Newsround

Hands Up if you loved John Craven's Newsround. The first guy ever to read the news on BBCTV wearing a sweater! I was always so impressed by the careful way in which they reported the difficult bits of the news in a way which was appropriate for their young audience, The Falklands Crisis, the Challenger Disaster [the news actually broke on British TV on Newsround, as it had happened just minutes before the show aired] But always delivered by John and subsequent presenters [like Julie Etchingham, who came originally from Kirby Muxloe]
Here is my Newsround reporting of the last week or so

SUNDAY The Christmas Pie came out of the freezer and provided us with three good meals. A proper pie, shortcrust base and puff pastry top - filled with chicken, pigs in blankets, brussels sprouts, carrots, roast potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberries. It was a splendid use of leftovers

MONDAY A fabulous rainbow appeared over the close, just as we were going out to the car. 

TUESDAY The sunlight through the new front door in the morning made beautiful sparkly patterns, some rainbow-edged, on our family photo wall

Mum's picture is fading to a strange sepia colour.

WEDNESDAY I did cook Bob a Chinese meal - from scratch - sweet&sour chicken, beef chow mein, eggfried rice - 

along with prawn crackers from our last takeaway [one of those Sainsbury Box Deals]

THURSDAY All the seeds got sorted and labelled and into a box, with an index card for each month and a tick chart on the front. So I shall know what to plant and when and where. The chicken brick is not becoming a herb garden - Liz has requested it for her kitchen, Which is fine by me.

FRIDAY Put on Radio 4 extra** and did serious tidying in the back bedroom. The Duplo box is definitely going at last. Some bricks in there date back 40+years! But the Sylvanian Stuff is staying...

SATURDAY Went to the licensing of the new vicar who is coming to the church up the road from our chapel. It was in an incredibly cold church, you could see the Bishop's breath when she spoke. The Bible passage was Mark 4 [Storm on the Lake] When the reader got to

verse 38 "Teacher, don't you care that we are perishing?" Bob nudged me and whispered "Is that the text for the sermon?" They did serve a splendid tea afterwards though, in the cosy little village hall!

**I was listening to SandiToksvig talking about old family photos. "There's my Grandma, looking like a little Sylvanian family rabbit. You can see a lot of her in me" This made me chuckle, and i took it for confirmation that keeping the SF is the right thing to do, for now!
There have been other happenings too - but these have been a few of the highlights, I hope next week is as good, and I hope you are enjoying your days too...

Simple Joys

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying “I love you”

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Oooh yeah….

 

To Protect And Serve

The logo of the US Police Academy. In my great kitchen sort, I realised that now I have reduced my Le Creuset Collection significantly, the two remaining casseroles will nest neatly one inside the other [as long as I put the inner lid in upside-down]

But I do not want the base of the inner one to scratch the inside of the large pot. I have some leftover interlining [24cm wide, 7 metres of it!] so I drew round the lid, and stitched three layers together, using my machine to do some fancy stitching round the edge.

I used the built-in alphabet to type LE CREUSET PROTECTOR. That way of it gets left on the worktop, Bob will know what it is, and where it belongs!

Proper Le Creuset Pan protectors are flower shaped and around £18 for a pack of three. I think my circular one is quite adequate [and made from recycled fabric] 

It will protect my Le Creuset pans so I can continue to serve up food in good looking casseroles. And cost me nothing!

They Are Absolute Pants!

I really thought I had done my research here. I drew up a list of "pee pants" designed for "moderate-heavy" leakage. I eliminated the huge Granny-pants, and the minuscule briefs which would have been too small even for Jess. I kept to British and European companies. 

I chose ones made with cotton. I discarded the most expensive [we seniors need to be careful with our pensions] and the cheapest [avoid false economy. [check out Vimes Boots]  I'd decided to shell out for Sloggis, but they had none in stock in my size.

Then I finally found a company which purported to have been reviewed in a number of prestigious magazines, and featured on Loose Women [I don't watch LW but they seem the sort of crowd who chatter, giggle, and frequently experience what cousin Gill always called "Tena Lady Moments"] Its website was British based, with the green stars of Trust Pilot views scrolling across the page. The design showed a generous suzed gusset. And there was a multipack offer in the January Sale. So I sent off my money waiting for my express delivery from Vera

Two weeks later my package has arrived. 

IT IS ALL LIES!

These are incredibly poor quality briefs made from horrid nylon with a thin cotton gusset. I put one pair on the worktop on a piece of kitchen paper. I poured a teaspoon of water on the gusset ‐ in less than a minute the pants was wet through, as was the paper!

The pants come from China. 

I think these two are not the women who founded the company. I think they're just stock photos. Kate and Margaret are probably as real as Betty Crocker and Barbie.  If I send the pants back to China [at my own expense, £15+]  I may get a partial refund. I am not throwing more money at this. 

I am cross with myself for being stupid.

BUT 5000 people look at this blog every day. Many of you are women who understand the issues surrounding incontinence problems. The embarrassment and loss of dignity. The unwillingness to consign thousands of pantliners and disposable briefs to landfill sites.

If this post stops other people falling prey to this Vera scam, I will feel better about my financial loss. My post will have a positive impact

The urge to spend a penny should not cost a woman so many pounds! 

A Cascade Of Chores

Liz introduced me to this phrase, when one task leads to another, and another... Here's a fictional [but not unlikely] example

1. My jeans  👖 are grubby, what shall I wear instead? My chinos
2. Where are my chinos? Chinos eventually located in ironing basket 
3. Why didn't I iron them? Inspect carefully, recall the button came off last year, they were washed ♒ but not repaired 
4. Where did I put that button? Can't find it, locate another one
5. Where's my sewing stuff?  🧵 Buried under clutter somewhere 
6. What's the time? I haven't got time to do this now⌚
7. What can I wear instead? Stuff chinos back in basket
8. Can I get away with these grubby jeans? Yes, probably 
9. This list to be repeated in April ...🔄

One task left undone leads to a whole cascade of chores. I thought about it on Monday when Kirsten blogged about her kitchen floor/cupboards experience. I had a similar [fortunately shorter] cascade myself this week. 

1. We did the shopping - but I never emptied the box of eggs into the rack 🥚
2. Then Bob had boiled eggs for breakfast 🥄and I remembered the box in the Futility Room
3. Brought the box into the kitchen.
4. Marked the older eggs ✏ which need to be used first
5. Then realised the rack was grubby, gave it a good clean
6. Reloaded egg rack 🥚🥚🥚
7. Ripped up cardboard egg box for my compost bin
8. Changed out of slippers 🥿into garden clogs so I could cross wet grass to bin 
9. Back in again, changed shoes, got on with my day

Confession - I don't think I have cleaned the egg rack since we retired! But it is out all the time in my busy kitchen,
so it must accumulate dust and grease. I need to be more diligent.
It is sparkling clean now.
My egg icons this week are these!

💜⭐⚓☮

So much more fun than just a plain ❌!

Do you mark your eggs?

Are you beset by chore-cascades?

Kung Hei Fat Choy

I found a packet of six paper lanterns in the loft, so I have hung them up, with the dragon that Rosie and I made last year. I may produce some sort of Chinese Meal this evening. 

Kung Hei Fat Choy ~ congratulations and be prosperous!

I don't think I shall celebrate with quite the enthusiasm I had when supply teaching fifteen years ago [pictures here]

Happy Families

The Grandchildren are growing up fast. Steph and Liz work hard to give them good experiences, and get them out and about, so they can appreciate all the opportunities afforded them living in two great cities. And at home, they play games, do baking together,  and much, much more. Weekends are full of fun. And we grandparents really appreciate seeing pictures of their activities and hearing from the children about what they have been doing. They have all had a busy January...

And what have I been doing? Cleaning up the high chair and travel cot. The children can sit properly on dining chairs at mealtimes, and they all sleep in beds now, so we won't need these anymore. Tomorrow these two items will be going to the Dereham [Ukraine] Aid Centre. I understand that they are dropping 'Ukraine' fromn their name now, as they provide aid to anyone in the community who needs it. 

I am so grateful for the years I have had these items, and been able to use them for our little ones. Now it is good to pass them on to bless other families.

Cold And Wet

I need to get back into a better reading pattern. So I have challenged myself to review two books a month on the blog. I read three in January [first review here] and the third needs a proper review carefully written. 

I think it is fair to say my second book was the wrong choice for me! The mobile library was on its monthly visit, and I'd chosen two non fiction books, and was just about to check out when I spotted this one. 
I like crime, I am quite keen on medical dramas, it was set at the winter solstice, and when I saw the author's name and read the blurb [here] I thought it would suit.

• It is set on a remote Scottish Island [and I love 'Shetland']
• The male lead, Calder, falls into the icy seas and 'drowns' but in fact they revive him from his extreme hypothermia [As with Meredith Grey, Greys's Anatomy, Season 3 Ep 16 when she falls into the water off Seattle. I love GA]
• In my haste I mistook Liz Webb for Liz Carr, who for 8 years played the skilled forensic pathologist in Silent Witness [I love SW]

O dear... I was so wrong. 

I just did not get on with the writing - the story is told in the first person by Nancy, Calder's girlfriend. spoiler alert - important plot detail revealed below

The people on the island are all interconnected. C&N have moved back there because C's Mum has died and left him her cottage. So everybody knows Calder's past. And how his ex girlfriend went missing just before C left the island for London [a girl he had never mentioned to Nancy before] Arran, the Pastor of the little church, is also a key figure in the story. After C's near death experience, best friend Hamish and wife arrive from London to help out. Hamish also grew up on the island.

My problem is that I like accuracy. I believe that Liz [Webb not Carr] did loads of research into this "hypothermia/survival through drowning" event, she cites various well documented cases [real ones, not Meredith Grey] and that she also researched life on Scottish Islands. That part was good.

But she clearly did no research into 'how to get married in Britain'. Or she would know that you cannot get married at three weeks notice - you need at least 29 days [ok, there are a few rare exceptions when a waiver might be possible but not in this story] and furthermore, both parties must make the application. You cannot say "we'll get married tomorrow, I arranged it with the vicar three weeks ago, but never got round to telling you" At this point the story seemed just stupid to me.

Mind you I was already concerned about Arran who conducts everything at church in a very traditional 1950s way, yet quotes from The Message translation of the Bible. LW doesn't appear to know many pastors. 

There was a lot of cold weather, and icy water, and I am afraid  I did not warm to any of the characters. 

Maybe if I watched 'The Traitors' I'd have coped better with the fact that everybody [including the Pastor] is lying to everybody else. Am I the only person [other than Bob] who has not watched Traitors? Even Rosie watched the finale last week with her Mum [having first donned the hooded cloak I made for her worst witch costume - she takes accuracy seriously too]

I give it just ***

Speaking Truth To Power

If you have not read Bishop Mariann's sermon from the National Prayer Service, I urge you to do so [here] If you do not have time for that, the gist of it is in the verse above from the prophet Micah - Justice, Mercy and Humility.

Unlike the President, I do not consider her words nasty, or boring. She was preaching from the Bible - and I do not feel she was disrespectful, saying as she did "Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now."

One Republican Congressman has already demanded that she be deported. Fox News dismissed her words as "the rantings of a lunatic" 

All I can say is "Lord have mercy"

 

Hung, Drawn And Sorted

It took all Friday but the curtains are done. The longer ones at the French Windows are hanging beautifully.

Because I remade everything from scratch, I was able to lengthen the ones at the side window. That means that when the radiator is on, I can tuck them behind, so the heat is deflected into the room. The curtains look much brighter and fresher for their wash. Sorted!

Ryan arrived at 1:30 as planned and cleaned the cooker beautifully, including the horrid burned on patch I've been struggling to remove for months. It's a small family company, using environmentally friendly products and elbow grease! No nasty smells, just a pleasant citrus perfume. He was here almost two hours, and charged £80. This seems to be the going rate round here for a double oven range type cooker. [I know some of you were wondering!] Unless you live in North Norfolk [aka Chelsea on Sea] where they charge twice as much.

 

Measure Twice, Cut Once

I learned that phrase from my grandparents - Grandad's carpentry and Nan's dressmaking relied on accuracy when cutting materials. And if you cut something a bit short, then it is really hard to correct it, and you may end up having to buy another length of wood or fabric. 

Yesterday morning we took both cars to the garage [mine for MOT, his for service] and got the bus back home. Then I spread the dismantled curtains and the interlining out on the dining table. I was very conscious of the cost of the original curtains, and the cost of the interlining - and the need to take my time and do it properly. Ann in Scotland had wisely cautioned me against shortcuts, and the risk or errors - and of staring sat the curtains every night thinking 'I wish I'd...'

I worked really slowly, taking my time to measure, measure again, cut and pin. By 4.30pm, all the interlining pieces had their raw edges dealt with, and the two shorter curtains were pinned up ready for machining.
Then I walked to the garage and collected Bob's car. I was quite tired by this point, and decided it was not sensible to attempt any more sewing.
I pushed everything up to one end of the Dining Table so we could sit in comfort for our meal [beautifully prepared  by Bob]
The work will be completed today - it is not as if I can go anywhere - my car is still at the garage, waiting for the brakes to be fitted. And this afternoon I am having my cooker proferssionally cleaned. This is the first time ever I have paid someone else to clean it, but something spilled on the floor of the main oven, and I cannot shift it.

On the picture you can see my orange-handled Fiskars scissors, and beside them a black and grey object - my sharpener. This gadget is brilliant, and ensures you can start your project with razor sharp blades every time [details here] I love Fiskars products [I have their garden secateurs now as well!] and would award the sharpener a 5* recommendation. These are nearly 13 years old and as efficient now as they were on Day 1


 

Rhubarb?

Tuesday night's theatre trip was [mostly] brilliant. We enjoyed our meal at Côte Brasserie, opting [as usual] for the Prix Fixe and a bottle of mineral water. Then we decided to walk round to the Theatre and have pre-performance coffee there. 

This is the Norwich Playhouse, which has two sister venues - Theatre Royal and Stage Two. It is the middle sized site, seating 300 people, 
and a popular venue for fringe events and touring companies. Unfortunately, by 6.45pm they have, inexplicably turned off their coffee machine. Our tea[r]s are not yet brewed!
The seats are low and relatively small - I was glad I'd booked two end seats so Bob at least had space in the aisle for his legs. My legs felt cramped after a while, and that is unusual! Of course, the people in seats 3-10 didn't arrive till just before the starts, and all  wanted the bar in the interval. There was much standing up and sitting down again! “Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once”

However, we could see the stage well from Row K. Rows A-F nearer the stage would have felt too close, I thinbk/ They were occupied by school parties - all extremely well behaved, I must say. 

The performance by the National Production Company  was very good, with a few caveats.

• Lady Macbeth was excellent, delivering her lines well
• The Weird Sisters were superb, and spoke in sequence and in unison equally well, chanting and dancing beautifully. Great costumes too
• Macbeth was good, but his voice wasn't quite 'big' enough for some of the speeches. 
• The sword fighting was incredibly well done, and the Kensington Gore which flowed freely when necessary.
• The Porter was wonderfully funny, spot on comedic timing, and interaction with Rows A-F, saying "'equivocate' thats a good word, remember to use it on your exam papers"
• Lighting fairly good, but one spot, stage right, was far too bright, and actors were blinking and clearly bothered by it. Bob is a lighting geek [in his youth he did a lot of stage lighting and is rather fussy about these things]
• Theatre staff get top marks for friendliness, efficiency and helpfulness.
• I think a **** review of the evening [better seating and coffee would have made it 5*]

But all in all we loved it. We'd declined coffee at CÔte explaining we were going to the Theatre. The conversation at the paydesk went like this...

Waitress - What are you going to?

Bob - Macbeth

Waiter - Is that a comedy?

Bob - well, I suppose you COULD play it like that...

[The staff there are mostly French, perhaps he only knows Moliére]

Did you know Shakespeare mentions rhubarb in the Scottish play? we had both completely forgotten that -  [Act V Scene3] What rhubarb, senna or what purgative drug would scour these English hence? 

Not actually grown in the UK till the 1620s, but its medicinal uses were already well known in the Bard's day.

Do you have a favourite Shakespeare play?

Do you get to much live theatre? 

We enjoyed the Christmas Carol, but before that our last trip was Open Air in the rain in 2022, we usually go for low budget/small company/AmDram stuff.

Plotting!

I woke yesterday and realised I'd made a mistake. My physio is  this afternoon. So I reorganised my plans. I spent Tuesday morning preparing  my sermon for Sunday, then began thinking about the garden, planning how I will organise my plot this year.

Everything was put on the coffee table.

In the centre, my general notebook. Above it, Huw's book.[it is a useful guide, but 3 years in I no longer feel I need to follow it quite so assiduously] and my Journal which is written up after e event, as a record of wins and losses. 

On the right my growing collection of seeds [oops, bad pun] which needs sorting out. 

There are a lot of seeds...

You are wondering about the chicken brick, aren't you? No I'm not planning on getting hens. I just feel that I've had this 45 years, and I no longer use it much [twice in 4 years]

It has has developed quite a patina of Ancient Chicken Fat. This is normal, and the instructions tell you not to clean it off with chemicals which will then leach out into your food. I do not feel I can put it into a CS looking like this then I realised it makes two lovely terracotta bowls and I can plant herbs here. So this is going to be repurposed I the garden this spring. A good result I think.

I picked up two bags of seed potatoes in a sale last week [Casablanca, and Maris Piper, grown successfully in previous years] These are "chitting" on the bedroom windowsill.

My 2024 notes say that the 'Nantes' carrots tasted good. But we didn't enjoy the beetroot! The lettuce plants from Swaffham Market were a great investment, and my spinach was unstoppable [there are still a few portions in the freezer] I'm going to try 'forcing' the rhubarb this year under a bucket [as Monty suggests in my latest Gardeners' World magazine. Previously I have let it grow 'naturally'.

And following the example of local hero 'Turnip Townshend' I shall rotate my crops in the Raised Bed on order to improve the soil. My second compost bin, installed with the help of Bob and Julian last year, is filling up nicely.

It is 3½ years since Bob built the raised bed I am amazed how much I have learned, and grown. Really grateful for all the advice, help, seeds, plants and tools which so many generous folk have given.. here's hoping for more good arvests in 2025

Do share any garden plans you've got for this year...

Time And The Hour...

I've taken down the curtains, removed the hooks, and loosened the gathers. The label says "dry clean only". So I washed them on a quick and cold wash. What's done cannot be undone

They definitely look fresher and the rufflette tape is sparkling white. Out, damned spots! They will be dry by Thursday morning and I will be able to inter-line them. 

Today will be very busy. I have a physio appointment[back and hip issues, nothing too serious] and Bob has Pilates The labour we delight in physics pain

Then this evening, a somewhat belated birthday treat for Bob - a pre theatre meal, followed by an evening at Norwich Theatre watching Macbeth. A poor player struts and frets his hour on the stage. One of Bob's favourite Shakespeare plays.

Then home to bed... 

Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care

I couldn't cope with nothing at all at the windows, so we've hung my blanket over the doors [the side window has a vertical blind] I embroidered the blanket 10 years ago [story here] For the time being, it is better than nothing! As Macbeth did not say Is this a blanket I see before me? 

Feeling Shelfish

Not selfish, or shellfish, but shelf-ish. Cornerstones only has one 'built in' shelf- which is the the space in the atrium* which was the bathroom windowsill [before the previous oiweners built the extension] and is now on an internal wall. 

It is particularly useful at Christmas for displaying my Willow Tree Nativity Set. We have 5 'Billy' shelving units holding books and DVDs, and some 'Gorm' shelving [also Ikea] in the study holding sewing stuff, and office equipment [the laminator etc]

Bob has put up small shelves for specific purposes - by his record deck there's a long narrow shelf, so he can display the sleeve of any LP he is playing.

Years ago he put up a little shelf in the atrium to hold the WiFi router. But that isn't needed any more. Over Christmas I used the shelf for decorations. 

Now it has been repurposed again. At one end Bob put a motion sensor. I thought this was unnecessary - but it has proved invaluable as it means that if you pass through the atrium when it's dark, a small lamp comes on. 

So helpful if we [or guests in the back bedroom] need the loo at night. Or if grandchildren on sleepover wake up and need us. We can have a gentle light on instantly [without flailing around trying to find the switch in the dark] - but we do not need to leave the light on all night.

The phone base has been fixed to the other end of the shelf - and in between is a good space to display greetings cards. Now Christmas is over, I am sticking to my fortnight rule for cards on display. After that they are repurposed or recycled. Many become placemarkers in my cookbooks - tio the frustration of the rest of the family, who pick up a book to flick through the recipes and end up being showered with confetti [birthday greetings, thank you notes etc]

And finally I tidied all the shelves inside the bathroom medicine cabinet. A long overdue task, discarding random medications, much old suncream**, and ancient sticking plasters which no longer stick!If things are going to be on display, on an open shelf, they must justify their position. I love Sue-in-Suffolk's seasonal display on the top of her bookshelf, which she changes regularly. All my shelves are now tidy and dustfree and proving useful.

* we call it the atrium after the manner of the Romans who gave that name to the space in the centre of their villas. It's not a room as such - but the other rooms open on to it, and there is an arch through to the hallway. Since retirement it has been our dining area.

**please don't comment on the many uses for suncream, I have regular body lotion, and brass polish, and I don't need shaving cream [there was more than enough to depilate an army of wookies]