Soop's special kitchen for like-minded folk and treasured pets

N&G Send a waft of curry aroma in this direction. MacSporran maintains that it's his top favourite dish. He lived for many years in Leicester and knew ever curry house like the back of his hand.

Charleygirl Best not answer the door bell after dark. Stay safe and secure and let the blighters call back at a reasonable time of day. Also, get yourself a doorbell that lets out a vicious bark. Tara wouldn't be much use as a deterrent. Or would she?

Greyduster The sculpture is a beautiful work of art. Wee Torben has some way to go before he enters the stroppy phase. However...he knows very well how to put on a bored face when he's not getting the attention he craves whenever he tackles something like a tough Lego project.

I visited the care home this morning. M told me that she and her 90 year old sister are going to buy a house. I said, but you are very looked after here. Why would you wish to move? She thought about things for all of five minutes and said - I don't know who these people are. After which, she proceeded to name every resident in the room.

Back with you all after tomorrow's ironing duties.

soop Tara can be helpful. Some nights I am lying in bed reading and she is beside me. I hear a noise outside, look at her and if she settles down again I know not to worry. Last night she was worried.

My last cat used to stand behind me if he thought that there might be trouble.

Soop, does MacSporran remember the TK Balti on Green Lane Road? Our favourite since 1995 but so sad to report that it closed this spring. We have yet to find a replacement

Charleygirl I trust Tara's intuition. Animals can sense when something is iffy. I'm so pleased that she's looking after you. Good girl, Tara. Gentle strokes and all that jazz.

JaneD3 MacS liked the Taj Mahal, Highfield Street. He wasn't familiar with the TK Balti as he was, at that time, living in Cornwall.

It’s a b****r when a favourite food outlet closes. We have had similar happen with a Chinese restaurant we used to like - it was very good and the only one I have ever been able to get DH into!
We took DD out to lunch today. It wasn’t an outstanding success as the pub was very busy and when my meal came I had to send it back because it was stone cold. By the time I had waited for them to cook me another one, DD and DH had finished theirs. Although I told them the second dish was fine, they knocked it off the bill. Unfortunately it cut down the time we had allowed for a walk and we were rushed into taking a rather strenuous rock climby short cut up a gritstone edge, which everyone but me thought was great fun! It’s funny how climbs never look as steep from the bottom as they do when you are half way up!! I thought it was downright dangerous! Five years ago I would have taken it in my stride and thought nothing of it. For all his bravado, I think DH overdid it, because he was feeling ill when he came home and has now gone to bed ?! Hey ho, at least I can watch what I want on the tele! It was nice to be out, though. Lots of climbers out today (ones who actually knew what they were doing!) and walkers.

Taking time out from packing for fortnight in Y Dales - saw your pic & story Grey. We have favourite walks, some with "cardiac hills" & others with river gorges requiring careful progress even on well-trodden sections close to lovely waterfalls. You're right about the misleading looks of climbs & descents. (Gulp!) Hopefully being more than a stone lighter than I was last trip I won't have to stop & "admire the view" because I have to this time but rather because I want to & will feel happy to let OH catch up!! ( Hope your OH is recovered now)

Another visit to the Royal Free today. We left just before 9 and getting paw up and organised by 8.30 was a bit of an effort, starting with a cup of tea at 7.
Thank goodness we are driven there and back it is £120 well spent as I am knackered regardless with the strain and responsibility of it all. It helped too taking a wheelchair even if my steering is lethal! The M1was good going but a nightmare coming back and we had to come off and try the back roads because of an accident and carriageway closure ahead of us.
Paw was reading /watching TV in bed half an hour ago but I see that his light is out as he is exhausted from it all too. You might wonder if it is worth it, but we think it is as this hospital is a centre of excellence and are always so thorough and of course au fait with his medical background. That is one reason clinic visits take so long and always over run (even with 4 consultants and a senior registrar “on”. )
But is it normal to be SO tired?

Maw I had a routine appointment yesterday which took 5hrs 15 mins door to door. I am much younger and fitter than Paw and I was knackered tired out when I got back! Be kind to yourselves.

We have a dog staying tonight and as a result Charlie has decided that the only place he can sleep is on top of me, in bed. After a week in prison the cattery, he was already pretty clingy!

Greyduster The photograph is lovely. We used to enjoy such walks in days long gone by. We had all the right clobber. It was a pity that your lunchtime treat was out of kilter thanks to having had to play catch-up. I imagine that the kitchen staff were hard pressed to keep with the influx of orders. It was decent of them not to charge you.
I also hope that your husband has fully recovered from the strenuous exercise.

Maw You are a star. I've said so many times. What a day! At least you had the satisfaction of knowing that Paw was receiving the very best of care. Try to relax, if you can, and recharge your batteries.
Aww! When I read of Charley being all clingy and such, I remembered our lovely late Rory. We still miss him VERY much.

JaneD3 Crikey! Where did you need to travel for your routine appointment? No wonder you were knackered when you returned home.

Sorry, Maw...the bit about Charley was meant to be included in JaneD3's message. Fingers are trigger happy. It must be the coffee I'm supping.

I've just bought a book on Ebay that I've been searching for for 30 plus years. My mum threw most of my books away and there were several that I've always wanted to see again. Found two of them but the third, an American book about a dog called Lad, eluded me. Was about to buy it from America when suddenly and English seller pops up [how did that happen?#thewondersoftheinternet]. Can't wait to receive it even though I know I shall cry [I did with the other two!!].

Tegan I have been keeping an eye on eBay and at auctions for a 1952 Rupert Annual but they are as rare as hens teeth and when the originals do appear are outside my price range. I hope you enjoy your book when it arrives!
Maw I hope you and Paw are having a less stressful day today. I would hate to have to travel that far for medical treatment.
Soop himself is more his old self today - whatever it was he seems to have slept it off. Not like him to take to his bed. I hope that life is being kind to yourself and MacS as you have been in the doldrums too recently.
I am off for a much needed haircut. I’ll look in later.

Tegan2 Your lucky day! You will have been thrilled to discover that there was a English seller. The American version would have cost you dear in postage.

Greyduster I think that it's important to keep books from childhood. One of MacS's annuals is from way back in 1945

Talking of eBay, I'm in the early stages of selling some super items of clothing that are cluttering my wardrobe but may prove to be a bargain for a buyer. It's a heck of a long job. First photograph item. Second measure and describe in detail. Third go to the appropriate page and upload all the info'. Fourth sit back and wait for some interest to be taken. I'm about to photograph everything. I may be gone some time!

It would have cost @ £40 from America, but I would have gladly paid it. My concern was that it would turn out not to be the exact book that I was looking for. The other two books I've found over the years are Ghost Horse by Joseph E Chipperfield and a Picture Show Annual from 1954. With both of them, as I turned the pages it was as if I'd just put them down for a moment and then started reading them again. My only concern is that I've always said that finding 'Lad' was my raison d'etre and, if I found it I would implode. So, if you don't hear from me again after Saturday you'll know why! Mind you, I've just found out that there is a dvd about Lad also.

Tegan2 The dog called Lad book is ringing bells with me. When it arrives do you think you could upload a photo of the cover or the first page? It might help me remember ...

One of my early childhood favourites was The First Day of the Holidays, from Ladybird books. I was reminded of it when DGS first showed a fondness for penguins, and managed to find a decent original online about 3 years ago. It came in very handy for his first school holiday project of making a model of a method of transport. We used the book as backdrop and constructed an old-fashioned motor-bike as shown on the front cover.

Please tell me NOT to spend anymore time photographing, describing and listing clobber for eBay. I'm knackered. I hope that I never ever get the urge to spend another day like today.
Housework totally neglected. I need a G&T but will have to wait until the weekend. Why? I ask myself.

Take good care of yourselves. I hope to return tomorrow afternoon.

Evening all!

My first chance to pop on. I miss my old routine :-(

The oven worked perfectly thank goodness.

Sorry your meal was spoiled Grey , I hate it when that happens. It’s not as though you went out to eat alone !

Grampy has started a bad habit letting Sam sleep on the bed , which doubles as his vantage point for when we go out. He sits patiently waiting for the car to pull back in the drive.

Books are wonderful aren’t they Tegan , they make us laugh and cry.

Great excitement here as the two little boys are making their first visit tomorrow. We are all prepped and ready . The millions of boxes are slightly reduced to thousands !!

Great sunset here tonight too.

Swanny; you mean THIS one...

This is why I can't throw anything away. The main thing I remembered about my Lad book was a lady wearing two tone shoes. When I read up on the books my picture book seemed to be an amalgam of several Lad stories and, as I read about them it triggered things in my memory. He saves a child from a snake in one story; he gets lost in the city in another whilst wearing a muzzle [I think he has a fight with another dog who bites through the muzzle]; there was a nurse in another. The strange thing is, now I know I'm getting the book little things about it keep entering my head, even though it's over 50 years since I saw it. I loved book so much when I was a child and have to rescue books that I find in charity shops that have writing in them so that someone will love them again. Alas Greyduster; I have a few Rupert Annuals but not a 1952 one; I do have Buffalo Bill 1953, though...

I have a few myself, Tegan, and I used, as a child, to receive one every Christmas but I remember one particular story about Rupert’s mum having a bad cold and telling him some sunshine would make her feel better, so he toddles off into the mountains (like yer do!) to visit wise old goat, who has a machine that turns sunshine into liquid and bottles it! He gives Rupert a bottle for his mum and hey presto! It has stayed with me for an eternity and I couldn’t remember which year it was in, so I consulted The Rupert Bear Society (I kid you not!) who told me where I could find that particular story (sad old git that I am!). Anyway I love the original Rupert books for their illustrations, if nothing else.
Glad the oven worked, N&G! Your boys must have been champing at the bit to get over and visit you! I hope you all have a whale of a time! A long time friend is coming up from Norfolk tommorrow to stay the weekend in the Peak District. We haven’t seen each other for thirteen years and we are as excited as your boys to be getting together again on Saturday. She originally hails from Soop’s neck of the woods and still has her lovely Scottish accent.
I went to have my hair cut today, and I was complaining about how very grey my hair is getting. My hairdresser said to me that she has had an influx of younger customers coming and asking for their hair to be coloured exactly the shade mine is now... silver grey is all the rage apparently. So, there is hope for me yet . First time, in my early seventies, I have been “on trend” since the early seventies!!!

I've been to get my hair done today too greyduster Got to look presentable for some exciting upcoming social events!! Unfortunately my hairdresser has overdone the highlights and I'm not happy with it.
Just popped through to the 'playroom' to rummage through about a dozen boxes of children's books which have been waiting to be sorted for several months. The problem is that I can't bear to part with any of them. I've turned up a Rupert annual but it's the 1970 version. One of my favourite Ladybird books is Shopping with Mother (1958). Mummy wears a hat and white gloves to take the children shopping and they visit the drapers, ironmongers, butchers with whole carcasses hanging in the shop and open-fronted fishmongers. All so different from today.

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I’m way out of touch with kitchen matters! Good to hear you’re settling in n&g, those boys will be giddy at the thought of visiting I’m sure.
What lovely memories evoked by tales of old books. We had some of those Ladybird books when ours were small. DS was fascinated and terrified, in fairly equal measure, of one called The Runaway where Sandy a domestic rabbit has a close encounter with a fox! We had to read it at least once a day, he knew it by heart and so did I! I’m afraid I’ve been fairly ruthless in getting rid of things over the years. Mind you I do have a substantial stash of old greetings cards, children’s drawings and other things which are special to me.
Lovely photo of your walk greyduster it reminded me of visiting Surprise View in that area. Loved that statue too. Is it a permanent thing, I’d like to see it next time I’m in that neck of the woods.
Hope you have some decent weather to enjoy those lovely Dales walks
* poshgran* We had a bit of a walk yesterday, beautiful and contrasting colours and textures at every turn.
Well we survived our day at the zoo despite hideous traffic on both journeys. The 2 x 11 year olds were on remarkably good form as were their respective younger sisters, it was a pleasure to share the day out with the 2 families. I think it was Ann who mentioned that age group being top of the pile in primary school playing a part in some of the stroppy behaviour the display. And then they seem go through that stage again at about 18 and need to go off to university or work to become better people - or that’s how it worked for mine anyway.
A good friend, 10 years younger than I am, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Hearing her news this afternoon cast a bit of a shadow over my day, but I felt better after I’d spoken to her. I’m too far away to do anything useful, but fortunately she has some good friends close by.
Wishing you all a refreshing nights sleep to cope with whatever tomorrow brings. x

Morning all !!

Just sitting here enjoying the calm before the storm. The little boys are en route and after 90 minutes in the car will be on high octane when they arrive !!

Enjoy your visit Grey I don't expect the 2 of you will stop talking !! Nice compliment about your hair. I visited my hairdresser before the move and she kindly pointed out that the white blends beautifully with the blond....argh.........

Glad your day out was nice Grannie there is a zoo near us here , so I think we might be visiting- October is 'Love a Lemur' month....well who doesn't love a lemur I ask??

I'm sorry to hear of your friend , I hope the prognosis is good.

Well I am off to risk life and limb in the shower over the bath - the sooner we find a plumber to take out the bath the better, one of these days I shall impale myself on the taps getting out !!

Happy days all xx

N&G the boys will be so happy to see you. Good luck with that.
I use a small plastic step from Dunelm to get in and out of the bath/shower. We have a walk in shower room downstairs but my present hip problems means it is harder work going upstairs, getting undressed, going downstairs, showering, walking back, well you get the picture.
I really hope you are very happy in your new home and surroundings, you waited long enough for it.