Alt.Mustardland

it is Dec 2nd.

Quite right. It seems to have escaped my attention, but it wasn't my turn.

How's George?

George? Cats is Problem Critters. As it is now Winter, the heating is on... He stays out of sight downstairs, but close the the floor on the heating. However, He doesn't seem to like the food I gives him.. Hopping 3wells will advise....

My aunt used to boil rabbit for her siamese cats, but they like anything if it was bought full price. They can always tell if it was on offer. Cassie likes everything. She had a bladebone of lamb on Friday. Tonight she slurped up the remains in the dish I cooked chicken wrapped in bacon. Just the juice really, but she had had her main meal already. She likes to share what I have, as a bonding exercise.

My Grandad used to sell Rabbits in Wickford Market, for the table of course. Giving retired Gas Managers Pension "in them days" consisted of paying a minimum amount to run some sort of miniscule business... In his case, breeding rabbits. I only saw him a few times, but of course, as a kid I was given two Baby Rabits.... and rabbits grow up... and multpply.... Afraid before we were moved out of London The Rabbits also met their doom for Wickford Market. Hope My Pension works better, as to the Bunnies..
Some Co-incidence was that Grandad came up in Discussion - He is Buried at The Church in the Hill, (i.e., I ook Up from here to see Him Higher than I Live), but the conversation was of the Racket of Police Helicoptors Searching for miscreants up there, just above the Spire of a "Lisred" Church.

Greetings one and all. We had some VERY worried cats yesterday; I turned all the heating off in the morning, including "their" stove that they curl up in front of, so everything including the chimneys would be cold for the annual servicing and chimney sweep! Of course, after it was re-lit, it was quickly surrounded with a wall of glaring pussy cats .....

Talking about rabbits, I heard of a butcher somewhere (in Yorkshire, probably!), who, when the movie of Watership Down was released, put up a notice in his shop:

You've read the book
You've watched the movie
Now eat the cast ...

Hi each - (Today I REALY did intend to get things done).
Yes, I remember about that Rabbit Butchers sign - Cant remeber when/where. Perhaps somthing culled from something in The Rabbit and Poultetrers weekly or some such.
When I was in my Twenties I used to get a train to work (Yes it WAS a a long time ago, but they DID have trains in them days). Train used to pass y a field of beutifully green grass but no crops. however, it was Full of Rabbits - "Infested" the knowledgable travellers called it. then one day all the rabbits disappeared, and the Grass had become just plain Essex Mud... It seems that the crop was actually turfs for gardens, sports fiels and so on and was carried away in lorries - it never Occurred to this townie that someone had to produce this stuff deliberately ... So next time you are playing tennis or cricket or whatever, remember that you are on a corner of Essex.... You can see it from the M25/A12 junction, so you could have watched it for some time in Yesterdays hold-up..... or even being parked on it.

It's been a busy day. a mad drive to Bridgewater to try to get my auto topup resolved with the help of a nice, persistent young man, but in spite of getting on to the telephone team, and being told there was no block on my O2 account, Telefonica's website was totally obdurate. Then having learned how to get some really good music as ringtones, Bizet etc came home to meet the plumber. a new one who I found as an advertiser in the magazine. He found an intermittent fault (the solenoid) and I decided to replace the whole thing, like for like with the same profile to avoid holes in the cubicle, so ordered that online with delivery tomorrow. Fitting booked for next Tuesday.

Then it was off to Watchet to pick up the music for a concert next Wednesday. I did a spot of shopping in the co-op, then home to collapse on the bed. After the Archers, it was Lincoln sausages, bacon, mushrooms and egg, and putting the first two Christmas puddings to cook in the pressure cooker. Another hour to go, then I can go back to bed.

Brian seems well, but busy. Hope our other contributors return to our midst soon. In the meantime it seemed to be one to one.
I have hares in the field beyond the garden, and sometimes they come in to nibble the herbage. They're very welcome. My grass is no more because it was very bumpy and my gardener has levelled it to a gentle sloping gradient unsuited for cricket. Or even hurley now the bumps have gone.

A Demain.

Twas a busy day Rwth. I got some things done, but needs to get loadsa papers together to wave at a solicitor,
Hospital Doc has told me to drink water, or drink More water... (when I worked in a Hospital The ladies in the adjacent office: Dieticians: Warned about drinking English Water... The Danish Lady produced some filtering device berfore she would make tea... And HER Tea certainly tasted better). Nevertheless, I took Docs advice and risked a glass of water - I have heard that one can drink it - unfortunately I knocked the glass over and flooded this keyboard.- - Wouldn't start this Morning, But I think it is OK now after some persuation.

So if this page is wet ..... Apologies.

Glad it's still working after its bath. I used to have a water filter, but after I knocked it on the floor and broke it, OH and I agreed that we preferred Elan valley water unfiltered. It's as nice here filtered through the moors, but our friends in Essex have very cloudy water and usually filter it. It seems such a waste to buy plastic bottles from Nestle.

Good luck with the solicitor.

Wellll, it looks clean in Hanningfield reservoir... Wonder what the ducks a birds do to it?

But Seriously. Here in Essex, You never let a glass to dry, as watermarks always remain. But of course, Water for London comes from a Bigger catchment, probably incl Essex. I don''t know if that is the same ... (Blast another post-stroke word I can't remember) I don't know if it the same stuff that Steam causes scaling in Kettles, Boilers, Steam Loco's. My "Working" days remembering supervising "Pickling" of calorifier in an Old Peoples Home Central Heating, ... and meeting a section of Central Heating 2" Steam barrel showing Hard Scaling reducing the steamflow to les thgan 1/2" diameter (Brompton Hospital since you ask). There is certainly sand found in my kettle, filters wont remove any liquid or gas in the water, they merely offer False sense of security" but I have seen filters for a house that collected (some) nasties that re-directed the removal to be diverted to the drain, plus a weekly washout.

Just thought of Something else: The Tea and Coffee Tasters at Joe Lyons (Tetly, Quickbrew etc) all had to rely on Water Tasters - a far more important job, to approve the water used for the Tea/coffee tasters.-

This is what I just put on another post - I'm trying to ask if any of you think of it - and are any of you Television watchers....

Well that was an entertaining ten minutes...
I don't generally open the door at night - (I've probably bored you about council changing House Numbers, and after dark I get People demanding money for take away meals that should have gone elsewhere).... anyway, this woman - about thirty, slim and seemed to stagger around a bit... "Is that@@@@ rubbish yours..?".
"What rubish"
She pointed to one of the Counils Rubbish containers picked up by a hoist on a Lorry - Used by their Gardners/tree lopping gang.
"Its on my F@@@@ garden"
"Thats the tree pocket in the footpath, not on your garden at all".
This went on for a bit, and tried to shift this container of greenery... She did stagger getting off of my step, and fell over the Kerb to "Her Garden", and then couldn't drag the container.
Then She wanted to know who my Landlord was because she wants me out...
There is no Landlord
"Yess you Have, I had the last lot out Ten Years ago, so who is the Landlord, The Indian Bloke? cos I OWN my house not like you lot - and how many families have you got Living in there...?".
Well I don't have a Landlord, I know no Indian Bloke.
She then went on about The Noise "Of all my kids", then about the downpipe (She pointed to a Blank wall, between my house and the next. There is no downpipe).
So I asked "where do you live..." a silly question on my part.
"Where do you F@@@@@well think I Live - I live right next door, and on again about Owning her house, and that was another thing. I'd tied my washingline on her post, and she had to pay for it - or she would @@@@well cut it if I dont remove it"
.....obvious answere, well go in there and cut it.
She took keys out of her pocket and tried several keys in my neighbours front door (after falling up HIS doorstep)- which of course didn't fit - She then manage to walk fast, and without stumbling to the car park... I wasn't going to follow her until I got my keys and locked My door... but no sign of her. She couldn't have driven away because Tesco's Home delivery was parked in the Exit.

I've been wondering if she was an actress .... No No, not the actress I drove when I was playing Taxi's, I meant the Current lot who had parked Crew Lorries and Canteen caravan's in the ex-Ford place doing a TV "drama" all over the place, but No, Couldn't see any Cameras, So I just guess she is Bonkers, and/and or Mozart and Lizt.
She was arguing for about ten Minutes.

What Comments?

I don't see what else you could have done. Probably Brahms and Liszt. You're obviously right not to answer the door after dark. Maybe she lives next door to your new number but somewhere else on the estate.

The water question is a lot more complex than I thought. Maybe I'm best off not enquiring too deeply into the process. I read the documents when I bought the house, but only enough to see if the water was away from contamination sources. Nowhere near Chew Magna Reservoir, named in a contamination incident a long time ago.

Chew Magna..... I stayed in Digs there when Working in Bristol. It was the House of two Authors. He was a Retired Vet, writing stuff about Hourse Skeletal treatments. Don't know what She was writing.
Bristol Sorting Office only needed all of us (Establishing if pre auto-sorting would save sufficient time to allow (Cheaper) later incoming mail - i.e., Lorries instead of trains, or trains instead of air. so at least two of us four had finished by delivery time soon after 08:00, instead of following the Postman. I had a Running (Football practice) postman, and the smelliest route (Leather tanning) But on those Early Finishing occasions I had HOURS to spare for the rest of the day... Found that Local Pub did VERY cheap meals at lunch-time, possibly because the Village had so many Pensioners needing meals.
Then they went on Hols, so I was Moved to a Farmworker. I remember watching her cat crossing a plowed field to the wood, Stepping up and doen over the Hillocks - twas more distant than most cats explore.

No, wasnt Me contaminating Chew Magna

Whilst typing this, I've had more tapping at my door.....

Hmmnn.. Not much happening here... Anything I do gets thwarted.... In fact, My list of thwart is getting longer. This is not helped by Compooteratoring is very difficult at times... I might aim for a fifferent supplier. Even this is complicated by being dual addresses, One house - only want my legal address, but outfits doing Weberry type my address in, then just say that their pooter wont accept it - I don't exist.... I used to have a phone but BT used a conecter called ... (Oh Damn, Mind gone again ... "Open" something or other). It worked, then, I got one call trying to sell me something (so obviously their anti-advertising thingy calling certainly didn't work), then nothing - incoming or outgouing. Tried to get it repaired but the indian distant bloke to phone only wanted to know why I wouldn't pay, but never a repairer to come and fix it... But I didn't get it fixed, then decided that An unanswered call or answerphone message only told the caller that my house was available to housebreakers when I was working away, so used only Mobiles... quite apart from the necessity of me abandoning work and coming home to await for a failing connect outfit.

So sorry things are going so unproductively. I'd get out if I were you. It's all very well to think about letting the side down, but you've done your share and more. It's time you gave yourself a break and found somewhere to live with a proper address. If you had a stroke how would the ambulance find you?
Open World can be more of a liability than a help. Not sure how it would help you. At one time your line rental used to cover repairs, but now it only covers repairs up to your connection point. Anything inside the house you have to pay for. At least there are cable connections everywhere. You aren't working now, so you have time to wait in for repairs. If you get offered work, you can apply the filters you choose. Locality, type of work, hours etc. Are you on Linked in? A nuisance at times, but even I get offered work in London. I don't want many hours, and need to work from home. They would take you seriously, and look at your CV. Members are at many levels and look at CVs if they think you show promise.

Mornin, each.
Quiet innit - guess you are all out playing snowballs. Seldom get snow here, but we has a few inches (not that I've been out to measure).

Only a little sleet here. a few power cuts, and plenty of rain. The church was off limits so we had morning service in the Church Room, followed by coffee and conversation. A trip to the shop and air line, and a walk by the beach, then home.

Snow changing to slush ... but it's just beginning to freeze.

We're getting away quite lightly so far (fingers crossed): freezing, yes, but little more than a dusting of snow yesterday, that's gone. Being not too high and quite close to the Shannon Estuary to the south and the Atlantic (with the Gulf stream) to the west, is moderating things quite nicely!

Trusting all are keeping well, and will continue to do so over Christmas and the New Year.