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.