Celebrating the 70's - A chronicle of time and temperature

  Monday 11 March 2024 For those complaining of the lack of information. I apologise, as I have been a tad busy, with nothing spectacular to comment on and some days lately, like today, we have done nothing much except sit by the fire and read. The weather has turned to ‘English Winter’ even though it’s Spring, so it requires discipline to go out for a walk or drive. Maybe tomorrow. We have three lots of people coming back (second visit) to look at the property and one lot bringing their architect. So, up early and finish the clean up from Sunday’s lunch. Sweep, mop and vac, finish dishes and put the house back into presentation order. Just got the fire alight this morning when the first couple arrive. Flashy contemplated cooking scones and coffee – an old real estate trick but couldn’t be bothered. It’s their second visit anyway. The 3pm couple with the architect are still here at 4.30pm and we have made the decision that if they are still here in 10 minutes, we will just ma...

  Thursday 7 to Sunday 10  March 2024 Wednesday is a shopping trip to Leatherhead to get the ingredients for Sunday’s Ogilvy 50 th Anniversary (of Lady P’s nannying) lunch. The weather is crisp with blue sky in the morning and around 11c. Thursday was, however foggy for most of the day so it felt a lot colder. We went to Dorking on Friday, to drop off Flashy’s £10 dinner suit to the alteration lady to have the waist let out and the sleeves let down, as the previous owner obviously was a tall, thin bloke with short arms. She is highly praised on Facebook and a pleasant Swedish woman from South Africa. A bit expensive at £65 for the service, but in the end a very inexpensive suit. Notice I didn’t say ‘cheap suit’ because it isn’t. It was made in Germany by those famous German tailors. Saturday today and we spent all morning prepping for the lunch and all is pretty well sorted. Lady P has washed the silverware, double washed the crystal and set the table for 14. Just a lit...

  Tuesday 5 March and Wednesday 6 March 2024 On Tuesday we drove to Padstow mainly because Rick Stein comes from there and we wanted to have a look at his restaurants, maybe have lunch. However, having previously dined at his restaurant Bannisters in Mollymook, on the NSW mid coast and been fairly unimpressed, we decided on a pasty, a pint and a glass of water, before heading to Plymouth. Padstow though, was a pretty little fishing town. We had booked the Drake Hotel in Plymouth, a beautifully renovated, boutique hotel within walking distance to the Theatre Royal Plymouth. Laura Jane’s eldest son Sebastian was one of the principal actors/puppeteers in the ‘Life of Pi’ play and it was opening night in Plymouth. We met Laura Jane at the theatre, as Sebastian had secured seats in the dress circle in what was almost a packed house. The play featured actors animating models of life sized animals similar to ‘War Horse.’ The lighting and sets were amazing and the play fantastic. We ...

  Monday 4 March Awoke to news of our niece Emma’s engagement and had a long chat with Jenny.  It is decidedly bleak outside today with light but constant rain and cold wind. Not a day for driving on narrow country roads. So it will be am admin day with catching up on emails, paying bills and reading by the fire. Lady P has just about booked the four weeks of Ireland for April with two pet sits and one home exchange. This three weeks of free accommodation makes the trip financially doable and leaves euro in the account for cultural activities such as Guinness. I mentioned yesterday that we had ticked off the culinary delights of Cornwall – pasties, scones and fish and chips, but we have missed one – rabbit. I saw a story on the ABC about Australia’s rabbits in the 1900’s and as many of you will know, old Flashy was a rabbit trapper, shooter and ferreter in his youth, selling the skins and the meat to earn pocket money. He is also a keen consumer of the meat, prepared in ma...

Sunday 3 March 2024 After a morning of admin, we departed on a drive at 11.00 am to Fowey, a nice seaside town with plenty of pubs, shops and old buildings. After a coffee, Lady P says we should walk out to the castle. About 1 hr walk there and 1 hr back.  Flashy agrees, as it looks like an easy stroll. However, about half way, we started to descend down a long road towards the beach. The castle is on a hill. Going down also means that coming back, you are going uphill.  Flashy absolutely detests walking hills. Rather cut off his drinking arm with a blunt knife. What can be said? Did you enjoy the walk?, asks Lady P. Well, no actually.  At the castle, which is just   a turret and a pile of rocks, there is this laminated sign pinned to a tree branch advising the public that there is a private ceremony for   an hour in the castle 'grounds', to spread Arlo’s   ashes, so please respect our gathering. Could have posted it at the top of the track, not at the bo...

  Saturday 2 March 2024 After a very comfortable night in our house, with the fire burning and underfloor heating working, a very comfortable bed and a modern bathroom with rain head shower, we plan our foray into Cornwall, looking for churches and graveyards. Joanne has sent through very detailed research on Lady P’s relatives on her maternal side - surname 'Thomas'. First stop was Truro, a decent sized town with a market. In 5 degrees and some intermittent rain and hail, we peruse the market, buy some salt and then locate the Cornwall Family History Society, looking for information on the “Thomas,’” who were mine captains back in the 1700-1800’s. Apparently, a mine captain was a fairly important chap. They (the Thomas’ lads) were pretty religious too, in the Methodist way. We are now heading into the country in search of mine sites, churches and the like. This means ‘B’ roads. Lady P is driving of course, and still arguing with the GPS. She is having difficulty with ‘ya...

 Tuesday to Friday Tuesday 27 February 2024 A day at home today. Reading and relaxing, with a soaking bath at 4 pm. Wednesday 28 February 2004 Planning for Cornwall tomorrow, so some shopping required. Currently waiting on Bob the Log to deliver more firewood. Thursday 29 February Drove to Barnstaple on the coast west of us in rain mostly but arrived in Barnstaple to the Ebberley Pub for the night. A pint of London Pride and a gin and tonic before we walked to a few other bars for drinks. Almost the start of a pub crawl. We found what was allegedly the best Indian restaurant in town and it was pretty good. For those of you desperate for food photos, here are some of the last few days. Friday 1 March 2024 We had a full (almost) English breakfast in the pub for five quid, which was pretty good. Then we walked around in the rain, so Lady P could get her coffee fix, then to the opp shops looking for a dinner suit. Well you could tickle my arse with a feather, we found...