HERB GARDEN TREATS

I am a great exponent of herbal tea and it is no accident that my garden is full of herbs of every sort. Sage tea,beneficial to the liver and kidneys is a frequent beverage for me. Mint for indigestion is another but it is the wild herbs which provide so of the nicest and most refreshing of all .


Lime flowers are very plentiful this year and have been picking them daily for a couple of week, a handful of these sweet smelling flowers infused in a half pint of boiling water make a refreshing drink when strained and chilled. Drunk at bed time this has a pleasantly soporific effect and helps me to relax and be ready for sleep.

Drunk in larger quantities it has a diuretic effect which is useful if fluid retention is a problem. Lime flowers can like many herbs can be dried for winter use and In the summer my kitchen is fragranced by the great bunches of herbs hanging all around.

Chamomile flowers are better dried in a flat bottomed basket,turned daily they will dry quite quickly,tansy,dandelion,nettle,and many more take there turn on the drying racks as the years turns. Lavender,which has so many uses is just coming in to flower in my garden and I have already baked and orange ;lavender cake,made like a lemon drizzle but using lavender flowers along with the orange juice and sugar to pour over the cake while it is still hot.

Today I noticed that the ladies bedstraw,sweetest of all the strewing herbs is in flower in the meadow and if tomorrow is dry I shall pick a large bunch to add to this years pot pourri and of course to mix with lavender and wormwood for the moth sachets . Moths dislike the smell of these herbs and will not lay eggs where they are present.

Even Twiggy is a fan of herbal treats and is the proud owner of three large catnip plants which I should tell you would be a good deal bigger if she would stop chewing them for a week or two,I photographed her this afternoon rolling about on the path as high as a kite of the stuff...what a junky she is!

Today I am making a gooseberry crumble wit the addition of some elder flowers which give the dish a wonderful fragrance. In autumn the berries of this same elder will find there way in to apple pies for a rich red splash among the pale apples and for the splendid flavour they produce and all completely free of charge,courtesy of nature,who am I to refuse such bounty.

One humble request to any weather Gods out there. Picking herbs for drying is not possible when it is raining, a little dry weather would be nice. Thank you.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Whoopee ,yippee,hooray and hallelujah we are back on line at last. So much has happened since my last blog that I have decided not to run back numbers as Some how it does n9t seem current.


To begin with we now have a fabulous new wet room,beautifully tiled and perfect in every way. Our downstairs lavatory has been a huge hit and it means that I mead not use the stairs as often and Pa only once when he has his evening shower.
Next Monday the stair-lift will be installed after which I need never worry about pa falling down stairs ever again....or myself if it comes to that.

The builders were wonderful and we have made new friends, I can not say that it was not a little fraught at times but by and large the whole thing went very well. While the builders were knocking about I reclaimed the small windowed room which has been used as a wardrobe,it is now a pretty little en suite sitting room with a window seat and a wonderful view out over the orchard.

Everything should be perfect but when I tell you that our no good low down double dealing rat of an Estate Manager is once again applying for permission to build houses on my garden you will understand why I am not entirely happy. What makes it worse is that he came to tell us this on the day he work was finished so that when we should have been celebrating we were in fact planning our objection....again!

Still I cannot help but be light of heart when I hear Pa singing happily in the shower or sitting in the comfy chair I brought for him to sit wrapped in a huge bathrobe and drinking his ovaltine after his shower, he loves it all and I am glad for it.

Strawberry jam season has just about finished and my strawberry crop has been a total failure due to the wet weather gooseberries have been plentiful however and the first OT the summer raspberries have been steeped in vodka ready for Christmas festivities and charity auctions.

I do not know how long our internet connection will last but having grown tired of Virgin Media’s intermittent service we have signed up to BT home hub which should be installed by July 12 and hopefully by September we shall have cable in our area,can't wait!
I have missed writing and yet it has almost been a blessing that I could not publish as my time has been so very short,power cuts,no gas and quite often no water for prolonged periods has meant late meals and the palaver of trooping one by one next door for a bath has been very time consuming indeed.

Twiggy loves her new cat house and now she can spend even wet days in her beloved garden warm and dry with her delicate little paws tucked into a snug fleece.

Now I am off to the shower and then bed..it's good to be back.

DERBYSHIRE FISH SUPPER

Hailing as I do from the country sidefresh water  fish and bacon were always plentiful, the pure rivers of Derbyshire contain some of the best trout in England and our farmers produce the finest bacon which was dry cured to perfection by our local butcher or often as not the farmers wife herself. My kitchen today houses a very large bacon settle which was used for the curing of bacon, ham and gammon.

The base contained a large pan into which a half pig would be placed for curing, once this was done the meat would have been hung inside the top cupboard from meat hooks ready for use.

The following recipe combines the wonderful bacon and the magnificent trout to make a dish which is simple enough for a family supper and grand enough to serve at a dinner party.

Heat the oven to 180oC

6 x 8ox trout

12 rashers of thin dry cured streaky bacon smoked or green

1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper

Clean the trout or ask the fishmonger to do this if you buy them, keep them whole.

Season the inside of the fish with the salt and pepper. If your bacon has rinds trim them off and place them in a baking dish that will hold the fish snugly. Place the fish nose to tail on top of the rashers and sprinkle with the parsley. Cover with foil and bake for twenty minutes in a pre-heated oven.

Serve with mashed potatoes and salad or as I do with new potatoes asparagus and a hollandaise sauce.

This dish gets the seal of approval from Twiggy as she loves bacon and is a also fond of trout.

A SHOCKING REVELATION

We are now entering our second week without a bath and although we have the use of the bath in the currently empty house next door it is far from being a satisfactory arrangement,

It happens that the bath to which we have access is unusually deep and as both Pa and I have great difficulty extracting ourselves from our own normal depth one we have discovered that the only way to use the bath is to stand up and wash as best we can or sit down ,have a proper bath and then call out the fire brigade....not a difficult choice!

Intrusions while one is bathing are common as a stream of prospective tenants, painters, decorators,carpet fitters and plumbers are at work in the building. Really the prospect of almost another two weeks without our own bathing facilities is daunting, when I broke the news to my son the language was atrocious and I freely admit that my own was little better.

Tiling is now in progress and it is apparently the tiles which will cause the delay,though I must say that they are doing a wonderful job. White dimpled tiles ans a tan mosaic border will look wonderful with the flooring we chose yesterday.

Today and for the second time this week my buggy broke down while I was about a mile away from home. Yesterday for no reason it just stopped dead in spite of having a full charge on the battery. I managed to get it going again yesterday by pressing the re-set button but today she just refused to play. I was pushed home by an energetic soul to whom I shall be forever indebted.

Early morning bread making produced some lovely loaves and I decided upon a dinner of cheese soufflé with crispy panchetta, fried haloomi and salad as fresh bread really compliments this meal.

My son managed to eat a little dinner and although very weary he tells me that he feels a little better, poor darling,he has had a rough trot these past couple of months.

Early nights all round are on the cards for tonight as early mornings are essential when builders are in the house,oh the blessed relief when nice as they all are they finally depart and we can return to getting up in pour own time and being able to close the doors during the day.

Twiggy has surprised us and has taken kindly to the plumber Chris of who she appears fond, the others she tolerates but even this is progress indeed! Perhaps the ownership of her new outdoor cat house has sweetened her attitude to strangers,who can say?

Sometimes Shit Happens!

With our internet connection intermittent to say et least and the unexpected arrival of the builders the past week has been eventful. All seems to be going well except for the early mornings which are killing poor old Pa and the fact that my poor son has been trying to sleep through what has sounded like ten deaf blacksmiths playing “The Anvil Chorus”. In fact he has slept rather better than anyone could have hoped but unfortunately has has succumbed to a nasty tummy bug which seems to be doing the rounds. All I can say is thank the Gods that it did not happen earlier in the week when the loo was disconected for the afternoon!

Converting the under stairs pantry in to a lavatory has proved to be life changing for Pa who in future will only have to manage the stairs once a day to take a shower. Our team of builders,plumbers, plasterers and electricians are wonderful, they are thoughtful, kind and always pleasant. One of the plumbers saw me trying to haul a hose between the gardens and when I returned he had fitted a new tap in exactly the right place so that I shall never have to struggle again. I almost cried with relief. The electrician fitted extra power points in convenient places, again this was not in their specs, they just decided that they wanted to help. We have been very lucky and I shall miss the boys when they go, they all love shortbread and buttered toast so I can return their kindness, with tea and cookies or breakfast now and then.

My poor son has spent the day in bed having worn out the landing carpet between his room and the loo during the whole of last night, by this morning he looked ghastly and has eaten nothing for days. Next week he is not working and so I hope that he has a chance to recover before he returns to work, also the builders will be gone soon so he the will be able to get some decent sleep.

Today being Fathers Day I gave Pa a slap up breakfast while my son drank weak tea in his room,the Fathers Day feast has been postponed until such time as we can all enjoy it. Tomorrow the builders will be back and hard at work to finish the shower room which will be a great relief all round. To begin with the bath in the house next door is so deep that neither Pa or myself dare sit down for fear of needing the fire brigade to extract us. Worse still we keep on being interrupted by the estate agent showing round prospective clients which it most disconcerting for all concerned. Yes it will be good to have the wet room ready for use,at the moment the bathroom floor is full of large holes and the plasterers have been hard at work.

Moving the lavatory from one place to another caused much merriment and further mirth may well be caused by the fact that it is now placed directly in the window area so that the view of the grave yard is excellent, Lord only knows what the view from the grave yard is like, methinks frosted glass may be in order ! Now I am up to date I think and internet permitting I shall keep you informed as to our progress,and now being fairly certain that the blasted estate agent will be by now either at home or in the pub I shall venture to take a bath next door...wish me luck!

WE'RE OFF!

What a day to lose internet access,A telephone call this afternoon informed us that after a cancellation the builders will be commencing work tomorrow morning at eight. I feel that the next couple of weeks will be gruelling but I am sure that the end result will be worth the trouble.

Of course this will mean that my son will be working during the noisy demolition stage with all the problems that being a night worker entails. He is determined that he will manage and he is pretty tough,it will not be the first time he has had to work with ,little or no sleep.

Today has been rather busy as the bathroom had to be emptied in a hurry but now we are stripped for action...here goes!

Normal Service Will Be Resumed...

Apologies for the lack of updatse the last couple of days - internet access has been temporarily lost...hopefully all will be back to normal shortly!

SON OF AVIE

WEEKEND BACON CAKES

Every one has and ideal of lazy Sunday mornings ,family breakfast,tasty treats but all to often this means extra work for mum. Over the years I have devise a number of dishes which give the family a treat making Sunday breakfast special without mum having to get up early .

BACONCAKES
10 rashers of streaky bacon
8 oz self raising flour
pinch of salt
4 oz cheddar cheese
1 oz butter
150 ml milk
I table spoon of tomato ketchup or fruity brown sauce if you prefer

1. grill four rashers of streaky bacon until crisp then cut into small pieces
2. sieve together the flour and salt,rub in the butter until the mix resembles breadcrumbs., then add the crumbled bacon and three oz of the cheese.
3. Mix the milk with the ketchup and add to the mixture.
4. Mix to a soft dough then roll out in to a 7” circle brush with milk and cut in to eight wedges. Arrange the wedges on a greased and floured baking tray in a circle with the edges slightly overlapping then sprinkle on the remaining cheese.
5. Bake in the oven a 200 oC for 30 minutes. Cut the remaining bacon rashers in half ,roll up and place on a skewer and grill until crisp. When the cakes are done remove form the oven and garnish with the bacon rolls Split butter and eat warm. Makes eight,

I often serve these with roasted cherry tomatoes They also make a great cobbler style topping for a chicken stew.

A MIGHTY RUSHING WIND

Quite apart fro the power outs yesterday I found when I came to publish yesterdays blog that our internet connection was also out, which put both myself and my son in bad humours as we had a good deal of correspondence to attend to.
Watching yesterdays weather forecast and seeing that there was a possibility of yet another blasted gale I did all I could to tie up my plants and to tie down anything which might blow away and this proved to be a wise precaution.

All was relatively calm until dusk when from no where a great gust of wind hit the trees in the lane causing the branches to toss alarming l and to creak and groan like and old sailing ship. Through the window of my newly liberated quiet room a young ash tree bent almost in half by the power of the gust touched the window with the tips of its branches and gave the poor cat a terrific fright, she shot under the bed and refused to budge for ages.

During the evening the gust became more violent and more frequent until they became a tearing wind which ripped its way through the young leaves scattering branches and twigs every where. Coming as I do from a moorland environment I am well used to howling gales, the difference is that on open moorland there is very little that can be damaged by such force .Trees are scarce and the houses , particularly the old ones were build with the forces of nature in mind.

The farmhouse I grew up in had walls three feet thick , a heavy slate roof and flat small paned widows to withstand the gusts, many houses even had shutters. There are also fewer items to blow about, now and then a badly maintained hen house would disappear during the night and the chickens would be found the next day rammed into a hedge of with luck sheltering in a more sable building.

Gales in town are I think far more dangerous, on country lanes it a tree comes down the chances that there will be some one passing at the time are slim,in town were roads are busier the odds are much shorter. Bill boards, hoardings, scaffolding and dustbin lids are frequently scattered during violent storms. Just a short distance from my home the actor Gordon Kaye aka Rene Artois was almost killed by a wind blown sign board, it was a shocking business.

During last nights gale the lane was soon filled with branches and in the shelter belt another old tree fell at around two in the morning with a tearing groaning sound which made my blood run cold. Old trees are vulnerable at the best of times but in summer when the trees are in full leaf they are at even greater risk in high winds, the last gale brought down two enormous tress the like if which we can ill afford to lose.

Throughout the night the storm raged about et house and I watched the heavy velvet curtains moving with each gust,doors rattled and during one almighty blast the loft cover popped open. Now the full wildness of the storm could be heard as the open cover meant that the noise of the wind on the roof was louder than ever.

Three O clock struck and I got out of bed to make a hot drink and sat at the window sipping my coffee, munching a biscuit and watching the mayhem in the lane. Woe to my beautiful daisies, the early flowering ones were ruined by the gale that destroyed my green house and now these tall elegant flowers were being flattened too.

At the hight of the storm what looked at first like a tent appeared in the lane out side our gate, on closer inspection I realized that it was one of those pop up Wendy houses and as I watched the wind lifted it on to the park railings where it was soon torn to shreds by the sharp spikes. Less than an hour later there was nothing left of it at all.

Sleep finally claimed me at around four and as a consequence I felt very rusty when I woke at seven. Throughout the day the wind blew strongly and I was quite alarmed by the amount of twiggy bits falling from the trees as I made my way to the local DIY shop to purchase a couple of coat hangers.

One good thing has however come from this weather event, the new buggy covers did not budge an inch during the gale and since that last one was totally destroyed a few weeks ago this was a huge relief ass the covers are expensive to buy. So next time we are subjected to high winds that is one thing I shall not have be concerned about.

Eight thirty and the wind is still high so it looks as if we are in for another wild night so shall just fill up the biscuit tin, turn up the television and snuggle up in bed,and jolly good luck to any poor unfortunate who happens to be on a camping holiday!

POWERLESS

Another night with no sleep at all and neither Pa nor my son fared any better than I, so it was a sleepy and rather seedy group who met at the breakfast table to eat lemon pancakes.
I had decided to bake and was in the throws of washing the breakfast dishes when we were visited by an electrician,off whet the power. Off went the lights and out of the window went my idea of baking.

Since the water heater needs electricity for the pump there was not even any hot water to finish the dishes,resigned I headed for the garden and as I did so it began to rain,heavily.

I passed the time by scraping some new potatoes which did not take long. Hooray! Having fitted a new metre the electrician departed and I hied me to the kitchen again....but not for long, as began the dishes there came another knock on the door and this time it was the gas man, to fit a new metre.
Now you may be wondering why all at once we are receiving all this attention from the power companies,the answer is simply this. Both the gas and the electric metres are under the stairs which is soon to be transformed in to a downstairs lavatory and so prior to the arrival; of the builders the metres must be moved outside to provide the required space,

No gas,no hot water not even a kettle as the cooker top is gas,once more I downed tools and left the kitchen,by now the rail was torrential so I stood on the steps staring out in to the r
curtain of rain cursing my luck and wishing myself a mile hence!

When at last the power was connected again, it was late afternoon and most of the breakfast dishes were still scattered about the kitchen and the whole house felt chilly and damp as the doors had been left open for most of the day. Wearily I finished washing the dishes and began the preparation for dinner.

CHICKE WITH TARRAGON SAUCE
6 chicken breasts
3 oz clarified butter
1oz flour
4ooml chicken stock
2 tablespoons of French mustard
2 tablespoons of lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh tarragon or half if dried
3 oz English Cheddar grated
salt and freshly milled pepper
150 ml single cream

1.In a covered pan fire the chicken breasts in the butter until tender and golden brown approx 10 minutes each side turning once.
2.Put the remaining butter in a pan and heat ,stir in the flour and gradually stir in the stock and lemon juice.
3. Stir in the mustard,cheese and tarragon and bring to the biol then simmer for three minutes before adding the cream.
4. 4. Heat gently ,do not boil.

To serve Place a chicken breast on to a slice of hot puff pastry and spoon over the sauce. Serve with garden peas and baby sweet corn.
Butter sauté potatoes are also good with this dish as a change from the pastry.

WHERE THERES A WINDOW

I remember the day we came to look at the cottage,just three weeks before we moved in and less than two weeks since I had been release form hospital after a serious illness. We all adored the cosy rooms, the large kitchen and the huge potential in the neglected garden and orchard.

Waking on the first morning felt like being on holiday and in a way that feeling still remains as I find it utterly amazing that we could ever be lucky enough to have our home in this lovely place. Over the years we have made a few changes and returned the gardens to their former condition but for me there has always been one small sadness about which it seemed nothing could be done...until today.
In my bedroom there is a door which leads into a small room which slopes down at the eaves in which there are some shelves and a window which open s on to a beautiful view of the orchard and I have always wanted to use that little room as a place to read quietly or just sit in the open window on a hot evening.

Having two windows in a room help keep it cool in hot weather but until today it was stuffed full of bedding, and winter clothes ,mostly Pa's and mostly not worn for many years it was not at all attractive to look at,in fact I was glad to close the door on the mess.
Galvanised by the thought of the impending building work I decided once and for all that I would make better use of the space and I ordered a dozen vacuum bags.

Today I systematically stuffed all the unused togs, duvets ,winter coats and blankets into these bags and having sucked out all the air with a vacuum cleaner I was able to fit the whole lot on to the shelves and under my bed leaving the main part of the room clear. I placed a blanket chest under the window and covered it with soft cushions then hung my silk dresses around the walls and over the shelves so that the storage bags could not be seen.

My happiness with he result is boundless as I mow have a quite space for contemplation and another view of the grounds which will make my sleepless nights more interesting. Now that the room is tidy I can leave the door open and this means that there is much more light on the room than formerly the little room even has a small radiator so that it is never cold even in winter time.

Such a small space and yet the difference it has made is enormous. Oh yes, Twiggy loves it too so that makes two happy souls.

GRANNY MUGWUMP'S MINT SAUCE.

Granny had not exactly been brought up to do the cooking and as a consequence almost everything she made was inedible,however she had been taught to make fancy dishes such as junkets,jellies,and sauces all of which were excellent. Here is a simple mint sauce recipe which everyone loves.
GRANNY'S MINT SAUCE
Large bunch of fresh mint
2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of pure malt vinegar
boiling water.

Wash the mint, remove the leaves form the stalks and then chop finely. Place in a bowl and add the sugar and the vinegar then pour on the hot water to the strength you require.
More or less sugar can be added to suit your taste.
If bottled this sauce will keep in a refrigerator for about a week.

BOTTLED MINT SAUCE TO STORE.
1 cup chopped mint leaves
1 cup pure malt vinegar
4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2Tablespoons water.
Finley chop a large bunch of mint. Pour the vinegar in to a sauce pan add the water and bring to the boil. Sterilise jars by placing in a cool oven and bringing the temperature up to 135OC and scald and dry the lids.
When the vinegar is boiling add the sugar and stir until it is all dissolved them add the mint and return to the boil.

Once boiling point has been reached quickly pour the liquid in to the hot jars and put on the scalded lids. This will keep for several months in the refrigerator


FREEZING MINT

1 Large bunch of mint
Cold water
Ice cube trays
wash and chop the mint finely them mix with water to form a thick paste. Spoon in to ice cube trays and freeze at once. Once frozen solid the cubes can be stored in a bag.

MINT SAUCE FROM FROZEN MINT
Place four cubes of frozen mint in to a bowl add sugar to taste then pour on sufficient vinegar and sugar to make a pouring sauce. A little boiling water may be added if necessary.

ITS A CATS LIFE

Sunshine all day and balmy summer nights have been very much appreciated by Twiggy our cat who has practically lived out of doors of late. Hours of her time have been spent snoozing in the long grass, snoozing in the shrubbery, snoozing in her very own tree house and occasionally waking for a while to roll about languorously among the cat mint plant which is now flatter than a fluke!

Her nights have been spent sitting in an open window observing the peregrinations of the nocturnal creatures and catching the occasional mouse of even the odd moth.
Yesterday the heavens opened , the rains came and poor old puss sat disconsolate in the window staring out through the murky light at the sodden garden.

During a short lull she essayed a quick foray in to the orchard but the grass there is long in places so her fur was soon soaked,then a sudden downpour of rain carried horizontally across the garden by a strong wind sent her streaking for the door and I let her in. Poor little cat, she sat on the door mat with an expression of disgust on her face which was unmistakable,having registered her disapproval she stalked off up stairs to my bedroom parked in top of my bed and refused to budge.

Morning brought little change and during the early hours Twiggy and I watched as the rain fell in torrents filling the lane with deep puddles and rattling spattering upon the window. Returning from work on his last night shift for a week my son ,soaked to the skin when he entered my room had on his face the exact expression displayed yesterday by et cat. Hot coffee soon restored his good humour and we were soon setting the table for a breakfast of pipping h porridge and toast and marmalade with a large pot of tea,a winter breakfast but who cares about that?

Showery would best describe the afternoon, showery meant that both Twiggy and myself were in and out lake a pair of yoyo's until at last we both gave up and remained in doors, she curled up on my bed again and I in the kitchen where I made a real high tea instead of dinner as my son needed an early night. At four thirty we sat down to a plate of hot sausage rolls, hot cheese scones, herb hot herb and mustard soda farls with baked vine tomatoes and large plate of home made cup cakes ,there was very little left by the time we had finished our meal.

While we were eating one of out foxes sat on the wall outside the kitchen window looking in at us as we ate. It was our vixen, a lovely creature with a more delicate face than the male and as slim in stature as he is stocky, she receive a warm cheese scone with grace and had no fear at all. Her appearance at diner time was odd and I wondered at it until Pa told me that he had forgotten to feed the foxes last night,as a rule we never miss so I suppose she came to remind us. I love the bond between us, there is something almost magical about the place which makes it easy to befriend the creatures who share our garden , there is a sense of peace and of safety,may it last forever.

The rain has stopped and the wind has dropped away,in the garden all is quiet and Twiggy I observe from my bedroom window has once more taken up her favoured position among the herbage. How lovely she is and so very much loved, happy again in her garden in which she like us is blessed.

LONDON LOVES A PARTY

Festivals and pageants on the river Thames have always been used as a means to celebrate,after all the Thames is in a manner of speaking what London is all about. The same can be said for the Monarchy and in particular our Queen,she is loved, and sometimes hated by her people though they never hate her for long because above all they know that she truly does love her people,every last one of them.

I have heard it said that the Queen knows nothing about how her poorer subjects live and this is almost certainly true but let us reverse the question. What do any of us know about how it feels to put the needs and feelings of a whole nation before your own private wishes time and time again? Quite simply we now nothing,we have choices which the Royals do not,they are not free as we are to say “Oh to hell with it.” For them there is always duty, duty to the country and its people and the queen always puts country first.

I was born in Coronation year ,in fact my family almost called me Elizabeth,thank heaven they changed their minds! I remember the Silver Jubilee and of course the Golden Jubilee too. I am not one of those types who slavishly follow all the doings of the Royals good or bad but I do believe in giving credit where credit is due.

The Queen may seem distant, solemn, she has enough on her shoulder to make her so, but take a look at her smile and you will see once more the little girl Lillibet a little girl trying not to laugh in the wrong place.

Like the rest of us she makes mistakes and of course every one remembers the way she behaved over the death of Princess Diana, I do not pretend to understand what was in her mind at the time, no one could second guess such a thing. She may well have been right to put the young princess first and I think that in the whole of her reign that was the only occasion when she actually put her family before her duty ,she was to pay dearly for doing so. Temporary loss of popularity made her an easy target for the ambitious Mr Blair.

Savaged by the press, hounded buy her Prime minister and vilified by her people she made the only possible choice and brought he princes back to London. Speaking for myself I did not need to see those boys,one of whom is the same age as my son fighting back the tears they knew that they must not shed in public,but that public wanted its pound of flesh and insisted on seeing the children’s suffering at first hand. How callous and how cruel.

The following year the Queen paid for her (mistake) in the loss of the Royal Yacht Britannia, as vicious and nasty a piece of vengeance as ever a government took upon its Monarch and all done to make Tony Blair seem to be in touch with the people, “the peoples champion.”

I have said before that I am not a die hard Monarchist and it must be faced that this particular royal family is more German that British,but in a world where governments and regimes change constantly this Lady is our link with our history and we forget the lessons of the past at our peril.

London has always loved a party and today we really do have something to celebrate so I shall shout “God Save The Queen” as loud as anyone...and mean it too!

LOOK OUT LOVEJOY

Jubilee morning dawned with a fine drizzle and a murky mist which boded ill for the local festivities. After toast and coffee with my son I began the arduous task of resurrecting Pa from his blissful slumbers aware before I began that today it would be difficult, and so it proved.

Intending that Pa and I should attend the street party I had made a day clear of all but the most essential chores and all would have gone well …...except for Pa. Refusing outright to get out of bed was his first ploy and I spent a total of two and a half hours begging pleading cursing and cajoling and all to no avail. Not until eleven thirty was he finally seated at table and ready for his breakfast.

With Pa fed I needed to pick up a few sundries so after washing up I asked Pa to give the table and the counters a wipe and get ready to go out when I returned.....an hour later I struggled in with the shopping and found the table still covered in crumbs and Pa still in his night cloths fast asleep on his bed!

Now I was aware that he had no real interest in attending to the festivities but I had hoped that for my sake he would make the effort,my mistake!

I woke the old rogue none too gently and told him that I would go without him as he could not be bothered and I flung out of the house in high dudgeon (what the hell is a dudgeon anyway?) First I tries our street party but it was obvious from the moment \I arrived that they had not given any thought to the disabled as the pavements were covered with children painting union jacks on the paving stones,and very good they looked. However this meant that there was no assess for my buggy sadly I turned and left.

Remembering that there was another party about a quarter of a mile away I set of hoping for better things and this time all was well. Plenty of room had been left for wheel chair users and mobility scooters and I had such a good time. I brought some mugs,a special one for Pa with trains on it as his old one is chipped ,a gorgeous teapot decorated with chickens, a nice spoon rest and best of all a mug for me with a robin on it.

Returning home I decided to look at a brick a brac stall, there was the usual rubbish but also some jolly good pieces and a couple of dealers were running rings around the boy who was manning the stall. I was pipped at the post on a lovely cabin clock which the cheeky dealer bought for four pounds, it was worth at least fifty and we both knew it. Suddenly my eye lit upon a very dirty picture propped up against the stall,the glass and frame were really filthy but I knew at once what it was.

I picked it up a split second before the dealer spotted it and rubbed a way a little of the dust to be sure, yes it was a limited edition John Pettit print of n aeroplane sighed by both the artist and the pilot. How that dealer cursed as I paid the stall holder eight pounds for it.

This particular print sold for sixty pounds in 1986 and the run was limited to 500 prints, not a bad profit,but more to the point my son adores it which is the real reason I wanted it so badly.
Having graduated in “War History” he is familiar with every man made weapon from the siege tower to the drone and is passionate on the subject, I have often felt that he would be happier in a job which allowed him to use his considerable knowledge in this area for since attaining his degree he has continued his study of the subject and has a library on this subject superior to some academic establishments.

Needing a fast meal tonight and knowing how the boys love cooked meats and cheeses I made a massive salad and served these favourites with fresh granary bread and pate and toast so that even though my son must work tonight we had our own little Jubilee party and toasted H.M in sarsaparilla! Some people have been rather stuffy about the Jubilee but I think that the Queen deserves a party, sixty years is a long time and no matter what you feel about the Monarchy she is all that stands between us and having a Presidency from which
fate the saints preserve us!

NUTS IN JUNE

Something tells me that we are overfeeding the squirrels,this morning While standing in the garden admiring the flowers A sharp pain behind the ear caused me to turn and as I did so I was hit smartly on the nose by a peanut.
Why the squirrel did this I have no means of knowing ,all I do know is that the little blighter was a crack shot.

Recently a group of youngsters have appeared in the garden,tiny, vulnerable and heartbreakingly beautiful,still I can not help but wonder what would happen if they decided to throw pebbles instead of peanuts.

Speaking of nuts,nuts of a different sort we had quite an eventful time of it last night, a young couple decided to have a blazing argument right outside our garden gate. We have had this sort of thing happen many times but my word this pair took the taco!

Their car pulled up and she got out screaming abuse, she slammed the door and he drove off only to return a few moments later as she was making a telephone call. He leaned across and opened the door presumably expecting er to get in, instead she removed her shoe and began to hammer his windscreen with it. Put came the young man ,grabbed her shoe and threw in over the railings into our garden.



Now she was good and mad, she stalked down the garden path to look for her shoe and found instead our heavy metal sprinkler stand and heaving it out of the ground she hobbled back into the lane and with one blow smashed the car's windscreen. While the young chap, who's language by now matched the young ladies, went to look at the damage she beat a tattoo upon the car roof and then went round pt the rear of the car and using the bar again put out his tail lights!

Grabbing the bar in an attempt to prevent more damage there followed a tussle which left the protagonists lying on the pavement,the young man now in possession of the metal pipe threw it over the fence to join the still missing shoe. Now it was my turn to be cross as the heavy pipe fell in to a clump of \Marguerite and flattened them totally.

Really I thought enough is enough and I went down stairs returning a moment later with a length of hosepipe and a jet nozzle with I attached to the bathroom taps .I found what followed very satisfactory indeed for as I was downstairs fetching the hose the couple had apparently made-up their quarrel and the young man was in the process of furnishing the lady with a large bouquet of flowers.....................picked from my garden!

I aimed the spray through the open window of the car and that was enough to cause a hurried withdrawal on their part. Thankfully I returned to my long neglected bed and actually slept until seven. On answering the door to an early delivery I noticed on the step a lovely bouquet of flowers with a note attached which read”Sorry about last night”.
I wonder from whose garden the noisy young urchin nicked them!