Hailstones like golfballs


Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Sheffield, Kathy's back garden, to be precise....

Looks like the barbecue's off!

Jesse the Jack Russell

I did try to get Paddy to look at this little terrier in the hope that he might pick up some tips, but to no avail.

Ah well, back to the drawing board!

Curiouser and curiouser

On the agenda for this morning was a trip to a garage to get something on the alternator of the car fixed - or something like that...
And here it is. No it's not a farm, it's a garage. Well, actually, it is a farm but it's a garage as well, hence the hens. What's more, it's on the local industrial estate. Well, we like to keep things rural here.
We brought Paddy too, to meet the nice collie who lives there.

But then, something strange happened. The other dog was not at all anxious to make Paddy's aquaintance but 'shadowed' him as we strolled up and down. Here she is, peeping out at him from underneath one of the cars in for repair. Even more strange, Paddy took very little notice of her, almost ignored her, in fact.


He didn't even bat an eyelid at all the hens roaming around. I'm beginning to wonder if he is sickening for something!

Xbox Mania


This was the state of play (excuse the pun) on Saturday. Since then, three more Xboxes have arrived.
Thankfully, they have been housed in the van.
This is Paddy, looking somewhat perplexed at having been moved, cushion and all, from his little corner by the television. He wasn't impressed.



Mae'n heulog heddiw!

We had a long walk this morning, Paddy and I, as it was such a lovely, sunny day and it would have been a shame not to make the most of it. That's not to say that hips and knees weren't beginning to protest a bit by the time we got home, which made me think that maybe I'll have trouble there in future years, but by then, Elder Daughter will be a well-established consultant in 'Care of the Elderly' as they call it these days, so that's all-right!
I spotted a couple of orange tip butterflies, which I don't recall ever having seen before, although they seem to be quite common. I was just about to attempt a photo when White Van Man came steaming up the lane and the moment was lost.
Ah well, David Bailey was never in any danger from me...

1923

Today is Dad's birthday. (Here he is striding out with Keith and Paddy last year.)
He was born in 1923, so I decided to do a little research to find out what was happening that year.










In 1923, Adolf Hitler launched a failed coup attempt in Bavaria, known as 'the Beer Hall Putsch'.
Time Magazine was launched.
The Yankee Stadium opened for the first time.
The Hollywood Sign (you know, that big one) was erected.
Ankara replaced Constantinople as the capital of Turkey.
The Walt Disney Company was founded.
The chimes of Big Ben were first heard on BBC
The first twenty four hours of Le Mans motor race was held.
Howard Carter entered the burial chamber of Tutankhamun.
Among famous Britons born that year were Donald Sinden, Eric Sykes, Patrick Moore and Richard Attenborough. and this was also the year that John Logie Baird brought television to the world.
Ironically, in view of this year's events, 1923 was also the year that one of the biggest earthquakes, measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale occurred at Sagami Bay near Tokyo in Japan.
Oh, and on April 16th, Dad was born.
Happy birthday, Dad!

Plaster board and dust

So, we're still no further forward on the British Gas smart meter front and I've given up making non-existent appointments with them...