Bar-B-Q Weather

It's bar-b-q time again and the smell of burning haloumi is wafting through the trees. Thankfully quieter this week except for the kids bouncing on what sounds like a rusty pile of springs a few doors down. The Polish reggae has ceased and the birds are chirruping in the apple trees.
The Cloudy Lemonade from Aldi is very nice despite it's name , made the french way with real lemons.
The Linda MacCartney sausages are smoking slightly and the kebabs dripping with herbs and olive oil. Yum!
This morning we went to the boot sale at Verdin park. That's where I got the bernard Miles EP seen here. Uploaded to my audio blog.
Hazel found a few interesting things for her blog including a bunch of novely biros and some badges for Archie. Also a dustcart ( missing its doors ) and some plants.
Betty's stall yielded up a hand held scales- in it's packaging - the sort rag and bone men used to have for weighing the bundles of rags.
I actually saw a rag and bone man the other day - going past in his lorry - shouting through a megaphone thingy - "Any old rags!" as in days of old. The back of the truck was full of old bedsteads, cycles, oil drums, washing machines etc. Good to see he is making a living one presumes in these recycling conscious times.

Bank Holiday Weekend

I can't remember much of the last week's doings. Archie left school but has to go back from some exams in June. He seems much happier and even freed up his brain enough to start some new animation projects.
Today we went to two boot sales in Whitegate and Moulton. The first was in a sunny field and well attended with 50 or so cars parked round the edge of a football pitch. Betty had a stall there with her daughter. We didnt find many bargains just a couple of DVD's so went on to the next one at the British Legion in Moulton. Juts a few stalls here and also not many bargains except ( a blackbird just flew into the window with a bump!) another DVD of an old Orson Welles film "The Lady From Shanghai". Hazel got some plants.
Then to Morrisons to get some bar-b-q foods like buns and vege burgers, salad and orange juice etc.
Had lunch in the garden which was very pleasant under the shadey sycamores. No noisy neighbours with power drills this time.
Talk was of old recordings of Archie when he was 5 or 6. I knew I had some on cassette somewhere and after lunch managed to find two and dubbed them onto MP3. Very funny they are too.
Now its dinner time already and time to get some cheese on toast and salad.

Happy Norway Day!

Another day of sunshine and showers. Luckily we missed the showers when at the boot sale at Weaverham this morning. Not many bargains to be found though had fun looking.
I got a DVD of "Erik The Viking" from Terry Jones and some of the Monty Python crew. Not one of his better efforts but worth the pound I paid for it if only for the extras like "making of" and "documentary" etc.
Hazel found a strange metal measuring thingy for narrow gaps. Also some plants and other bits and bobs.
A bit of a lazy day in front of the PC and telly - watching Come Dine With Me etc.
Also read the Sunday Times and ate a Linda McCartney pie and chips. Very naughty - will have to have a salad tomorrow to make up for it!
It's National Norway day today so clever of them to win the Eurovison Song Contest to celebrate. Got a nice photo and text from our Norwegian chums.

Long Dark Lonely Night

Excellent new animation and song by our clever poet friend Roger Stevens.

Grosvenor Museum

Had to pop into Chester today to fetch rejected collage from the museum. Hazel drove to "park and ride" and then the bus. Got there a bit too early. Looked round the charity shops first and found a CD wallet that are always useful. Hazel went off to Morgan's and other clothes shops she likes while I waited for the museum to open with all the other rejects!
It took about 15 minutes to shuffle in and sign a form whilst frazzled looking helpers looked for the rejected work and held it up so everyone could see it and think to themselves " Oh yes, awful, I can see why they rejected that one!"
Maybe just me then.
I went back to get Hazel and we looked round the Open Exhibition which was open already though the PV is on Tuesday. My collage was hung about 6 inches off the ground so great for any midgets or elves. Other abstract work of the same size was hung higher up which made no sense whatsoever. Hazel wrote as much in the visitors book but I restrained myself incase they black listed me! The whole show was a bit of a jigsaw with pictues hung higgledy piggledy with no apparent thought of how they would be seen. It was a bit of a curates egg as most open exhibitions are with the shoddy amateurs hung side by side with more accomplished professional work.

Went to sit on the Roman gardens to eat our vege sausage rolls and drink our Cola.
Then back via all the buskers and the town crier to the bus and home.
Archie phoned us just as we got to the Craft Centre and asked if we'd had lunch. We told him we had bought him a sausage roll and he could wait 30 minutes or make his own. He agreed to wait. We popped into the co-op to get more food. Didnt see hardly any motorbikes despite the annual Thundersprint on today and tomorrow..

Flobcast

Revived Flobcast from way back.

Novelty songs from the 30's from a tape called "Comic Cuts Vol. 2" on the Old Bean label released in the 80's.

Tracks are-

1. You Can't Do That There 'Ere - Jack Payne & His Band
2. Fanlight Fanny - George Formby
3. The Pig Got Up And Slowly Walked Away - Ambrose & Orch.
4. A Thick Thick Fog In London - Jack Payne & His Band
5. Madame Ah! La Marquise Ah! - Billy Cotton Band


Walked into town this morning in between the drizzle showers. It brightened up later and was quite warm.
I got a bit of shopping including pickle, fish and parsley. Found two old scratchy 78's in a charity shop. Can be found uploaded to my audio blog.
Saw Treena and Betty in the Age Concern shop. Betty says there are several boot sales this weekn including Hartford, Antrobus and Verdin Park. She prefers Hartford she said as it would be drier - a bit damp under the trees in the park especially when the wind blows the leaves covered in rain which drips down on the stalls underneath.

I managed to get a bus back in time for elevens's.
In post was news that one of my collages entered for Chester Open was accepted which was gratifying but annoying that I will have to go all the way to Chester to fetch the other which didn't get selected. They had over 500 artworks sent in for 157 spaces so I suppose they had to choose carefully and not annoy too many people.
Also nice stamp sheet from Leslie Caldera in California of his collection of bicycles plus some late stickers for the Wheelie Bin Gallery.

Llandudno-Angelsey

Lovely May weekend bank holiday. The weather was beautiful - too hot really . We all got burnt - forget to take the sun block. Usually it rains on bank Holdays so it took is by surprise.
Drove to Llandudno and stayed in hotel we usually stay in. It was double booked so we found outrselves in the house behind the hotel with a view of the car park. The landlady was very apologetic and tried to make us as comfotable as possible.
Another surprise was the annual Victorian Extravaganza - three days of steam fairs and parades and sideshows etc. All great fun though very crowded.
We got there early so able to play the penny slot machines without too much trouble. Some steam rides including a huge "galloper" with ornate horses and pipe organ in the middle. Lots of pipe organs on the sea front too including one on the back of an old van.

Crammed a lot into the first day including parade of all the floats, marching bands- including an amazing one from Woumhout in France. Traction engines, stilt walkers etc. Great to see the George Formby massed ukulele society of North Wales in the town square. We sat and watched them for a while.
Wonderful victorian inspired sideshow in a tent called Professor Voltini and Electra the electric lady who sat in an eletric chair and had sparks coming out of her via a cucumber and a spoon! Prof. Voltini also swallowed swords. Plus a rubber lady from Cuba whose contortions made your eyes water. A Faraday Cage finale with sparks flying round the tiny tent.
Walked down the pier to play the slots and back up to the Happy Valley gardens to have an ice cream and sit on the grass and watch the tide come in.

Later we had a lovely vegetarian pizza at a resturant we discovered a couple of years ago when we were here. There wasa film show in the eveing somewhere of "The Card" with Alec Guinness- filmed in Llandudno apparently but we were too tired to go and see it. Walked along the prom and collapsed at hotel.
The next day a long drive to Anglesey and beach party with Hazel's colleaugues at MMU and Nick who was retiring. Nice picnic and beach games on the beautiful sandy bay on the west coast down a narrow country track. Lots of kite flying and wine drinking etc. We all packed up at dusk and made out way home. Glad we didn't drive all the way from Northwich as it would have been too much. Thankfully a better room when we got back to the hotel and a sea view. A piper in full scottish kilt and regalia was on the hotel steps trying to lure people in to the 40's singalong inside the hotel bar but I think he just frightened them all off!