SPICY MERINGUES.. FOR ONE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT SPICE IN YOUR LIFE!

Here, Dear Readers, is one of her favourite puds! Spicy Coffee Meringues. Serious stuff.. slurp.

Remember when making meringues, that everything has to be squeaky clean! Your oven should be pre-heated to 120C / 250F / Gas Mark 1/2. You'll need a large mixing bowl, an electric whisk, a large baking sheet with nonstick baking paper and a spatula.

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites.
100g golden caster sugar.
2 tsp of very strong black coffee.
175ml of thick double cream.
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.
1/2 tsp of ground cardamon.
1/2 tsp of freshly grated nutmeg.
1/2 tsp of Jamaican allspice.
1/4 of slab of dark chocolate to grate and decorate the top together with..
A few dark red pomegranate seeds which would look glorious!

Method:

Whisk the egg whites in mixing bowl until stiff and full of air.
Keep whisking, add the sugar a little at a time but don't bash the air out!
They should look stiff and shiny!
Fold the coffee in gently.

Tip the mixture into the middle of the baking tray, take the spatula, make it round.
DON'T make it smooth! It should have peaks and troughs and look marvellous!
Bake for 90 minutes.
The way to test to make sure it is cooked is to peel a little of the paper away from the base.
The meringue should be dry BUT not rock hard.

Pour the cream into a bowl, fold in spices, whisk together so the cream peaks but is NOT hard.
Chill the cream mixture.

Just before you start your meal, top the meringue off with the spiced cream and grate the chocolate and sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the top.

Well.. those recipes should do you for March 2015 and give you some yummy meals over the Easter break.

Tomorrow is April Fool's Day and what are YOU planning to do that's 'foolish'? We don't have to plan for she and I can be foolish at the drop of a hat!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 2015.

CRUNCHY-MUNCHIES AS HER MUCH BELOVED HAY DARLING USED TO CALL THEM

Do you have a favourite treat that you love to munch?  A little special something that puts the world to rights? This recipe was given to her by Hay darling.. aka her most beloved and much adored aunt.

Preheat your oven to 180C / Gas mark 4. You'll need a mixing bowl, a buttered baking tray, a broad knife and a mug of very hot water.

Ingredients:

50g insalted butter.

50g of lard (!).

50g caster sugar.

100g of plain flour.

50g of rolled oats.

1 tbsp of cocoa powder.

2 tbsp of golden syrup dissolved in 1tbsp of hot water.

Extra for the cream filling:

25g unsalted butter.

50g icing sugar.

1tbsp cocoa powder.

Vanilla extract a few drops.

Rum preferably dark.. a few drops

Method.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, lard and sugar until fluffy, slowly work in sifted flour, cocoa, oats and golden syrup.

Put the mix out onto the work surface and divide. Roll the mix into balls the size of a cherry.

Place them onto the buttered baking tray and flatten them gently with a broad knife, dip your knife into the mug of how water to stop them sticking to the dough.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until they are puffed up and set.

Remove and allow to cool on drying racks.

Cream filing:

Cream butter until it is very soft, add icing sugar, add sifted cocoa powder, rum and vanilla extract.

Beat together until light and fluffy.

Gently place the filling onto a biscuit and then place another on top.

Oh.. how she misses this lovely woman.. in our bedroom there are two picture of her. 

The big one was taken on the day of Hay's marriage (to her uncle Leslie), the colour print was taken by her in the summer of 2002. She was so special.. so brave.. so funny.. so naughty.. so kind.. so adored and so loving.. it is hard to live without being loved or having someone to love.. so it is a good thing she has me and that I have her.

Sniff.. I hope that you'll make and eat Hay's Crunchy-Munchies and think of those you love.

GeeGee Parrot.

March 31st, 2015.

GRANNY'S SHORTBREAD..

This is going to be a reallyreally small post, it is past ten of the evening clock and she is off to bed, as am I but but we did say that you would have this tonight.. so here it is!

Preheat your oven to 160C / Gas Mark 6.

You will need a square baking tray of about 18 cms and a mixing bowl and clean hands..

Ingredients:
200g of PLAIN flour.
100g of cut up / cubed unsalted butter.
50g caster sugar.

Method:
Sift flour into a mixing bowl, stir in sugar.
Rub butter into sugared flour until mix comes together.
Press and smooth mix into baking tray.
With a sharp knife cut mix into sections / fat fingers BUT do not cut all the way through.
Lightly prick a pattern into mix with a sharp fork.
Bake for 12 - 14 minutes until pale gold.
Take out of the oven, allow to cool and break shortbread.

There you are folks.. Florence's very quick and utterly-butterly delicious Shortbread.

We're off and away with the Fairies to 'ninny-bye-land' aka going to bed!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 30th, 2015.

EASTER & CHOCOLATE GO TOGETHER BUT YOU DON'T JUST HAVE TO EAT EGGS.. I'M GIVING YOU THE RECIPE FOR A SUGAR FREE CHOCOLATE MOUSE!

I know.. Of course I know that is not how you spell Mousse but Mouse and Eggs are both animal related, are they not? And I am an animal.. gettit! Perhaps not, which is why sometimes she looks at me, shakes her head and laughs!

And here, just in time for you to get your Easter cooking act together and with no more froll-de-roll is a crackin' (those egg-the-pegs are still trying to roll in again) recipe for a sugar free dark chocolate mousse.

Make this delicious pudding the day before you want to eat it as it needs time to set and allow the flavours of the chocolate and liqueur to mix.

You will need  either a proper bain marie or a small mixing bowl which will sit wedged into the saucepan. The pan should have hot water in it that does NOT touch the bottom of the bowl.

Tools:
Bowl, saucepan, wooden spoon, spatula, glass bowl or ramekins. Should serve 4.

Ingredients:
225 dark chocolate - NOT cooking chocolate - broken into small bits.
1 tablespoon of rum or another liqueur. Kirsh would be FAB as dark choc + cherries = slurp.
4 large eggs separated.
Cold water.

Method:
Place chocolate into the bowl together with 4 tbsp of cold water, put bowl on top of the hot water in the pan and allow the chocolate to melt slowly and then stir in the liqueur.
Let the chocolate mix cool and then beat the egg yolks in one at a time.
Whisk the egg whites until very stiff and add a good spoonful the chocolate mix to loosen it up a bit.
Then add the chocolate mix to the rest of the whisked egg whites and fold them together.
Pour the mixture into either a pretty glass bowl or ramekins and chill.

IT is, from the look on people's faces who have eaten it here, pretty tasty! We like tasty food in this house.

And so we are going to spread as much of it around the world by giving you, Dear Readers, some of our favourite recipes and so the very next tasty recipe coming your way will be Florence's recipe for Shortbread.. which she makes and then dips one end into dark chocolate.. to Gild the Lily as it were.

So go slowly and come back quickly.. for I'll be posting that one later this evening but now I must go as she is off with her bag of tricks to give Susan a pedicure.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 30th, 2015.
PostScript: Florence was her Grandmother, mother of Constance.

FOR ALL SHE KNOWS.. YOUR TONGUE MAY BE HANGING OUT & YOU DYING FOR WANT OF A RECIPE!

Seeing as how all the members of the Nightshade family, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes etc are highly toxic for her, think of severely sore joints and swollen fingers, she scratches old brain and has to find ways with other vegetables to make delicious things to eat.

And this recipe is truly great.. Read on, Dear Readers, read on and remember to go and buy a few sweet potatoes this week. The amount given should feed four, unless you're greedy like us!

Ingredients needed are:

Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas mark 6. Plus a grill.

2 Sweet potatoes - wash well,  leave their skins on and cut into two lengthways.
1Tbsp of vegetable oil.
1 Tsp of coriander seeds crushed.
Large pinch of ground cinnamon.
Fresh thyme sprigs.
1Tbsp of creme fraiche.
2 Tbsp of soft white breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp of parmesan - freshly grated.
Salt & pepper.

Method:

Mix vegetable oil, crushed coriander seeds, cinnamon, thyme, good pinch of salt & pepper.
Rub this mix all over the sweet potatoes.
Put onto a baking tray, cut side up and roast for 40 minutes.
Take potatoes out of oven, turn on the grill to a medium heat.
Scoop flesh out of the skins, try not to damage the skins.
Stir the flesh with the creme fraiche, adjust the seasoning.
Put the flesh into the skins.
Then sprinkle the bread crumbs and parmesan on top.
Grill for 5 minutes, they should be crisp and golden.

Now.. don't squeak and say we never give you anything! For this is a truly fabulous dish to make ahead of time and it's easy-peasy to boot!

She has her nose into a 'Who dun'it', there'll be no sense out of her this afternoon, 'tis a good thing I've got so many feathers to preen and a comfy old door to sit upon whilst I do it. BusyBusy.. I hope you are too or are having a quick nipnet (drink) before you have to go and feed you and yours?

We generally only eat twice a day, we break our fast and then we have a late lunch, supper is usually an apple, a scrap of cheese and some nuts. Mind you, I haven't ever heard her say "no thank you" when invited out to supper and we do, occasionally, have people to supper here.

But that won't happen anytime in the near future, for our pretty sitting room is a 'factory' at the moment and then it will be turned into a plant room with seedlings everywhere jostling for light.

Gardening to be truthful, which you always should be, is hard work but the rewards are tremendous. For your own home grown: Herbs, flowers, fruit and vegetables are, simply, the best. You've just got to get down and dirty and do it and now she has got over the fear of finding little shed vandalised and the plots in a reallyreally bad way, which they aren't, that's where you'll find us, when we're not otherwise engaged, down on the plots by the A316!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 29th, 2015.

GUESS WHO BLEW INTO TOWN? WHY, NONE OTHER THAN THE WICKED WIND FROM THE WEST!

Wasn't she lucky! For if she had been wimpy, more than usual, that little bit of wind yesterday might have put her off and she'd thought "I'll go tomorrow instead".. for to be sure, only fools, market folk and Library users go out in weather like what we are having in London today!

Rain and wind.. grrrr.. but never mind, for what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, or so they say, and as she is still alive, she surely has excercised a couple of muscles by managing to stay upright as she crossed over the Kings Road and walked down Sydney Street into St.Luke's gardens.. whoosh!

Where that wicked old wind has torn several branches off trees and all of the flowers are wishing that they had not bloomed yet! Granny Jo, who is upstate New York, has told us it is snowing! Gulp, that means we'll probably get it soon.. ten days would be slap bang on her fortieth anniversary!

But home again, home again jiggedy-jig she came and I KNOW there's a tub of goaty curd for me in WW, I wonder if she'll give it to or if she will hide it away in chilly-white larder?

She may because she was given a glorious loaf of Rye bread from the baker at Parson's Green Farmer's Market, also two scrummy doughnuts with very delicious fillings. But having been given such treats, she might, she just might feel guilty about hiding MY pot of curd.

           Baccy for the Parson.. Brandy for the Squire.. Cherry Vodka for the Goaty mum.

Now it is time for our (very late) lunch, two Salmon fillets are on the work surface. Yes folks, fish is the dish for today, along with Polish Salad, a slurp of Beetroot juice for her and water for me. Then we are pulling up the drawbridge and settling in for the duration. Thank goodness little shed and its' roof are secure.

A lot of wind damage has happened to big shed but nothing that cannot be fixed, think of an entire NEW ROOF! Sigh.. but it isn't going to happen until she manages to get Rob and a couple of his guys down there, for it is not a job for one person with none of the right tools or ladders. So let's forget about tomorrow.. for tomorrow never comes!

She has work to do, like finding out if any trains are running anywhere this coming week, for it seems that SouthWestern, in their wisdom, have most of their track up this coming week for engineering works and guess what next week end is.. Yes.. It's EASTER.

I can't eat chocolate, however, I am known to be just crazy-daisy for a Hot Cross Bun.. or two! But now I must be away to supervise the griddling of our fish-the-dish.

FlapFlap.. I'm outward bound for YumYum HQ.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 29th, 2015.

NOW IT'S SPRING AGAIN, SHE'LL PICK AGAIN, JONQUILS FROM THE SCILLY ISLES.

It was VERY windy and started to rainand the south west didn't look much better, dark and stormy but she said to herself "You have to go, even if it is just to see what damage has been done" and climbed aboard the little red bus.

It took.. oh so long.. the traffic was bad, the weather filthy but she has gardened in much worse. Eventually she got there and saw that Ros, a dear friend, was there as well. How nice, she thought and then saw Raven, whom she had last seen as a ten week old puppy, hurtling up the steps to greet her!

How did he know? Ros said "I swear he recognised you, he gave his wuff, wagged his tail and shot off". So much fuss had to be made of him, he's got VERY big paws to fill, for his predecessor, Dizzy, was a great canine friend of ours for many years.

Lots of chat and hugs, these two friends have had allotments on this site for over fourteen years now.

Ros told her that hers didn't look in bad nick at all! And that her much beloved plum tree is in full bloom and absolutely covered in blossom like last year.

So off up the track she went, not feeling quite as apprehensive after being told that it did not look too bad. And Ros was right! It looked, as all plots do at the beginning of the gardening year, a bit messy but ok and nothing that a grass cut and a rake would not make better!

The much beloved plum tree is completely covered in white blossom and exactly the same as last year, her two sisters, planted at exactly the same time and within spitting distance, have about three flowers on them!

The soil is wonderful! They've obviously had heavy frosts and lots of rain which makes for great soil, the Asparagus bed looks dreadful, reallyreally untidy but nothing that a days HARD work won't make better.

The Sunburst Cherry tree is still alive! Eureeka! It survived the winter in its' pot sitting in a bucket and when she has cleared the bed and got membrane fabric and lots of mulch ready, she'll plant it. It already has BIG fat buds on it and near by, a pear tree is almost in leaf! She finds it most peculiar how one tree just ten feet away is so far ahead of all the others.

She tried to strim, the motor fired on the first pul but then conked out and the thread head would not turn.. BORING.. for a quick strim always makes an allotment look much better, so instead she dug a fork out of the little shed.

Where it looks as if Mr. Rat and Master Mouse have had a fine old time, grrr, she'd left it immaculate but they've chewed at things and knocked things about. But the best thing was that little shed had not been vandalised, the door was still locked shut.

A few hours with a broom, sterilising fluid and some hot water will make everything better and tidy again. But why did they have to chew on a packet of coffee and then spill it everywhere?

Never mind, she dug over some beds and found a few potatoes left over from last autumn, a couple of artichokes, some shallots and some spring onions. All good stuff!

Then it was time for flower hunting.. and this bring us to the title of the post. The tall, dark yellow daffodils behind the shed are spreading happily, such a wonderful sight and on the other side of the asparagus beds lies a cutting bed.

I hope you don't throw away hycacinth bulbs when they've flowered indoors? Cut off the flower stem and plant them outside. The ones planted out five years ago in this little bed are the darkest of dark blue, they are much taller than when when she had them in pots at home but the smell is exactly the same, rich and powerful!

Then across to the cherry trees and to the white multi-headed Narcissi, tall, elegant and scented. Such pretty flowers and finally over to the two apple trees, under which grow the smallest of the Narcissi family but the most highly scented.. Jonquils.

Marina (Orpin), whose death last July 4th she still cannot quite believe, sent her these beautiful bulbs from the Scilly Isles for her big Six 0 birthday five years ago.

She met her in Betty's shop in 1992 and they became together with John, Marina's husband, good friends and colleagues for they did lots and lots of work together. Every year, for over twenty years, they travelled to the huge fair in Lille and over the years, what a lot of brilliant swag they both found there!

She picked them this afternoon and thought of John and Marina, of their lovely home in Stansted Mountfitchet where she and both Dagga Parrot and I had stayed so many times.

She went back in time, recalling such very happy times with Betty, Diana, the four Johns and Marina and thinks this is such a lovely way to remember a friend.. picking Jonquils from The Scilly Isles.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 28th, 2015.

SINGING WITH MY MUM & LOTS OF NEW FRIENDS!

We were a little late as our train was delayed but it didn't matter because they hadn't started singing. She snuck in with me hidden in her big purple basket and I sneaked quietly out of my travelling cage and leapt up onto her head!

Well.. You can just imagine the reaction to that! The entire room stopped touching their toes and waggling their feet and squealed with laughter! Luckily, the organisers knew that this was going to happen so they didn't faint with shock-horror but laughed and said "Hello GeeGee, welcome to Singing With Dementia".

We sang twelve songs or rather they sang. I'm going to have to brush up my repertoire, that's for sure!

What a funny time I had. I stood, of course, on her head but I have never seen so many people in one room and I have certainly never heard so many people singing, usually it is just her or a cd. I settled down and bobbed about in time to the music, this made the people facing us just hysterical with laughter, so I did it lots more!

Then it was tea time, with Lemon cake, no wonder she comes here every week, good tea, of which I had several slurps out of her cup. Our tea table companions thought that very funny. A nibble off one of darling Susan's Danish cookies and a crunchy-munch of a cracker.

A lovely Italian woman called Jo asked mama what songs could I sing? Farewell from the Sound of Music, so our table sang it to me! And again, so I joined in by whistling and bobbing up and down again which made everyone laugh! That, Dear Readers, was a 'show stopper'! Other people came over to join our group and 'we' had to sing it four times!

Next it was quiz and game time, we were sitting at the Origami table, the young woman teaching them was a wiz with what she made out of her little pieces of paper, Jo gave me a piece but I blotted my copy-book by ripping it into shreds, Paper+Beaky are not good together, naughty Beaky!

I got the impression that it was time to jolly them all along, so I bounced about a bit and then jumped over onto Ann's head! I had a feeling she liked Parrots.. Luckily I was correct.. She beamed with joy and asked someone to take a photo of the two of us for her family.

Then a charming, very elderly lady from Guyana came over, she had that soppy look on her face that people get when they love Parrots but haven't talked to or seen one for a long time. Sure enough, her family had had them when she was in a child. She and I are going to be friends, that's for sure and she made my mama promise to bring me back again.

My dears, nothing but nothing will stop me from coming back to this lovely place. Well, of course, I can only come if she does but as she loves it too, it is now a firm fixture in our weekly agenda.

Then it was time to pack up and come home. Susan and she caught a bus and got off so they could go into Bartek, to replenish their supplies of Polish YumYum, for she has also got Susan addicted to our most favourite Salad.

Then off to our bus stop. They are having a late lunch next Monday at Susan's house, it is time to do her toes again, they've grown out and luckily the work she did all those weeks ago has held, none of them have become ingrown.. phew.

Then they'll go to their club for a meeting and the week will herald in the First of April. It has been a long winter.. for Spring has not even sprung properly, although the flowers are blooming, they are now saying to expect freezing winds and snow, perhaps for Easter.. brrrr.. just like forty years ago!

But that isn't here yet! So let's be happy and walk on the sunny if-you-can-find-it side of the street.

I am plumb tuckered out and am off to bed much earlier than normal but what a lovely time we had, who knew you could have such fun and laugh so much with people you've never met before?

GeeGee Parrot.
March 27th, 2015.

LIDL HAVE DISCONTINUED MY FAVOURITE BREAD.. DARK RYE WITH SUNFLOWER SEEDS.. PLEASE BRING IT BACK INTO STOCK.. PLEASE.

She has tried, bless her heart, for she has hunted high and very low for the Rye Bread with Sunflower Seeds.. but alas and alack, it was nowhere to be found and today she rang their customer services to be told "sorry but that item has been discontinued"..

Oh.. oh, the sadness, the empty tumtum, the amount of people who apparently all feel the same as us, for she loved it as much as I, the man went onto say that they have received a MASSIVE amount of calls about this item and the buying office have been informed.

But being informed and bringing it back asap into stock in their shops is not the same, is it?

Have you ever eaten it? It was a dark rye with molasses and lots and lots of sunflower seeds, sliced quite thinly, it went well with both savoury or sweet things. She has hunted high and low for a recipe that would come close to this delicious bread but to no avail.

So we have to make do and bluff and fudge with other breads, for I like a bit of bread with which to break that gruesome fast, first comes a delicious egg-the-peg, followed by three pieces of crispy crust from her toast, she either makes her own or eats a rye and caraway seed Lithuanian bread which she buys from Bartek. Then a few raw cashew nuts followed up by a piece of bread, half of which I eat and half of which I play-the-fool with on top of chilly white larder.

There must be a recipe for it somewhere.. Dark rye flour, molasses, sunflower seeds, she seems to remember it was made in Germany and by a company called Rivercote. Huh.. do we have any German bread makers out there who would be able to point her in the direction of a recipe?

In the very olden days, there was the Swiss Food Centre on the corner of Leicester Square and the Danish one in Sloane Street, they might have stocked something similar but they no longer exist in London.. BIG sigh.. for they were both sources of delicious food that she frequented frequently!

Anyway, I am not starving as we do have a small loaf that she has found in Waitrose which is pretty scrummy, a totally different sort of bread, not the same as it does not have the molasses (that was such a good taste) but it does taste pretty good, she cuts it waver thin and it has seeds in and on it.

So now I have to go, we have work to do now as we are both going to be off and away to Streatham to Sing With Dementia this afternoon.

Of course, I'll let you know how it went.. so come back here after about eight of this evenings' clock and I'll tell you ALL about it!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 27th, 2015.
PostScript. Do you feel disappointed when people say they're going to do something and then don't, she'd never have suspected it of these two but, there you go. Meanwhile Tereza, who was on a very short trip to Turkey, has brought her back a box of amazing looking Nougat and Pomegranate tea from Turkey. Such a 'sweet' ~ in both ways ~ gift. Thank you Tereza.

NOT MUCH CHEESE FOR ME..

Now I do admit there wasn't much left but being given a cheesey crumb was worse than not being given any, for after that morsel had exploded in old Beaky, my tasty buds and Beaky wanted more, as you do, so like Oliver, I said "Please can I have some more". "No" she said and put the sliver back into the fridge.

HUH. You just wait 'til I get my own pot of curd from Goaty Mum, she won't get even a lick of the lid, if I have my way.

She was out working today with her new fangled ears and said it was just great to be able to hear and understand what everyone was saying. They had a busy day and then a 'crackin' good sale to a man who came in quite late.

HE was ....., well, it is not often that she finds someone attractive (read simply scrumptious), she and her boss looked at each other and sighed when he left waving and saying "you've got a lovely shop, I'll see you again when I next come to London" and they both said "COR, what a hunker-the-munker he was". French from Marseilles.. sigh.

Moving sadly but swiftly along..

What is going on with the weather? Please would someone tell us? It was chilly-billy last night, she used a heat pad to warm the bed up but there was NO stretching and venturing over to the other side of the bed, she did put one leg over there in her sleep and it shot back smartly of its' own accord, for the bottom sheet, being crisply ironed and unslept upon, was icy! Ugh.

It rained this morning, it rained again this afternoon.. those pesky weeds will be, correction, ARE all living the life of old Riley and goodness knows how high the grass is. Hopefully her spring flowers will be up and in bloom, a BIG vase of Jonquils and Narcissi would cheer her up, for there is just NOTHING like picking your own, also the dark blue Hycacinths should be strutting their stuff.

MaryLou wrote that they had another five inches of snow one day this week, that must have given her flowers a bit of a shock! And we got a big shock when Pegeen sent her a photo of what lay directly outside her front door.. SNOW.. and lots of it!

Blimey, what are we whinging about? We haven't even had one snowflake drop on us, yes, it has been chilly-billy cold and damp but nothing to what they've experienced this year in America, nothing. No wonder Karen headed down south to Mexico for the sunshine.

We're singing tomorrow, I am SO excited. Yippee, I've been practising my song. Farewell, Adieu etc from The Sound Of Music, I hope they sing it tomorrow so I can sing along too, that will  / should make them all laugh, even if the sight of me sitting on my mama's head doesn't!

I'll write and tell you all about our jaunt to Streatham Hill tomorrow night, IF I am reallyreally good, you never know, I might get to go into Bartek, our purveyor of scummy breads and even scrummier Salade a la Polonaise.

You didn't realise I spoke French, but, of course, I do. In fact, some day I will tell you a few tales of the French Court passed down to me in spirit by my ancestors, tales from secret journals written by aristocratic ladies of the court who kept African Grey Parrots.

And, of course, the Cote d'Ivoire and Gabon are two countries of Arican Grey Parrots where we breed, they call us Gabon Gris, hence my name GeeGee. Get it?

I hope so, for it far too late to have to tell you guys that story again! And there are two cute little rosy apples lying on her bed that need beaking and I know there is a new packet of almonds in her bag, so it is PipPip from me and "goodnight" from her.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 26th, 2015.

GLORY GLORY HALLELUJAH.. SUCH A GREAT DAY!

What a day! Goodness gracious me! Two down and one to go.. Let me explain.. from the beginning, always the best place to start a tale.. are you sitting comfortably, then I'll begin.

Old scary day rolled in to town, aka deepest Knightsbridge, and into our life at the hideously early hour of half past seven.. ugh.. she got up, I was pretty reluctant to do so, I must admit and was very slow to clamber out of my night-time house.

But the thought of an egg cheered me up greatly and so our day commenced. Coffee, egg, rye toast were all made and consummed. Then off we went to the bathroom, her to wash and dress and me to play the fool, as you do when your blood sugar is raised up again from near starvation level.

Off to the Marsden she went, sliding through their doors on the dot of nine of the morning clock.

"Bless and thank you Debbie Goaty Mum for that text, it sure did take the 'edge' off that waiting".

We have already posted the happy news related to this, so if you haven't done so, go back and read the previous post if you want to know what transpired.

Home for lunch! She had been told to allow four hours for the Breast clinic but she came skipping down the steps at just after eleven of the clock. It was the skipping that alerted me to what had happened, she called to me, I flew down the hall, landing on her head and gave her a proper going over, as you do to people who have been given great and very happy making information.

Scummy light lunch, a little bit of a doze and she went off to the Audiology dept to pick up her new hearing aids.. yes.. she wears two.

This department is FULL of the most wonderful, highly trained staff. Today it was pretty Emma who tested her with all sorts of new and highly sensitive equipment, it wasn't just to see what she did or didn't hear, the latter lot of tests were to determind the level of sound that the hearing aids would hear when they were in position just in the ear canals.

And armed with this information, she programmed the receivers to the correct level. Then Emma asked her to chose which colour base she wanted. Then came the big surprise! For she, thank goodness, no longer has to wear a big, fat ugly plastic moulded earpiece in her right ear, both ears now have two skinny little wires with highly sophisticated receivers that are worn sitting in the ear canal.

She was with Emma for over an hour! And these machines are amazing.. much more advanced than her old ones, which were over five years old and no longer able to deal with the amount of hearing loss she has experienced.

These new ones have three levels of sound and three levels of technology. The first level allows her to hear normal speech, the second is magic in that, if she is in a restaurant, it will cut out all the background noise and the third is the Loop system, you may have seen this in banks and other public places, it is in theatres and cinemas and it is like have your own secret sound system.

But the reallyreally best thing is NOT having to wear that big old ugly earpiece anymore. Oh, it did make her feel SO old and she hated it. Now she has these two tiny wires and she's good to go, she'll surely be able to hear a mouse fart, for on the way home, she heard the birds singing. Oh, such a sweet, simple pleasure, sniff.. excuse me.. I'm just a little bit wet-eyed.. in fact, we both are.

For just like when Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers sang "Well, goodness gracious me" we're happy and we're especially happy to be able to tell friends good news, so please let's hear it for those highly qualified and hard working medics, of all specialisations, who support us allover the world.

Now she's wired up for sound like a spy, aka Caruthers MI5, sadly she has forgotten the joke of which this is the punchline, and on April 21st, we'll deal with that old MRI.. yeah!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 25th, 2015.

YEAH.. WE'RE GOING TO BARBADOS.. YEAH.. IN THE SUNNY CARIBBEAN SEA!

Actually we aren't going to the sunny Caribbean, t'was a big fat fib! But she's as happy, and so am I, as if she'd just been given two tickets to a sunshine island on Coconut Airways. For she has had reallyreally GREAT news today.

She was at the Marsden on time at 09.00 and had just put her bum on a seat when Debbie Goaty Mum sent her a text.. don't you just LURVE friends who take a minute to send you a 'thinking of you hug' through the air.

She had a Mammogram.. oh, lordy how she hates this proceedure.. then sat in another waiting area whilst the experts went over the images. Then Vivienne came in and called for her and they went together into an examination room. After a very detailed examination and a couple of little tests, this lovely, lovely woman talked her through the results.

Oh.. and how she hugged this woman who explained and showed her what the matter was.

Who knew that you could get inflamation in your cartiledge and ribs? Well, she obviously didn't! So off she went immediately to get the recommended stuff from a pharmacy.

Now she is off to the Audiology dept to get her new hearing aids and on her way back, she'll call in and have a cup of tea with Myra, who arrived back last night after spending five weeks in Paris seeing her sister, two her sons and their children.

Oh.. how wonderful to see my mama happy, now all we've got to find is nothing-nasty on the MRI and we will be as happy and madder than two crickets! But for today, we are reallyreallyreally happy and for tomorrow, well, you all know what we think about tomorrow.. for Scarlet put it so well..

Tomorrow is another day.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 25th, 2015.

Todays GermanWings flight 4U 9525 aircrash in the French Alps.

Oh Lord, she only knew it had happened because of going into the bedroom to check on my water bowl and heard the newscaster saying the dreadful words "there are thought to be no survivors", she raised immediately to the BBC website for further news.

How many times has she flown in a light aircraft over these very same Alps? Countless times, it is a very rough and raw part of the world. (Due north of Monaco). There are rough tracks up there that wend their way amongst the mountains but no proper roads.

This will make the recovery especially difficult for the people who have the unenviably, very grim task of going to the crash site and have to try to piece it all together in order to make sense of this accident, for which the pilot had not issued a MayDay or emergency call.

Helicopters have now landed at the site and the Black Box has been located.

One hundred and fifty passengers and crew have died, they leave behind them God knows how many family members, friends and colleagues who will be devasted by this loss of human lives.

Poor people.. vayo con Dios.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 24th, 2015.
PostScript: GermanWings is a division of Luthansa, there are known to be French, German and Spanish passengers on board, it was on a direct flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.

THE PHONE-BIRD IN A VIDEO AND THE GIRL WHO WENT TO BRAZIL..

Well, in fact if truth were told, which it always should be, I am already IN a video. But seeing as how she-who-should-be-obeyed cannot get it together to put a photo up on my blog, there's a fat chance that she would be able to organise a video going up on it!

She sent the short clip of Yours Truly prancing about on her head and 'ringing' the landline telephone to a few friends and Debbie Goaty Mum loved it so much, she asked if she could put it up on the Goaties Blog.

What the Goaty folk will say to an avian interloper frollicking about on their blog, has not yet been discovered. They're probably talking about it in the milking parlour and undoubtedly it will be Husky, the naughty girl, who'll be the one to plot something!

And now for something completely different! A brilliant tale of determination and kindness.. read on!

She was at a meeting last night in Streatham Hill with Susan. Into the room came an enchanting looking young woman who was greeted with squeals of joy and MANY hugs and kisses.

She smiled at the young woman and asked another woman, Joan, "Who is she?".. "ah", said Joan "wait and you'll find out".. then the person taking the meeting said "Alison has come to give us an update and seeing as there are a couple of people here who have never met you Alison, please would you give a short resume of what you did, before you give your update".

Are you ready? Then I'll tell you Alison's tale..

A long time ago, one of Alison's ancestors was a slave in Brazil, she was taken to Portugal by the family who 'owned' her and given her freedom. She remained working with the family and married a Portugese man, they had several children, who all married and had children, who had children etc and on down the line to Alison's mother, who was brought up in England.

Alison was born and told her ancestoral history. She had already decided what she wanted to do, which was to take a Nursing Degree and a Law Degree.. You probably would not connect the two.. but Alison has thought her future out very carefully.

She is going to be an international lawyer specialising in Medical Malpractice but not the way it is usually thought about. No, she's going to be the kind of lawyer who protects the underdog nurse or doctor from BIG corporations who treat huge numbers of medical staff appallingly badly. To do this, she knew she had to be aware of what goes on in hospitals and clinics, hence training to be a nurse.

She wanted a Gap Year but wanted somewhere overseas where she would be able to work as an un-paid helper in a hospital and I hope you now know where she went, if you thought BRAZIL, you're right!

She spent a full year in Brazil with three host families, all three were 'medical' families, she learnt FLUENT Portugese, having spoken not one word before she arrived and good German. She also learnt a lot about how some hospital staff are treated as gods and how some of them are so badly treated, that it made her cry.

She sat and listened to Alison talk and smiled at the level of determination, courage and good 'stuff' this woman talked about, the update was as good.. how she continues to speak Portugese and German on a daily basis at her university, has now added French and Spanish to her DAILY lessons.. oi vey.

She ended her talk by saying "None of this would have been possible without your backing and your support and I owe you all my thanks".. everyone clapped.

Joan explained, quietly to my mama, that they had sponsored and financed Alison's year in Brazil and that she had MORE than paid them back with the amount of volunteer work she had done and continues to do upon her return from Brazil in 2013.

What a great tale to be able to tell you, do you do any voluntary work of any kind?

Me.. I play 'The Fool' and am practising this role at least six times a day in preparation for my debut at Singing With Dementia this Friday.

She has to do a run to Lidl for we are 'clean' (haha) out of clothes washing liquid and maybe, just maybe, they'll have my favourite Rye and Sunflower bread back in stock.. a girl can dream..

PipPip..

GeeGee Parrot.
March 2015.

A LETTUCE.. THAT'S ALL IT WAS.. A LOOSE LEAFED LETTUCE BUT..

OH.. what a joy it was to eat! It brought back memories of last summer and eating lettuce leaves at the allotment that had been cut from a mother plant only minutes before. This was delicious, torn into pieces, dressed with olive oil, a squeeze of fresh lemon and a scrummy mix of ground herbs, pepper and sea salt, it made the perfect bed for a Barberry duck breast to sit upon and to relax.

Tasty.. is not a big enough word to describe the flavours but scrummydumptious is!

It is a day that she should have gone to work at the allotment but there was 'stuff' ~ such a useful word ~ to be done. Childrens clothes to be taken to the shop, a bill to be paid and a cheque for the HUGE sum of £2.00 to be paid into her bank.

Ah yes.. Now I ask you a question? IS your daily Pinta an actual pint? The reason she was sent this tiny cheque was because, when making a batch of soda bread back in January, she noticed that the contents of a tub of Buttermilk amounted to a great deal less than the contents listed! HUH.

And it was not just the one tub that was seriously under content, she'd bought six tubs and they were all missing a lot. So she wrote to the company ~ DairyCrest ~ an email and complained. She had no response until this small amount on a huge cheque appeared in the post.

Do you complain, Dear Readers? They were extremely fortunate that she had bought the six tubs, for if she had had to go out and buy another to make up the fluid content for her dough.. she would NOT have been a happy baker, that's for sure!

Back to that lettuce.. it was undoubtedly grown in a poly tunnel, for it is still far too cold (and frosty) to grow lettuce outside but what a great taste it had. Our last frost date at the allotments is June 9th,(yes, that late) and we count backwards for planting seeds at home.

She has some very useful things at the plots, they're plastic Sun Tunnels made by Botanico, which are about 2 metres long and about 50cms high at the tallest bit, they have air vents at either end and she pins them to the ground with tent pegs. They give plants just the right amount of protection, should old naughty Mr. Jack Frost thinks it fun to sctter his icy ice about a bit.

They look expensive, but she bought hers OVER ten years ago and they're still going strong! The trick, at the end of the season, is to clean them, then store them packed inside themselves in a dry place where they won't get crushed or damaged.

Then hey presto.. hey-li-cheese.. they're ready for you to use in Spring! She starts off LOTS of different varities of: beans, peas, lettuces, beetroots, radishes, and all the other such lubbly-jubbly things that we munch with huge delight, at home on the sitting room window ledge, then they're planted out at the allotments and the Sun Tunnels really help these baby plants adjust.

We're lucky to have a couple of Mr. and Mrs. Fox living nearby. Why are we lucky? Well, we don't have either Master Peter or Master Benjamin Bunny living on the allotment site, that's for sure!

Whoops! Is that the time? Where does it go? Hurry-scurry, she has to meet Susan in Streatham Hill but before that she has to go to the Library, which she did not get to yesterday.

So it is a good thing that she's not a rabbit, for after such a large helping of green leaves, she would be fast asleep, what do mean you don't know what I'm talking about? Don't you remember Beatrix writing that lettuce was soporific for rabbits.

I'm away to the top of my cupboard and she's off with WW.. Zoom-a-Zoom.. I wonder if those two Goaty mums, the ones that were looking 'thoughtful' yesterday evening, had their kiddly-diddlies? Busy nights for our friend Debbie, aka Goaty Mum. So we are mighty glad that she remembered to take her those two pots of the ishPol salad..

GeeGee Parrot.
March 23rd, 2015.
PostScript: Please don't tell me you don't know who Beatrix is.

DREAM ALLIANCE, THE HORSE THAT 'GREW UP' ON AN ALLOTMENT..

No, she has not been drinking pints of 'Black Stuff' aka Guiness, neither has she been 'nipping' at the Fino. This, Dear Readers, is a true Tale, it must be true, for it's in the press.

Stop sniggering.. and "Listen up folks".. there will gallop soon on to our silver screens, aka cinemas, a film called 'Dark Horse' and it is the true story of Dream Alliance, a racehorse.

And, to be precise, he is a Welsh racehorse who is the glory and pride of Cefn Fforest, a small former mining community near Caerphilly. He was bred by Jan Vokes, who had absolutely no previous experience of horses, let alone buying a mare for £300 and then breeding and raising a foal, on an allotment next to a slag heap.

You did read that correctly, for this gelding was not bred in some fancy stud, or raised by horse flunkeys carrying and fetching whatever their equine charge wanted. No, he was brought up his with his human neighbours all chipping in a tenner to cover his costs.

There was a disaster when he ran in the Grand National at Aintree in 2008, he severed a tendon and had to have stem cell treatment at the cost of £20,000! Gulp.. But 'came back' and made good by winning the 2009 Welsh National and the Perth Cup.

The 'boy' from the valley lives in retirement in the West Country but Jan has the bit and the racing bug firmly between her teeth and her eye fixed upon the Gold Cup, the BIG one at Cheltenham.

DARK HORSE. The film of the true story of Dream Alliance starts showing in the UK on April 17th.

Oh.. we do like happy stories.. don't you? Especially ones about animals.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 22nd, 2015.

AND PRAY GIVE US THIS DAY.. OUR MONTHLY DUMPLINGS..

To be sure, there's something not quite right with my lass, for she declined a second tub of those hot dumplings! Surely, they should come with a warning.. it should read somethin' like this.. Heineken may reach the bits of you that other beers don't touch but it won't blow your sinuses out, that's for sure!

Her eyes watered, her noses had to be blown.. several times.. and she damn nearly choked! Ah, for to be sure, t'was Sunday at Marylebone Market!

It was sunny when she woke up this morning and stuck her nose out of the front door, bright and crisp However, just as she was about to leave for the market, she received a message from Goaty mum. it read "dress warmly, very cold here".. oh-fiddle-the-diddle.. will it ever get warm?

So on went a fleece jacket (over two sweaters), then her Donkey jacket, boots and socks instead of shoes and off she waddled.. forgetting WW.. this was very silly because he was full of books that she was supposed to be going to change at the Library.

Plans, if you live with a person like me, can change just like that.. snap.. and a lot of her plan for yesterday did go snap. She didn't do half of the plan but she did get the bed sheets changed, she did laundry, she did scrub-a-dub YumYum HQ, she did paper work, she did speak to Susan. But she didn't get to the Library, so she'll have to go now.

But she is strangely tired, it comes upon her in a sly, sneaky fashions, one minute she feels ok, then she feels as if her 'stuffing' has come out, me, I think she's anaemic. Her Gastro guy certainly thinks she is, he took one look at her white face and sent her off to have a blood test. I think she could do with some sunshine, not this mickey-mouse stuff we have here but proper sunshine.

As a child she was born and lived, for the first three and a half years of her life, in the tropics and this cold weather lark with these gloomy, grey skies is not really what suits her. Che sera sera, this is her (and my) 'lot' at the moment, we have to do what we girls can. And one of those things should be, to concentrate fully on what she is 'sposed to be a'doin..

For what is the point of PROOF READING, if you don't read it! DUH.. The beautifl cards were done by Cousin Bruce but have a letter missing out of the email address, who's to blame.. nobody except.. MISS MUGGINGS.. aka.. HERSELF!

OH-FIDDLE-THE-DIDDLE was not the expression, she said when she realised what she had done! Grrr, wasn't it either, although she did grind her teeth in a somewhat savage fashion.

However, my next post will be about a most unusual thing that grew on a Welsh allotment, nope, you will have to wait, she's got those books to change and I've got a new juicy carrot to beakybeak, so go and make yourself a pot of tea and come back later.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 22nd, 2015.

Florence Fennel ~ aka Sweet Fennel & Celery are growing in YumYum HQ!

I tell you no Porky Pies, aka Gross Fibs or Lies! If you have been nuts (this is a very foody post, so the usage of this word is quite correct) enough to purchase those sad looking stalks of celery in a plastic bag, then you won't be able to do this.

But if you have a wide mouthed jam jar, a glass vase OR are lucky enough to have a proper Celery vase, which we are, you can grow fresh celery AND sweet fennel, the one which has a white bulb and very pretty green fern like leaves sticking out of the top, at home!

And, it doesn' even have to be on a window ledge! We don't have such a thing as a window in our YumYum HQ. It is just a minute space.. think 70" by 68" before they put the tiles on the walls!

This is how you do it..

Purchase the celery, the stalks should still be attached to a base and a fennel bulb and take them home. You do NOT have to trim their bases. Put them into separate containers, the fennel bulbs are very stout, you may have use a bowl. Put enough water into each container so that the base of the vegetable just sits in the water. If the water level is too high, the vegetables will rot.

Within days, you will see that the celery, which probably had had all its' leaves chopped off, is growing new leaves and within about a week, you will see baby bulbs forming at the base of the fennel.

In YumYum HQ, our celery is, by nature of the room being dark for most of the day, growing as if it's being blanched, light is being witheld, so photosynthesis is not happening. If you have a window, put the celery on the ledge and the new growth of stalks and leaves will be green.

But darkness does not affect fennel, we have two very stout bulbs, two for a quid on Karen's stall two Saturdays ago. They've had several pieces cut off (and eaten, we both love fennel for its' very crunchy-munchy), now they both have several baby bulbs with green ferns growing from the base.

The trick is to wait until the babies are a little bit bigger and then, very gently, remove them from the mother plant and put them into their own water. Remember to change the water every two days at least and you will have a constant supply of fresh celery and sweet fennel every day.

Don't chop it up and store it in paper towel (UGH, WHAT are you doing with paper towel anyway?) in a plastic bag in your chilly white larder, for what goodness do you think it will have? The correct answer is ZILCH.

NOW for the REALLYREALLY good reasons why you should eat FRESH CELERY!

It is a dexotifer, works against arthritis, full of vitamin C, helps against fluid retention, aids sleep. Don't just take my word for it, do your research and find out why this crisp and crunchy-munchy vegetable is good for you.

And as for SWEET FENNEL. It's a wonderful aid for Cardiovascular and Colon Health, contains a high level of Potassium which is good against high blood pressure and much more.

Now she is going to get dressed.. yup.. she is still in her pj's, I know, how shameful and it's past one of the after noon clock but it's Saturday and we are both being lazy for there are no dogs to walk, no goaty folk to milk, no horse to excercise. On the other hand.. there are LOTS of weeds to kill, grass to cut.. but that is not going to happen today.

For this is what has to happen today..

Fruit, vegetables, hummus, fish have to be purchased, there is Karen to chat too. Money has to be charmed out of a wall. Books have to change at the Library. Susan has to be called. Stuff has to be put away. Sheets have to be changed. Laundry has to be done. Something pretty has to be worn for it is a cold, grey day.

Now don't you forget to research and discover how and why these two forementioned vegetables are so good for you and remember..

                                                        TO EAT YOUR GREENS!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 21st, 2015.

BANISHED FROM THE BEDROOM!

It's ok, Dear Readers, the title does not refer to me.. phew.. just imagine sleeping in a room all by myself.. that reallyreally would be ghastly.

No, what have been banished are several items of electrical wizardy, aka landline, mobile, iPad and WiFi router. The television escaped because she disconnects this when it's not being used.

Why has she taken such extreme measures? Well, she was not sleeping well and upon waking in the middle of the night, it was all too easy to pick up iPad or mobile and see what was a'goin on. Then, of course, she'd start reading newspapers on-line and before she knew it, it would be two or three hours later, she was wide awake and had not slept at all!

So they've been moved into our sitting room. And lo and behold, apart from maybe going to the bathroom during the night, she sleeps through the night. And how she sleeps! Blissful deep sleep and she dreams! Shock.. For she can't remember when she last slept so deeply or remembered her dreams.

The mobile is switched off, even though it is in another room. The WiFi router remains on but iPad is switched off. She unplugs the main landline telephone.

And that, Dear Readers, has had the added blissful benefit of stopping the extremely annoying calls that we used to receive every morning between 07.45 ~ 08.30 which were always from the same wretched 0845 number. The telehone would ring three time, jolting us both awake.. grrrr.

She deliberately does not have the landline ansaphone switched on, caller display on the telephone shows who is calling, if the number is not shown or it is this demented company whose number is 0845 she doesn't pick up.. simples! Friends can leave messages or texts on our mobile number.

Now when she goes to bed, she does not use iPad or mobile, she plays with me until it is my bedtime, we play chase the nut or catch the grape.. both thrilling games which involve me scampering about on her bed.. sometimes I cheat and eat the object. Then she will read several chapters of a book.. not too scary!

Do you have or keep these items of electrical wizardy in your bedroom?

Having moved hers out, she has read that they're not good at all to have in the bedroom, nor do they make for restful sleep, so move them out and switch them OFF! Unless, of course, you are someone who works in the Emergency Services and needs to be 'on call' at night.

And remember to switch ALL chargers, and your tv's, OFF at the wall when they're not in use.. they drain electricity, over heat very easily and are a major cause of house fires. She, literally, pulls the plug on all chargers and our tv when they're not in use.

Try it and see.. and talking about seeing.. there's not a lot of that happening here this morning. Huh, old mr. grey cloud is back, he's just 'lolling'about all over our house, why doesn't he fly off west to California and empty himself all over those orchards and salad fields?

They're reallyreally in need of months and months of rain, as too is the MidWest of America. But, sadly, most of our winds blow in from the south-west so he wouldn't get there.. sigh.

But let's talk of happier things.. like YumYum.. for surely it's time to 'shake a leg and rattle those pots 'n pans! It's Fast Breaking time folks!

Enjoy your week ends, she's already thinking about tomorrow.. bad woman.. slow down, those dumplings probably are not even made yet! Yes, Dear Readers, for it's Dumpling Day tomorrow!

The dumpling fans, aka Debbie of Ellie's Goaty Dairy and my mum, will be slurping Selina's Malaysian Dumplings at Marylebone Farmer's Market.. which is located directly behind Waitrose on Marylebone High Street.. note to mum.. get money out of wall before you go to the market!

Slurp.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 21st, , 2015.

DAISY DAISY GIVE ME YOUR ANSWER DO..

I will have to swat up on songs.. for I have been invited to join the group Singing With Dementia next  Friday! How about that, Dear Readers! That ain't too shabby, is it? Mind you, I look pretty shabby at the moment with my almost bald stomach and half plucked neck.. bad timing, but it has to be done!

She had such a lovely reception when she arrived and got wet eyed as several people came up and hugged her and said "Oh, how lovely to see you again, we do hope you're feeling much better?" and, yes, she was.

For the gloomy grey sheet, aka solid cloud base had all been blown away, old sun was shining, the sky was blue! What a difference to this morning! And she was going to sing.

She sat and chatted with Janice whilst they did seated excercises and she was asked, as they all had been, what animal would she be and why?

She said she be an African Grey Parrot and an elderly lady beamed and clapped her hands, it transpired that she had had AGP, who had lived for over fifty years. Then later at tea time.. yum.. she came and sat with her and said "Would it be possible for you to bring GeeGee here, we'd love it and animals are amazing for people who have Dementia, please will you bring her?".

Well.. you can guess what her answer was, can't you! She smiled as she thought of the look on my face when I saw so many people and said "She'd love to come, she'll probably sit on my head the whole time as she has never been in a room with so many people and she may not say one word but yes, I'll bring her next week".

Daisy Daisy give me your answer do
For I'm half crazy over my love for you
It won't be a stylish marriage
For I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet on the seat
Of a bicycle made for two..

Yubba-dubba-du.. I'm going Singing With Dementia next Friday, oh hurry-scurry, roll on next week! In fact.. Roll out the barrel, we've got the blues on the run!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 20th, 2015.

A STARRING ROLE IN A COMMERCIAL!

Oh, this house is rocking with glee and laughter, she received the funniest (peculiar) email yesterday!

This was how it started.. she received an email from someone whose name was unknown to her asking her to contact them (by telephone) with reference to me, my mama, who can be mighty cautious, replied saying 'I have absolutely no idea who you are'.

Back came an email saying 'I am the niece of so&so, we met in 2011 in a pub and I want to borrow GeeGee to do a commercial, please call me, this is my mobile. Lots of love'.

'Met once in a pub, BORROW GeeGee, lots of love', what in hell is this woman smoking or taking?

She called a very old friend who is the ceo. of a VERY prestigious Advertising Agency and read the email out to them.. the response was a squeal of laughter that was probably heard as far out as Wimbledon! The friend then told her what to write back..

She responded to once-met-in-a-pub-niece with the following details.. 'Daily rate for GeeGee, daily rate for herself as handler, daily insurance rate for GeeGee against injury, loss and biting.. Total of DAILY rate £.....'

And received the, forever more to be a classic in our family history, email.. 'oh, I thought you would do it for free because it would be fun for GeeGee'.

                                                        FUN FOR GEEGEE?

Oh.. lookielookie, Dear Readers, a stranger's ear to crunchy-munch. And so, as in the immortal title of that brilliantly silly BBC comedy show starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice.. we say..

                                             'SOME MOTHER'S DO 'AVE 'EM'.

I rest my case.. Your Honour.. there ARE people out there much madder than us. Now she has to shake a leg for she has to go and collect a package which, hopefully, has arrived from Cousin Bruce.

No Eclipse for us here in deepest, DARKEST Knightsbridge, the sky is grey with not even a hint of those exciting things that are happening up there.. sigh.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 20th, 2015.

WHEEL NUT BAG.. JUST A SHORT BUT SWEET TALE..

Are you ready, reallyreally ready to read the lovely tale of what has happened to a couple of dear old friends? Then I will begin and far as she can recall, the tale started as follows..

T'was when Sylvie had a puncture whilst out driving and this next bit is a bit unclear but there was a problem. She was driving a Mercedes and either she couldn't find the Wheel Nut Lock in her boot / trunk where the spare tyre was or the AA OR RAC man couldn't or he didn't have the right size and without that lock, they could not get the old tyre off.

She eventually got home and Rod, her husband, came up with the very bright idea of making a little drawstring bag out of HIGHLY visible, fluorescent fabric in which to keep the Wheel Nut Lock in the boot / trunk of the car.

He already worked with the motor trade supplying all manner of things, he sent her a wonderful computer mouse of vintage cars racing once. So he and Sylvie set to getting some made.. LOCALLY.

The garages, the dealers all went and are still going "Wow, yes please", especially when they found / find out their company logo and or name can be printed on them, they come in different sizes ~ car, SUV, trucks ~ and there is choice of colour!

Sylvie and Rod had a couple of health hiccups but when she spoke with Sylvie this week, Sylvie said "yes, like you I have had a couple of scary things but ......, I am SO happy and you know how truly extraordinary life is.

The whole world wants them, there is only one company in Canada, (of all places, shame upon you Canadians) who have tried to copy them. They're ALL made locally to us in Cheshire, we're now financially secure, all because I couldn't find my wheel nut lock and Rod had the very bright idea of making a highly visible little bag".

                                                   www.wheelnutbags.co.uk

I tell you, Dear Readers, that we like happy stories like this for it could not happen to a nicer couple.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 19th, 2015.

A HEART WARMING ~ TO US ~ TRUE TALE ABOUT A LITTLE BAG!

She has returned home from gallivanting about with all sorts of medical folks and she is incredibly tired. So this true tale will be told tomorrow..

But here is just a snippet.. of what happened yesterday.. she spoke with a fabric colleague yesterday and that made her think to herself " where is that friend of mine, Sylvie Jones, what's she a'doing, I'll send her a text message and I hope that her mobile number is still the same".

So the text message was sent and much later in the day, she received a call from Mrs. Jones. Well, you would think they had only not spoken for a week or two, except for the amount of news they had to tell each other!

The last time she had spoken with Sylvie, she had just stopped coaching six Olympic athletes! And was doing something completely different, which was web design! Rod, her husband, was doing things in and with the motor industry and he had developed something, of which he sent her a couple of samples.

But that is your lot for today.. I know, I can be extremely annoying sometimes.. I do apologise.

Like I apologised profusely to her this morning for giving her finger that crunchy-munch. I climbed out of my cage this morning and made it very obvious that what I wanted was to go back to bed in her bed and have a kiss and a cuddle and apologise.

So we did.. for two hours! Then she had to get up in order to be at the dentist on time at 10.30 sharp.

But I'll come back and tell you the lovely tale about Sylvie and Rod Jones tomorrow. It's a very happy tale and it goes to show that good things can and DO happen to good, nice folk sometimes.

Gosh.. even I am sleepy at half past six of the evening clock and I didn't have to give copious amount of blood or not eat all day because of a new filling having to be kept dry.

Asta manana amigos, that is for Karen.. who had the bare faced cheek to tell us she has been down south of the River Grande border (in Mexico) for two weeks, we bet she is just lolling about in the sun and eating gaucamole with fresh limes, my mama is, needless to say, reallyreally envious.

Sigh.. but here the blossom is coming out on the trees, so maybe Spring is coming back again, we can but hope and dream, can't we?

GeeGee Parrot.
March 18th, 2015.

SUGAR & SPICE.. BUT NOT ALWAYS NICE.. OH DEAR.

I am in such disgrace.. blood has been spilt, not mine.. hers.. yes, shock horror indeed and I'm passing the buck and hanging Beaky out to 'dry', for it was Beaky that did the dreadful deed. Yes, I climbed onto her first finger, yes, of course, it was the arthritic one but it was that evil Beak that bent down and gave her poor unsuspecting digit the crunchy-munch.

You can well imagine her reaction!

I found myself flying, without the aid of either wing, through the air at high speed. Luckily I knew the way and landed on the bedroom cupboard with only my dignity in tatters.

She followed me in to the room and proceeded to wag the poor mutilated digit at me and said in that awful, fierce voice that she keeps especially for occasions such as this.. "You are an evil finger crunchy munching, grey, red arsed bird, how dare you bite me like that, just stay in here by yourself for a while and reflect upon the stupidity of crunchy-munching the hand that feeds you!".

And with that, she shut me in the bedroom.. alone.. well, probably not alone, for there was bound to be a mouse listening who scampered off to tell all his mates about this sordid tale.

I heard her rustling about in the cupboard where she keeps viamins and sticky bandages / plasters.

Then there was the sound of the front door closing as she and WW left the house, oh dear, what a dreadful thing. No excuse, I had had scrummy YumYum, water, a jolly time playing with dried crusts on top of chilly white larder. Had even landed on fake furry hat and managed not to give that a hard time. All was well in my world, so why did Beaky bite?

I don't know but I do know that she is still being 'slightly' distant with me, sigh. She returned before four of the after noon clock, I am still shut in the bedroom, someone has just been, I heard chat and think it was one of les trois filles. But no one is chatting to me.. sob.

However, it is my own fault, for much as I like to blame Beaky at a time like this, I should have more control over this part of my body.. for the toe bone is connected to the foot bone, the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone.. you get the drift.

Tomorrow she is off to the Dentist, out to lunch, then off to see her Gastro-Enterologist.. ie.. all day. This will, unfortunately, give me plenty of time to ponder my (fast approachingly bald) stomach and realise that it ain't wise to crunchy-munch mama's fingers.

In deep shame.. and sorrow.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 17th, 2015.

ON HOW TO BE LAZY.. AND THE CAT WHO TOOK REVENGE!

LAZY DAY TUESDAY..

Went like this.. slept in later than normal. Got up sloowwly, sleepy Parrot clambered ~ equally slowly ~ out of cage, rubbed Beaky against Nose, went to bathroom for a lick and a promise. DID teeth but didn't get dressed into 'day' clothes.

Chilly white larder gave up treasures of butter and Goaty cheese. Butter plopped into small sauce pan, melted, egg went in plop, got a quick stir.. plopped out onto a small plate.. we squabbled over who ate which bit. Such was the start to our lazy day.. but then the world started to get in on our act.

Telephone started ringing, emails plopped into in-box. People wanting to know "what's going on?".

"Not a lot today", she said, she is going to see an old friend whose clothes she used to make.. gulp.. over twenty years ago.. this 'wretched' woman is as slim as ever and sent a photo of her in a suit she made for her in 1993! "Me in my favourite evening suit" was the caption! Grr, she's 30 lbs heavier!

On entirely another subject.. How come newspapers sneak in and pile up like they do?

Eh.. you all know that she is a news junky.. but, oh goodness me, we have seen a wonderfully silly article today.. we told you several days ago about the dogs trashing the man's car in China.

Well, today there is an article about a cat who was shoved off a chair by his guitar playing owner and then given the boot.. steady on there Leigh and Debbie..

The cat thought "HUH" to that and proceeded to get his own back.. but not by waiting 24 hours like the dog.. he went up the open staircase behind the chair and 'whoops'.. down fell a flower pot with a plant inside it right on to the man's head!

The next photo.. the man was obviously being filmed because of his guitar playing.. showed the man clutching his head.. One may not 'read' the Daily Mail for its' editorial content but for sheer fun, you cannot beat it for brilliantly funny, and wonderfully silly photos!

Ok.. it is putting on outside clothes time.. this means I get to go and sleep a bit.. aka doze.. then she will come home with news from the big outside world..

OH.. and this is to reassure those of you who trust her with VERY confidential information. Yes, she does remember everything she is told by her friends but all of it is locked away in an extremely secret compartment marked "NOT FOR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE"..

Don't forget to drink Guinness today? It's St.Patrick's Day! SHAM (& ANIMALS) ROCK.. heehee.. Toodle-Pip.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 17th, 2015.

A BUSY & VERY HAPPY DAY..

Hohoho.. yesterday was Sunday.. nothing scary was happening so we snuggled back under our quilt with a mug of LapySang tea. Then she slid out of bed, washed and dressed in cold weather gear, for those evil brass monkey easterly winds are back with us.. brrr.

Hat, gloves, tights, socks, thick woolen coat ~ about which there is an old charmingly silly tale ~ and boots.. yes folks.. she's back into boots. How depressing it was to have to get them back out of the winter clothing cupboard. We had scrummy yumyum.. I have rediscovered my love of Cashew nuts.. so crunchy.

Never mind about the wind or rain, some due back library books were put into a waterproof bag and then popped into WW, together with two presents for Debbie, a big thermos of hot food and an old Olive Wood platter, keys, buspass, kiss on Beaky and off she went to the Farmer's Market at Parson's Green.

To find a busy Goaty stall! This is what we like to see.. people buying lots of goodly food brought to you by the growers and makers. YumYum, next door was the young baker who had loved her cheese, herb biscuits made with spelt flour. He greeted her with a seriously delicious doughnut, slurp.

And.. wow.. from Debbie, a pair of the Polish hot boots! Size 39 are actually too big but with their very thick, removeable, felt liners and thick woollen socks they will be great. Nice and long so her trousers won't get grubby or muddy and with a proper ridge at the back to facilitate easy removal.. a present! Much appreciated..

Back home via the library.. books in and books out.. pouring with rain.. and chilly-billy.. ugh.

Into bed for a couple of hours doze.. I dozed too, for it is very cosy resting on her upper arm snug as two bugs under the quilt.

Up at six of the after noon clock, wash, dress, Granny Jo came to collect her at seven. I look very bedraggled as have started my moult, never mind she told me, Granny Jo won't mind.. sure enough, she didn't.

Off out they went, to Orsini's, which is opposite the V&A museum. Oh dear, don't ever bother going there folks. It used to be such a cosy family, nicely run place to eat. Now Antonella is seldom there, her dad is unwell and so he is never there, the young staff are incredibly slack and unprofessional. Half the menu was not available with NO fish dishes! The music was far too loud and it took over forty minutes to produce a plate of pasta!

But the exhibition of McQueen's work at the V&A was spectacular! You might not like his fashion but the level of expertise in the execution of his designs.. you cannot fault. The fabric details are beyond marvellous. The skirt of clam shells.. the feathers.. the red taffeta coat.. the actually making of these clothes.. all brilliant!

They marvelled and gawped at the clothes and especially the shoes.. bizarre is not strong enough an expression.. weird.. go and see for yourselves.

We will have some lovely news to give you when she has the actual dates.. The two of them chatted non-stop, then G-J dropped my mum home and we went to bed. What a happy day.. chilly-billy but happy. Take the rough with the smooth and walk on the sunny side of the street kids!

PipPip.. way past my bed time.. she's got to write to Rosamund in Australia, who has sold her house and now has to pack, sell or donate the contents before shipping everything back to Germany.

Goodnight to you all.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 16th, 2015.
PostScript.. It is Guinness Day tomorrow! Aka St.Patrick's Day.
I hope the Regiment doesn't give 'her' sherry again.. because Guinness is GOOD for you!

TRUTH WAS TOLD.. &.. TELLING IT HOW 'IT' IS..

And what an extraordinary response we have had!

For within a nanosecond Mrs.Darcy, aka Diane her lovely but sadly seldom seen American friend who lives in Texas, commented on my Blog and then wrote an email.. contents private. Then Karen, who is also an American, wrote a short but caring sweet email.. From her family.. zilch.

You'd think that the mere thought of her being 'unwell', which she isn't, is highly contagious by email or telephone. For from another 'friend' of many decades.. also zilch.. she 'smiles' to herself as she remembers listening to various tales of woe and giving them practical and useful advice about PALS ~ this stands for Patient Advice Liaison Services for those of you fortunate enough never to have had any reason to use this hospital facility.

What is it with some people? Do they reckon friends are only for the 'good times of Rock 'n Roll? That the street of friendship is only one way.. who the hell knows but..

Thank God for our friends.. Cousin Bruce, Leigh, Tom (who calls long distance from NYC to chat), Granny Jo, Bob, Patsy far away in California who certainly tells it how it is and BLESS her for doing so, Streatham Susan, Myra, Debbie Goaty Mum, Michelle and Peter, recently returned from Kenya and her newer friends, MaryLou, Pegeen and Rosamund who share both THEIR ups and downs with us and support their friends.

Having a family who only contact you when they want something is 'quite' tough to deal with, she once said Gabi "Do you know the true meaning of loneliness? It is loving to no avail", Gabi looked quite stunned.

For, oh Lordy, she has tried all her life with her two brothers but she has now given up. For this year on June 19th it will be four years since she last spoke with the one who lives in Suffolk (she thinks) and thirteen years since she spoke with her eldest brother who caused their mother to die of a broken heart.

But enough of all that. Now she is off to meet Debbie Goaty (the) Mum, of lots of newly born, very cute kiddley-diddleys, I've scoffed an egg 'n toast and will snooze until her return.

Thank God for friends with whom she can laugh and cry, bless you all for you are Treasures indeed and she considers that we are VERY fortunate to have you in our life.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 15th, 2015.

WE TOLD A GROSS FIB THIS WEEK..

When we had our much beloved Diane and Thierry staying, Thierry asked her a question.. quite a personal question but if a friend is geniunely concerned about your welfare and not just being nosy, it's ok, so she answered it.

We have to confessed that we lied to you early this week.. she has felt guilty about it and something happened yesteday that reminded her that 'Truth should always be told' which is something I say and so we're going to fess-up.

She went to the doctor on Tuesday not because of her MRI scan but because she found a lump in her left breast, quite a large lump. A sweet woman doctor, her GP is on annual leave, examined her and said "Yes, there is something there, I am making a referral for you right now, you'll get a letter directly from the hospital". And off she went.

Yesterday afternoon, just as she was leaving to go to Singing With Dementia, she went upstairs to collect her mail. There was the usual dross and a fat letter with her name typed on a label, she nearly just left it on the hall table but something made her open it.

It was a registration form from the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital on the Fulham Road. "Please bring this completed form to us as soon as possible, you have an appointment at the Rapid Assesment and Treatment Clinic next week".

OH.. HOLY DUDU..

So she went off down to the Marsden. She filled in the detailed form and took it along to Registration and gave it to Winston, to be told she was now under the care of Mr. Gerald Gui. Consultant Surgeon. Specialist Breast and Reconstuctive Surgery.

That blew Singing With Dementia out of the window, she didn't have her mobile with her so she couldn't call Susan, brain not in gear.. she was a little shell shocked was my poor mum.

She walked home.. thinking about what Thierry, Diane and she had discussed. Then she picked up her phone and called two companies she used to represent. "Is so and so still with you, it's ...., may I speak with them" she asked a new sounding voice and was put straight through. To be greeted with verbal hugs and much affection by BOTH Sales Directors of the companies.

She explained what was going on and this will make me cry.. they both said "Darling girl, welcome back, the new swatches will be in the post to you on Monday".

Then this morning she called Big Cousin Bruce and sent him a photo of her old card which she had amended with new mobile number. Yippee.. how smart her new double sided red and white cards are going to be.

Sally Bowles sings in Caberet "There's no point in sitting alone in your room, come to the Caberet", she's going back to work with her true love, it will be slow.. but hey.. you know what they say..

                   WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH.. THE TOUGH GET GOING.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 14th, 2015.

OUR RED NOSE DAY EARNS OVER A BILLION POUNDS FOR COMIC RELIEF!

Lenny Henry and Richard Curtis founded Comic Relief thirty years ago and each year it gets BIGGER!

You buy a Red Nose and donate, everybody CAN do it and a massive amount of people DO do it! For in the past thirty years a BILLION pounds sterling has been raised for charity. THAT, Dear Readers, is ONE hell of a lot of Red Noses!

Congratulations to everyone in the various teams who brought in this years incredible amount.. over £78,000,000! Job well done, is what I say and I don't have to say anymore, because that figure says it all.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 14th, 2015.

REVENGE IS BEST EATEN.. OR CHEWED.. COLD! THE PAYBACK FOR KICKING A DOG IN CHINA!

She has sent this to a few friends and you well have come across it in your local papers but this is a wonderful story showing the intelligence of my Canine friends!

It started like this.. a man in Chongquing China.. arrived in his car to find a dog lying in his parking spot. So what does he do? Well, he kicks the dog.. animals have NO rights in China.. don't get me or her started on this subject. Then he parks his car and leaves. The dog leaves the scene.

YOU COULD NOT MAKE THIS UP IF YOU TRIED.. but the dog returns the next day with two canine chums and.. lookie lookie.. the silly man has returned and parked his car there again..

So the three dogs decide that it is pay back for kick time and proceed to chew and munch the bodywork of his car..

Yes, Dear Readers, you DID read that correctly! The photographs were taken by someone who lives nearby and there are several shots of a large dog, not unlike a pale golden retriever, chewing the wheel arch above the left front wheel, whilst another dog leans against the bonnet of the car and helps himself to the right windscreen wiper!

Man, those dogs' teeth and jaws are strong! The bit marks in the metal are very clearly visible. Do go on-line and look for the article. it will amuse you greatly! Now, if only we could show it to that poor Scottish Terrier whose owner / handler mal-treats him so badly.. you do not pick up any animal by its' tail.. repeat after me.. do not pick any animal up by its' tail.. villainous woman.. I hope they ban her from Crufts.

We're off, for there is much too'ing and fro'ing to be done before she goes Singing with Dementia.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 13th, 2015.

She thinks I can't count..

She went off to the hospital very early this morning.. both of her hearing aids were wonky and if they're wonky, well, so is her day. An extremely nice man showed her that in fact the machines was working, she just needed new tubes!

Yippee.. back to hearing everything again, such a relief. Upon leaving, she said to the senior receptionist whom, by now, she knows quite well, "make sure Dr. So & So gets' an extra sandwich at lunch time, he's done the trick".. oh, that did make them laugh!

Then it was back home via our favourite Rye bread seller, she refilled my water and food dishes and then went off to work. Then at just after five of the past noon clock, she left the shop earlier than normal as two of les trois filles were coming to see her.

Then it was time for a long telephone chat with Peter and Michele, old, old friends who are now living in Pewsey in Wiltshire, why does she think she knows this place? Hmmmm. "Not a clue, don't look at me, I have never been there", I said, " I've only stayed with Marina at Stanstead Mountfitchet and Debi up in Sheffield".

So she tried to say that she hadn't been gone ALL day.. huh.. I know exactly how many hours she was out and about and I know she's going to be Singing with Dementia tomorrow afternoon. But that's ok for it will give her the chance to get to Bartek, where she has not been for ages 'n ages, it's a supplier of Polish yumyum, the like of which she and that Goaty mum are so addicted.. SLURP.. I love it too.

Another early night for us, she was quite late last night as she was laughing and joking and generally carrying on in a silly fashion, as you do when you're having a good time with friends. Having to get up early, having gone to bed late, is the reason we did not post our post earlier today, one tired mum.

We will post tomorrow morning as we have several things that we wish to bring to your attention.. one being the fact that you should be VERY, VERY careful of how you talk or interact with dogs that you don't know.. NOPE, Beaky is sealed, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow but I promise you, it will be worth it!

Goodnight.. it's sleepy time for us dollies.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 12th, 2015.

PENGUIN THE MAGPIE WHO LOVES CUDDLING HIS FAMILY!

Yes, you did read the title correctly.. down under in Sydney, Australia there lives a Magpie called Penquin. He was rescued by Noah Bloom in 2013 when he found the baby bird who was only a few weeks old abandoned in their garden.

Penquin Magpie now lives the life of old Reilly with his family and is adored, as ALL animals 'should' be.. more on that subject later in this post. He feels safe and is treated, as the photos, taken by Cameron Bloom, as part of the family.

The sweetest photo is of him snuggling with Sam Bloom, his human mum, on her shoulder. But his interaction with all of his family is wonderful.

And now we are going to talk about a poor animal, a Scottish Terrier, who is most certainly NOT treated with the love and respect that Penguin, the Australian Magpie is.

For we are now going to the subjects of Crufts. Oh dear.. oh dear.. she has always been wary of the dog breeding and showing world.. don't even mention the phrase 'puppy farming' around her, for that, Dear Readers, is one of her BIGGEST mad & sad hates.

The photo of the owner of the winning dog picking her terrier's hind quarters right up off the ground by his tail, was pretty shocking AND the owner, who had been reprimanded several times by the officials for doing this, when questioned by officials on this mal-treatment, compounded her felony by saying "....., I did it out of habit".

DID you see that? Habit, which means she does it a lot, grrrr. Thank goodness I am not that woman's parrot for she would, undoubtedly, keep me in a cage all day long, ugh. How utterly revolting this woman is.

But any stranger would probably think that I am being treated very badly, why, you ask? Well, it is now Spring and what do animals (and birds) do in Springtime? We moult.. and oh lordy, I sure do look as if several moths have eaten or chewed my feathers!

My timing is not good. It really is such a pity as Granny Jo, one of my fans, is coming to see me on Sunday, by which time I will have probably started plucking my left leg, my stomach already looks most peculiar indeedy but they have to go, these old feathers, so new glossy ones can come through.

She is going out for supper, she's already been out for lunch and now she is off out again! She'll get stout if this sort of behaviour continues. Apparently Elizabeth and she had a pleasant and quite delicious lunch, they joined another two members of the club and stayed for the quiz.

Who knows the answer to this question.. Which country were the USA at war with in 1812? She wrote down Mexico and her answer was wrong.. they were at war with England.. who knew? Not her, obviously! She was completely hopeless on the Classical composers.. Must try harder.. sigh.

She came home and gave me a bribe.. we don't usually have pomegranate so often but a large chunk of my favourite jewels has appeared.. huh.. does she think that I won't notice when she sidles out of the door, don't worry, I'll get my revenge, a quick 'dudu' on the back of her head just before she goes out should do the trick and 'fix' her.. hahaha!

But I see some new tasty yumyum things to be sampled have appeared, I had better stop complaining and go to maraud my dish. PipPip.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 11th, 2015.

OUR GUESTS HAVE BEEN AND GONE.. SIGH..

Yup, she waved goodbye to Diane and Thierry as they drove away just after midday. They're now down in Cheltenham for a few days. Who knows when we'll see them again but it was really rather nice to have them with us, even if was only for a very short twenty four hours.

The rest of the day has been quiet, she stripped their beds, did two loads of laundry, tidied the room and made us some lunch.

There is a new pot of pork bone broth on the boil, when she went to get the smoked salmon for Diane and Thierry's breakfast yesterday afternoon, she called in at the butchers and picked up another four of their trays of bones and two pairs of trotters.

Carrots. celery, onions, black pepper, chunk of ginger root, five cloves, jamaican allaspice, dried purple sage, these ingredients mean the broth is deliciously extra yummy. Slurp, when you are not very hungry but want a 'little' something, bone broth and the tender meat which literally floats off the bones, is just perfect.

She had to go to the surgery, they're very hot on her case, and wanted to talk her through the MRI scan procedure, whilst she was there, they also gave her another prescription against osteopenia, which she has. Hence the gardening and heavy work that she does, if you don't use your bones, they get weaker!

So here we are.. having a quiet evening, she was awake last night until very late, she just could not get to sleep.. boring when that happens, isn't is? So tonight will be early to bed and not so early to rise tomorrow, she has to be dressed and at the club with her wits about her at midday. For she is having lunch with Elizabeth and they'll join the quiz afterwards.

I do hope our friends enjoy their stay in Gloucestershire and travel safely back to Paris on the 12th. We did enjoy having them to stay, even if it was for just the one night.. emails are ok, but it sure is nice to actually talk and laugh with one's friends.

PipPip..

GeeGee Parrot.
March 10th, 2015.

ON WHAT MAKES HER MAD & SAD..

There are several things that make her mad and there are several things that make her sad but only a few things do both.

However.. the BIG one that make her both and tops the list are.. bulbs that are carefully planted in the autumn, they stick their 'noses' out and ask "is it time to wake up, goodie", they grow tall and have a bump where their flower will be and then, the flower is rotten! The rest of the plant is 100% ok.. it is just the flower or half of the flower that has refused to grow or has died.. grrrr.

What has caused this rant? Three bowls, yes, THREE BIG bowls of red and yellow Parrot tulips! The main bowl in the hall has five bulbs that are delinquent and she refuses to talk about the other two bowls, I fear they are as bad.

Sigh, it is SO disappointing, they were planted in the right compost, at the right depth, given exactly what they should have and months later, you find that they're going to be a 'no show'.

Rant over..

She was up and out of the flat very early this morning at 07.15 of the noon clock, it was a brilliantly sunny and warm day, she had slip on shoes (but WAS wearing tights), but was wearing NO hat and had on a lightweight jacket. Every bird on the street was singing its' heart out.. wonderful!

She and old WW skipped off up the street to the recycling depot. It was glass she was taking this time, then on up to New Horizons with a couple of sweaters, some padded satin hangers, surplus, a skirt (FAR too small), a denim shirt, a proper old fashioned mincer (how come we had two of them?) and big, pretty woven basket.

Then she returned, got me up, gave us our egg, went out at 09.30 but came straight back! For old sun had switched off, it was grey, cold and spitting with rain, ugh! On with a hat and a thicker jacket, boots were in the cupboard, to which she said "NO" and she went off out to the post office.. grim.. has Spring been and gone?

But out.. out.. She is getting there.. it may take her a while but she's getting there.. slowly.. why did she have a stache of glass bottles in the boiler room? Curious, no? They were not smart ones with those tops on a hinge like Debbie gave her, these were old oil and vinegar bottles that were of no use

Who knows.. anyway, they've all gone along with a bundle of wire hangers which went back to the dry cleaners.

Diane and Thierry arrived at lunch time and have gone out to supper at Orsini's. She sent them this afternoon to the Natural History Museum, it is, by her, a much beloved and visited place, there is SO much to look and wonder at, go if you have never been, it is truly a marvellous place.

AND THE ENTRANCE IS FREE.. Such a gift.

No Rotary for her tonight, she is feeling extremely 'bunged' up in the head, her right ear aches, she cannot 'pop' her ears, Diane has noticed how 'wonky' her hearing is, we want this bug to go away and for her eustacian tubes to clear, it is so very boring, for both her and other people!

That's your lot for tonight.. we are going to beak and eat an apple, then it's lights out for us.. PipPip.

GeeGee Parrot.
March 9th, 2015.

PORTOBELLO ROAD & I ONLY USE RED WHEN I PAINT & ONLY ON A WHITE SURFACE..

Good morning and it is an extremely good and sunny morning. Here, in deepest Knightsbridge, we have broken our night's fast, she has done a load of laundry. Elizabeth, of her donated coat fame, has telephoned to agree a time for their lunch on Wednesday,

Referring to the title of this morning's post, did you not realise I am an artist? My work is always in the abstract form and I only use and paint in red on a white back ground. it's fun and I love it!

She is in a quandary, she has a massive amount of exquisite dress fabrics, they are skirt, dress, suit and coat lengths and she is not quite sure what to do with all of them. They are all English cloth, with the exception of the pure silk lengths, most are pure wool, some are of a silk and woolen mix.. with not a thread of nylon or polyester to be seen!

Her two fabulous dress makers, who used to make most of her clothes, are retired and she has used another.. who was 'ok' but not a patch on the much appreciated Ros in North London.. sigh. If Ros was still working she would have been able to sell these fabrics in a FLASH! But she isn't and the last time they met, Ros said she was going back home to Jamaica.

What to do? Perhaps a note up on the notice board at New Horizons would be one answer, maybe she ought to go and talk to Bruce (Oldfield) in Beauchamp Place, he might take some lengths, they are all 'Couture' fabrics, the majority of which were made by the company who supply Chanel with most of their fabrics.

Now for something completely different!

Portobello and Golborne Road Market is NOT just about Antiques Bric-a-brac! No sirree.. to us Londoner's, it is a street fruit and vegetable market and this year it is celebrating 150 years of trading, it has come a long way since it was a pig farm!

In the 1860's the lane (Portobello Road is a long but quite narrow street) was a simple country market where local farmers sold the fruit and vegetables to local residents. Then in 1864 Notting Hill station was built, this is NOT where the present day Notting Hill station is situated but where the present day Ladbroke Grove station is.. hello, are you keeping up at the back there?

It transformed the area and brought in huge numbers of new customers to the local farmers. Then in 1920's discharged soldiers and sailors started trading throughout the week.

In 1936, the horrific Spanish Civil War brought Spanish immigrants into the area and Portuguese immigrants settled in the area after WW2. The antiques started being sold in the 1940's. And in the late 40's and early 50's hundreds of Jamaican and other caribbean country men and women came to work in Britain, as we had post-war labour shortage, and settled in the area.

It is a great money earner for the Royal Borough of Kensingto & Chelsea that manages it! For it is a favourite location for film companies.. think of such films as Notting Hill etc, etc!

But for us, there is a very, very special place on Portobello.. ah yes.. a truly wonderful emporium.. it is at the Ladbroke Road end of the market.

R.Garcia & Sons Ltd, 248-250 Portobello Road, W11 1LL. Tel: 020 7221 6119.

They satisfy the 'Spanish' for her when she gets homesick for the food from the old Costa del Sol that she loved so much in the golden era of the 1970's. Oh, such lubbly-jubbly grub.. Jamon de Serrano, marinated fillets anchovies, cheeses, almonds, locally produced and bottled olive oil, quince paste and jelly.. sigh.. slurp.

Whoosh.. before I go, we have to back to yesterday's post.. zoom.. and back we go! I wrote about her washing paintwork.. You must all think we live in an absolute tip! Dirty paintwork! Whatever next, I bet you asked yourselves?

Well, you see if you're on the ball.. you would know why she has to wash 'paint' work.. for it is all to do with me and my 'painting', the clues were at the beginning of this post, when I said that I am an abstract painter and that I paint only IN red and ON white.

Pomegranate juice is RED and YumYum HQ's cupboards are WHITE, hence the washing of paint and I had a fresh pomegranate for lunch yesterday!

I am off to doze pole, she has work to do.. FlapFlap.. Enjoy your day, we will!

GeeGee Parrot.
March 8th, 2015.