Serves you right for wearing em.

Ralph wears trysers.

As a northern person I wear trollies.

OK. I'm doing the hedges again and I've just been attacked by a huge dark coloured wasp that seemed determined to sting my face.

I jumped off the ladder and ran around waving my arms and screaming, (As per my special forces training) but it wouldn't go away.

"Oh my God" I thought, "It's one of those Asian hornets that was on the news"


Eventually I calmed down enough to realise it was just a privet leaf attached to the peak of my cap by a strand of spider Web.

 

 

 

Tonight's dinner. (Or tea if you're from t' North)

Click to see full-size image.

Smoked bacon broth done in the electric pressure cooker/slow cooker.

Is that part of your fryer? I saw a Ninja the other week that baked, fried, roasted, dehydrated and allsorts, about 10 different things. Amazing technology.

While we're on the subject of being alone, here's a little trick I learned in the special forces for shaving your neck after cutting your own hair.

Perfect for when you have no oppo in your basha.

Jeepers that made me shudder. My mum used to cut my fringe by putting sellotape across it to mark the cutting line. Always straight. Always turned out at an angle. Always had the p taken out of me at school for a few days.

Why should the air-fryer get special treatment?

Because it's greasy Ralph. We've agreed that the greasy stuff has to be washed.

Why is it so greasy that it needs a soak Tom? I haven't got one but I thought the whole point of one was that they only need a teeny weeny yellow...oh sorry I meant not much oil?

I remember saying at the time, "Today I was pissing in the poshest toilet in the world, tonight I'm pissing in a bucket."

It might be nice Tom but it's not proper posh unless there is Molton Brown in the powder rooms.

R.I.P Bernie.

Congratulations Kev

So it turns out the elderly looking chap was Jamie Moult, aka bookiebasher, & the portly looking younger chap was Neil Giblin, aka JAKALLY. Here's the three of us after convening in The Three Horseshoes post-round. (I never knew the other chap who, as it happens, was much the nicest of the three).

Click to see full-size image.

Wow!

Jakally is looking very well. I really would like to have a chat with him, I owe him that and more.

xXx

 

I thought you could never leave...

 

Books!

I hope you enjoy them all Tony.

I go through phases I must admit, during my longer than expected stay in hospital last year the only thing that kept me sane was Audible. I've just finished 1971 the year that music changed everything, before that I read Dave Grohl's autobiography. I'm currently listening to the 2nd  Wolf Hall book on Audible and one of Richard Osman's books at the same time.

The Eagles book you have was written by Mick Wall. He started of writing in Sounds in the 1970's and has written about quite a few bands, managers etc including one on Marillion.

Don Henley was famously asked in an interview about when the band would play together again, to which he responded "when Hell freezes over". When I lived down south, we all scrambled for tickets to see the Eagles at Twickers on that very tour.

They are due to start The Long Goodbye farewell tour next month.

Funny how things turnout!

So pleased that you both had a great time Tony, I concur with others that your waffling has been terrific.

Safe travels home to you both.

xXx

p.s I've found another book for you, I'll pm you later. No rush x

Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and songwriter for The Band, has died aged 80

The Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist, died in Los Angeles after a long illness.

R.I.P Robbie

Morning.

I promised to do a few updates, Fat Vinni, Miserable Trev & a few others asked, but to be honest, very little of note has gone off.

Having said that, I’m a huge fan of Diaries (in the book form) especially the ones that are filled with fine detail & minutiae & some of my favourite books lifetime have been that sort of thing.

The Alan Clark Diaries were perhaps the best. Political Diaries really, detailing his time as an MP & various ministerial roles. His detail was incredible, right down to his daily bowel movements & texture. (I’ll not go quite that far…). Don’t get me wrong, he was a horrible man – a racist & Nazi sympathiser & a full on womaniser despite having the most wonderful wife. He was so posh he lived in a castle in Kent (Saltwood), & when he was short of a few bob he’d sell family heirlooms for a few milly apiece. His wealth, of course, was inherited from his father, Lord Clark the historian. Karma got him in the end though, & he died an agonisingly slow & humiliating death, (cancer of the brain or somesuch) when this once proud & independent man was forced to rely on his wife for literally every basic need. Absolutely the worst sort of politician, completely self-serving. Fascinating man though, in a sort of Trump-ian way. The end of Alan Clark's final diary was written by his wife & it was tremendously emosh for all that he was a bastard.

At the very opposite end of the spectrum were the Tony Benn Diaries, again full of the minutiae of daily life. At the time my politics could not have been further removed from his, but he was one of the last great politicians, in that he was there to serve others, not to self-promote for gain. A wonderful man & a great read.

The Alan Bennett Diaries were fabulous too, though in a very different way.

I took 4 books to Vegas with me, including the Alan Rickman Diaries. TBH, I’d never heard of him and had no idea who he is or what he does, but a sample speed-read of a few weeks in his life looks very promising.  (PS - Actually, he no longer does anything, as I now gather he passed away in 2016....)

Anyway, all that is my way of an excuse for the waffle that follows, as nothing interesting has happened. It was interesting to me though, as I'm in that sort of reflective phase of life.  

Click to see full-size image.

Alan Rickman is/was my favourite actor.

I was emotional when he passed, he was so unique and his voice......never forgotten.

On RHPOT he adlibbed beautifully and rumors were that Kevin Costner said he would never be in the same film as him ever again. He based his Sherriff of Nottingham outfit - totally ott studded leather on Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy.

Candles were lit and a shrine made by youngsters at platform number 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station made famous by Harry Potter when they heard about his passing.

Ahh so many things I read, looked up about him I could ramble on but I could post spoilers so enough!

His Wiki is good read too

xXx