Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey) 5 November 2017

Thanks to Everyone. Bonnie seems OK and although she has a little cough now and then, she is not wheezing so it's not affected her lungs - we think it's just that she has a sore throat. We went for a walk in the Autumn sunshine this morning, after it had stopped raining, then had a good lunch out - Pork carvery for my OH and Welsh cheese & leek Quiche for me, with salad. Came back here for a cuppa and my OHs first mince pies of this winter which I had brought with me. I prefer a shortbread biscuit!

ForestBoar - What great news! You must be celebrating, there, as the whole situation has taken such a long time to get sorted out. But you got there in the end :-)

Dibnlib - All those good Scottish names are so evocative, and I would love to see the 1st snows on the mountain tops. Nothing on Snowdonia here, yet, but give it time!

Heather - Hope you had a good weekend. You've been tackling the garden with determination, so in Winter you will hopefully be able to rest upon your laurels and look forward to coping with it in Springtime.

Hi, all.

Diane – good to see your post: thanks for starting us off and the smart Magpie!  More on Moon and our evening out later.

Hello, Rosy – I hope all is good with you and yours.

Annette – clock adjustments around the house seem to take longer than the hour we gain!

Linda – sorry Bonnie appears to have a sore throat – and hope yours has still not worsened or developed into a cold.  Sorry too about your OH’s aches and pains – not too long till Wednesday!  Will you have to drive the journey home on Tuesday?

ForestBoar – sorry about the PC – hope it is curable.  Good that appointment date for your OH will not affect the trip to Cornwall.

Dibnlib – would love to be up there to see Ben Wyvis with his snowy top!

So, our evening …

When we set off from home, the Moon was just coming over the horizon, so it looked impressively large and orange.  We had it in view through much of the journey – and then all the way home we had clear moonlit skies as it continued its journey.  Bunnies were out feeding, and I had expected Owls, but didn’t see any.

The supper was excellent as usual.  They do quite basic food, but with tasty sauces.  There are three starters, three mains and three deserts, but we rarely eat more than two courses.  I had the veggie choice this time, which was a Cheese and Lentil Loaf, containing some onion, mushroom and herbs, served with a tomato sauce and the same veg available to all (the vegetables are always nicely steamed).  I made a mistake choosing Lemon Syllabub which was too rich and gave me indigestion – served with a nice piece of shortbread; must remember to stick to savoury dishes, as all the sweets have a lot of cream.

The concert was excellent; Jacqui Dankworth is excellent, and can do scat brilliantly – but as she says she doesn’t have her Mother’s four octaves to do it with!  The programme was numbers written by partnerships, and she was performing with her very clever pianist/vocalist husband Charlie Wood.  I found the references to their own partnership a bit “treacly”, but they do have a good rapport and understanding of each other’s contribution.  John (Johnnie) Dankworth died in 2010, but Cleo Laine is celebrating her 90^th birthday, and there will be a special concert for her in Birmingham Town Hall (and broadcast on BBC Radio 2) on 29^th November, at which she herself will be singing!

We did go to church this morning and it was good to be over those horrid antibiotics and be able to be there.  The elderly lady who was in for her cataract op the same afternoon as mine says she has been told she will not get any improvement until she has had some laser treatment – she has very poor sight anyway, but they are hoping to let in a bit more light; she is such a lovely patient lady.

Apologies for the length of this post – not much happening tomorrow, so won’t have so much to say!

I was delighted to hear of your attendance at the concert, OG.  I loved John Dankworth and Chleo Lane in my youth.  How wonderful to know that their daughter is taking over the mantle!

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We looked out window and there on the waiting–to-be-mowed-lawn was this “new” bird foraging. I grabbed camera, careful not to get too close to window, snapped a few pics before it flew off . . and that’s when I saw there were two. Adelaide rosellas, said to be a hybrid of the crimson & yellow rosellas.

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Wow, they're colourful, AQ!

Evening all:  Another day working in the garden here; trying to get ahead of all the stuff that I didn't do last winter.

OG: I was going to say - Jacqui Dankworth must be Johnnie D's daughter.  Cleo Lane 90 now!!? And still singing? Amazing.

Forestboar: Glad things are finally winding up with bro's estate and that your trip can go ahead without worrying about appts.

AQ: Wonderful rosellas - wonder how ours evolved to be so - um brown...

Lindybird: Interesting about that sunken cargo ship. Makes you wonder what else is sloshing about in the ocean...  :-(

Have a good Monday everyone.

Good  Morning,  All.  Dry here.

Woke up coughing, so still have a dry throat, drat!

Spending today tidying up, and packing stuff which we don't leave here in case it gets damp when we leave it all for the winter. Hoping to go for a walk by a lake this morning. Then tomorrow, driving back - sorry, OG, I forgot to answer your question. We usually share the driving by doing roughly halfway each. My OH is glad he has an appointment for his back, now - when we left home he thought he might improve enough to be able to cancel it by now, but actually he's feeling worse.

Here's today's pic:

"No, I'm not sulking!"

LINDY - safe journey home, tomorrow.

I've lost the place a wee bit here, but thanks to DIANE and her colourful bird and thank you to all for your news. I'll do some catching up. Have been out today with eldest daughter, just home.