How are you today?

[sound world]

Maybe you could learn knitting. It seems to provide comfort to many other old ladies.

*ducks to avoid passing missile*

[RobB]

Maybe you could learn knitting. It seems to provide comfort to many other old ladies.

*ducks to avoid passing missile*

If Paul considers Beth old what would he make of us, Dave? Ancient or prehistoric do your reckon?

[blue]

So Beth, I praise your effort of doing something that goes with your age.

Maybe you could learn knitting. It seems to provide comfort to many other old ladies.

I used to knit when I was a teenager!

I always used to have trouble turning corners, though - I mean, doing the sleeves - so I don't think I'll bother taking it up again in my old age. Unless I just knit scarves of course.

[blue]

If Paul considers Beth old what would he make of us, Dave? Ancient or prehistoric do your reckon?

I'm rather enjoying being middle-aged, oddly enough. When you're young you feel so much dominated by ideas about what you ought to be, but in middle age you just accept yourself for what you are. Or so I'm finding, anyway.

I'm positively looking forward to becoming elderly like Rob and Dave.

[paul-pgss]

If Paul considers Beth old what would he make of us, Dave? Ancient or prehistoric do your reckon?

Fossiles, Rob.

[RobB]

If Paul considers Beth old what would he make of us, Dave? Ancient or prehistoric do your reckon?

Fossiles, Rob.

Rub it in why don't you?

[sound world]

Is a fossile a missile thrown at old folks?

Now then,Paul,You'd better button yer lip,you young sprog. And get yer hair cut too,laddie.

[blue]

Time to revive Dave, Rob and Beth's nature-watching thread.

I've started throwing all the nuts, seeds and dried fruit from work into the garden, rather than on the field - I was curious to see if the birds would come in even though my cats are often out there, and indeed they have, along with a mother and baby squirrel! My youngest cat chased the squirrels off at first, but they just waited till she got bored and then came back to feast on pecans, almonds and brazils.

Starlings are known for being quite aggressive birds, aren't they? I'm amazed to see how they react to the cats - they fly in mobhanded, range themselves along the garden fence and simply screech like devils at the cats, trying to intimidate them. The noise is deafening. The cats are bewildered.

It's been such a beautiful warm day here, looks like summer may have arrived, thank the lord. I thought we'd never see the end of that freezing weather that lasted right into April. That was a hard winter. [b)]

How are you all? Not much chat recently it seems.

[sound world]

Yes, hot today. I went to a mate's birthday do and we all got boiled in the sun, not expecting it to be so hot yet.
Then we went on to (and I've just come in from) a gig at Bath Pavilion (enormous place without any air-conditioning or ventilation). We got there at 6.30 setting up ready to soundcheck before 8 and then go and grab a bite to eat, but the jobsworth at the venue started demanding if all our gear was PAT tested, which,of course, it isn't (PAT testing is a bit of a joke among musicians). Anyway he wasn't going to let us play, which entailed a lot of frantic phonecalls, trying to find an electrician who could come and test it (fat chance on a sunny Saturday evening) or some fellow musos without gigs who just might have PAT-tested gear we could borrow.
After an incredible amount of stress, amazingly we soundchecked with ten minutes to spare and then did the gig in what by then was a cauldron. What a great birthday for my mate who is sound-man and one of the sax-players in my band. [b)]
Our guitarist was chuffed because he managed to replace his amp with a massive old Marshall such as Dave Gilmour and co used to have stacked in tens, but otherwise it was one of those nights that I've had far too often when gigging. Maybe I'm getting too old for this game...
Got home to a big badger waiting outside my shed.

Beth,you should put some of your nuts etc in a bird feeder, and some on a high flat surface and you'll get a variety of birds coming. You have to be a bit careful putting big nuts out in the breeding season because some adult birds try and feed them to their young, and of course they're far too big.

[sound world]

PS I've just read this thread all through. It's great!

[blue]

Got home to a big badger waiting outside my shed.

Dave, I was feeling very low the other night when I was reading your email, but when I got to that bit I just about died laughing. Ice cream and frozen peas! The very fact that a badger has worked out how to open a freezer!

Beth,you should put some of your nuts etc in a bird feeder, and some on a high flat surface and you'll get a variety of birds coming. You have to be a bit careful putting big nuts out in the breeding season because some adult birds try and feed them to their young, and of course they're far too big.

Oh goodness, I never even thought about that ... it's really only the crows that will go for the brazils, but yes, I'll start chopping them up I guess. The smaller birds tend to go for the dried fruit and peanuts.

The mama squirrel made me laugh that first day I saw her - she obviously hasn't had pecans before, because she picked one up, had a little exploratory nibble, looked very surprised and then ran off excitedly with it up the ash tree, where she proceeded to consume it with a look that said 'This is my secret. You're not having any, baby.'

[sound world]

BTW, Beth, if you put nuts in a bird-feeder you have to be sure the squirrels can't get at it. More taxing than you might think, they're clever beggars.

(and for the benefit of everyone else, what Beth found so funny is that I was telling her about one of our local badgers who has worked out how to get through our catflap, and after raiding birdnuts and catfood, managed to bust into our freezer, pull a drawer out and make off into the night with a haddock, a packet of prawns and another of peas, and a tub of icecream for dessert; the remains of which were scattered all over our garden the next morning )

Beth-you've got an ash-tree? you got an open fire? no need to go cold in the winter. Our ash tree provides us with free kindling all year round, it just ... drops off. And ash will burn green or seasoned, and is the best firewood of all.
And you can't beat a real fire

[blue]

BTW, Beth, if you put nuts in a bird-feeder you have to be sure the squirrels can't get at it. More taxing than you might think, they're clever beggars.

I know, remember those amazing assault courses that people used to construct to try and baffle them? Really, you have to admire their cleverness and tenacity.

Beth-you've got an ash-tree? you got an open fire? no need to go cold in the winter. Our ash tree provides us with free kindling all year round, it just ... drops off. And ash will burn green or seasoned, and is the best firewood of all.
And you can't beat a real fire

That would be lovely, but unfortunately no, I don't have any sort of fire now. When the housing trust put in new heating systems to these houses a couple of years ago, they ripped out the gas fires and didn't replace them with anything. The reasoning being, I think, that if you have an efficient heating system and double glazing, you don't need a fire in the living room. I told them at the time that this room would be too cold without a fire, it's a big room and north facing. Still, it's academic really when you can't afford heating anyway.

I love my ash tree. It was a present from the birds, I think. The first year it was these two sticks that suddenly sprouted up, I had no idea what it was so I let it grow to find out. It's taller than the house, now.

[RobB]

Had a brilliant weekend in north Wales.......weather was perfect and i must have taken sixty piccies at Portmeirion on Saturday but its ok, i'll only bore you all with four.









........... plus journeys end of the mountain steam train ride.



.

[sound world]

Hey, you picked a good w/e, RobB! glad you had a good time.
Portmeirion is amazing, isn't it. I remember being really inspired by the video they show of Clough Williams-Ellis somewhere in one of the buildings, what a visionary.

I like the way nobody is preventing the kids from cooling off/playing in the fountain.