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Life outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
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ReplyDeleteKPnuts March 25, 2020 at 9:38 AM
Another bright and sunny day, I’ve just seen a pair of bullfinches in the garden, the male looking very handsome. I also witnessed a standoff between a rabbit and a squirrel before they decided they weren’t in competition, the squirrel then made his way up the bird feeder to the peanuts which the small birds have been shunning. A blackbird then hopped up to collect the scattered nuts as the rabbit nibbled the grass. Nature in harmony!
Elder daughter, who hardly comes out of her room, had a slightly raised temperature yesterday, but back to normal today, we suspect a virus from her computer 😉
Archerphile March 25, 2020 at 10:03 AM
What a beautiful scene you have painted KP. We also had rabbits in the garden yesterday but they were eating off the shoots of my emerging plants, so were not very welcome!
Time for me to put my chicken wire cages over everything again.
And we are mystified about what is causing so much damage to our daffodils this year. We have had them lining the drive for years and planted lots of new varieties in clumps under the trees last Autumn. They are now flowering but dozens have either had the buds nibbled off completely or the flower petals shredded. I can normally pick armfuls at this time of year but yesterday there were hardly any with perfect blooms. There is something doing all this damage but we can’t work out what it is - Animal, bird or insect.
Any ideas, anyone?
A very different type of birthday for Mr R today! Such glorious weather too but remaining safe is (and must) be everyones priority ‼️
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Sir R! Bet you've not spent too many the way you'll spend this one - have a great day regardless!!
Delete🎂🍾Mr R!
ReplyDeleteThe local red squirrels store their walnuts (from our tree) in a cubby hole in our lime tree!
ReplyDeleteI imagine that we are all going to become far more acquainted with the visitors to our gardens in the coming weeks! Of course, those of us lucky enough to have gardens.
ReplyDeleteAnd since you're here parsley -
*** Desert Island Discs ***
parsley was the next name out of the hat! Whenever you're ready.....
Yikes!!
ReplyDeleteStill keeping an eye on Morrison’s. Currently no delivery slots available for our address! However, have done an order for our local farm shop and it will be here on Tuesday. Delivery is free if you spend over £15 which isn’t hard nowadays! It is more expensive than supermarkets but all locally produced. We are not spending as much generally because of being confined!! Every cloud has a silver lining eh?
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful summers day it is here, have just come back from a walk on the moors where we were following our own tracks of last week, our companions as usual the sheep and moorland birds we saw the Curlew, Peewits and Black grouse, we heard the Skylark but I couldn't see them.
ReplyDeleteEmerald, the cow , is happy as today she has gone out to grass, so no more mucking out untill the fly season.
Hello again CowGirl! And thanks for the Emerald update!!
DeleteSounds idyllic cowgirl and good to hear from you 🤗
DeleteTo everyone enjoying the wildlife in their gardens.
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago we signed up for the BTO's Garden Birdwatch - we send in counts of birds and other animals or insects that visit our garden each week. (House sparrows being our most numerous visitors.)
If you'd like to take part too, visit https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw . It costs £17 a year to take part (funds running the scheme) but you do get a great bird identification book on joining and a magazine 4 times a year.
We do the yearly one OWIAS - didn't know there was a weekly equivalent. Will investigate!
DeleteLady R , 11.31
ReplyDeleteCongratualtions and happy birthday to Lord R 🍷
Yesterday was our next door neighbours 70th birthday and their celebratory cruise had been cancelled too. As he is asthmatic (and now 70) they couldn’t have family or visitors to celebrate.
So I came up with the idea of a ‘2metres distance tea party’. We have a brick & flint wall between our gardens with a gate in, because they have the right of way to cross our garden to get to the road.
We each set up a garden table& chairs 2 metres distance either side of the gate and propped it open. I made a Devonshire cream tea and his wife made a birthday cake which we put on a small table in the gateway. Then we each sat in our respective gardens, with our cups of tea, taking it in turns to take the goodies from the table in the gateway!
It must have looked very strange but we were able to celebrate his birthday and have a good old natter, without breaking any rules!
Might have to do the same for our anniversary next month as there won’t be any restaurants open .....or we might just postpone it until next year, like the Olympics.
Thank you Archerphile and all others for Mr R’s birthday wishes today - not too sure about the Sir and Lord though he will be getting ideas above his station 🤣🤣🤣
DeleteWhat a super idea you had for your neighbours 70th party 🎈 Archerphile it sounded great.
Good to see you posting,Cowgirl
ReplyDeleteBeautiful weather here too .
Sadly a great many people are not able to take advantage of it.
I've been out all afternoon with the dog, usually only see other dog walkers, but today there have been several elderly couples, and a couple of families with children. Everyone kept their distance, but also they were all cheerful, everyone had a chat and a smile, I think the new rule of 'exercise time' is great if it actually makes people think about enjoying the fresh air.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who mentioned the on-line choir with Gareth Malone, but I and a friend have joined, it is fun and distracting. It is on you tube at 5.30 p.m. I've been missing it live but catching up in my own time, so thanks for that.
I am considering Joe Wicks' on-line exercise class for children too, but that will do for a rainy day.
Hello, Gary - just to say I’ve compiled a DID list if you need another name for the hat.
ReplyDeleteYour name is now in the hat maryellen - thanks!
DeleteI've managed to get into the garden at last, managing to clear one small area of last years weeds and then dug it over and removing the inevitable couch grass roots which make there way through from the neighbours garden each year.
ReplyDeleteNow it's ready, yet again for the Fig tree I plan for that space. Never managed it last year because of not being able to leave the dog, or the year before because of my new knee.
Now of course all the garden centres are closed.
Very impressed with the social distancing tea party.
Well done Archerphile and neighbour.
We go to Quarr Abbey with the dogs in the evening and usually see very few people at that time and of course keep our distance. On the way back we have the car radio on. Gypsy loves music and we have to tune it in to her favourites. She is into the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and today Boy George with Cama Chameleon had her singing along. She is particularly partial to ABBA and her DID sole choice would be Dancing Queen! Buddy and Dudley aren’t at all musical and don’t join in with our singalong!
ReplyDeleteGypsy has obviously very good taste Ev
DeleteDon't know what to say about the other two,though..are they perhaps nerds?😉😉
Yes, I think they are!😁🐶🐶
DeleteArcherfile, what a brilliant idea and it must have cheered your neighbours immensely as they must feel a bit down about missing their cruise.
ReplyDeleteMistral 5:19.. I mentioned Gareth Malone's initiative, glad you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteDID list demain.. 😉
ReplyDeleteAP : wonderful!
ReplyDeleteMrs P 6.36 p.m.
ReplyDeleteThere is an on-line garden centre called Ashridge Nurseries, which I have used and find very reliable. They will answer gardening queries too, without trying to off-load their produce. I was really pleased with them.
On the BBC blog, John the Agnostic recommended a specialist organic place, but I can't remember the name. If anyone else can, I'd be interested to know.
BUT I have just checked and they are sold out of fig trees. Lots of people must have the same idea.
DeleteIf anyone is looking for an on-line place to buy plants I can heartily recommend Shrubland Park Nurseries in Ipswich. Suppliers to Kew Gardens & Balmoral Castle amongst others. It's a family run business in a beautiful part of Suffolk - I know it very well because it's owned by my sister-in-law!!!
ReplyDelete(Forgive the blatant plug....!!!)
I wonder what will happen to all the many plants there are in Garden Centres up and down the Country?
ReplyDeleteEven before the Corona Virus some Garden Centres were struggling. .
Sadly this is going to mea even more will have to close their doors.
I was thinking that exact same thing today Lanjan. Luckily we have ordered most of our spring/summer stuff in advance on-line (see above!), but nothing beats a wander round a garden centre on a lazy sunny afternoon!
DeleteI saw on the news just the other day Gardner's in Holland destroying thousands of tulips because they couldn't deliver. L love tulips it's so sad and such a waste🌷🌷
DeleteThe church bells rang out across France today at 19:30 in solidarité for all the health workers.. have a vidéo but not sure if poss to upload..
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful.
DeleteIn no way to whitewash or minimize this disaster, but good things keep popping up because of it, showing the better side of humanity.
I suppose I shall have to order all the plants I need for tubs and baskets online too, this year. I have already ordered tomato and cucumber plants from a specialist nursery near Longleat, Wiltshire.
ReplyDeleteBut I’m not sure how to get the extra-deep grow-bags and sacks of compost I shall need. Carriage of these would be very expensive.
I hear that ironmongers and do it yourself shops (B&Q, Homebase?) are allowed to open but not sure if you are allowed to buy gardening stuff from them or only tools & equipment for household repairs.
I got my home delivery successfully from Sainsburys today. I had to leave boxes and my big laundry basket outside the front door for the driver to put the groceries in and we just waved at each other through the window!
ReplyDeleteSainsburys must think we are a very greedy old couple as it was a very big order - but did include stuff for our neighbours (which I bagged up and left on their doorstep) and our daughter who diverted on her way home from school to collect her bag from the doorstep.
After all the hassle of trying to get a delivery at all, it felt good the be able to help others too.
We went to Waitrose today - oddest, creepiest, yet strangely most enjoyable shopping experience of my life.
DeleteThey were operating a one out/one in policy so had to queue outside for 5 mins (it wasn't a big queue, only about a dozen people) before I was ushered into a huge spacious store with only 29 other customers - max limit of 30 in the shop at any one time!! Total silence, customers wearing masks & gloves and staff eerily quiet while stocking shelves. There were almost no shortage of anything, apart from dried milk. (Which is annoying, coz we use it in the bread and the yoghurt MrGG makes constantly!)
I too was shopping for neighbours as well Archerphile, but thankfully nothing that made me look like one of those crazy panic buying weirdos.....
I felt as if I was in a movie it was so weird.
I've just read my email from Waitrose outlining what you have described Gary.
ReplyDeleteI'm not shopping of course, so I won't be able to experience this strange phenomenon for myself, though I have shopped in very large stores in the middle of the night on occasion and had a similar experience.
Thanks for the heads up re online plant supplies Mistral and Gary.
Archerphile, could you double up on growbags for your deep planting for this year ?
Perhaps not up to your usual standards but if you can get the growbags at B&Q or Home Base you could use two bags one on top of tother and cut through the top one completely.
Here in Reggio Emilia we get an update from our mayor every evening and he is always very positive. We have been encouraged to make a donation to our local hospital which I have done willingly. Just passed
ReplyDelete2nd week of self isolation but I chat online to friends and family every day so don't feel too lonely. Best wishes
to you all.
Managed to register on government website (hopefully) to be recognised as a vulnerable person due to ongoing immunosuppressant treatment which is on the list of 'qualifying' conditions. Presumably will have to wait for this to get through to relevant grocery people to get added to their priority list.
ReplyDeleteThe week before last, before the lockdown, I managed to book three weekly deliveries the last being on April 2nd. So I have had to do something which I really didn't want to do and store up 'in case,' as I daren't go out to the shops. Now I don't know how long my cupboards are going to have to last.
Middle son is getting fed up with me telling him to get changed, wash hands etc. However as he saw how bad I was last week he understands.
Today I'm going to sort out seeds etc because Monty said last Friday Gardeners World)that tomatoes, etc can be started now.
For the second year running I have no blooms of my lovely ivory coloured camellia but have several on the smaller bush I bought last year which is white with little delicate traces of red on the petals.
Yesterday when I was filling the bird table I nearly took the fleece bag of the two pots. Glad I didn't because we had such a hard frost last night it looked like snow on my car!
Gary - I have 7 out of 8 final choices (plus book and luxury) now. I think the final piece will be decided at the last minute!
Finally I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be able to take a deep breath and fill my lungs with fresh air (in the back garden!) after weeks of gasping and breathlessness.
I hope all you all are staying safe, recovering from various illnesses, operations and conditions and not mentally 'stewing.' Take care
Spicy
Spicey, so good to hear that you have been outside and able to breathe fresh air.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about stocking up grocery goods, you of all people deserve to have peace of mind that you don't have to worry about shopping.
I'm up this morning several hours ahead of my usual dragging myself out of bed at around ten forty five.
And I too have discovered heavy frost on my little area of grass and the area of earth that I dug over yesterday.
Have also just read online that we are due to have another winter snap over the weekend and SNOW !
After temperatures last week going up to 20°C today it's sleeting.
ReplyDeleteIn that case Gianna perhaps your pleased to be tucked up inside.
DeleteJust for today.
I can answer one of your questions Archerphile..
ReplyDeleteYes,Ironmongers can sell gardening stuff.
Some years ago I walked past a lovely shop near where I live.
It is brilliant.
Sells “everything”
The owner was putting out the plants he was selling and rudely I commented that the tomato plants I had grown from seed were better than his and that he could have all the spare ones I had grown
(In those days you got loads of seeds in a packet.Now there are fewer than eight)
Since then I have become a very mini nursery and provided him with cuttings and plants I have grown from seed which are surplus to my requirements.
I telephoned him yesterday to ask if he had opened his shop and he has.
The main items he has sold are garden equipment and compost plus jigsaws.
As for tomato plants Archerphile.
I sowed my seeds last week and they are showing now.
Pity we don’t leave nearer .
I could have left one on your doorstep.
Last year and the year before I grew blight free tomatoes because the previous year my plants were wiped out by blight .
They were not as tasty however so this year I have reverted to cherry tomato seeds bought from Wilko’s
or even live neare,Archerphile
DeleteNice thought Lanjan. I used to grow my toms from seed too but a couple of years ago my daughter recommended a lovely little specialist nursery called Simpson’s Seeds, they have a walled garden nursery close to Longleat and are a small family concern.
DeleteThey specialise in chilli peppers, tomatoes, cues and other vegetables and hybridise a lot of their own varieties. They sell them either as seeds or small, ready grown plants. You can order in batches of 6 plants which can contain whatever mixture of varieties you like.
Last year I ordered 4 different toms, a red pepper and a mini-cucumber. When they arrive I pot them on into larger pots, then when about 8in tall, into deep grow bags on which I stand bottom-less ring pots. As the plants grow, I gradually fill the pots with more compost until I reach the top. It is a sort of variation of the ring-culture technique my Dad always used.
We had a magnificent crop of toms, from beefsteak to cherry types and the mini cucumbers were wonderful and picked when about 6in long. The only ‘failure’ was the red pepper. We had lots of fruit but lost many to slugs which I hadn’t noticed climbing up the plant at night and hollowing out the peppers from the inside!
I have ordered this years plants, which will arrive any day now so I am anxious to find the compost & grow bags and will now dispatch Mr A to Homebase! Thanks for the tip.
🍅🥒🍅🥒🍅🥒 🌶 🐛
My father-in-law grew veg in industrial quantities. Being the world's most fussy eater, he wouldn't eat most of them but kept family, friends, and neighbours well stocked. He also provided all our bedding plants. This will be the first year we need to grow or buy our own. (Assuming our gardener is still allowed to come and plant them out - we don't have green fingers.)
DeleteOne veg father-in-law would eat was tomatoes (OK, they're technically a fruit). Some of the nicest he grew were raised from the pips of cherry tomatoes he'd bought in Sainsburys.
BTW, 'garden equipment, compost and jigsaws'. I'd like to imagine you mean the 1000 piece variety. But you probably mean the DIY sort - far less fun : )
Yes Archerfile our little village hardware shop is still selling garden compost etc, but no one can actually go in the shop at the moment. I haven't been out at all but Sylvie said they have a table just outside the doorway and anyone who comes asks for what they need and they go in and bring it out. Their elderly Dad who is a nice character is obviously getting bored indoors because he is upstairs with the window open and chatting down to anyone who comes.
ReplyDeleteIt is apparently unbelievably quiet in the village. Normally this time of year visitors would be beginning to arrive and a lot of non farming/fishing folk rely on the holiday trade for a living. The cafes and gift shops are all closed, and the pasty shop was selling off all its remaining pasties and closing. We had some to put in the freezer.
My daughter and two others at the holiday park spent Saturday phoning up all the people who had booked to come to the chalets and asking them not to. They are refunding them or postponing if wanted, but it has considerable knock on effects. The chalets are owned by people from away, and in the half of the park my daughter works on the owners rely on letting out their chalets for a good part of the year in order to pay their ground site fees. And of course my daughter and the rest of them formed their own little business to run the management of the site for the new owners and still have to pay a high office rental etc to the owners even though there is no income coming in. My daughter is quite relieved it is shut though as she was worried about catching the virus from all the people that came to stay there and bringing it home to me. Keep safe everyone
Can I just add my daughter in law is happy. She loves mangoes and eats them like we do apples. Duterte has banned inter island travel , and it seems at present to be a quite successful strategy. Basic necessities are still allowed in by air or boat. The ports are closed so ships anchor off shore and then a smaller boat goes out from the island and brings the supplies back so contact is as limited as possible. Anyway a whole boatload of mangoes arrived yesterday so someone is very happy indeed.
DeleteGlad to hear it Janice! It's still so strange to think that there are billions of people all over the globe experiencing the same thing, but in different ways. I find it weirdly fascinating reading reports from other countries. Not in a ghoulish way I hasten to add! Just seeing how the very different ways we live deal with the exact same problem.
DeleteSpicy ; 7.35
ReplyDeleteYou don’t need to wait for the Govt to inform the shops of your vulnerable status. I’m not sure they do that anyway.
To get priority delivery slots Sainsburys have a number you can ring (if you can get through) to tell them of your extra vulnerable status. It is 0800 328 1700. They already knew my age from previous infirmation they had about me (I am a Sainsburys Bank customer) so I didn’t need to ring.
Then, When you place an online order you need to state you are vulnerable or self-isolating in the delivery instructions. The driver will then phone ahead to let you know he’s coming and will leave bagged-up goods on the doorstep and you don’t need to sign for anything. It worked perfectly for me yesterday and I put my laundry basket and some boxes outside the front door for him to put the order into and make it easier to bring indoors. I think Tesco have a similar system.
However, if you are thinking of the parcels of basics promised to be delivered by the Army, I don’t know how that works and am not sure if it has started yet.
I should have added, once the supermarket has your status registered you go online to book a delivery time. They seem to be releasing slots on certain days for us, so you may have to check back several times to find one - they are not every day. I was only charged 50p for my delivery at lunchtime, and some earlier or much later ones were free!
DeleteGood luck!
Thanks Archerphile. I tried all day yesterday to get through on the 0800 number. Got a recorded message which then cut off or just an engaged tone. I tried about twenty times. I couldn't find anywhere under 'My Account' tab to give age although I did have a credit card with them for several years so I thought they would have my DOB.
DeleteWhen I checked page last night there was the information about registering as a vulnerable and it said something about parcels but I wasn't sure what that was all about but filled it in anyway. Sainsbury's said on their webpage that the govt would be in touch with them. Will just wait and see. Have enough food in cupboard, fridge and freezer for about three weeks, discounting fresh fruit and veg, so we won't starve!
I've telephoned through my small order to the deli this morning and will drive down later, park the car as near as possible so that Lady can see where I am and they will bring my little pack out to one of the tables outside and the widget for me to poke my card in.
ReplyDeleteI can't go into the bank, so spent fifteen minutes on hold when phoning. Will try again later.
I don't do internet banking and never will.
Frost here this morning as well, brrr...
ReplyDeleteWell here goes....
ReplyDelete• The Lark Ascending : Ralph Vaughan-Williams, soloist Iona Brown, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conductor Sir Neville Marriner
I'll lie on my back, eyes closed, & dream....
Back in the 70's when we weren't studying & performing the classics we'd listen to :
• Lady : Beck, Bogert & Appice, Jeff Beck, Tim Bogert & Carmine Appice
or :
• Do the Strand : For Your Pleasure, Roxy Music
& then of course :
• Bohemian Rhapsody : A Night at the Opera, Queen
Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral with the chamber choir I used to sing with :
• St Paul’s Service : Herbert Howells, St John’s College Choir, Cambridge, organ Iain Farrington, conductor Christopher Robinson.
Memories of colleagues & friends :
• Octet for strings in Eb Major, Op.20 : Felix Mendelssohn, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Wonderful :
• Back to Black : Back to Black, Amy Winehouse
& to remember our ensemble here :
• Northern Lights (Pulchra es, amica mea) : Ola Gjeilo, Phoenix Chorale, conductor Charles Bruffy
& I'd save the Mendelssohn Octet.
Book : The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
Luxury : inexhaustible supply of St Emilion 1er Cru
et voilà!
Thanks GG! 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you parsley!
ReplyDeleteFirst off - couldn't find a recording in Eb Major by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center! Hope the above will do....
Loves me a bit of Roxy Music, loves me a BIG bit of Queen & partial to a wee bit of Amy Winehouse. Good stuff! Will investigate the rest later.
Lord of The Rings is fantastic, I remember racing through it before the films were released so that I could have my own interpretation in my head before anybody "spoiled" it for me! (Love the films)
You can keep the merlot though - I'm a white wine sort of guy!
Merlot/Cabernet Franc, also partial to a drop of white but suspect no means of keeping it chilled....
DeleteRight parsley....gonna have to hit you tube to find out about these.
ReplyDeleteBack to black, that’s a good one:- in fact whole album is good.
Love roxy music....well Bryan ferry especially🥰. Saw them at an outdoor concert at castl Howard a lot of years ago. After I wanted to come back as Bryan’s leather trousers when reincarnated!!!
😍😍mmm......Bryan.....
DeleteDefinitely partial to some Roxy too. Bryan is/ was so dishy. Queen too. I'm still working on my list and book but will get there eventually!
ReplyDeleteWe are watching Pride and Prejudice on Netflix where Colin Firth smoulders as Darcy. Last night it was the wet shirt scene😁Just because I’m old it doesn’t mean I can’t window shop,! I just wonder how Lizzie could keep her hands off him!!😉
ReplyDeleteMmm.. 😍
DeleteYes, loved Brian Ferry and his voice! Also at the same time Georgie Fame. I went to a small dance venue in Nantwich where he was playing. He just sat over his keyboard immersed in his music! My memory might be awry but I believe he did have musical connection with Brian.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think Jerry Hall dumped him for Mick Jagger. .there's no accounting for taste.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely.
DeleteJust what has Mick Jagger got? He has had some gorgeous wives and wifelets! Can’t be his looks!🤔
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase the late, great Mrs Merton - "So, what first attracted you to the multi-millionaire Mick Jagger...?"
DeleteExactly ,Gary
ReplyDeleteTo which the reply was an embarrassed laugh.
I bet nobody else will be doing what I plan to do this afternoon whilst listening to Parsley’s choices - crocheting a new dish cloth!
ReplyDeleteI will see your crocheting Lanjan and raise you rearranging the book shelves!
DeleteSainsburys phone number that Archerphile kindly gave out now states one must visit gov.uk and register as vulnerable re delivery once cleared you will receive a phone call from Sainsbury to go ahead with a slot.
ReplyDeleteHowever it is a health condition application and as I have no health issues food stores it is.
Age was not mentioned.....
It will be M&S as should be quiet mid pm and stores operating strict number of people in store and have screens up at tills....
Oh, I know what attracted JH to Mick Jagger, he's so dynamic, I'll pass over her latest choice.
ReplyDeleteRoxy Music yes, but neither they nor the Stones are on my list.
Parsley.."The lark ascending" is a beautiful piece of music and apparently one of the most popular choices on DID..easy to see why.
ReplyDeleteI saw Nicola Benedetti perform it with not one but TWO full orchestras on the same stage at the same time at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall during the Commonwealth Games in 2014 - and believe it or not, the price per ticket for a full day's worth of classical concerts was £5 per head! AND you got to keep the same seat for all of them if you were lucky. Which we were. Much wine & music was had that day, I can tell you....
DeleteI normally find the violin difficult, sets me on edge, (definitely a bass clef girl) but not in this case & certainly not with the wonderful Iona Brown.
DeleteOff for a walk, max of 1k from home, no longer than an hour, attestation signed dated & timed......
ReplyDeleteMadness! Enjoy your freeeeedoom....
DeleteThanks Parsley.
DeleteI have never heard Amy Winehouse sing until now and I have to say I really liked her voice and the piece you chose .
Her voice reminded me of the great women singers of yesterday year-Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn to name but two.
.
2 of her musical heroines.
DeleteParsley
DeleteThanks
. Have just finished listening to N Lights and some other pieces by Ola Gjeilo. Reminds of my youth when I sang in the choir especially during high Mass.
Amy Winehouse definitely a great voice, and such a sad person.
I love Mendelssohn and have nearly all his works. I:am still listening.
An endless supply of St Emilion, I drinking it already, well perhaps an S African Pinotage.
Find it difficult to sing Pulchra es, lump in the throat, perhaps a glug of red would help.. 😉
DeleteAmazing to think that Mendelssohn wrote the 8tet when he was 16.
DeleteAmazing isn't it that some 16 year olds were recognised for being incredibly talented, even postumasley ..also Mozart Brahms the Liszt goes on
DeleteNow a certain 16year old with no talent or education has the world in the palm of her hand thanks to social media.how times have changed.
Ev; 1.13
ReplyDeleteOh you have evoked some memories for me - Georgie Fame! I adored him and his music back in the day. I used to go to the Windsor Jazz Club, just at the bottom of the hill, under the castle, where he used to play. My Mum and Dad always thought I was out with a girlfriend at the Cinema or the Theatre Royal, whilst really, I was secretly bopping at the Jazz Club!
Haply days!😉
DeleteThat’s happy days!! Haven’t even had a drink yet!!
DeleteBad news from Italy. The number of infected has risen dramatically especially in Lombardy where they virtually don't know what to do anymore.there is no light at the end of the tunnel and now they're saying the lockdown is being extended until 14 April.
ReplyDeleteThey now have yet another "autocertificazione" the 4thin 10 days.we already can't travel outside our villages so I don't know know how many more restrictions they can impose on us..maybe not opening our Windows..because after 17 days of lockdown its the only chance of fresh air we have.
It's definitely getting worse.
Oh Autumnleaves I'm so sorry to hear that. We were all hoping that you would maybe be on the homeward stretch. I'm at a loss for words. Sending a virtual hug instead....
DeleteWe thought so too, the last few days gave us a little glimmer of hope, but today there was a step back. Not in the number of deaths though very high but in the number of newly infected, that's what they base their numbers on.
DeleteA virtual hug from you is exchanged by a kiss blown from me😚😚
All very "a distanza"
DeleteBisous de la Charente 😙😙
Delete
ReplyDeleteThinking of you all in Italy, Autumnleaves,. Have rebooked my painting holiday in Tuscany to June 2021 and please God it will be well over by then for all our sakes. Keep safe😊
Georgie Fame, Archerphile.
ReplyDeleteDo you know where he came from?
I liked him too Lanjan. I got my hand stuck down Mick's shirt once. It was over in seconds (when my friend and I found them exiting their limo) but I was so thrilled I don't think I washed that hand for a while. I was very young at the time!
Delete8PM Open doors and windows to clap the NHS staff even if no one else can hear directly. I heard this on LBC and whilst typing here a news clip popped up too.
ReplyDelete🙏🏼 👏🏻 😇 👏🏻 😇 👏🏻 everyone of them
I am sorry to hear from Autmnleaves that the cases in Lombardy are rising
ReplyDeleteHere in Emilia we have had a very slight improvement and in Romagna they are even better. We are waiting for 3rd April to see if there will be any change. Best wishes to you all
Just been to door and clapped 🩺 😇 💉and although a quiet area was glad to hear more Of same 👏🏻 on the very cold night air.
ReplyDeleteAutumnleaves sending thoughts to you all and 🙏🏼for a slowdown soon. Gianna so pleased to hear for you that this appears to be the case for you at the moment and 🤞🏼 tour improvement remains stable.
ReplyDelete🥰 to you both
Agree with what you have posted .Lady R
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you both , Autumnleaves and Gianna.
It was very moving standing outside and clapping about half an hour ago.
What a lovely idea.
The NHS has been brilliant.
I clapped at my upstairs window. Couldn't see anyone else apart from the pub, but heard quite a few. There were some fireworks in the distance too.
ReplyDeleteCan't quite resist the following.........
I liked Georgie Fame too, but was a lot closer than the rest of you.
My husband was his photographer and we often had GF round for dinner.
I think husband ( ex) is still mates with GF.
Wheels on Fire, might be on my playlist.
Well there you go Mrs P.
DeleteSmall world.
He came from the small mining and mill town where I went to school but of course in those days was called Clive Powell.
I didn’t know him of course.
Didn't we all hope Italy was over the worst, and now it's shot off into other regions.
ReplyDeleteSo very sorry for both Autumn leaves and Gianna.
Keep on keeping on.
We will be where you are now in a few weeks.
Sorry it's worse right now in your region, Autumnleaves. I hope that means it's reached the peak & will go down slowly, as it is with Gianna ?
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the clapping went on where some of you are spread out, as it did here , all down the road as far as I could see ( a bendy road) from an upstairs window.
ReplyDeleteIf the only effect is to make people feel more united, then that's something. Would like to think the sheer force of all those clapping hands might also speed up urgent supplies & safety gear to NHS staff, throwing in more personnel as well in the various fields, fresh from retirement !
Terrible news from Italy and I feel so sorry for Autumnleaves and Gianna. Is there no end to this awful scourge? Keep strong, both of you, we are all thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteAs we live out on the main road, a mile from the village, no pavement or street lights, we didn’t go outside to clap - nobody would have seen or heard - but we did have a quiet little clap on our own indoors.
But I have just seen a little video posted on our village Facebook page of dozens of folk on the green around the pond clapping, blowing whistles, sounding car horns, banging saucepans and goodness knows what else. The voice over said it was not only for the NHS but for the owner of our village shop who has done so much for the village since this crisis began. A magnificent display from a small village.
Same scenes in Glasgow - we all made as much noise as we could. I found it very moving.
ReplyDeleteAbrupt change of subject - Annveggie (Yesterday,10:34pm), have you just admitted to "molesting" Sir Mick Jagger!!!!!!? You rascal you!
ReplyDeleteAh, Mick Jagger...
DeleteGood grief!!
DeleteLove their music, certainly the early stuff, but can't bear to watch them!
DeleteThey are all a bunch of old wrinkly grizzlies. I never liked them especially M Jagger.
DeleteAt his age I'll be an old wrinkly too, if not before, but I'm not as fit even now.
DeleteYes Gary I did and it was such fun!
DeleteTee-hee!!!
DeleteNormally we stay at home when ill, now we stay at home not to get ill. As the medical staff tell us: stay at home to help us and we applaud them as well as the shop staff and all the others.
ReplyDeleteAutumnleaves, Gianna and Hilary - keep safe and the same to all here.
Autumnleaves, I’m also sending lots of hugs. Keep 💪 strong. Both you and Gianna have been in the deep end for some time now, unfortunately some people over here are not heeding the advice putting everyone at risk.
ReplyDeleteLast nights clapping was very moving indeed.
I was wondering about our absentee bloggers such as Nigella In Germany and other who listen in and how they are dealing with this invasion of the vile virus?
A little message to Miriam :
ReplyDeleteYou commented recently on not seeming the Beluga so much recently.
Because the assembly plant at Toulouse closed for a few days to allow new anti-virus safety measures to be installed, they had enough Airbus wings from Broughton on site but have now started production again, so you should be seeing the transport plane again soon.
But the really interesting news about the Airbus factory near you, and the one at Filton in Bristol is that they are going to be making ventilators for the NHS, as are the Rolls Royce and Dyson factories. Answering the Government’s call for engineering works to help provide this vital equipment.
Gary, you can put me in the hat for DID!
ReplyDeleteYour name is now in the hat Ev - thank you!
DeleteHello everyone, have I made it through?
ReplyDeleteMIRIAM
ReplyDeleteThere was a feature on CHESTER. ZOO. Today on You and Yours
If you missed it you can listen again on Sounds.
Yes UNDERS - you have.
ReplyDeleteDo we know you by another name or I you just joining us.
Whichever it is...... welcome
Hello Mrs. P, thank you! No, you don't know me by another name, I used to post comments on on the BBC website as Unders but not much. I remember there were a few unpleasant people on there at one time which was a bit off putting. No such behaviour here!
ReplyDeleteHello Unders! Fantastic to see another new name on here!
DeleteAnd you're right about the old BBC message board. Luckily there no people on here like that - every SINGLE one of us is a shining beacon of tolerance and love!!!! Usually.....
A very warm welcome Unders. This has been an oasis and source of support during very difficult times..recent and not so recent.
ReplyDeleteBienvenue Unders🖐️
ReplyDeleteWelcome Unders!
ReplyDeleteCertainly seems that way Gary! I can see what an amazing support this blog is for so many, particularly now - Autumnleaves I am so sorry to read your update today. Thanks all for such a warm welcome.
ReplyDeleteHello Unders, a big welcome from me. My brain is doing word association with your name. I often wonder why we choose our blog names.
DeleteWe are, as Gary says! a fairly tolerant group even when we disagree. I wasn’t on the BBC blog for very long before they ditched us.
Please join in the commenting,
Perhaps you might like to participate in Gary’s Desert Island Discs?
And a huge welcome from me too Unders!
DeleteI know exactly what you mean about the old BBC blog, I was often the butt of some unpleasant bloggers there (well, one in particular) but can assure you that there are none of those shenanigans here!
Gary is a marvellous administrator and is providing us all with a lifeline during the current lockdown. We all support each other and enjoy having a safe space where we can ‘chat’. Looking forward very much to hearing your opinion of the various current storylines in TA.
Thank you for the welcome Stasia & Archerphile! I think I would like to take part in DID if thats okay, I'll have to get my thinking cap on! I love music so, like others have said, will have to whittle it down! I will have a think over my first G&T in a while (they seem to get earlier & earlier these days, often the first one is needed to listen to Boris). I have a virtual happy hour with a friend booked via FaceTime at 6 so that might be my second one and by then the wheels will be well and truly oiled!!
ReplyDeleteTchin tchin 🍸🍸
DeleteYour name is now in the hat Unders - thank you!
DeleteThat sounds a very sensible plan, Unders. Clearly you are adapting well to this changed life we are all learning to negotiate...😉
DeleteWelcome, of course ! Glad you've decided to post here 😊
I sent a message this afternoon to a fellow glaswegian who lives on the other side of town..we usually see each other during Cambridge exam season...obviously this year it's not happening. She called me today saying she's enjoying the peace and quiet and consoles herself with a glass of whisky and endless episodes of "still game"
ReplyDeleteA woman after my own heart ....if you don't know "Still Game" you haven't lived.
One of them lives near me - ghastly man!!!!
DeleteI don't know them personally, I'm just commenting that the tv series they created was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure if we met our "stars" in real life we would all be hugely disappointed.
The difference is separating fiction from reality.
I was (half!) joking!!!
DeleteMe too
DeleteI enjoy an early evening G&T but try not to make it a habit, at the moment my tonic supplies are being rapidly depleted by my daughter (without gin) She doesn’t seem to grasp that I am trying to avoid too many shopping trips and goes through the cupboards like a horde of locusts. Actually I am really glad she’s home and it’s good for her sister to have company, but I had forgotten how she tends to leave bowls, glasses and snack wrappers everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Unders, very cute dog, is it yours?
I hope everyone is keeping safe,
Yes welcome Unders, I wrote earlier but one of those occasions where disappeared
DeleteAlso there was no sign out or publish “button” - thankfully back now I really panicked for a minute or two as I could read but not post.
KP best sneak in the odd G&T or you will miss out before long 🤣
Thanks Lady R, yes I had a confused moment earlier when I typed half a comment then looked elsewhere on the computer at something and when I returned it had disappeared! I'm also sure I'll press sign out instead of publish at some point - I know other posters have said never sign out!!
DeleteNEVER SIGN OUT!!!!
DeleteAbsolutely- I was just puzzled it had gone!
DeleteI haven't heard of Still Game but do have some series I want to watch when I get bored (it hasn't happened yet). I still haven't watched the second episode of Killing Eve or Big Little Lies. I do recommend Rake which is on Netflicks - utterly & completely addictive and Better Call Saul, also on Netflicks.
ReplyDeleteThanks KPnuts, yes he is mine, a 4 1/2 year old Border by the name of Aussie. He is a joy when he isn't being appallingly flatulent, which, unfortunately is most of the time!
ReplyDeleteGary ..bet it wasn't Winston..my daughter who works for United airlines said he was the nicest man on a flight from Glasgow to Newark and she had her photo taken with him and its on our fridge.
ReplyDeleteAh'm hauding ma wheesht....!
DeleteIn my opinion a real star
DeleteKeep haudin Gary keep haudin😂😂😂😂
DeleteFeel the burn ,Gary feel the burn😂😂😂
DeleteI'm just teasing...no offence💕💕💕
DeleteI've never actually seen it!
DeleteYou're kidding
DeleteWhenever I'm feeling a bit down or homesick I link up to the boys in fictional Craiglang and it really picks up my spirits
DeleteAs you can imagine "still game " has been on our tv regularly these days as well as helpings of "I love lucy" from the 1950s with her then husband desi arnaz. Absolutley brilliant.
DeleteJust the ticket for these gloomy times
Love to all❤❤
DeleteAutumnleaves, I'll give it a try one of these days!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Glasgow - I've just been in the garden and I heard an ice-cream van in the distance! I thought I was losing my mind. Surely they can't be allowed?
Mr whippee?
DeleteMr Silly more like!
DeleteThe things people won't do do for a double nougat or a 99
DeleteAlways an oyster! ALWAYS!!!
DeleteGo on Gary admit it..you were first in the queue😉😉
DeleteHonestly? It did make me hanker for an oyster!!!
DeleteEvening All.
ReplyDeleteGosh how life has changed!
I hope you are all well + safe.
I am enjoying life, in my "Miriam Bubble" and I am spending a lot of time "chatting" to family. I have been doing a lot of gardening etc.
I only go out once a week now, just for basics.
Strangely, I get anxious going to the supermarket and am much happier in my "bubble".
My lawnmower gave up the ghost yesterday. I have ordered a suitable replacement, which will arrive by Monday, and I was surprised how quick. It is non-essential, I suppose.
PS I had a virtual day out at The Zoo today. They were streaming live feeds. It was lovely to see the animals, in a place I know so well + love.
Delete
ReplyDelete*** DESERT ISLAND DISCS ***
Miriam - I know we haven't heard from you in a couple of days, but your name was plucked from the fabled hat! Hoping you're ok & look forward to hearing your choices...!
Ha! How bizarre!
DeleteMiriam -over to you!
My list is ready + waiting.
DeleteI will be so pleased to post it tomorrow, which I will do in the morning.
Thanks GG
I just hope others will enjoy my choices. 🤞
Yeah...go Miriam😀😀😀
DeleteSpookily - a bit psychic... 😨
DeleteTalking of our blog names, mine was to be Evergreen, a popular choice with me at the time for some reason! I started to type it then must have pressed the wrong button and it went through as Ev! I rather like it now but my real name has something to do with La Dietrich! I was a post war baby!
ReplyDeleteAn amateur photographer, drove from Birmingham to N.Wales, (dressed in jeans, a T-shirt + trainers along with a small rucksack plus camera equipment) to climb up the side of a mountain to take photos. He got into trouble + the mountain rescue team had to rescue him!!
ReplyDeleteAlso a family of 5 from Merseyside were stopped in N.Wales and sent home, as were on their way for a day at the seaside.
When will some, just take things seriously??
Words fail me at times (but not often).
Is it Marlene?
ReplyDeleteMy blog name has no connection with my real name which has everything to do with a breeze
I think we've started a new enigma😊😊😊
I wish I had used a pseudonym!
DeleteYou mean Gary Gilday is your real name?
DeleteYou guessed right Autumnleaves! Not many of us around and we are all in our 70’s!!
DeleteAutumnleaves - it's my real name & I fear nothing!
DeleteJust to get back on a serious note for a moment..I commented on a woman earlier who I usually see very often at this time of year..she's a widow and her son and his family live near Milan.. I called her this evening to see how she was doing..just fine she said ..a glass of whiskey a d still game..but she was so grateful for my call....bloggers if you can reach out to someone ..a family member..a neighbour,just a word can make such a difference. .that somebody cares
ReplyDeleteIt does make a difference, & we probably all do this. I realized today that there's a few I haven't contacted so far, but will catch up - strange how busy one can be when locked down !
ReplyDeleteHow are you, Hilary, in your region of Italy ? Haven't heard from you for a few days, I think.
Autumn Leaves - that seems to be all I am doing at the moment, no time for me, so many to keep in touch with.
ReplyDeleteOh Ev ! To think that you have grown into this woman called Eveline and I've pictured you there in the vicinity of Binstead and now your not Eveline at all but rather the object of my fathers desire instead.
I don't think I can cope with this ! ! !
PS. I actually remember sitting on my mums lap while my father beside us salivated through Blue Angel and my mother whispered loudly that this was not suitable for a small child.
I can do a good rendition of “Falling in love again!” Like Marlene I have very little vocal range! Did you know she wore a full body corset?? Not all was as it seemed!
DeleteA limited vocal range..... but what a voice !
DeleteAnd what a look!
DeleteYes, she was a one off! What a glamorous time it was!
DeleteMiriam - did you read the message I sent earlier about Chester Zoo ?
ReplyDeleteWith a name like Gary Gilday you don't need a pseudonym.
ReplyDeleteIt's already memorable and magnificent.
I was named after Gary Cooper - my mum was stuck for a name and asked the midwife for any suggestions and he was her favourite actor!
DeleteMy name was chosen by a midwife or nurse too Gary.
ReplyDeleteMy mum had a dedicated name for me, but in her last weeks at work a young girl came to join her and her workmates and she carried the name my mum had chosen.
Unfortunately my mother couldn't stand the girl, so the name went out the window and she was stuck. So the nurse chose.
I should have been given a family name. Given by my grandfather to his daughter from his favourite opera and passed down the family for ever. The name of my fathers beloved sister.
My mother wasn't having that.
But I still yearn to have that name.
Welcome Unders. Lovely dog. Are you in this country or abroad?
ReplyDeleteThanks PtyY! I'm in this country!
DeleteHmm. Not sure if this is going to appear twice, last post disappeared... so trying again... Thanks PtbY! I am in this country!
DeleteHello Carolyn! I am still here! Thank you all for your best wishes to us in Italy.
ReplyDeleteHello Unders! Welcome to this lovely blog!
In these awful circumstances the warmth of this blog is a comfort. We are fortunate that internet allows us this and to be able to chat with friends and family and even videochat.
I play games with my five-year-old grandson - " I spy CON (- he can't seem to manage WITH!) - my little eye something eg VERDE" (green!). I speak to him in English but he uses Italian!
Our Desert Island Discs are super! Some are new to me so turn to Youtube and Wikipedia - a real learning curve!
I am pleased my father didn’t get his way regarding my name.
ReplyDeleteHe would have called me Myrna after an American actress ,Myrna Loy .
At least we have heard of Gary Cooper ,Gary.
Talking about names, I was named after my father’s sister. She used to send parcels to my mother after the war and my mother, unfamiliar with the English version, thought it was nice. But both my parents used the Polish version although the birth certificate has the English. She (my aunt) was lovely and died aged 35 yrs leaving five children. Her husband died a year after her aged 36 yrs. My mother constantly said I should be proud but if you share a name with 60 million others how do you who who you are?
ReplyDeleteMy mother’s name is Stanislawa with the W pronounced V. Stasia, as MrsP knows places emphasis on the S.
Shall be off to self isolate on the allotment because Govey gave us permission. It’s part of our daily exercise. The plot is 140 feet long and twenty feet wide. It requires a lot of digging which is nearly finished. Have already planted potatoes and seeded varieties of veg.
Sorry to be so long winded this morning but then I am ☘️ Irish.
I know a lady called Leslie, yes the male version as her dad spelt it wrongly when registering her birth! Another friend was destined to be April but her dad had a few bevvies on the way to the registry office and she ended up as Avril. I registered Katy myself at the maternity home as Mike was dyslexic and goodness knows what Katherine would have ended up as!
ReplyDeleteMy mother was convinced that I was going to be a boy so had no female names ready. While she was in hospital the lady next door had a present of a cake from the local bakery called Janet's so she named me after a bakery. As I was born in December 1947 they had to pay for the hospital stay.
ReplyDelete