Charlie Fiver

From Facebook Archives

1 June 2025 at 09.27

How can I tell it's the first of the month?

Ferretfingers has just walked into the office, stark bollock naked except for the bandage on his leg, and handed me a fiver.

And it's a Charlie with a Churchill on the back.

Maybe it's time to change Churchill for someone else.

Perhaps Aneurin Bevan the face of creating the National Health Service.

Or would that be too political?

As if Churchill isn't political.

Mrs Quilt  That sounds a very, very good idea.  NHS is 77 this year.  I suspect that it has had as much impact as Churchill guiding Britain through WW II.  Not necessarily better but equally important!

Bentonbag  Churchill was very good at PR, presentation, inspiration and allowing people to get on with doing what they were good at.  But were it not for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, WRENs, WAACs, WAAFs, scientists, boffins, industrialists, spies, intelligence officers, codebreakers, landgirls and the fact so many people were prepared to 'do their bit' (irrespective of Churchill's speeches) we'd have been lost.

Mrs Quilt  Very True, But they just put the figurehead on the notes!

 

Gardening Days (mostly)

From Facebook Archives, from the first year I was on the site and last year.

31 May 2009 at 11.07

Have just had breakfast in the garden.  Fruit juice: toast with butter and homemade apple jelly; tea; and the Archers.  Bliss

31 May 2009 at 15.51

Have spent all day gardening and am tired, dirty, sweaty and have had too much sun

Miss Fiddle  Ditto!

31 May 2025 at 20.09

The Community Nurse called early yesterday when I was out with Thunderthighs at the dentist, so Fester had to deal with her (and vice-versa).

The bad news is they have run out of pico dressings but are expecting a delivery before Tuesday so Ferretfingers’ has got what amounts to a very large elastoplast, with sticky on all four sides.

The good news is the wound has become so shallow that pico dressings won't be applicable for much longer.

Yesterday Fester harvested the kale as it was preventing me using half the lawn.   

He fried it and there are now 10 chinese takaway boxes full in the freezer; each box holds sufficient for two people.

Today I hoed, raked and fertilized the bed and planted a row of parsnip seeds, a row of spring onions and radishes, and 40 leek seedlings.

At the Clousden Allotment plant sale he insisted on buying the bigger pot of leek seedlings.  So at least another fifty went in with the marrows in bed#1; which now only has space left for the sole pumpkin (still in its original pot on the front bedroom windowsill).

Thanks to Thunderthighs, the inedible kale stalks and flowers are now forming a nice thatch on the compost heap behind the garage.

After all that work, and watering, I had to lie on the bed for the rest of the afternoon.

Breakfast in the garden, when the weather allows, is my favourite way.

 

Rule-of-six? Butter

From Facebook Archives

30 May 2020 at 23.16

4 snails this evening.

People a few doors down having some people around in their garden - sound like more than six to me, unless they are particularly loud!

Fay  26 for me - including one in the living room doing slime circles on the rug (3.30am - been trying to catch him out for ages).

30 May 2022 at 12.55

In Sainsbury's this morning Anchor Butter was some 20p cheaper than their own brand.

As I picked it up I suddenly remembered Dad's faux posh "Enchor Buttah" (copying the tv ad) every time my Mum bought it.   

Made me smile.

Labourlad  My mum measured good butter when it allowed a full set of front teeth evident in buttered toast.

 

Mind Over Matter

From Facebook Archives

29 May 2020

I had a zoom meeting this afternoon and there were some things I had to say to someone about their attitude and behaviour.

The response was "I'm sorry you feel that way "

Before the person could go any further I heard myself saying "I don't care how you feel about how I feel, that is not the point."

We'll have to see whether the message has got through.

Mercy Dunn  I really want to know what was said.

Bentonbag  It was resolved by the end of the meeting, we shall see how things go.

I've suddenly remembered something Uncle Laurie (the police officer) said to me when I came up for interview at Newcastle: 

"It's a case of mind over matter, if you don't mind they don't matter."

I think it was the only piece of advice he gave me.

That and to use the Tyne Tunnel and A19 rather than the A1 through Gateshead, County Durham and North Yorkshire.

Tylebach  What is zoom? Xxx

Bentonbag  It's where you can have meetings online and see each other.  A bit like Skype on steroids.  Like facetime but for a group of people.