Kingzance

Brisol was bombed on several occasions Andy.

Stationmaster has really got me scratching my dome. I know Glasgow had two main sheds allocated to it in BR times due to it being the historical location of terminii for two railway companies (although a number of sub-sheds within the city but) primarily Eastfield 66 (LMS) and Polmadie 65 (CR). Bristol had Bath Road 82A and St Philips Marsh 82B due to the former being GWR and the latter serving the MR connection to the S&D at Bath Green Park whilst Exeter was Exeter 83C in BR days but shows no details for the LSWR connection, over which the ACE operated. I suspect that link is too tenuous. It is not Saints as I can find four religious Saints that bear 2900 class names in Bristol alone, nor is it Abbeys. It is just possible that Glasgow and Bristol had two turntables each and Exeter one, purely a railway-related guess.

Firstly, one hopes the Good Doctor enjoys carrot cake with lamb curry, even if that seems a strange combination even to my adventurous palette. As for the question posed most carefully, it implies these items / places no longer exist although they could be events. My first thoughts were along the lines of cathedrals but Glasgow has only had one of them - St Munro’s and all their cathedrals are still present. My next thought was HM Ships but each name has occurred on several vessels. It can’t be Saints as there are links to St Thomas and St David in Exeter. All three cities have had two mainline stations and only Glasgow had a locomotive works building new engines. As for docks, all have them with Brizle and Execketter having had floating harbours. Were it not for the past tense, I might suggest football teams but Glasgow has four that I can think of. As far as I know, Glasgow still has an engine shed whereas Bristol (GWR and MR) and Exeter (LSWR) no longer have them? So, more disturbing of the few follicles on my dome must occur later. In the matter of dumb-buttocked behaviour, one has to be thankful that we see “the pen is mightier than the sword” or armed pursuit by our journos of a certain Prime Ministerial Adviser would undoubtedly result in “collateral damage” being caused whilst seeking blood in the Cummings and Goings story.

Morning from AnyHearts, Greyness is gradually being replaced with occasional sunshine, speeded by a brisk westerly. Yesterday’s visit by our son - who did keep six foot six and three quarters of an inch away at all times - was a pleasant diversion from the mundane routine to which we ascribe at the direction of our leaders - even as the number and frequency of their deliberate breaches of such strictures grows. Of course we have a free press that can and should question such behaviour, although obviously most reporters are already breaking government guidelines as they create their reports. This we accept in our sort of democracy. Clearly it isn’t without its faults but we are better off than those in Hong Kong, where Beijing has decided that The Basic Law and the citizens’ rights should be brought into line with the rest of The People’s Republic (i.e. none) in the sure knowledge that The West will not protect the several million citizen’s of Britain’s former colony. An article about those in HK who are resorting to efforts to wipe data and records from their mobile devices was reported earlier in The Times today has been pulled. It is impossible not to conclude political pressure for censorship is the reason for that. Not satisfied with being the source of Avian Flu, SARS and now Covid-19, China is ruthlessly determined to dominate the world and brooks no challenges. Our politicos would do well to avoid becoming further beholden to such a ruthless regime. Anyway, yesterday’s curry was in my book a success with new and nuanced flavours; SWMBO spent the meal making exaggerated coughing noises so that is another dish I shall be making solely for personal enjoyment! We came second in the wider family quiz but as the winners created the previous week’s quiz, we will do next week’s edition. Who knows, perhaps we shall all be a little freer after next weekend? Today’s protein will come from the carcass of a small hen and will be presented with broad beans, spring cabbage and a few Jersey potatoes. A walk must be endured enjoyed later but first I shall make myself a damn fine cup of full-fat coffee. Be good, stay safe and above all, stay sane!

Good morning people, Yesterday for once passed with a modicum of success at KZTowers! Although the UK office for my astral telescope in Bury St Edmunds has steadfastly been concentrating on re-burying St Edmund‘S remains for the last couple of days, one of the largest specialist online retailers was able to provide some very helpful advice which I was able to adopt once SWMBO had been fed, watered and propped in front of the Haunted Fish Tank. After following their guidance, I managed to recalibrate the Telescope’s base and then set it tracking a mythical stellar object. It continued to do this whilst I loaned and delivered various electric sanders to my son-in-law so, once I returned, I stopped the mounting’s tracking progress and pointed it at another virtual star before locking on the tracking mode. I then left it whilst matters of a dietary nature came to the fore. One of my fellow photographers in our village is married to a lady of Indian lineage and she had provided me with a recipe for what she describes as her “cheat’s curry”. Having had the missing items delivered by the Rose of Waits on Thursday and with the telescope Mount happily tracking away, I set about making a curry to her instructions. It turned out to be quite easy and not too time consuming so at around 10:15 I popped it in the oven, poured a large measure of a Speyside malt, glued the Sennheiser cans to my ears and settled down to indulge myself - courtesy of Rick’s albums - in some mighty fine music from a live performance by Pink Floyd. Eventually the curry was cooked - and damned fine it is too Catherine - and the glass was refilled a couple of times whilst Waters / Mason / Wright / Gilmour and others continued to imbue warm notes into my head and soul. Thank you Furtler of Waddlemarsh! And so to today. Our son will be appearing to deliver a couple of bits for his mother’s attention and to collect a protein resupply package from me. As it is only him and because neither he, his mother nor I have any symptoms of WuFlu, we believe we are safe to meet as long as we do so outside and don’t encroach within 2 metres of him. If that isn’t correct I shall plead the Dominic Cummings amendment. Once that visit is through, it will be time for some of the aforementioned curry to be consumed and then be ready for the family Zoom quiz. Last week’s quiz set new standards and so it will be interesting to see how this week’s quiz mistress rises to that challenge. That’s it, stand easy people. I firmly believe I am following the directions of our Leeds Highlander with the above plans and also hope the news from Durham is positive and that suffering people and pets are generally on the mend. Nihil illigitemous carborundum as the Romans wouldn’t have said.

Lucky to have my camera with the right lens fitted yesterday when this one flew overhead:

Gently she adresses the flautist with the admonishment: "Mind where you're poking that damn thing boy!"

Good morning, Overcast is probably the best description for our sky today. It is windy (both outside and in) although no haricots were damaged in the preparation of such emissions by all parties here. I know, too much information! A lot of diddly squat was achieved yesterday but I did get a rather good shot of one of our local red kites on the wing, even managed to capture her deadly eye clearly! The kipper was rather nice, even if not Manx - talking of which, my uniform had a couple more gold rings than NHN’s but in The Merch there were no half-rings, unlike our Armed Forces. We in the non-Grey Funnel Line didn’t have to order our men into battle and bar a couple of occasions, didn’t get on the wrong end of live fire. Consequently, the idea of military discipline and barked orders found no favour amongst our ilk where leadership was much about knowledge, responsibility and training others to do your role. The debate about quangos, ngos and charities is one that I find particularly worrying. I choose to make donations to good causes when and where I recognise their positive contributions. I don’t elect people to decide how to dispense my taxes to charities just to make those politicians feel good. I particularly struggle when there are several charities ostensibly with the same aim and each with its own overheads, often based in London (why?) to be deducted from the overall pot of donors’ goodwill or when the salaries of some executives in these charities get published. In my opinion, it has also been too easy for too long to set up a charitable foundation to serve some very narrow cause. There remains a danger of the goose of the decent donating citizen that lays the golden egg finding the flow of eggs stopped or that its ovaries have been emptied by the recent clamouring of the charity sector. The Eagles captured my concerns in their song Long Road Out Of Eden wherein can be found the phrase “Through the litter and the wreckage and the cultural junk, bloated with entitlement, loaded on propaganda....” Last night’s local news highlighted the struggles of theatres and venues in these present times yet the producers chose to interview the deputy head of The Arts Council who spouted the usual stream of platitudes but failed to mention that they disperse 95% of their funds to facilities located in London. What will today bring for the KZ household? Well, I have to get meat and eggs, some of which will be for the son. I may receive a Crawford dual-speed focuser for my 1200mm long, 254mm diameter optical tube, but then again I may not. I just might get to talk through my scope tracking issues with a knowledgeable person but such people seem to be in short supply right now. I shall attempt to view things from a more positive perspective! Best wishes to BOD’s household, I hope both are able to recover promptly without serious side effects. I also hope those currently depressed are able to keep posting on here, it will help. To all others, stay safe and, despite my ramblings, stay sane.

Having read the contribution from Hipposhire regarding legal extortion practitioners the legal profession, may I ask / warn fellow ERs in England and Wales about a blatant scam they are now operating in respect of house purchases: Consider the not uncommon scenario where a seller agrees a price via an agent for the purchase of the seller’s property and solicitors / conveyancers are instructed. After due process, the purchaser’s legal practitioners find that they can recommend that their clients can proceed with their intended purchase and a date is agreed for the part of this known as “exchange of contracts”. Please be aware that the (dis)honourable band of legal practitioners now instigate a scam wherein the seller has to cough up a further amount to purchase an insurance via a once only premium “to indemnify the purchaser against any hidden covenants”. So the scammers, acting in what is an accepted manner, then place a request for such cover with their mates in that specialist insurance sector. The supposed policy is then implied to be in place to protect the purchaser. I wondered if this was solely in the case of our recent property sale but now I hear from another couple who were selling the house belonging to one of their deceased parents that the same scam has been perpetrated on them. In our case, we had lived in the same property for 31 years and absolutely no one ever challenged us or required access for any purpose. Our solicitor even said that this cover was not necessary. Arguing that with the legal profession Representing the purchasers was fruitless, arguing that their searches had revealed nothing was equally fruitless. In the end, I split the fee 50:50 with the purchaser but the bad taste this created in my mind still lingers. The friends’ sale was equally jeopardised by them challenging the fraudsters legal profession that this was simply legalised extortion. So house sellers beware, to paraphrase something currently “be aware, Britain needs more wares”, stay safe and, if being ripped off by this legalised scam in particular, stay sane!

Good day brethren, The day started very cloudy and looked as if we could get significant precipitation. The sky has subsequently adopted an uninterrupted shade of azure. Plants soil has been watered. MoT test is booked for next week. Meat and eggs requested from Our Lady of The Protein in the nearby farm. A van from the local Rose of Waits is expected quite soon. Whilst HMG seems to be helping out all and sundry with “splashing the cash”, it, through its all-powerful offshoot HMRC, has decided it can avoid paying anything to my self employed son who has meticulously declared his earnings and paid the appropriate taxes for more than a decade. For a short while he was contracted to Coventry University to upskill basic mathematics to undergraduates arriving with for degree courses who were at an insufficient standard. Once those students’ skills in that topic were sufficiently elevated and that Uni ceased taking on so many dubious students, his contract ended two years ago but this has somehow given HMRC an excuse to withhold any payment from him. He starts in a Tesco warehouse next week as his normal work dried up at the start of March and there is nothing in the foreseeable future in his sector. Like GDB, I am lacking in upper thatch and I too object to paying a barber a search fee, although trusting My Dear Leader to do mine is quite stressful for me. As for the great Marmite, peanut butter and Bovril debate, I like them all and find a crushed Oxo cube with a small teaspoon of either Marmite or Bovril dissolved in hot water to be very enjoyable. I am happy to have Marmite and peanut butter sandwiches which of course then involves bread - not good if trying to stick to a low carb diet! As iD says, peanut butter is a very useful product when cooking Asian style foods and I buy the rich roast variety from Meridian as it contains no palm oil or salt. No doubt other things will be found to occupy me for the rest of the day but I have yet to be advised. Meanwhile, a kipper requires my undivided attention. Stay sane....

And they said it wouldn't last Congratulations!

Good late morning form a sunny NEHerts, Yesterday proceeded generally as expected with a decent walk and a selection of piscatorial products purchased, some of which were converted into an evening meal. I did manage to cut down calorie intake to two sessions and to only snack on an orange and a few raw peanuts between times. Alcohol was restricted to a glass of The Guv'nor and a bedtime measure of Knockando - other varieties of lovely things (some in skirts) to come out of Scotland are available. Some but not total progress was made in respect of the impending granddaughter birthday, accompanied by some music from certain inspirational suggestions amongst the posts from ERs - my thanks to you all. The topic for our next photographic competition is "Distance and Isolation". Thinking that I could use the first word to cover several hundreds of millions of miles, I exited my scratcher at a little before 0300 in order to go to a nearby open area from which I hoped to point my 250mm f4.5 reflector towards 170 degrees and at an azimuth of 15 degrees where I would find Jupiter with Saturn a fraction higher and a few degrees to its east. Having arrived at the selected location, much gear was set up only to find I had not packed the viewing lenses or the power cable that runs between the power tank and the 'scope's drives. There followed a session of pack it all up again, return home, pick up missing bits, return to viewing base and set up again. By this time - and we were still almost an hour before sunrise - the skies were already heralding a new day and the clarity of the celestial object I wished to photograph was rapidly diminishing as pre-dawn erupted. I returned to my scratcher at around 05:30 and then considered whether I should just picture an old-fashioned directional road sign. Despite the setbacks, I will have another go at an even earlier hour tomorrow before switching to the local road signs! As you can imagine, the whole procedure was conducted in splendid personal isolation. So today will mainly see me completing the trough for the tomato plants as the last required timber was acquired yesterday. That will presage the purchase of two grow bags before plants can be positioned and allowed to flourish (hopefully with more success than last year). The purchase of granddaughter's gifts will be concluded. Further shoe base will be worn away and Her Ladyships every wonts will be attended with much care. Flying pigs will be seen interrupting air movements at Luton and Stansted airports! Time to cease these inane ramblings and follow the instructions eminating from Leeds Highlands. Have a good day one and all and be safe!

May I echo that and hope you can soon enjoy some married company.

Morningorl, Weekly weigh-in yesterday was a little disappointing as it confirmed a change in direction. I am sure being incarcerated isn’t helping as it is diminishing the amount of exercise I get. The fridge being reasonably well stocked is another factor, as are the readily available choices of various alcoholic tinctures and an urge to indulge in calories morning, noon and night. Henceforth the noon intake will be blocked but the morning one may occur a little later and evening’s intake a little earlier. You and the UK’s beach users will be relieved to know that I have no intention of getting into a pair of lurid budgie-smugglers but I do need to be friendly to my legs if I expect to use them for any sustained length of time. Plans indicated for yesterday were generally concluded satisfactorily and the grass looks much better for its drink. With the weather forecasted for this week, I may repeat that at the weekend. Today being Tuesday means I shall stroll to Ian The Fish this afternoon to purchase an underside fillet of plaice for her (being unwilling to try much else) and whatever he has that takes my fancy. I shall resist buying another crab even if he has one as I regard this as an occasional treat rather than the regular diet. On a related matter, as we were walking from the pharmacy to the Marcus & Spencius (and Up Pompeii to you too) Food Emporium, we passed the town’s Fish & Chip shop which has seemingly re-opened to telephoned orders. SWMBO has decreed that we shall avail ourselves of their service - in direct competition to my plans for an intake of very reduced carbohydrate quantity. Tasks to complete today include ordering the gifts for eldest granddaughter’s birthday two weeks hence, leaving time for a last minute panic when my wife and daughter discover duplication and granddaughter changes her mind - she is, after all and foremost - a woman in the making and, in my opinion, one who may well challenge The Stationmaster’s neighbours in the looks department (not that I have any detailed knowledge of his neighbours I would have you know) - but I would say that, wouldn’t I! Must go, it is time I produced a breakfast suitable for a dieting lert, possibly to the warm sounds of a well liked LP. The breakfast will not be fried over a massive valve amplifier, I use silicon / germanium interfaces these days. Be good, be careful and become a lert!

Hard to argue with that selection iD but could I suggest something from A Momentary Lapse of Reason: On The Turning Away. This is what I describe as "an accessible track" for PF Newbies.

I really like Scotland and the Scots (as long as they are not related to, or followers of, Wee Jimmy Crankie ). I have an addiction to distilled liquids produced in The Highlands and around the River Spey. However I feel no need to invest in a formal Scottish suit with either kilt or troos. I shall save the money to blow on things related to unmentionable pursuits. Happiness is mid ochre yellow / Brunswick Green. Malachite and Apple greens together with Prussian Blue and crimson Lake are acceptable alternatives.

Some may regard the following PF comment as strange, perhaps even heresy. Casting back through the mists of time to the very early 70s, that champion of struggling bands and musos John Peel had a radio show (Radio 1?) which didn’t commence until 11pm I believe. At that time Pink Floyd were certainly less well known - this predating DSOTM - and JP played one side of their previous LP called Meddle. The track is entitled Echoes, not to be confused with the later compilation although the track can also be found on the compilation. Meddle best represented the metamorphosis from strange short songs to the more deeply psychedelic influences being laid down on vinyl by them more than Obscured by Clouds, it’s forerunner, did. Look up this track, then prepare yourself as iL Dottori suggests (of course a spliff may also help if that is your poison) and settle down to be totally entranced. This track caused me to purchase THREE copies of the vinyl due to my worshipping at its altar when I was a single man and consequently wearing out the groove. Two young ladies with whom I had what can be described as “fulfilling relationships” at that time similarly found that track very stirring - oh what happy memories, readily prompted by enjoying once more that fine track. And now back to the semi-real world that we find ourselves occupying today. The sky is 6/8ths clear with light high level cloud in places, in fact ideal for a good walk before the temperature rises later in the day. The postage stamp lawn is showing signs of being parched so may require a sprinkling after watering my herb patch. This will also help a pair of blackbirds who are feeding a brood of chicks as it will bring their food to the surface. My pharmacy has notified me that monthly medications are available for collection. My monthly submission of gas and electric meter readings is due. Her Ladyship’s stock of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc is getting to reorder levels. I need to get the rough timber to complete my tomato trough and acquire two grow bags. I shall therefore leave The Prison today. Having watched an Irish lady who was Professor of Immunology at the Max Plank Institute expound on the similarities between seasonal flu peaks and WuFlu and the duration of global flu cycles, albeit the latter seems to be a new mutation from previous SARS type viruses, I will ensure I maintain a decent level of zinc and Vitamins C and D. Hydro chloroquine seems to be beneficial in countering this bug if taken in the early stages of symptoms too, she gave evidence from an MD with a large practice of Seniors in New York to support that claim. I am beginning to wonder if there is an element of governments seeing an opportunity for introducing more Draconian state control and surveillance as a result of this? Would our Swiss consultant like to contribute? Now it is time for me to take cover from those who disagree with my PF suggestion and who support a longer lockdown from which it will be even harder for our economy to recover. You may wish to Baz me by the short and curlies and string me up but we do live in a free world at the moment . Be careful and watch out for rampaging lerts.

Please forgive my failing to recognise your event today in an earlier post Rick, have a good one anyway.

Good morning from NEHerts where the day dawned with some hazy cloud almost five hours ago but that cloud cover has since increased. How do I know? Well the bane of older men’s existences reared it’s head a little before 4am and, having lowered the reservoir, I thought I might see if I could grab a few images of Jupiter. I did but there was some haze so I expect the pictures will have something of an ethereal quality about them. How pleasant to see the range of topics covered over the last few hours! As an engineering student in the mid 60’s, guessing sticks were very much in use. Mine was a Fabre Castell unit in a delicate shade of eau-de-nil that included black, gold and red text and markings depending on which scale was being used. This device was sadly lost when my parents moved house whilst I was on a particularly long trip on an oil tanker. I never saw the need to replace it as I had subsequently bought a “scientific calculator”. I am fascinated to read the lists of choice albums shared amongst us. I have what I think is a very eclectic taste with compositions covering a period of almost 400 years and in many genres. I have never been that keen on British folk music, ballet or operas - just as I readily admit many would find no enjoyment in post-WW2 jazz, something that I like. The curmudgeon in me now finds today’s “artists” difficult to enjoy. I do not like a person chanting in monotones against a drum and bass background, nor the very plastic offerings wherein the same phrase is endlessly repeated- lyrics should have a purpose in my mind. A further grouse relates to the several who are unable to compose something unique but choose instead to destroy some work of an earlier artist. My so-called Top Ten would include “classical” pieces by RVW, Bruch, Holst and Elgar, at least a couple of “prog-rock” albums from PF, Steely Dan and others, definitely some Eagles, some Simon and Garfunkel, some Bob Dylan, some “cool” jazz - Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, Under Milk Wood Suite by Stan Tracey, some soul blues (possibly Dusty in Memphis) and finally one or two compilations so I can cheat to get in a wider range of styles and artists - heading that list might well be an album that includes tracks by the delightful Ms Ronstadt called FM. As you can see, without a slide rule I don’t know what 10 means On the cards for today is - well not much different from other days! Lawn was cut yesterday so will wait until later in the week for it’s next trim, some thought will be applied to the next online shopping list (delivery booked for Thursday). In another fun-filled evening, we took part in a quiz with my son-in-law’s wider family involving seven households. The quizmaster had done an outstanding job in the range of questions he had selected and in how he presented them to us, a real bar-raising exercise - and we managed a second place tie. That means someone else is tasked to create next Saturday’s quiz. As for culinary requirements, I might just haul out a nice piece of beef and briefly show it to the griddle pan, or then again WE may just use up what is lying around. There is a bottle of a rich Italian Zinfandel that needs dealing with later. I am inspired to dig out some music from the lists of others whilst I consider edits on photos taken earlier and certainly my legs must be made to move alternating one in front of another until a couple of miles of sole material has been removed from some sturdy footwear, carefully avoiding getting near to other humans in the process of course. If the walk goes well, I shall not seize up this day. I hope that my posts have only Informed, caused a smile or perhaps to think. They were and are never written with the intention of causing deliberate offence so, if any offence has been caused, I do apologise. With that, I wish you all well until later.

I worked in the food industry from 1980 to 2015, covering dairies, slaughterhouses, processing plants and vegetable packers in addition to brewing, distilling and soft drinks operators. For all the hysteria about Trump’s chlorinated chickens, may I inform you that the UK standard for final rinse water in a dairy bottling plant was a minimum of 0.5ppm of available chlorine, achieved by adding sodium hypochlorite (bleach). The UK’s chicken processors have for years used a 1-2ppm available chlorine solution for general washing of the equipment that carries carcasses and as a spray separating the “dirty” end (slaughtering, de-feathering - a process in itself using sodium hydroxide - and disembowelling) from cutting and packing. Salad and vegetable washers use water treated to contain 1-2ppm of a different “sanitiser”, hydrogen peroxide in the form of peroxyacetic acid. Hydrogen peroxide is of course known to many women as a hair bleach. Much of the chicken used in fast food outlets or in processed foods is generally produced in the Far East, processed there and shipped over here. That is because it is simply cheaper to do that rather than use raw material produced to British and or EU standards and clearly that was and remains a legal way of doing business. Disinfection in the Far East involves washing everything in sodium hypochlorite although I am unsure about how the levels of free chlorine are either monitored or controlled. It is believed that Covid-19 first appeared in what are called “wet markets” in China, places where anything and everything is regarded as food and hygiene rules we expect simply don’t exist. Where poverty exists, you are unlikely to find a Food Standards Agency or a Health & Safety Executive. We could of course address this by adopting the wider French way, where you buy the locally produced seasonal raw material in your market or shop and do the processing yourself! Whilst it is very fashionable to blame Trump for everything wrong in the world today, our food industry is certainly NOT without fault and the numerous uninformed comments on that results in wild hypocrisy which simply isn’t addressing the shortcomings in the UK food chain. Washing carcasses in a mild sanitising solution is not as potentially damaging to our health as chemically curing meats - a process in which those chemicals remain in the final product offered for sale. Even salt, widely used In the food industry, is there as a preservative but comprises in part Chloride, derived from, you’ve guessed it, Chlorine!

Good morning from a grey, cool NEHerts. When commanded by The Bladder to arise just before 4am, I took a circuitous route back to my pit / scratcher / bed that involved me looking out of a south facing window. There in the heavens was a bright conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and (not visible to the human eye) Pluto. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I found I CBA to get dressed and erect telescope and photographic equipment so went back to bed but then spend a long time considering the error of my ways before drifting off again for ninety minutes further sleep. Responding to the discussions on various minority groupings pushing their agendas, we should not forget that last weekend we commemorated the end of The European phase of a huge conflict that had its roots in the behaviour of a small group of zealots, in their case opposed to another small religious grouping. We do not seem to learn from history! Our society as a whole remains very tolerant, even accepting the fact the small groups invariably exploit such tolerance as a form of weakness. We see today several small groupings pushing their own agendas under the guise of inequality or protecting the planet. As far as the food warriors go, may I point out that life expectancy has increased significantly over the past two centuries, in part but not wholly due to the availability of food to the wider part of society. That some find preparing and cooking too much of a PITA and choose to routinely gorge on pre-prepared foods no doubt accounts for some of the medical conditions around .that may result in a decline in life expectancy. The past two millennia at least have seen how our bodies have adapted to how we take in and process foodstuffs too. My tolerant view is that I am happy to let the Vegan followers continue down their own path but please, in exchange for my tolerance, stop shoving your agenda down the throats (pun intended) of the rest of us! Bacon sardines and egg banjos will remain in my diet. We were part of a Zoom meeting last night involving nine couples. Whilst pleasant enough, it highlighted the fact that our group (and not just limited to that group) should show courtesy to anyone speaking and not butt in - when four people shout at the same time, nothing can be heard. We have another such session with our extended family this evening for a quiz and once more there will be much raising of voices. Dulcet tones, my a**e! Onwards and upwards, lawn to deal with, decision on what we will eat tonight will be promulgated downwards no doubt at some time and then I will know more about my duties for the day. Now for some non-ersatz coffee in a small cup, sufficient to get my metabolism kick started. Be good, stay safe and keep an eye out for stray lerts.

Well, its good afternoon from me but nothing from him. "We" did head off to the purveyor of meat and pre-chickens where some of the latter were acquired to allow a decent breakfast on another day. The home-made burgers also on offer using steak offcuts were also simply too good to resist. From there, I took Her Ladyship in a generally northerly direction towards Sandy where there is a growers' outlet from where I have previously managed to get local and very fresh salad and similar produce. They also sell various garden "stuff" although I was not in the market for such. I found that I was not alone and would have had to wait approximated 80 metres, at which the powers that be decided we should retrace our route. Consequently I shall be making some coleslaw to satisfy her demands and she will be forced to eat real lettuce (rather than the specially selected mixed leaf collection washed in a lightly chlorinated bath before being placed in a sealed bag and offered at a suitably marked up price) that is normally her wont. Thank you Stationmaster for your kind comments on my image / avatar. This was obviously a pre-WuFlu image I took when the very expanded family (16 of us) were in the Dominican Republic to celebrate someone's 50th birthday. It was taken at sunset from the beach of our luxurious gated community and has not been photo-shopped in any way, just cropped a little to position the components where I thought they combined best. Never missing a trick to turn a few dollars, the little pier and gazebo is used by the resort as the site for marriage ceremonies. The apparent affluence within the resort is embarrassingly vastly different from the shacks and squalor the local populace endure. I shall not repeat that trip!

Doctor KZ has assessed you symptoms online and can tell you it is nothing serious. You are suffering from exmare necessitum, an illness afflicting sailors who have been stuck in the same berth for too long - more commonly known as Pay-off Blues or The Channels. Get well soon, sorry I can’t offer you a telegram that instructs the master to discharge you in the UK to visit you granddaughter.

The sun shines and should raise the temperature fairly soon. I have just been asked what I intend doing today! The grass can wait until tomorrow but I must give some thought to the three images I have to submit under the topic of “Distance and Isolation” for our next photographic competition. An overbridge on a straight section of the ECML might be appropriate for one so I can capture in the foreground apower line isolator and further the disappearing lines. I am as yet undecided if I should include a train or not, currently leaning towards “not” as that would hinder the idea of isolation. On my journey, I must buy some eggs and produce to top up the salad drawer within the refrigerator as a number of normal items are currently unavailable chez nous. The annual fleecing of KZ by providers of motor insurance happens around this time every year, it being due by 5th June. On Monday, my existing insurers, a brokerage, offered to renew my policy at an unwarranted increase of 20+%. I therefore looked online via one of the many comparison websites and found the same cover could be obtained from a reputable provider for a decrease of 15% so I replied to the broker suggesting that they were way out and were jeopardising their sale of vehicle as well as household insurance to us. On Wednesday, the same comparison website for unexplained reasons suggested that their best offer to me would be £90 more than their searching had uncovered previously. Yesterday, having received no response from the broker and fearing an oncoming hike in insurance premium, I logged onto the best offer from a well known and reputable provider that I had seen on Monday, filled in all the details and hey presto, the price was that which had been displayed on Monday. Payment has been made and I have the e-docs to cover us until this time next year. As for the broker and the price comparison websites, Peace and love, peace and love (unless you are selling vehicle insurance)! Stay sane, lert and safe everyone, seizing what our dreaming Leeds-based missionary leaves for us.

I used to grow it when we had more space dedicated to food production and I still enjoy it, just as I do the tops of Brussels Sprouts plants in season. TBH I would be hard pressed to name a vegetable or fruit grown in the UK that I don’t like. I suppose that has a bearing on the notches in the belt.