Sharing a Christmas gift with D.J.N.

This is the cover of a book my daughter found for me at Christmas.

Paul Barker's picture is of the pavilion of the Oxford University Cricket Club in The Parks at Oxford, one of over 80 similar illustrations of a great variety of cricket pavilions great and small throughout the U.K. with wonderful descriptions by the author Jonathan Rice. 

The book, published in 1991, bears an original inscription:

"Ron,

To someone who likes good architecture & particularly associated with cricket

Fred" 

Added in 2015 was another message of some thought:

"Dad - sounds as if you would've got on with Ron, Happy Christmas, Alison"

Had my father been alive in 1991 he would have also shared Fred's message. This picture of him, second from right middle row, in front of printers Hazell, Watson and Viney's cricket ground pavilion in Aylesbury needs no words to explain why.

When I was four I was in love with Lesley Hollings who I knew until we were in our teens and beyond. Her Dad is on the left end of the middle row. That I have a picture of her dad but not of her says something for cricket I suppose.

One of my first joys on coming to Dorset a year ago was the discovery of this cricket pavilion in Broadstone Recreation Ground; a truly English setting, like many others undiscovered by Jonathan Rice, but well worthy of inclusion in such a book as his.  

I remember your love of cricket. If you have never seen this book you may still discover copies available through Amazon and other sources.With every page a source of delight to look at and read. I can recommend it to you. How can it be otherwise with such an introductory sentence as this:

"CRICKET PAVILIONS, like jockstraps, can be large, medium or small and, like jockstraps, their size is no real guage of the pleasures that lurk within".

 I shall not be surprised of course to learn you already have a copy in your library of cricket memorabilia!

    

A Christmas Quiz - some answers

The first reply: too good to keep it to myself. 

Then again, it shows what disreputable characters I have mixed with during my life!

Quiz :

                   1. Some French geezer after eating too many escargots -

                        then asking for a paper bag - quick !

                   2. The 4 Stooges.

                   3. A Devizes market trader.

                    4. Jose Mourinho, all dressed up for a night out - after being sacked.

                    5. Another market trader in Devizes wishing me a Merry Christmas

         By the way the farmers around here are very confident, and looking forward to a really good rice crop .The view from our back window is similar to yours - except it looks over acres of paddy fields.

         So it is not all bad news.

                    Best Wishes  

                                    John

               Sorry no cake left !

A Christmas Quiz

Everyone has a quiz at Christmas.   Here's mine!

                                                                                                             Have a look at these.

           

If you are a man you are allowed to look at this one more than once!

Now have a glance out of my window at the weather today: or yesterday. or the day before yesterday, or the day before that, and that, and that, and that . . . . . . . . . . 

..
.

If they are all so clever at running our world, how is it that these small flowers stand out in the open day after day and week after week and just get more beautiful, when if you gave the same treatment to politicians they would all be dead within a couple of days?

Perhaps he's right after all.

First one with eight names on a piece of Christmas Cake wins a prize.

Christmas Tree Festival

This is St Aldhelm who was Bishop of Sherborne in about 705AD.

On the Purbecks in Dorset is St. Aldhelm's Head, named in his honour.

In Poole is St Aldhelm's Church: not a particularly beautiful church, but worth going to at Christmas for their celebrations, particularly with the Christmas Tree Festival.

The trees are arranged around the inside of the church, decorated among others by children, associations of volunteers who care for disabled and people who need help and comfort, and those who wish to remember friends and family members.

Even dogs get a look in!  

And just see what can be done with milk bottle tops.

Here along this wall are trees on which anyone can hang a small card for those who have left memories to us.

Results are in

Postcard yesterday advising that locally we collected £29,655.


My share in two hours  £188.31 - even though I was addressed as Goodman.


In view of stringent rules as to not accosting people, just shows how good looking I am!


No rude comments please; especially from Pewsey.

One is fun !!

My turn to cook today. Back to basics with Delia's "One is fun!"- one of the first cookery books I understood.

What about Crab and mushrooms au gratin? Rice, onion, mushrooms, crabmeat, cheese, breadcrumbs and a drop of dry sherry: cooked in stages and finished off under the grill.

To follow? Chocolate mocha mousse to be served in tall stemmed glasses with a cream and coffee sauce to serve.  This to be made first because it needs a couple of hours in the fridge.

The main course comes under the heading "Fun Fish": the follow up under "Happy Endings".
How can you make a disaster out of this?

I'll tell you.

Open the frig door to watch the tall stemmed glasses with chocolate mocha mousse, which have been balanced in the door because the glasses are too tall to stand on the frig shelves, fly through the air with the greatest of ease and disintegrate as they hit floor with a great crash. Cleaning up chocolate moccha mousse is bad enough, but when it is mixed with two tall stemmed wine glasses, the language goes up a notch or two! "Dear me!" I think I said.

This is before starting the crab and mushrooms au gratin. Any good cook, or even an unfortunate one can tell you how difficult it is to proceed when half the meal has already gone for a Burton!

"One is fun"; "Fun Fish" and "Happy Endings" it certainly was not.

But, perhaps the earlier part of the day was better?

Look out of the window: weather fine; but Indians are sending smoke signals.

Go down to the sea to see what's going on.

Weather doesn't look too promising; nor does the smoke from the nearby oil field.

Bit of a problem getting into the restaurant because of parking problems.






But then, there's got to be sympathy for the poor bloke who has to come out and wash this after having just done his wife's car!

Fancy living in one of those luxury apartments on the right and finding this parked outside your bedroom window!

I forgot to mention the hot chocolate in the restaurant was cold!