Blood-loss times...

I'm sure that Scrobleners have all been faced with this quandary, but has anyone NOT had an issue with using these, or any other makers' products, it being almost impossible to take from the packet, undo the welded stainless-steel packaging, strip the battle-ship-grade adhesive protective molybdenum sheet away from the plaster using an acetylene torch, several wrenches, and a car-jack, when all this time, the blood is flowing freely, mainly towards the drain in the sink, or down one's trousers, and in danger of staining the kitchen floor beyond redemption?

No?

Well I salute you and offer you my house, all its contents and a tincture or three chucked in for good measure!

Over the last few months, Scrobs' condition demands a certain amount of care regarding bleeding, as doctors advise one not to attract issues where a cut, or a graze may become infected, and we don't want that do we!

But can anyone advise me how to locate these items and apply them safely, as there has been quite a lot of haemoglobin flying around as of yesterday, when yet another lump was excised from this slender but manly frame...

Apart from that - all is just fabulous!

 

Fight the blight...

These are destined for the freezer, and will take up at least two drawers if my calculations are correct...

They're a type known as 'Shirley', and we've grown them every year as a staple tomato, with huge flavour, and great possibilities in cooking, freezing, sauces etc! We used to do everything with these beauties, and this year, they've just boomed - possibly because of the muck I've spread around them every few days, and the fabulous summer weather, but nevertheless, I feel rather proud of them at this stage!

They're just turning as we speak, and, with several others growing in the greenhouse behind, and more in trays in the front, I hope to have the best year ever - as long as the dreaded 'Late Blight' doesn't strike, as it has on many occasions!

I also learned something only yesterday, in that reducing the fruit to freeze them with less water, takes away many of the water-soluble nutrients that toms produce. I never knew that, so perhaps freezing them whole, after blanching, has to be an option, in which case, I hope Currys have a freezer sale on pretty soon...

 

Drone on...

Some years ago, I knew a chap who had a business which was unique, a far as I could see!

He had a special Land Rover, which was fitted out with an extending pole, on top of which a camera was attached for taking high-level photographs of buildings etc! He controlled the images from a small 'studio' in the back of the vehicle! I always thought this was an imaginative addition to sale or rental particulars, especially where industrial buildings were being advertised, as I'd see a lot of these items!

Nowadays, it seems that any house on the market has the drone treatment, if the overall view is acceptable, the gardens look good etc! The larger estates come to life with these high-level views, and can clearly influence a prospective buyer!

When my neighbours bought their house, they had an extensive survey carried out, and that included sending a drone up to the roof to check on the structure, and a great job it did too! In the 'old days' we'd have had to get a ladder and scrabble around up there for ages to make the report!

Back in the days when I'd avidly read 'The Eagle', these machines were the essence of fantasy - rather like one semi/serious comic strip in a similar publication for boys, where a sort of alien but 'British' lad directed a robot from some sort of metal switchboard attached to his arm - presumably a forerunner of the modern Apple Watch...

Wave...

 

I don't know why this hilarious few seconds came to mind the other day, but uncontrolled giggling occurred, and continued for quite some time...

Dave Allen was required watching all those years ago, before humour became 'woke. political, and unwatchable'!

One or two home truths...

My copy of the delightful Penguin Dictionary of Modern Humorous Quotations has a couple of gems...

• Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.

                    Sir Ernest Benn, quoted in The Observer, 1930

• When you're abroad, you're a statesman, when you're at home, you're just a politician.

                    Harold Macmillan.

...and one of the cleverest ones...

• I always wanted to get into politics but I was never light enough to get in the team.

                    Art Buchwald

Sounds about right to me...

The new commie diet...

 

Round, green, not detected for twenty weeks or so, then forms a hard carapace which is impossible to cut easily...

Kohl Rabi - an excellent comestible for any garden, easy to grow, a delight to use in so many ways, and well worth a few shillings for a packet of seeds, which are desperate to grow, unlike cucumbers and courgettes, which are programmed to die within a few days of germination!

And the title? Well, we have about the same number of weeks before the recession in the UK really bites hard, so cabbage soup will be on the menu at the gulags for the following months...

Hound of love and loyalty...

My little/big dog has been my Paladin over the last several months.

I was told I needed 'treatment' for an 'aggressive' condition, the initial diagnosis wasn't encouraging but that entailed a new regime which I had to approach, whether I liked it or not!

So the chemo started, and some of the suggested 'side effects' began, with peculiar observations, in that I didn't lose my hair, but my legs swelled and my arms started to flake! This was all documented as a potential issue, but just about everything else was alleviated, because Lily, my little/big dog, required an excursion, every morning, without fail! She needed the walk and the chance to issue a 'tom-tit', on demand, and that pressure on me,  to make sure she was a happy and well exercised dog, was a necessity. And so, she made me walk her every morning, around 7.00am, and we'd gambol in the paths and the fields as normal! I really did have to walk a lot!

Lily really did make sure I reached the heady heights of a 'we're very pleased with the last scan which shows you're just about all clear, but we're monitoring you', sort of discussion with my consultant a few days ago, and all I can say, is that, if you're faced with a similar quandary, just get a dog, walk with him or her, let them meet chums, let them bark, and poo everywhere, but be a friend, because you'll certainly get better, and total love and loyalty like Lily's, will make sure that you improve as every day progresses.