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A cornucopia of courgettes

Day 3, Writing 101.  Today’s topic ‘one word inspiration – choose from Hope; Regret; Home; Choice; Abundance; Secret’ 

Some of last year's crop!

Just some of last year’s crop!

Growing your own veggies is wonderful.  Just to be able to nip out to the garden and dig up a bunch of carrots, or a few potatoes is a great thing.  But why oh why do we have to get huge gluts of something one year, and nothing at all the next.

For example, last year we had tons, mega-tons, of courgettes. So many that some were left where they grew and turned into marrows (see above!).  Everything we ate had the addition of courgette in one form or another.  We had fried courgettes, baked courgettes, grilled courgettes, courgette cake, courgette pickle, and courgette wine (still working our way through several gallons of that!).

Don’t get me wrong, I love courgettes, and devoted a whole bed to them this year.  But what did we get?  That’s right… zilch, nada, nowt.  Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.  We did have one or two poorly looking specimens, but nothing in the same league as last year’s magnificent beasts.

What we have got though, is tomatoes.  Tomatoes everybloomin’where.  They grew in the greenhouse, on the patio, in the veggie plot, and the flower beds.  Big fat tomatoes, and little sweet ones.

And chillis..

It looked like Christmas in the greenhouse with the abundance of chillis turning bright red before I had the chance to pick them.  So everything we’re eating right now is smothered in chilli tomato sauce.

For a while we were eating nothing but broad beans.  And I won’t mention the amount of plums… plum wine anyone??

So whilst my own veggies are a treat, it would be so much better if the plants paced themselves so that I had crops in manageable amounts.  If the English weather would be reliably suitable for everything instead of one week drowning the courgettes, and the next, desiccating the peas.

Of course, I should feel very privileged that we do live in a temperate climate, where we are generally able to grow a staggering array of crops.  Maybe it’s my skills that are lacking?

Hmmph…. Situation normal then…!

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I must’ve learned something…

Day 2 of Writing 101 – make a list, either ‘things I like’, ‘things I learned’. or ‘things I wish’

Ho hum… I’m not a big fan of lists, though I do occasionally post a listy type blog, the last one being ‘Little Irritations’ and before that ‘Reasons to be cheerful’.  So I’m not completely agin ‘em, but being asked to write one off the top of my head seems a bit dull.  After all, don’t most of us wish for the same sort of things, like the same sort of things (ok, so you might actually enjoy a bowl of jelly – yuck!), and generally find out things the hard way?  So I’m stumped.  Can’t think of anything original to write in my list. Hmmph… only the second day of writing 101 and I’m falling at the first hurdle. Gee thanks wordpress fairies.

So….

Hmm… lets see…

Things I’ve learned…

Hell, I must have learned something in 60 odd years….

  1. Milk goes off if you forget to put it back in the fridge
  2. Paper cuts hurt like hell
  3. It is possible to fall up stairs
  4. Mice like chocolate biscuits
  5. life throws curveballs when you’re least expecting them
  6. If I wear a thick jumper the weather will turn unseasonally warm
  7. If I take an umbrella out with me it won’t rain
  8. It is almost impossible to get a turmeric stain out of a white blouse
  9. Can’t please everybody
  10. I think I can sing, but really, I can’t
  11. Using a piece of greaseproof paper taller than the cake tin helps the cake rise
  12. Life is too short
  13. It never snows at Christmas
  14. The All Blacks always win
  15. 9 times 9 is….. hell, I don’t know… who cares…
  16. Trust no-one
  17. Crying doesn’t make things better
  18. Don’t rub your eye after chopping chillis
  19. I am not elegant when I’m on ice-skates
  20. You don’t automatically become wiser as you get older

There you go, I managed it – 20 things I’m pretty sure about – especially the last one… 🙂

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Father

Posted in response to the challenge by my good bloggy friend Andy (http://andytownend.com/2015/11/02/poetry-101-rehab-father/)  It’s just a bit of a ditty I’m afraid!

I don’t remember laughing
I just remember tears
the shouting and the arguments
the long, estranged, years

As a child you used to tease me
embarrass me and such
you used to think it funny
but I didn’t like it much

You hated all my boyfriends
and you were probably quite right
but you missed out on my milestones
‘cos all we did was fight

We reached an understanding
when my children came along
we’d mellowed in our ageing
and started singing the same song

But then the illness took you
I was there for that at least
and as I watched you as you withered
I was glad we’d made our peace

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Why do I write? Well…

Posted in response to the Writing 101 1st day prompt of ‘Why do I write’:

… there is no one reason why I write.  In fact, I really don’t think about the ‘reason’, I just do it.  But now I’m being forced into examining my motives they are clearly quite complex.

For a start, I do like the feel of scrawling pencil on paper, as well as my thoughts tumbling out and becoming formed through my fingers via a keyboard. Also, I like to play with words, constructing sentences and then improving, changing, and finding new ways of expressing them. I spend hours consulting dictionary and thesaurus until I’m satisfied that my words are as fluid and beautiful as I can make them (of course, they are still never quite good enough though!).

I can be the ‘real’ me…. or someone else, depending on my mood.  It certainly gives me the opportunity to express my dark side (in fact, when I took a creative writing course my tutor mentioned that the darkness suited me!) I can write characters that I’d like to know, or individuals who are clearly bonkers.  I can exorcise nightmares by turning them into stories, or write poems based on pretty dreams. Occasionally, I write things based on episodes in my life and never tell anyone that there is truth in there. Or I can vent, and moan, or share silliness, or adventures.  I can gossip or advise, be sensitive or crass. The world, as they say, is my lobster (yep, I know it’s oyster, but I changed it… yeah, I can do that too!)

I guess I benefit in many ways.  Writing is a creative outlet that I can immerse myself in, abandoning all other thoughts and worries. In that sense it ticks the ‘mindfulness’ box that we hear so much about these days, and in its way it is meditative and calming.

My question then, is not why I write, but why wouldn’t I?

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Thirsty Thurs….ummm…Friday

DSC_0130Yeah I know, Thirsty Friday doesn’t work quite so well, but I had to share this one with you.  Saw this in the shop yesterday and couldn’t resist. After all I like beer and I like rum (yes, I do like Pina Colada’s…) so what’s not to like about rum flavoured beer? Not only that, it’s got a scary skull on the bottle and it’s halloween time… perfect (‘cept I couldn’t wait for actual halloween to drink it..and I generally don’t approve of halloween – yes, I’m a grumpy old biddy).

Anyhoo, as you can see I have now sampled a bottle and can give you my results:

Meh. Yeah, it’s ok.

It has a somewhat honey’d rum flavour – a bit sweet.  Personally, I’d rather have a nice pint of real ale by a log fire in a traditional English pub, or an iced lager on a summer’s day, or even better, a big ol’ rum cocktail whilst watching the sunset from a soft sanded Caribbean beach.

But hey ho, it was quite nice to down a bottle while being diverted by the new series of Big Bang Theory last night (yay, it’s back!).

Have a good weekend! 🙂

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Missing the News

Me and my husband on our camels, Cappuccino and Tarzan

Me and my husband on our camels for the day, Cappuccino and Tarzan

My husband and I had a holiday in Essaouira, Morocco recently. Essaouira is a wonderful bustling place, with a colourful old Medina lined with tiny shops overflowing with goods of all sorts.  It also boasts a long, golden, sandy beach, where local boys practice football and gymnastics, girls paddle, tourists lie prone soaking up the sun for hours (yep, that was me), or take to the water on boards of all shapes and sizes. At the far end, away from the town, camels and horses line up awaiting their next riders, while their owners sit and chat and smoke.

There are hawkers patrolling the beach selling all sorts of tat, but also brandishing trays of cakes. One particular gappy-toothed chap was certain I knew him and every day approached my sunbed with

‘hello ma’am, you remember me? You want happy cake today?’

and when I refused offered me

‘just weed?’.

I still don’t know who he mistook me for, I can only assume I look like an ageing hippy!

The tiny Riad where we stayed was right in the Medina and looked very unprepossessing from the outside, but inside, it was a glorious gem, with all the luxurious trappings you could imagine, even a Jacuzzi.

Anyway, it was all very lovely, we did the touristy things; had a hammam (owww..), rode a camel, saw the sights (including where they filmed a bit of Game of Thrones) and took full advantage of the lovely restaurants and beach.

But all this aside, one thing that made this holiday very special was our complete separation from technology and the outside world for a whole week.

I did take my phone with me for emergencies, but it remained switched off for the entire time.  My laptops and ipad stayed home alone. For once there was no TV in the room, and we couldn’t read the headlines on the newspaper stands. So for a whole week, we were cocooned in our own little world of eating, sleeping and having fun.

Naturally, while we were there we witnessed some poverty and were reminded of really how privileged we are, but generally Essaouira is less down at heel than other places we have visited. So all in all, it was a treat to have a break from the daily bombardment of misery, suffering, and arguments that is fed to us daily through newspapers, TV, and websites.

Nonetheless, I believe that it is absolutely right and proper that we should all take an interest in the world and it’s complex problems. Ok, it’s often distressing, and worrying, and I don’t necessarily understand it all, but it wouldn’t do at all if we all buried our heads in the sand and said

‘it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t affect me’.

Of course, it matters. It will affect me. History teaches us that ripples, from whichever corner of the world they originate, will eventually reach us. Whether it be close-to-home decisions in parliament about taxes and austerity, or news from the faraway places where injustice and horror reign, we can be sure that there will be an impact, one way or another, on our lives.

So yes, a break from all that is brilliant, but I don’t understand those who can live their entire lives unconcerned and disassociated from society. After all, we are all global citizens these days.

Surely a world in which we were all blithely going about our own business without a care would soon founder? And wouldn’t those self-absorbed individuals be a bit of a bore?

I should mention that I always take the news with a pinch of salt. We are all aware of how stories differ from one media outlet to another, so what is factual and accurate often takes a bit of unravelling. But by being engaged and interested we can form our own opinions and take our own paths accordingly, perhaps add to voices to improve conditions for everyone, and maybe even throw our own stones:

‘I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.’ – Mother Teresa

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Little irritations

I’ve been writing a list of things I hate, which indicates what kind of mood I’m in today!   Now hate is a strong ‘ol word.  I truly hate injustice and poverty.  I truly hate smoking too (just don’t get me started..) so this is really a list of things that just plain irritate me.  Things that should be banned immediately as far as I’m concerned.  I’m sure you all have lists too, though probably not the same.  I wonder if there are things that are universally cringe worthy.

In no particular order, these are ten things that I really, no really, don’t like at all…..

  1. Public consumption of pies – Look, just sit in a corner and stuff your face if you really have to, don’t walk along the street talking and spitting crumbs everywhere.
  2.  Impersonators – Sorry, I know I’m probably in the minority here, but it seems to me that making other people sound stupid is not clever nor funny.
  3.  Spiders – Fine when they’re in their own domain, but just stop coming into my house would you.
  4. Spray tans/false eyelashes/too much make up/drawn on caterpillar eyebrows – Usually young women and girls. You don’t need all that.  Be beautiful in your own skin you nincompoops.
  5. Dog walkers who assume your dog is ok just cos theirs is – My dog doesn’t like to be approached by other dogs. She can’t help it, she’s had a few dodgy encounters.  I keep her under control (well, fairly) on her lead when I see you coming.  Take that as a sign why don’t you?
  6. The black mould in the shower – Where does it come from? Why won’t it go? Need I say more?
  7. Water in the bottom of the fridge – Why?? How??
  8. Topless men in shops – And none of them are buff are they? All big fat bloaters.
  9. Swearing as part of a sentence – Totally, totally unnecessary. Learn to be eloquent. A well expressed turn of phrase is worth ten profanities!
  10. Teeth/body design faults – Who doesn’t have problems with their teeth from time to time? Where should we put our arms when we’re laying on our sides? Colds… what’s with the colds??

It’s not a comprehensive list, just a starter (to be honest, I had trouble keeping it to ten things – I am officially a grumpy old woman), please feel free to let me know your own gripes and grumbles!