WEEKLY CHAT (non-osprey topics) SUNDAY NOVEMBER 9, 2014

Goodness me, OG, I am tired just reading your exploits LOL

Great to see you so perky Margo.

Linda – I have a drawer for travel stuff but most, eg pjs & toiletries, get stored in my overnight bag. I travel very very light so avoid dragging stuff around. I’ll probably take same clothes to VIC next year as I did to QLD & WA – layers of t-shirts, thin jumper, warm jacket & rain jacket. We don’t dress for dinner.

Dibnlib – I Googled tombola, then realized I must have seen St Ninian’s on a recent episode of Amazing Race. Lovely Scottish beaches - I remember an evening stroll at Dornoch. Sadly on return visits I didn’t manage fit in Dornoch.

Diane - I shall never do a tree-top walk again. Along with tunnels. I still shudder at Maeshowe in the Orkneys with its 3 foot high 36 foot long entrance tunnel to stoop or crawl along. OK, so I’m a wimp.

Annette – We too have those so-called compact shrubs that take over. Then there are the plants that never fail – except in our garden.

WA trip cont. On the more tall tree country. Lunch & a wander around Pemberton, a saw-milling town. Then a trip on a tramway into the forest of Karri & Marri. My flickr pics HERE
Karri tree, a Eucalypt, has a tall, very straight trunk with branches high up towards the top of the tree. The bark, pale grey most of the year, is shed at beginning of winter, revealing shades of golden orange and salmon pink for a few months.
Marri is a bloodwood native to Western Australia. When mature, the trees develop large hollows that make highly sought after nesting sites for many species including the endangered black cockatoos, western ringtail possums and owls. Marri timber is increasingly used for modern household furniture.

Just a quick look in - went to hear Alexander McCall Smith talk at the local Uni this evening. I expected him to be sort of gentle and charming but didn't expect to laugh so much! He was very funny; quite a surprise.

Will catch up tomorrow.

Good Morning. Dull here but dry. Still mild for November! As Terry Wogan said last night, it is astounding that Children in Need night raised over 32 & a half Million Pounds!!! The wonderful British public have dug deep into their pockets once again. Some of the film clips of the children themselves were very moving indeed.

Annette - I've seen A. Smith on TV and he seems a very affable soul. There's so much humour in the books, he must be very droll in person!

Good Morning. Raining here.

Fingers crossed that Philae is able to recharge it's battery.

Annette, My OH is so jealous of you. He says he would love to attend a talk by Alexander McCall Smith. There seems to be a steady delivery of his books to this house.
OH was also surprised when he was told to fast fourteen hours before his blood test. Previously, it has always been twelve hours. I had taken a fresh coffee in the car for him, when he left the surgery.

Just come back from a visit to Friends house - very empty now without their friendly little dog. We have had a good natter. Brenda - I love all the A. McColl Smith books, and have a whole stack of the Scottish ones, also some of the others are on my Kindle waiting for me to enjoy them . I usually take a cold drink & a couple of digestive biscuits to devour when I come out of a blood test clinic! Damp & dreary here, & lots of banging going on next door, again. However, I've cheered up as I found my new travel alarm which I'd misplaced, amongst some other travel paraphernalia - whoopie!!

Well, that week is over!  Farmers' Market was not very successful for our stall, but we had a good time - all the stall-holders are so friendly and there is a good sense of community there.  It was the sixth birthday of the market, so one of the cake stalls had baked a birthday cake, which we  enjoyed a slice of (as well as grazing an ad-hoc lunch from various stalls!)  Then a lady from the artists' co-operative across the road from the Town Hall came over to invite us to their fourth birthday party, so we had coffee and more birthday cake there before returning home!  We decided not to call in at the new Annandale Distillery's first open day, although it is only a mile from our house: it looked very busy there, so I hope it is going to be a success.

Started new thread www.rspb.org.uk/.../114217.aspx