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"longer off topic comments" - Episode 27 Life Outside Ambridge
"longer off topic comments" - Episode 27 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.
Cannot wait for snow! Cannot. Wait. Love, love, love...
ReplyDeleteIs that Central Park ?
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteIt always looks great until people walk on it
DeleteWe usually get very little snow where we live but I would be happy to give you every flake if that were possible,Gary.
ReplyDeleteGenerous to a fault I am!!
Waterloo Clock Ladies
ReplyDeleteIt looks as if four of us are happy to meet earlier.
Although I am happy with 1pm I admit that I would prefer to meet earlier.
I leave it to you.
I can be at Waterloo no earlier than 10.30am so for me any time after that will be fine.and maybe Bootgums will be able to pop in too.
I will do whatever time anyone wants.
ReplyDeleteYep, fine with me - morning, lunchtime, early afternoon all OK.
ReplyDeleteRuthy this picture does make me want to put my wellies on and scrunch in it. It’s so deep and crisp and even...
I would have loved to join the Waterloo meet up, unfortunately I work on Mondays. If another meeting is arranged I would try to make it, meanwhile I hope everyone has a great time.
ReplyDeleteFor two or three reasons I took a break to reading the 'off topic' blog and so missed out knowing about the proposed meeting at Waterloo. May I please join you on Dec 3rd for coffee, lunch, general natter? (featuring TA of course!) As it's only an hour's journey for me I can be there from 10am onward. Is that OK with you ladies?
ReplyDeleteThat's good news, Spicy ! It is still undecided about timing. I'd propose 11.30 earliest, Ipm latest. Perhaps we can be specific before 3/12 ?!
DeleteFine! Will wait in anticipation! :))
DeleteI vote we meet at 11.30.
ReplyDeleteFurther, no need to reply, unless any dissenting voices, of course, so that we don't irritate those not attending who, naturally enough, would rather chat about the many other topics which crop up on this blog.
To that end, I report that our 3 rescue chickens are more relaxed today, & have been allowed into the inner run ( more pecking & scratching possibilities...)
11.30am is what I was going to propose ,Carolyn.
DeleteGreat if you can come too Spicycushion.
Shall we say 11.30 then?
DeleteYes. 11.30
DeleteYes 11.30.
DeleteGreat to have another meeter upperer spicycushion!!👍
If I could change my clinic appointment to get to the gathering, the first available off-peak train from this neck of the woods is scheduled to arrive at Waterloo at 12.20 and the last train back is 3.35. Anything earlier (or later)than that is prohibitively expensive.
ReplyDelete....so you may be able to join us in Benuga's, Sarnia.
DeleteThose timingas would allow you to join us Sarnia, and I hope that you can change your appointment.
DeleteSo much for limiting the chat about the Great Meet Up!
ReplyDeleteAs a small service to those of us not attending, would it be possible for Ruthy to open a temporary third blog, specially for Meet Up arrangements, so that the rest of us can get a word in edgeways!
Oh dear that sounds very rude, sorry not meant to be, but it is getting a bit frustrating only reading here about times, cafes etc. 😊
Sorry, AP, did try earlier, to limit all that, but trouble is at the moment it is the only way to communicate these details .That could change in the future, after 1sr meeting.
DeleteCarolyn, glad to hear your rescue hens are doing well. Do you know how old they are and if they are ever likely to lay eggs for you?
ReplyDeleteHesitant about venturing into the inner run ( they're be only ever been in some kind of cage before), but they are eating very well, AND, between the 3 of them, have produced 4 eggs so far !! Very impressed...Just come back from a lovely, golden walk & one of them ventured boldly into the run, crowing softly - I crowed her on ! They are around 16-18 months old, so must have been laying for about a year.
DeletePerhaps to allay Archerphiles frustrations we could head our meet up posts with......
ReplyDeleteMEET UP ALERT ...... ?
That way Archerphile you will know not to bother to read.
Hope my suggestion helps.
I'll see what I can do. Ev, I've updated my profile, which might be of some passing interest to you, although it won't mean much to anyone else!
ReplyDeleteInteresting to me too Sarnia.
DeleteOne of the reasons we went to the island each year was, I realised late in life, my fathers interest in ships and ship building. We would visit ship building yards and he would sit for hours watching the ships from his binoculars as they passed the south of the island.
But my memories centre around the flying boats which seemed so exotic to me. The island as I remember was a centre for building and experimenting with the flying boat. Now almost lost to memory as far as history is concerned.
( bet I am challenged on that )
DeleteThank you, Sarnia! Do you have island links too? Mrs P, funny you should mention the flying boats as just a few days ago I was talking to my brother who mentioned them too. He has a good knowledge of such things but has never lived here. I had never heard of it but will discuss with the born and bred islanders I know!
Yes, but not the same one as you. It's just that my namesake and her sister-ship Caesarea were built there, specifically for service to the 'home of my childhood'.
DeleteArcherphile and others: really sorry that you are tired of reading about the meet up and I completely understand. This is a lovely blog where we chat and make virtual friends, and the few who are choosing to meet face to face are doing so because they love the blog, and wouldn’t be doing so otherwise. What I am trying to say is that the blog is the important thing, and I wouldn’t want it to change in any way just because one or two have chosen to meet. I am really quite a newcomer but have felt very much welcomed and love the equanimity on here. Long may it continue.
ReplyDeleteHopefully no more need to be said Archerphile so I don't think we should need another blog.
ReplyDeleteI believe we have a time 11.30 am ,a date 3rd December and a place -under the Clock at Waterloo
If we need to say anything else then as Mrs P suggests we can head our comment with GMU.
For me this is very exciting and a chance to meet some friends I haven't seen before?
There shouldn't be a ? at the end of my previous comment.
DeleteSorry,Just to be contrary, I quite enjoy reading your arrangements.
ReplyDelete👍 good on yer cowgirl.
DeleteAnd to others....... my lips are now sealed re Dec 3rd.
And I am still interested in a north east meet up sometime...
DeleteAnd I hope that happens.
DeleteI enjoy any excuse to come north east, so if an invitation is extended I might come too.
I also enjoy reading about your meet-up arrangements and will be deighted to read how it went
DeleteMe too Gianna. I'm disappointed that I'm unable to attend on that day due to prior commitment. So looking forward to reading about how the meeting goes. ☺️👍
DeleteMrsP - I have already created a post for the Waterloo Meetup. I was going to wait to open it, but since you asked...
ReplyDeleteThanks Ruthy - how is the snowy weather across the pond?
DeleteSeasider - than you for asking. First big snow storm and it caused havoc for a lot for people for their commute home Thursday. Most of the snow has now melted and back to normal. I am now planning for Thanksgiving meal. The menu so far - turkey with lemon garlic butter, mash potatoes with chives, chicory salad with honey mustard vinaigrette, carrots and Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce and corn bread dressing. For dessert apple cranberry crisp with oatmeal crumble served with vanilla ice cream. Only cooking for 3 this year, so I think plenty of food. And wine.
DeleteSounds fab Ruthy.
DeleteYum, yum...sounds mouthwatering delicious. Glad your snow has melted away, sounded dramatic - over 6 inches, or was it 12 in places ? Temperatures here plummeting this week, but no snow in the southeast, maybe other places.
DeleteWow, that’s a wonderful feast. Do you have help? I find cooking a Christmas meal for just the two of us can still be a lot of work, although Mr S always does the washing up. In fact he’s doing it right now 😀
DeleteI never clean up. Though I clean as I go so the clean up is limited. For Thanksgiving meal, even for 3, will have a lot to clean up but we will have plenty of time. We usually will have the meal early - 3 pm.
DeleteThe meal sounds fabulous Ruthy. I have a Canadian friend who came here about 17 years ago, and she goes back on holiday to family in Canada for Thanksgiving, but that is in October so your American one must be a different time from theirs. They apparently have pumpkin pie as a sweet dessert, whereas I have only ever eaten/cooked pumpkin as a savoury dish, usually as soup after Halloween.
DeleteMrs P I think I remember some time back you said you might be going to the big cat conference in November. I realise you are probably more involved in project Teddie at the moment, and in the upcoming Waterloo meeting, but if you do go, or have been, I would be very interested in hearing about it, especially if there have been more sightings.
DeleteYes Janice I think it is next week.
DeleteI certainly will let you know.
If you are interested I will ask if there are any links to Cornwall. That is where you are I think ?
I have been getting lots of emails copied through in the last few weeks about sightings reported all over the place, but nothing in Cornwall.
Thank you Mrs P. Yes I'm in Cornwall.
DeleteYum!
ReplyDeleteSnow is rare here in SW France, but winter temps can reach -10/15° for prolonged periods, though less extreme the last few years...
Bon courage with your reunion, I've always eu une horreur de ça....! but that's just me..
It's the season of the Foires au Gras here - turn up on a Sat am & stock up on your ducks/geese to prepare your own confit at home - not to mention the fois gras, essential for the festive season, along with the oysters..!
I adore duck confit Parsley, and always returned from visits to our family in Toulouse with several large tins of duck and/or goose confit bought in the Victor Hugo market. But I have never tried making it myself. Is it difficult to do ?
Deleteno, as long as you have enough fat ! not always enough in the carcass itself to cover the pieces.
DeleteDear Ruthy, thank you so much for opening the Waterloo Clock blog for the meeter-uppers.
ReplyDeleteI realise I sounded a bit dog-in-the-mangerish but I was feeling that the great variety of subjects we indulge in here was being a bit swamped with ‘arrangements’.
So I am hugely grateful for the extra one.
Your thanksgiving meal sounds delicious. Am I right in thinking pumpkin pie is often served at thanksgiving?
I have often wondered what it tastes like and how to make it. Is it in your repetoire?
me too..
DeleteI've never eaten pumpkin in any form.
ReplyDeleteIt's always struck me as being rather like coloured marrow.
But then I suppose melon is also like coloured marrow to some extent.
Which begs the question, are they all in the same plant family ?
All members of the Gourd family MrsP, of which there are many species and sub species. Early morning info gathered whilst again on the receiving end of much twit twooing.😐
DeleteI dislike cooking but after tasting pumpkin soup when on holiday in South Africa I bought a pumpkin ( reduced after 31st October) and made some soup.
DeleteIt was delicious and for many years I made some and put it in the freezer.
It is fiddly and messy though with all those pips.
I think I mean seeds not pips
DeleteI regularly make butternut squash soup which is really delicious, especially if you initially sauté the squash in real butter ( bit of a luxury, but worth it.) The main problem is peeling the squash, with its thick skin, so I get Mr A to do that for me. Then I just cut it into one inch cubes, sauté for a few minutes, sometimes add an onion or two, about a litre of vegetable stock, Worcestershire sauce, and simmer until squash is soft enough to blitz with one of those stick blenders. It makes a really rich, thick soup and the addition of a little curry powder or paste gives it a lovely spicyness. Yum!
DeleteSounds delicious Archerphile and thanks to BB for early bird googling.
DeleteOr perhaps night owl if the owl is still around.
Sorry that your having sleep problems BB, I sympathise as I too am a sufferer.
Actually heard an owl mid afternoon recently.
Thank you MrsP, just the occasional early morning wakefulness. More time to read my tablet without feeling too guilty! An early owl signifies another beating heart on the outside, apart from the ones beating indoors! 😊
DeleteTo start I have to say I am not a fan of pumpkin pie and have only made it once for an office party. Mostly it is made from store bought pumpkin that is already cooked and mashed - not seasoned, you had cream, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and any other spices, beat it till creamy - I forgot, sugar! - pour into a prebaked pie shell, and done. It is a custard sort of pie. Like I said, not my favorite. I rather have a pecan or apple pie anytime. Though I am make a crumble this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe Ruthy. Not sure that we would get pre-cooked pumpkin here but I reckon you could do that yourself. Must say I am not too keen on custard-type pies myself so think I will stick to soup- making.
DeleteI often roast butternut squash and other veg. I don’t peel it , as you say...very hard work ...., the skin goes nice and soft. Reckon it must be good for you.
ReplyDeleteThe only way I can eat squash is in a curry with lots of chilli, garlic and spices. Like many flavourless vegetables they require a lot of other ingredients to make them more edible. Tofu is an other bland item. Also marrows are particularly disgusting.
DeleteMany of my allotment friends grow lots of different and highly coloured varieties, which they mainly leave for others to take. Don't know why they bother.
My favourite veg is cabbage.
I find that you can peel a butternut squash with a potato peeler though you sometimes have to go over it again as strips can be left between strokes. The difficult bit is slicing it but I rock the knife to do that! You can buy it ready cubed in some supermarkets but it works out more expensive.
DeleteRoasted butternut squash and sage risotto with toasted pine nuts and parmesan cheese is one of my favourite meals.
DeleteI love squash. My older Sis grows it and passes her harvest "glut" onto me. I use it, in soups, in a traditional Morrocan tangine, as well as a ingrediant in a "low cholesterol, low fat" so called Jamaican Stew. This is lean beef, with squash, carrots, sweetcorn, chick peas, chopped toms. along with plenty of spices esp. fresh grated ginger. It might sound complicated, but far from it, as a lot comes out of tins (which are then recycled).
ReplyDeleteHere is an example of the inefficiency which might explain some of the miserable chaos on our Railway system, like this morning, when no trains could get to Waterloo due to overrunning of weekend work on the lines. Thousands of commuters could not get to work until midday:-
ReplyDeleteThis morning my daughter received a letter from Network Rail, addressed to residents living near Whitchurch Railway Station in South Wales. It apologised for the inconvenience they would experience for the next couple of weeks whilst the car park was being resurfaced.
The only problem - she lives in Whitchurch, Hampshire, a couple of hundred miles away!! 😤
That is appalling !
DeleteIt gets even worse!
DeleteMy daughter sent me a photocopy of Network Rail’s letter which has an aerial photograph of the station car park to be resurfaced.
We checked on Google Earth.
It is not Whitchurch, South Wales.
It is not Whitchurch, Hampshire.
It is, in fact, a photograph of the station at Whitchurch, Shropshire!!!
This is Network Rail, responsible for the running and maintenance of the entire railway system in England!
Unbelievable!
Good luck to all those hoping to travel to Waterloo in a couple of weeks time. 🤞
🤣
DeleteI remember having pumpkin pie provided by a schoolfriend whose mother was American. It was nice, but I got the impression that pumpkin per se doesn't taste of much and needs the assistance of other ingredients.
ReplyDeleteStasia, in answer to your question as to why grow vegetables when you don't eat them, for the pure pleasure of growing them, well that is how it is for me.
ReplyDeleteMarrow sliced and put in a casserole dish with plenty of butter salt and pepper and baked in the oven , delicious, certainly not tasteless.
Courgettes are boring just boiled but delicious stir fried!
DeleteCourgettes are lovely chopped up and roasted or in a cake.
DeleteCowgirl. What do you do with the produce you grow, but don't eat. I always grow too much, but I distribute the surplus among friends. My next door neighbours are very well supplied. I don't like courgettes, but grew and used them as the basis for making soups. They need to be picked early otherwise they begin to resemble a green monster.
DeleteOur friends in New Orleans were mesmerised that we call them courgettes. Over there they are zucchinis! I haven’t tried roasting them but sounds nice and will bring out maximum flavour. We are having purple sprouting broccoli tonight much nicer than those huge flavourless heads. We had a big garden once and used to grow it. Have just planted broad bean seeds for the raised bed. Enough veggie chat!
DeleteWe use roasted courgettes in quite a few recipes, works well with red peppers
DeleteJanice, I have to apologise, I should be at the Big Cat event right now, but I have wimped out of going.
ReplyDeleteToo dark, wet and cold.
I am sorry, but if you have specific questions I would be happy to email Rick Minter on your behalf.
Mrs P
It was too cold and damp to take the dogs out this morning but Buddy was very tired after puppy training and the usual two walks yesterday. He has snoozed for most of the day! Katy did take him for a good walk after work and I took Gypsy for a shorter one but we two old ladies(G and I!] dashed back home as it was so cold! Walks are not Gypsy’s favourite pastime. She only lives for food!
DeleteMrs P I don't blame you for wimping out, I did exactly the same with the gardening club. It has turned very cold here, and the dark evenings don't exactly tempt one out. I am just generally interested having known two people who had close sightings. I do wonder if they can cross breed.
DeleteJanice, I believe that there is evidence of cross breeding.
DeleteMy book is upstairs at the moment, but I will give you details should you wish to get said book. Interesting and full of information.
But possibly turgid so far as many tastes go.
Yes please Mrs P it would be nice to have the name of the book. Christmas is coming, and I could throw out some hints!
DeleteStasia, like you I give it away. At the moment I am not growing much as between the rabbits and my chickens, they are destroying most. I am hoping to build some raised beds in the yard when I can afford to , in the meantime may be my little dog will keep both at bay.
ReplyDeleteHi Cowgirl, I expect you have your own ideas but thought I would mention my post ages ago about having come across a pile of pallets in a garden centre for a £1 each. I have built my first raised border using them and am about to do the second. I don't know if you have a builders yard or similar near you that might be selling them off cheaply or giving them away. They come in different sizes, and you do need to have the boot space to fit them in, and it might mean several trips. You need ones where the wood slats are close together so the earth doesn't fall through, and once you have the first 3 nailed together it becomes very stable and easy to work with. I decided I was fed up with bending over, and got ones that were waist high, but have to admit it takes an awful lot of soil to fill a border that high. I actually bulked mine up by alternating grass clippings, leaves and farmyard manure up until about half full, and then used soil/compost on the top, and have planted winter kale (which my daughter likes) and leeks in this first one. My pallets were 3 foot high but you can get 2 foot high ones which would take less earth to fill and I think would have been high enough to prevent much bending, which is my idea of bliss! Your aim though is to keep the munchers off, so I guess they need to be higher than a bunny can hop! 🤗
DeleteJanice thanks for your tips. My car is to small to fit them in. I have used them in the past for compost heaps and they are superb, but there might be a way. First I will need a fence to keep Emerald out !!!
Delete🚫 🐂 🐇🐤😊
DeleteAnachronisms-
ReplyDeleteI have just started to read our latest Book Club book .
Like a lot of.modern books the date is written at the top of the Chapter.(the author lectures in Creative Writing wouldn't you know)
In this case Chapter 1 _March 1956
On page two mention is made of Cliff Richard who at that time was still Harry Webb and was only 15 years of age.
Another time I read a book which was set in the 1930s when Heathrow Airport was mentioned instead of London Airport as it was then.
Bootgums or anybody else who may know,is it the job of the proof reader to spot things like that?
Correction I meant to put 1950s not 1930s in penultimate sentence.
ReplyDeleteInteresting question, Lanjan! (To me, anyway.) It's mostly the author's responsibility, of course. Then comes the copy-editor (reading the author's 'manuscript', usually an MS Word file), who is expected to be vigilant and have a decent general knowledge but not to engage in vigorous fact-checking. So you would be expected to spot 'The Battle of Hastings took place in 1966', for example, but not to check whether it is the case that 'A minor skirmish took place at Piddlesby-in-the-Puddle on 21 November 1423' (though you should spot a problem if, for example, the surrounding text was all about events that took place a century earlier, or if the skirmish was said to have taken place on 31 November). The proofreader reads the text once it is set (the pages look the way they will in the finished book), and is expected to keep an eye out for such things but, again, not to engage in research. In the cases you mention, I should say the fault is definitely the author's: if you set a book in the past you should surely do the necessary research. A copy-editor or proofreader who was old enough might spot these errors. I think I would have been suspicious about the Cliff Richard dates but might not have noticed the Heathrow Airport one. As a proofreader I sometimes make myself unpopular by being too rigorous: if I raise a query (I raise many!), the collator, who is often the copy-editor (and so may feel criticised if someone else spots a problem they have missed), has to refer the query to the author (or ignore it), and the pay is a bit rubbish so not everyone is willing to spend the extra time.
ReplyDeleteIn your examples, I would say an author who doesn't realise that the past is a different country and that things change over time is a bit dim, and one who thinks someone else will pick up their factual errors is lazy (and optimistic). That said, we're all human and make a few slips.
Very interesting, Bootgums. I magine both copy editor & proof reader have enough to be vigilant over with spelling, punctuation & grammar these day especially, without checking fact accuracy, which is the author's province !
DeleteI imagine some sensitivity to tone & intention is given ? For instance, there's a difference between starting a sentence with a conjunction through lack of regard for the general rule, & doing it for emphasis, or some kind of effect.
Yes, it's not about implementing the 'rules' we were taught at primary school!
DeleteI recently bought a set of three books from The Book People that seemed to be just up my street. They were crime novels set during the last War, in mid Wales, featuring the local Detective Inspector and how he solved various crimes. They were advertised as being if interest to fans of Foyles War, the tv series, which I love.
ReplyDeleteHowever within about three chapters I realised I couldn’t continue with them. Why? Because they were full of Americanisms, American spellings and phrases. A land girl was found murdered in a ‘pass-by’ instead of ‘lay-by’. The detective tucked into a plate of eggs and bacon ‘slices’ instead of rashers, and other glaring mistakes filled the pages. On checking out the author’s biography I found she was Canadian and lived in the USA.
Shouldn’t the British publisher of these books have had them proof-read for such anomolies? The errors, particularly in descriptions of the British countryside and references to sidewalks instead of pavements in an English town put me off completely. Such a pity, they might have been good stories.
So I am wondering now when I read a British book do the publisher Americanize it?
DeleteYes, that would make weird reading, Archerphile. I really rate some American expressions, 'fall' being the classic one, so much more descriptive than stuffy old 'Autumn', & 'sidewalk' says more than pavement, to my mind, but used in a British context, completely out of place. Disconcerting if an English character says to another, ' I saw you striding along the sidewalk during the fall, wrapped up in your own thoughts'
DeleteI wonder, Ruthy ? I doubt it, because the American reader would know the book was set in England. When we read American authors, we don't expect them to be munching ''biscuits' as they walk along the'pavement' !
I believe the Harry Potter books were adapted quite a bit for an American readership. The most obvious change was of the title of the first book from 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' to 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'. I don't see the point of that: the title may be a child's first acquaintance with the notion of the Philosopher's Stone, and so not meaningful when they first encounter it, but that's equally true of 'the Sorcerer's Stone', which will never be more than the title of a children's book. Someone just thought 'Sorcerer' was sexier than 'Philosopher'. But that's separate from the question of whether British books should be Americanised. I can see the point for children's books. For adult books, I would want to read British books in British English and US books in US English. The same goes for other varieties of English, of course!
DeleteThere was a very interesting programme on R4 yesterday about English / American words and how we ( generally) feel about the use of such words. Continuing then of course into the origins of such words and giving Shakespearean examples.
ReplyDeleteI too read a book recently with what were to me glaring mistakes, not in historical accuracy but in relationship to previous information in the story not being adhered to in later chapters.
A bit like the Archers from time to time, such as the recent downstairs cloakroom needing to be installed in Peggy's cottage, when in the past a cloakroom was installed for Jack when he was alive.
✓✓ to your last para Mrs P - that lack of continuity is inexcusable - so sloppy & lazy. Am a bit obsessive about that kind of thing - how can one suspend disbelief if writers alter previous 'facts', get ages, dates etc. wrong ?
DeleteThanks Bootgums for explaining things to me.
ReplyDeleteThe author was born in 1958 .
I dare say everyone else connected with the book were not around in 1956
I remember reading a Maeve Binchie (she was born about the same time as I was) and she had the Beetles being around in the 1950s.
As someone who would have chosen on Mastermind ,her specialist topic(after The Archers after I had got through the first Round) as The Hit Parade of the late 1950s, I was so annoyed when I read that.
Ah, the Hit Parade! What a lovely phrase.
DeleteApologies Lanjan, but proof read Beetles. Possibly Beatles! 😏
ReplyDeleteWell spotted Bootgums.
DeleteI would like to say that I did it on purpose but of course I didn't.
I have had to give up on the book I am reading.
It is dreadful and in my opinion very badly written.
I checked up on the author and she is a lecturer in Creative Writing.
I am going to reread the books of my youth.
I remember Maryellen(I think) saying that our tastes change.
Yes,I will never again reread Peyton Place but having just reread two Nevil Shute books I have decided to reread them all .
I mentioned what I was doing to my younger son and he told me he has all of Nevil Shute's books and he was a "cracking writer"
Erm, you mean 'Well spotted, Burnham Beeches'.
DeleteHas anyone been to Nepal?
ReplyDeleteMy OZ neice is getting married in April, 2019, which will be a very quiet ceremony, with just some very close friends.
Family are invited to share in their honeymoon, which will be in Nepal in Sept/Oct.2019.
I am not sure- so any experiences about Nepal, good or bad, will be greatly appreciated.
I still don't know dates, exactly where and best flights.
Any help will be so appreciated.
I went to Nepal a few years ago with my husband and it was a wonderful experience. We went with Saga and started in Kathmandu, then to a tented camp where we went on safaris on elephant back, then to a village transferring by jeep, boat along the river and finally by ox cart, then to a mountain top marked by wonderful sunsets. Apart from the village transfer, we flew in between places by Yeti air. All three venues were managed by a British ex pat. The people are very welcoming and friendly and the village people showed us their homes and the way they lived. I think we flew Emirates and had to change flights in Doha. It is a different world and well worth the experience. Hope you can go, Miriam. The hotels are fine, the food not too unusual but good and even the tented camp was en suite! You might be able to fly past Everest!
DeleteI was appalled by the sentence in UAE on that young British PhD student. In the corse of the report it was said that Dubai is in the UAE and if I remember correctly Archerfile is going there to visit her family and takes co codamol. It doesn’t seem to be allowed there so you may need an alternative but please seek advice. I hadn’t realised that Dubai was there.
ReplyDeleteI did know about Dubai being in the UAE as a big noise in Putney lived in Dubai with her main home in Putney. I also thought about Archerphiles family and her trip there next year.
DeleteI vaguely remember going to some trade fair at Syon House a few years ago with a friend who was very pro the UAE. I seem to remember big tents and a plane on the lawns. Plus evidence of lots of money.
Thanks Ev. Yes we have been following the case with increasing horror. On the10pm Radio 4 news last night there was an interview with a British man who had also been wrongly imprisoned in the Emirates for 3 years and was very badly treated and denied medical aid. He now campaigns for Britons imprisoned abroad (like Mrs Zafiri Radcliffe in Iran). He said he thought people should be warned against visiting Dubai on holiday as there are so many unwritten laws that can be unwittingly broken there and bring you to the attention of the police. They tend to fling you in jail first and ask questions later. Although they are trying to promote Dubai as a tourist destination he warned that you have to be extremely careful, keep a very low profile and take care how you address or even look at officials.
DeleteAs you can imagine I didn’t sleep much last night , afraid for my family working there and for Mr A and I, going as tourists.
As for the co-codamol, I don’t have to take that any more so no problem. But I do take a low dose antidepressant called Citalopram which is a banned drug in UAE and I have to declare it online before we go. Things used to be so much simpler when the family lived in France!
Try not to worry too much, Archerfile. It does not do to ask too many questions in UAE and I’m sure this young man did just that as part of hisresearch. In our country we are used to free speech. It’s as well to observe customs in other countries and to be aware of boundaries. You can find out a lot online and just be aware during your trip. When we went to Vietnam we were advised not to wear valuable jewellery. One lady ignored this and crossing the road a motorcycle swept past and grabbed her gold chain! For myself on holiday I have a small discreet necklace and one pair of earrings which I wear and take nothing else in the jewellery line! Another thing is that innocent gestures we have here can be very rude in other countries but I won’t go there on this blog! As far as officials go, just keep chat to a minimum and do as you are told! Sorry, Ruthy, but we found this was very much the case when entering the USA!
DeleteMy son is home for Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving Ruthy. Thankyou to you too for this blog X
DeleteHave a happy Thanksgiving, Ruthy.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a happy Thanksgiving Ruthy and also a big thank you for all your work on the blogs.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely Thanksgiving Ruthy. Good luck with all that cooking!!
ReplyDeleteThink I’ll text my son and see if he and his flat mates are having an English thanksgiving in memory of years gone by. 🦃
Happy Thanksgiving Ruthy!
ReplyDeleteFrom me too Ruthy. That apple crumble should be delicious! 🍎 🍏
DeleteAnd from me!😀
DeleteWishing you a very happy thanksgiving Ruthy.
DeleteAnd thinking too of those early settlers who set out to make a wonderful new country, and instigated a Thanksgiving Day.
Hey LanJan, I see you mentioned your fantasy Mastermind subjects earlier - I actually got to appear on it a couple of years ago! It was the fulfillment of a lifelong wish and I had an amazing day of, unbelievably, non-stop laughter...
ReplyDeleteOh Gary! You must tell us what your specialist subject was....please!
DeleteCan we look you up Gary, if you give us the date ?
DeleteWow Gary.
DeleteI was in a Quiz ream once with somebody who appeared on Mastermind.
She said that there was great camaraderie and I think there was a sort of Club they joined to keep in touch.
I was on Brain of Britain once but Mastermind seems many times more terrifying.
DeleteRuthy. Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day with your partner and son.
ReplyDelete✅✅
Delete😃*✓✓ have a lovely time, Ruthy !
DeleteHappy Thanksgiving day! Your son coming home will make it special.
DeleteThanks to everyone. The cooking has started. Add a wild mushroom tart.
ReplyDeleteWhen you come over here Ruthy you must bring over some of your recipes .
ReplyDeleteWild mushroom tart sounds great.
When I win my million pounds on the Premium Bond draw I think I will employ a cook just to come every the evening to do the evening meal.
She can go after that.
I don't mind washing up.
Hey hey hey ! Let's have some equality here please LJ
DeleteYou might find an excellent male cook.
You are quite correct Mrs P.
DeleteHe or she doesn't need to be excellent.
Don't want fancy food.
Basic meals are all I require
With you all the way Lanjan ��✔️
DeleteShould be clapping hands 🙄
DeleteEv. Thanks for your reply about Nepal + your saga holiday.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, when I know more dates + venues, I could combine two holidays together. An organised one, with a family one.
Thanks.
A bit late but warmest wishes to you Ruthy for thanksgiving and thanks to you again for this blog.
ReplyDeleteGary, really impressed that you were on mastermind. That and the band - interesting life, eh.
So Gary, what was your specialist subject on MM?
ReplyDelete🤔
If Gary was in a band it might be music.
Delete" The Life & Work of Andy Warhol" was my specialist subject... I laughed the whole day through, resulting in a few reshoots! I was flying to Sydney the next day & remember being far, far more nervous about that than sitting in THE CHAIR! It was everything, and more, that I hoped it would be....
DeleteTerrific, GG ! Am dead impressed by your cool ( both nerve under pressure, & choice of subject, about which artist I have mixed feelings, but he sure was an innovator, & you're the expert !)
DeleteGotcha, GG - 2016, episode 22 (no longer available, more's the pity)
DeleteShame! And I was looking soooo darned good that day.....
DeleteJinner - good to see you again! Thanks to everyone for well wishes. Dinner over. Everything was a great success. Watching Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown.
ReplyDeleteBTW 18 deg F (-8 C).
DeleteOuch!❄️
Delete☺️👍
DeleteGlad to hear you enjoyed your day Ruthie. A trifle cold !!! 6 centigrade here a bit dismal, but have sorted the cow and taken Misty for her early walk. Now for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteNot so different down here weather wise. I’m driving north tomorrow for my first night in “the” house. Excited, nervous 😯😀🏡
DeleteHope it goes well Seasider and that you’ll have many, many happy years in your new home. Hope it’s got good central heating!
DeleteSafe journey Seasider.
DeleteI expect it will be the M1 for you.
When I travelled north a lot it was M40, M6.
Thanks, the central heating was the one thing working well although it has to go off for a meter installation just for a couple of hours. M11 and A1M.
DeleteAnd I hope the camp bed doesn’t deflate 😧
DeleteHope everyone has a good weekend wherever you are or whatever you’re doing.
ReplyDeleteGetting to the point where indoor jobs over a roaring fire seems the best option. That might be me on Sunday whilst writing Christmas cards.
So...... Andy Warhol as a specialist subject!! Anyone else know what their specialist subject would be......other than the archers!!
The Adventure series by Enid Blyton as my specialist subject, or perhaps, Knitting Pattern abbreviations!
DeleteHmm, I’m a bit of a Jill of all trades so would struggle, but probably something poetry related and perhaps a contemporary poet who hasn’t got an extensive publishing history yet so I could mug up.
ReplyDeleteI’m a bit the same, know a bit about a lot but not a lot about a specific.
DeleteI used to be quite knowledgable on Peter Sellers and Dirk Bogarde, read a lot of books, but can’t remember much now.
3 months before filming "Mastermind" the producer and I agreed on 3 books as the main sources of reference to ensure that the researchers and I were in step; to ensure that neither I nor they were concentrating on one obscure aspect of his life or career. I then just sat on the terrace of a lovely local hostelry with a highlighter pen and some beer for a few weeks and had a ball reacquainting myself with a subject that I fell in love with when I was 14 years old!
ReplyDeleteAs to how I did, I was more than happy with the outcome as there were 2 very large factors in play on the day - #1 I knew that if by some miracle I progressed to the next round I wouldn't be able to do it as I was going to be travelling during that period, and #2, all I was really thinking was "Oh my God! I'm getting to SIT IN THE CHAIR!!!". Couldn't really give a stuff about the general knowledge part, just wanted to show off my love & knowledge of Warhol.
Obviously, the producers didn't know any of the above....!!
Sounds a very healthy way to approach being on such a programme Gary. Never mind the final result, just enjoy the 'journey'. Well done!
DeleteI decided to use the computer instead of the IPad and typed in Archersfan .blogspot.in "search."
ReplyDeleteIt came up -even with archersfan blogspot Ruthie.
However when I pressed that all I got was a page full of our original BBC blog and Mustardland and Twitter.
I don't understand it.
Oh dear Lanjan not more mysteries and on the day I’m celebrating as my tech B-I-L from Devon has visited with my sister today and has sorted me out so I can now contribute on here 🤗 from my new iPad at last (post ios12) the old one works but is so slow.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Lady R!
DeleteThank you Ruthy. Do hope your “Thanksgiving Day” went well....
ReplyDeleteLanJan what search engine were you using ?, I tried Bing and the same happened to me , I tried Google and it took me straight to Ruthys site. I suggest you try again with a different search engine
ReplyDeleteCow Girl,I don't know what a Search Engine is!
ReplyDeleteWhen I use the IPad which is most of the time,I type in Archersfan ,press return and it comes up
with our blog.
Sometimes I type in Archers to see what comes up and the other sites come up too but recently Archersfan blog has come up with the Waterloo heading .
However yesterday I decided to try to find out what happened on my new Computer if I typed in Archersfan and although I was given a list like Archersfan.blogspot com or Archersfan or Archers fan ,when I pressed search our blog didn't appear
I came into computing comparatively recently and have picked things up as I have gone along .
I would go to classes but I think I would be frustrated as I do know something and there would be other folks who are just starting.
I do envy those people who were taught the basics at school.
I have a book called I pads for seniors .
Perhaps I could get something similar for Computers
I did get something about Computing for dummies but couldn't understand it !
LJ - like you I have learned on my IPad as I have gone along.
DeleteI only use one search engine, Google.
But my Archers logo and Ruthys comes up automatically on my screen.
Can you bring your IPad with you to our meet up, I will bring mine, and we can do some work together at Benuga and swap ways of ' doing it '.
Lanjan, the computer class I went to wasn't like a school class. It was individual learning. I filled in a form and ticked what I wanted to learn. The tutor gave me an introduction at my 1st session and a worksheet. Subsequent lessons were a mixture of worksheets, practice and learning how to do stuff I was interested in. Class size was around 12, all doing different things.
DeleteI have a book "Windows 10 for Beginners". I couldn't understand a previous book I'd bought, then noticed there were pages missing.
LanJan I forgot u use an ipad, I have nothing other than a lap top, although I have a smartphone I only use it as a phone, I don't know how to use it for anything else, I wanted to return something to Amazon, but have given up as I need the post office to scan on my phone all a mystery to me.
ReplyDeleteI can do my shopping and e mail and that's about it.
Search engines are how you look up things, there are various different ones. If you type in search engines, various ones will come up, select the one you want and away you go.
I must admit I have found it very useful, I had a cow who was a self sucker, no one not even the vets could help, I searched the web and came up with a cow bra, from America of course, bought one and it worked! (meant for cows with heavy udders before calving)
Im no teacher ! no doubt others will/can explain better.
A Cow Bra???!!! Why has this item never featured on TA?
DeleteThanks Cow Girl.
ReplyDeleteFor those who want to try - download the Chrome app for iPad. I have tried and it works.
ReplyDeleteYes Ruthy, that’s exactly what I did. The built-in search engine that comes with iPad is called Safari. That was giving me a lot of trouble trying to log in to these blogs so I downloaded Google Chrome as well and it works perfectly. (Perhaps because Chrome and this blogging site are both run by Google so they are compatible)
DeleteI only use Chrome for accessing this blog, so it is my only ‘bookmarked’ page and comes up as soon as I log into Chrome.
I continue to use Safari for everything else.
Archerphile, your post has made me realise that I made a mistake in my answer to Lan Jan.
DeleteYou are correct, as I use an IPad, my search engine is Safari.
Sorry for misinformation previously.
I use the chrome browser on my PC, tablet and phone. As well as having no trouble with the Archers Fan Blog it means my email, contacts, calendar and photos all work seamlessly between devices
ReplyDeleteSafari isn't a search engine, it's a web browser. In a web browser you can type in a web address if you know the one you want, e.g. www.bbc.news.co.uk, and get straight there. From a web browser you can access various search engines, of which the best-known is Google. Once you've got hold of your favourite (!) search engine, you can type in, for example, 'BBC news', and a list of likely websites will appear. With a bit of luck, the BBC News site will be at the top of this list (beware of adverts, marked 'Ad').
ReplyDeleteApologies for using the wrong term Bootgums. I thought they meant the same thing!
DeleteHope I haven’t confused anybody.
Me too. Got it wrong.
DeleteBut very pleased to learn the correct terms and thank you Bootgums.
I always use Chrome for Ruthy's blog, no probs, Firefox was extremely uncooperative.
ReplyDeleteP-ing with rain & blowing a gale here today, I feel F1 & rugby highlights beckoning...
ReplyDeleteoxtail stew later!!
Parsley, tell me about oxtail stew.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child I loved oxtail soup, out of a tin of course, but when as a young wife/mother I made an oxtail stew it tasted horrible.
So long ago I cannot remember what it tasted like, but do remember that it was not nice.
Where did I go wrong ?
When I was just married my husband came in from work and I proudly said it was oxtail stew for dinner having bought it that day. He then said it would be more efficient to have the stew the next day as the plenteous fat in it would have solidified and could be taken off. I can’t remember what it tasted like but wonder if like me you went wrong by rushing things, Mrs P! On another occasion I asked the butcher whether he had lamb’s hearts as my husband had expressed a liking for them. To my dismay the butcher did have some! I had read my recipe book and asked him which was the central cavity membrane as you had to cut through it! He sighed and said “Give it here!” as by then it was in my shopping basket. He then duly did the business! It was a painstaking task to stuff them, sew them up and then casserole them but they were tasty to my surprise!
DeleteEv, I remember having to do something similar in the classroom when a student nurse.
ReplyDeleteTo eat ? No thank you.
I still use my mother's method when making Irish stew, to first slowly cook the lamb
( scrag end when you can get it) and the pearl barley. Leave to go cold, then remove the heavy layer of fat that has collected on the surface before moving to the next stage of stewing the meat with vegetables.
And it is still my favourite dish.
You may be right about the oxtail stew. Perhaps I will try it again one day.
That’s why I was so dismayed when the butcher had the hearts! You know what it’s like as a newly married though, wanting to spoil your beloved! Actually the hearts taste like a very mild liver and we did go on to have them again quite a few times.
DeleteMy Mom used to make oxtail soup - which she called Russian soup. It had potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes and some kind of white beans. It was great to have on a winter Sunday. I am now a vegetarian so not more oxtail soup. Though I can make a delicious vegan squash soup.
ReplyDeleteGosh Ruthy, that brings back the memory of the Russian restaurant that used to be in Knightsbridge in the fifties and sixties and that wonderful Russian soup that we used to eat.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else remember what it was called.
I suppose I should google it, but I'm in the middle of a difficult letter.
Borscht.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s made of beetroot?
DeleteIt is, I think. A favourite of a Russian friend.
Deleteoxtail stew was cooked on Friday! (long & s.l.o.w.)
ReplyDelete& certainly did have the layer of fat taken off this morning.
did a Spanish recipe this time, Rabo de Toro, need to reduce the sauce more tho'..
but delish even so! (Mr P said so, so it must be true..)
Borsht is looming, lots of beets in the garden..
duck hearts are a speciality here! delicious, & cheap..
ReplyDeleteThere is another Russian soup called shchi! It's a cabbage soup but has lots of variations, based on green vegetables like spinach and even nettles. It was very much a staple food along with kasha, a sort of porridge.
Deletenettle soup is a traditional country dish here in SW France..
DeleteDelighted to announce I have been formally discharged by my consultant after my hip operation. No more sticks, still have to do the exercises every day for 6 months and told to keep the weight down! As for the opposite knee, told to contact him if and when it becomes too painful and he’ll see me again for a replacement ....hoping that will be a very long time!
ReplyDeleteHeartfelt thanks are due to the Basingstoke & North Hants Hospital orthopaedic department and the brilliant hip replacement preparation programme they run. The End.
That's very good news, Archerphile. Please give yourself a pat on the back as well as the health practitioners !
Delete🎉 Hurrah Archerphile I was just thinking your 3 month check must be due! So you are now a free woman 🤗 Agree 100% re Basingstoke Orthopaedic Dept it is just superb and we are so lucky to be in their catchment area. (Although many also apply to have treatment there too!)
DeleteWell done Archerphile, all that exercise has paid off. What will it be next a half marathon !!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome bufo9bufo - are you a new to our Blog?
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm a refugee from the BBC site and would have joined you much sooner, but had the same problems accessing the blog as many others. I actually cracked it 2 or 3 weeks ago and have been enjoying reading and catching up with you all. I really missed all your comments, whether on subject or not and I felt I had lost a group of friends even though I don't post a lot. It is so good to meet you all again and to know there is a lively debate still going on! Thank you again!
DeleteHello bufo9bufo, good to see you here, have you just rejoined us or have you been reading but not posting since we switched to Ruthys blog.
ReplyDeleteWell done Archerphile for passing the three month test. Yes keep doing the exercises.
Are you still managing the bath on Sunday mornings ?
My knee surgeon said no to my second knee recently.
I am disappointed but did expect that result.
Mrs P , did he /she give you a good reason for not doing so ? they are trying to save money and cutting back on us older people is one way. Not acceptable in my view for us active healthy people. They spend far more on one person with cancer to allow them an extra 3 months life, where is the justice.
DeleteSorry but a hobby horse of mine.
CowGirl. Clinical decisions made in the treatment of cancer are not based solely on money, all treatments should be evidenced based, unless the individual and their family have agreed to participate in a clinical trial. The treatments used and the types of cancers patients are experiencing will vary according to type and stage of development. The objective should be to ensure quality of life that the individual be pain free during treatment, and at the end stage.
DeleteDiagnosis is key to making a decision to treat and the earlier this is done then the prognosis might be more likely to be positive for the individual.
I don't think clinicians make decisions to treat at all costs especially if the treatment will not benefit or cure the cancer for the patient.
Cancer is still, if given a diagnosis, very frightening for the patient and it continues to. presents us with conflicting emotions of anger, fear and many will fight the system to receive specific care, even if there is no cure.
Acceptance is very difficult and heartbreaking for the patient and those caring for their welfare.