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...