Completed a poster order for Scotland today,so no rest for the wicked,we had a visit from Mrs and Mr farmer joe,yesterday ,it seems that bird watchers have been flocking to the area to see the snowy eagret that has taken up residence,I have seen it a number of times near the little house on the prairie,and was able to recognise it because they are numerous in Florida,it seems it is a rarity in this region.
The weather has been springlike again and is forecast good for the weekend,so we shall probably get a few visitors to the area,especially the motor bike fraternity,who like to speed around our relatively traffic free roads.
Not much else to report so signing out. Graham
Friday 27 February 2009
Wednesday 25 February 2009
Moderate drinking down under
Today Le blade has been much amused reading the blog from down under, during a visit to the little house today,though he did not like Sam the pom's shirt,MM is criticising others for the very thing he is guilty of, preaching! its good to see the girls are having a drink in moderation ably coached by Michael,much better to wake with a headache knowing the reason for it.
We tried some scrumpy cider today in a jug,it was quite palatable and the ladies said a little strong,non organic of course.
I was arranging a trip to florida for this weekend but in the end we decided against it,as it all seems too much hassle,and spring is now on its way with the buds on the trees and crocus and snowdrops flowering,along with the days getting longer.
Genealogy is the buzz word here on the prairie at the moment,and Sheila is well into ancestry research at the moment,it seems they are all long term inhabitants of Sheffield in her family history,my own is not so stable,in fact mine have moved a lot and Gina thinks my grandma on my dads side comes from a gypsy family as they were itinerant agricultural workers.
This morning we drove up to the outskirts of cleethorpes(home of the club trip) to shop at Tesco.I bought two pair of expensive jeans and Sheila bought memory stick for the computer which could be something of a trial coupling it in.
Thats it for now and it only remains for me to wish the ladies and Michael happy drinking. Graham
We tried some scrumpy cider today in a jug,it was quite palatable and the ladies said a little strong,non organic of course.
I was arranging a trip to florida for this weekend but in the end we decided against it,as it all seems too much hassle,and spring is now on its way with the buds on the trees and crocus and snowdrops flowering,along with the days getting longer.
Genealogy is the buzz word here on the prairie at the moment,and Sheila is well into ancestry research at the moment,it seems they are all long term inhabitants of Sheffield in her family history,my own is not so stable,in fact mine have moved a lot and Gina thinks my grandma on my dads side comes from a gypsy family as they were itinerant agricultural workers.
This morning we drove up to the outskirts of cleethorpes(home of the club trip) to shop at Tesco.I bought two pair of expensive jeans and Sheila bought memory stick for the computer which could be something of a trial coupling it in.
Thats it for now and it only remains for me to wish the ladies and Michael happy drinking. Graham
Saturday 21 February 2009
Hair raising tales from down under
I have been quite amused by the antics of the Saif bros. down under,and as me and Ian are known in the village as the chuckle brothers(I'm the good looking one) I think Montana Mike and Sam the pom could have the title of upside down chuckle brothers,it seems that there has been some amateur hairdressing taking place on their holiday down under,and the result was a little lob sided,and caused merriment to the brothers but not their respective wives who were perpetrator and victim,and presumably much diplomacy was required to calm the situation,I remember Alfredo my former barber being a little upset when I asked for my hair long on one side and short on the other,he asked" why do you want it like that?"my reply was "you always cut it like that",a mistake as he had a cut throat razor in his hand at the time.
The weather is quite pleasant today,in fact positively heat wave after the recent cold spell,and the days are getting longer so it may be we don't get a holiday this year as we only holiday in winter .
I tried to sell line dancing tickets at the bowling,but was not surprised to have no takers,as most of the bowlers are not in the first flush of youth,and hardly marathon running material,in fact three of them have just had hip replacement surgery,and maybe cowboy boots would not be helpful in their case.
Wildlife notes; the blue tits are checking out our nest boxes and seem to have decided on the front garden one,we have a variety of other birds around I think mainly for the hens left overs, Mr. Mole is still wreaking havoc in the back garden,and I have just relocated the traps in a further attempt to eradicate the chuff.
That's it for now looking forward to further amusing anecdotes from Australia, Graham
The weather is quite pleasant today,in fact positively heat wave after the recent cold spell,and the days are getting longer so it may be we don't get a holiday this year as we only holiday in winter .
I tried to sell line dancing tickets at the bowling,but was not surprised to have no takers,as most of the bowlers are not in the first flush of youth,and hardly marathon running material,in fact three of them have just had hip replacement surgery,and maybe cowboy boots would not be helpful in their case.
Wildlife notes; the blue tits are checking out our nest boxes and seem to have decided on the front garden one,we have a variety of other birds around I think mainly for the hens left overs, Mr. Mole is still wreaking havoc in the back garden,and I have just relocated the traps in a further attempt to eradicate the chuff.
That's it for now looking forward to further amusing anecdotes from Australia, Graham
Monday 16 February 2009
Montana goes to OZ
Poor Montana Mike,he is worried about his fitness training in Australia,he need not fear,there are two coaches ready and waiting to put him through the mill.
Lots of running and victoria bitter would be my guess at his schedule,and much verbal encouragement,GOOD LUCK! can't wait for the report.
Lots of running and victoria bitter would be my guess at his schedule,and much verbal encouragement,GOOD LUCK! can't wait for the report.
Friday 13 February 2009
Snow fun watching England
Snow has almost melted this morning ,though I spotted fox tracks in the front garden before the melt was over,they disappeared up the road to the north so hopefully it was just passing through.
The weather was almost spring like later today,on my way back from Louth I called at the village hall to the bowling club,but so far no news re Johns funeral,and I signed a card along with the others to send to his wife.
Montana Mike is still looking to convert all and sundry to his "religion" ie organic food,and as much non organic chocolate as you care to eat,poor boy can't get any takers here in England.
Tomorrow is coffee morning at the village hall,so we shall catch up with all the latest gossip,Le Blade will not be there as he is in Sheffield for the cup game against Hull,I fear another disappointing result for him.
England played in a friendly against Spain and were abysmal,so much for Don Fabio,though he did play almost a reserve team,I think he may be realising the enormity of the job,but on his wage what does he expect.
Thats it for now , Graham
The weather was almost spring like later today,on my way back from Louth I called at the village hall to the bowling club,but so far no news re Johns funeral,and I signed a card along with the others to send to his wife.
Montana Mike is still looking to convert all and sundry to his "religion" ie organic food,and as much non organic chocolate as you care to eat,poor boy can't get any takers here in England.
Tomorrow is coffee morning at the village hall,so we shall catch up with all the latest gossip,Le Blade will not be there as he is in Sheffield for the cup game against Hull,I fear another disappointing result for him.
England played in a friendly against Spain and were abysmal,so much for Don Fabio,though he did play almost a reserve team,I think he may be realising the enormity of the job,but on his wage what does he expect.
Thats it for now , Graham
Wednesday 11 February 2009
Mix up resolved
It looks as if the mix up was between the meaning of two words in Italian,conferire,to give,and tarifa charge,fortunately it has all been sorted by Piero in Turin,the outcome is that the fee is due to me,though I am sure I was not the guilty party in misconstruing the meaning.
meanwhile he is not enamoured of his portrait and in his gruff manner is threatening to clout me for making him so"brutto"ugly,when in fact I thought I had flattered him!my response to the threat was that he would have difficulty as I was not planning a visit just yet to his place,bravely I have invited him for a vacation here but only for a week,and he must bring his wife.
Had some bad news fromEdward at the bowling club,the bloke I partnered at my last game a couple of weeks ago has died of a blood clot,and such a nice bloke too,only 65 which these days is not old.
meanwhile he is not enamoured of his portrait and in his gruff manner is threatening to clout me for making him so"brutto"ugly,when in fact I thought I had flattered him!my response to the threat was that he would have difficulty as I was not planning a visit just yet to his place,bravely I have invited him for a vacation here but only for a week,and he must bring his wife.
Had some bad news fromEdward at the bowling club,the bloke I partnered at my last game a couple of weeks ago has died of a blood clot,and such a nice bloke too,only 65 which these days is not old.
Tuesday 10 February 2009
Machiavelli still alive and plotting in Italy
I have received another e mail from the Italian journalist saying it was all a mistake and she was doing a piece on the mine,(they mine talcum powder) anyway she says there was no charge for the inclusion and it was all a misunderstanding ,strangely enough I saved the e mail asking for payment,so my friend Piero will sort it out in Turin,peacefully of course,I have included a photo of the portrait I painted of him, rum looking cove isn't he?
I was looking at apartments in Liguria around La Spezia,where we took Gina and Dino when they were young,they are still very expensive,it was ever thus in Italy,though I have yet to see scenery to rival Tuscany,and the alpine valleys of chisone and others in the area near Turin,where incidently the "talc" mine is located,and you will also find the Juventus training ground in the valley along with the palatial residence of the Agnelli family,the founders of Fiat cars.
The weather here at the moment has little to recommend it,raining on and off,though le blade and me were harking back to last summer and concluded that it was pretty good for an English summer,I think it may have been the cider fuelled bike rides that clinched it,notice none of that time trialling rubbish that Montana Mike indulges in in Kansas ,le blade being something of an amateur historian,he is knowlegable about the area,and likes to visit churches and such,which I consider monuments to outdated superstition but he is less judgemental and looks on them as historical monuments,in one small churchyard we noticed a small number of star of david stones
which must be a lesson in co existance/non existance!
Sheila has gone to the hairdressers she is currently giving a trial ,so I am home alone ,until this afternoon when along with le blade I shall be disrupting proceedings at the village hall bowling.
,or as Mr. Broccoli calls it "old mens marbles",very disrespectful of him.
Still no winter holiday in sight so maybe it will be cancelled this year.
I was looking at apartments in Liguria around La Spezia,where we took Gina and Dino when they were young,they are still very expensive,it was ever thus in Italy,though I have yet to see scenery to rival Tuscany,and the alpine valleys of chisone and others in the area near Turin,where incidently the "talc" mine is located,and you will also find the Juventus training ground in the valley along with the palatial residence of the Agnelli family,the founders of Fiat cars.
The weather here at the moment has little to recommend it,raining on and off,though le blade and me were harking back to last summer and concluded that it was pretty good for an English summer,I think it may have been the cider fuelled bike rides that clinched it,notice none of that time trialling rubbish that Montana Mike indulges in in Kansas ,le blade being something of an amateur historian,he is knowlegable about the area,and likes to visit churches and such,which I consider monuments to outdated superstition but he is less judgemental and looks on them as historical monuments,in one small churchyard we noticed a small number of star of david stones
which must be a lesson in co existance/non existance!
Sheila has gone to the hairdressers she is currently giving a trial ,so I am home alone ,until this afternoon when along with le blade I shall be disrupting proceedings at the village hall bowling.
,or as Mr. Broccoli calls it "old mens marbles",very disrespectful of him.
Still no winter holiday in sight so maybe it will be cancelled this year.
Sunday 8 February 2009
Italian trickery
Over the past couple of days I have been in contact with a friend of mine in Italy,he is a retired miner 55 yrs is the retiring age for heavy industry workers in Italy,it seemed that a journalist had contacted the mine where he worked where I have a small exhibition of photos of my pictures,ostensibly to publish an article and photos in a monthly magazine based in Turin,we were both misled after agreeing to supply photos the punch line was they wanted 150 euros,therein lieth the rub,we then both contacted the lady involved and politely declined,typical Italians always trying to con you,it is after all home of the mafia,on the plus side it is full of wonderful works of art and so not all bad.
It is rather dangerous to try such stuff on with my miner friend as he has some history with journalists,he is reputed to have visited a bar in Turin where journalists hang out,and two of them were helped through a window which was not open,he is of rather large stature around 6feet 6inches,and not a man of many words.
The weather here has been cold and sunny over the past two or three days,I see that in Kansas City the ridiculous extremes of their weather are in play some days below freezing,the next in the 70's.
Yesterday Sheffield United lost at home to Sheffield Wednesday,the Le Blades were there for the game and will probably be a little disappointed with the outcome to say the least,not helped by the fact that their son in law lives in the village and is a Wednesday fan! who will not be averse to a little banter at their expense.
The days are getting longer which is always a welcome sight,and the hens go to sleep that much later around 5pm at the moment,snowdrops will be showing soon,and then daffodils,we have a snowy eagret flying around near the little house and also the heron which is the bane of Mrs Farmer Joe's life,as it likes her fish pond very much,looking out of the window we spotted 4 deer across the field,I think they are a family as in the summer two of them were not fully grown,but now appear to be,I pointed them out to Le Blades son in law who had called on his way from the seed merchants up the lane,thats the wild life covered.
It is rather dangerous to try such stuff on with my miner friend as he has some history with journalists,he is reputed to have visited a bar in Turin where journalists hang out,and two of them were helped through a window which was not open,he is of rather large stature around 6feet 6inches,and not a man of many words.
The weather here has been cold and sunny over the past two or three days,I see that in Kansas City the ridiculous extremes of their weather are in play some days below freezing,the next in the 70's.
Yesterday Sheffield United lost at home to Sheffield Wednesday,the Le Blades were there for the game and will probably be a little disappointed with the outcome to say the least,not helped by the fact that their son in law lives in the village and is a Wednesday fan! who will not be averse to a little banter at their expense.
The days are getting longer which is always a welcome sight,and the hens go to sleep that much later around 5pm at the moment,snowdrops will be showing soon,and then daffodils,we have a snowy eagret flying around near the little house and also the heron which is the bane of Mrs Farmer Joe's life,as it likes her fish pond very much,looking out of the window we spotted 4 deer across the field,I think they are a family as in the summer two of them were not fully grown,but now appear to be,I pointed them out to Le Blades son in law who had called on his way from the seed merchants up the lane,thats the wild life covered.
Thursday 5 February 2009
Snow scene on the prairie 9.30 am
The snow finally caught up with us but as I write is turning to rain, it usually melts away in a couple of hours when the wind is coming off the sea due to the salt air and above freezing sea temperature.I am waiting for the road to clear and then I shall go to the village for a paper, according to Montana Mike, Sonia has reached Dubai on the epic journey to OZ,so no problem with snow there.
Visited farmer Ben yesterday and his dearly beloved is reclining in a chair recovering from a foot operation,and he is ministering to her every need,nearly as good care as he affords his pigs,its a lonely old job at times farming,a bit like my own,and Ben likes a chat when the opportunity arises
and lapses into lincolnshire dialect when he gets excited during the telling of a tale.
I passed the Le Blades but they were probably still abed,not being early risers,and I am reluctant to disturb their slumbers before midday.
I have been busy with poster work this week again,and always think about my old pal Brian who sadly is no longer with us,painting away on your own gives your brain time to browse.
My back is much improved though it has taken a few days longer than normal,probably not helped by bending over the drawing board.
Thats all for now Graham
Wednesday 4 February 2009
Slings and arrows
Yesterday we had a visit from the Le blades,newly returned from their Spanish sojourn,they had a good time in the spanish sun and are refreshed and ready for the rigours of the Sheffield derby this weekend,I watched the Owls home game on tv and they look a poor team,so it's there to be won.
Sonia and Michael are suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in their attempts to travel down under,mainly due to the snow which fell on heathrow airport,we on the other hand have springlike weather again and lovely green wheatfields in view.
It all makes you wonder if it is worth all the hassle flying has become,though hot sun tends to drive all that to the back of the mind once you arrive.
We are still up in the air regarding winter sun ,and still looking for inspiration,checking the weather in Tampa yesterday and it was down to 13c !!! not much global warming there,it should be around 20c.
Not much else happening so thats all for now. Graham
Sonia and Michael are suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in their attempts to travel down under,mainly due to the snow which fell on heathrow airport,we on the other hand have springlike weather again and lovely green wheatfields in view.
It all makes you wonder if it is worth all the hassle flying has become,though hot sun tends to drive all that to the back of the mind once you arrive.
We are still up in the air regarding winter sun ,and still looking for inspiration,checking the weather in Tampa yesterday and it was down to 13c !!! not much global warming there,it should be around 20c.
Not much else happening so thats all for now. Graham
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