Wot'cha gonna do and how'a gonna do it? Grim, huh?

Dear Readers.. we are, to put it politely.. GOBSMACKED!

For the powers to be (or are) in France have fiddled with their written words! There is an article in the Guardian today which is worth reading.. so off you go and read it and then come back here and see what other exciting, interesting or amusing stuff (now that's a great word) I've got for you this morning.

The Economist.. has an 'interesting' article on Migrant Men and European Women. Well worth reading.

Pegeen in Illinois has asked her if she's read 'Travelling Mercies' by Anne Lamott, no but she will. And Karen, presently in the Land of Nod after skiing all day in Vail, has recommended a book titled 'DEEP' about snow and global warming.

"Thanks to both of you for recommending these two books, she'll ask a librarian to source them if they're not in stock".

She's received an invitation to a lecture / exhibition at the Town Hall in Chelsea on February 25th, a lot of fashion companies have / were started in Chelsea.. Mary Quant, Manolo Blahnik.. and Chelsea always do their things like this really well.. she's accepted and it's in the diary.

The drawn item and written word are powerful things folks.. which is why she's manic about reading. Some of the stuff she reads is pure escapism but now and again there's a book she'll read a few times.

One such book is 'Dear Lord Rothschild', for it A. gives the story of the Rothschild family who lived at Tring Park, where she was at school for two years, and B. it gives the background of how the State of Israel was created.. mind you, it doesn't talk about the act of terrorism of the blowing up of the St. David  Hotel.. which had a lot to do with it.

Time to start our day.. Eggies for both of us and some fantastic smoked back bacon from Suffolk for old greedy guts herself.. toodle-pip.. pippip.. and chirping all the way, we're off to YumYum HQ.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 5th, 2016.

PUDDING. DON'T LIE & TELL ME YOU DON'T WANT SOMETHING DELICIOUS AFTERWARDS. HOW ABOUT MELTING MOCHA OR.. A TROPICAL FOOL?

Me? I'd have both but I'm not allowed chocolate BUT she is and she'd certainly have both of these, they compliment each other velly well.

TWO MELTING MOCHA PUDDINGS.

What you need:
2 tbsp Cafe Direct Machu Picchu Instant  coffee
OR any really strong GOOD instant coffee.
50g softened unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing the 200ml pudding moulds.
60g 70% dark chocolate broken into pieces.
1 medium sized egg plus an egg yolk.
60g golden caster sugar.
1tbs plain flour.
Creme fraiche.

How to make them:
Preheat your oven to 200C, gas mark 6 and put a baking sheet into the oven.
Grease your pudding moulds generously with unsalted butter.
Make up the instant coffee with 2tsp of boiling water and allow to cool.

Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of gently simmering water.
Stir occasionally intil it is fully melted.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Put the whole egg + the egg yolk and sugar into a bowl and whisk until just combined.
Whisk in the flour.
Mix the coffee into the melted chocolate & butter mixture & fold in the egg mixture.
Pour into the moulds and place the two moulds on the baking sheet & bake for 18 minutes.
Until the puddings are well risen and coming away from the sides.
Leave for 1 minute, then run a sharp knife around the edge and turn them out onto plates.
Serve with creme fraiche .. OR the following.. talk about 'Ginlding the Lily'!

A TROPICAL FRUIT FOOL.

What you need:
2 ripe Papayas, peeled, de-seeded and roughly chopped.. OR peeled and stoned ripe Mangoes.
2 tsp of icing sugar.
375g of Vanilla & Coconut milk yoghurt.
2 passion fruit.
Ginger biscuits.

How you make it:
Put the papaya flesh and the icing sugar into a blender and pulse until it is a smooth puree.
In a bowl, beat the coconut yoghurt until it is smooth, fold in the papaya puree.
Half one of the passion fruits & scoop out the pulp & stir it gently into the papaya mix.
Pour into glasses & chill for an hour.
Just before you're ready to serve it, top off the fool with the pulp of the second fruit.
Serve with ginger biscuits or with the chocolate mocha pudding.

Well, I don't know about you lot out there but her mouth's watering after those two pudding recipes! What a good thing there were thirty little clementines in that box AND that she's got a fat chocolate salami in our chilly white larder!

I've just had a whole clementine to myself! Yes, I caught her citrus bug and at half past seven of the evening clock every night I descend onto her bed. She is kind enough to pander to my whim and de-skins segments whilst I stand on her knee, over which she has put a towel, then I munch and slurp my way through these delicious fruits.

I won't get rickets, that's for sure!

Karen is skiing with Bob in Vail, she's sent us the most glorious photo of the two of them with Bob's son and his girlfriend.. the sky was dark blue, the snow white, the sun shining.. sigh. It's dismal here. Never mind, we DO do have vellyvelly nice things to look forward to.

ChirpChirp.. gingernuts.. I lurve a crunchy gingernut biscuit and they make a fabulous base for a cheesecake.. cheesecake! I'm allowed cheesecake, I wonder if she could or would make one with Goaty curd? Now, that would be cooking with gas!

GeeGee Parrot.
February 4th, 2016.

Walnut Chicken BonBons.. yes, I know we're late but there's been a technical hitch.. no power in iPad.

So she had to go back to the nice people at Apple in Covent Garden to sort out the problem and all it needed was a new cable.. phew! She'd already tapped this post but forgot to save before closing it and whoosh, the whole post disppeared into thin air and it just WOULDN'T come back.. boring.

Anyway, where were we? Ah-so.. The Walnut Chicken BonBons.

You will need for the BonBons:
2 whole chicken breasts off the bones and skinned.
1/2 tsp of salt.
2 tbsp of cornflour.
2 beaten egg whites.
1 generous cup of shelled walnuts.
Oil for the deep-frying.

For the Fried Salt & Pepper:
1 tsp of salt..
1 tsp of freshly ground black pepper.
2 tsp of 5 Spice powder.

OR

For the Peppercorn Salt.
2 tbs of black peppercorns.
2 tbs of salt.

How to make it: BonBons.
Gently flatten the chicken breasts with a meat cleaver.
Slice them into 5 cm strips.
Sprinkle with salt and cornflour.
Dip into the beaten egg whites.
Allow to rest for 20 minutes so the meat is moist.

Put the walnuts into a pan of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes.
Leave the nuts in the water and allow to cool.
When they are cool enough to handle, take all the brown skin off.
Then chop finely by hand or in a chopper.

Roll the chicken meat in the chopped walnuts.
Pat the meat firmly in the nuts so they form a firm casing.
Deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown.
Serve with fried salt and pepper OR peppercorn salt.

How to make it: Fried Salt & Pepper.
Mix the spices in a small shallow pan, stir gently over a low heat for a couple of minutes.
The cooking of the spices releases the flavours.

How to make it: Peppercorn Salt.
Mix the peppercorns and salt together in a dry frying pan and stir for approx. 1 minute.
When salt turns golden, remove from heat.
Allow to cool.
Grind until very fine, if necessary sift with fine sieve.
Store in an airtight jar.

There you are folks.. another delicious dish for you to try at home.

And this is what has been going on around here today.. she had to go at 10.15 to collect things, but had been up and dressed since an early hour because the electricians were due to come at 09.00 and work on the landlords fuse box, emails had been exchanged, the agent had confirmed the electricians would arrive at 09.00 on February 4th.

09.00 came and went.. so did 09.30.. so at 09.45 she called the managing agents and said that the electricians had not arrived and that, as per her email to them, she would be leaving the flat at 10.15.

10.00 came and went and as she was picking up her basket at 10.15, a never-seen-before young man knocked on the front door and said "the electricians are upstairs, they need access, there's a problem", she said "yes, indeed, there is a problem, I have been waiting for them since 09.00 which is when they were due to come and do whatever they needed to do on the fuse box, I called the agents at 09.45 to say they had not arrived and now, I am, as per my email of last week to the managing agents, going out at 10.15".

Why don't people do what they've said they'll do? Ah well.. nothing we can do about people being numpties, is there?

After collecting her things, she went onto Apple and they solved the problem, the cable was damaged and a new one, which was purchased, has allowed iPad to charge. She came home via Chinatown and Victoria Train Station and got home in time for a late lunch.. how she managed to walk past her favourite Chinese YumYum place in Chinatown defeats me! She'd only had an egg for breakfast and NO toast.. which meant that I hadn't had my toasty crust either.

Chinatown is gearing up for the New Year with lanterns galore and all manner of other festive decorations being hoisted up in to the sky, she needed a spice so went into Loon Fung and then saw something that made her velly sad indeed, a tray of baby Calamondin Orange trees and they were the size that hers were when she bought them all those years ago.

Ah-so, no point in even thinking about having even one little one. They are NOT inside plants and the freeholder has decreed "NO plants".. but as thoughts are free.. that doesn't stop us having several various types of thoughts about him and his childish decree, does it?

She's lolling on her bed whilst she taps this.. the lower leg is ok but her thigh is sore. There was no blood when she removed the sausage making bandage last night, but it was not a very comfortable night for her, however, apart from a little jolt when she first trod on it this morning, all is well and it didn't seem to mind the walk from the Covent Garden Piazza to Chinatown.

But she won't be digging with it this week end, that's for sure!

All in all, we're ok, I still hate my collar and I now tend to sit on my new favourite perch as I am trying to make her feel guilty. But my big vest feathers are coming back through and she noticed a new one on my right shoulder blade. I have done a dreadful job, I have no feathers on my legs, just a few tiny downy type ones. She's hoping that I won't pluck those new vest feathers out.

BUT, I am being amazingly 'good' at accepting the oral transfusions of juju-juice that she is giving me.. a mixture of tincture of nettle and dandylion and agnus castas in water.. at least twice a day I get given two almost full plastic syringes of this mix, Matthew, my vet aka sneak, told her that I was a little dehydrated. So now she's giving me fluids whether I want it or not. Sigh..

Stay well and happy and healthy out there, it is slightly chilly here but not too bad. Chirp.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 4th, 2016.

ROAST BELLY of PORK & GARLIC PRAWNS.. AH-SO.. YUMMY CHINESE FOOD.

We love this dish.. oh, how we love this dish.. and as it was Bill's mama who taught her how to make it she has this happy memory of being with this lovely woman.. ah so, vellyvelly happy time.

Roast Belly of Pork.

You'll need:
1.5 or 2kg of Belly of Pork.

Seasonings:
1 tsp salt.
5 tbs sweet bean sauce.
1 tsp of Five spice.
1 tbs of soy sauce.

How to make it:
Score the skin of the pork into long strips about 2cms wide.
Mix the seasonings in a bowl into a stiff paste.
Rub this mix onto the BOTTOM of the pork, NOT the top.
Place on a rack over a shallow baking tray with a little water in the bottom and roast at the highest temperature for the first 15 minutes. This will crisp the skin to make a wonderful crackling.
Then continue to cook with a moderate heat for another 49 mintes or until the pork is well done.
When pork is done, cut off the crackling and slice.
We swerve this with steamed green chinese vegetables and fried rice.

NOW.. Who loves Garlic.. AND.. Who loves Prawns? Why not marry them?

Garlic Prawns.

You'll need:
500g fresh King sized prawns.
Oil for deep frying.
6 cloves of garlic finely chopped.
1large onion chopped.
Oil for frying garlic etc.
1 chicken stock cube dissolved in 1/2 cup of brandy (slurpy).
2 tbs brown soya bean paste (min see jeung at Chinese supermarket).
1 tbs of cornfour blended with a little water.

How to make them:
Peel the shrimp and remove the intestinal tract.
Wash thoroughly and cut into 3 sections.
Pat dry and deep-fry until they turn pink.
Drain them on paper.
Fry chopped garlic in a little oil for 2-3 minutes, don't let it burn.
Add the chopped onion and cook until transparent.
Mix disolved stock cube with the brown soy bean paste, pour over onion and cook for a few minutes.
Return the prawns to the onion garlic mix.
Add the blended cornflour and cook until the mix is thickened.
Serve with plain boiled rice and steamed green chinese vegetables.

Neither of these recipes are tedious to make.. they're both delicious.. I'm giving you 'Shin of Beef with Vegetables' tomorrow which is another old favourite, so go slowly but come back quickly and to Mistress Josephine who makes slurpy noises at night and blames it upon my blog for making her tumtum rumble.. how does 'Walnut Chicken BonBon' sound?

They'll be here tomorrow morning Dear Readers.. and they might just be what you'd like to cook to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Monday.. go find your wok and chopsticks.. it's the Year of the Metal Monkey!

GeeGee Parrot.
February 3rd, 2016.

It's kinda sad how dumb we are.. for the temperature's plummeting, I took off my downy vest and she's cut her hair short.

But.. she's got great teeth with veryvery healthy gums! So one of us is doing something right.

Her Dr. Dentist was most impressed by the state of her mouth and its' inhabitants, teeth, tongue and gums. "What toothpaste are you using, your teeth and gums are in great condition, you've got almost no plague and I haven't seen you for six months", so she told him her herbal and spice mixture and he was mightily impressed.

Off up the market she went with a happy grin on her face but feeling 'slightly' chilly in the head region, for the silly woman had gone out without Beanie and although the day was getting brighter by the minute, the temperature was sliding down the scale.

She has NO pain in sausage leg, that clever crew who worked on her yesterday have done their best work. It's a little difficult going upstairs as it is bandaged tightly over the knee but that's all that is inconveniencing her and the bandage will come off tonight just before bed time.

Having arrived at her hairdressers, Anita said that she loved the colour and thought Myra was quite right to nag her and asked "Ok, what am I doing today", mama explained about thoughts of a grown up 'Pixie' cut, Anita went off and came back with a magazine and after flipping over a page or two, said "something like this?" and there, Dear Readers, was what she wanted!

And that's what she's got!

Next stop was across the road to Waitrose to see how much they're charging for Jam Sugar.. £2.09 a kilo bag, back off up the market she went to pick up buttons from Margie and then across the street to look at the price of Jam Sugar in the Co-Op.. hmmm.. £2.39 a kilo for the same item, well that's a no brainer. She came out, picked up three dark skinned pomegranates for £1.20, eleven limes and ten lemons for £2.00 from Liz and went back to Messrs Waitrose to buy four kilo bags of Jam sugar.

Slurpy green stuff will now be made, Lime Marmalade is a delicious change from Seville Marmalade and she can be doing that over the next couple of days whilst we have the electricians coming in and out, there's something causing a fault with an upstairs light which they can't find, so it might be down here in the main fuse box.

Now.. whose remembered it is the Chinese New Year next Monday? What are you doing about it? I am going to post ah-so velly sclummy things, so go away, then come back and lead next post.

GeeGee Pallot.
Feblualy 3ld, 2016.
PostSclipt: With apologies to all vellyvelly nice Chinese folks who love GeeGee Blog.

'Help me make it through the night'..

'Help me make it through the night', yes, indeed she thought that thought as she wiggled down into bed last night. And we are reallyreally happy to be able to tell you all, Dear Readers, that all is well.

Boss lady and her team did a great job yesterday, yes, it is 'slightly' painful when she first puts her right foot on the ground and puts weight onto it - thank goodness for losing those 28.5 lbs, more on this later - but after a few paces, the pain drops down in level to a dull ache.

Sleeping was ok, half way through the night she pushed a stiff fat pillow down the bed and put the sausage leg up on to it, then if she wanted to turn over, the sausage just rolled quite happily.

She's also happy that she chose NOT to delay the proceedure and to have a general anaesthetic as that does muck you about a bit and 'everything' seems to be working well at the moment.

They weighed her yesterday and she was commended for dropping the weight as the theatre nurse said "it makes your recovery time much quicker if there's less weight to carry, how did you do it?", the team and she chatted about it whilst the proceedure went on and they all agreed that the earlier you eat your supper / dinner, (what ever you choose to call it), the better it is for your digestion.

Audrey Hepburn, who drank a whisky ever night and ate proper food, always ate as early as possible and walked after the meal. Last summer when she started this regime, she did too and will do so again as soon as the days stay lighter for longer.

So it will be soon time to start our day.. egg and toast is what we both want. And she's going to do her teeth with extra care today, as she'll be flat on her back with her kind dentist peering into her mouth at 11am. Then it's a short walk up the road to Anita to have her hair cut off.

Yes folks, this little face and long hair don't go together, she's lost a lot of weight off her face and this long bob does her no favours, so a grown-up pixie cut it what she's aiming for. When she lost the massive amount of weight in 1975 due to the kidney operation - her weight plummeted to under 112 lbs, being nil-by-mouth for a while will do that to you - she dyed her hair flame red and chopped it all off!

It looked amazing! Nothing no drastic will happen today but she is now very happy with her colour.. "Thank you Myra, for nagging me to ditch the blonde-grey look, it WAS ageing!"

Old WW is going out too, there are pomegranates in the market, very good for your vascular system is pomegranates juice and she needs some olive green buttons.

Then she'll come home and potter about here. There we are.. that's today's activities. Nothing too exhausting but a bit of exercise for right leg to get the system going and she'll take the bandage off just before we go to bed.

But I will be back later as we have several simply splendiferous recipes for you all.. February can be a cold dreary month and today is a classic example of exactly how cold and dreary it can be.. ugh.. it's nothing like yesterday at all. Never mind, let's gird our loins and feathers and flapflap to YumYum HQ.

Reasons to be Chirpful.. Soft boiled eggs and toast.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 3rd, 2016. 

Under a 'Spanish' sky.. in London.

With a hospital check-in time of midday, she gathered her wits about her and slid out of the flat at twenty minutes before eleven o'clock bound for Charing Cross Hospital and her Day Surgery. She walked to Knightsbridge Station, a sleek shiny silver tube would take her directly to Hammersmith.

Oooh.. what a day! The sky wasn't as dark a blue as it had been on our last fine day, it was paler and the temperature was lower but it was the light element which was brilliant, she stood and remembered the times she had been in Andalucia in February, a glorious month to be there. With the countryside green and lush before the heat of the summer dries everything to a crisp.

Of being in Granada and seeing the snow up on the Sierra Nevada.. oi vey.. very happy times.

Ten minutes later, she was in Hammersmith and walking a short distance to the hospital, the North Wing on the 4th Floor was her destination. She gave the receptionist her appointment letter, confirmed her name and date of birth, sat down and opened a new book.

It was busy but with a book and a tangerine, time passes quickly and soon someone was calling her to come to be scanned so he could do the 'map' of where her proceedure was to be carried out.

He remarked upon her skin saying "apart from what we are dealing with today, your skin is in incredible condition, what do you use on it?" and he laughed when she said "nothing that I wouldn't eat, no chemicals, no poisons", he said "just like my mother and my two sisters".

He wasn't British and so she asked him where he was from, he said "I was born in the Philippines but I am Chinese and our women tend not to use anything chemically based on their skin".

Having marked her up with lots of blue marks, he said "we're running on schedule, in fact, a bit ahead as two patients have decided they don't want their proceedures under local anaesthetic and so they're not being done today, it shouldn't be long, thanks for coming in ahead of your booking time, please wait to be called".

Back to the comfy chair with her book and sure enough, somebody else came and called her, she was shown into a changing room and given a gown and socks. A doctor came who explained exactly what was going to happen and asked her "do you wish to go ahead under local or come back another day for a general anaesthetic."

She smiled and asked him "is it more painful than passing a 2cm kidney stone? If not, I'll have the local?", he looked really shocked and said "You've done that, when?", she pulled aside her gown and showed him the now, almot invisible silver scar which runs from the front of her body in a curve all the way back and around to her left kidney.

He gasped.. and she said "it was a long time ago but that is how I measure pain". And it is true.. she also tells herself  'are you a wimp or a woman, get on with it..' whatever 'it' might be.

He left, then she had another visitor who was a Research Fellow. Would she mind giving samples for the new vascular research work that Imperial are doing? She signed everything, gave her a blood and urine sample and it was time to go and do the deed.

A room full of women! Nice smiley women of all different nationalities! The 'Boss' was gowned up, she swabbed her leg and explained what she was going to do and off she went, there were a couple of 'uncomfortable' times but Boss was clever, she lent on the leg just above where she was injecting and it seemed to lessen the sting a bit. And half an hour later, it was done and her right leg was bound up like an Egyptian mummy.

Boss said "Leave the bandage on for a full 24 hours, then you're good to go, you don't have to use a support hose, your leg has taken the treatment really well but we're amazed at the condition of your feet and your skin, we see dreadful feet and skin in this work, please, what do you use?" and she replied "No chemicals, I do a full body brush towards my heart three times a week with a very stiff short bristle brush starting at my toes and put pure coconut oil on my feet and toes at least four night a week".

She was given a cup of hot sweet tea, two ginger nuts and allowed to rest for a bit, she finished the chapter she'd been reading, got dressed and walked out. Poking her nose into three open doors, she thanked the team that that had taken such good care of her and left the hospital.

A bus came along and up she stepped, no hopping on this trip! And she did one step at a time down our stairs. And then, poor woman, she had to explain her very lengthy absence to me.

Into YumYum HQ we went for sustenance which was badly needed by both of us.. the bird food of which I have two large bowls certainly does not count.. she prepared steamed vegetables with ham and chilli sauce, uncomplicated and quick, oranges and tangerines were picked up and taken into our bedroom.

Tomorrow she's got a dental apointment at 11.00 and having her hair cut at 12.30, she's tired and the sausage leg is a wee bit stiff, she's wrapped from her toes all the way up to her groin in a thick layer of crepe bandage.. somehow I don't think there'll be any burning of the midnight oil tonight!

Goodnight, I know it's very early but there are a couple of slices of clementines to be eaten and then we are off to sleep but we've got several seriously slurpy things for you tomorrow.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 2nd, 2016.
PostScript: Chinese New Year is on Februry 8th. It is the year of the Metal Monkey!

I'm the sensible one.. it's her that's daft.

For I went to bed at a sensible hour, it wasn't me that picked up a Patricia Cornwell 'Kay Scarpetta' thriller* thinking 'I'll just read for a bit', I know you know what happened and that I don't really have to tell you that it's well nigh impossible for her to put a book down.

This was no exception and her bedside light eventually went out at 02.53 this morning, this was not very clever when she had the alarm set for 08.45. Silly woman. What can I do? As those librarians don't speak Parrot, I can't put a lock on a book and she brings the new ones home by the trolley load.

Ah well.. so here we are, I'm dressed with as many clothes on as I have, fresh and raring to go and, of course, she's dragging her feet a bit and isn't feeling like the sharpest knife in the block. A strong black is needed together with a jolt of citrus to get her awake.

She received a letter from the surgical unit yeaterday giving her the information she needed about arrival time and which unit she has to go to, thence the 08.45 alarm.

I'll be back as soon as I can with some very edible recipes.. oh, by the way.. DON'T even contemplate buying your Seville Oranges at the moment, unless you live in Spain! The wholesale price is £28.00 a box, admittedly that's for a lot of oranges but their price will drop in three weeks and then they'll be a reasonable / sensible price in the market.

But do get your equipment ready, buy your sugar and collect your jars.. so you'll be good-to-go!

PipPip.. or rather.. PeelPeel.

GeeGee Parrot.
February 2nd, 2016.
PostScript: *Flesh and Blood.

Whoosh.. that's where it goes.. 'it' being time and wind!

This morning she went out of the front door looking quite smart, with brushed hair and a pretty scarf wrapped around her neck. But then she got up onto the pavement and.. oh, goodness me or rather oh, goodness her! For that old Wicked Wind of the West was blowing fit to bust and it blew her along the street and around the corner.

Where she hopped onto a 14 bus to Fulham Broadway, then trotted off to join her merry gang of fellow Slimmers! There was Pat, looking pretty in a dark rose sweater and scarf, who had saved her a seat and gave her a kiss.

Natter.. natter.. they quequed up and realised she'd forgotten her book.. drat.. but had the membership card so could log-in. And then got onto the scales.. huh.. that's a bit sad.. don't worry folks, she had actually lost something, half a lb. but felt a bit 'huh' as she'd only eaten two small chocolate salami yesterday and three tiny pieces of Turkish Delight over the whole of last week.

Yes, she'd eaten rye sourdough toast but only two very small slices per day, the same as she'd eaten last week when she lost 2.5lbs and this week she hadn't done a python trick on anything but when she told Katy what she'd eaten, Katy said "You're dieting, we DON'T do that, go away and eat more this week".

Off to her bank to pick up her new Debit Card, there was a new cashier whom she had never met before, she told him that she'd come to collect the new card and 'numpty' said "what id have you got", she produced the old card, the letter telling her to go and collect the card., her bus pass (photo id + name) but no, he would not accept any of these.. grrr.

The queque was long, so she said "don't worry" and left the counter. You all know that many times in 'life', it is not WHAT you know but WHO you know, so she ambled up to the Business Manager, who is a very busy but nice man who rolled his eyes when she told him about Mr. Numpty Cashier and he said "Come back in twenty minutes, I'll have it for you".

Off she went to post a little parcel to Mister Tom in New York City and bearing Katy's words in her mind, she collected a couple of things in the market.

And went back to her bank, where the assistant manager motioned her towards the front desk, he then disappeared behind a counter, he came out with an envelope in his hand, she signed a receipt for the card and came home at half four of the afternoon clock with a bag of courgettes and a pack of ham pieces in her basket.

Going into YumYum HQ, she put a small pan onto the stove and boiled a carrot, added a few florets of cauliflower, some broccoli, skinny beans and a courgette. When they were cooked but still crisp, she strained them, keeping the water to drink later on, added a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, a little spice and salt, tossed in the rest of the buckwheat we had on Saturday night and topped it off with a handful of ham pieces.

ScrummyDummy.. she put a spoonful of this delicious stuff on my plate and piled a goodly portion into a bowl and having shaken a small bottle, she took off the little red top and shook a little amount on to her late lunch.. the little bottle contains 'Crystal's pure red pepper Louisiana HOT SAUCE'. AND WE LOVE IT!.. do you know it? It is different to Tabasco..

Things to do.. she's got to do washing and ironing.. PipPip folks..

GeeGee Parrot.
February 1st, 2016.
PostScript: And for pudding, there's 'that' slice of Carrot cake which she didn't take to group.. slurp.

The First of February, Two Thousand and Sixteen.. already!

Goodness me! We are already into the second month of the year and what have WE done, well, not a lot, I regret to say. There's been no gardening done, she is deeply, madly jealous of friends whose gardens are outside their house. For she, as you all know, has to travel for an hour plus before she can even set a foot into a puddle.

And she woke up this morning and her immediate thought was 'DRAT.. I've missed the Shoes!' and she has, for they'll be packing them up and breaking down the exhibition today. What shoes? The Shoe exhibition at the V&A which she promised she would go and see but never did and forgot to go yesterday on her way home from Parson's Green.

Ah well, there will be something wonderful along soon and in the meantime, she could get up to the British Library to see the exhibition that is on there and, whilst she's there, start research on Dr Angus Mc.Dowell. Who is he? Her 4th Gt.Grandfather.

The British Library hold most of the records of the East India Company, of which he was a surgeon, and they have got the original contract that he signed in the 1700's when he joined them. She knows he wasn't at Edinburgh Medical School as they, very sweetly, searched their records way back into the 1600's. But the BL (British Library) will have his details, so off she must go.

Now what she WILL not miss, this is for sure, is the FREE exhibition at the BL that is on until April 17th, 2016 on Lewis Carroll (not his real name) and his marvellous book 'Alice in Wonderland'.

Yes, they have the original manuscript and illustrations and this is why she is very willing to give the BL and the V&A, her tuppence happeny each year which goes to fund purchases like this. For imagine if it had been bought by a private collector and disappeared 'underground' forever.. those of you in the 'know' will appreciate my choice and usage of that word.

And talking of originals and the such like, she meets twice a month a charming pair of Rumanians, she is a baker and bakes very, very delicious cakes. They are next door to Debbie Goaty Mum at Parson's Green Farmer's Market.

She cannot quite recall the sequence of events.. oh yes, she can she says.. it was when she asked then what happened to the cakes that were left over and the husband said, with a dead pan face, "what do you think we live on during the week?" and in a flash, she said "do you know the stories of Beatrix Potter?"

The answer was no, so she told them the story of Ginger & Pickles, Ginger being a cat and Pickles, a Fox terrier dog and how they ran a villge store but allowed too many people credit and ended up broke and eating their own produce. Both of their faces lit up with joy at such a silly tale and she thought to herself.. an eBay book is needed to complete these people's neglected education!

Yesterday they were there, she told Debbie abut the death of Sir Terry Wogan and explained to Elena and her husband who he was, Debbie said "Part of my childhood".. we forget she's the same age as BUB and much younger than my mum..

They explained what it was like growing up in Rumania under the Communists with no BBC World Service.. no BBC2 or even BBC1! Let alone Radio Caroline! Do YOU remember Radio Caroline? She does, she remembers listening with Constance to their first-ever radio broadcast.. LONG time ago.. in March 1964.. that's almost fifty two years ago!

Lordy.. where have time and the years gone?

She read an usual 'small' book last night.. by an English author called Diana Athill, it is called 'SOMEWHERE TOWARDS THE END'. We use the word 'small' because it is not a big, as in long book with lots of pages, but it carries a BIG punch. We recommend you read it, it was published by Granta in 2008. ISBN 978-1-86207-984-7.

She's got to go.. she has to confirm what time she's supposed to be at the hospital and also has to get herself onto those scales, the lovely Rumanians gave her a BIG slice of Carrot cake yesterday and somehow it made itself home yesterday intact, in fact, it's still intact but she's going to take it with her to group, weigh in, then eat it!

I tell you.. some mothers' do 'ave 'em. Do you know people who are as cunning as she! Or as mad!

GeeGee Parrot.
February 1st, 2016.
PostScript: We completely forgot to say 'White Rabbits' on New Year's Day, did you but I do hope you've said it today. It should be said before midday, on the first of each month that has an R in it.. a bit like eating Native Oysters in season.