SIX OF ONE & HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHER..

Is what her day was like today..

She had three very pleasant things happen.. and one which she could have done without.

The first was when she turned into Hans Place, a woman called out to her and she looked and then looked again in absolute astonishment! 

The woman said "are you ok, for you look as if you have seen a ghost", She replied " I have, for you are a younger spitting image of my aunt who died eleven years ago".

For there, Dear Readers and cousin Bruce, was her most beloved darling Hay. They say we all have a twin, but this was quite extraordinary. No relation to Hay but forty years younger and identical. 

How extraordinary, it was as if Hay had willed this woman to appear and remind her what she had said to be most beloved niece when she was dying "darling ..., I loved you the first moment I saw you and I always will, just because my old silly body won't be playing the fool with you does not mean I won't be here, I will always be here for and with you, don't forget that".. and she had forgotten it.

They parted and she went on to the doctor's surgery to see her new, never met before GP. Who turned out to be an amazing young woman, five weeks away from giving birth to her first child.

A capable and great doctor.. another joy!

They talked, she took off her sweater and then her lovely doctor said "hummmm, how long has that been there, have you seen any blood or liquid coming from it, but you might not have noticed as it is literally in the middle of your upper back".

She measured it, asked more questions and said "I want you to give me your mobile number, this way the hospital will get hold of you faster as I want you to go the hospital with it". Cut to chase, she is being transferred to the hospital's Dermatology Dept.

Oh..

Well.. onwards mes amis, is all she could think of after that news, so she caught a bus to Victoria and then changed to another for the Elephant & Castle so she could go to Baldwins the Herbalists.

If anything would cheer her up, it would be a visit to this splendid emporium, for they are purveyors of essential oils, herbs, tinctures and other such wondrous things.

And whilst she was there, she spoke with the company's product manager, Tim, and gave him a business card and generally raved about the company whose products would go so well with the whole ethos of Baldwins.

He was thrilled and he was even more thrilled when she said "yes, they do" to one of his questions! 

And she hot-footed it out of there clutching her small bag of treasures, a small bottle each of Jojoba and Sesame Oil and a Soft Pumice to telephone the person whose card she had given to Tim and left a message saying what had happened. She has done what she promised she would do, now it is up to them!

Drizzle, ugh. She did not want to come home, she wanted to 'goof off' and not be herself, sometimes you may feel the same, she didn't want to speak to people who knew why she had been going to the doctor, she has put everything into motion and no more can she do until she sees the dermatologist.

What to do? Now it was starting to rain and it was lunch time! And right by the bus stop was the answer.. the Vietnamese Street Food Restaurant! 

What a treat, a really huge treat as she is being so very frugal with our pennies at the moment. 

Delicious meat and rice noodle soup with a salad on the side, green tea and water. 

Oh, how lovely, there was that very unusual Thai Basil on the salad, oh slurp, how yummy it all was, the staff are so sweet, the food is so good, the place is so kind and welcoming, he brought her another cup of tea "on the house" when he saw she was reading. Kind man.

She pottered home slowly by bus, the tube stations were mostly on strike, she supports this strike totally. She thinks the idea of tube stations with NO humans manning them is an appallingly bad idea by London Transport. 

When she got home, Tereza was just going out with a friend and came down the stairs to give her a hug. So sweet, so appreciated.

I looked at her face and thought "all is not well in the woodshed".. I will be gentle with her". She went to bed early, we have played silly games with the wooden chopsticks she brought home for me.

She misses three people desperately, those three people whom she loved and trusted, oi vey. It is a good thing there is work to do and places to go to do it.

PipPip.. Dear Readers.. PipPip.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 29th, 2014.

NEROLI ESSENTIAL OIL & THREE WONDERFUL PLACES FOR GREAT SKIN PRODUCTS.

The little orange tree, whose name is Fortuna, is one happy kid! Yesterday she moved to her new pot with lots of room for her roots. 

She has new soil and multi-minerals to help get over the shock of moving and bless her little cotton socks, in only a few days, she has grown a few tiny leaves!

She needs a good 'hair cut' as she is shaggy and needs to have several dead twigs removed and one major branch has been damaged and would benefit from being shortened but she has settled in well.

Her three large Calamondin cousins, who live on a ledge above her, are in 'big growth mode', she can not ever remember them putting out such growth and or such a huge amount of flowers.

The essential oil of Neroli comes from the flower of Citrus Aurantium Vulgaris Amara & Citrus Bigardia of the Rutaceae family (Bitter Orange). 

It is wonderful for the skin as it stimulates cell growth and cellular activity, both of which help to rejuvenate and regenerate skin.

You have three layers of skin. The Epidermis, the Dermis and the Subcutaneous. The Basal Cell layer is the innermost layer of the Epidermis and is where your skin cells are made, they constantly move towards the top of your skin and are then sloughed off.

Amazing! She can recall this stuff as easily as she can recall her own name but ask her something like ..., who knows what and duh, would be the answer!

For she truly loved learning about skin and hair and Maggie Frost, one of the women who taught her about skin, was a small, vibrant teacher who 
was also a brilliant make-up artist.

Her speciality? No, not film work, although she had done many years working for a major film production company in America, Maggie's love was post operative make-up for oncology patients. 


The essential oils which she buys are always the pure essences. If you buy Neroli, or any of the pure flower essences, be careful to check that they are the pure essence. Mostly Jasmine, Neroli and Rose are very diluted.

They are diluted because they are very expensive in their pure form, the cheaper versions that you buy from health foods stores, think Holland & Barrett for instance, are cut with a carrier oil, usually almond.

Sesame Oil is an oil that she uses extensively, both the oil and seeds have and give many multiple benefits to the body and skin. Some of the benefits of the oils are it acts as natural sunscreen, a moisturiser, helps to slow down the skins ageing process, it detoxifies, repairs damaged skin cells and is anti-bacterial.

The treatment oils she makes for facial and body use are mixtures of different oils. Almond, jojoba (the closest oil to our own natural sebum), sesame and a couple of others that she has experimented with for the base (aka carrier oil).

Neroli, Frankincense, Sandalwood, Lavender, Geranium, Rose, Myrrh, Eucalyptus Radiata, Cinnamon Bark and Rosemary being some of her favourite essential oils. She keeps the small bottles in special wooden boxes in a cool, dark cupboard.

There is a tragedy happening in France, the famous Lavender fields are being attacked by a blight called Botrytis Cinerea. It is caused by the climate change and is causing havoc.

Luckily, for the perfume industry, Bulgaria does not have this virus. It is a major grower for the essential oil industry growing huge crops of lavender as well as roses. Hence the name Rose Bulgar that you may see on a bottle of essential oil. Sniff it and be prepared for an amazing smell!

Her skin guru is Valerie Anne Worwood, the author of several books on Essential Oils. VA is wonderfully warm woman whose skin and reflexology treatments leave her in the land of bliss! Her daughter, also an Aromatherapist, gives brilliant facials.

They are to be found at the following..

The Earth Garden.
Fairview Parade,
Mawney Road,
Romford,
RM7 7HH.
Tel : 01708 722633.
They sell a large range of products and VA and her daughter will make you your own treatment oils.

For supplies of essential and carrier oils and other goodly things, she has two favourite suppliers. 

Baldwins Herbalists.
171 - 173 Walworth Road, 
London SE17-1RW.
Tel : 020 7703 5550
www.baldwins.co.uk
They sell everything! And bottles, jars and those amazing Soft Pumice stones.

Natural By Nature.
Tel : 01582 840848.
www.naturalbynature.co.uk
They sell an excellent selection of products which include her ear candles.

Writing Baldwins has reminded her that she has to go there! She is out of Sesame Oil to make her next batch of facial oil and she also needs to give Timothy, the manager, someone's business card, they have a range of products that would slot right in with Baldwins health food range!

So it is "Goodbye" from us both.. but never fear.. for we will be here.. again soon.. 

GeeGee Parrot.
April 28th, 2014.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRAVE TOMATO WORKERS WHO FORMED THE COALITION OF IMMOKALEE WORKERS IN FLORIDA.

The article in today's New York Times - Business Day section tells it how it was and, Dear Readers, this tale is not pretty but it does have a happy ending. 

IMMOKALEE, FLORIDA.

This is the shortened story of how a few brave people (tomato workers) endured appalling work conditions and came up with a programme that may change the lives of thousands of other people who work in the horticultural industry. 

Sexual harassment, picking tomatoes in 95 degree heat without rest breaks, being screamed at to fill your 32lb. buckets faster, this was the daily lot of the tomato workers in Florida.

A series of prosecutions has highlighted modern day slavery in the area. One case in 2008 involved traffickers convicted of beating workers, stealing their wages and locking them in trucks.

But a few tenacious (and extremely brave) of the workers forged partnerships in recent years with the giant restaurant companies to improve the conditions in the fields.

And by signing up with the giants, McDonald's and Yum Brands (owner of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC), they pressured the growers of 90% of Florida's tomatoes into increasing the wages and setting strict boundaries and standards. The companies have pledged to drop any suppliers that violate the standards.

So far the agreements are limited to just Florida tomato fields but considering Florida produces 90% of the country's winter tomatoes, this is NO mean feat!

The ramifications of this go much further than just Florida and tomatoes and it is the Walmart chain which may well be the influential connection. 

The chain has agreed to extend the programmes standards and monitoring system out to its' other tomato suppliers in Georgia, South Carolina and other eastern seaboard states.

The thing that Walmart officials say they also hope to apply these standards to the apple orchards in Michigan, Washington and to the strawberry fields in many other states.

(Johnny Appleseed would be happy to hear this).

"This is the best workplace monitoring system I've seen in the US" said Janice R. Fine, a Labour Relations Professor at Rutgers. "It can certainly be a model for agriculture across the US. If anyone is going to lead the way and teach people how it's done, it's them".

It took a four year boycott of Taco Bell to get its parent company, Yum Brands, to pay the extra amount thereby helping to significantly increase the workers' wages.

The coalition sponsored a march in 2007 to Burger King's headquarters in Miami pushing them to join. 

Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Chipotle and Subway have signed and joined. Walmarts signed and  came 'on board' in January of this year. The Fair Food Program's standards go far beyond what the State or Federal laws require.

The article is one that I strongly recommend you all to read and there would be no better time to do this whilst eating a delicious BLT Sandwich. 

For although I am not discounting the pig element in it, this Fair Food Program should most certainly be adopted by the American Lettuce Growers Association.

Oh, and before I finish, I must, of course, tell you how much the extra amount is that has made this extraordinary difference to these tomato pickers.

A penny a pound.. think on that.. Dear Readers.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 27th, 2014.

A NEW POT FOR SENORITA FORTUNA & HOME GROWN FREESIAS

A lazy day.. how pleasant it is to just 'hang out at home' with my mum. 

She went to the allotments aka garden yesterday. It took her hours to get there, the tubes were up the swannee, the buses from Hammersmith were on divert because of an 'incident' with a jumbo sized crane on King Street and it started to rain as she was hoofing it to where the diverted buses were coming back onto the route.

But the thought of asparagus and other such delicious green things made her persevere and by the time she unlocked the street gate and walked down the steps.. eureka.. it was a sunny day!

The leggy beans have done nothing, nothing at all! Silly things, this means their days are numbered for we do not have space for vegetables that don't or won't grow properly.

She remembered (finally) to plant the Pink Fir Potatoes, how I wish she could put photos on to this blog of mine, for we have a photo of one of these cute potatoes which looks exactly like a dog! It had a head and four legs coming off a long body, we ate it. Tasty it was, too!

Finally, the asparagus is starting to grow properly, this year she is going to leave a few of the fatter stems to grow and set seed before the end of the season. Usually she cuts everything that grows for the six week cutting season but has noticed over the past two or three years that the yield is much less than it used to be.

So she will leave some and at the end of the year is going to do a thorough hand weed, she will feed the beds with a seaweed manure and then cover the beds with a thick layer of mulch, hoping to get it back to producing a better crop.

But there was enough, she picked some for us and some for Tereza and her girls who live on the top of our house, a bag of chard for us for the week and some fresh herbs to eat as salad.

She must have known that we wrote about her, for one of the two Syringa Vulgaris 'Sensation' trees is in bloom, her sister is still almost fast asleep! 

A few sprigs of this beautiful lilac came home along with a spray or two of the Clematis Montana 'Mayleen', she is the colour of almond blossom and smells of almonds too. They went to Tereza to say "thank you for the gift of Japanese tea and the 
fan" she sent us.

Today was a stay-at-home day as Senorita Fortuna had to be re-potted and the outside area washed and scrubbed. A large round pot, which will give her ample room to grow, was found underneath our steps, a new bag of potting compost with slow release fertiliser was opened and in she went. She will be pruned this week.

There was an extra bag of single freesias that had not been planted earlier so they have gone in all around our new little orange. She noticed with delight that another tall skinny freesia stem has sprouted from amongst a few rather tatty leaves, this makes three flower stems that are growing in amongst the Joro rose, it would be lovely if the freesias she planted today come up as they have the most glorious smell.

Steps scrubbed and washed, windows washed, the two old Calamondins that have never really grown very well, we see something is eating their leaves and they both look a bit sad. 

They have now been moved away from little miss Fortuna and the three Calamondins that are doing so well. She saw blackfly on the new growth of the Calamondins and aphids on the Joro rose, so everyone has got a dose of bug killer.

Potassium and Nitrogen are all that are on this week's shopping list, we don't need anything except nuts for me, the allotments are giving us our 'daily greens & salad leaves', there is some meat in the frost cupboard (freezer).

She has to go to the surgery on Tuesday, there is something on her back which is not 'quite right', best to have it checked out.

Work on Wednesday, off to north London to see Carolyn, her lovely dressmaker, on Thursday so it looks like gardening tomorrow and Friday. 

Housework.. huhhum.. still has to be finished and cousin Bruce is coming to stay in less than three weeks.. Gulp.. and it is all down to her because, as you all know, I don't 'do' housework.

Silly seedlings, I bet she wishes they would hurry up and grow. Then the room could go back to being a sitting room instead of miniature plant 
production centre!

Yum. Steamed chard and spinach with freekeh for supper tonight. I love chard stems, they used to be called 'Poor Man's Asparagus'. It is very high in vitamin K and is as good as spinach for you, however, because of its' high oxalic content, it should not been eaten raw but steamed and served with lemon juice which stops the formation of harmful nitrosamines. 

She has been idle (blog wise) with her nose in too many books, so this week we have not a post a day like before, I'll see what I can do to encourage her along a bit but a book and she are very hard to separate!

Thursday is May 1st! Aka May Day. We have our very own little Miss Lily of the Valley growing right outside our front door!

PipPip.. Dear Readers.. PipPip.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 27th, 2014.

'Le smog' is 'ere in London! And little Miss 'Fortuna' comes to live with us.

Zut alors mes amis.. we are covered in not very pleasant pollution which is being blown up here from France and on top of that it is drizzling. Ugh is what we say and it is very 'ugh' indeed.

She was going to the allotments to pick all sorts of things but the rain which had been threatening to do its' worst began to do so, so instead of going to the Battersea Lidl, she thought she would go to Streatham Hill where there is another branch of Lidl plus other shops that she uses.

There is an extremely good Pet Supply shop for my vitamin drops etc. A shop which sells my favourite Pink Stuff, you call it Taramasalata is. Bartek, a great Polish food shop. A big 99p Store where she buys Washing Soda, which you cannot do at John Lewis or Waitrose any longer and last but certainly last least, a splendid IronMongers who sell everything you would possibly ever want.

This shop is run by an enchanting couple, she is from the north of India and he is from the south. He is a Pharmacist, she is a retired Radiographer, retired as they now have two small children. 

She first met the couple five years ago, Arun's cousin had just died and left them the shop. Mala was still working in these days, one day she walked in one day to see this pretty woman standing behind the counter and said "ahha.. you must be Mala" and the pretty woman came round to the front and said "ahha.. you must be ....." and they both laughed. 

Arun had described and talked about this tall woman who did her own plumbing and guttering work. They are now in the process of altering the layout of the shop and opening up the basement so that they will have more selling space.

Arun was by himself today and she inquired about everyone's well being and how the alteration work was going.. "messy" said Arun, "that is why the kids are not here, oh, by the way, are you feeling generous and kind?"

"Yes, what do you need" she replied. "For you to give this a good home, it needs your love and a new home" he said as he dragged a baby citrus tree from underneath a display shelf  and popped it into old Wicker!

Poor little thing, it has seen happier days. She said "thank you, I'll drop some fresh greens off to you next week, give Mala and the kids a hug from me" and off she went. 

What a good thing old Wheelie Wicker's bottom was mended as the little tree maybe little but it is quite heavy. 

She came home on the bus and didn't mind in the slightest that it was now pouring with rain, much better for the new little tree to drink rain water than tap water, she will repot it over the weekend and give it a bit of a trim, it needs both Potassium and Nitrogen which will cheer it up enormously.

And guess what? When she got home and came bumpy-bump down the stairs, she looked straight ahead and right there in the corner was the perfect place for our new little 'Fortuna' Orange! Yes, Arun, she will be fussed over and loved very much and she has three big cousins to chat to should she miss your kids!

We have just looked her up, she is a Californian Clementine - Mandarin, bred in 1964. A highly productive tree with a paler green leaf than our existing Orange trees and pruning is recommended (she's come to the right home then), she will have to be protected, like the Calamondins, against frost. What a good thing we have those extra coir blankets with which to wrap her up when it gets cold and old Jack Frost comes to town.

Was she feeling kind and generous! How funny and wonderfully 'silly' some of her friends are! They are in for a big bunch of asparagus if it has stopped faffing about and is growing properly.

There was no asparagus or fresh garden greens for us tonight but have no fear, for our supper was delicious, she had a large handful of prawns (I scored two of them by bouncing on and off her head a couple of times, it drives her nuts and she gives me stuff to make me stay away) with a dish of Freekeh made with home-made fish head stock.

Now we come to something I want you to do for us.. which is to say two prayers. 

One prayer is Marianna and Bobby's son aged 14 who is in Great Ormand Street Hospital, he is ill and needs a new heart.

The other prayer is for the Cardiac Team at this hospital who are caring for their child.

I don't care which religion you are, I don't care how you say it, what you say or at what time you say it but please, consciously say "Dear God (or the God of your understanding), please help this child and his medical team".

Three times in her life she has been at death's door. Three times she was saved and the Grim Reaper was cheated of his prey. After each of those three occasions she was told of prayers that were said for her and her medical teams.

She will do the same and WE want your prayers for this young child as well.

Thank you.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 25th, 2014.

SAVAGE BEAUTY ~ The Alexander McQueen exhibition @ The V&A Spring 2015.

NewsFlash. It has just been announced that..

The New York's Metropolitan Museum's record breaking tribute to the late Alexander McQueen is coming to the V&A Museum.

Savage Beauty @ The V&A Museum.
March 14th - July 19th, 2015.

She is SO very glad that she is a 'Friend' of this museum, for it allows her to enter all of the special exhibitions that it holds throughout the year. In addition to the yearly subscription fee, she pays a little extra which allows her to take another person in with her a guest.

Yesterday was food shopping and chores, today she has to buy domestic stuff, clothes washing liquid etc, etc, then she will go to the allotments to pick asparagus (if there is any), green leaves, a couple of sprigs of lilac and some roses.

She says "sorry" to all of you Dear Readers who are still grappling with snow and ice but yes, she has roses in bloom.

'The front fence rose, 'Gloire de Dijon' is already strutting her stuff as is 'Compassion', very smelly our bedroom will be tonight, in the nicest possible way! 

The subscription to the Museum means that she (and a friend) will be sent an invitation to view this exhibition before general viewing. 

You can just imagine the 'scrum' there will be to book the £16.00 tickets for this event.

London was his 'home' town and although, he sadly died in 2010, his company has the very talented Sarah Burton in charge of Creative Direction and Development.

GeeGee Parrot.

April 25th, 2014.

SHE'S THEIR NEW ENGLISH TEACHER

It was a day to do chores today, yes, I know she was supposed to be working but she has done something really stupid to her right wrist, it is swollen and very painful, so it is now strapped up and does / would not allow her to do any steaming or sorting.

Luckily old Wicker does not mind which hand pulls him along and off they went to the market to get our fruit. 

Five delicious avocados for a pound, thank you! Fresh herbs at fifty pence for a huge bunch, yum! SpinyApples, two for one pound fifty, even better. Dear old Wicker just swallowed them up and said "where to next?" 

A little bit further along there is a middle eastern shop whose olives and humous are extremely tasty and she was going into the shop when she spied her favourite variety of watermelon.

"Good morning, how much are the watermelons?" she asked the man behind the till who said "£4.50" but the 'boss' who is the butcher looked up and called out in Arabic to the man and then said to her, "no, different price, to you they are £3.00".

Very startled she smiled and said "but why do I get them so cheap, what have I done?".. boss smiled and waved his hand to the sign behind his head which read 'We sell fresh Goat's meat' and said to her "remember that you told me that the wording on the old sign that said 'We sell Goats' was wrong and you taught me the proper way to write it in good English, you are our new English teacher so you get good price in my shop!" 

And he gave her a huge grin, such a funny man! They all laughed and she did her best imitation of a goat bleating which made them laugh even more!

He runs one of the best stocked shops in the market, with fresh humous, olives, freekeh wheat, sesame oil (for her skin) black seed oil and a huge selection of spices and dried herbs.

She then went into her bank to get money and the business manager came up to her grinning, she smiled at him and said "how is your jaw?", for the last time she saw him, about two weeks ago, his face had been swollen, he was in great pain and he had difficulty talking, she had told him about her great dentist who was at the bottom of the market.

Today he thanked her profusely, for he had gone that day in his lunch break, the lovely Dr. Miraj had solved the problem, within twenty minutes his jaw was reducing in size and the pain had gone! And now he, his wife and their two children are now all registered at her dental practise!

Onto 'Sicilia' to thank Daniela for her delicious sausages. And found herself giving her Daniela the contact details for The Little Printed Ribbon Company, for ribbons, business cards and labels, you can't beat their quality and service!

This is what is so lovely about using a place where you know your food suppliers and getting to know who has the best whatever. 

She knows that Mark has great avocados, Karen has good fruit and vegetables, there were bowls of Jersey Royals today, she'll have some of those tat the weekend with fresh mint together with home grown sprouting greens and she saw rhubarb was in the market today.

Dressmaker Carolyn has a new grandchild, an 8lbs plus boy with long legs and arms, he will be tall like his mummy.  Nice happy news, she will take something for Carolyn, her mother and her to eat with their coffee next week, some of Daniela's delicious Sicilian pastries will be perfect.

We have tiny lamb chops for supper tonight, the little ones with the fillet, so sweet. And she will have some of the roasted tea that Tereza brought us home from Japan. I have smelt it and it is truly wonderful, do you think it could be served in the early morning for our first 'slurp' of the day? I wonder, Dear Readers, I wonder if it could?

So despite having a sore paw she had a happy day but the bestest thing was being told "you are our new English teacher"! 

GeeGee Parrot.
April 24th, 2014.

'SYRINGA VULGARIS 'SENSATION' @ THE ARBORETEUM, SAN GABRIEL, PASADENA & CALTECH'S ATHENAEUM

Still feeling a bit 'whacked' about the head from the extraordinarily beautiful Huntington Museum in San Marino, her host decided it was a day for an outside nature jaunt.

And off they went to the Arboreteum near to the San Gabriel Mission.

It was a glorious Californian Spring day, sky was blue, the sun was shining, polution low. Perfect for a walk in fresh air amongst growing things.

She loves plants, you cannot have read many posts on the Blog if you are unaware of this and walked about with her camera and a note pad taking down the names of things she wanted to know more about. This place is beautifully maintained, the labelling is brilliant as it is in English and Latin.

She may not speak it but yes, she mostly 'gardens' in Latin. For there can be no mistake if you use the Latin term for a plant even if you are talking to a gardener whose native tongue is Hindustani!

She came across a selection of Syringa Vulgaris (Lilacs), their perfume is delicious, she walked further into their section and came to a halt, for there was a variety she had never seen before.

The flowers are dark purple but every petal of each flower is edged in brilliant white! And the smell? Is a big, powerful, up-your-nose perfume!

And there, of course, was her name Syringa Vulgaris 'Sensation', "how very apt" she thought as she took several shots of the bush and the label.

When she got home that evening after dinner she did a search on this variety and discovered she is an American variety, she contacted the RHS and found that a nursery in Saffron Walden had two in stock. 

Well, that could not be easier as, in those days circa 2005, she was in Saffron Walden once a week and knew exactly were the nursery was.

A quick call the next morning reserved the two plants, for she was hooked and could not wait to have them growing in her garden.

These two beautiful trees are slow growers, that concerns her not one jot, for they, each year, have and do produce these exquisite 'waterfalls' of perfection. She cuts some to bring home and makes sure to leave some there as bees and other flying insects adore these trees.

In the previous post I wrote that she had been to an extraordinary place the day before. It was The Athenaeum, a beautiful building used by members and employees of CalTech and JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories). 

She was invited to lunch here and ate in the vast dining room with her host and another friend, both of whom work for JPL, the place was extremely busy and people, who had obviously not booked, were looking for tables. 

In the centre there was a large round table with only 3 people sitting at it, there were plenty of spare seats and so she asked why people did not sit at that table, her friend laughed and said "well, you can but you have to be in possession of a Nobel Prize in order to do so"!

What a glorious building, the outside courtyard was being used as the venue for a party that night and the crew were busy tenting it in a beautiful fabric and hanging an enormous chandelier! 

And every Spring her Syringa Vulgaris 'Sensation' produce their glorious flowers with that exquisite perfume and with them, they bring memories of her happy stay in this most charming town.. Pasadena, California.

Happy days Char and Suz, happy days, thank you.

It is raining here, not bouncing off the pavements like yesterday but steady rain, she is pleased, we need it as our earth was dry, about six inches down it is ok but that is of no use to a tiny seedling who wants moisture and their 'human' is not there with a watering can!

Work to do tomorrow, then market, garden days are looking to be Wednesday, Friday and, whoops, we are at another week-end. How time flies!

It is bed time..  PipPip Dear Readers.. PipPip.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 21st, 2014.

THE CUMMER MUSEUM OF ART & GARDENS, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA & THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY, ART COLLECTIONS & BOTANICAL GARDENS, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA.

Wow.. sunlight, it sure is easy to please us 'girls'!

After yesterday's gloomy sky and constant rain, let alone the cold wind, our eyes were gladdened to see the degree of clarity of light when she drew back our curtains this morning.

The 'Calamondin' Orange trees look wonderful, as if someone has pressure washed and then polished each leaf and the Easter Eggs, which are hanging allover the trees, look pretty pretty too!

The 'Sunburst' Cherry, which produced a fair amount of blossom, has sprung into leaf, what a glorious tree she is. 

Now in her third year, she is growing against the front wall, this year the exact Spring and Summer pruning will begin to keep her growth in check and train her into a Fan shape.

We have been on-line, I write 'we' because I read the emails whilst sitting on her head, this way I am  up-to date on what's going on around and about.

She reads a Blog called 'Fleeting Architecture' and today's post is about the Cummer gardens in Jacksonville, Florida.

There are several good photos of this one and a half acre plot of land, the house was built in 1903. Go and have a look.

The Wisteria, although of a different colour, reminded her of one of her favourite places in the United States of America.

The Huntington Estate, San Marino, Pasadena, California. 

         Oh boy, oh boy.. or.. oh girl, oh girl.. 

The Library, the Art Collections, which are housed in the magnificent Beaux Arts mansion, the Botanical Gardens, the Research and the Educational facilities all go to make up, in her mind, one of the most glorious places in America.

She had no idea what treats were in store for her the first time she went here. The person who took her had already taken her to an extraordinary place the day before and only said in passing that this was also a 'pretty special' place.

So she was not prepared at all when she entered the mansion and came face-to-face with some of the paintings. Very familiar pictures, from art books, were there, beautifully hung and lit and then she entered another gallery and almost dropped to her knees in shock!

For hanging right in front of her were 'Pinkie' by Thomas Lawrence (1794) and 'The Blue Boy' by Thomas Gainsborough (c.1770).

      The originals.. not copies.. the originals.

The Docent, who was in the room, laughed at the sight of her face and said "I know miss, they take your breath away, don't they? I see them every day and never get tired of these two children, go and look at their brushwork". 

And she did, for there was no rope between her and these pieces of art, she stood up close and marvelled at these two works of art. He told her the story of 'Pinkie', 'tis a sad tale. Then took her off into other rooms to reveal more treasures.

Her host came to find her and said "we'll come back another day, come with me", she said "goodbye and thank you for your knowledge, I hope to meet you again" to the charming and very knowledgeable docent and followed her host out of the mansion, down a path, around a corner and "wow" exploded from her mouth at the same time as her eyes saw it.

The Purple Wisteria Walk.. holy moley! The gardens, which cover a vast area of ground, nearly three hundred acres, are all superb! The entrance fee is steep but when you see the work put into these gardens alone, you understand why. 

The Library, well, we will have to write about that another day in another post. In the meantime, give yourself a treat, go on-line and look at this website. www.huntington.org

Our Library is shut today for it is Easter Monday, in the UK this is a 'Bank Holiday', the last day of our Easter week-end.

The sunlight has gone, for dreary grey clouds have drawn themselves across that brilliant blue sky. And the temperature has dropped as old East wind has come to town. 

Sigh, never mind, she has more than enough work to be getting on with at home and she should be getting on and doing it because, sadly for her, it won't do it by itself!

FlapFlap. I am off to pole by front door, she has to do housework, I don't 'do' housework! Hahaha.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 21st, 2014.

T'WAS A SOGGY EASTER SUNDAY.. BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP HER..

What a lot of water! Swimming pool loads of it fell upon London and probably elsewhere as well but having overslept and therefore missed the Easter Church Service, apart from having to put boots on her feet instead of slip-on shoes, she was dressed and out of the house like a rocket this morning.

She feared that she might miss Ellie the Goat, her real name, of course, is Debbie but you all know whom I mean when I mention Goaty folk.

She had sent Debbie a message saying that she would love a half leg of Kid or some chops, no answer, so to make sure she got something, she and old Wicker had to quickly trundle off and catch a 22 bus.

It would have been better if she had sent it to the right number, it was not Debbie's number, it was a pure fluke Debbie had any meat left.

So wet.. empty streets.. almost empty bus! Not at all surprising, most sensible people were tucked up in their cosy homes eating Easter lunch, not out pounding wet pavements.

There were only four other stalls at Parson's Green Farmer's Market today, an organic butcher, a baker, a vegetable stall and a cheese company. And very few customers but apparently Windy Wimbledon on Saturday had, according to Debbie, been very busy.

Good, for we like to hear that our friends are doing well, because let's face it, it is a long drive to do in the driving rain, you have to put a gazebo up.. etc, etc but as Debbie said "it is not going to sell itself sitting in the chillers, is it?"

She came away with milk, curd (slurp) and a full sized leg of kid, kidneys and liver. The leg of kid as cold meat, will last us a long time and be as delicious cold as it was hot. She cooks it exactly the same way as lamb but for a fraction shorter time wise.

She gave Debbie her Easter gift and also a home grown (proper) cauliflower, we call it a proper one because only about six, out of twenty that she planted, grew properly, the others all decided they would behave in a very strange fashion and grew like a form of sprouting broccoli. Most bizarre.

Busy week ahead, plants to plant out, she is very grateful for this rain, the soil was dry as it has been so hot and we have not had a drop of rain for three weeks, which is too dry for this time of year.

With this rain and hopefully, a little bit of warmth, perhaps the asparagus will cheer up and start to grow properly. And the potatoes need some moisture as they are showing signs of growth. 

Some beans and peas are planted, at home are more peas which are up, these are to replace the Oregon Snow Peas that were never planted, they need to be planted this week, likewise another lot of broad beans. We plant several lots of these to insure a good supply throughout late spring and into the summer. 

She picks them when they are absolutely minute, for one of her most favourite dishes is fusilli pasta with tiny new broad (fava) beans, olive oil, black pepper and fresh parmesan.

You only get this dish if you grow these beans yourself, unless you are eat in a restaurant, who are prepared to buy their vegetables from a very good supplier.

Working Thursday, market food shopping on Tuesday, she has to make a White Chocolate Cheesecake for a friend's party. We gave you the recipe for this months ago and hope that you have made it? It is simple, quick and delicious! 

And Cousin Bruce has requested some special yumyum for when he comes to stay in May.

She got an e-mail from Rosamund in Australia, now on a plane flying back to Germany, saying (Rosamund is English) that 'Cousin Bruce' or 'Cousin Shane' should always be 'said in Aussie speak' but pronounced as Shoyn, the accent going up at the end, oh lordy, that made her laugh, this Blog does afforded us a huge amount of amusement for we get some very funny (haha not peculiar) responses from friends. 

It is a bit uncomfortable when she chokes and her head wobbles about (you see I am usually on her head) but I like to hear my mama laugh, it is a happy sound and on that happy note, we are off, for it is my bewitching hour.. aka bed time.

For, although tomorrow is a holiday, there is a huge amount of work to be done in this home, to turn it back into a home and not a plant house!

I hope that you have all had a very happy Easter and have thought about the meaning of it at least once. (She has despite missing one of her most favourite services).

GeeGee Parrot.
April 20th, 2014.

SHE HAS A NEW NAME AND IT IS.. NUTSY!

HeeHee.. and how very apt it is too, for most of you know she is as daft as a March Hare, mind you, I cannot talk, as I am probably as mad but somehow people expect 'different' behaviour from a Grey Parrot, I mean, you probably do, especially if you've been reading my Blog for some time.

It is ok, we know we are as mad as can be.. in her case it is the result of having to be responsible for the last twenty plus years of her working life.

When you are dealing with electricity, which can and does kill, you have to be extremely circumspect and careful.

Bit now she doesn't have to deal with that sort of stuff any longer and so she is as dotty or NUTSY as she wants to be!

Who called her this, go on, stand up MaryLou, stand up and be counted. Yes, Dear Readers, it was MaryLou in Illinois who called her the following.. "Grand, nutsy and wonderful garden friend".. and you know what? 

She thinks it is the best and nicest thing that anyone has called her for ages!

(No accounting for taste), that's me that said that. Perhaps I should not have for I know what is for lunch tomorrow, whoops, too late, it's in print!

Right, enough of this frivolity. This morning she called Cousin Bruce, why do I want to say that in an Australian accent?

And he is a'comin to stay with us for a three day long weekend in May, so expect all sorts of mad Tales to appear around about the middle of next month, for I think that he, too, could be classified as Nutsy! Heaven knows what the two of them will get up to? For no stone will be left unturned.

Thanks MaryLou, you will cause a lot of smiles and head-nodding as her friends, around the world who read my Blog, will undoubtedly agree with you.

I am off to doze on pole, she is off to take money out of a wall and is then going to the market.

PipPip Dear Readers.. PipPip.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 19th, 2014. 

TWO OLD LADIES ON A BUS.. AKA THE BLONDE WITH 'THE' EYEBROWS..

I promise I don't make these Tales up, but she really is a magnet for anything or anyone funny, strange or just plain weird and this Tale of the Blonde with 'the' eyebrows is no exception!

First of all.. this goes with our 'warmest possible thoughts' to Karen in Minnesota and to Gayle, MaryLou and Pegeen who live in Illinois. Why?

Well, Karen had six inches of snow last night and Gayle, MaryLou and Pegeen had two inches last Tuesday. And she was whinging earlier because she had to wear a wool jacket today. Good grief, you all must be mighty bored with that white stuff by now ladies?

She received a sweet email from Karen upon her return from the market (grrrr) and Clapham Junction. "Thank you Karen, that was a great shot of your hound, he is such a handsome fellow".

Why the grrr after the market? Well, being frugal she keeps her money in an e-saver and transfers what she needs when she needs it but forgot to do that this morning and went forth with about tuppence happeny in her purse. 

Tuppence happeny gets you diddly-squat these days, so she put her bum against the butcher's wall and went on-line to transfer money. Except the system didn't want to 'transfer', nothing was working, hence grrr. 

Never mind, it is only Friday and if she gets up early tomorrow, there will be plenty of time to go down and pick it up in the morning, she told her smiley butcher what she wanted and asked him to save her one.

Off she trundled with old Wheelie Wicker (his full name) up to Fulham Broadway to catch the 295 bus to take her up to Clapham Junction.

The bus was almost empty! She supposed sensible people were at home having lunch, she sat and got out her book and about three stops along, a horde of people got on and a woman of probably her age sat down beside her.

Who started talking to her about books and how you mostly see people with Kindles and other electronic gadgets. She put away her book and turned towards the woman to respond, that was when she saw 'the' eyebrows. 

For the woman, whose hair was beautifully 'done', had blonde eyebrows but instead of doing them properly with a soft brownish pencil and combing them upwards, she had drawn them in with a blonde / orange pencil.

Oh dear, now I know she has a distinct advantage over a lot of women in that her eyebrows are still fat and glossy and as she was trained as a Beautician, by two of the world's most famous cosmetic companies, she knows most of the tricks that come out of or are to be found in the beauty box. 

And she thought about saying something but decided not, deciding that discretion being / was the better part of valour or however that saying goes.

So these two 'old' ladies talked all the way to Clapham Junction which was where she had to go, she wished the other woman "Happy Easter" and got off the bus.

Should she have said something about 'the' eyebrows? Absolutely not. 

For the woman was going somewhere as she was prettily dressed and carrying gifts in a funny bag, it would make her sad and one should not knowingly cause other people to feel sad, least not in her mind you shouldn't. Why? Because it's mean and she doesn't hold with meaness.

But she did, however, think it very strange that the woman's hairdresser had never suggested that she have her eyebrows tinted, she used to do it for friends and it takes two minutes! 

Anyway, there you are and here she is, about to have very sharp words with that silly bank.

Tomorrow is tomorrow, our leg of lamb is safely tucked away with our name on it in mr.butcher's chilly white larder.

We have prawns for supper with thin skinny stems of broccoli, she made a pot of chilli mayonnaise before she went out this morning and it is sitting there getting very unctious.. oh, slurp-the-durp.

We have been told to expect a cold day tomorrow, there will be no gardening for her, she has to do something for a friend in the afternoon and will spend the rest of the afternoon sorting out what needs to be planted into the garden this week.

The 'Sunbaby' Cherry Tomatoes are nowhere ready to go anywhere, it will be another six weeks before they go out in to the hanging pots. The 'Roma' Plum and the Beefsteak Tomatoes are two weeks behind the Cherries, they will be planted into 10 gallon buckets and will also stay at home.

It is much easier to manage tomatoes at home, for they can be watered twice a day if it gets really hot and she clucks over and takes great care of them and, in return, the indeterminate plants grow and become enormous and cover the entire front of the house. 

Home grown and just picked tomatoes are indeed food for the Gods, are they not?

And when she has sorted out what needs to be planted, she can sort out the rest of the room and turn it back into a sitting room for our Cousin Bruce is coming to stay for a weekend in May. 

She will call him later tonight to say that those dates that he wants to come are good for us too.

PipPip, Dear Readers, PipPip.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 18th, 2014.

LAMB FOR LUNCH & CALAMONDIN ORANGE TREES HUNG WITH EASTER EGGS!

Now that, Dear Readers, is our idea of perfection. 

Roast Lamb, or Kid if you have access to this, are versatile and both are delicious eaten hot or cold.

She grows a lot of Oregano and Marjoram, one particularly beautiful plant is Oregano Aureum, which grows very close to the ground, the leaves are golden. She allows this lovely thing to spread as both the smell and taste are quite spectacular.

She would, if she could, grow Lemons as well but the climate has not changed that much! However, people think that it has, for they buy and subject poor Olive trees to a life of utter misery as they are planted in miserably small tubs or 'Versailles' boxes and expected to be grow and be 'happy'. 

Poor trees, they must undoubtedly dream of clear sunlight, sunshine, warm happy days and being able to grow long branches with deep roots and think that their present lives are an awful dream from which they will soon awaken.

So she cannot pick her own Lemons, however, she can pick her own Bitter Oranges.

Four years ago she 'rescued' three very sad looking little Citrus trees from Lidl, they were for sale at £1.50 each because they had no fruit and no label and no one knew what they were but she had an idea when she squished a leaf. It gave off a fragrance she thought denoted Bitter Orange.

'Calamondin' she thought to herself, paid £4.50 and brought them home, they were re-potted, fed, watered and are dearly loved. 

That winter they rewarded her kindness by putting out a couple of pure white blossom. She had been right, for the smell was of 'Neroli', an essential oil which comes from the flower of the Bitter Orange. 

This oil is an extremely expensive ingredient which, along with many others, makes some of the world's most famous perfumes.

They live on a ledge outside the bathroom. As the winter of 2012 / 2013 started to get cold, she drained the pots, wrapped the trees in sheets of coir and put a layer of fleece over their heads. 

They lived happily in their little coir house until late March 2013 which was when she unwrapped them. 

They grew like crazy folk last year and were given a severe pruning to stop them becoming 'leggy', they paid attention and are now becoming bushy. They flower twelve months a year and the fruits are so.. dare I say it.. deliciously Orangey!

The sight of these three trees with their small fruits in brilliant orange and the highly coloured Easter eggs that she blew and decorated is just like "a pretty shop window", a charming compliment one of her neighbours paid to her this morning.

But back to Lamb (or Kid) Oregano and Lemons. All of which go very well together. Please put that Rosemary back in the cupboard and try this truly wonderful herb instead! 

You will need a leg of lamb (or kid) olive oil, 2cloves of garlic, 2 lemons, black pepper and, hopefully, some locally grown fresh vegetables.

Mix the juice of 2 lemons with 2 fat cloves of crushed and finely chopped garlic, freshly ground black pepper and 2 tsp of dried oregano.

Make sure the meat is out of the chilly white larder (fridge) for at least two hours before you start to cook it. Preheat the oven to 200C / gas mark 5.

Place the lamb into a roasting dish, make small slices all over the meat and rub the oregano mix all over the meat and into the slits. Allow the meat to marinate for at least half an hour.

Roast the meat for 40 minutes, turn the heat down a bit and roast for another 40 minutes and allow the meat to 'relax' for ten minutes before carving.

Serve with, preferably, locally grown green vegetables. We will be eating ours with sprouting broccoli and swiss chard with a garlic mayonnaise and some small potatoes that she dug up last week.

No, they are not 'new' potatoes but very norty ones that escaped being captured (aka dug up) last year!

There you are Dear Readers, the perfect Easter Sunday, or a perfect lunch for whichever day you choose and we have given it to you with enough time for you to get the lamb from your butcher.

Slurp..

GeeGee Parrot.
April 18th, 2014.

WIMBLEDON SEWING MACHINE CO..

This branch has been there for 18 years at 292-312 Balham High Road and she has passed within a hundred metres of this wonderful place for all these years!

It was only by accident she found it yesterday, she missed the stop at Tooting Bec Station and the bus went over the junction and trundled off down Balham High Road and the next stop was way down the road.

Off she got, "oh good, an Argos", as she needed a new hair dryer which, luckily, was in stock, it was paid for and slid into old Wheelie who was out and about with her. 

She crossed back across the street and started to walk back towards the junction. On the right was big private car park on her right with the sign 'Wimbledon Sewing Machine Co' on the building behind it. 

The building looked empty, "how sad" she thought but said to a pretty woman who had just parked her car "when did they close", the woman said "they haven't, this is the store house, the shop is next door and the museum, which has Queen Victoria's sewing machine, is beyond that, come with me".

And that, Dear Readers, is how she found this wonderful treasure trove of sewing machines, Haberdashery and all sorts of different fabrics.

When she was at work on Wednesday, she found two great garments , one was a coat dress, it was going to be ragged as it had been munched by moth but she paid a donation and took the dress. 

Why would she want an old moth eaten dress? 

Because the dress fits her beautifully and she will give it to her most beloved Carolyn who will take the dress apart and make a 'Toile' in cambric. 

The style of the dress, the original is in wool, is 
such that it would be very pretty in cotton with no sleeves as well as in a double faced wool crepe, or in a light-weight Linton woollen tweed of which she has several lengths stashed away!

The other item is in perfect condition, a chic black boiled wool jacket. Again Carolyn will make a toile of this as it could, with a small change to the design, also be made into a dress. 

And whilst she was standing there with her mouth hanging open gawping at all these wonderful things, a smiley woman laughed and said "is this your first time here?" she replied "yes, it is. I never knew it existed, I know McCullough & Wallis, Barnet & Lawson in the West End and, of course, Kleins in Soho but it is amazing because of all the machines".

They started to talk and realised that it was absolutely extraordinary that they had never met before for they have friends and colleagues in common. 

Cards were exchanged, somehow they started talking about Ireland and Linens and they would probably still be there but she realised that the Library would be shut if she didn't leave. 

"I must go" she said, "Come and have supper with us in ten days time, I am off to Ireland tomorrow, but come when I get back" said the smiley woman.

And all because she missed her bus stop. Surprises are all around the corners, are they not?

It had been a very cold and dull day weather wise but what a happy Maundy Thursday that was, meeting Fiona and finding just what she wanted as Easter gifts.  

It is Easter Friday today, we wish you all a very 'Hoppy Easter', as her dear LuLu would say, yes, LuLu I did 'get' it, she tells me to tell you.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 18th, 2014.

WELL.. THAT WAS A JOLLY DAY!

She said as she came home from doing volunteer work all day, the sun shone, customers were happy and smiley, well, most of them were!

One customer has obviously eaten far too many Hot Cross Buns and chocolate for in one month, she has gone from 'trim' to 'stout'!

And clothes that she would have worn before with ease, are now very tight. 

Gulp, she was quite shocked at the change in the woman, and discussed it with lovely boss when the woman had left the shop.

"I know and she knows too" said lovely boss "she is so grumpy as she tries to fit into her old size and cries and shouts when none of the clothes fit".

Then she cast a critical eye over my mum and said "You look as if you have lost weight, fess-up, how much have you lost? Really, well done you" when she said yes, she had lost weight, over 14lbs to be precise and was on target with her desired weight loss.

She feels it when she is working in the garden, it is much easier for dodgy knees not to carry around extra weight and her energy level is higher but she has, she admitted, several lbs to lose.

The new floor at the shop is splendid. The wooden boards were properly laid and the wood is smooth, nothing caught and snagged when she dragged the heavy recyling bags to the front. It will be so easy to mop the floor now.

Tomorrow she has to go to Tooting Broadway, don't you love the names of these places? She was supposed to go early this morning but realised that she would be late for the shop.

They, the powers to be in weather terms, say we are in for a wet week-end, she would not be at all unhappy if we had some rain, for it has been far too hot in the day time for this time of year but cold at night. 

The Asparagus is mighty confused and is just poking its' nose out of the earth, almost as if it is asking "is it safe to come out yet?", she knows what it means, yesterday had been warm but coming home at half past six, brrr, it was chilly without a second layer of fleece clothing.

So here we are, nearly at (a late) Easter, the year is really whizzing by. John, another volunteer, had bought both of 'his girls' a mini chocolate Lindt Rabbit, such a sweet man, it is always a fun day when she works with these two nice people.

We have had supper, she had Asparagus, an Avocado, poisonous for parrots and three and a half Prawns for which she had made mayonnaise. 

I had the rest of my morning egg, a spoonful of a Hummous, an Asparagus spear all to myself, half a Prawn and a few Cashew nuts. 

All of which was of an elegant sufficiency, especially if you wish to decrease the size of your body! I don't but she does!

She has a book to read and I'm going to go to bed for we got up early this morning and I am ready to say "good night" to you all. PipPip, Dear Readers, PipPip.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 16th, 2014.

DRAGONS DO EXIST..

"That was one hell of a day" was what she said when she got home this evening. At the beginning of a Tale is always my favourite place to start, come with me as I zoom back in time to yesterday afternoon.

She was cursing the replacement grass trimmer as it was behaving badly. She filled it up with half a litre of fuel, fitted a new cutting line and yet, ten minutes later, it said "please miss, can I have more fuel", what was going on? 

Then she saw the fuel line was broken and the petrol had emptied itself all over the engine.. nice.. scary.. could have gone "boom" as the engine of this big trimmer gets hot. 

The wretched machine had to go back to whence it came, except Battersea Homebase did not have any in stock, so she had to go to the Kensington branch, which is where she bought the first one, which had been faulty.

She and old Wicker, now fully repaired, trundled off down the Cromwell Road, such a lovely day for a fast walk. 

Into Homebase and whom should be there loitering with no intent but an old friend of hers who works for Homebase, much smiling, much how are you'ing since you retired went on, etc, etc. 

He asked her why she was there, she explained about the faulty fuel line, he said "we can't have that, come with me, I'll sort this out", he took a new one off the shelf and went to the Customer Service desk.

And 'sorted' it out.. by saying "She's a very good and old customer of ours but she is also a Dragon so don't think you can give her the run around or she'll have you for lunch, she knows all about warranties, just let's check the new one out and give it to her".

Oh boy.. did she have to keep a straight face! 

The new one was checked out, put together to make sure it fitted correctly, which was the fault with the first one, tool kit checked, the faulty one handed over, the new one plus all its' extra bits handed over and off she went having said a "BIG thank you" to her chum.

"Dragon" she said to him, "yes, I thought you'd like that, it scared him, didn't it?" They both laughed and she went off to catch the 190 bus with old Wicker trundling along beside her.

Oh, happy days are here again! For there ain't nothing that will put a smile on this girl's face like a engine that fires on the first pull! Yippee..

Gloriously sunny, warm day, in slip-on shoes, a sleeveless t.shirt and goggles, vroom, like Toad in Wind in the Willows, she and the trimmer went to work. Up and down the little paths, around the Lilac tree, in and out of the fruit bushes!

'Dragon' she thought to herself and laughed, for she is called this by an old client of hers. He is a client for whom she has worked on several large projects in America and Europe.

He said "I have bought a house in London, please go and look at all of the stuff which I have shipped over and which I have bought at auction, take photos and we'll talk about colours.

She did as he requested and then told him that the power voltage in the UK, which is much higher than in the USA, meant that all of the old wiring had to be changed because IF, God forbid, a fire occurred in the house and it could be traced to old wiring, the Insurance Company would negate his Household Insurance Policy.. 

TRUE.. all UK wiring has to be double insulated.

He pooh-poohed this and said.. "No, I'll do it when I am in the house", her response to this very old client for whom she had done multiple homes. "Go and find yourself another lamp specialist, I will not work under this condition". 

His response.. was simply wonderful!

He went off to a toy store and found a marvellous Dragon. He was about twelve inches tall and made out of the smoothest bottle green velvet, his ears were lined in pink, his fat tongue was made out of pink satin and lined in something so it was squashy, his eyes were made out of black round buttons and he had a spiky mane and tail! He was splendid and very fierce.

And he flew across the Atlantic in a dark brown leather beauty case. Oh Lordy, how she laughed when she opened that case. 

On a card tied around his neck was the following.. "Do not mess with Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with Ketchup". 

(Very sadly, because she adored this Dragon, his stuffing was a kind of small Bean and he was,  literally, eaten by horrid Weevils. She still has the beauty case).

Did the two of them solve their differences?

Of course they did, she telephoned the HQ of what used to be Norwich Union and got them to send him all the necessary information on how and what will negate a House Insurance Policy in the case of Fire. Old lamp wiring being one of the main culprits. That scared him and she was back in control of the project within the week!

Her old client called her Dragon from that day forth and still does. 

She no longer has to 'bellow fire and brimstone' at stupid people, her life is much simpler now she is retired but oh dear, oh dear, why don't companies check their goods properly before they leave their factories? 

FlapFlap Dear Readers, for tomorrow she is off to work at the shop in make-up and pretty clothes!

It is bed time for both of us. MaryLou told us that Pegeen is a grandmother to baby born today. Happy, happy days, we are so happy to hear that your daughter and her daughter are well.

GeeGee Parrot.
April 15th, 2014.