Sunday Frost

Another video from the Flip camera taken at Granma's house and in Marbury Park. Have tried messing about with the software included which mixes the images in certain ways- like the sepia look here plus jaunty background music.
Brrr! Its cold today- thick frost outside. Yesterday we took some junk to the local tip and had to queue up with all the others who had the same idea. Time to make room for all that new junk we have aquired! We had several defunct electrical gadgets piling up in the shed - electric kettle, hair dryer and radio that are all burnt out or malfunction in some way. Amazing heap of similar objects at the tip. Hopefully they are recycled in some way and not just go to land fill.
A brief walk around town to see what sales there were. Not much it seems. Woolworths looked very sad and empty with just a few items left - like some third world supermarket. Hopefully it wont remain empty and boarded up for long.
One wonders what shop will follow it down the rocky road to ruin.
Hazel bought some A4 printing paper but it wasnt any cheaper than usual. I looked for a USB cable for the Flip camera but couldn't find any.
Will have to try Chester next week as they have a better selection of shops.
After dinner ( the last of the nut roast ) we watched Billy Bailey DVD "Tinselworm" that Archie gave me for Crimbo. It was quite funny but not as good as expected. Playing to large arenas really looses some of that intimate atmosphere of the earlier gigs.

Racing Pudden's

Here's one of my first uploads from my new Flip video camera. Racing xmas puddings that came out of some crackers from Morrisons. Much better than those usual tedious plastic novelties like key rings and shoe horns etc. We played with these for ages over at Granma's yesterday after dinner. We were so full it was about all we could do!
We also played a long game of Monopoly which was won by Audrey i think though I'd lost the will to live by the end of it! Thank goodness we didnt play Scrabble else I'm sure it would have ended in tears!
The new polish neighbours had a party last night but warned us by bringing round some polish food and a bottle of wine which was nice of them - what english people would do that? They weren't that loud but at midnight we could hear polish songs being sung and glasses clinking. We managed to drop off and sleep like proverbial yule logs.

Granma's Birthday

It was Hazel'sMom's 75th birthday the other day so we had a nice lunch with them and took along some presents and cake etc. Archie took his uke to play "Happy Birthday" and generally entertain us. We helped put up the plastic folding tree and the decorations and threw our chips into the garden for the robins and starlings etc.

This was the card I made for her. It also doubled for a theme at Scrapiteria.
Very mild here with temps. in double figures. No white Xmas this year methinks.
Did some more shopping this morning early before the mad rush. Just waiting for Bruce the piano teacher to turn up for dinner but he is late. Maybe his train is having trouble with the mild temperatures or leaves on the line?

Sanity Clause

Just back from shopping at Morrisons for mince pies, custard, poppadums, parsnips, etc. etc. and other xmassy groceries. I'll expect we'll be out to get more before the 25th though. It wasn't as hellish as i thought it would be but the drive there was full of incident- mad drivers over taking on bends and tail gating and we caught them up at the lights so what did they gain? Stupid iriots - as Benny Hill once said. Audrey came along too and was telling us abou the scrape she got from a big lorry with sickly driver who shouldnt have been driving by the sound of it. The insurance people said the car would have to be scrapped which made Audrey very upset. We went along to see the damage and it was a very faint scratch down one side and the hub-cap popped off and rolled somewhere ( who knows where? ) and a slight dent- hardly visible by the naked eye, so to suggest she have it scrapped seems ludicrous! It shook them up- her and Granma- though and will be wary of big lorries in future, especially those driven by pale sickly looking men.
We have lightsup inthe back room now - around the window which brightens it up a bit.
Hazel was just outsie washing the car and a Water Co van drove up and parked right across her white line. She wasnt pleased needlesss to say and told him to move it as the whole street was empty mostly and so plenty of other places to park. Another sickly looking bloke with hardly any brain cells to rub togther. How come they all get work with the council, water, electric services? Duh!
Another van drove up shortly afterwards and they grunted at each other as they went looking for a leak. "Dont park there- she's already told me off!"

Archie is back from bowling. He said he now smells of chips, grease and bowling alleys.
Off to get the tree now. The one from last year in a pot at the bottom of the garden is still alive but looks a bit tatty and probably full of slugs, bugs and weevils.
Also an interesting selection of cards from people we dont know or can't recognise! Who, for example, are Freya, Pippi and Inga? They sent an intriguing packet of "pills" with a home made label" Christmas Survival Pills" which are really Tic-tacs. "May Not Work On Teenagers". If anyone has any idea who these jokers are do let us know- both Hazel and I have no idea who they are, but scarily they seem to know us!

Rainy Weekend

Just back from a drive through the deluge to Weaverham to drop Archie off at jack's ( he's going bowling as part of Jacks Birthday treat ). We went on down the wiggly wet lanes to Frodsham and Lady Hayes Antique Centre and did some browsing amongst the old tat and books etc. In the candle shop ownded by Bob Carolgees ( he of Spit The Dog fame - see above) Hazel bought some Xmas candles and matches. Bob was behind the counter serving but no sign of Spit. Hazel didnt realise who it was until I pointed out the posters outside stuck to the window.
Hazel bought a few presents for herself that I can wrap up for her for crimble including a nice old biscuit tin, a multi-pen,pencil stamper gadget and some needles etc. Also some other stuff for her blog.
Other good news is that Archie passed his Grade 1 piano exam .

Do You Feel Christmassy Yet?

Not in this drizzle I dont! Just back from a shopping trip to town. My duffle coat soaks up the rain like a sponge. We have our lights up and flashing - so do the neighbours. We have new noisy ones from Poland or somewhere foreign. They seem friendly enough but shout very loudly in Polish or whatever it is. Hard to work out who actually lives there as I've seen at least 5 different people coming and going. They have at least two flashy cars- a BMW and a Passat. They'll find parking a nightmare down our street - one of the reasons the last couple moved out apparently.
O well , it's early days yet. Watch this space for further neighbour news.
I did the collaged xmas card again this years and got 100 printed at Boots for 8p each. We spent most of the weekend sticking them down onto card and folding and enveloping , rubber stamping etc. I posted a heap of them this morning and spent this afternoon doing more. One wonders if it's worth all the time and effort!
No time to feed the ducks this weekend. More shopping and sliding on the trecherously slippy pavements!
Woolies was heaving due to a 50% off lots of things Sale, but not much I wanted sadly. I did queue up to buy a calender on Sunday when it was relatively quiet.
Fascinating stuff eh?
Hazel made a christmas cake with the help of his nibs. It looks good enough to eat. I was thinking about making some mince pies but probably easier to buy them. Mine tend to erupt like mini volcanoes and spill sticky goo all down the pie dishes like so much treacley lava! It hell to wash off afterwards.

Where Did That Week Go?

Seven days have just flown by! I can't remember much of it - it's all a blurr. We did go for a walk to feed the ducks though on Sunday as I have this photo of Hazel being follwed by a few mad geese to remind me! Half way round Shakcrley mere we found a notice baodr which had new posters pinned to it - Do Not Feed The Wild Fowl!
First time weve seen it! Now we feel guilty after dumping half a stale loaf in the lake - but the ducks and geese went bonkers and chased us up the path - they obviously love the stuff. I suppose its like us with naughty stuff like cakes and chips! Apparently they get full of bread and cant eat the healthy stuff and get sick. Try telling that to the little kids who feed the ducks every weekend!
I must consult my very tedoius and dull diary which says-
Wednesday- Went to town and got two videos "The FLY" and "RE-Animator 2" for 20p .each. Hazel working every day this week - coming home exhausted and going straight to bed. Pipes still leak free. Hooray!
Thursday - Archie's Grade One ivory tickling at some old farmhouse in the wilds of Anderton. Full of ladies with buns in tweeds. Grand piano that he wasnt used to and cold fingers. Doesn't sound very promising.
Friday - Winter heating allowance- yippee! Walked to town and back. Drizzle. Did some Xmas shopping.
Saturday - Took bags of old vids and books into Oxfam. More shopping.
Sunday - Went shopping AGAIN with hazel. to argos and B&Q for floor paint for bathroom.
Monday - Snow! It didnt last long though. maybe we will have a white Xmas this year? Painted floor of bathroom with weird smelling pale green paint. I managed to tip the can up and so half the floor is cream now and really shiny! I will paint the rest tomorrow. luckily half a tin left. Drips have stopped which is good.
Downlaoded Toon Boom software to try. Our PC isnt fast enough to handle it. Seemed very complicated too. Similar to Flash.
O well, thats it in a nut shell. Off to paint the floor again now.

Moustache

Here I am waiting for the plumber. I wonder if this one will turn up? We haven't had much luck with plumbers in the past. Our leaky pipes don't excite them much for some reason - they want whole bathroom suites to enstall and central heating boilers to tinker with - big money jobs.
We went to cinema in Knutsford on Saturday to see the latest Coen Brothers film " Burn After Reading" which was good though not as good as Fargo or Raising Arizona. It took a while to get moving and introduce all the people in it but once it got started it rolled along to a hilarious conclusion with a few Coen Bros. surprises on the way. It was certainly funnier than "No Country For Old Men"!
The next day we went to a boot sale in a nearby village despite the rain. Luckily they had a big community hall to shelter in. Quite a few stalls and got some games and DVD's - two Hitchcock films among them. Hazel got a "magic candle" that changes colour and a zip for her blog. She later took her sister and bought tons of tarnished silver spoons for some reason.
Yesterday I walked into town and got the bus back ( I'm getting lazy ) and did some shopping. Some stocking fillers and milk etc. Found a rusty nail for Hazel's new blog.
Still waiting for plumber. I bet he doesn't come.

Shaft

Any excuse to hear the brilliant and funny Ukulele Orchestra of GB again.
A bit of a quiet week despite the return to Crewe flea market and the scavanging in piles of boxes. I got a couple of games. One works and the other kind of does, sort of, does. Also a few stocking fillers I can't mention just incase. Winks- taps side of nose.
Lots of shops closing in crewe , even the pound shop. Shows you how bad things are gettings. Where am I supposed to buy my sets of multi-function glue now?
Even the charity shops seemed full of dregs and barrel scrapings.
I have phoned several plumbers today and left messages on their answerphones but not one has phoned back. Maybe my plummy southern telephone voice puts them off? Hazel felt sure they would jump at the chance of repairing our bathroom leaks. They are becoming more drippy than ever now - and we have to empty the baking trays twice a day. Will phone some more tomorrow and pretend to be Albert Tatlock ( before your time obviously! ).

Lazy Sunday

Neglected to take the camera out this weekend so no pics- so here is Big Al Davies doing a fine version of an old song . Not sure who wrote it but Peter Sellers does a good version on one of his Greatest Hits CD's ( also sings it on YouTube on Parkinson I think ).
Anyway, didn't do much yesterday but had a lovely take away curry in the evening to celebrate our anniversary. We were going to go out but decided against it.
Today we went to Aldi and I made a delicious onion,carrot and potato soup for lunch ( even if I say so myself ). This afternoon went to the Antique fair at nearby Craft Centre ( on the way to Chester ). Hazel bought a nice silver match holder with interesting dents in it. She's going to keep her "memories" in it- whatever they might be. I didnt find anything though looked at a few thimbles for the Chad Valley Skiffle Washboard I bought last week. They were far too expensive. Will try the charity shops tomorrow. Archie wanted some enamel badges for his collection but the stall wasnt there this time much to his annoyance.
So no duck feeding today you'll be glad to hear!

Crewe Flea Market

Heres the Howard Morrison Quartet to listen to whilst you read about my exciting morning at the flea market in Crewe.
It was sunshine all the way as I rode the old donkey along the winding lanes of Cheshire. That humpty back bridge just passed the Trifle Works is always a problem but the steed circumnavigated it without any hiccups or scraping of hooves. The sparks flying from a big pony and trap last time was something to behold and I am always fearful of a jugganaut or camel coming fastly in the other direction. Thankfully the by-ways were clear save for a few tawny leaves of the old bilge tree fluttering down. The Autumnals were even more astonishing this year and regreted not packing my Hasselblad.
The market was pretty busy despite being chilly and a few bargains were to be had. Some I can't begin to mention but certainly the EP by Edmundo Ros and the curios slovakian SL-UK extended play 45 with titles such as Be Gay, Girl and Song From Detva. Both turned out to be quite dreary I am sad to say.
Then the traipse round the charity shops which turned up a few more curiosities including some Pac Man badges and CD case.
Home for lunch of fried egg and mushrooms on toast. The internet was down for a couple of hours and we feared it was our fualt but a quick frustrating phone call to India soon alloyed our fears - it was a them and the trouble was being poked with a pointy stick down at the depot.

Rainy Weekend

Actually it wasn't too bad yesterday - the rain eventually turned up in the evening and spoilt a lot of people's firework parties. Though, around here it still sounded like the Somme! Some bangs were so loud I thought someone had put a firework in our wheelie bin but it turned out to be a neighbour five doors down, so goodness knows what it sounded like in HIS garden!?
This morning it was sunny for a while until we got to the boot sale in Lostock and then the heavens opened so we had a brief window of bargain grabbing opportunity before the plastic sheets where dragged out of car boots and over the stalls and tables of junk. I managed to buy two DVD's = Early Doors -series 2 and Little Miss Sunshine that Ive always wanted to see. Hazel bought some glass candlesticks.
We popped into Granma's for brief chat and dropped some wool off for a Xmas project Hazel wants Audrey to knit for her. Audrey gave us some sweets she's not allowed to have and some mail art to peruse. Granma was still asleep - clever granma!
We drove over to Hartford to another boot sale Betty said was on but saw no sign of it - just as well as the rain was torrential by this time and the windscreen wipers were going full tilt.
So back to the Co-op for a soaking and some breakfast danish pastries and bread.
Now we are back home ofcourse the sky has brightened up and the rain has stopped - typical!

Remember Remember The 5th Of November

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These were at Verdin park at the weekend but similar sights now outside as the sky is lit up with rockets and fireworks. We set some off too at the bottom of the garden decorated with candles and a small bonfire under a bentwood chair that has seen better days.
From the charity shop today I got some videos for 50p each- an early Renior and Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Also a Cd of Arthur Askey songs and skits from the 40's. Some great titles amongst them - The Worm, Why Do Pigs Have Curly Tails? and The Banana.
It's a triple celebration today as its a new president, bonfire night and our 25th anniversary of our first date at a firework party in Alsager, where Hazel was a student. Hard to believe the time has flown by and we are still together.
I couldnt find anything silver but made a collage with some silver paper integrated into it.
It's almost time for Paul Merton in India so better go and wrap this up now.
I made a lentil bake for dinner and the champagne that Hazel's Mom bought round remains unopened . Maybe we will broach it this weekend.

Slava's Snow Show

Saw this wonderful show today at the Lowry.A troupe of Russian clowns I saw some 25 years ago at the Old Vic in London . The show has changed a bit since then but still retains some magical moments. Stupidly I picked up my reading glasses by mistake so couldn't see very well but auditorium was filled with swirling flakes of fake snow most of the time so it didnt really matter!
We got the tram to Salford from Altringham. Luckily the Manchester United supporters had already gone into the Old Trafford ground so no trouble getting there.
We had a quick look round the gallery and the shops and had lunch in the expensive cafe. The ticket machine at Altringham gave us back our money and tickets so we had extra to spend!
More delights this evening as we discovered the annual Rotary Club Firework Display was on in Verdin Park so had a quick egg and chip dinner and went through all the squelchy leaves to the top of the hill and watched another fantastic display.

Happy Halloween!

We have been carving some pumpkins this afternoon in readiness for tonights Trick Or Treat fest. Archie did the big one and I did two little 'uns. Have a big bowl of seeds and gunk and another of pumpkin flesh for soup tomorrow. Yum!
The big bowl of sweets, candy and gooey eye-balls is made ready and waiting. Its getting dark - ooer - something is clawing at the front door - better go and open it. Have a fun time.

Liverpool Biennale

We went to Liverpool by train yesterday to meet up with some of Hazel's 1st years and take the Biennale art trail around the city. The train was late ofcourse but we did get there first and had time to take in the Walker Art Gallery exhibition of 25 years of the Whatnots painting in coils competition- past winners being David Hockney, Lucien Freud, Bridet Riley etc. mostly incredibly tedious abstracts or splodgy figaritve works which have not stood the test of time. The most enjoyable thing we found was this silly "Loophonium" by Fritz Spiegl who was Austrian but lived in Liverpool for many years. There was a button to press so you could hear what it sounded like. Buttons to press are always a winner with me!
After the coach party arrived we went our seperate ways. First stop was the old ABC cinma which had been converted into a library and visitor centre for the MADE UP partof the Biennale. In the old auditorium was a gloomy installation by Annette Messenger of half the cinema seats covered by a big billowing tent affiar with air being pumped into it every so often. This gave the illusion of a wave rolling down to the stalls. On the stage was a very tawdry sculpture of a half skeleton and big dangly hands and feet manipulatedby strings like some weird puppet. What it was all about beats me!
The catalogue throws around various clues and pretentious mumbo jumbo but cant quite put its finger on it. "Messenger delights in multiplicity and plurality,incorporating numerous games for the viewer in her works, material and verbal."

A bit further on down the road was a an old paint shop with installations by Richard Woods and Jesper Just. More baffling painted boards to look like old signs and a video of three screens depicting the antics of a depressed hermaphrodite being dragged around Bucharest.
It was flippin' cold and wet so glad of my duffle coat and scarf. Brrrr!

Next stop was several holes in a wall to peer through at a gloomy room by Manfredi Beninati. Not sure what this was about either. Its all about Memory we are seriously informed.
Next is the wooden steps of some demented architect. This mini stage is merely a temporary resting place and would be a nice place to sit if it wasn't so wet and dreary. The only view is the church opposite which is our next port of call. Here Yoko Ono has invited people to donate stepladders and there are a dozen or so standing forlornly in the rain in the middle of the ruined burnt out church. There are several musical instruments to play on including a load of drain pipes and a dangling set of bells. You can ring these if you wear the hard hat provided, incase of falling masonry.

Then the long walk to the spinning trees and the Bloomberg New Contempories in an old factory just past the cathedral. Tons of weird stuff here- some amusing like the chinese video of a quiet wooded glade - suddenly it is invaded by men in orange boiler-suits who drag off all the trees and roll up the turf for the next picture - a street scene. Most though is typical art student graduate stuff and one can see the influence of Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, et al. The chinese work seemed the most exciting and original especially in the area of video and performance. I came away feeling rather confused by the whole thing- not unusual these days. Maybe I'm just getting cynical in my old age!

Then back to the station via the shops and a quick look in a great antique place. Hazel bought some old cards with buttons on for a pound. Also some old "Sparky" comics for Archie. 50p each.
I looked through some old LP's but they were quite expensive. Quite an Aladdins Cave though and well worth a visit just to see so many cabinets of curiosities.

Beyond Our Kennel

Rather annoyed to be missing John Hegley's annual "lecture" at the Interactive Arts course at MMU in Manchester today. Archie has a mock exam and so can't have the day off either which means I have to stay at home too.
Nevermind, here is a couple of songs from his excellent 12" single on the Glass Fish label from 1986. Nice memories of the "Nuclear Family" gigs at Lauderdale House in North London. We once became roadies for the Popticians ( John's backing band ) and helped our neighbour Keith Moore who was in the band take some instruments and other props to the event in a lovely old house, gallery, cafe and extensive gardens where all the kids ( including Archie ) used to run around.

Its been a quiet week and not much has happened. Hazel has had a nasty cold and had to have Monday off college. As luck would have it that was the day Stella Brian and Joel decided to pop round to see us on their way to Blackpool or whatever place it was? We haven't seen them in years as they live on Guernsey now , so a nice suprise.
Like Archie, Joel has been stretched and now a tall gangly teenager looking to go to university for goodness sake - how time flies!

Went to town on Tuesday to get photos from Boots and buy a few things including some cheap zombie films given away at one time in some newspaper- "Night Of The Living Dead" (colourised and B&W versions ) and "Day Of The Dead" the sequel.
yesterday it was just a trip to Aldi to get some groceries and fireworks. Hazel has forgotten we still had some left over from last year! O well we'll have twice as many for November 5th which incidentally is our 26th anniversary of our first date at a firework party in Alsager. It don't seem a day too much, as the old song goes.

A Short Walk Sorted

Its quite mild today so goodness knows why the heating is up so high- no wonder we were all dozing off in front of How The War Was Won or whatever it was called. Some old ex-RAF chap with huge moustache going on about the capture of enemy radar which turned the course of the second world war etc. Nobody had the strength to push the Ooffah-doofah ( what we call the remote in our house ) It has various nick names around the country it seems. Flipper, blipper, fat controller?
So with great effort and willpower the TV was turned off and we drove over to Shackerley to feed the ducks and geese with the few bits of crusts we had left over.
It wasa lot cooler outside and so the walk woke us up as it always does. Not many others taking the air but Hazel met her old yoga class chum who had dragged her hubby out for an afternoon amble. So they had a little chat about how things were shaping up down at the yoga class which Hazel stopped going to some months back because the new teacher was too erratic. Was it erratic or energetic? I know it begins with an "E". Erational? Anyway it seems the class has settled down now and the new teacher is not so bad after all. So Hazel is considering going back.

Home again and much refreshed by the smell of damp leaves and beaks. I rustled up some leftover lasagne and cheesy broccoli. Roast parsnips and mini yorkshire puddings. Phew! Time to slump back down in front of the TV again!

Not A Place To Dangle David Attenborough

Another week wizzed by. Nothing much really to report. Have been having fun with Crazy Talk software again to add stuff to YouTube. I can't seem to get onto my old YouTube page so have started another which is annoying. The computer can be so frustrating at times!
It's been pretty awful weather all week so havent been out much. Went to town the other day and got some old Humphrey Bogart films on video- 25p each! Those old Warner Brothers film noirs are really great. "The Big Sleep" and "The Maltese Falcon".
I made the mistake of getting some smoked haddock which still has the skin on and made a fish and egg kedgeree with it. The skin was tougher than i thought! I will stick to skinned cod next time. It was very sticky too - I think they must use fish skin to make glue?
We had a look round the Mid Cheshire College open evening the other night. Archie wasn't keen to go but it was interesting to look round the new art block. The tutors seemed very enthusiatsic about the courses they provide and the work looked good. Amazing facililties for ceramics and printing etc. Tons of Macs everywhere. Archie still has a while to make his mind up what he wants to do.
Still looking back fondly at last weekends beautiful summery weather and how lucky we were to go to the beach for a picnic.
Hazel had a cake made for Tony by the lady over the road. She lugged it into college for a party at some wine bar. She said it was nice and lots of ex-students turned up to wish Tony well on his retirement. The cake had a little model of a campervan on the top as Tony has a new one now to travel around to visit his grand children etc.
Nice and sunny today. Hopefully can get out for a walk this afternoon if Archie gets up!

Talacre Beach

Nice day out to Talacre Beach in Wales today where we met up with lots of Hazel's colleagues celebrating the retirement of Tony from the Interactive Arts course at MMU.
Beautiful weather - can't quite believe how lucky we were - it was even better than the so-called Summer! Lovely realxing time with huge picnic that we all chipped in with and wine and cake etc. Yum!

Also silly games on the beach and sand dunes like - kite flying, quoits and boules. Some beautiful shaped kites of all descriptions and even one from the first world war that had diagrams on the cloth of how to assemble.

Quite lot of people had the same ide and the beach was pretty busy with families walking dogs and horse riders - lots of kite flyers too besides us.
The only downside was the toilets were locked up so we had to sneak into a pub nearby to use their wash rooms. Nobody said anything.
Tony gave Archie a nice card for his birthday ( Friday ) witha photo of the lighthouse on. So a nice double take here. Archie's friend Jack came along for the ride and kept Archie company- playing cricket on the sand with the tiniest wickets ever made.