Blog Archives

A Bottle of Red

29/4/2022

As I settle into middle-age (!) I now find that I converse with the birds. Yes – sadly, true. I can’t say that I am a ‘twitcher’ because I can only identify certain birds – the obvious ones like blackbirds, sparrows, and pigeons. However, I do possess a number of small reference books “what bird is that?” in the greenhouse – along with ‘how to grow vegetables’ and ‘tips for successful greenhouse produce’.

Anyway, we enjoy a funny relationship with our regular avian friends, so much so that the family of blackbirds have taken to standing at the top of the steps from the yard (directly outside the house) encouraging us to give them the bread crusts. These cheeky ones even precede us as we tramp up the path to the garden-proper (the path is a good 50 yards along from house to garden – it’s an odd set-up and not for everyone).

Anyway, Paul is always very good at naming our random animal encounters (and human ones too, it has to be said); he also does a good impression of Animal Magic’s Johnny Morris… do you remember him?). Therefore, I am quoting lyrics from Scenes from an Italian Restaurant because one set of blackbirds have been named Breda and Eddie, the other pair are Jack and Diane (from John Cougar Mellencamp’s song of the same) and the {stupid] pigeons are Johnny and Mary (courtesy of Robert Plant).

It is not surprising that the neighbours must think we are nuts (and that’s just for the birds…!?*!).

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (Billy Joel, 1977)

“A bottle of white, a bottle of red
Perhaps a bottle of rose instead
We'll get a table near the street
In our old familiar place
You and I, face to face
A bottle of red, a bottle of white
It all depends upon your appetite
I'll meet you any time you want
In our Italian Restaurant
….
Brenda and Eddie were the
Popular steadys
And the king and the queen
Of the prom
Riding around with the car top
Down and the radio on…

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Civilised in the Cotswolds

23/4/2022

2 Comments

I am hosting a small 'afternoon tea' today - a neighbour is moving to Scotland next week and this is a token 'au revoir'. Therefore, and because I seem to be both exhausted and hyperactive at the same time lately, by 8am today, I had already baked a couple of trays of fairy-cakes - a mixture of plain [vanilla] ones as well as chocolate sponge - to be topped with some mocha-butter-icing. They are not as impressive as the extravagant cakes that Alison always pulls out of the hat, but I'm impressed that they look as appetising as they do!!

However, pat on the back to me!!.

“Under certain circumstances there are few hours more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”
Henry James,
The Portrait of a Lady