Curly's Capers

Today's Pic. comes from the Abbey Grounds , Tewkesbury. It was taken from a little garden, which I was previously unaware of. Standing there , one feels the looming presence of the Abbey Tower ; especially as the bells rang out for noon, as you can spy from the clock . Strange to think on this Monday (24/11) as the Chancellor prepares to give his pre-budget "giveaway" , that the people of Tewkesbury saved this Abbey from destruction in 1539 , by insisting that it was their Parish Church , which they had the right to keep and thereby buying from Henry V111 for the value of the bells and lead roof , which came to the princely total of £452 - a pretty good deal methinks. Ciao4now Ck.

'Stir up we beseech thee, O lord the wills of thy faithful people; that they , plenteously bring forth the fruit of good works ......"  This from the Book of Common Prayer , is an invitation for Stir-up Sunday ; which is today. It is the  traditional day for everyone in the family to take a turn at stirring the Christmas Pudding , whilst making a wish. It should be stirred from East to West in honour of the three Wise Men who visited the baby Jesus. It was at this time that a coin was added to the ingredients in order to bring wealth to whoever found it on their dish on Christmas Day.  May all your puddings rise and bring you good  luck and cheer in the new year. To finish this theme of Christmas Food , here is a little poem , which I wrote in a card to my Late next door neighbour Jack , which listed his usual shopping requirements. A Shopping List Christmas It's that rind-less thyme of year, when we have to anchor our thoughts, chew the fat ,talk the  good pork ; making a...

The good news is, since my last post ,there has been little rain. This means that the water level, although high is containable. Pursuing the water subject, last Sunday 16th November , I saw Fish at Shepherd's Bush. He (Fish) was in excellent form and played a storming two hour set. He really is a master showman and interacted with great verve with the audience. So much so , that at one point , he jumped from the stage and joined us for a dance in the pit. Mention must be made of his band , who were note perfect in renditions of the Fish back and present catalogue. A trouble free rocking goodnight. NP.  "Old Crow" from 'Scattering Crows" by Fish Ck.

Today I visited Tewkesbury and Upton on Severn. As you can see from this Upton picture , the River Severn has reached flood levels and the blue fencing is the emergency flood barrier.Hopefully it will stay contained , but I gather further precipitation is expected by the weekend. Let's hope that forecast is wrong. Cia04now Ck

"Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, To see what Tommy will buy. A little white loaf and a little white cake, And a tuppeny apple pie. " Today I went to Banbury in Oxfordshire,U.K. The picture was taken of the Banbury Canal, near where there is a  waterside  cafe, one of the few places where it is possible to purchase a Banbury Cake ,still hand made by Philip Brown. This  recipe  possibly dates back to the 13thC. ,when crusaders returned from the near east with spices and sweetmeats. This confection is now sent all over the world. According to the wrapper  the ingredients are: "Wheat, flour, butter, sugar, vegetable fat ,vostizza currants , candied fruit , spices , natural flavourings and salt." Let us hope these lovely cakes have a good future and are not condemned to the kitchens of History. Ciao4now Ck.

Fibonacci poems are based on the rule , that each number (of syllables) is equal to the sum of the preceding two numbers : thus syllables are arranged ; none ; one ; one ; two ; three ; five ; eight ; thirteen ............. Here are three short "fibs" for you. Inside Sound (pause :n=0) I hear the void beating now slightly out of tune, but in synchronization with Nature. **** Muse(ic) Pause : Breathe out make music brightly now follow the pattern of notes. **** Geekgrowl Fib Pause : Smile on  my mac to bring forth the Leopard of OS awakening my desktop display. **** Ciao4now Ck.

Outside it is a damp November day, with very little to recommend it.  Todays post carries no message , has no mission path , just a pretty picture.  Enjoy your Day ! ciao4now Ck

Has your local Library had a make-over ? Ours has and it has all the right features: It is completely unattractive Books are managed in a haphazard way- little logic shown. The front door opens to show the queue for the main desk- wonderfully intimidating The front desk has all the allure of an airport checking-in reception- it values throughput and not thought put Machines allow you to renew and return books -no humans needed - nothing to stay for. Why , you may ask am I being so negative ? Let me enlighten you. We don't want the world to realize how good Libraries are ; more borrowers means less choice for me. Libraries are wonderful and worth fighting for . I have read the entire canon of "Rebus" stories by Ian Rankin ,using the resources of the Library. It saves me pounds. Heaven forfend  if a library is ever featured in a television soap. The cat will be out of the bag. So please , let's keep this secret between ourselves. ciao4now C.K. NR -  "Timebomb"...