Tales from a big bed: Algebra and physics
When I was at secondary school there were a couple of subjects that just didn’t sing to me. Algebra and physics. They came on the same day, bang in the middle of the school week. But I knew that if I woke at dawn and coughed hard I could create an instant sore throat by the time my mother came in to wake me. She’d immediately make me a hottie and bring up a cold drink. Then my mum would proffer a thermometer – the old fashioned type with mercury that you had to twist to see the result. And as she went to the medicine cabinet to find...
read moreBlue screen of death gets a hot makeover
Hi everyone, Fiona went to work today although she is feeling just 80% of her normal wellbeing so this is my (Danny’s) third and final instalment of the Emergency Trilogy. I told her that she simply must get back in harness tomorrow or she will lose her regular readers. She agrees and normal service will be resumed. I have never known a lady who can produce such dramatics when she is supposed to be lying wan in bed. We had fantastic thunderstorms here (Newmarket, UK) late this afternoon and she returned from work early because her current...
read moreThe poetry of Notelet Folder makes me weep with laughter.
Quite often I buy or am given packs of greeting cards. They are a great stop gap if suddenly I need to produce a card at a moment’s notice. Years ago we had a true Picasso moment with a small pack of greeting cards that I had been given and placed in between the books on the shelves in The Rat Room. As this used to be my studio, I had a lot of reference and poetry books up there. In fact this was my core collection of books. The rest were scattered across the rest of the upstairs rooms. One day Danny was examining the shelves, spotted the...
read moreThe chuck wagon
On a film/TV set the restaurant vehicles are referred to as the chuck wagons. Sometimes they are sexy caravans. Often they are converted buses, with the food being served out of catering vans. Good food is essential on a busy set. Bad food could kill a production. Meals and snacks are served throughout the day starting with breakfast, then elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea and supper. There is a hierarchy to these mealtimes. The cast often eat in their own area. The technical staff all eat together – from director to the guy that sweeps...
read moreDishwasher Dramas
Doing the washing up was a real bone of contention in our household before we bought our dishwasher. “Leave the washing up. I’ll do it in the morning.” “But you always get up with seconds to spare. Just enough time to pour some coffee granules on your tongue before running for the car.” “Nonsense. It’s my turn so I’ll get up early.” Many mornings I woke to stacks of pots and caked with dried food. It drove me nuts. I’d soak the lot all day and wash up when I got back from work. Then the whole scene would start again. “As...
read morePicasso moments
I started to make wooden toys in my late twenties. I had never previously worked with wood but, with the arrogance of the inexperienced, I reckoned that it couldn’t be rocket science. After a bit of a hiccupy start the business was reasonably successful. Ten years later I sold it to a giftware company for a very good price. That was just before the 1990 recession but that‘s another story. As a toymaker I belonged to The British Toymakers Guild. Each year I exhibited at their fair. One year I bought two wooden toys made by a fellow artist...
read moreCats, dogs and the healing power of laughter
When I first moved to the countryside 25 years ago, I was given two kittens. I had this harebrained idea that I’d call all my pets names from the shipping forecast areas. It seemed a nice and neat way to progress. Cat wise this was easy. I eventually settled on Finistere and Faeroe (the vet thought this is how Faro was spelt as I had no idea). Dogs would clearly be called Dogger, Fisher and possibly German Bight. But when I bought my first Min Pin the dog names didn’t seem to suit this diminutive hero. Dogger and Fisher were shaggy dog...
read moreThe Grand Pickled Walnuts Challenge 2009. Hosted by Magic Cochin of Purple Podded Peas
Yesterday evening we motored over to Purple Podded Peas country to take part in The Grand Pickled Walnuts Challenge. There were two teams for the inaugural contest. The experienced PPP team with beautifully labelled jars and several years of PW culinary experience. And the rank outsiders from Cottage Smallholder, who had picked their walnuts a bit too late in the season and hoped that they might soften substancially by Christmas. I had tested our nuts a few days before the challenge. The first walnut was too hard to spear in the...
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