Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Autumn leaves fall and are swept out of sight

Sunday, September 25th, 2016

Wonderful autumn

It’s definitely arrived. Outside it is mellow and damp and I have just picked some cooking apples to go with the apple and blackberry crumble we are planning for lunch. After the beef and ale pie. I need to pop out and get some custard and puff pastry. I like my custard cold. Like revenge.

Custard is a dish best served cold. I like that. Has depth. Meaning. Goes well in sherry trifle. And with apple and blackberry crumble.

This year is our first serious crop of bramleys. Anne’s dad Keith gave us the tree a few years ago and it is now becoming established, if still in need of some growth spurts.

After lunch we will be waving farewell again to Joe who is off on the second year of his Newcastle adventure. Year two at university is one to cram as much in as possible. He is social secretary of the university wind band and also plays in the university jazz orchestra. Good times.

The house will be relatively quiet once more. Apart from the fact that John’s drums are now in the attic where the roof and floor serve as the perfect amplifier for sound. Boy are they noisy. John sits up there practising with headphones on listening to a sound track.  Whenever you want to communicate with him you have to go up the ladder and wave to attract his attention. We can’t complain. He has a good mix of activities – sport, music and of course online gaming.

Anne is preparing the veg before she heads off to choich. Also peeled the apples. I’m responsible for the pie. It’s like being the bloke stood at the bbq but different. I’m not bad at pies, stews and roasts. The secret is good ingredient and slow cooking. I don’t make my own pastry. Maybe one day. I’m told that the pre made stuff that you just have to roll out is just as good. Perhaps I’ll try making it myself one day.

Bought some puff pastry in Waitrose. It’s the perfect size for the dish so no messing about. All is quiet now with the inhabitants of upstairs doing their own thang and me tapping away whilst the pie filling simmers gently on the top of the stove.

Looking forward to when we need to light the fire. Doesn’t very often get cold enough in Lincoln but it is nice to have it lit occasionally even though I will probably find myself sat there on my own. The house is big enough to lose a family of six without getting on top of one another and they all tend to find a space somewhere. On the rare occasion that they are all home that is.

moo

crumble

Joe’s band at the West End Tap last night

A love poem for Coffee.

Thursday, April 2nd, 2015

Oh dark mother, once more I suckle at your caffeinated teat.

From the bean, via steam, your emanations are all at once bitter and sweet.

With milk or alone both comforts and uplifts.

Please accept my humble thanks for your abundant gifts.

In plain sight

Friday, October 25th, 2013

It once made you powerful,
Now it only makes you feel that way.

Deficient in daylight,
In bunkers sealed airtight,
Strength drained as you cower;
A precious guard around your own weak heel.

Observers, silent, underground,
Huddle around glowing transcripts;
As, with one foot severed,
A new enemy prowls.

Knowledge unshared,
Is power impaired;
Friends become foes,
And adversaries real gorge on your frenzy.

In a parallel world,
Adapted to your thought blockade,
People just get on with it;
And walk in plain sight, unafraid.

Gloss

Tuesday, October 15th, 2013

XCorporate social responsibility,
Floats on a soft breeze,
In through a high window,
To land delicately,
Bold and beautiful,
In the middle of a matrix,
Of meaningless aspirations.

Spun beyond substance,
Words betray readers,
Who do not ask questions;
And the buzzwords sit,
Meaningless on the manifest,
A lofty detraction,
From aggregated ambition.

Out from within

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013

Shout louder,
Listen less;
A tribe in a bubble,
The other side can hardly hear you, you know…
Step out from within,
Away from the raucous din…
They hate you,
As much as you hate them;
And them over there,
Well, they despise you both.

Outside,
Up here;
You’ve got more in common,
Far more than you dare admit, even to yourself…
Yet you strive to demonstrate,
Differences that separate;
Shout louder,
Die with a sore throat!
The first to shut up,
Must surely win.

The jolly man in the red bow tie

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

 

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The Ceiling at Temple Church.

Monday, June 17th, 2013

I went to London recently, as a tourist, and visited Temple Church.

I loved the ceiling in the nave so I made this image.

Crisis what crisis?

Thursday, June 13th, 2013

Well there’s the antibiotic crisis, the global banking crisis, the Eurozone crisis, the South American crisis of 2002, the crisis in the theory of dynamical systems, the omg we’ve got no milk crisis, the what am I gonna wear crisis, the hair colouring went wrong crisis, the mid life crisis, the baby sitter can’t come tonight crisis, the almost out of petrol and there’s no garage for miles crisis, crisis at Christmas, the existential crisis, the crisis of confidence, the Syria crisis, the crisis in the kitchen, make up crisis, beard trimmer battery goes flat in middle of trim – stuck on chin hair crisis,

To be continued…

Welcome back summer!

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

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French national anthem a la philosopherontap

Sunday, April 21st, 2013

Na na na naa naa naa naa naaa na na

Na naa na naa naa, naa na naaa

Na na na naa naa naa naa naaa na na

Na naa na naa naa, naa na naaa

Na na naa naa naa naa na naa naaa

Na na naa naa naa naa na naaa

Naa naaa na na na naaa

Naa naaa na na na naaa

Naa naa, naa naa, naa na na naa

Naa naa nan a na naaa.

 

Vive la republique!

 

Alternative French national anthem sung whilst on rugby tour to France

Na na na naa naa naa naa naaa na na

Na naa na naa naa, naa na naaa

Na na na naa naa naa naa naaa na na

Na naa na naa naa, naa na naaa

Na na naa naa naa naa na naa naaa

Na na naa naa naa naa na naaa

Ou est le papier?

Ou est le papier?

Naa naaa na na na naaa

Naa naa, naa naa, naa na na naa

Ou est le papier?

 

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