The White Rabbit

ION, Posh... my dictionary says: [adjective] smart, stylish, first rate; [verb] to smarten up, perhaps from slang 'posh money' (i.e. a dandy). The thesaurus lists: smart, elegant, ornate, stylish, fancy, fashionable, exclusive, select, classy, high class, rich, opulent, luxurious, up market, top drawer, grand, lavish, sumptuous, plush, ritzy, swanky, swish, upper crust, upper class, upmarket, aristocratic, la-di-da, fancy, genteel. Opposite: vulgar. Like many words, I guess it's shades of Humpty Dumpty linguistics, the precise meaning is often in the eye of the beholder mind of the speaker. It's not a word I use very often and not about food. 'Expensive', 'quality', 'intricate'/'involved'/'complicated'* dishes ... well ... perhaps but I'd probably be more likely to think of it when considering other people or locations/neighbourhoods. Maybe the sort of nouveau riche artificial characters a friend of mine calls pretentious prats? (A useful phrase which I have unashamedly borrowed). I think for me, 'posh' is a version of vulgarity by an ill judged OTT effort to put on unjustified airs and graces? And sheds - I still haven't got one! * e.g. souffles, meringues for me, I'm sure we all have our culinary 'betes noires'?

Evening awl, RMW has had a few wobbles for me over the last few days, duplicated pages, slow or no page-loading and the intermittent refusal to rate posts. It seems to be a known issue so I didn't raise it, I'm sure it's being worked on. On the subject of plants in pots (sort of!) I saw https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/fed-up-isle-of-man-politician-plants-flowers-in-potholes-in-protest-at-disastrous-state-of-high-street-672453 earlier. It's not just Fraggle Rock, some roads near me are seriously dangerous as most drivers are driving round the holes - but some are about six inches deep FFS! Hit them at more than walking pace and I reckon there's a high chance something will break. Residential streets, well, the cynical could argue they are useful, slow cars down but holes that size in A & B roads? Yes, rant.... with all the rain we've had lately, I'll take my plastic duck along to one or two of the quiet ones and see about a snap.

One thing I've noticed about the recent food pictures - a lot of the cutlery is upside down. Irrespective of whether they show left or right handed/pawed subjects, the forks are pointing towards the diner. Is this a coded message that, in the creator's opinion, the subject is guilty of culinary crimes and his 'personal weapon' has been turned to face him, like a sword at a court martial verdict? Or is it a well observed trait of the subject - i.e. Uncle Rufus liked flicking his olives from a pizza at the other diners too?

How much? 😮 ION, our local garden centre sells some pots as frost proof. OK, probably England frost rather than Antarctic frost but we've had three outside for a few years and they are still intact and no visible cracks. It is unusual as it doesn't have a cafe - just good plants. The centre in the article il D quotes is not far from us, less than half an hour's drive away but I don't think I've been in. I think good food should appeal to most of the senses, visually appealing, smell nice and taste nice. In some cases, possibly sound nice but apart from certain breakfast cereals, I can't think of any foods off-hand that might comfort one's hearing. (Any offers anyone? 😉) I don't go overboard for 'artistic' food but appreciate the chefs giving some thought to presentation, if only because they take a pride in their work/product.

My proposition is that it's a different preposition. Dishes (supposedly) made by shepherds or by cottagers?

Morning all, Not an ER today, broken night. Maybe too many nightmares about t'fella near the castle of Aughhh... ? I saw https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/mar/17/tom-kerridge-easter-recipes-shoulder-of-lamb-onion-tart-and-a-hot-cross-bun-bread-and-butter-pudding for those who may be fans or are toying with ideas for later this month. I've seen articles on that. For example, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/15/the-big-idea-why-we-need-a-new-definition-of-junk-food and https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/oct/10/addiction-to-ultra-processed-food-affects-14-of-adults-global-study-shows Also, perhaps my thought for the day, something else to consider? https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/mar/06/people-who-eat-breakfast-high-in-refined-carbs-rated-less-attractive-study-finds I accept I could do more but I do try and eat food without artificial chemicals and which hasn't been highly processed. It's not always easy, for instance I use free range eggs but they are almost always commercially produced rather than 'farmyard free range'. The latter are a long way away from the commercial ones in taste and colour. And you can (almost) bounce them off concrete! Unfortunately my first supplier died, my second emigrated and my third had a nocturnal visit from Mr Fox and didn't want to restock. We have a covenant which says we're not allowed to keep poultry in the garden (a common one in England) and while I could bribe the neighbours with fresh eggs, should a Mr Cockerel start greeting the dawn with the typical enthusiasm of his kind, that goodwill would vanish like morning mist in the summer. Time to stop waxing lyrical and go and peel the potatoes...

Nope... 'fraid not. Old cousin 'blue-eyes' is in a different league to those amateurs.

Aye, that's him. One of the more ... um ... 'assertive' ... members of the family.

No problem - I recognise clickbait 90% of the time... I'll just pass the names to my cousin, y'know, the one who lives in a cave near Camelot. He's a bit keen on 'rabbit rights' and has an unfortunate medical condition which makes certain teeth grow faster than usual... medical advice is to grind them down regularly ... despite various (PC) suggestions from the NHS, he's found the most effective method is to ... erm ... 'chomp' on metal or composite materials. I asked him if it was really necessary for someone to be in between the two layers and he said something about sandwiches and fresh meat which made me flinch... Relatives, ehh? Makes my ex* look positively gentle and forgiving. Select the text and click on that icon and that should do it. * In case anyone's forgotten, that was the Easter Bunny. I have recently gone into hiding and am tapping away at a typewriter for a 'shoot and tell' novel. I blame those publishers for making me an offer I couldn't refuse... standby for a ratings war with Rick for the summer holiday market!

Surely pie>brandy>chips>peas? Though TBQH (and at the risk of going on Bear's list) I could quite happily do without the chips! That's disgusting! Olives on a pepperoni pizza? Ugh!

Of course one potential accompaniment to pies is ... baked beans! Teasing aside, I tend to favour peas - mushy or otherwise - but for me at least, it really does depend on what's in the pie. Sometimes roast parsnip and/or carrot, in the green line, I have been known to have leeks, cabbage and cucumber. Though not all at once. If it's a fish or chicken pie, then a well-chosen salad could well be selected.

Morning all, Very grey here but not much other weather. Perhaps a slothful day? On the subject of pies (and pasties and 'stews with lids'), mine tend to be rectangular. Mainly due to laziness or practicality - most of my baking containers are rectangular. I have a couple of ramekins and a muffin tray but these are rather small for pies. I could do pasties as semicircles but find it's a bit fiddly with cutting the shapes out and then re-rolling the spare pastry into a new sheet. I know, I know, not much of an excuse but it's simpler to use rectangles, which form square pasties. Likewise, my scones are very often square(ish!). With a few weird shapes reminiscent of modern art! They are the ones which tend to get scoffed straight from the oven and the square/round ones kept for public viewing/consumption. Some strange dreams last night, for once I remembered them. It wasn't worth it! Time to go and try to do something useful... TTFN.

Morning awl, To borrow a phrase from @grandadbob, another day in the fast lane. Hope he's having a few days off for the right reasons (possibly afloat?) and not the wrong ones. Welcome to @OwenTheSignal - I like Ivor too. So much that the awl might be pricking its ears up shortly... (The longer you read ERs, the more 'in jokes' you'll pick up on). 😉 ION ... err, um, really exciting times in this burrow, staying in for parcel, waiting for others to get back to me, watching the raindrops roll down the window and wondering about the alternate lyrics to Sacha Distel (you know, the ones about Italian waiters and Dracula*). Then where all the birds have gone and why the snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils are all out at the same time rather than in sequence. Carpe diem everyone, stay dry and warm if you can. * Not PC (though told to me by a PC!) and Andy wouldn't approve...

M'lud, may I advert you to certain evidence* which I submit is relevant to this case: Contrary to popular belief, this 'wee scrap' was not caused by disagreements over government but by the North Yorkshire S4 Group deciding they had had enough of the West Riding EM Society getting all the finescale exhibition invites. Perhaps tame by Geordie standards - only two mass graves were required - the Battle of Naseby Moor made a lasting impression within the local community. A spokesman for the OO9 Society attempted to explain, "Narrow rails, broad minds. Broader rails, narrower minds". He promptly received invites from all factions** to inspect the inside of a cannon barrel to check it's bore. I am now going into hiding for fear of the awl, Debs has been sighted recently... * Courtesy of CC's Time Machine (patent pending). ** Don't worry, I won't mention the Judean People's Front ... err, oh dear, sorry...

I'm on flowers this year, using the conservatory as the greenhouse blew down in the gales. Nearly through a fence but we managed to stop it just in time. Alyssum, aubretia, antirrhinums, campanula, cornflowers and lobelia.

Safest to take the battery out. Some mobiles continue to 'transmit' even when they are 'switched off'. Discussed a few years ago by Mr. Holmes: https://classic-literature.co.uk/a-c-doyle-the-valley-of-fear-sherlock-holmes/ - he used Bradshaw. One false start, as it was a new year/edition. He drops 100% of his pancakes...

Ah, go on, go on, go on... Careful now... that's one of my muddlin' ambitions and before we know where we are the awl will be saying, "down with this sort of thing"... Windoze 10? I'm still on Windows 7. But then I do like to make things last. If only to really P off the commercial lot which want to extract as much £ as possible for as shoddy a product as possible. Serve the b'sterds right... Morning afternoon evening all, Another day disgracefully late on parade. I got a little sidetracked, maybe a tad more than a custard tart to a Grizz or a LDC to a polybear. Not by food - this time! - there's a bit going on at the moment and some days feel like I'm juggling more skittles than my co-ordination can handle. Still, things worked out OK in the end. Though I too have forgotten the Grand Prix retiming. Kettle filled and will be switched on shortly for a hot water bottle to warm the chair.

Evenin' all, Hideously late on parade or sycophantically early? I'll let you decide. Sparky's visit meant I didn't get my morning perusal of RMW, so 24 or so hours' worth of posts to catch up on. A few bits done while we were without electric, boring minor repair work generally. A few seeds sown for the kitchen windowsill salad solarium. One set of bookshelves from Oakworld assembled, I wasn't impressed. Other brands have been better quality, cheaper and easier to put together. Still, in ER speak, we won't look a free field ornament in the mush. And it's got some books out of their piles. I wondered if we were going to get buried under those piles earlier, they shook a little when a certain low flying helicopter in grey came past, it was very low. Rattled the saucers a tad too... read the sticker in the rear window, 'How's my flying? Call ***********'. It must have been all those messages spelt out in daffodils on our lawn. Must write bigger next year... Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Hapus.

Evening all. Mixed fortunes today, some bits done in the garden and on the house repairs. A sparky due for tomorrow to hopefully fix a few problems there. But still no news from the doctor (ticking clock with nasty consequences if he doesn't pull his finger out PDQ). Some progress made on admin. And an acquaintance has had a baby today, cue comments about leap years, saving money on pressies, aging slowly etc.. The parents are having second thoughts about names ...

For me there was always something special about them. Two 'good blokes' as well as some cracking TV and culinary inspiration. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/feb/29/genuinely-groundbreaking-how-the-hairy-bikers-dave-myers-redefined-masculinity-on-british-tv gives a view on why, how and friendship. Thoughts with them and families.

I would speculate there's many triggers but some of the physiological changes with growing older may well be a cause. In a highly unscientific survey, about half the people I've known who have talked about sleeping have said their patterns have changed as they got older, half didn't. 'Older' I think was anytime in their 50s, 60s & 70s. In women it often coincided/followed from their menopause. In my case the problems were caused by surgery - I used to sleep (usually very soundly) on my front and now I can't. The body hasn't adapted after a few years, I doubt it will now. Often the problem is mid-night wakefulness, potentially like yours. I've sometimes likened it to a sailor being on a watch system - a few hours asleep then the body comes awake suddenly and is most insistent it's going to be awake for a few hours even though I'm tired and there's nothing to keep me awake. Then (usually just as everyone else is about to start getting up) I fall asleep again and if I'm lucky, will have a few more hours. If not, it's zombie time for that day. Have you tried the doctor? I wouldn't be hopeful but it could be worth a try. I'm sceptical because with me they tried all sorts of things without any success and kept wanting to put me on tranquilisers. I've seen what they did to three people I know and there was no way I was going down that route - better to die than live like that. Other opinions are available of course but - based on evidence rather than emotion - that was my judgement. With me (and a medical person could probably suggest plenty of other non-chemical options) some basic self-nursing sometimes helps. A change of mattress (and sometimes type of mattress), then at the relevant time, hot water bottles, hot (non-alcoholic) drinks, half an hour standing up and looking out of the bedroom window. They seem to have made a difference - not enough for the problem not to still be serious and limiting but enough to change it from gruesome enough for me to be incapable of most things or contemplating suicide. Two common problems with pumping bilges is the light in the bathroom can trigger 'it's time to get oop and on with the day' reactions, and if the tap water's cold then washing hands usually shocks me out of snoozy-mode. If I can go through it on auto-pilot then I have a better chance of getting back to zeds. My wierdest dream was playing three way chess with the Pope and Putin. I think the unicorn won...

Or (between gritted teeth) "lessons have been learnt".

I think that have been more due to the naughty Danes?

One - a bit nit-picking and hypothetical - query: with autotrain operation, wouldn't the engine and coach buffers be hard against each other to stop the coach bashing against the loco when braking or accelerating, gradients etc.? I know running a model like that could well be tricky because of the tighter than prototype curves we have to contend with but (as an out of ticket operations person on a heritage line) that leapt out at me. We never operated autotrains though and I've never got to a line which does when they were running, I know the coupling arrangements are a bit different, so wondered whether that would also apply to buffering. No offence or criticism to Kevin intended though, if I could model a scene like that, autotrain couplings wouldn't be high on my priority list. Just asking out of curiosity. Not for a friend - this time!