as, I expect are many folk
ReplyDeleteNot my daughter and family though They are off on their narrow boat ‘Water Jester’ for two weeks cruising canals in the midlands. Not much fun being cooped up in a narrow boat with 4 people and having to operate all the locks in the pouring rain! However granddaughter Rosie didn’t fancy that at all, she is staying with us for the first week, in the warm and dry with Grandma/Grandpa waiting on her hand and foot. Sensible girl!
Lanjan, we have a catflap, which can be manually adjusted by moving a dial attached to a red disc at the base 3 ways : freely opening; allowing ingress only; allowing egress only. We use the 2nd to stop Katya getting out at night, but you could use the 3rd to stop young foxes getting in. Not perfect, as that would mean that if your boy & girl are out they can't get back in, but perhaps useful if you're both out for the day, &/or evening ?
ReplyDeleteArcherphile - that narrow boat tour on the midland canal sounds so interesting, but maybe not so much fun in rain. Enjoy spoiling your Rosie! I bet she is prettier than Pip’s Rosie.
ReplyDeleteI am feeling very envious of so many of you tonight. I have read on the brilliant "new Ruthy blog", about sightings of deer, talks of cottages, etc.
ReplyDeleteI live in a small 3-bed semi, on the edge of a village, which was built on a small estate in 1986 which I bought as new. At the time, it was a good property and good value for money, esp as I was a single female (my second property at 32). Now it is probably no better than a Justin affordable house!
Sounds like you have done ok to me Miriam - on the edge of a village so countryside around? If 32yrs today you may well not be able to afford anything at all let alone be on a second property as you were. So be proud! 🤗
DeleteI am! But I was "lucky". I bought my first home when I was 26. I had to fight to get a mortgage, 18% interest then but I managed it. I had good advice from my parents.
DeleteMiriam, I don’t know about other folk on here but the cottage I referred to was a little holiday cottage we used to rent for a week or two once a year but has since been sold. We would love to own a New Forest cottage but it is very expensive. We still go to the New Forest but stay at other places for a week or two at most. We walk past the place we used to stay when we visit because it is on the route of a favourite walk.
DeleteLooking forward to seeing the forest on TV again tonight.
I watched that programme on the New Forest tonight and was very impressed by the young lad and his cows. He seemed to be working so hard and to have so much commitment to his animals. I really hope he makes a go of his business.
DeleteOn the other hand I have never understood why people keep
herds of ponies in the New Forest. They usually cannot be ridden and are at constant danger from traffic and need supplementary feeding in the winter. I’m not sure what the owners get of it, unless they are just very dedicated horse lovers.
Just listened to “Point of View “ from Michael Morpurgo, lovely voice and a thought provoking piece. This is probably one of my favourite slots on the radio, although I still find myself missing “Letter from America” even now many years after it finished.
ReplyDeleteLike others I have welcomed the rain & donned some warmer clothes, I shouldn’t snigger about the festival goers who may have been taken unawares, but the disruption they cause and the rubbish they leave does irk me. Anyway they are young & resilient and will enjoy themselves regardless, me i’m becoming a grumpy old lady 😌
My 6 year old grandaughter complains about rubbish left lying around and will not play on playgrounds till it's been cleared up which she helps with. Maybe she's a grumpy young lady.
DeleteGood on your granddaughter ⭐️ CC lovely to hear, let's hope the other children / adults learn from her shining example!
DeleteHow wrong the BBC weather forecast has been today. It is now 6.15pm and I should be having storms + heavy rain. Instead it is warm, calm with blue skies and sunshine! It is a lovely evening. Off out to water, yet again.
ReplyDeleteThe BBC and Met Office weather forecasts often differ from each other. I find the Met is more reliable than the BBC for local weather.
DeleteAgree maryellen I have a Met Office app on my iPad and that often disagrees with the BBC and yes for local weather I also find the MO more reliable.
DeleteWe had a lovely day at Montauk, NY. The forecast was for on and off rain, and it was sunny all day 😀. Our mini-vacation will end tomorrow. Back to the daily grind.
ReplyDeleteRuthy, Glad you had a relaxing break.
DeleteCertainly well deserved Ruthy, and your weather stayed fine! 🤗
DeleteHope you had a lovely mini break Ruthy! We have been having a blast this week! After San Simeon we spent a couple of days in gorgeous Santa Barbara then a few in Malibu sat on the beach, where we both became slightly addicted to boogie boards. We have been on safari in San Diego Wildlife Park, where we went up in a hot air balloon and saw animals galore... This evening we went to the last night of the Orange County State Fair which was ENORMOUS!! I was too timid to go on most of the amazing rides - was content with the old rickety ghost train. Did go up on a cable car ride above it all and it seemed to go on forever! And have never seen so much unhealthy food! Anyone for 3 beef burgers with cheese, sandwiched between 2 Krispy Kreme doughnuts???
ReplyDeleteTomorrow we're off to LA and then onwards to Boston - the adventure continues...
GG - all I can say is Yuk to your menu! Mr A went to Nevada and California on an gliding holiday with his gliding mates a couple of years ago. He was horrified at the quantities of unhealthy food served up in restaurants over there. He said the steaks were enormous and served with enough ‘fries’ to serve an army. Just as well I don’t live there, I’d never be able to stick to my diet!
DeleteSounds as if you are having a fantastic time, where next? I wonder if you will ever want to come home?
Whoops, just seen where next! Boston in the fall - magical (if it is fall yet over there)
DeleteYou deffo won’t want to coming home after all this excitement GG. Can’t wait to hear what you see in LA.
DeleteGG. Continue to enjoy, I'm also a a bit of a wimp when it comes to hair raising funfair rides. I panicked on the whirling teacups.
DeleteYour food experience reminds me of the 5 months spent in the USA, extremely large portions, and when we couldn't finish the meal the staff were astonished at our refusal to have a doggy bag. They looked at us aghast when we suggested the food could be offered cheaper with smaller portions. The best food was in upstate NY and Maine.
We found the people from Seattle to NY friendly and welcoming and I'd certainly go back. It is a vast country and each state we visited was different politically and culturally.
My favourite place to live would be Saratoga Springs NY state.
I have never been to the USA. Perhaps I should put it on my "bucket" list! I only eat smallish, healthy meals (eg Italian) so I do not know how I would cope.
DeleteMiriam, just be aware that 'small' means normal (or slightly excessive), and anything else means huge. In the UK it's the other way round: 'standard' means normal, 'large' or 'economy/family size' means a little bit bigger. The problem for a Brit is that we expect to eat everything on our plate, and if we do so in the US we'll end up oversized.
Deletebootgums. You are spot on, but unfortunately eating rubbish has crossed the Atlantic and a large proportion of the population are now oversized.
DeleteArcherphile. How are you doing with your impending surgery? Do let us know when it is. I am sure, that a I am not the only one who wants to wish you well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking Miriam - all is on track for next Wednesday, gosh that’s only a week tomorrow! Have had my pre-op screening and went to hip school last week. It was a very interesting morning and we learnt a lot about how the operation is done, the various types of joint that are used and what to do (and most importantly NOT do ) afterwards. I was also given a pair of crutches to practice with. I have bought a ‘grabber’ and a strange device to help put socks on, so I am all prepared.
DeleteMy only concern now is that I have acquired a lot of red, extremely itchy spots which, at first, I thought were insect bites but they are appearing in places insects couldn’t reach!! They look, and itch, suspiciously like chicken pox spots so I am keeping everything crossed that they clear up before next week and I am not sent home!! 😲
Archerphile might it be best to get checked out asap at least then you will know if you definitely have to cancel - which would be a shame 😟
DeleteAlso is it this week you have you're granddaughter? Another reason to get checked to see if you're spots are contagious, not that you can do much about that as her parents are away on their hols. Certainly a nuisance all round for you, and so hope all works out right for you in the end.
I went to Basingstoke last Friday for another check same scenario for me in that although I do get hip discomfort and my X-rays show a lot or wear I am still so mobile, no trouble putting on trousers or socks etc even though my last and final hip injection is now out of life as it were. So I will go back again later on but to phone in if I get regular pain that starts to impact on daily life. (Can't say fairer than that.)
I have just done a "google" search, as I wanted to try and find an answer, to an Archers query, something I am not sure about. I was amazed as to how many links there were to this site.
ReplyDeleteOoh !
DeleteI'm not sure if that's good or bad Mirium.
Know what you mean Mrs P! 😉
DeleteThat was my thought.
DeleteLanjan. This is a personal question. I hope that others don't mind my asking.
ReplyDeleteLanjan. You mentioned on the other blog, that your cataracts "weren't ready" to be removed. May I ask, was this the hospital? and what reasons were given for this decision?
I am enquiring, as I have a hospital appoint.about my cataract/glaucoma in September. This only affects one eye, so with the aid of contact lenses, i have perfect vision in one eye, but fuzzy in the other. This makes things much easier, but I am afraid that as I can cope (with a "perfect" eye) I will be not be recommended for a lens replacement, even though I have a -9.75 power contact lens for that eye and I cannot drive at night("glare") and cannot read number plates or road signs, with that eye!
If you don't want to give anything personal, i appreciate that.
Miriam I do not mind in the slightest .
ReplyDeleteIn 2014 I was sent by the Optician to the Specialist who said I shouldn't have been referred .
In 2015 and 2016 a different Optician saw me and didn't refer me.
In 2017 I saw another Optician (all the same Practice) who referred me .
Again the Consultant said I shouldn't have been referred .
The Consultant asked if I drove at night and I said that I didn't so he said that was fine.
This year I have been again (different Optician) and apparently the number plate test was better than average.
I know I have cataracts ;they may suddenly get worse but maybe not.
I was given the option of whether to go a third time to the Consultant.
At the moment since nothing is fuzzy in either eye I have decided to wait.
I don't wear glasses for long distance and don't really need them for reading .
I have never had contact lenses.
Thank-you So much. That was very helpful and useful for my situation. I respect your reply.
DeletePerhaps I might be lucky, but it is definitely a wait + "see" situation. Thanks again. Miriam.
DeleteTo change to a non-medical topic, I am still concerned about my garden. I did have a day of torrential rain, plus a lot of short, sharp showers. The ground was so hard and dry that a lot of the rain just ran off, and did not soak in. I am still having to water every night, especially my window box, planted with surfinias + geraniums, plus the hanging basket, which has highly scented, trailing double peach coloured begonias. It is doing well. My lawns are stiill yellow, and there is no improvment.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting Miriam, I live on the east side of Cheshire and haven't needed to water anything for several days. Our lawns are starting to green up as well.
DeleteAs you know I am West Cheshire and not too far from Chester. I have been in a little area, which the rain has totally missed. There were reports on the local TV about flooding in Liverpool, and on the Wirral, but I had virtually nothing! Mind you it was the same with the snow last year, I had only a couple of "sprinklings". What I suffer most from are the winter storms with high winds, which sweep in from the Atlantic, up the North Wales Coast then hit ME! They are frightening.
DeleteNo comments today yet? Or is my iPad having a meltdown - I wait to see if this post prints........
ReplyDeleteHello, Lady R. You are not alone . . .
ReplyDeleteHurrah bootgums many thanks 😀
DeleteI have recently found a new BBC programme, to test my little brain cells - Impossible! followed my Eggheads. My brain cells are certainly getting a good "work out" whilst I cook my evening meal.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick extra. My 'phone contract expires in 3 days time. I have changed it to a cheaper sim only deal, but still is more than I need re calls/texts etc. A win-win situation.
DeleteYet another day of watering the garden. Rain was forecast, but - strong westerly winds - so the rain clouds passed over very quickly. Another very warm, sunny evening with blue skies.
ReplyDeleteAah, I am totally smitten, the Orangutans on C4.
ReplyDeleteMiriam - tell us what that program is!
ReplyDelete