Oh please, please, could everyone in Clacton-on-Sea vote for Count Binface?
He looks to be the only candidate standing against Nigel Farage in the by-election after NF resigned as an MP (oddly enough the same initials as National Front, I'veonlyjust noticed). NF resigned as MP, apparently, if I've got this right, in protest at being investigated re potentially breaching the code of conduct for MPs.
Reading the ITVX article it seems he's a 'comedian, satirist and Intergalactic Warrior'. Plus he's written for 'Have I Got News For You'. Sound at least as well qualified as many, then?
Am I serious? Um... well, actually,.... yes?
Meanwhile, I dug these plums out of the fridge;
Perfectly ripe, according to the label... definitely NOT! I remember plums being soft and sweet and luscious, nor crunchy and sour. I'm stewing them with sugar and cinnamon.
I've been looking forward to these plums because of this poem
I bought kitchen towels that were about an inch too wide for our wall- mounted dispenser.
No problem, I thought;
BB looked at my DIY fix, and walked to the shop for some new rolls. 'I'll keep these for the car or the shed' he said...
And that's about all I accomplished apart from lunch (sausages, home-made pasta salad, home-made coleslaw, tomatoes, cucumber, crisps and fruit) and supper (exactly the same all over again, except for the coleslaw).
we were eating lunch; sea bream with roasted onions, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, herbs etc. Plus some purple sprouting broccoli for 'greens'.
The new revised second class post delivery schedule is beginning to bite; Ang posted this last Wednesday, or maybe Thursday morning;
a pink and maroon slip stitch pattern with some suffragette safety pins - purple and dark green. Plus a postcard of an amazing quilt. She describes it here.
Knitting is Not Happening at the moment. Too Hot!
Otherwise it's been a fairly quiet day. I sat in the shade first thing this morning and watched and chatted and answered questions while Vicky sorted out the chaos of all my pots, abandoned for nearly a year now, ever since we decided that this extension was more than a dream. It was an education watching her at work; even if I was physically able enough do to this, I would never have been able to match her quick, quiet efficiency.
Then I came in, and while BB was out sourcing a new key safe for beside the front door, I defied the Builders by working out how to open the patio door, and then fixed a string to the handle in such a way I could open it, and haul it back closed without ever stepping down to my doom. The half open door is now completely blocked by the chair, and we can operate my door control system without moving it.
So that was most of Tuesday... here's the whole poem about peace dropping slow...
I had meant to post yesterday, but after all the activity on Saturday I ground to a halt. No surprises there.
But it was a good day to read Ang's post for Sunday 5th, and right now is a good time to read it again;
A reworking of Psalm 23, published back in the 1960s and written by the Japanese poet Toki Miyashina...
The Lord is my pacesetter, I shall not rush. he makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals. He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity. He leads me in ways of efficiency, through calmness of mind, and his guidance is peace. Even though I have a great many things to accomplish this day, I will not fret, for his presence is here. His timelessness, His all-importance, Will keep me in balance. He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my head with the oil of tranquility. My cup of joyous energy overflows. Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours, for I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,
and dwell in His house forever.
Today started with the builders arriving around about 7.30am. They have worked steadily, fueled with tea, coffee, biscuits and plenty of water until the last bits were tidied away at 4.30pm, with a few short breaks.
I think the most exciting part of the day was moving the shed - entire, intact, complete with contents still on the shelving!
'Have you done this before?', I asked the Man in Charge.
'No, but he says he has,' pointing at Second-in-Command.
So they set the two young men to work...
They managed to lever a pumped forklift trolley under each side, and sort of push-me-pull-you the whole shed from here...
To here, about three or four metres. If you compare the trees in the before and after pictures you can get the idea. It's now sitting where my veg patch used to be.
I took a photograph to say 'goodbye' to the Fatsia
But one of the young men has extricated quite a lot of the roots from the raised bed. It's currently sitting in a tub of water at the shady end of the garden util I can work out what to do. It going to have to live in a large tub, I think.
We've now hit a snag, first of many, no doubt. Work has more or less stopped for the rest for the week, as they can't do anything much until the building control inspector has inspected a small section of the footings to agree the proposed depth. That can't be until Monday.
'Please make sure you lock you back door,' said Man-in-Charge several times. 'People forget, open their door and fall out as the steps have gone. We'e seen it happen so many times.' He gave us a considering look....
and has left one of his machines parked right across the door! I think it is rather sweet of him, and don't resent it at all. We can get out safely from the front door and walk round so it is not much of an inconvenience, and we can leave the door open to get a through breeze without worry.
Peace is all around now...
Evgeny Kissin, Chopin Waltz in C# minor op 64 no 2
I'm enjoying the last few days of the garden... it won't look like this later in the week! The patio, and everything on it, will be the first to go; pots and furniture to the bottom of the garden, papers to be stacked somewhere for later, and as for the border, I shall just have to look away!
I've moved my herb pots to the front door
They are all supermarket herbs, and cuttings (apart from the geranium!).
I'm hoping they can bevjoined by a bay tree - small bush really - which is probably completely toot bound in its wooden half barrel. I say hoping; a couple of our half barrels totally disassembled themselves when the iron hoops dropped, enabling the wooden staves to open like flower petals and cease being any use as a plant container. I've a replacement tub in mind should this happen to ours, or we might make hurried trip to a garden centre.
I will be able to reach the herbs easily by the door; if they were moved to the bottom of the garden with everything else then that wouldn't be at all convenient.
We've hung new bedroom curtains! They are nothing flamboyant. I refuse to spend money on expensive bedroom curtains when we hardly see them! They will improve the look of the room though; the light had faded and rotted the red blackout curtains we've replaced. I never liked them anyway; we bought them in a hurry because neighbours had installed a motion sensitive security camera which was reacting to every passing fox, waking us up several times a night. Both the neighbours and the light have changed, so at last we can go back to ordinary lined curtains. No picture yet...
We've also played with our new 'toy'; BB had the joy of assembling it, fitting all the pieces together (he does enjoy making up kits) and then we took turns...
It's a Flash Spraymop! And it made very short work indeed of the kitchen and bathroom floors, without leaving them too damp. We could be entering a new era of cleanliness around here...
This keeps happening with Ang and me. I could have called this post 'Many a slip' like Ang's...
She's posted today about the Double Knitting Collaboration square on it's way to me - the link is above - and here's the one I've sent to her;
also a slip-stitch pattern, also knitted in two colourways. Mine's a two colour stripe; the left hand is blue as main colour, cream as second, the right hand reversed with a paper blue as the second colour.
This pattern comes out looking completely different to Ang's because the rows knitted in the second colour are interrupted by two main colour stitches being slipped - carried up without knitting - creating the continuous vertical stripe. These slip stitches also pull these rows more tightly together, making a very dense, firm texture. Good for a winter sweater!
Here's the back - the horizontal lines of yarn show where it has been passed behind the slip stitches rather than knitted in. It's much easier to knit this pattern than explain it.
Apart from Ang knitting the cable square last time, we seem to have been remarkably in sync with our choices so far; something I noticed that kept happening during our previous collaborations. I promise we don't ever confer before we decide what we're making!
Which colour did I send? I could make up my mind. So I closed my eyes, shuffled them and picked one. You'll find out tomorrow; my parcel arrived with her yesterday.
Which square has she sent me? I don't know; we both posted them on Wednesday afternoon but hers hasn't arrived yet... hopefully I'll find out when the postman gets here around lunchtime. Things seem to travel quicker going from west to east than east to west. Riddle me that one if you can!
