The Lurker

I got hailed on when walking home after dropping the car off for Mrs Lurker to use on the afternoon school run. I didn't see but think I heard the skylarks so maybe they will manage to nest in among the sheep and cows. at least there is now less risk of a dog disturbing them.

Speaking of cars, mine is "Portimao blue". It's surprisingly good at hiding the dirt. It too has a lane change control that actually steers you back into the lane if you have not indicated. This is irritating if you have to move around an obstacle on a normal road (like a parked car), or a bus stop, where indicating might be confused with wanting to turn right. I could turn it off but have chosen not to. Thus it is a BMW that has working indicators....

17 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Some of the small supermarkets seem to have security in the evening. Though some of them don’t look very “secure”. There was one at the small Sainsbury once who clearly decided to tail me. It was so funny I went up and down the grocery aisle a few times while he attempted to be be stealthy. Do they get set exercises in following on security NVQ courses?

There’s one who hovers near the small wine section in our local Waitrose. He shuffles nearer if you pick up a bottle to read the back label.

10 hours ago, BoD said:

 

It is only ever ER’s where this happens.

 

Is our allocated share of server space full?   (of ******)?

Have the admins shifted us to 64Mb dial up to save the rest of RMweb?

Do the computer generated images offend the computer generated guardians of bandwidth usage?

 

Have we overstayed our welcome?

 

Or has the Awl detected too much forbidden  info and decided that Enough is Enough?

14 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

... It was probably wishful thinking, but I thought I heard a skylark from the field at the top of the road ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2024/04/07/enquiry-restarts-this-week-in-northern-ireland-st-pirans-hermit-crab-skylarks/

Which reminds me I must go to the one area in this part of the Boring Borough where I have seen and heard skylarks. It was on a farm which had been used for gravel extraction in the 70’s but which had been left as scrubland since. However last year the farmer fenced off his land apart from the footpath through the middle and now has cattle on one side and sheep on the other. I fear the skylarks may not stay long there this year.

One positive for Jamie Oliver recipes is that they tend to work; not all TV chef recipes do - the Hairy Bikers ones need more adaptation. And if you’re not too worried about total authenticity but want something tasty, then they’re handy . Better still, a lot are freely available online from his website so no need to buy his books!

Not quite our garden but one of the local parks - the Glades, Lamorbey. I think this is an Egyptian Goose and chicks this morning 

this looks a good idea.

https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/south-africa-the-franschhoek-wine-tram/

When global warming has taken hold, will we have winetram lines through the wine country of the Kentish weald (miraculously re-utilising the track bed of the Hawkhurst branch)? OK so the latter part of that is very unlikely....

Best wishes to Dave Hunt

10 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

One of the reasons “The Church” (aka The Catholic Church) was so successful is that it is basically press-ganged local deities into its structure.

 

There you are, a happy little heathen worshipping Banba – goddess of the land, agriculture, and fertility, then along come the Christian missionaries, up goes the ecclesiastical scaffolding and a short while later Banba has a new name - say St Barbara,  a shiny new place of worship and a new PR firm, but otherwise same old, same old.

 

One of Western Europe’s favourite religious holidays is Christmas - which started out (more or less) as a co-opting Saturnalia before moving over the centuries to a (mostly) Christian religious festival. However, nowadays with the sky-high commercialisation and commoditisation of what was once a religious festival, surely it’s time to return Christmas to its religious roots and resurrect Saturnalia for the fun and games?

 

Not only would we be able to enjoy self-indulgent behaviour (eating, drinking and spending too much) without the niggles of conscience about misusing a holy festival, but the food would be better too.

 

An authentic Saturnalia celebration would feature roasted pig and sausages, winter root vegetables fried in oil, fresh fruits, nuts and all sorts of booze and plenty of it. Hmmm, roast pig, sausages and parsnip chips or tired, dry turkey and Brussel Sprouts - no contest really.

Not just Christianity either- the Romans did it too, and some strands of Islam too. And I am sure there are other examples too.

I have been busy at work and no real time to post here; but I did manage to find time to go to Akoko, a Michelin starred West African restaurant.

i have never really had West African cuisine and I doubt you could say this was typical of Nigeria and Senegal but a lot if it was delicious- a real spicy theme running through it.

not cheap but definitely fancy,

hete ate the first two courses of the seven or eight from the tasting menu; on the left was some kind of fermented rice with chicken skin and on the right an oyster in a spicy soup

The wine was from Crete- another first

Parakeets investigate the bird feeder this morning:

50 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

Too many UK supermarkets don’t even have a staffed checkout. It’s self-serve or nothing. 
 

If I have to shop in one of those - or if I am caught unaware by being somewhere different - I always do something to ensure a staff member has to come and help. 
 

Like deliberately placing my stuff in the wrong spot and triggering the “unexpected item in the bagging area” warning. 
 

When our (then local) M&S food hall removed their staffed tills I made a point of asking the manager what their policy was on serving disabled customers. The response was uninspiring. “If they’re blind they’ll have someone with them and if they’re deaf they can still see the instructions on the self-service tills”. When asked about autistic customers whose needs - including relying on the familiar - might not be immediately apparent the response was “artistic customers are always welcome so long as it’s not graffiti art”.  
 

A letter was sent to M&S Head Office. Five years later I still await a reply. 
 

I will never use a self-serve checkout when there is a staffed one. I am not paid to do their job, I do not receive a discount or any other benefit for doing their job for them and we need jobs, not bums forced by machines to fatten on sofas whilst getting state handouts, in this country. 

I always use self service because it is generally miles quicker- there’s always someone who wants to painfully count out cash - I mean, who uses that these days?

slightly tongue in cheek of course because my main shop is delivered to the door by Ocado and I use supermarkets for odds and ends.

10 hours ago, Tony_S said:

Why isn’t the ace of spades the ace of shovels?

Spade = sword or spear IIRC. But you probably knew that anyway!

but on the plus side I saw some good photos that I would not otherwise have seen!

I hadn't realised Casey Jones was a TF brand. A visit to the one in Charing Cross was a treat to my self on days when I used to come up to town as a teenager to spend birthday cash etc at places like Virgin records or Games Workshop....!

5 hours ago, Mike Bellamy said:

 

What an amazing garden they have created there - so much more than you would expect from a 'Vicarage' - but even the house is so much bigger than the average rural vicarage. Must wind up the I-Player later to watch the programme Glorious Gardens from Above which was on BBC2 earlier this morning.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04t6tdz/glorious-gardens-from-above-13-norfolk

 

Link below to East Ruston for anyone visiting Mr Q's part of East Norfolk. Looking at the map I would therefore guess that Ben (and TheQ) live somewhere in an overgrown garden between Happisburgh and Sea Palling - perhaps near Eccles - in which case several ERs enjoy your cakes !!😃

 

https://eastrustonoldvicarage.co.uk/

 

EDIT - changed the BBC link - which also includes Bressingham and the Broads so even more reasons to watch it as we plan to be in that area sometime over the summer.

.

Having followed the link to the Vicarage website I must say it reminds me of Sissinghurst.

Well I must say iD’s meal looks superb.

not sure what I am doing up still but at least I can report I managed to mow the lawn earlier.

5 hours ago, Tony_S said:

We are having pizza for lunch. 
Aditi’s cousin opened a cafe in Delhi selling European food like pizza and quiche. I think  originally it was just “something to do” but the business is doing well and she has had to employ managers and more staff to cope. 

That reminds me of the “Goodness Gracious Me” sketch where the Indians go for a European, are rude to the waiter and order the blandest item on the menu…. Very sharply observed.

(Some) Sidcup line Cannon Street trains still go via Lewisham so use the crossover. Some Sidcup line Charing Cross trains go that way too but use the Tanners Hill Flydown. There are also Victoria (or Blackfriars) trains from the Bexleyheath line that use the crossing in the other direction

6 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

We had to send a photo of a rash rather than having it inspected in person.

When I was a student I caught German measles (not for the first time). Apparently it was such a typical case that they asked if they could take a photo so that student doctors could practice identifying it. Apologies to any former Leeds student doctor who has had that experience.....

As the doctor told me, "that's a Theakston's Old Peculiar strain, not your regular Tetley's pishwater".

Seeing your pictures of Bratislava’s trams reminds that I once read that prior to WW1 it was possible to catch a tram from the then Pressburg all the way to Vienna. It’s not all that far (30km IIRC) and back then it was all part of the Habsburg domains, so no borders.