Monday, 30 July 2018

a Fine Balance

or close to a saw off

The battle between sun and rain. We need both, natch - and we are getting our share of heat and water. The lawns look a little shopworn from the lengthy hot spell but lately a good mix of rain should perk the grass up.

To-day, for example, warm w/ a dash of humid - No not great conditions for roofing as the guy across the street is doing ( by himself, I think ) but all in all a reasonable day.

I did a little grunt work yesterday, namely weeding and trimming. And managed to get a rash spot from touching plants. I wolfed down some anti-histamine as soon as I saw the pimple, and maybe I got drugs in me in time to prevent a spread of rash.

I was wearing long sleeves and gloves but still while reaching down, knew that I made contact w/ some stems and leaves.

Saturday, 28 July 2018

On a Saturday

a slow morning, on line casino and coffee

Check the email site, post an entry on the blog

The ' Korner Pub ' is my latest hangout. I've not had a hangout before. The smallish area is a counter and 8 tables. The food ranges between pub style ( w/ fries ) and leaning way toward sophisticated depending who is the chef. When Babu is on hand ( after 1 P ) the choices go big and so does the flavour.

The clientele are locals and these types know each other well. I'm a guy from ' away ' as they say in Newfoundland -ese. The fellows are very accepting, well mannered and egalitarian. Women are accorded a large dose of respect. Charyn, a owner, is pretty feisty.
all the bar staff are ladies.


Friday, 27 July 2018

All in a Day

the marine trolley got mean

We fished Thur morning, in the heat w/ a warm wind pushing us along. Not much doing but we stuck it out.
We came in and had lunch and took a snooze - a real snooze.

The boat and trolley are sliding down the ramp < CLUNK > and the trolley stops dead. No up or down possible. The boat is halfway down the ramp or rails. The water is about 20 in deep at that point

On examination the rear wheel fell off the rail and was wedged against the edge of the rail. This meant that the trolley had jumped about 2 in to the right.  We jumped into the water and placed paving stones under the trolley and boat and tried to lift the whole shebang.
Well, trial and error, more error than trial but finally, the wheel crunched into place. The cause is still an issue. Likely its a rebalancing job on the support pylons.
There was a time, 4 years ago when I needed to adjust those pylons weekly. However, for the last two years, I haven't had to do any tinkering.
Back to tinkering, I suppose

Its an organic thing - w/ the wave action and gravity - the movement of the rails is inevitable and then so to the problems.
Besides the whole system is 30 yrs old and meant for a smaller and lighter boat ( 17 ft aluminum ) not an 1800 lb fibreglass job.


Wednesday, 25 July 2018

Back to the old Reliable

fishing

Pluses : boat ran a charm
              trolley for the boat felt like being agreeable
                -went up and down w/out a more than a grumble

Downers :
                 one oversize walleye that went back to swim

Day was warm and sultry but the wind never stopped and in fact blew like crazy.

Fails : a wag suggested using Krazy glue to hold plastic bodies to jigs

I managed the first 2 go s at gluing then broke the glue bottle

Well it worked
thus more crazy glue and another try

I had 1 smallmouth bass - a good fighter and champion for its size


Who Knew

it would hurt so much

According to the Car Research Group, the effects of U.S. tariffs and counter tariffs would be expensive for all parties

How much you ask ?

some $9 000 on a $30 000 car







Sunday, 22 July 2018

My Saturday

What ? I didn't know its Sunday !

The lead in: I had the sniffles Wed through Thurs. Fri felt a little rough. Napped and went to poker. Came home at 12:30 Saturday feeling like crap ( thats an expression, I felt headachy,stuffed up-- I felt like crap )

Saturday, in bed all day. I couldn't get comfortable, tossed and turned. Then about 4P, M stuck a thermometer in my mouth.
Oh ! 38.1 C ( 101 F )
Oops ! you're sick
Pop the Advil and went to sleep.
That was Saturday.

To-day, humanity has returned. I have no appetite which means I'm close to dead b/c I dream of food and cooking. I plan my meals for the day, lying in bed in the morning. Doesn't always happen the way I planned but I look forward to something new. Then eat the same thing.
My big kicks right now are olives. Thus, olives /cheese / slice of bread ( a ploughmans plate ) is lunch.
Also, prunes. While in England, the Bubble Inn had stewed prunes.
I decided to buy pitted prunes.I soak 3 prunes in water, wait a few hours and bingo bongo - I've got a snack.

I think that I'm fever free. My head is clear just not hungry.

So, what did you do Saturday ?

I'll write about Sunday, later. But don't expect too much

TTFN
We shall see said the Zen Master

P.S. 8:33 I had a beer. I saw on line that chicken soup, garlic, ginger etc all make you feel slightly better. But since the only alcohol was mouthwash and a sip of Canadian Club, 12 yr old whiskey. What the ' hey ' 
It couldn't make me deader, we shall see said the Zen master

Friday, 20 July 2018

Bud-ology

yes, broken sleep and listening in on the buds

Topic : Agriculture as the nemesis of human ethics and development. Grains meant 
a) the ability to store food = amassing capital = inequality
b) concentrated food = sugars = disease = deformity

Heck, I like rice

Iran, plaything of the powerful nations. In modern times, Britain was first, followed by Russia and then the U.S. All about oil and the politics of politics.



Thursday, 19 July 2018

Reality

I don't travel well
Flying is off putting for me

Thus, I can't imagine stagecoach or sailing ship
or any other conveyance

The phrase ' doesn't travel well ' is used for wine < and me >

I inherited a cold from the baby of the house in England.
So far, just a head cold

BUT for me. Next my throat is sore
                      Fever starts
                      In bed for 2 days

That is the progression

Did you know Toronto is the same latitude as Cannes, France

And London is the same latitude as Calgary, AB, Canada

' its a long way from LA to Denver
its a long time to hang in the sky '

London is further, there JD < John Denver ? >

The best part of flying : thinking about it

In the movie, ' Apoclaypse, Now ' the River Patrol has a saying
' never get out of the boat '
Should my saying be ' never leave the ground '

We shall see said the Zen Master


Wednesday, 18 July 2018

England in Review

or my version of the country and what went on

I would love to say that football, ' soccer ' dominated the airwaves and press.
However, other items kept stealing the show. 

The UK is dealing w/ ' Brexit ' or the series of unfortunate events that have followed a vote to leave the European Union. The divisions are many but go as follows ( maybe, if I got it right )

Hard and soft exits. Hard means going cold turkey and cutting all ties cultural, monetary and political. Soft means keeping some established ties w/ Europe e.g trade and business relationships

Europe needs to make this as painful as possible for Britain. And the EU is doing a good job. The EU position isn't out there in all its glory. The EU is sitting back and seeing what Britain can do.

B/c internal strife is front and centre, and all over the press in England.

To me, most folks in Britain want some control over immigration. Under EU rules, travel and employment are open across member states. But the EU is under pressure to deal w/ all sorts of migrants ( political or economic or cultural from non - EU places ).

The economic ties are involved and tricky. London is considered a business centre of Europe. However, a ' hard ' exit could cause the departure of offices from Britain to prevent problems resulting from trading in Britain vs  Europe and any red tape between the two entities.

Soccer. It captured the imagination of all England as the national team made the semi-finals of the World Cup. Thus, for a month, the nation united to cheer on the ' Three Lions '.

Heat. There is debate about the severity and / or problems caused by a weeks long period of heat and dryness. The difficulties include drought caused meadow fires and dropping water reserves. In fact, a grass watering and water wasting ban was announced for some areas of the country



'splaining the ' names '

LGW  is London Gatwick Airport, our destination
               a sprawling shopping centre designed to look like an airport - oh, planes do land there



Ashford, Surrey is the home village of our hosts, M's cousins

Hayes      is their former home and the location of Sainsburys or                       my favourite grocery store in the UK
Staines     is a city close by Ashford


Bournemouth is a recreational city on the South coast
Swanage         is a resort town slightly over from Bournemouth
Milford-on-Sea is a beach town, 30 minutes from Bournemouth
Hampton Court is a showpiece complex w/ much historical                                        significance
Windsor is the location of the castle, race course and Princes'                           estates. We shopped in the Royal stores, on site

races  were at Windsor
flowers were the Flower Show at Hampton Court

Marine House was the B/B in Milford
the Breezer is the bus or how you get to Swanage from Bournemouth
Hermitage is the older Hotel ( B/B really ) in Bournemouth
Wheatsheaf is a local pub just on the edge of Ashford
Boots is the drug store chain
West Close our away address for 2 weeks



Monday, 9 July 2018

Names

LGW

Apologies, folks

Ashford, Surrey
Hayes
Staines
Bournemouth
Swanage
Milford-on-Sea
Hampton Court
Windsor

races
flowers
Marine House
the Breezer
Hermitage
Wheatsheaf
Boots
West Close

Sunday, 1 July 2018

1867

July 1 1867, in fact

The Day of Confederation for North of the 49 th

This is now Canada Day, a Federal holiday or Bank Holiday ( UK term ).

             Happy Birthday - CANADA

And fireworks in many locations around the city

All except places like Newfoundland which joined Canada in 1947 ( ? )

Gardening occurred between 7 - 8 AM, in the relative cool - there was even a breeze. Trimming and weeding took place