Neil Young at Hard Rock Calling

Hyde Park, London Saturday 27 June 2009

The joys of the English weather - not! The http://www.hardrockcalling.co.uk/home/ site suggested "A hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, rain wear, woolly jumper / fleece" which just about covers all eventualities. Weather.com claimed wall to wall sunshine, high 20's and 0% chance of rain. So what happened - the sky went black and the heavens opened:


Mary in cheap rain poncho

We liked Seasick Steve who was on stage as we arrived. Wandered around, drank beer and a jug of Pimms, ate some curry and settled in for the headline act.



Neil did a mixture of stuff I knew (because we have those albums) and stuff that we didn't but everybody else did (because they must have those albums). Two hours of what the crowd wanted including those that stuck in my mind: Heart of Gold, Old Man, Unknown Legend ("She rides a Harley-Davidson"), Needle and the Damage Done.

A surprise guest as he closed the show with The Beatles "Day in the Life" was none other than 'Macca' who joined him on vocals.

I was amused by a number of T-shirts in the crowd:

* I started out with nothing and I've still got most of it left.
* There are only three speeds. Fast. Very fast. And Oh shit!!
* I'm not a complete idiot! Parts of me are missing.

Baked Coriander Cod

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
10 freeze dried curry Leaves, crushed
25 g (1 oz) creamed coconut, grated
4 x 125 g (4 1/2 oz) skinless cod loin fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4. Takes 18 minutes.

1) Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5 / 190°C / fan oven 170°C and then put a baking tray or oven proof dish in the oven to heat. In a bowl, mix together the coriander, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and coconut, then season.

2) Place the cod loin fillets on a board and press a little of the coriander mixture on to each fillet. Remove the baking tray or ovenproof dish from the oven, transfer the cod and bake in the oven for 10 minutes until cooked. Serve immediately.

Wordle: Gullible's Travels as a Word Cloud

Courtesy of http://www.wordle.net/ the current blog converted to a word cloud:



It would appear that "weekend", "sunshine", "May" (the MIL) and "lunch" are key 'themes du jour'. That seems fairy nuff to me.

Downsizing the MIL (4)

Actually there was very little downsizing to do; it was mainly attacking the garden in May's new place. That did necessitate a trip to the tip with bags of clippings and a few bits and pieces from the old garage which had escaped earlier culls. Of course when May's house does find a buyer then there will be some more shifting to be done!

Apart from the usual shopping trips, the main task for me was laying six paving slabs for the garden storage box to sit on. Mary worked on all the tubs and pots putting in new flowers and rearranging some of the existing plants. Having done that we were able to relax and enjoy the brilliant weather. Proof that the sun can shine in Scotland:


Al fresco dining in Irvine

Maureen is over from Australia...

Maureen
Originally uploaded by markmclellan

...along with husband, Pete, and one of their daughters, Katherine. This was another typical busy, busy weekend.

Friday evening I was home alone while Mary went out with her girlfriends from her days working at United Bank of Kuwait. So I treated myself to a VIP seat at the local Cineworld and watched "Terminator: Salvation".

Saturday morning we went shopping then over to visit our friend Barbara. She had been due to come out to Italy with us the weekend before but underwent a hamstring operation instead. As a result she is due a period of convalescence and rehabilitation. We went to take some shopping and keep her from going stir crazy for a while.

After lunch it was down to Farnham for afternoon tea and chat with my Mum and Dad. Then back for a short kip and a quiet evening in.

Sunday it was down to Dorking for a gathering occasioned by the visit of an old friend, Maureen, who moved to Australia many years ago and comes back every few years to visit. We all gathered at Andrea and Alan's down in Dorking for lunch and had a good old natter with an excellent lunch provided by A & A.


Mary and Maureen

For a full set of photos see http://www.flickr.com/photos/8179454@N02/sets/72157619313496635/detail/

We had planned to cycle down but the forecast was rain, rain, rain. As it turned out we could have done the 20 mile ride in glorious sunshine - boo to the weathermen.

XXL Weekend in Puglia (in Tweets)

Not so much a long weekend or even an extra long weekend but an XXL weekend. From Thursday to Tuesday because those are the days BA fly (plus Saturday but then it wouldn't have been much of a weekend):

# LGW disciplined passengers waited to be called by seat row number. Page & Moy special - older generation respect rules! Now in sunshine. 3:22 PM May 28th

# Day dawns sunny in Puglia. Nice people at Avis (Bari) gave us a Nissan Micra convertable. Top down to Locorotondo market for viands. 10:58 AM May 29th

# Puglia all local produce: sunshine + salad nicoise + strawberries & cream + half bottle of red wine = siesta. z z z! 4:31 PM May 29th

# Electricity off at meter in lane when we arrived. Curious. Discovered why yesterday. Controller for irrigation system stolen. B*****d. 8:13 AM May 30th


Shelling Puglian peas with the aid of crisps and a gin & tonic

# shelling peas in the sunshine with the aid of a packet of crisps and a large gin and tonic. 7:03 PM May 30th


Sunday lunch round at our neighbours John and Chris

# last full day in Puglia. Grey skies - boo! Impromptu lunch round at Carol & Mino's. Quiet evening in at Trullo Azzurro tonight. 5:33 PM Jun 1st

PS. Carol and Mino's gardener came round to quote for garden maintenance and replacing the controller. He said "I have a spare in the back of the car". With a length of cable the replacement is now safe inside the locked pizza oven so our plants will survive the summer and be pretty for our guests and us :-)