Gullible's Travels

Cleaning the Wandle May 2012

2012-05-26T19:05:00.000+01:00

This month the clean up was in Sutton. Not quite the search for the source of the Nile but certainly well upstream to recent clean ups. The river divides around Culver's Island and we split into two groups to tackle both branches.

I was running half an hour late; by the time I got there the safety briefing was over and people were in the water. The river was fairly free of large scale rubbish such as shopping trolleys and carpets and the wading crew had it well under control so I decided I would do "wheelbarrow duty" for a change.

In this load was a child's swing. It does make me wonder about some parents - the example they set for their children and the lack of concern for the world they will be leaving for them.

This stretch more leafy and pleasant than some of the concrete culverted, inner city stretches with grassy banks and leafy cover. Plus a lovely sunny day. Another good clean up.

Full set of pictures on Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157629760408790/

Official blog on the Wandle Trust Website: http://www.wandletrust.org/?p=3530

Tally this month: 1 car tyre, 1 bike tyre, 1 teddy bear, 1 sun lounger, 1 chair, 1 suitcase, 1 artificial Christmas tree, 1 metal tripod, 1 plant pot, 1 scooter, 1 jumper, 1 tarpaulin, 1 tent, 1 mattress, 1 carpet, 1 dustbin lid, 1 metal drum, 1 clipboard, 2 bike wheels, 2 road signs and a tonne of so of unidentified junk.

May Bank Holiday 2012 - Networking, Twitching, Relaxing

2012-05-16T20:20:00.000+01:00

A long weekend thanks to the May bank holiday. Everywhere else (most of Europe at least) celebrates May Day (International Labour Day) on 1st May. The UK holiday is on the following Monday so we always get a long weekend. As usual our weekends have a packed agenda.

First up "networking" as I call drinking with ex-colleagues. Up to 1400 of us worked for BT on the Care Records System programme (that is correct - one thousand, four hundred). I left about three years ago. One of my ex-colleagues arranged a reunion drink in the excellent Knights Templar, a former banking hall. Good to catch up with peeps.

Saturday it was down to Ringwood for dinner with old friends Bob and Lynn. The next day we went for a couple of hours stroll round Blashford Lakes, a series of former gravel pits now a nature reserve and bird sanctuary.

A well kept secret it was right on our doorstep when we lived down there and we never knew. It was only 2 miles away and we drove past it every day!

We stopped at a number of hides and saw all manner of birds. Not sure I could name them all but this one I was pretty confident of. Also a real close-up viewing of a great spotted woodpecker and a pair of goldfinch.

The walk from our hosts house and back took us along Dockens Water a typical New Forest stream complete with wild primrose.

Afterward we said our goodbyes and went off to Grayshott Spa for 24 hours of relaxation.

Over the 24 hours we had massages (two each), a power walk, Mary had a manicure and I did a Yoga class. We finished with a healthy lunch and then home to the cats.

Urban gardening

2012-05-07T19:27:00.001+01:00

Having an urban garden doesn't present the same horticultural opportunities as the half acre we used to have at Avon Cottage. The answer is lots of pots, tubs and grow-bags. We always grow tomatoes and some kind of pulse (peas, runner beans or broad beans) and, the last couple of years, potatoes. The latter have been a disappointment - a lot of waiting and watering for not much more than the seed potatoes that went in. This year, against my better judgement, I have been persuaded to to give them a third chance.

Last year's potatoes (centre stage)

This year I have gone for alternative roots vegetables. I have used two of the potato bags for carrots and beetroot - so let's see how they do.

L to R: runner beans, carrots, beetroot, broad beans, red (bell) peppers, lettuce, olive tree (with wild strawberries), potatoes (plus rocket, aka rucola, off screen).

The trees and shrubs have taken a bit of a drubbing. The shrubs from me and the trees from from an aboricultural company we employed to do tree works. Our neighbours suggested that our trees could do with a trim so we decide to get in tree specialists to quote not only for our trees but the house on the *other* side. This with a view to getting them to share the costs with me doing all the planning application required as we are in a conservation area.

It's pruning, Jim, but not as we know it.

In the end we paid for both gardens to be done. Not as altruistic as it sounds. Next door is owned by a housing association and occupied by deaf people so, I guess, counts as a charitable donation, if you wish, and we get the benefit of more sunshine in our garden.

Cleaning the Wandle April 2012

2012-04-30T21:39:00.001+01:00

Erica described this as "the one with the obstinate lamp post" but I think of it as "the one with no shopping trolleys". I always describe these community clean ups as pulling shopping trolleys out of the Wandle so it was a little disappointing not to find any this time.

Still there was plenty of other rubbish to haul out. The carpets are the worst (after duvets) because of the weight of water. You have to haul them part way out and wait a while for the water to drain out before it gets possible to haul them the rest of the way. Given the height of the banks much of that water dripped into my hair - rank and filthy water, yuck!

Theo, the chairman of the trustees, is a keen angler and has just published a book on urban fishing, "Trout in Dirty Water" - a guide to urban fly-fishing, river restoration and the voluntary sector in the 21st century. Naturally I had to get a copy and have it signed by the author.

Theo Pike book signing

The water was deep and the waders were heavy and awkward - call me the Stumbling dice. I stumbled in the water and got a wader full of Wandle, I stumbled on the bank and got a handful of stinging nettles, I stumbled on the path and got a kneeful of grazes. Doctor, doctor what should I do? Limp!

This is at lunchtime, the final haul was: 1 holdall, 1 metal barrier, 1 saw, 1 car seat, 1 wheelbarrow, 1 fridge door, 1 microwave, 1 tarpaulin, 1 long plastic pipe, 2 lamp posts, 2 oil drums, 2 metal frames, 2 road cones, 2 office chairs, 2 televisions, 3 large bore pipes, 3 mattresses, 4 metal pipes, 5 pallets, 6 metal bars, 6 plastic pipes, 6 sheets of corrugated iron, 8 carpets, 12 tyres and approximately 2 tonnes of other unidentified rubbish.

Hard work and a knackered knee but still, a mountain of rubbish and a job well done :-)

Easter 2012 - Home alone with the family

2012-04-26T21:16:00.000+01:00

Mary was off on a business trip to Ecuador leaving me home alone to spend quality time with the cats - an ideal time to catch up with family.

Good Friday: first stop - down to Farnham to visit Mum and Dad and meet up with an old family friend, Heather, who my father describes as an honorary daughter.

Easter 2012 - Heather at Farnham

We have known Heather over 40 years, since school days. She and her husband dropped in on their way to Arundel for an extended cuppa.

Easter 2012 - me, Jane, Chris, Dad.

Next I was on chauffeur duty to drive Mum and Dad over to Jane and Pete's for a full family "Sunday" roast with all three of their boys plus a wife, Vanessa, and a fiancé, Hannah.

Easter 2012 - family meal

Later it was back to Farnham to spend the evening with Mum and Dad and an overnight stay.

Easter Sunday I had supper with brother Ian and Sarah for a general natter, so all in all, a full on family weekend.

Opening up Trullo Azzurro - Spring 2012

2012-04-05T22:34:00.002+01:00

Every spring we go out to open up for the season and prepare Trullo Azzurro for our first guests. Basically it is the reverse of the autumn close down visit when we went to harvest the olives, bag up all the linens and generally prep the place for over-wintering.

Key to opening up is airing the mattresses and bedding - we drag the beds out into the sunshine to drive off the winter damp and hang out all the duvets on the line. We also leave all the doors to let the wind breeze through the building.

Mary supervising the pillows as they top up their tan

We have someone who does the "macro-gardening" for us: the trees have been pruned and the grounds rotovated. That left us to do "micro-gardening": weeding the flower beds and bundling up the tree trimmings for kindling.

Another consequence of the Puglian winters is soggy salt. All the salt cellars and grinders are full of damp salt which won't grind or pour and needed drying out in the sunshine.

Other standard "to do" items are meet with our local agent to top up the kitty, drop in on Carol and Mino at Truddhi and go out for a meal with neighbours Chris & John.

In amongst all this we managed to squeeze in few hours sunbathing and relaxing and eating and drinking. A weekend is not enough and it is a long time till our September trip so Mary has booked flights for long weekends in May and July; can't wait to go back.

Trullo Azzurro: beautifully restored trullo in delightful, secluded valley near Locorotondo, Puglia, Italy. Available to rent on a per week basis, sleeps 4-6. For more information visit http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/trulloazzurro

Sting at the Hammersmith Apollo

2012-04-04T22:07:00.001+01:00

London, Tuesday 20-March-2012

The Back to Bass tour.

An opportunity to see another legend this time of music rather than movies. Last time we saw Sting it was as part of the reformed Police in 2007 and before that a solo gig at Wembley Arena. The solo gig I was a little disappointed in, the Police gig was good, but this was excellent.

From the tour name I was expecting an acoustic set but in fact he had a full band - a guitar, bass, violin, drums and backing singer.

We went with our friend Andrea, We had supper at a local pub The Distillers before the show and a drink after.

Sting played two solid hours and for the encore did a solo guitar version of "Message in a Bottle" - an excellent finale. The reviews were luke-warm but then it depends on your point of view. Sting is generously represented in our CD collection so we were expecting an enjoyable time and that is exactly what we got :-)

Reviews from: The Independent and This Is London.

Joan Collins at The Leicester Square Theatre

2012-04-02T22:22:00.001+01:00

London, Thursday, 15-Mar-2012

I was a little surprised at Mary's choice of entertainment, "One Night with Joan Collins" - not our normal type of theatrical selection - but still I thought it would be fun and it was. We had seen Joan once before in 1990 when she played Amanda in a revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives. Basically this was a one-woman show covering her life in four parts: the film star, the Dynasty star, the home-maker and the celebrity survivor.

Pre-theatre supper at Mary's old haunt, Kettners, then a short stroll to the The Leicester Square Theatre. It is an excellent little theatre right in the heart of the West End but walking past you would hardly know it was there.

Much of the narrative was backed by a collection of movie and TV clips some of which were hilarious and some showed her as one of the great Hollywood beauties. The last section was a Q & A session with questions handed in at the interval. They were read out by her husband and Joan made the submitter stand up so she to talk to them directly. A great evening in the company of a living legend.

Dublin March 2012

2012-03-22T21:30:00.002Z

Air Lingus were doing a special offer on flights to Dublin and it seemed churlish to refuse. Mary picked the Six Nations weekend when Ireland were playing Scotland. Unfortunately her membership of the Irish Supporters Club had expired so we missed out on the ticket release. But, what the heck, we would just go to a sports bar and watch the match from there so that is what we did.

Friday we took the afternoon off so we got to Dublin in plenty of time to have an early supper at The Farm - a free meal courtesy of our Top Table rewards. After supper it was time for our first Guinness of the weekend at Carr & O'Connell - another freebie thanks to the accommodation.

Saturday we took the open top bus for a tour of the city. We only did one "hop on, hop off" for lunch at Ryans of Parkgate Street. Apparently it has been visited by Bill Clinton and Julia Roberts. It has lots of original Victorian features including a snug - a small booth at the end of the bar with room for four people, six at a squeeze, with a door you could close and its own serving hatch from behind the bar.

Then it was back on the bus to central Dublin to find ourselves a match-watching venue. Mary rejected the first because it was full of Scotsmen so we repaired to Lott's Bar, claiming to contain the smallest bar in Dublin.

Unfortunately Scotland lost but that is the way it goes sometimes. So to console ourselves we went out for very nice meal at The Exchange Restaurant and Cocktail Bar.

Sunday morning we went to Bewley's Cafe for a latte with some amazing stained glass windows.

Then it was off to Trinity College to see The Book of Kells. The last time we went to see it the curators had sent it off for conservation and left a photocopy behind. This time we got to see the real thing - the almost microscopic, intricate art work is quite astonishing. We arrived just in time for the 11 o'clock tour followed by the book and exit through the long room which looks like something out of Harry Potter.

Then, alas, off to the airport for lunch and the flight home but we'll be back!

Dublin's Statues

2012-03-14T21:20:00.000Z

The Dublin locals are prone to giving their statues humorous, rhyming sobriquet. These are my three favourites.

Molly Malone - "The Tart with the Cart" aka "The Trollop with the Scallops"

Two Women - "The Hags with the Bags"

Anna Livia, The Spirit of the Liffey - "The Floozy in the Jacuzzi"

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statues_in_Dublin for more.

Cultural catch-up 2012 Q1

2012-03-08T22:14:00.000Z

It has all been a bit busy so I need to do some retro-blogging on our cultural doings:

Thu 26-Jan-12 Warhorse - at New London Theatre. Truly amazing theatrical experience to celebrate Mary's birthday, it deserves all its rave reviews.

Sat 04-Feb-12 The Descendants in the VIP seats at Cineworld Wandsworth. We like the VIP seats: big chairs, we're often the only ones in there, glassed off from the groundlings with your own sound system and you can take your drinks in. George Clooney and a fine supporting cast.

Fri 10-Feb-12 Carnage - in which Penelope (Jodie Foster) is clearly a woman who needs to lighten up. The Guardian likes it but I would not put it in the feel good category.

Sat 11-Feb-12 Umoja, The Spirit of Togetherness - at the Peacock theatre. Full of dance, music, bright colours and a tale of moving from the country to the city in South Africa through the decades. Loads of of fun and another fantastic, theatrical night out.

Cannizaro House Hotel

Sat 18-Feb-12 Cannizaro House, Wimbledon. Mary was in Ecuador for 14th February so this was a belated Valentine's meal. A delicious meal in the delightful setting of Cannizaro Park and romantically chosen as it was the hotel where we spent our wedding night.

Fri 24-Feb-12 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Delivered exactly what was expected. An ensemble piece full of of thesps who can act in their sleep (not that they did), and a feel good plot filmed against the backdrop of bustling Indian life with some cracking one-liners. I was most impressed with Bill Nighy's performance.

Sat 05-Mar-12 The Lady from the Sea at The Rose Theatre. We like to support our "local" theatre; it is only half an hour on the train - the same as getting to the West End - and half the price. Apparently this is one of Ibsen's lighter, more comedic plays, well the others must not be a bundle of laughs then. Thanks to good reviews the only seats left were the best in the house, premium seats - front of the stalls with a free programme and glass of prosecco included - and worth every penny.

Recipe for Clootie Dumpling

2012-02-24T10:14:00.001Z

Clootie dumpling unwrapped

A Doric alternative to May's Dumpling Recipe

punna self-raisin' floour
punna currants an' a haunfa o' raisins
quanera punna suet
haufa punna granulatit sugar
fower wee teaspoonsfa o' mixed spice
a big pincha saut
some mulk

Rummle up the hale jing-bang in the boul, addin' a wee tate mulk so's ye get a dough that's stiff an' no' runny.
Tim some bilin' watter oot the kettle inty the fit o' the basin an' spread the cloath (or cloot) oan tap o' the watter.
Cowp the hale o' yur dough oot the boul an' oan tae the cloot in the basin.
Draw the coarnurs o' the cloot the gither an' tie wi' the string.
Don't tie the string too tight or the dumplin' might burst efter swellin up an' ye'll be in a helluva mess.
Noo ye've a big bag o' dough aboot the size o' a fitba'.
Nixt ye pit a plate in the fit o' the big poat. Then gently ye lower the dumplin' oan tae the plate.
Efter that poor as much bilin' watter inty the poat as will cover yur dumplin'.
Efter a' this cairry-oan ye'll mibbe waant a cuppa tea an' a fag. or even a wee lie-doon.
Anyway, whitivvur ye dae, dinny let the dumplin' simmer fur mair than three-an'-a-hauf oors.
Efter that time wheech it oot the poat an' oan tae a plate.
Peel aff the cloot an' therr ye huv a dish fit tae set afore a dizzen Egon Thingmys.

Cleaning the Wandle February 2012

2012-02-14T10:10:00.000Z

This month the Wandle community cleanup was in South Wimbledon only half a mile from where I used to live in Garfield Road and where I first made my acquaintance with this river back in 1980.

Setting up base camp

The day always starts with donning waders, gloves and the safety briefing at base camp. Risks include drowning, 'sharps' and Weil's disease contractible from contaminated water. I also always wear safety glasses after a couple of A&E visits following some extreme gardening incidents. They protect against water splashes and pokey shrubbery.

Hauling a mattress up the pilings

Unusually no shopping trolleys this session but masses of carpets and a couple of mattresses. Hauling a water-sodden mattress up the pilings required some team heaving and grunting.

Another unusual feature was the large number of half coconut shells; South Wimbledon is not known for its tropical climate so why so many coconuts? The answer, it would appear, is the nearby Hindu Sree Ganapathy Temple in Effra Road offering sacred coconuts to the nearest river.

Soup to defrost the fingers

Lunch is provided at one o'clock: home-made soup to warm the fingers followed by cake and a cuppa. Then back into the river.

Working our way upstream

If you want a reason to support container deposit legislation you need look no further than the number of soft drink cans and lager tins on the bed of the River Wandle.

Rubbish collection point

A fair haul for four hours work from 41 volunteers.

Full set of pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157629313589231/detail/

I done a LOLCAT

2012-02-08T18:28:00.000Z

Invizibul food

Serviss here iz terribul

Isle of Wight - January 2012

2012-01-28T14:21:00.001Z

Our friends Tim and Sarah bought a second home in Cowes on the Isle of Wight last summer and this was our first visit to see it. Sarah was brought up on the island and has always had a bit of a hankering to go back there.

For us getting there was remarkably easy - a fast service from Waterloo to Southampton, a shuttle bus to the Red Jet ferry, a 25 minute crossing and a five minute walk to Tim and Sarah's house.

Their black Labrador (wittily named Zinzan) is extravagantly friendly, he wags his tail so enthusiastically he bangs walls, furniture legs, etc with a real thump that made me laugh.

We might normally have done a load of walking but Mary's bunion was still on the mend. Instead we were chauffeured around to see the sights including the surprise hit of the weekend - Brading Roman Villa.

It was so quiet that we got a personal guided tour from not one but two of the volunteer guides who had, as it turned out, actually participated in the most recent excavations. Two hours of fascinating, information packed exposition - we learned so much more than we would have got simply reading the labels.

Sunday we drove round the western half of the island including a stop at Newtown to look at the Town Hall and the Nature Reserve.

Pub lunch and then home but we'll be back and next time, with Mary's foot better, we will do some serious walking.

Full set of photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157629067099487/

Mary's Bunion Operation

2012-01-18T17:30:00.002Z

At the beginning of December Mary went in for an operation for hallux valgus deformities - bunion to you and me. The timing was chosen to allow for the convalescent period to run into the Christmas break. It also coincided with the end of my contract so I was "at leisure" and could be house husband, chauffeur and general gofer.

The operation is pretty quick, about 40 minutes, and treated as a day case. I took Mary up to the New Victoria Hospital at 7am and collected her, and a pair of crutches, that afternoon at 2:30pm.

I was amused by the mark-up on her leg: not a subtle line to say "cut here" but a whopping big arrow to say "This leg!"

She had a Scarf osteotomy on the first metatarsal (the two screws) and an Akin's osteotomy on the great toe (the staple). Note that neither of those links go to gruesome, colour photos but nice black and white illustrations (the former has an excellent animation showing exactly how the Scarf joint works).

We set up the sofa bed in the living room so Mary did not have to do stairs, she only needed to hobble along the corridor to the downstairs loo and shower. In order to keep the dressing dry in the shower we invested in one of these fine "LimbO" leg protectors. Note - the photo is not of Mary but borrowed from LimbO's website:

She had heard tales of great pain so Mary munched on analgesics for 48 hours and then went cold turkey with no pain at all. So little pain in fact that she was worried about nerve damage. It's fine, of course, and I put that down to the skill of the surgeon - neat slicing and dicing.

The first two days were spent in bed and the next fortnight hobbling about with two crutches. At the follow-up appointment the surgeon pronounced things fine and to go down to one crutch.

The second follow-up appointment was a bit delayed partly due to Christmas intervening and involved some nasty digging about to remove two stitches that had not resorbed - ouch.

Now it is all clear and the surgeon has recommended some physio to get the foot (and leg) flexing again. The slow, gentle recovery proceeds...

Cleaning the Wandle January 2012

2012-01-09T21:50:00.002Z

Has it really been that long since I last went to drag shopping trolleys out of the River Wandle - Cleaning the Wandle August 2009?

The second Sunday of every month the Wandle Trust organise a clean-up of a different stretch. As chance would have it, it was the very same stretch as last time I went - in King George's Park just south of Kimber Road.

River Wandle, King George's Park, Wandsworth

Despite being a chilly winter's day 42 volunteers turned up to don waders or push wheelbarrows and remove all manner of junk out of the river. By lunchtime we had 6 trolleys and by the end 13 not to mention bicycles, various bits of car, carpet, plus bottles, cans and carrier bags beyond number.

River Wandle, King George's Park, Wandle Trust Volunteers

Lunch was a cup of soup and a sandwich plus a cup of tea - less a beverage more to defrost the fingers. Then back in the water for a few more hours. I was very glad I had the foresight to wear my walking long johns, that water was cold!

River Wandle, King George's Park, Rubbish hauled out

At 3 o'clock we finished and as I was leaving the river I tripped over trolley number 14 and took a dive. Result - waders full of icy water and very soggy garments. I had a change of jumper and trousers but not much I could do about the long johns so it was a damp walk home.

I ache all over, especially my fingers from gripping and hauling, but in a good and satisfying way. Must do this more!

Update: Fri 17-Feb-12.
Post on the Wandle Trust Blog "Wandle cleanup: January 2012: Wandsworth"
Picked up by the local Guardian "Wandle clean up clears two tonnes of rubbish"

Christmas 2011 - Ambleside, Lake District

2012-01-05T10:08:00.002Z

This was the first Christmas in our latest property acquisition - a timeshare in Ambleside in the Lake District. Since we would miss out on a McLellan family gathering we organised a pre-Christmas potlatch at our place. My family are always good value. Here they are debating the importance of children having the opportunity to learn an instrument and create art.

Geri (mum), Mike (dad), Mary (wife), Sarah (SIL), Ian (bro), Jane (sis).

The following Thursday we headed off to the lake district, a 5 ½ hour drive, to Quaysiders at Waterhead in Ambleside. The main room was bigger than I remember it - which is the better way round - and it is very well equipped. All the kitchenware is decent quality and we wanted for nothing.

Quaysiders main room

Mary's mum, May, came down from Scotland the following day and was picked up from Oxenholme by Avril (wife of Mary's uncle Ronnie) who lives in Kendal. We then went over to Kendal and collected May from there.

Mary and May

Christmas day we had lunch in the nearby Waterhead Hotel chosen to be within hobbling distance because of Mary's bunion op and May's emphysema.

Christmas lunch in the Waterhead hotel

Boxing Day we had Ronnie and Avril over for lunch.

Ronnie and Avril

To entertain May, Mary and her went to Holbeck Ghyll country house hotel for a pampering spa half day. We also went for a drive to admire the scenery.

View of Windermere from Holbeck Ghyll Hotel

We also did lots of shopping including Lakeland (formerly known as Lakeland Plastics). Not any old Lakeland shop but the original, the mother ship! On the right you could peer through the window into their call centre.

Lakeland flagship store

Our neighbour, Jo, comes from that area and said it rains all the time. She was not wrong:

Weather forecast for the week - rain, rain, rain...

Despite the weather we had a good week of eating and drinking and keeping busy. On the 29th we dropped May back off at Oxenholme and despatched her back to Bonnie Scotland. We then drove home to be ready for New Years Eve.

Charteris final wine tasting

2011-12-30T17:25:00.001Z

London, England. Thursday 20-October-2011

I have been going to the Charteris Wine Society tastings since 2005. Always interesting and entertaining and now sadly no more. It is (was) a work based wine group and as people retired or left the company it has been harder and harder for the organisers to keep the tempo up. So the mission for the final speaker was to blow the budget and dispose of all the surplus funds built over the last couple of decades.

The presenter was Robin Lane (http://winesuppliersupport.co.uk/home.html) and his brief was "personal favourites" which, given that he has over 30 years experience in the wine trade, has got to be interesting.

Jeremy Labram introducing Robin Lane...

... and this is what he came up with:

Menetou Salon Blanc Jean Teiller 2010
Pouilly Fuisse Domaine Daniel Barraud 2008
Bourgogne Rouge Cuvee d'Antigny (Avery Bottled) 1976
Lar de Paula, Rioja, Viñedos Viejos, 2005
Hermitage Alain Graillot 2007
Chateau Haut Batailly 1996
Franz K Smit 2005
Quarts de Chaume Chateau de Pierre Bise 2009

My favourite of the evening was the Franz K Smit 2005.

Mary was not able to make it so our old friend Bron stepped in at the last moment - what a trooper!

Carolyn and Bron

What makes a good wine tasting is not just the wines but the back story that goes with each of them; that we got from Robin. A fine farewell tasting.

South Africa, October 2011 - Cape Town V & A Waterfront

2011-12-13T17:06:00.000Z

Cape Town, South Africa. Saturday 29-October-2011.

The first day we spent exploring the V & A Waterfront - indeed our apartment was chosen for its close proximity to all the sights and restaurants therein.

The Wheel of Excellence

A slightly smaller and faster whirling version than the London Eye but you do get four turns of the wheel instead of one. Good views and a nice greenhouse effect in the gondola on a cool day.

Mary looking relaxed

They were re-painting the clock tower over a couple of days so we got a view of some unique patchwork effects as they did primer and undercoat - this is the final colour scheme.

At one point being footsore and in need of refreshment we stumbled across a German style bier garten complete with oompah band. Somewhat incongruous but welcome and entertaining all the same.

Suitably refreshed it was back to the apartment to get ready for the evening.

South Africa, October 2011 - Wedding Licence

2011-12-09T15:35:00.001Z

Talking of wedding anniversaries, Mary and I were married in *the* St Paul's cathedral. Mary would have preferred low-key registry do and sent friends a postcard from honeymoon. However courtesy of Dad's MBE we had the option of the chapel in the crypt. It cost me an antique, hand cut solitaire. Worth every penny.

Since this was not our local church we needed a special licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury no less and a wonderful document it is. Couched in positively Shakespearean language together with the legal habit of no punctuation and the liberal use of Capital Letters.

George Leonard by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Primate of all England and Metropolitan by Authority of Parliament lawfully empowered for the Purposes herein written To Our Beloved in Christ Mark Sebastian McLellan of 76 Garfield Road Wimbledon in the County of Greater London a Bachelor and Mary Mitchell Galashan of the same address aforesaid a Spinster

Whereas it is alleged that you purpose to contract a true pure and lawful Marriage and earnestly desire the same to be solemnized with all the speed that may be We do therefore of Our especial grace In order that such your desire may more readily have effect and for other causes Us hereunto moving Give and grant by these presents Our Licence and Faculty (so far as in Us lies and the law doth allow) for you the Parties contracting for any Clerk in Holy Orders thereto lawfully authorised and for all Christian People willing to be present to celebrate and solemnize such Marriage between you in the Chapel of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire within the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul in the City of London between the hours of eight in the forenoon and six in the afternoon upon any day within three calendar months from the date hereof Provided there be no lawful impediment thereto

Given under the Seal of Our Office of Faculties at Westminster this twenty-fourth day of September in the year of Our Lord On thousand nine hundred and ninety-three and in the third year of Our Translation

South Africa, October 2011

2011-12-07T09:33:00.001Z

Cape Town, South Africa. Friday 28-October-2011.

Our first trip to South Africa for two years, since our wedding anniversary in 2009 in fact. Again the timing was planned to allow us to celebrate our actual anniversary in South Africa. This time in Cape Town which we had not yet visited despite this being our fifth trip to South Africa.

After doing the tourist thing in Cape Town for four days (blog posts to follow) we went down to our apartment in Hermanus to investigate putting it on the market. It has not really been bringing in anywhere near enough rental to cover its costs and we have not been getting the use of it ourselves, partly because of our busy lives and partly the cost of the flights.

We also needed to find new agents to manage it for us. We sacked the previous agent (don't ask) and our friends Percy and Ronel had been holding the fort for us. As they are tourist guides and coming into their busy season it would not be fair to impose on them any longer. Our plan was to find a local agent who could do the meet-and-greet and arrange cleaning and laundry which we did - more anon.

Mary found us an excellent and characterful apartment just 10 minutes walk from the historic V & A waterfront - Green Point holiday cottage.

It was great to be in such a historic building and really convenient for a short stroll into the V & A Waterfront which we did on a daily basis for the sights and the restaurants.

Groenehof
This restoration was officially opened by the Hon. Dr. Wm. Nicol
Saturday 15th November 1965
These cottages form part of the original quarters, barn, and farm workers homes erected about 1815 and attached to the De Goede Verwachting. Proclaimed to be an historic monument in 1964.

Full set of photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157628307045775/

Olive Harvest 2011

2011-12-06T16:20:00.001Z

Puglia, Italy. Friday 26 November 2011

The usual close down visit and olive harvest with additional birthday planning.

As every year we go out long after the last paying guests have departed to prepare Trullo Azzurro for the winter. That mainly consists of putting all the bedding and linens into VacuSacs but also rearranging the furniture - the garden tables and chairs get brought indoors or stacked into the antechamber of the pizza oven.

We also go out to harvest the olives. Our friends Carol and Mino had already harvested theirs so we only had ours to do. We were expecting a small harvest because of the heavy pruning in spring. This year we only picked 18kg compared to last year's 84kg. However we predict a bumper crop next year because of all the new growth plus the habit of fruit trees in general to alternate good and lean years.

We also had time, therefore, to harvest a couple of trees belonging to our neighbours, Mark and Sue, which yielded another 7kg off their two trees. At a 12 percent yield that means our combined output will be 3 litre.

Storage space is at a premium which means the nets needed to be very carefully folded away so they will fit inside the crates which can then be stacked away inside the pizza oven storage space.

Mary insisted on a shot of me stripped to the waist as proof of how warm and sunny it was even in the middle of November.

The other item on the agenda was finalising the date for my 60th birthday celebrations to be held at Truddhi in the local village of Trito. We fixed on Sunday 23-September-2012 rather than the Saturday. That fits in better with Truddhi bookings which are Saturday to Saturday. Also Mino is normally doing weddings on a Saturday, so by having it on the Sunday makes it much more likely he will be there as well.

Jazz vs Blues - compare and contrast

2011-12-03T08:08:00.001Z

We went to two very different concerts on successive nights: Phronesis and Taj Mahal.

Phronesis
Purcell Room, London, England. Wednesday 14-November-2011

Once again my sister and BIL double booked themselves and we got their spare tickets. They went off to Ronnie Scott's whilst we went off to hear someone we'd never heard of but that's fine by me; that way you to get experience things you might not otherwise.

The novel feature was the second half which was played in the pitch black which I found an intriguing and worthwhile experiment. It did allow me to focus on the music without being distracted by watching the musicians. The music was enjoyable but I couldn't write a review about avant-garde jazz so here a couple I found on the interweb:

On the down side the Purcell room is not the most charming of venues and so we went to The Archduke for a post concert glass of wine.

Taj Mahal
Under the Bridge, London, England. Thursday 15-November-2011

We only learnt about this concert because we follow Marcus Bonfanti and he was rumoured to be playing support for Taj. A new venue to us, this is under Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge ground and only a 20 minute bus ride away. Unreserved seating so we aimed to be there not too long after the doors opened even knowing (guessing) that it would be some time before the performance.

I got chatting to a man behind me who said he had been waiting 40 years to see Taj and had bought his tickets as soon as he heard about the gig. I am embarrassed to say that I "place-dropped" that we saw Taj a couple of years ago in New Orleans at The House of Blues.

As it turned out there was no support act so it was straight into a good long set from Taj. In NO he did a much more up-tempo rock style set; this time he did much more of an old-style set. He switched instruments playing several consecutive songs on each of electric guitar, keyboard, acoustic guitar, mandolin, etc.

I took a couple of photos on my iPhone but the security guard saw and insisted on me deleting them. Which is daft as they have put up their own photos on flickr for the world to see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/utblondon/sets/72157628126573307/detail/

And back home in 20 minutes on the 28 bus. Damn I love this city!

Daddy, what did you do in the great war?

2011-11-11T07:33:00.000Z

My Dad has always been reticent about what he did in the last war. I know that some veterans prefer not to talk about their experiences. Enquiring indirectly via Mum it turns out that he didn't seems to think there was much to tell - ferrying American tanks to Omaha Beach following the D-Day landings!

Here, with his permission, is a note my Dad wrote to set the record straight:

My career in the Royal Navy.

I was called up in 1943 (18 yrs old) and they gave you the choice of Navy, Army or RAF. I chose the Navy.

You start as an Ordinary Seaman with 3 months preliminary training. A number of us were singled out as possible officer material and put into a special class.

After this you served for 3 months on the lower deck of a ship which was an invaluable experience.

You then went for officer training at Brighton (Lancing College and were passed, or otherwise.

I was now, because of my age, a Midshipman to start with and later a Second Lieutenant.

I was posted to a Tank Landing Craft with a C.O., myself and a crew of 10 - 12 seamen. This was about 2 weeks after D-Day in June 1944.

Our job was to carry 6 American tanks and crew to Omaha Beach on continuous trips backwards and forwards to reload.* By this time the beaches had been cleared although you could sometimes hear inland gunfire. The war ended in 1945 and I was demobilised in 1946, returning to my architectural studies which had been disrupted.

Michael McLellan
Sept. 2011

P.S. In my first week back I shared a studio with a certain Margery Scales. The rest is history.

Omaha Beach

* which Dad later clarified was for about 6 months making over 30 round trips.