Monday, 25 January 2010
Sunday, 24 January 2010
A Ramble round the year
Welcome to 2010. Yes, I know it’s been 2010 for a few days – well, 23 and three quarters (if you are in the UK). But I feel as if I’m just arriving in the new decade and 2009 no longer rolls automatically off my pen when signing things. I suppose if I had still been working it would have happened much more quickly. But then my brain did everything more quickly in those days.
So what news have I this last week or so? Well, the snow melted away one day when I was in bed and I was amazed it disappeared so quickly and without flooding the garden (though the ponds are overflowing). Sadly the ‘exotic’ birds like Fieldfares and Redwings disappeared a couple of days later and we now have apples rotting away on the lawn totally ignored by the Blackbirds. These latter obviously haven’t read my bird book which says they love them.
Jo and I finished the latest crossword book this week and so are reduced to filling in odd blank ones from an old book. I suspect the reason they were missed was that GB and I did them in his copy but hopefully I’ve forgotten the answers. Thought perhaps the objective should be to learn and therefore I should hope to recall the answers!
I’ve been hunting through my Uncle Eric’s photos and things for a possible article about him the Meccano magazine. It has led to some fun and, as always when doing anything family history oriented, some mysteries. We found, for instance, the receipt for my Mum’s engagement ring – a grand 4 Guineas in 1937. Why did Uncle Eric have that? I had forgotten that we had a holiday with Eric and Doris in around 1952 but hey presto there we were in North Wales.
GB and I tried feeding the chickens but it looks as though they decided to eat me instead.
GB also got a bit hen-pecked.
Not being vegetarian I’ve got my own back a few times since then...
Things I learned this week:-
1) The idea of scotch on the rocks came from the practice of putting pebbles from the stream bed into a glass of Scotch. It kept the drink cold without diluting it.
2) Camel’s milk is drunk by over 200,000,000 people worldwide. Allegedly, it also has Viagra-like properties!
3) It has taken 15 years in the making but people have developed a see-through toaster. No more burned toast. If you want one it’s the Magimix Vision Toaster at £150. (Otherwise you can use the standard recipe for toast:- Cook until it’s burned and then 20 seconds less.)
So what news have I this last week or so? Well, the snow melted away one day when I was in bed and I was amazed it disappeared so quickly and without flooding the garden (though the ponds are overflowing). Sadly the ‘exotic’ birds like Fieldfares and Redwings disappeared a couple of days later and we now have apples rotting away on the lawn totally ignored by the Blackbirds. These latter obviously haven’t read my bird book which says they love them.
Jo and I finished the latest crossword book this week and so are reduced to filling in odd blank ones from an old book. I suspect the reason they were missed was that GB and I did them in his copy but hopefully I’ve forgotten the answers. Thought perhaps the objective should be to learn and therefore I should hope to recall the answers!
I’ve been hunting through my Uncle Eric’s photos and things for a possible article about him the Meccano magazine. It has led to some fun and, as always when doing anything family history oriented, some mysteries. We found, for instance, the receipt for my Mum’s engagement ring – a grand 4 Guineas in 1937. Why did Uncle Eric have that? I had forgotten that we had a holiday with Eric and Doris in around 1952 but hey presto there we were in North Wales.
Not being vegetarian I’ve got my own back a few times since then...
Things I learned this week:-
1) The idea of scotch on the rocks came from the practice of putting pebbles from the stream bed into a glass of Scotch. It kept the drink cold without diluting it.
2) Camel’s milk is drunk by over 200,000,000 people worldwide. Allegedly, it also has Viagra-like properties!
3) It has taken 15 years in the making but people have developed a see-through toaster. No more burned toast. If you want one it’s the Magimix Vision Toaster at £150. (Otherwise you can use the standard recipe for toast:- Cook until it’s burned and then 20 seconds less.)
The true story of the Three Bears
A far more accurate account of the events of that fateful morning....
Baby bear goes downstairs, sits in his small chair at the table.
He looks into his small bowl. It is empty. 'Who's been eating my porridge?' he squeaks..
Daddy Bear arrives at the big table and sits in his big chair. He looks into his big bowl and it is also empty. 'Who's been eating my porridge?!?' he roars.
Mummy Bear puts her head through the serving hatch from the kitchen and yells, 'For God's sake, how many times do I have to go through this with you idiots? It was Mummy Bear who got up first. It was Mummy Bear who woke everyone in the house. It was Mummy Bear who made the coffee. It was Mummy Bear who unloaded the dishwasher from last night and put everything away. It was Mummy Bear who swept the floor in the kitchen. It was Mummy Bear who went out in the cold early morning air to fetch The newspaper and croissants. It was Mummy Bear who set the damn table.
'It was Mummy Bear who walked the bloody dog, cleaned the cat's litter tray, gave them their food, and refilled their water.
'And now that you've decided to drag your sorry bear-arses downstairs and grace Mummy Bear with your grumpy presence, listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once.....
'I HAVEN'T MADE THE BLOODY PORRIDGE YET!
Baby bear goes downstairs, sits in his small chair at the table.
He looks into his small bowl. It is empty. 'Who's been eating my porridge?' he squeaks..
Daddy Bear arrives at the big table and sits in his big chair. He looks into his big bowl and it is also empty. 'Who's been eating my porridge?!?' he roars.
Mummy Bear puts her head through the serving hatch from the kitchen and yells, 'For God's sake, how many times do I have to go through this with you idiots? It was Mummy Bear who got up first. It was Mummy Bear who woke everyone in the house. It was Mummy Bear who made the coffee. It was Mummy Bear who unloaded the dishwasher from last night and put everything away. It was Mummy Bear who swept the floor in the kitchen. It was Mummy Bear who went out in the cold early morning air to fetch The newspaper and croissants. It was Mummy Bear who set the damn table.
'It was Mummy Bear who walked the bloody dog, cleaned the cat's litter tray, gave them their food, and refilled their water.
'And now that you've decided to drag your sorry bear-arses downstairs and grace Mummy Bear with your grumpy presence, listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once.....
'I HAVEN'T MADE THE BLOODY PORRIDGE YET!
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Friday My Town Shoot-out - Sounds
This week's subject for the Friday My Town Shoot-out is sounds - chosen by NanU from Aubière in France.
Gosh, what a challenge, I thought. And then I realised it was really quite easy – all I had to do was sit and listen. And this is what I heard...
Traffic:-
Birdsong -a Dunnock singing, even though it is winter:-
An aeroplane:-
(OK, it wasn’t the RAF Red Arrows display team but I thought I’d cheat and use this photo from last time I was at the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone).
And here is the sound for which Liverpool is known the whole world over:-
I don't have a photo of the other most important sound from my home town - the Liverpool fans singing 'You'll never walk alone' on the Kop. So here is one I took off the television:-
If you would like to see other members' shoot-outs please go to the link page.
To learn more about the Friday My Town Shoot-out why not pay a visit to the
home blog.
Gosh, what a challenge, I thought. And then I realised it was really quite easy – all I had to do was sit and listen. And this is what I heard...
Traffic:-
Birdsong -a Dunnock singing, even though it is winter:-
An aeroplane:-
(OK, it wasn’t the RAF Red Arrows display team but I thought I’d cheat and use this photo from last time I was at the Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone).
And here is the sound for which Liverpool is known the whole world over:-
I don't have a photo of the other most important sound from my home town - the Liverpool fans singing 'You'll never walk alone' on the Kop. So here is one I took off the television:-
If you would like to see other members' shoot-outs please go to the link page.
To learn more about the Friday My Town Shoot-out why not pay a visit to the
home blog.
Second-hand Books
I am sometimes asked on my book blog about how to obtain books that are no longer in print. There are various sites that you can go to in order to search for out-of-print books but the one I have found most useful is the Used Book Search.
Once there, I find that Abe Books gives the most reliable results and often has the cheapest ones. This site also leads one to Amazon which has second-hand books but it doesn’t include E-bay which is worth a try if you are really stuck.
Once there, I find that Abe Books gives the most reliable results and often has the cheapest ones. This site also leads one to Amazon which has second-hand books but it doesn’t include E-bay which is worth a try if you are really stuck.
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