Our Phili-Pam

Hi all Autumn & winter school days for me often started with porridge, a dollop of syrup stirred in and then topped with the top of the milk, "the creamy bit". Thursdays seem to have developed this very similar habit for Pam and I nowadays, although with milk in "ten gallon containers" not quite the same as the pint bottle left on the doorstep. Pam does baking on a Wednesday and with a bit of fresh cream left over from her jam scones, the cream went lovely on our porridge this morning. We even have ceramic dishes with ceramic spoons, a cherished Christmas gift from a few years back. I think that I can tackle anything after that, even going to Argos to pick up a small parcel. Have a good day all.

Hi all I enjoy the acting skills of the two police officers in "Last of the summer wine". One scene comes to mind where inside the police car, the one says he was dreaming of his wife making a nice steak and kidney pie, made with love. I haven't had to wait long as my Pam has done just that yesterday for our lunch today. Some pastry left over has been turned into a mince pie practice too.

Hi all A very busy day for me after a delightful breaky at the Belgrade. I was still out and about at 7pm, so I had a 3.30pm light bite at the Coundon. I had change out of £5 for this delightful lot, which included the half of Worthington cream. It was fab.

Hi all

Hi all I was delighted to find this stocked on my local Morrison's store. I have always liked Manns Brown from very early days, but increasingly in short supply in local pubs nowadays. I knew that Morrison's stocked Timothy Taylor, both "Boltmaker" and "Landlord", which is what I was walking down the aisle for, but nearly blew my socks off when I saw Manns Brown. So to you all.

Hi We are having snow flurries this morning with temperatures around 1

Hi all With so much horrid publicity up and down our land regards poor quality in care homes, it is tongue-in-cheek language that I am using. I am spoilt something rotten. Anyway, must get on. Southern fried chicken, sweet and sour sauce, saut

Hi all Pam & I are currently having our wilderness tamed, more in keeping with our care-home environment than our vigorous outdoor life styles of our younger days. The main thrust of the hard work is due to finish tomorrow. Fence & wood preservation work along with general easier than before maintenance will continue on a month by month schedule. I am delighted with the skill & sheer hard work that has been done lovingly by our gardener contractors, man & wife team. I have always applied the thumb rule of my mum, that I pay attention to who it is, not what it is, as if the who it is is right, the what it is will always get sorted. I will pass on by private email if requested, the people involved, but as you might imagine they are very busy people. Our rear garden is very long, over 180' in length, but narrows as you can see. Not the easiest of gardens to design, but no trouble for our garden team.

Hi all Our new seat & bird box. The gardeners have fashioned the seat from a railway sleeper. Brill! This next & last pics are off-topic, as this view cannot be seen from any window in my home. It's my bolt hole, where when this was a veg growing end, I took a pack-lunch so as to save the long walk home.

Hi all The last chapter regards our garden renovation involves the Wendy House. Originally built to accommodate my pipe smoking days, as well as viewing our garden. I haven't puffed my pipes for nearly twenty years, but I still enjoy relaxing in the Wendy House. A shed in reality with a few fancy windows, carpeted & heated. The odd shape of our garden means that much of our garden is out of sight from the house. Anyway, two days of dry weather gave us the opportunity to fit new carpet along with a new bottle gas heater. Both Pam & I love to see what is happening with the birds, squirrels & a fox yesterday with a leg missing. The Wendy house gives us an outdoor feel, but in reasonable comfort. A common blackbird or whatever, Pam has counted seventeen different varieties of bird visiting us since March 1st. For me, my Wendy House is my holiday home. It lacks the romance of a seaside or wilderness location kind of thing, but it is there for whenever I want to pop in. A longtime chum of mine popped in for an hour earlier & said he loved the sense of "boy-adventure", as he pictured himself in the middle of a Toby-Twirl adventure story, except that for me it would have been Rupert.

The oil lamps are fully functioning if they had oil in them. I use enclosed candles for lighting which is perfect. My laptop & tablet will work, but I avoid them as I love the back to basics feeling. Fire safety is a first concern in a wooden shed. So I avoid all naked flames. I renewed the Calor heater as the old one was ancient, lacking some of the modern auto safe features like monoxide detector & tilt, which immediately shut the gas supply off in either case. PS. After dark, it becomes my go anywhere Tardis, fuelled by concentrated Rhubarb juice.

Hi all Our care home matron taking a break. Reading her eBook.

Hi all A view, now & before. PS. This pic as now, just prior to fence work & treatment. Just a few years ago. Make no mistake, if I was forty years old now, I would still love the garden as it was then, but totally impractical now. Now that we are old & clapped out, we need comforts like handrails.

Many happy returns to our Philip Remember, in Celsius you're only 21

Happy Birthday Philip, hope Pam has made you a nice big birthday cake