BACK TO NORMAL...WELL ALMOST!

First of all let my apologise for getting my soap box out yesterday, my only excuse is that from time to time I become irritated beyond measure with political goings on and a good rant makes me feel better. This morning I was much better...that is until I saw a news item that put my temper back on the boil. We all suspected of course that the business of almost all politicians is to keep their useless bums firmly upon there parliamentary seats but to have this demonstrated so blatantly by the leaked notes from the office of Mr Ed Balls,( incidentally did ever a man's name fit him so well) proves that we were right all along.

While Londoners were being bombed and while the economy was going to hell in a hand cart it seems that the New Labour cabinet was concerned mainly with the ousting of Tony Blair,(not a bad idea in its self) but It would be nice to think that these back stabbers would be putting as much energy in to running the country as ruining their leader. Gordon Brown, come on, the fact that they were supporting the man who presided over the bankrupting of our economy shows a marked lack of judgement if you ask me.

I have resolved not to watch the news for a while on the premise that ignorance is bliss, I could do with a little bliss just now!

Today has been rather nice taken all around. Over and early cup of coffee I viewed some more of my sons holiday snaps, a lovely way to start the day. Pa got up in good time and I was making the days bread by nine after which a large batch of fresh baked blueberry muffins made our breakfast along with a good strong pot of tea and some orange juice. Just as we had finished the washing up the fortnightly grocery delivery arrived and my son and I had it unpacked and put away in record time.

There were as usual quite a few missing items and incorrect items and so I was obliged to pop out to the super market to replace , this occurs much too often to cause any surprise and these days I allow time on a Friday for this trip.

The whole house has been cleaned this week and all that remained to do today was to hoover and steam all the carpets and floors, my son hoovered, I steamed., every room looks clean and tidy for the weekend. We have another party here on Sunday and as I have another large cake to bake I do not want too much house work to do. This weeks party is for a friend who is on holiday from America. He works in New York at the moment and is home for a week or two. He is a New Zealander so as you can see he gets around.

For dinner we had our traditional Friday feast of new bread with cooked meats,pate and lots of cheeses with a big salad from the garden, this was followed by raspberry jelly made from fresh raspberry juice. The summer raspberries are doing well this year and I was able today to make another bottle of raspberry vodka, my sons favourite tipple these days. I miss making wine which I have done all my life but I no longer have the time or indeed the stamina required for the process.

We do have a few vintage bottle left from my last brewing and some of our home made liqueurs are approaching five years old, the longer they are left the smoother they become. By the time Pa reaches the age of sixty five we shall be able to toast his health in ten year old damson gin.

The card I ordered for Pa on Fathers day has arrived and it is gorgeous, it is a soft focus photograph of Twiggy sitting on a flokati rug and looking unspeakably beautiful. Inside the legend reads, Happy Fathers Day for Twiggy and the staff. I have brought a frame so that pa can hang it on the wall above his desk, he adores our little cat and it is mutual.
Now that the business of the day is over I intend to take a bath and then watch a film, I have yet to decide what film to watch,perhaps a comedy, we shall see.
Have a splendid weekend one and all and stay safe.

ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS

While watching the early morning news I noted with interest that the Archbishop of Canterbury has spoken his mind concerning the political shenanigans which are currently plunging our country still deeper into the abyss. I seldom find myself agreeing with any of the clergies pronouncements but in this case I found myself in complete accord with the ecclesiastical gentleman.
The so called “Big Society” is a bad joke in a world where those at the top of the tree patently care nothing about the welfare of those below, these same disadvantaged people are now expected to fend even more for themselves.

Speaking as a full time carer I would like to say that to make me a fifty two pound allowance per week for working twenty four hours a day seven days a week with no holidays, no help and no back up is derisory to say the least. If Pa went in to a care home it would cost several thousand pounds a month to take care of him and from what I have seen and heard the care would be at best limited. The stories coming out of these institutions make my blood run cold.

This is what happens when private industry takes over and needs to make large profits for their shareholders. Corners are cut to save on running costs, staffing levels are reduced and even the quality of the food is so poor that in Great Britain today there are elderly and disabled people in hospitals and nursing homes dying of malnutrition.

The Arch Bishop is right, this catastrophic coalition does not have the right to ram these crack pot policies down the nations throat, quite simply they do not have the mandate to do so.
The new plans for the N.H.S. are so ridiculous that it seems every one except the morons who dreamed it up can see the calamity that its instrumentation would cause. Hospitals do not want it, Doctors in general practice do not want it, the people do not want it. Now hang on a minute, Are the government suppose to represent the people and carry out the wishes of the people, I think they call it democracy. Well then as far as I can tell the current situation suggests that there is a clear case for not privatising the Health Service by the back door, as the only people who seem to want it are the government and the fat cats who's boots they are obliged to lick in order to remain in funds.

The total mayhem caused in the world of education will be as nothing to the disaster that will befall this country if those self seeking time serving sons of bitches in Government get there way over this proposed change. I keep hearing the phrase “We are all in it together” from the lips of people like the Chancellor, blast his eyes! Speaking for myself if I am dropped much further in it I shall need a bloody snorkel!

Some one has to speak for those who cannot speak for them selves, to articulate their fears and fight for their welfare so why not a clergy man.

Vince Cable expressed himself baffled by the Archbishops remarks, it seem to me that there is a lot that he fails to comprehend. In a recent address to a Trade Union meeting made palpable threats about what would happen if the work force dared to come out and protest against the loss of jobs, the three day weeks, the pay freezes and wage reductions. The huge rise in fuel costs and the increased cost of food is already crippling the majority of people.

The only people who stand to gain from putting organisations like The Royal Mail, Schools, Colleges and Universities , health Establishments etc. up for sale to the highest bidder are the very people who ripped us all off in the first place. Ask your self this one question if we are all in this together just who are these wealthy industrialists who can afford to buy our public services​​? Oh yes, just on more thing, whey are they not as strapped for cash as the rest of us? It makes you wonder.

So come on lads every body out, and this time lets see some real solidarity. In the mean time pass me that snorkel!

THE DAY THAT PA GOT PLASTERED AND OTHER AMUSING EVENTS!

I had great plans for today, Pa had an early appointment at the hospital and I had intended to spent the morning making strawberry and gooseberry jam,alas it was not to be. With a Herculean effort we got Pa out on time after which,totally exhausted with the effort my son and I sat down to a breakfast of pancakes and lemon. We had meant to have a leisurely meal and after washing up my son had offered to help with the awful business of topping and tailing several pounds of green gooseberries.

Barely had the first batch of pancakes been removed from the griddle when the telephone rang, now I know that I should not complain as the repair man was coming to take a look at the cooker hood but of course this meant that I could not start jam making until he had finished. The lock on the back door was also to be replaced and this would mean tea and biscuits for the workers and by now it was becoming obvious that it would have to be jam tomorrow.

I sat about waiting for the men to arrive and of course they were much later that the had promised, typical! I got bored sitting about and decided to paint my toe nails, this is a job I detest but needs must when sandal season arrives, I finished the paint job, still no workmen. During the course of the morning a large number of honey bees came in to the house and a merry old time I had catching the little blighter's and returning them to the garden, I think they must have sensed the impending heavy rain we had later.

Twelve thirty brought the chap to repair the lock, he had great difficulty removing it and we came to the conclusion that it had been there since the house was built. This is entirely possible as the door is the original as are all the doors in the house, a fact which explains the creaking as well as the howling draughts! Off he went to buy a new lock intimating that it would be expensive, I was not surprised. The electrician was still conspicuous by his absence and so I decided to get on with the jam making,and the electrician arrived!

He replaced the blown out bulbs and as he prepared to leave I told him that they would be out within half and hour,he smiled. By now the lock repair man complete with new barrel. "Worth a try." He said had returned and had for the past half hour been attempting to fix the lock. He managed to put the thing back together again and all seemed well until he tried to remove the key,it was well and truly stuck. This was the reason why the key broke off in the lock in the first place so we were back to square one. The electrician who had not yet left offered assistance and with the aid of a hack saw and some brute force they managed between them to make the lock work. Our cheers were brought to an abrupt halt by the cooker hood lights flashing and then going out, the electrician was flabbergasted even though I have been telling him about this problem for over two years. He apologised and went off muttering about checking the specifications, one to me I think.

Pa returned home from the hospital spattered and besmirched with plaster of Paris, A cast had been made of his leg in order to produce a new calliper which will we hope help him to walk with a little more ease. Judging by the amount of plaster on his clothes I would say that the person who carried out the plastering needs to have and eye test, fortunately being used to such procedures we took the precaution of sending Pa to hospital in some old togs, wise decision.

With all the repairs done I made the lock man a late lunch of poached eggs on toast and then got on with the jam making, soon another eight jars were glowing on the kitchen table waiting to be labled.
Today has been at once amusing and frustrating but at least we can now lock the back door and we are at last making progress with our electrical problems. Now there's a word, problems, I still have problems and absolutely refuse to have issues,it sound so stupid. I heard a woman say. “I have issues with my health.” Others have money issues, boyfriend issues, there are political issues. A problem is still a blasted problem no matter what you call it. I can understand companies, corporations and governments not wanting to be seen to have “problems” but to hear everyone else adopting this silly phrase gets right up my nose. What the heck are marriage issues for Gods sake, I think I had better change the subject before I end up with blood pressure issues!

I made Pizzas for dinner and three sorts of dip to help the crusts go down. This was served with anti pasta and fresh salad from the garden. The showers we have had today are doing the garden good but I am afraid that it has also brought up about a million slugs, dammit. I shall have to encourage the local hedgehogs to pay us a nocturnal visit, a couple of slices of strawberry jam on toast usually brings them in from far and wide as a nice starter before the main course, Yuk!

BURNING RUBBER

The soles of my clogs have been red hot all day, I am amazed that they have not melted considering the mileage they have done and the amount of time I have spent trotting about today.
To begin with I woke at four this morning and spent the next three hours finding quiet jobs to do as I thought that my son was fast asleep, it was not until seven that I discovered that not only was he awake and had been since four but that it was he who woke me so early banging about in his room. He had spent three hours playing with his new PS3 while I tip-toed about. Bum!

My spirits were restored with a cup of coffee, I read through the e mails I had written to check for the inevitable spelling mistakes , sent them on their merry way, dressed, change the bed covers and went down stairs to get breakfast. We had planned to have blueberry muffins but my son fancied poached eggs on toast instead so it was poached eggs for three and very nice they were.

My son had a trip to Richmond planned and I needed to nip out for a few items so off we both went leaving Pa finishing his breakfast, I blazed around the supermarket, grabbed the things I needed and blazed back home, it does not do to leave Pa alone for long as he falls down so often, amongst other things. No sooner had I returned, changed and ready for a day in the garden when Pa announced that we had run out of Fat Balls for the wood peckers. Now why he did not mention this when I was going to the shops I can not say, I was furious as I had passed both the pet shop and the garden centre on my travels. I went in to the garden to cool my temper!

Yesterday I picked no fruit and as a consequence today there were lots of ripe strawberries ready to go in to the jam pan, there were also lots of gooseberries and raspberries ready to pick so that was the first hour or so spoken for. Tomorrows weather forecast is for rain and the next few days look less than promising so I really needed to hoe out the weeds before they had a chance to grow any bigger and cause trouble so that took another hour or so. I tied in the tomatoes and sunflowers, I should have liked to have strimmed the paths and mowed the lawn but I had to go out again to buy those blasted Fat balls! I went indoors prepared the pork for roasting and popped it in the oven.

There had been a couple of major highlights in the day one of which was the arrival of a DVD of the film “Scaramouche” a wonderful film, full of swash buckling and fun. The other arrival was A kaftan I have been wanting for over a year as I had to wait for the new stock to arrive. It is beautifully made and hand painted with a black cat and a full moon amongst other things. I thought that as I had to go out I would buy some black sandals to go with the kaftan as I do not have any shoes suitable to wear with such a garment. I blazed off to the supermarket, grabbed what I needed, including a pair of black sequinned sandals and blazed home again.

My son was back from Richmond and he made coffee while I prepared the potato wedges and the dips and washed a salad for dinner, by now I was feeling dizzy.

Dinner was much appreciated and there was very little left for our poor foxes who seem to have a taste for garlic sauce, unlike the cat who hates the stuff. Twiggy, much disgusted by the fact that I have not played with her at all today insisted upon a game of hide and seek, this and chase me are her favourite games which she plays with all the delight of a small child. I could not bear to refuse and so out I went to play.

It is now eight O clock and as soon as this blog is posted I shall have a bath after which I shall soak my sizzling tootsies in a bowl of iced water and drink a large Vodka and soda and if any one, I do not care who he is wants anything else this evening they can..................well they know what they can do!

I GOT MAIL

For several days now I have been waiting for replies for a number of e mails concerning conservation matters, complaints to the planning department and a request for some repair work to our cottage. Today the birds came home to roost....all at once. I shall not bore you with all the details, suffice it to say that I have a red hot key board and aching wrists and I still have several e mails yet to write,

One of my e mails was to what we laughingly refer to as the maintenance manager, a strange individual who takes any request for repairs as a personal affront to his position and generally ignores e. mails and never, I repeat never answers his telephone. To have received a reply is staggering, such a thing has not occurred before, it is very odd!

Last nights rain has done the garden the world of good, I swear that you can actually see things growing, the squashes and pumpkins particularly look vastly improved. The only member of the family not delighted with the rain is of course Twiggy, she has spent the day mooching about the house with a very cross expression, when not roosting on a heap of cushions on Pa's armchair. When at last the rain stopped she tip-toed down the garden path stopping every so often to shake her dainty little paws before sitting gingerly upon the garden swing, she hates to get wet. Cat nip was offered and graciously accepted and after a very silly half hour she returned to the house with her good humour much restored and bearing a squeaking mouse which I confiscated at once. Madam was not amused!

Heroically I tackled a he pile of ironing this afternoon which did very little for my good humour but at least that job is done , for now. The lime trees are in full flower at the moment and I picked some of these fragrant little blossoms to make some lime flower tea. This is one of the nicest and best herbal teas there is and is very effective as a sedative. One cup taken hot or cold before bed time relaxes me wonderfully , two puts me to sleep for several hours. It is one of the few herbal teas which taste nice and it needs no sweetening at all ,this time I made enough for Pa so I hope he will sleep too.

My son is very tired tonight and so we ate a very early dinner of fresh pea soup and crusty bread, now he is tucked up in bed with a cup f Horlicks and I expect to hear snoring any moment.
He sun is shinning now and the garden has begun to steam a little as last nights rain evaporates, I expect that there will be a mist in the morning, if so Twiggy and I will watch it rise while I have some coffee, it is a time of day I love. When I am the only one awake and the house is quiet I do not have to worry about what Pa is up to, It is too early to do any chores and there is no traffic noise to spoil the birdsong...lovely.

Last night I left the window open in order to listen to the sound of the rain such a relaxing sound I always feel and the cool air coming in through the window was filled with the sweet fresh smell of warm damp earth, I slept little but I was happy with my rain drop concert.

Tonight I hope that my lime flower tea will put me gently to sleep, and I wish you all a good night, or day, where ever you are.

THE STICKING PLACE

Once the fruit season begins I am committed to the making of many jars of jam and jelly. Ripe fruit cannot be kept waiting and so the jam making takes priority over everything at this time OS year. With about six pounds of fruit picked yesterday afternoon I gave Pa a quick breakfast and got on with the job in hand. Preparing gooseberries for jam making takes longer than the making of the jam, all those stalks and beards take ages to snip off,I keep a pair of curved embroidery scissors for the purpose. Today I made strawberry and gooseberry jam,a favourite of ours and a sticky time I had of it.

The trouble with jam making is the aftermath, the sticky utensils and counters, the preserving pan with fruit seeds welded on its bottom by jam. Worse than all are the unnoticed blobs of jam which adhere unnoticed top the cooks cloths and shoes and find there way In to the most unlikely places, a stray blob once glued one of the family to the lavatory seat....most unsavoury!

Of course I always clear up thoroughly after each jam session and yet in spite of my endeavours there is always the blob that got away, even the poor cat has in the past fallen victim to ….the blob.
The most memorable blob incident occurred when a visitor of whom none of us liked very much sat down unknowing upon a blob of blackberry jelly. No body noticed until he got up to l leave when, as he walked through the door a large blob of escaped jam had spread across the seat of his trousers. No one said a word until he had gone and then we all fell about laughing. Yes it was rather naughty but in mitigation I must tell you that our stuck up guest was a practical joker himself and deserved all he got.

This time I managed to tread on a blob of jam and whilst walking about the house manage to spread the stickiness throughout the house, this time the joke was on me! I spite of the pitfalls it has all been well worth the while as I now have a further ten jars of jam ready to be labled tomorrow ans squirrelled away in our winter store of goodies.

Happily I also managed to bake five loaves this morning which means that I shall not have to bake tomorrow, well not bread at least, I shall I hope find the time to ache an orange lavender cake for tea. This delicacy is a house speciality and a favourite with our neighbours so I always bake this cake two at a time, that way there is enough to go around.

Poor puss is most seriously displeased at the turn taken by the weather today. She has spent a good deal of the day crouched under the ivy or sitting in the window staring out into the wet garden. I however am rejoicing as the fruit is in sore and urgent need of some rain, at least a couple of days worth I hope.

Tonight is my sons last shift at work, he tells me that it has been a very boring week for news. Speaking for myself I had gathered as much due to the inordinate amount of time given to Cheryl Cole and that dreadful show from which she was fired last week. I do not give a damn what Simon Cowel gets up to as long as I do not have his doings imposed up on me each time I tune in to the news. Surely with all that is happening in the world there must be something more important that this for the media to obsess about. I am told that Miss Cole did a hair product commercial while wearing hair extensions, so what. Who believes in commercials any way?

Blast now They have got me writing about that ditsy female.....I give up!

MY MUTANT FEET

Something rather odd has happened to my feet during the past few days, they are covered in hundreds of spots, some pink and some bright red., I have theses markings no where else, for which mercy much thanks because they make my feet look most peculiar. While watching X Men last night I wondered if I had evolved any other powers to go with my spotty tootsies, I tried telekinesis but found that I had not improved enough to get excited about. Next I had a go at mind reading but I do not think that the cat was cooperating , besides every one knows how inscrutable cats are.
Levitation did not work and having tried to boil a kettle using the power of thought I decided that If Pa and I were to have a hot chocolate drink I had better resort to a more orthodox method, so I put the kettle on. These spots have now begun to itch, I wonder if it is possible to get Measles on just ones feet, perhaps it is an allergic reaction but to what. On balance I think that I am in the process of mutating so lookout for something wrinkly and spotty, that will be me!

Today has been busy as usual but at least the jobs today were seasonal rather than the hum-drum round of washing ,cleaning, ironing and so forth. Picking fruit is a pleasant but tiring job and when the fruits being picked are gooseberries it can be very painful too. Today the bushes yielded several three of fruit and about half a pound of thorns some of which are lodged in places not to be mentioned in polite society....so I shan't
The strawberries did even better and this means that tomorrow I shall be making more jam. I did get my revenge upon the vicious gooseberry bushes, whiles picking the fruit I also managed to do quite a bit of the summer pruning, that will teach them to mess with me!

With an eye to our winter comforts I laid down a bottle of blueberry vodka and another of cherry brandy, I used black cherries as these give a better colour and the blueberry vodka was such a success last year that I intend to make several bottles this time. The raspberry vodka with I made earlier this week is already showing a beautiful rich red and will glow wonderfully by Christmas.

The village is suffering at the moment from a sudden plague of rats, no one knows why they have suddenly appeared in such numbers, we just wish that they would go away. It is because we have so much wild life in our garden that I have no wish to put poison down, the poisoned grain which is used can all too easily be eaten by other animals or birds so it is with reluctance that I have decided to shot the rats and so far it seems to be working. For several days after a rat has been shot they others seem to stay clear of our garden, when they return I shoot another and so it continues. My weapon of choice is an air riffle which is quiet and clean, I really hate killing the rats , they can be so cute but unfortunately not every one agrees with me and at least the rest of the wildlife in our gardens will not fall prey to poison.

Now picture this, a lady with a straw hat, a limp and spotty toes protruding from her sandals toting a gun as she sits topping and tailing the gooseberries in the garden, its enough to make a cat laugh, move over Rooster Cogburn, here comes Aunty Avie!