Too many cooks.....

....don't necessarily spoil the broth. Quickie from last night's family get together to celebrate niece Lizzie's marriage in South Africa today....the stay-at-home's had a great time! (my fuzzy head tells me so....)

It's official......

.....the letter arrived this morning, and as from the 31st July I'm a pensioner (the above is back-of-an-envelope-workings-out of exactly how many days of gainful employment there's still to work.....as in, counting tomorrow, 6 and a half, the circled dates are leave not yet taken this year, use it or lose it they say.....no cash alternative) Still in shock because I'd almost persuaded myself they'd turn me down.....

Wonder if the hairdressers can do me an emergency blue rinse............

Sarah's website is alive and well and living in cyberspace

......but don't forget your sunglasses!
Link

Here's Jonny!!

Here's Johnny, originally uploaded by moclaydon.

The nephew at his homecoming parade in Edinburgh this morning.....I'm amazed it's anywhere near in focus, those 3rd Rifles move at a helluva lick! Welcome home Jonny!!

There's a few more on Flickr

Eyes bigger than our bellies.....again!

Eyes bigger than our bellies.....again!, originally uploaded by moclaydon.

And this wasn't even all of it.....now I think I need a bit of a lie-down.....

Playing catch-up

Thank goodness for paper clips.....a minor kitchen catastrophe averted yesterday  when 'something got blocked' while Chris and Nick were cooking Christmas lunch

I'm still in the recovery position........

Chuck-out Friday

The Council has been emailed about collecting the fridge, the dishwasher, the chest of drawers (without the drawers), the vintage microwave (probably with a vintage lasagne inside, didn't check), the 2 rusty bikes, the lawnmower that hasn't seen active service for years, the wheelbarrow with a gaping hole and 2 burnt out vaccuum cleaners. But I kept the overhead projector and portable microfiche reader.....you just never know when they might come in handy! I also found a compact camera that I forgot I even had, I may take it out for a spin tomorrow. No idea who the redoubtable lady above is, but she turned up in an old photograph album that used to belong to a vague relative of my great aunt....also appearing were a lot of gents either in full highland dress or in World War 1 uniforms, I bet there were some stories there, unfortunately there's no-one left to ask what they were.

Some of the sort-out was done to the accompaniament of the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain, a sample for your delectation, 'I'm just a Teenage Dirtbag' like you've never heard it before.....



Now it's me for the couch and a bit of kitten communing!

Family affair....

....as in just back from one, and decidedly squiffy. Subjects tonight are granddaughter Daizy on the left (about to inflict some sort of fiendish foot tickling torture on her victim) and her second coz Ben on the right (who doesn't seem to mind too much and is always willing to smile for the camera) Bed calls................

Surveying Berlin.....again

And staying with the European theme, I'm off to Berlin on a fieldtrip very soon....check out the website, live the dream....imagine me tramping the streets with 50+ quantity surveyors! (I'll be the one at the back shouting 'two by two, hold hands while you cross that road, get a move on!'....it's rather like herding cats)

Jesmond Picture House

After standing empty for 15 years, the Jesmond Picture House is earmarked for demolition and replacement with a, no doubt faceless, office/shopping complex sometime soon (if the process hasn't already started....it's a while since I went 'the posh way round' on the Metro to town!) Seeing that there's a bit of a family connection (Uncle Elwood was the manager there at least until the early 70's and was always good for a free seat on a quiet night when my grant cheque didn't quite stretch) I thought a memorial post was in order to mark its passing.

From Wikipedia...."This suburban cinema opened in 1921 and survived well into the multiplex age. Made in America was the last film to be screened there when it finally closed its doors in October 1993."

The Jesmond didn't just do films, I remember seeing Alexi Sayle there in the mid 80's....it was described as "a memorably bawdy and raucous night", and I can vouch for the fact that it was!

In 2007 28DaysLater, the UK urban exporation group, 'gained access' (no names, no pack drill!) and took some pictures of the decayed interior....see them here together with scans of the Chronicle write-up

Rebecca's Graduation

She might have a degree but she couldn't get to grips with posting to the blog! Luckily the photo above landed in my inbox so here she is in all her glory.....WELL DONE REBECCA!!

Happy Birthday Sarah.....slightly early post!

earliest picture I could find.....and a very nice one! (PS.... jeez, I knitted both of those jumpers!)
Happy Birthday Sarah!!

Possible entry in the "End-of-Term-Party" stakes.....

MEDFOUNA....A sort of middle-eastern take on an all-in-one mega burger.

For the dough
1 sachet dried yeast
175ml/6fl oz lukewarm water
250g/9oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp salt
1 tsp caraway seeds
olive oil, for brushing
sea salt flakes, for sprinkling

For the filling
1 onion, finely chopped
½ large stick celery, finely chopped
2 tbsp thyme, leaves picked and chopped
4 tbsp flatleaf parsley, chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
500g/1lb 2oz fillet steak, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. For the dough, add the yeast to the warm water and mix to dissolve.
3. Mix the flour, salt and caraway seeds in a bowl. Add the yeast and water mixture to the flour and mix to form a dough.
4. On a floured work surface, knead the dough for ten minutes.
5. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and place in bowls. Cover the bowls with a tea towel or cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
6. Meanwhile, for the filling, place the onion, celery, thyme, parsley, coriander and meat into a bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well.
7. To make the medfouna, once the dough has risen, roll out both portions into large rounds the size of a dinner plate.
8. Place one of the dough rounds on a baking tray. Place the filling on top and spread evenly, leaving a 2cm/1in edge. Brush the edge with a little water. Place the second dough round on top and press the edges gently together to seal the bread.
9. Brush the top with some olive oil and sprinkle lightly with sea salt flakes, taking care not to oversalt the bread.
10. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown.

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers

OK....a personal blast from the past....

.....found an original, yellowing, partial copy of one of the classic comics in a dusty cupboard. Did a google and found a downloadable boardgame. Possibility for the end-of-term party on the 18th July perhaps? (.....assuming everyone is talking to everyone else this year!).....and not forgetting I've got a resited work plotter to test and a pile of foam board to recycle (cans of spray mount a given!)

LATER....And the film that (I guess) never got made....

Anybody fancy.....?

....just spotted a lone advert on a lampost on the way to work this morning....so short notice!

Family History "getting started" guide

pdf version of an 8 page guide from 'Who do you think you are?' magazine added to the box files

Haltwhistle walks

Local Walks - the Haltwhistle Rings are a pack of 22 circular walks in and around Haltwhistle. You can download them here in pdf format....maybe we could give one of them a try the next time we visit the ancestral home! Found at HaltwhistleTown.org

Anne and John/Singapore/Hot and slightly damp!

Serves them bloody right!

Mouth of the Tyne 2008

There's a website, but not a lot of detail yet. Despite that, tickets have already been booked for the Saturday night concert at Tynemouth Priory, any family members wishing to join the party on the grass call John or Mo for more details. Anyone else....this has always proved to be a good night out, weather permitting of course!

A ghost story...The Grey Man of Bellister

Here's a story that Dad told nearly every time we were driving home from a visit to Haltwhistle when we were kids. This is the start of an early printed version (The Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurences, Historical Facts, Traditions....etc etc, 1846) I happened across at Google Books

"It was at the gray of the evening twilight, about half a century ago, that a stripling held his way towards the castle of Bellister, with the view of entering into service there. Having crossed the Tyne at Haltwhistle, he found the darkness increasing fast ; and although the distance he had to travel was not great, yet in those days, bad companions were more common than welcome on the unfrequented roads after nightfall. Leaving the Ferry, he passed a thicket of willow bushes, and then his route lay along a broken road, which he had been directed to follow, as that which would conduct him to the castle."....

Read the rest of the story here

And there's a more up-to-date version here (also the source of the moody picture)

Fast forward to the early years of the 20th Century when Granda could have been no more than a teenager. He and some friends decided that they would do a bit of ghost hunting and lie in wait for the Grey Man. They took fright at what was probably just a piece of paper blowing in the wind and hot-footed it across the bridge back into Haltwhistle, terrified out of their wits. When they got there they met with one of their original number who'd got there before them....and Sammy Teasedale was soaking wet. Apparently he'd been so scared he'd not bothered with the bridge and had 'gone streyt ower the watter'