tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96657022012-01-19T15:23:04.060ZHere you'll find the occasional jottings of a nerd, who is into home-brewing, surfing the net, a little bit of web design, taking photos, and other nerdish stuff.justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.comBlogger6881100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-24357687263125424282012-01-18T23:40:00.006Z2012-01-19T00:25:13.657Z

... I went to an evening concert with Mrs C, to hear some chamber music at the Nottingham High School.... went to my U3A's Computer Club, where one of my colleagues spoke aboutfile management. He's a semi-retired computer programmer, so it was a veryhigh-powered talk.... went to see the LS Lowry exhibition at Nottm University's Art Gallery You might know that he painted the drab industrial

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-2853532823744928102012-01-11T23:21:00.003Z2012-01-13T00:05:53.743Z

There’s been a lot of media coverage about the damage that alcohol does to the liver and to other parts of the body. The experts now recommend that drinkers such as myself should have 2-3 days off drinking alcohol each week (and definitely not to binge-drink at the weekends).A good many years ago, I used to brew my own beer / continental pilsner … I still have one home brew kit in my garage

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-36917358489191935722012-01-02T22:43:00.005Z2012-01-02T23:14:57.595Z

Well, it's now the second day into the New Year. Our festivities are slowly winding down, though today we hosted a large family get-together at our house. It was lovely to see everyone who came, but it was fairly hard work getting ready for the occasion and clearing-up during and afterwards.Our daughter L and her two girls have been with us for about two weeks,and will be setting off for home

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-53997879746390724132011-12-22T22:47:00.003Z2011-12-22T22:53:38.545Z

Mrs C and I are going to a series of operas put on by the New York Met, which are being beamed to us by satellite all the way to Nottingham’s Broadway Cinema. So far, we’ve seen three phenomenal productions: Don Giovanni, Rodelinda and Gounod’s Faust. We’ve booked in to see “The Enchanted Island” and La Traviata.In the intervals, we get to see back-stage and also see interviewed the leading

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-51185386412376279152011-12-19T22:22:00.006Z2011-12-19T23:09:32.539Z

Our Christmas has started early this year with the arrival of our daughter L and her two girls last weekend. They will be staying with us for the best part of the school holidays, and L's partner J willbe here for Xmas weekend. Our other three daughters + partners + children + Mrs C's sister and mum will be here at various times over the festive period too. We'll enjoy seeing them all, but I have

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-60077583121261369012011-12-10T23:22:00.004Z2011-12-10T23:58:53.890Z

I took the photo of my granddaughter, A, a few years ago ... it's one ofmy favourites.The guy who runs the photography group I go to, has set us a new task,entitled: "Harmonious", which is rather vague. Anyway, with a bit of helpfrom Mrs C, we put together the above selection of harmonious colours, withthe English rose partly in mind. We've also put together a still lifecomposition with several

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-39050855377152238632011-12-03T00:18:00.002Z2011-12-03T00:40:21.256Z

(click on pic to see larger sizes)

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-3409669731598944552011-11-28T14:17:00.005Z2011-11-28T14:57:17.565Z

I do love a cup of coffee once a day, but tea is my preferred drink … I find it much more refreshing … and less of a diuretic as far as my bladder is concerned. (I’ve reached a certain age, where if I’m travelling any great distance, I have to restrict the amount I drink, and also to allow at least two hours before setting off (so I can pee most of the drink out)! But that’s another story).I

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-80857780568220862242011-11-22T22:29:00.006Z2011-11-22T23:02:33.687Z

The other day, 3 year old JJ asked his 5 year old sister A a question:"What would you like me to get you for a Christmas present?"A was pleasantly surprised to be asked this, and said after a littlethought: "Get me anything off the telly, please."I think Santa has been side-lined here, but I'm also surprised myselfat JJ's question, as he doesn't get any pocket money. :)Mrs C and I have just

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-47529991923988540392011-11-14T13:22:00.003Z2011-11-14T13:26:57.177Z

Yesterday, Mrs C and I went a walk in a country park in North Nottingham, one which we haven't visited for about 10 years ... we must go there more often. As you'll see, there was a glorious soft light pouring into the woodland ...

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-66943899181608148342011-11-08T16:58:00.002Z2011-11-08T16:59:39.174Z

Some fab colour at this year’s fireworks display in Nottingham (just round the corner from where I live). Some of my photos are almost abstract works of art, as if. :)

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-37031409699814830432011-10-29T22:36:00.005Z2011-10-29T23:02:27.922Z

Mrs C and I spent the best part of 5 days in London last weekend … a very long weekend, staying with our daughter L and her family there. Time passed quite slowly, as our granddaughter Mini, was poorly with a bad cough, a fever and vomiting for 2-3 days. Fortunately she made a good recovery, with the help of drinks and Calpol (despite vomiting most of all these back up). One small blessing of all

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-23146641889490710262011-10-20T21:13:00.003Z2011-10-20T21:50:01.051Z

Mrs C and I re-visited Belton House near Grantham last Friday. This isa fabulous Regency-style house in the Lincolnshire countryside, nowowned by the National Trust. I took loads of photos, and have put 45of the best up onto my Flickr site. Click HERE to see the set of pics.Here is one of my photos of the fountain in the Italian Garden there,taken in really lovely warm sunshine.We started with

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-66298117711260644842011-10-13T21:50:00.003Z2011-10-13T22:00:17.867Z

I made some soup today using this lovely squash (together with somebutternut squash, a large onion and a few parsnips, all cut into large chunks & then roasted in a little sunflower oil until soft. All then boiled up in some water with a stock cube, a pinch of chilli flakes, & some seasoning, before being liqidised. Yummy. (You could use upsome of your Halloween pumpkin to make soup like this).

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-59224511423132196302011-10-12T17:02:00.011Z2011-10-12T22:18:57.235Z

I took the car in for a new cam-belt today ... to a garage on the otherside of town where one of my relatives works. Took it in for 7.35am(which is a bit early for me!). It was said to be a huge job - major surgery to the car engine, taking at least four hours, so I wasn't surprised by the bill at the end of the day ... £393 ... almost the cost of a new laptop.How the average person can afford

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-46132827045953071932011-10-10T22:15:00.002Z2011-10-10T23:02:25.789Z

I'm just writing to say a big thank you to my regular readership,who have been looking at my blog from time to time, and for youramusing and helpful comments (helpful, when I've asked for your assistance). I've been having a look at the stats that Blogger has been keepingon my blog, since the beginning of time. You can access your ownstats via Blogger's Dashboard, if you didn't know, and get an

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-46485831060092830632011-10-05T06:43:00.004Z2011-10-05T18:01:08.683Z

Here's a word association game I read on Keith & Anjii's blogs,which you can join in on. It originates from here.1. Quivering :: shakin' as here (anyone remember him?)2. Eclectic :: just like chocolate éclairs (unfortunately Anjii thought of that as well)3. Superimpose :: cover (up your bodges)4. The best :: my wife5. Aches :: my lower back at the mo, after lifting heavy things in the garden 10

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-41020230232675100472011-10-03T22:28:00.007Z2011-10-03T22:45:43.377Z

Most of you will be aware of the fabulous warm weather we’ve been having in England, which is now coming to an end in the next day or two … we’ll be back to our usual cool temperatures, gusty winds and rain. Last Saturday, Mrs C and I went to see the new film version of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”, which we were very impressed with, although the time sequence of events hopped around quite a

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-1098078796758547322011-09-24T20:53:00.004Z2011-09-24T21:12:16.165Z

Mrs C and I have been listening to a bit more radio in the evenings, owing to the fact that there’s not much on the TV at the moment that we like watching. Having said that, we do enjoy watching programmes like “Downton Abbey” and “DCI Banks”, “Mock The Week”, “Outnumbered” and “The Great British Bake-Off”, but with the huge asset of watching TV retrospectively, with Virgin Media’s “catch-up”

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-24034822708077495272011-09-20T22:12:00.004Z2011-09-20T22:23:48.683Z

Here's a photo of my friend, Brian, which I took in one of Nottingham's bookshops. We met up for a coffee and a chat ... something us oldies cando with all the spare time we've got, when we're not doing Granddad duties and odd jobs around the house. What a friendly face he's got, don't you think? You can see the laughter lines on his face.I'm very pleased with this photo, as it shows that I've

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-40949051887429214652011-09-12T06:47:00.000Z2011-09-12T06:48:33.013Z

Here are two photos of our grandchildren, JJ and A., taken yesterday. A. started school for the first time last week, and is really enjoying it.

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-78583087058085501782011-09-11T22:26:00.003Z2011-09-11T22:34:15.251Z

Well as you will all know, today marked the 10th anniversary of that terrible day in US history, 9/11. On the day in question, Mrs C and I were on holiday in Scarborough, staying in a lovely apartment overlooking the North Bay. We’d taken my mum with us, who was rather frail and who was prone to falling over. We watched the bad news … there was continuous news coverage of what was happening … it

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-6078285418117533622011-08-27T06:00:00.006Z2011-08-27T06:30:47.329Z

I’ve been thinking for a while about the recent wave of rioting across the UK - the mindless violence towards people, and looting & damage to property, that looked grim and which must have been terrifying to those who were targeted, or whose home or business was set on fire. It looked as if WW3 had started or as if we were watching scenes from a sci-fi movie … an uprising of the

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-53340897173339372162011-08-19T05:24:00.003Z2011-08-19T06:05:01.836Z

Here are a few photos for you ... lots more up on my Flickr site. The happy couple being sprinkled with confetti ... Mrs C drew the outline for this picture & our granddaughter A coloured it in. Mrs C had the great idea of creating this photo-montage for the party we held a week later at our house. I used some posh wall-lining paper to cover one of our large paintings, and then Mrs C chose

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-13016359495850983272011-08-03T22:01:00.004Z2011-08-03T22:14:06.587Z

Hi everyone,Sorry that it’s been a long time since my last post. Since that post, Mrs C and I have been away on holiday … we’ve had a week in Whitby, which was really great despite the showery weather. We were joined by two of our girls and their partners, as you’ll see on my Flickr site (there’s a link to this on the Rt hand side). I’ll post a few photosbelow to give you an idea of what Whitby

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-4128463125122908932011-07-15T21:49:00.002Z2011-07-15T22:00:41.480Z

So what do you know about Bovine TB? Well you probably know that it can strike out of the blue and infect cattle at random within a herd. Cattle have to undergo periodic testing for TB, and a positive TB test results in the animal’s slaughter.This issue was raised in a recent episode of BBC1’s “Countryfile”, and came up again on BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today (on 12 July).My wife, Mrs C, tunes in

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-78538673587596056432011-07-04T21:36:00.006Z2011-07-04T21:47:16.277Z

I just love the smell of sweet pea flowers, just as I do of roses andof lime trees when in flower. Here's a photo I took of some flowersnewly picked from our garden (& grown by Mrs C).If you like the canvas effect I've applied to this photo, you will beable to see how I did it using Gimp, on Gimp Page 3 of my website.I'll be using this image on a few e-cards to send to family members thiscoming

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-44673971991062789042011-06-29T18:35:00.014Z2011-06-29T21:40:48.204Z

.... "All creatures great and small,” I was singing this lovely song in the shower yesterday morning, feeling cheerful & thinking about the good times when I used to sing this as a young child at school.But when I came to the bit: “the Lord God made them all.” I thought to myself: “What a load of codswallop.” I happen to believe in Darwinian theory as regards the origin of our species, and that

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-19281333159148144222011-06-17T08:20:00.011Z2011-06-21T18:33:46.803Z

We had a great time with our family on holiday in Majorca, as you'll see from the photos I've put up on my Flickr site ... I've added a few of the pics ontothe bottom of this post also.I've spent this past week sorting out my pics (over 2GB of them), catching up my emails, attending the photography group I belong to, and sitting in a dentist's chair for an hour, having two crowns re-made.One of

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-19874344548419700282011-06-02T08:02:00.002Z2011-06-02T08:07:39.252Z

Hope you find the above interesting.Mrs C and I will be in Majorca from this coming Saturday for a week, followingwhich I'll be processing lots of photos before my next post. Talk to you soon.

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-91239470969211206562011-05-30T10:04:00.000Z2011-05-30T10:04:00.231Z

Our daughter L in London sent us a text message yesterday to let usknow that she's having another go at potty-training Little D. Shereported that she was having some success with D, though D neededprompting from time to time to use her potty.L then went on to tell us about ...1. a low point in her day when she stepped on one of D's poos ... ... luckily they don't have any carpets in the house .

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-76749295557329252572011-05-29T07:29:00.002Z2011-05-29T07:31:31.806Z

… only this time, it’s indoors. :)Mrs C made some yummy Melting Moments for the picnic, with Little A's help.

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-59622550194861729932011-05-21T07:16:00.003Z2011-05-21T08:48:01.668Z

By the time you read this, The World might have ended, according toHoward Camping, a US evangelist ... The End is due about 6pm in Alaska according to this article, which I suppose is around middayfor us in the UK.So it's might be a "Farewell" to you, my dear readers from me. I won't be seeing a stairway to Heaven ~ more likely, I'll be trooping (along with millions of others) past a large

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-71079615654092936472011-05-20T13:16:00.004Z2011-05-20T13:28:59.285Z

I do feel annoyed & sometimes angry about the day-to-day political goings-on in our society … the plight of pensioners, the majority of whom who have to make do with paltry state pensions, for example, (myself not included), set against the background of the rich getting richer and flaunting it with stately homes and posh life-styles … all this is here to stay of course, and an individual like

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-73258941838304765052011-05-18T05:58:00.011Z2011-05-18T09:22:06.683Z

I've created a Desktop photo to go on my main computer screen.It's 1280 x 1024 px in size, and I've put it up on my Flickr site, if you'd like to download it (the largest size) from there.It's a montage of the photo I showed you last week. If there'stoo much green border for you, you can trim it off with oneof the Crop tools (Photoshop/Picasa/Gimp). Here's a link tomy website all about Gimp and

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-49931504685501870562011-05-17T11:28:00.007Z2011-05-21T05:29:35.274Z

Mrs C and I went to London last weekend, to stay with our daughter L and her family. We didn’t do anything special apart from a picnic at a local park on one sunny day. I did some lawn mowing, while Mrs C made a start on clearing one of the side borders in the back garden. We’ll be back there in 5-6 weeks’ time to carry on gardening. Here are a couple of photos I took of our very photogenic

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-34437838139269781692011-05-11T12:07:00.001Z2011-05-11T12:08:45.518Z

Here are a few more pics from our holiday in Scotland. During our stay,we visited the Royal Botanic Gardens at Dawyck (which is near Peebles). Here are some cowslips, bathed in lovely sunlight …Some amazing lichen growing on the tree branches …… and a couple of very tall trees ~ a Giant Redwood from California,and an Oregon Douglas Fir …

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-17180672300889216712011-05-09T17:46:00.003Z2011-05-11T11:59:05.752Z

I thought I’d post you a few photos from what I’ve just uploaded onto Flickr.Here are some gorgeous tulips I photographed in a garden in Newstead …Here’s a lovely woodland view I photographed on an evening walk to see the William Wallace monument in the Dryburgh area …On my way back from the above walk, a large female deer charged downhillstraight in front of me, jumping over a low wire fence

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-31114082137690911862011-05-02T04:35:00.002Z2011-05-02T04:53:28.745Z

... and what a gloriously sunny week we had, with only a brief shower of rainon the day we arrived, and a bit of drizzle last Friday. We went on holidaywith several members of Mrs C's family, and stayed in a large Victorian house(self-catering) in Newtown St Boswells. One of Mrs C's great grandmothers wasborn and grew up in Galashiels nearby, so part of the reason for choosingthe Scottish Borders

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-11913980687485532672011-04-22T21:04:00.003Z2011-04-22T21:10:11.174Z

Are you enjoying the current heat wave, here in the UK? All the plantsand trees are thinking it's high summer and are about 2 weeks ahead ingrowing / flowering time. I for one tend to wilt a bit in the continualheat, and am thinking I'd like it to rain (if only to water our garden).Oh well, we're off tomorrow to Scotland to the Lowlands area, not far from Edinburgh ... some light showers are

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-89456117905137025852011-04-16T22:03:00.004Z2011-04-16T23:34:47.497Z

We waved goodbye to our daughter L and her family earlier this evening … the journey by car takes three and a half hour journey, to get to their home in South Wimbledon.The last few hours of their stay here dragged on somewhat, as they were all ready to go, but stayed longer to avoid the rush-hour traffic. As soon as they set off, our house appeared very quiet and empty … we’d had two little

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-79179417288274213302011-03-30T10:37:00.006Z2011-03-30T11:23:00.878Z

Those of you who live in the UK will have completed and hopefullyposted off your Census forms by now (or perhaps have completed it online).I think I'm correct in saying that in the US and Canada, that the lastcensus was done in 2010 ~ censuses are done a year before all of ours. I thought while filling in the Census form, that the officials missed an opportunity to find out a bit more about each

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-39763132955482202062011-03-29T10:36:00.003Z2011-03-29T10:57:54.378Z

OMG, it's nearly the end of the month ... I'm getting bloggy withdrawal symptoms :) ... in fact I'm wondering what I've been doing all thismonth. Well, 7-10 days was taken up with our family holiday in Tenerife (the weather was rather wet & windy to start with, but improvedduring the week), and a few more days sorting out all my photos anddealing with all the mail and other stuff, post holiday.

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-35181160288692689622011-03-09T22:28:00.003Z2011-03-09T23:02:19.519Z

While reading through Andrea's latest posts, I found a link to a good article written by Murr Brewster on her view of the economic situation in the US ... should wealth be more fairly distributed in society by means of taxation, for example, and should there be free health care for everyone? One of the main news stories today in the UK has been the hugebonuses being awarded to nine top bankers in

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-22658885599858516842011-03-07T07:56:00.002Z2011-03-07T08:00:01.792Z

Hi folks,I’ll continue for a while with just posting a few photos from time to time, to show you what’s going on in my life. I’m going along to a photography group, and am learning how to get more out of my camera (changing exposure compensation, etc.) so hopefully you’ll see better quality photos here in the coming months.Here’s a small selection of my recent photos (there are lots more on my

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-84504552603932735422011-02-24T23:09:00.003Z2011-02-24T23:29:14.187Z

It felt like a lovely Spring day today … brilliant sunshine with a warm and gentle breeze. It was one of those days when it feels great to be alive… or to paraphrase that: I feel great to be alive ~ so now you know. :)Mrs C and I spent part of the day visiting Wollaton Hall, a huge Elizabethan mansion, set in a gorgeous park within Nottingham … one of the must-see places to visit if you ever

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-39323602114078542392011-02-16T07:44:00.003Z2011-02-16T07:49:57.938Z

Tomato soup made from whole tomatoes, onion, potato, tomato puree, veg stock, a bay leaf, garlic, and seasoning. Easy to make and really yummy. For the full recipe, please email me ~ my address isat the bottom of this page.

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-75658858054196711402011-02-13T23:11:00.004Z2011-02-14T00:12:03.120Z

There are some truly inspirational photo-blogs around, and one of thebest I've found is called Inphoto dot org, set up by Donncha O Caoimh,an Irishman. He's taken some wonderful photos, as you will see if youclick on the link I've set up to his site in my side-bar. The view ofthe cathedral in Cork, bathed in evening sunlight is fabulous. Donnchadeclares at the top of his blog that "there are no

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-43816783712523578312011-02-11T06:33:00.006Z2011-02-11T09:03:20.107Z

Last Monday morning, I got up early and drove over to Colwick Park lakeside, which is on the southern side of Nottingham just by the River Trent. There are three lakes in the area, which are gravel ponds basically. The weather forecast was for a sharp frost overnight and a misty start to an otherwise sunny day … so it was bitterly cold when I arrived at 7am (about 40 minutes before sunrise), and

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-90163333822685173272011-02-03T22:44:00.006Z2011-02-05T07:33:19.381Z

Here are a couple of the photos I took at Nottingham Castle this week, including one of the legendary Robin Hood. For anyone expecting to see a medieval castle, the present castle will be a disappointment to him/her … the old castle became a ruin during the 1500s, and was eventually pulled down. The Duke of Newcastle put up the more modern one as shown below, but this was burned down by an angry

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-52185894441336251742011-01-26T23:25:00.013Z2011-02-03T23:06:50.898Z

It getting colder again here in the UK ... the road-gritting lorry sped by earlierthis evening, showering salt everywhere. We came back to a cold house on our return from London last Sunday lunchtime ... the warmest room was 10 deg C, a few degrees higher than outside ... Mrs C had accidentally switched off the central heating before we left. We tend to keep the hall thermostat on at about 20

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-54615998882970037182011-01-21T22:17:00.004Z2011-01-21T23:15:44.002Z

Hi everyone ... sorry about the news blackout, in the past two weeks. It doesseem a long time ago when I last wrote.I'm feeling pleased with myself for having got a mountain of paperwork out ofthe way. I've just about finished my Gift Aid claim for my local charity, andhope to raise £1500 in Gift Aid for it (which is a bit lower than last year,as we've now got fewer members). When I say it was a

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-9449818996737369322011-01-08T23:25:00.003Z2011-01-08T23:41:15.898Z

We said goodbye to our daughter L and her two young children last Tuesday … they set off by car early evening after the rush hour. I felt sad tosee them go, but at the same time I felt somewhat relieved to have somefree time to myself, and to be able to get on with a pile of admin workI’ve got to do this month.Having said that, I was out of the house at 6.45am on Thursday morning, to help R. get

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-82780692085225699072010-12-31T05:57:00.007Z2010-12-31T07:00:36.772Z

As you will know, we spent Xmas with our daughter L and her family in London... I've put a few photos up on my Flickr site taken during our stay there,and since ... as we all decamped to Nottingham last Tuesday. With youngchildren around, we decided to take down our Xmas tree down fairly quickly as it was festooned with lots of glass baubles, so the house is looking less Xmassy now.We've got

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-56996196803301822702010-12-22T22:36:00.007Z2010-12-23T21:48:40.250Z

Yes, we're all ready for spending Xmas with our daughter L and her familyin London ... we're setting off early tomorrow morning, despite the snowand ice ... but with London daytime temperatures forecast at 2 deg C. for the next 2 days, hopefully a slow thaw should be occurring.We'll be setting off in our car with lots of food and pressies on board ...I should really get a Santa outfit, and shout

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-60965371753961869152010-12-14T15:12:00.002Z2010-12-14T15:45:32.806Z

Happy Xmas to you all!I spent some time this afternoon updating my Flickr site with my latest photos (there's a link to this in the sidebar, if you'd like to see more) ...The Sky Mirror outside the Nottingham Playhouse ...A café scene nearby ...The New Nottingham Train ...New hats for sale ...Lots of lovely food … here’s an Italian stallJJ with teddies ...

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-10033633577759015602010-12-09T17:00:00.002Z2010-12-09T17:07:40.243Z

A good friend of mine sent me a new exercise regime, which I thought was very kind of him, even though I do keep reasonable fit. I’m posting it just in case any of you wish to lose a bit of weight in the next few weeks(excluding Xmas Day of course) ...The new regime is as follows …Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 5kg potato bag in

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-84330124496425880872010-12-07T23:15:00.004Z2010-12-07T23:26:09.431Z

Just a quick note ... as my alarm clock is set for 5.45am tomorrow morning, so I can get over to the other side of the city to look after Little JJ ....I've spent the past 5 days painting our kitchen and dining room, interspersedwith several outings to buy food and pressies, and to take some photos of Nottm's Christmas Fair ... I'll post a few photos onto this blogsite and my Flickr site this

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-52804380826634149932010-12-04T08:03:00.003Z2010-12-04T08:11:40.619Z

Little A's other grandparents (P and I) treated her and JJ to a meal out at McDonald's this week. Little A was initially puzzled .... she asked them: "Where's the farm?"

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-44777462028188736322010-12-02T15:15:00.004Z2010-12-04T08:13:18.951Z

There’s been more snow everywhere today, though here in Nottingham we only had small amounts compared with other parts of the UK.Mrs C and I went into town this lunchtime, with Little JJ, on the bus, toshow him the Xmas decorations in the Victoria Centre (and to do a little foodshopping). JJ was very excited to see all the moving snowmen, and Santa withhis reindeer. It's funny that we deceive our

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-7726074423178087892010-11-29T17:10:00.009Z2010-11-30T19:53:40.277Z

I invite you to have a look at this amazing video ... it's a guided tour of the ISS. The view below is of the cockpit of the US Space Shuttle. For a full screen version of this video, simply click on the icon with 4 arrows inside it, just below the video. To go back to the smaller screen view, press the Esc (Escape) key on your keyboard.So this is further evidence that the Earth is not as flat as

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-37344444346379932132010-11-28T07:57:00.007Z2010-11-28T14:58:16.088Z

We're having a cold spell in the UK here at present, which the forecastersare saying could last several weeks ... so we might have a White Christmasfor a change! Yippee!We had a light snowfall here in the East Midlands, but parts of Scotlandand North-East England have had much heavier snowfalls resulting in theusual school-closures and problems on the roads. We'll be getting theusual moans about

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-7830043179886289242010-11-25T23:29:00.006Z2010-11-26T11:28:54.243Z

I've just posted some cute pics of two of our grandchildren onto my Flickrsite, if you wish to have a look ...http://www.flickr.com/photos/14836724@N00/Here's one of Mini (which is her pet name, as you might have guessed already) ...I think she'd look good in a Nativity play, but then I'm biased ... probablyall parents/grandparents think their kids should get the leading parts.

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-23171816097816406312010-11-21T14:36:00.008Z2010-11-21T15:23:53.277Z

I'm having a fairly relaxing time in London, chatting with the grown-ups and playing with the children, Little M and her sister D, watching some TV with them, going out occasionally to the local shops, and reading through The Saturday Times, plus the usual eating, drinkingnumerous cups of tea and a bit of washing up.I mention that our preferred newspaper is The Times, though it is biasedtowards

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-2085307304355872702010-11-19T14:51:00.003Z2010-11-19T15:00:32.401Z

Mrs C and I are spending a few days with our daughter L. and her familyin London this weekend (we arrived at lunchtime today). I told L.about a good promotional offer I'd seen on Martin Lewis' website,a £5 voucher to spend at Curry's or PC World ... perhaps on a flashdrive or a computer mouse. She replied by saying: "Well, that's your Christmas present sorted then!"

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-8929344046188757992010-11-16T09:06:00.007Z2010-11-20T22:16:32.987Z

We’ve received news from Nottingham City Council that hefty cuts in council services over the next 4 years will be happening, as a result of the Lib-Con’s (Government’s) Comprehensive Spending Review. Cuts as high as 33% have been forecast by our local council, with cuts as much as 12% suggested in year one … see the link below for more info … following on from cuts of £37 million in spending in

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-66657590315711528622010-11-08T20:02:00.007Z2010-11-19T15:30:21.539Z

... as if. I stood around on a cold November Saturday evening, waiting for the heavens to light up, and there was bugger-all. (Pls excuse the bad language).There were a few smaller displays, and after 30 minutes of standing around, Imotored off to be nearer one of them, only to find it had finished, and to seehordes of people streaming back to their cars (like after a football match).All this

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-55713356736196068132010-11-06T14:05:00.003Z2010-11-19T15:28:08.687Z

I thought you might like to see something I "painted" earlier today ....Looks great, don't you think?If you'd like to have a go at changing your photos using Gimp (free software),have a look at my website .... just google two words: jwebdesigns and angelfire.It's a glorious November day, sunny but rather cold. Great for taking a few photosof tonight's fireworks, I'm thinking, so I'll be heading

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-88127391845253783972010-11-01T22:14:00.009Z2010-11-02T13:21:58.643Z

Last Sunday morning we all put our clocks forward back by an hour, and as usual there was the usual media debate about all this. I checked it out on the internet, and found this interesting article on the subject ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11643098I'd forgotten that back in 1968, a three-year experiment was started to fix GMT at British Standard (Summer) time. It was found that

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-69801133315085768962010-10-28T21:53:00.007Z2010-10-29T05:38:38.650Z

Hi everyone, here are a few pics from our holiday in Dorset ~ Thomas Hardy country ….Here’s the house where he was born (in Upper Bockhampton) ……and here’s the lovely harbour at Weymouth … it's a picture-postcard scene.I’ve put more photos on my Flickr site (a link to which is in my sidebar).Mrs C and I have had a busy time with our grandchildren … we had Mini and Little D staying with us during

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-42865757642263700692010-10-20T22:20:00.003Z2010-10-20T22:30:02.080Z

Yes, I'm 21 years old again ... well, multiplied by 3. :)I celebrated my birthday a few days ago, while we were in Dorset. Here's a colourful photo of all the cards I received ... you might just be able to readthe funny captions, especially of the centre photo, if you enlarge it (via Flickr).The footballer in the red shirt looks remarkably like me.I've got dozens of photos from my holiday that

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-44223672297518249992010-10-15T04:49:00.002Z2010-10-15T04:59:06.224Z

We're setting off for a long weekend in Dorset, in an hour or so,for our annual meet-up with Mrs C's cousins. The weather lookspromising ~ mainly sunny but cold.Hope you all have a great weekend yourselves ~ talk to you soon.

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-74123400383296223962010-10-11T21:33:00.004Z2010-10-11T21:57:33.072Z

Mrs C and I went a walk yesterday afternoon in the Ashbourne area of Derbyshire. It was a lovely warm sunny day (about 24 deg.C). We walkedthrough woodland and open countryside, along a public footpath linkingtwo villages: Shirley and Osmaston.Here's one of the photos I took (with my new camera) ... there are morepics on my Flickr site ...We had a fab lunch before we set off on the walk at a

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-17413669310657434162010-10-04T07:31:00.003Z2010-10-04T07:39:58.617Z

Friday (10 days ago): Mrs C went to a training day for counsellors all about Asperger's Syndrome, which is a pretty hot topic. Once you've read about this condition, you start to wonder how many of your family and friends have got Asperger's … have I got it mildly myself, or am I just an oddball? :)I spent the day pottering around the house, mainly on this computer actually.No grandchildren today

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-19506483405387375452010-10-01T21:35:00.002Z2010-10-01T21:41:55.752Z

Well, here we are … at the beginning of October. September whizzed by for me in a flash. I find it strange that the busier I am, the faster time whizzes by.One of my daughters moved house with her family 2-3 weeks ago, and owing to her difficulty getting proper child-minding arrangements, we are helping out a bit more … on Wednesdays, the occasional Thursday and Fridays as well. I’m now going

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-38766102485245592752010-09-24T21:20:00.004Z2010-09-24T21:58:04.925Z

It's been a rather cold, drizzly and windy day here, in marked contrast tothe Indian summer we've had this week. So I started to think about bookinganother holiday for ourselves ... I've just booked us into Thurnham Hall nr. Lancaster for October 2011, which is a lovely mansion in grounds, with a heated swimming pool, etc.. It belongs to Diamond Resorts Europe Ltd,of which Mrs C and I are members

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-23409368671650656082010-09-18T22:37:00.002Z2010-09-18T22:47:43.109Z

Mrs C and I watched the third and last episode of The Young Ones today, onthe BBC I Player. If you missed it and if you live in the UK, I invite youto see this, while it's available in the next few days ...http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00tv913/The_Young_Ones_Episode_3/I was amazed to see how this group of oldies were rejuvenated by living together as a group in a 1970s setting ... they

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-70013340959287610792010-09-17T05:57:00.003Z2010-09-18T22:12:50.031Z

We were in Pembrokeshire in Wales last weekend, staying at a house which wasbeing rented by friends. We had some lovely weather and saw some wonderfulscenery, and of course had some great company. Here is one of the pics onmy Flickr site for you ...I had my endoscopy at the hospital last Tuesday, and I'm very pleased to saythat there was nothing seriously amiss ~ just some inflammation in the

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-38382909427981216772010-09-05T06:50:00.005Z2010-09-05T07:14:49.298Z

Mrs C and I have had a busy 2-3 weeks … 4 days looking after our grandchildren, while their mum and dad were getting ready to move house within Nottingham, a visit to Leeds to see our daughter S, trips to the cinema and theatre (we went to see “She Stoops To Conquer” last night at the Nottm Playhouse, and are going to see “The Girl Who Played With Fire” today at the Broadway Cinema), watching the

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-31562413888309850412010-08-22T06:45:00.004Z2010-08-22T07:22:09.959Z

Mrs C and I had planned to spend a week in London with our daughter L andher family, but this was cut short by my coming back to Nottingham for ahospital clinic appointment last Monday. L and her children came back toNottingham with us, so we've been very busy with them all in the past week. In addition we had a full day with our other 2 grandchildren onFriday, which was fun but exhausting. L set

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-78245432228706762382010-08-11T18:08:00.007Z2010-08-11T19:09:23.417Z

I've often thought about this over the years, especially in my earlier yearsbefore I met Mrs C, my wife. When she came along, I instantly thought: "She's the one for me ~ she's really extra special!", and fortunately for me, she thought & felt the same. Well, what are the magic ingredients for getting started in a relationship, I wonder ... a certain rapport when talking with each other, or how

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-90717934444351209092010-08-08T20:57:00.004Z2010-08-08T21:53:00.197Z

This weekend, Mrs C and I have been out and about ... we met up in Nottingam city centre yesterday lunchtime, partly to hand over somebelongings to our daughter R, (who was also in town shopping with Little A), but also to visit a new exhibition at the NottinghamContemporary Art Gallery ... a large collection of Diane Arbus's black & white photos, which were brilliant. Later on we treated

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-62628355592488813862010-08-06T21:42:00.002Z2010-08-06T22:04:28.271Z

We're had a hectic day with our grandchildren, Little A and her youngerbrother J. Their mum drops them off early on Friday mornings at about7.45am, prior to going into work in Ripley in Derbyshire (14 miles away).The children are a delight to be with, but by about 10.30am, both Mrs Cand I are feeling tired and hungry, (wondering if it's time for lunch).Mrs C usually bakes small cakes and bread

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-40981077937182494832010-08-03T12:27:00.002Z2010-08-03T12:35:29.112Z

Here's a quote from a book of aphorisms, which we received at Xmas ..."Youth passes, but with luck, immaturity can last a lifetime!"Someone online gave the following reply: "After 40, immaturity becomes charming." I would correct that to: "After 60, .... !"

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-47774683447652247692010-08-02T21:58:00.004Z2010-08-02T22:30:19.556Z

Today, I met with with a couple of my pals for an electric guitar session,playing through a few songs from our extensive repertoire, and then hearing myself singing a version of "I saw her standing there", which we've had recorded onto a CD with a collection of other songs. Mrs C listened to a few tracks on the CD when I got home early afternoon,and when my song came on, she said: "Who's that

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-79875997871804257812010-07-31T06:58:00.003Z2010-08-02T21:57:30.318Z

Mrs C received a text from our daughter L, the day after L and herchildren went back home to London. Mini had asked her: "Can we go backto Nottyham today?"It's cool hazy sunshine outside at the moment. I'm doing a few emails,plus a little website work, prior to going downstairs to make a cuppaand to feed the cats. Later today, Mrs C and I will go out to see the French film, "Gainsbourg" at the

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-17694698325576728332010-07-28T19:01:00.004Z2010-07-28T21:57:21.777Z

Our daughter L went home yesterday evening with her two girls, after spending 5-6 days with us ... very busy days for us, helping L out with the child-care, and extra shopping, cooking, making extra drinks,and generally clearing up all the mess from day to day. It's reallylovely to have them here, and somewhat sad to see them go. But then,it's great to have some time to ourselves / oneselves, and

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-2049202994509159422010-07-24T21:58:00.003Z2010-07-24T22:09:16.989Z

I wonder how often this phrase is said in a lot of households first thing in the morning. An underlying message behind this could be trying to shift the blame onto someone else: “Who's moved them from my usual place?”, or perhaps a cry for help: “Help me find them, as I'm late for work, as it is!”Well two days ago, the question/statement from me was: “I can't findthe theatre tickets!” I'd bought

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-33800643310640518922010-07-20T10:26:00.003Z2010-07-20T10:32:28.961Z

Hi everyone,We got back from Bruges late Sunday afternoon, after a lovely break there. The weather was a mixture of warm sunshine and cloud, with the occasional shower. Bruges is small enough to walk around in a couple of days, and it was really lovely to see all the old buildings there, brilliantly preserved/ restored. If we’d had an extra day or two, we would have visited more of the art

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-12766228721172638212010-07-15T05:25:00.003Z2010-07-15T05:46:21.130Z

Yes, we're going by Eurostar to Brussels, and then catching another train to Bruges. Bruges has been on our "to do" list for a long time. The other Bs we'd like to do are Barcelona and Berlin, but we chose Bruges out of the three cities for ease of getting there and back for a long weekend.So we're off to Bruges for the sightseeing, the chocolates, and the beer ...well, I'm still teetotal at the

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-76036757661073178102010-07-11T22:17:00.006Z2010-07-11T22:43:16.941Z

If you live in the UK, you will have heard about the gunman called Raoul Moat, who shot his girlfriend after she dumped him, killed her boyfriend and who also shot a policeman at a motorway junction. He went to ground for a few daysin Rothbury, a village just north of Newcastle, and eventually when cornered by the police, he killed himself after hours of police negotiation.The whole incident and

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-5680351037318738032010-07-08T15:18:00.003Z2010-07-08T15:37:02.273Z

Can you believe that the North of England, and especially the Lake District, which is usually the wettest part of the country, is suffering from a drought?Hosepipe bans have been imposed, which I think is a good thing generally ...it will encourage folk to buy a water butt to catch their own rainwater, aswe did a few years ago.If you don't believe me, have a look at a photo of one of the

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-11478083095073991682010-07-05T21:36:00.005Z2010-07-05T22:28:33.132Z

Yes, we got back home after a long drive from Morpeth to Nottingham, travellingfor about 180 miles along the A1, M18 and then the M1. We stopped off at one ofour favourite National Trust properties, Hardwick Hall, for lunch (well, it's upNorth, it's called dinner) and a stroll around the gardens.The weather in Northumbria couldn't have been better, a mixture of sunshine andcloud (with only a

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-19859807314393293552010-06-26T07:53:00.005Z2010-06-26T08:05:01.949Z

I don't usually put jokes onto my blogsite, but I thought I'd share this onewith you... this one was sent to my by a good friend ...(by the way, Mrs C and I are having yet another holiday next week, with otherfamily members to celebrate my mother-in-law's 90th birthday ... she's knownme longer than I've known her, as she gave me a bath when I was baby, when my mum was laid up in bed with mumps!

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-20092309733518041632010-06-23T13:51:00.005Z2010-06-23T17:16:18.279Z

Kick-off for the match will be in 5 minutes' time. England's chancesof carrying on in the World Cup will be decided very soon.Not surprisingly, the roads around our house have become very quiet... a bit like it does early on Christmas Day morning. Most blokeswill be sitting around a TV set somewhere, at home, in the pub or intheir workplaces (if their managers are as keen to watch the match).Like

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-79087979980843207572010-06-22T06:32:00.005Z2010-06-23T17:19:02.930Z

Last week Mrs C and I spent a few days in London with our family there… the highlights of which were a trip to Café Nero (Costas was closed for refurbishment) …and going to Wimbledon Fair, which is an annual event, staged on Wimbledon Common. I didn’t spot any Wombles there, but saw this lovely looking machine ... …. I didn’t ask the guys for the price, as I’m not looking for another car just

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-11764356556921294352010-06-15T22:30:00.002Z2010-06-15T22:54:58.101Z

This morning I joined a couple of mates at a recording studio in Nottingham,to put down a few more tracks of us singing and playing electric guitartogether. It went much better than I expected, including my own choice of"When I saw here standing there", a song which takes me straight back tothe 60s (and meeting the first girl I dated, at a school dance).Hearing my own voice played back to me

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-39781239456872450712010-06-11T22:04:00.002Z2010-06-11T22:07:26.897Z

Since we’ve been back we’ve had a small family get-together to celebrate Mrs C’s upcoming birthday, for which I made a couple of Sophie Dahl’s chocolate cakes.The recipe for the latter is a good one, but I found the cooking temperature and timing for our fan-assisted electric oven needed to be increased (190 deg C for 55-65 mins).Anyway the end result was really lovely, as was having all our

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-26477706007823304322010-06-07T04:24:00.003Z2010-06-07T04:46:30.626Z

Hi folks ... yes, we're back from a wonderful whirlwind tour of Strasbourg and the surrounding region in Alsace (in France). Mrs C and I went as groupies of the symphony orchestra in Leicester ... my sister-in-law is the principal cellist and one of the main organisers of their trips abroad ... a huge undertaking to organise all the transport, hotels, meals out and outings, for everyone.I've

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9665702.post-16869078842148754222010-05-27T22:00:00.004Z2010-05-27T22:13:19.077Z

We're off to sunny Strasbourg at the weekend for a short break. We'rehitching a ride with the Leicester Symphony Orchestra, who are giving two concerts out there (and also touring the area). It will also giveus a chance to meet up with one of my sisters who's living out there(and to see her new apartment in the city centre).When we get back, our entire family (our 4 daughters plus children)

justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11001759123291386525noreply@blogger.com1