What's in a Name?

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I wasn’t planning to do a post on healthy eating, 

in fact I wasn’t planning to do anything today in this heat. 

It’s 83 here today! 

However, this week I have been having a bit of a clear-out, or a de-clutter as it is called today.

It has been mainly old books which I no longer use or are simply out of date.

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I took a load of my books on Railways to a Museum here at Little Whittenham who were very grateful and said they would sell them in their shop or pass any duplicates on to the Great Western Society shop at Didcot.

I kept a few of those by my favourite authors though.

Like this one.

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Then there were cookery books. 

Perhaps they don’t get out of date, but you can certainly find a few that are never used any more. 

I have found that my poor old gut can no longer cope with hot and spicy food, so out went all my books on Indian and Chinese cooking. These all go down the charity shop to find someone with a stronger digestive system. I also gave them this one on dieting. I can’t see me improving my shape! 

Losing weight maybe, but it never seems to comes off in the place where you need to lose it.

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It was here in my ‘foodie’ section that I got to browsing and found a few useless facts.

Did you know that “to pingle” is to eat with little appetite, and that a “gundygut“ is an old word for a glutton? 

No, neither did I, but further on I then came upon a wee rhyme that I thought I might share with you. 

(Maybe Vitamin B is what you need Kath. :D)

Vitamin A,

Keeps the Flu germs away,

And tends, to make people nervy;

B’s what you need

When you’re going to seed,

And C is specific to scurvy.

Vitamin D makes the bones in your knee

Tough for kneeling in church on a Sunday,

While E makes hens scratch

And increases the hatch,

And brings in more profits on Monday.

Vitamin F never bothers the chef

For this vitamin, never existed;

G puts the fight, in the old appetite,

And you eat all the foods that are listed.

So now when you dine, remember these lines;

“If long on this Earth you will tarry,

Just try to be good, lay off suet pud.

Choose fresh foods from the garden, and dairy.”

This next book I intend to keep, as there are special sections on ‘food for wrinklies‘.

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I just hope tomatoes and potatoes heal, as I’ve got loads of both coming thick and fast from the garden.

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Which of course brings me round to gardening books. 

I have hardly ever bought a gardening book new.

Ninety percent are from second-hand shops and from ex-library stock. Most can be read and returned to the charity shops but some I have kept for reference. 

The pictures in this one were fantastic so it had a ’stay of execution’ and Anita writes so very well.

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Confucius!  he say:

"Man who have concrete for garden -often look forlorn"

Another type of book that easily gets out of date are guides. Walking guides, guides to good pubs, eating houses, museums and gardens. Many pubs around here have closed down so of  course many of these guides are no use anymore.

This little book dates back to when I thought I would run a pub when I retired.

Just dreaming.

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Out it goes. 

I have a whole shelf of books concerning the River Thames, so I shall be keeping all those.

A lady who lived by the Thames

Had a gorgeous collection of ghames;

She had them re-set

In a large coronet

And a number of small diadhames.

I also have a couple of shelves relating to things rural. The History of Place Names, Rural Pastimes, and Local Customs in Buckinghamshire. I am a shocker for collecting books like this, especially as most of them only cost around 50p.  I have books on Windmills, Canals, The Thatched Cottage Homes of England and subjects like the Building of Early Railways.

Here’s one I no longer want. 

This can go down the Hospice shop on Monday.

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I bought a lot of these books years ago from a lady called Iris down at the Bourne End Antique Centre.

Sadly it has now gone, although I did notice that it is still shown there on Google’s ‘Street View‘.

Some of the traders would buy books, too. 

I sold them some books on Vintage Motorcycles, ten years after I had sold the two old bikes. 

An ES2 Norton and a Triumph Tiger 100. 

However this next one can go.

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Probably came from the Antique shop anyway.

As an aside, yesterday I was 

reading this book about anti-gravity.

And do you know, I just can’t put it down!

It will have to stay, but what other books do I no longer use.

Art books. I have loads of those.

How to Paint in Acrylics, Techniques of Famous Artists and about six books on Watercolour Technique. I don’t paint in watercolour anymore. 

They, like this one can all go.

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Well that didn’t take long to de-clutter the library, 

but it’s left huge empty spaces.

Now what can I put on the shelves instead?

How about this?

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Now before you think I’m overdoing this here Mediterranean Diet, there is a reason for all this red wine being here. A couple of weeks ago ALL wine in Sainsbury’s was 25% off. Some Italian red was 50% off, and for every six bottles you bought they knocked off another 5%.

As I’m on a diet, this was an offer I couldn’t miss, and didn‘t!

You see, it was all in the larder last week but as my pantry sticks out from the kitchen, with its own little tiled roof, it got hotter and hotter and hotter. Eighty two degrees here yesterday and again today!

Not having a cellar, I thought it better to find somewhere cooler for my ‘medicine’. 

In addition you see, today, experts tell us -

“A compound found in red wine could actually improve balance. “
“The compound has also been shown to help stave off  heart disease and cancer by reducing inflammation.”

So what was the point of me telling you all this?

The title of this post should have given you a clue as to what it was all about.

Here’s a few more clues -

‘How to lay Carpets’ by Walter Wall.
(Wall to wall). !!!

‘A Consumer Guide to Credit‘ by Owen Munny.

‘Taking up Singing‘ by Topsy Sharp.

And a joke to finish.

An elderly lady was crossing the footbridge over River here at Bourne End. It was very windy and she was holding firmly onto her hat with both hands.

An English gentleman approached her and said, "Pardon me, madam..
I do not intend to be forward,
but did you know that your dress is blowing up in this high wind?"

"Yes, I know," said the lady. "I need both my hands to hold onto this hat."

"But madam, you must know that you are not wearing any knickers and that your private bits are exposed!" said the English gentleman in earnest.

The woman looked down, then back up at the man and replied,

"Sir, anything you see down there is 80 years old.

This hat, I only bought yesterday!"

-I-

“Laugh and the World laughs with you.

Weep and you weep alone.”

Mind how y'go.

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"Pussycat. Pussycat, where have you been?"

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I know. I know.

Where have I been?

It started off with monitor problems.

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"Bugger it" I thought,

I can't be bothered, after all I've got so many

other things piling up in the background.

I expect it is because I use VISTA,

 a 'Visibly Inferior System To Apple's'?

I went back to painting the Organ front.

I needed some indoor jobbies as all it has done

for the last three or four weeks, is rain.

It has not been as bad here, 

as up in the 'Land of the wild and vicious Haggis'.

The weather maps clearly show us

where all the hosepipe bans are in force!

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RAIN MAP % of AVERAGE

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I did hear someone tell a joke the other day,

about Solar panels.

I can't remember how it went, but I did read about this Scottish farmer who woke up one freezing cold morning last week to find his entire herd of cows frozen in the field. Rushing outside, he tried everything he could to revive them without any success.

The farmer was distraught and he was wandering around in a daze when a familiar looking old lady walked past and asked if she could help.

The farmer explained the situation and the little old lady told him not to worry and she would see if she could help.

She proceeded to breathe lightly on each cow's nose and rub gently until the cow started to thaw.

Eventually, the entire herd had come back to life.

The farmer was so overjoyed he offered to reward to old lady but she refused saying she was pleased to have helped.

The old lady started to leave but the farmer called out "If you won't let me reward you, at least tell me your name"

"Thora Hird" replied the old lady.

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See! It's not only wet up there, but cold as well.

(only joking).

Which reminds me, I wonder how Ann is getting on

with keeping her hedgehogs warm & dry? 

I was planting up my tomatoes in the greenhouse the other day,

when I heard a rustling sound from under the bench.

Yes, Mrs Tiggywinkle had woken up.

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Not a very good pic I'm afraid,

but I didn't like to disturb her too much.

I am putting out Wesley's leftovers at night,

and it is all gone next morning.

What other news do I have?

Oh yes, do you remember how Hazel used to

spend hours sitting on her pot(ty)?

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Well I planted it up with Cowslips

which have all come up

and given a very good display. Bless her.

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And then of course at this time of the year, and with

all this rain everyone's had

the garden is going wild!

To be fair, this was last year.

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A sort of 'before' picture.

And this is last week.

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An 'after' picture.

Four rows of spuds, two of 'earlies'

and two of 'main crop'.

There are also carrots, parsnips and leeks in there somewhere.

I've put in chives, parsley and other herbs

down in this front bit.

Oh yes, and two rhubarb roots.

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Sometime back I remember someone asking -

"Do you remember those big 'Sweetie' jars?"

Well I remembered as I bought half a dozen

about forty years ago for a shilling each.

They are in my garden shed housing my

'Blood, Fish & Bone' and other Gardener's goodies!

So you see, I have been kept very busy.

Now as you were all very kind about

all my previous videos, I thought I would do

another for you based on efforts in the garden.

Wesley supervised the video shots 

and the 'songs' were performed by

Ronnie Ronalde in 1949.

Sit back and get a dose of this.

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Now wasn't that brilliant?

Fancy being able to whistle like a bird,

in tune and to music.

Fantastic.

And my veggies aren't bad either!

O well, 

now the sun's come out,

I suppose, 

I'd better,

get back to work.

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Take care everyone.

Especially those north of Adrian's Wall.

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"Hazel's World"

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Hazel was born on 27th April 1992.

She was one of four females born to her mother,

a 'British Cream'.

(Father not known!)

I have quite a few pictures of them when they

were only weeks old.

Here's one.

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Hazel is on the right, by her mothers left paw.

She has that little streak of ginger on her forehead.

Sadly, I'm afraid Hazel is no longer with us.

She passed away on Monday afternoon,

and finally left me,

after nineteen and a half, happy years together.

These last six months, however,

had been a rather uncomfortable time for her,

with many trips to the vets.

In a kind way, I am somewhat relieved that she is at rest,

she was, after all, the equivalent of 102 in our years.

I have laid her to rest exactly where she was sitting,

in that photo in the sun, on last Wednesdays blog.

I have made a small pictorial tribute and

posted it up on YouTube.

It's just a few pictures of Hazel,

and the only world she knew, my garden.

I had her as a kitten almost twenty years ago,

and although free to roam,

had never strayed from her beloved patch.

This was the whole world as she knew it.

She now rests here in peace, under her favourite Mulberry tree.

(It plays full screen, but not as sharp.)

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I can't think why YouTube,

out of the thirty pictures there,

had to choose this one of my garden roller!

There were loads better.

But there you go!

That's life, I can't change it.

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My friend.

27th April 1992.

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24th October 2011.

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The Lawn’s a dead loss.

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One of my brothers rang last night.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"As well as can be expected. Why?" I said.

"Well you haven't done a blog for over two weeks."

True, but there are other things in life.

Only the other day Jan, who has just retired (California) said -

"I've spent the past 30 years in front of a computer for 8 hours a day, and it's a difficult thing to change."

but, she tells me,

she is going to take up water-colour painting.

I too spent over 30 years, but since I've retired,

I have found a 'thousand & one' other things to do.

Foody also kindly enquired -

"Are you and the cats OK?"

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A song by Q. Cumber!

So, here they are yesterday watching 'yours truly',

doing a spot of garden re-design.

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My garden is essentially in two parts,

divided by a pergola walk up the centre.

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In Spring.

The lefthand side is all lawn, sorry moss!

The bit on the right is also lawn but much smaller,

as it is tucked away behind the shed and greenhouse.

I decided to convert this smaller patch of moss back into a vegetable garden as it was 30 odd years ago before I came here.

(I gleaned this from my neighbour, who has been on the other side of the fence for some forty odd years.)

So here we go.

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This is what the cats were watching me do.

I didn't want anything too big and too much work,

so opted for a small central patch with grass (moss) walkways round the four sides.

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I left the sundial in the centre and laid a couple of slabs for access.

I am going to plant herbs all around it.

No time for blogging you see.

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The roses have faded,

They’re tired and jaded,

The garden is looking quite plain.

The lawn’s a dead loss,

Just all sphagnum moss.

Oh, I wish it was summer again.

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That was a hard days graft.

I think I'll just sit in here,

in the evening sun!

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"Gardening for Adventure"

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I used to start off all my posts with some sheet music.

I haven't done recently so I shall try again.

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"A Blighted Gardener". A clever play on words here.

Not only did he lose his girl,

but

he also got blight on his cabbages & turnip tops!

Sad really.

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I bought this book "Gardening for Adventure" in 1968.

Bring a bit of excitement into gardening, I thought.

It's all about the unusual; things like the -

"Squirting Cucumber"

"Spaghetti Marrow"

and the "Walking Onion".

I grew many of these in those early days. It was all great fun.

But like most things, the novelty wore off.

(There is a video of the cucumber squirting,

here on YouTube.)

But here we are forty years on and I still have a few around.

My "Walking Onion" is still walking.

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This one is in a pot, just in case I lose the ones in the garden.

I call it my "Tree Onion" actually, and

use the little onions that grow on it for pickling.

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Here's a closer look.

When they grow larger and heavier, the stalk collapses and the

little onions take root, so the plant tends to keep 'moving on'.

Another plant still going strong from those days,

is the Alpine Strawberry.

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These have been self seeding in all of my gardens,

for over 40 years.

The berries are very small.

However this tends to concentrate the flavour.

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You don't need cream with these.

Though you do need to get out there early,

before the birds see them!

And finally for today - my 'Ice plants'.

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These are "Echeveria",

and I have lugged these from garden to garden,

every time I have moved house.

I used to have around fifty or sixty.

I used to use them as edging in the good old days,

usually with blue Lobelia, as here.

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They would have been killed off by frost,

so all had to be potted up and kept nice and warm

in the greenhouse.

I gave up on all this, as the cost of heating the house

is extortionate, never mind the greenhouse!

Shame really.

But I still keep a few of these reminders

in the porch & conservatory.

Oh well, back to conifer lopping!

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Raised from my slumbers.

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Everybody seems very busy these days

judging from what I read on all of your blogs.

I'm busy too, but not on anything of interest.

Sylvie has been making Bread Pud!

The proper way, from left over bread.

The Bread Pudding in Thame Market is £1.50 a chunk!

Mmmmm, I could buy a whole loaf for that.

Are we being ripped orf?

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Sorry that is not Bread Pud, but it is Thame Market last week,

with home made Eccles cakes and Carrot cake.

(to tempt CherryPie)

And this next one is even better than Bread Pud.

Lardy Cake!

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A bit pricey I thought as it always used to be

a cheap alternative to those 'posh' cakes with lots of eggs.

(a temptation for Foody)

So much for calories.

Molly did a very interesting bit on Sempervivums.

I have always liked these.

We used to call them 'Ice plants'.

I've no idea why.

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Anyway. here is a few from my collection.

Tomatoes are coming on well. A bit chilly at nights,

but they have quite a few trusses forming.

Deb, asked about that tomato plant that I grew,

that thought it was a beanstalk.

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Here it is. Out through the roof.

( the blog was here Deb.)

Doohie was interested in my Mulberry trees.

I can't find the old posts just this minute,

but I have two trees which I grew from seed twenty-five years ago.

One is morus nigra, a black mulberry and

the other is called morus alba.

An unusual white version.

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They are very sweet and juicy......

and

all the birds in the neighbourhood know this!

Hence I never get to eat many.

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My garden has been blessed with a good

showing of Aquilegia this year.

Probably because neither I, nor the birds,

have any desire to eat them!

This one is called 'Pink Bonnets'.

And ......just to 'make the day' for brother Ade.

A cat photo.

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A couple of days ago, Wesley was fast asleep on the lawn,

much to the annoyance of a pair of Magpies,

who had a nest in the tree behind.

They squawked at both Hazel and Wes,

if they dared to get too close.

This went on for ages. Hazel got fed up and came in,

but Wes being an awkward bugger, (taking after me),

refused to budge!

There!

I hope I've answered a few queries,

and kept a few happy?

Sorry if I've not mentioned all my friends,

but,

keep the requests coming - please.

It gives me ideas for future ramblings.

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"Who knows, where the Time goes?"

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"Time by moments steals away

First the hour and then the day

Small the daily loss appears

Yet it soon amounts to years."

Where does all that time go?

'Man' has always found the Spring to be his busiest time of the year,

and it has been no exception here in my patch.

The clock for Rosie is now finished,

and will be returned on Saturday.

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Greenhouse has been cleared out

and tomatoes planted up and doing champion.

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The Organ has been tuned and music sorted and checked.

I was thinking of using the alternative front this year,

but the painting of the details and especially the

'rope' edging, was taking me ages!

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A steady hand was needed here.

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It was taking too long.

It would never be done by Saturday.

I shall have to stick with the Dutch style front

for this season.

The garden is a major consumer of my time at the moment.

Wesley thought this conifer hedge was too tall -

either that or the ladder was too short!

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It will have to be lopped,

chopped,

bagged

and

binned.

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"Hey up" what's that up on my neighbours roof.

Oh, it's those three ducks that Wesley was trying to

round up the other day.

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They felt safer up there.

And so the last couple of weeks has been

very hectic here, to say the least.

But it looks like it's going to be

a good weekend

and......

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I'm all packed up and ready for the off.

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