Monday 18 March 2024

Sunday Has Raced Around Again,

the days just fly past, 


so time for a read and a sherry,

for our starters a selection of Indian samosa and Chinese duck spring rolls, 

'Cheers!',

for our main course gammon ham with all of the trimmings,
 
followed by a apple pie with ice cream and custard, 

all delicious, later it was time for our Sunday with Columbo, but we had watched the episodes today just a short while ago, so a film it was then, 
 
as it happens GoldenEye was about to start, James Bond has a mission to recover the 'Goldeneye' access key, a Russian computer programmer called Natalya Siminova survives a murder spree by Xenia Onatopp and General Ourumov, but here is the thing, I never thought that a Bond film would be so unsavoury to have scenes cut from it, but ITVX did! it seems so unnecessary, but ITVX thinks that we must be protected, then in the middle of the film we kept getting the message that out Internet had failed and to retry which we did a few times, we also established that our Internet was fine, next this appeared on our screen,
 
so it was not us it was ITVX! 

 watched War of the Worlds, good special effects but I somehow preferred the original,

a fairy tale next, Damsel, but with a bitter twist, very enjoyable with a good plot and special effects, 
 
we rounded our evening off with The Adams Family, 1991, great fun from the family, after which we were off to bed.


 

Do Not Mess With Fish 290,

and you thought fish were fun!


photographs Oil Care Campaign, well this looks like fun, Yellow Fish are appearing in the streets!

it is a campaign to remind people not to put oil and other substances down drains that are meant for rainwater only, with the message: “Only Rain Down the Drain!” 

photograph Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council, the initiative has been picked up at council level in some locations, as part of the scheme, they're asking people not to pour harmful liquids down their drains, in a statement, the council explained that pouring oils, detergents, paint or sweeping litter into drains can be harmful to river health, water quality and wildlife, the yellow fish images have been stencilled on pavements next to drains which lead surface water directly to rivers during periods of heavy rain, there is a Government web site about the Yellow Fish Project here, but if you go to it you are meet with the message:

"This document is out of date. Withdrawn on 5 August 2019"

I guess the Government are leaving it to the Water Boards across the UK to keep our rivers and beaches clean.


As Well As Japanese Wood Block Artwork,

I do enjoy looking at Art Nouveau and Art Deco prints, 


photograph wikiart.org spanning the gap between both schools was artist George Barbier (French: [ʒɔʁʒ baʁbje]), né Georges Augustin Barbier, (1882–1932) was leading the field, he was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century. Born in Nantes, France on 16 October 1882, Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911,

all illustrations found at mutualart.com George Barbier, Jeanne Paquin Gown (from the Gazette du Bon Ton), 1914, pochoir print, private collection,

George Barbier, Jeanne Paquin Gown (from the Gazette du Bon Ton), 1914, pochoir print, private collection,

George Barbier, Lady with Panther, 1914, watercolour, private collection,

George Barbier, Le Feu (The Fire) (from Fêtes Galantes), 1925, pochoir print, private collection

George Barbier, Les Liaisons dangereuses, 1920, pochoir print, private collection, George Barbier died on March 16, 1932, at the height of his career, his mark was indelibly made on the Art Deco movement, and by bridging the gap between Art Nouveau and Art Deco he helped usher the latter into existence, for the story that accompanied these prints have a look here.


Sunday 17 March 2024

Diana Was At Work,

so I had a quiet day,


and decided to make another short video of a aquatic trade trip I made to Singapore some years ago, so here it is, number 8, as well as aquatic goods the exposition is also where fish and aquariums are entered into competitions, this video shows the aquariums with all manner of different varieties of guppies, a little about what is perhaps the most widely kept of all tropical aquarium fish, the history of guppy (Poecilia reticulata), it can be traced back to the late 1800s, 

when British naturalist Robert John Lechmere Guppy first discovered the fish in the rivers of Trinidad and Tobago. He found the fish in the Aripo River, which runs through the Northern Range of Trinidad, but it goes back before then, they were collected earlier than that by a Spaniard, De Filippi, on the Island of Barbados in 1862. He named them Lebistes poeciliodes, even earlier than De Filippi, was Julius Gollmer, a German biologist. He found the fish in the Rio Guayre in Venezuela in 1857 and 1858. He sent jars of preserved specimens to the Imperial Prussian Academy of Science in Berlin, but they were not classified so he could not claim to be the first to find them, 

the Guppy, Girardinus guppii, drawn in 1903 by Plantagenet Lechmere Guppy, son of Robert John Lechmere Guppy, (picture: Natural History Museum London/ Science Photo Library) so the fish was named after Guppy, as an aside many publications list Robert John Lechmere Guppy as a reverend or vicar, he was not, he was a agnostic, 

readers in the UK may remember the surname name Guppy for a different reason, the family name appeared in the newspapers a few years ago, Darius 'Darry' Guppy, on his father's side is a descendant of Robert John Lechmere Guppy, the naturalist mentioned above, who the guppy was named after, Darius Guppy was born in 1964, he is a British expatriate, Darius who together with Benedict Marsh, was convicted of fraud, theft and false accounting in February 1993, the full story is here, I also put some more videos of Diana parents trip to Thailand together, in the next few days we will edit them and hopefully post them on the blog, it was now time for our evening meal,

so out with Private Eye, for a read with my sherry, 

followed by thick farm house winter soup, 

with garlic bread, 

for our main course a steak each with all of the trimmings, sans sauce for myself, 

'Cheers!', after which we watched some television,

firstly Ripping Yarns, staring Michael Palin and Terry Jones in a much-loved spoof, spectacular tales of derring-do and derring don'ts, the first time we watched the video Diana thought it was Ripping Arms, I must have mispronounced the title! great fun if you are into Monty Python, the series ran from 1976 to 1979, we watched 2 episodes, Whinfrey's Last Case aired 10 October 1979 and Golden Gordon which aired 17 October 1979,

 next a episode of the Kenny Everett Show, 

I just love the opening big lips of each episode, as I make a repeatedly failed attempt to keep up with the pronunciation of "Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu", this week the guest stars were Elton John and Terry Wogan, we rounded off the evening with a Midsomer Murder, after which we were off to bed.


In February,

I made a post about a planned balloon flight, 


all images courtesy of Space Perspective, into space! the post is here, it appears a few more details have emerged, such as what meal will be served onboard, the six-hour journey will involve ascending at 12 mph in the capsule to about 100,000 feet, where the participants can see the Florida peninsula. A company spokesperson said the meal will be served as the sun rises over the curvature of the earth. The Wi-Fi on board will let the guests report their trips live, 

the meal in the stratosphere takes place in this capsule lounge, SpaceVIP has enlisted chef Rasmus Munk, whose Copenhagen-based restaurant Alchemist has earned two Michelin stars since 2020, to cook one of his most impressive meals and serve as host aboard a space balloon, Space Perspective’s Spaceship Neptune can seat eight passengers and a captain, as you might expect, seats at the table will not be cheap, the meal aboard in the stratosphere is priced at $495,000 each, crikey that's $990,000 for Diana and myself! I will have to think about that one!


In The Previous Post,

I mentioned a meal with a out of this world price, 


photograph credits The Macallan, and this is the after meal tipple to accompany it, in its 200th year, The Macallan has unveiled The Macallan Horizon, in collaboration with Bentley Motors, the Macallan Horizon will be available from The Macallan Estate Boutique, the domestic and travel retail Bouqtiues, and selected online retailers, in what Jaume Ferras, Creative Director of The Macallan called “the most complex and visionary whisky project that The Macallan has embarked upon”, the team at Macallan has worked closely with Bentley Motors to produce a whisky and bottle that evokes the history and stature of both brands,

speaking about the historic collaboration, Jaume Ferras said: “Our collaboration with Bentley and the knowledge exchange we have undertaken has inspired us to see things very differently. In the spirits world, everything is vertical, such as our stills and our bottles. When we looked at the horizontal plane that Bentley’s grand tourers occupy, it made us consider if and how we could adapt this format for whisky, which ultimately requires to be poured and enjoyed”, Bentley Chairman and CEO, Adrian Hallmark, adds: “We’ve spent years working with The Macallan through our partnership, taking time to craft this incredible first joint product that represents the best of both brands. Centred on innovative materials throughout that reflect our focus on the future, the end result – both the whisky and the vessel that contains it – are stunning, and represent a new benchmark for design, materials and quality in this space” for the full story of this remarkable drink have a look here at The Whisk(e)y Wash, and the price for this after dinner tipple of which only 700 bottles will be produced? yours for $50,000 a bottle, if we book the space meal I must remember to ask Diana to pack a couple of bottles!


 

Saturday 16 March 2024

Diana Was At Work,

for myself I decided to take a walk, 


we saw so many spring flowers in gardens on Thursday I thought I would have a look to see if the bluebells were flowering, in the distance,

one of the neighbours having a new fence and gate fitted, 

it was about here it started to rain, it was so sunny when I set out!

what a day for a walk,

on this side of the road a few daffodils were flowering, 

a few more on the other side,

past a very wet Westgate Road, 

 the pathway at the start of the hill a quagmire, 

nearly there, 

on the way up the hill I feed a coupe of crows,

at the top of the hill,

then down,

to the star of the bluebell path,

and, 

not one flower in sight!

lots of plants,

all looking nice and fresh,

but a complete absence of flowers, 

I had a close look at some of the plants, 

not even the faintest show of a flower spike, 

so home it was, 

the sun vainly trying to pierce the grey clouds,

a few trees were brought down by the last storm, 

this one would have blocked the path, 

but the park staff had already removed it, 

up to the top of the hill,

and down past the hawthorn bushes,

through the mud, 

and on the home stretch, arriving home I decided to put together some of the videos that Diana took when her parents visited us in Thailand, 

the video is above and on YouTube here, Diana arrived home just as I finished it, 

it was by now time for my evening read, 

for my meal this evening a Chinese that we brought back with us from last night,

'Cheers!',

next out to the club to meet Steve, the tennis courts illuminated for players getting ready for the tennis season,

into the club, where we chatted the night away, after saying our farewells we made a move for our homes,

arriving home Skyfall was playing, 

which featured an island named Battleship Island which Diana did not think existed, but as it happens I made a post about the island and how at one time it was the most densely populated place on earth, it was a island built on coal, the Mitsubishi Corporation purchased the mine for 100,000 yen, the now world-famous company had expanded rapidly after its inception as a shipping enterprise in 1873, and had purchased the Takashima Coal Mine in 1881, Hashima's annual coal production reached a peak of 410,000 tons in 1941, but there is a dark side to all of this, about 1,300 laborers had died on the island, some in underground accidents, others of illnesses related to exhaustion and malnutrition, still others had chosen a quicker, less gruesome death by jumping over the sea-wall and trying in vain to swim to the mainland, during its 84-year career under Mitsubishi, the island produced some 16.5 million tons of coal, and now the good news, the last resident stepped onto the ship for Nagasaki on 20 April 1974, after which we were off to bed.