OF LETTING IN LIGHT- BURNING THE SAUCE AND SURPRISES

I started off this week feeling a bit down with all I was hearing about in the world.  By comparison to others, I had little to be sad about.  I think life sometimes has a way of putting on the brakes, a sort of slow-slow- slowing down for time to take stock.  So, I did take stock.

Those darn trees from next door that were making a dark canopy over large a corner of our garden were too high and too physical for me to attack. Nothing for it then, the neighbours must be asked if they minded some thinning out to allow light through. It was absolutely no problem, the neighbour said in fact as he was free, he would give me hand with it! Like the genie of the lamp he appeared in overalls, with a tall ladder, a hefty branch lopper and saw. While he lopped off big branches from on high, jumping from ladder to wall, back to ladder again, I set to work at ground level reducing the size of the branches with my light weight lopper.  Number one son put in an appearance to give his dad a hand, I was almost redundant. There were two trailer loads of tree branches taken to the tip, (their trailer, we don't have one).  Offers to at least pay for the petrol used were indignantly refused, 
"We're neighbours, you'd do the same for us".  I 
mumbled that I would if I could.  All that physical work gave me awful back-ache, but, it and the kindness of neighbours did lift my spirits. 

Taking things out to make space to put things away in a kitchen cupboard has potential pitfalls. Just as you think you have got it all done, a small 
pottery bowl overbalances and with reflexes working fast, I break its fall. There's a glancing blow onto the edge a breakfast dish in its path, which fractures at the point of impact.  Oh great!  (Except that is not what I said).  Taking stock, I rationalise it could have been worse, I could have broken a perfect dish; this dish was already chipped. The bowl was not perfect either, I notice it has a chip too.  The defrosting fish still in a bag can continue to defrost in the dish after that I will dispose of it.

I have decided to make a tomato sauce for the fish with all sorts of things in it including chopped 
fennel. I left the sauce simmering, just a fraction longer than I should have. I just caught all the ingredients sticking to the pan. After the rescue - the sauce was in need of a fair bit of hydrating - it  was various shades of reddish brown. 

 Hubby wanted to know why I was not going to add olives to the sauce - "They would," he said, "give it a certain je ne sais quoi".

Me -"It will have a certain je sais quoi, when I have finished with it".

What to do to..........I  sprinkled a liberal amount of mild curry powder into the reconstituted sauce 
then chopped up a few fresh tomatoes and added them. This time I kept a beady eye on the simmering sauce and the fish steaming in it.  Hubby ate his meal with real relish and announced that the sauce was "excellent!"

We have an unexpected item to put into our goody bag which I have packed for our self-catering break.  Our farmer neighbours threw a fabulous large white cabbage over the fence into our garden, it is the size of a football. The cabbage, now wrapped up in a bag, is sitting in proud isolation like it's ready for kickoff.

What a strange and varied week it has been.  I have to smile.

TRAVELLING IN A TUBE WITH THE NEGHBOURS FROM HELL!

We are still fizzing about an experience we had on a flight home earlier this year.  The experience was not exclusive to our particular carrier. 

Parents in front of us spread out across three seats with their very young baby, intent on keeping all strangers out.  The cabin hostess told them they would have to free a seat.  They were forced to, when the last few travellers boarded and a single man asked for  the end seat in the row.  No, he didn't mind a noisy baby, (baby was not noisy) he was just glad to have a seat, after all this was a full flight. Hogging seats is a trick often tried on all sorts of transport.  This was by no means the worst behaviour to occur on this flight.

Nice mum and baby, but this picture is not of the family on our flight.

A large group of adults, young and older, set out to behave as they chose; they grouped together,   making sure that passengers of a different persuasion did not impinge upon them.  They flagrantly ignored international air safety rules, flouted the polite requests and directions of the cabin staff.  They pushed past orderly queues for the toilets, a hostess carrying a pot containing hot water was knocked off balance and a passenger bore the brunt of a spouting of the hot water on the hand.  There was not even a demonstration of the merest remorse.  These people ignored requests to keep out of the galley, and just helped themselves to cold water, draining the supplies, meaning there was no water for anyone else who might need to have some during the remainder of the flight. 
                                                                                                
                                                                                        
It was wearing getting landed with that arrogant, allegedly godfearing, totally inconsiderate  mob,  in the confined space of a tube many thousands of feet towards the heavens.  It would make you question, if  a deity existed, was this some idea of a warped sense of humour.   We could only hope that the weather conditions remained kind to us and that the flight crew would remain on a calm course, unaffected by the turbulence in the cabin.

Forty minutes from landing, many of the overhead lockers were opened anywhere  these people had possessions. They pulled out their hats, some luggage, jackets and so on.  Staff firmly asked these passengers to stay in their seats, and  they moved along shutting the overhead locker doors.  Did those passengers stay in their seats;  in a word, no!   This time the plane banked with the doors open.    Every instruction, every request was flouted.  They did just what they wanted, and to hell with everyone else!  I have been on some curious flights before, nothing though as bad as this one. What those people did was inexcusable.  Carriers should name them and refuse to carry people who misbehave to this extent.  It is totally unacceptable.

A friend of ours, who left Jerusalem before we did, said that he preferred the overnight flights home to America, when such individuals and  like-minded families did not usually travel.  He could curl up and get some sleep, arriving unharrassed.  Lucky guy.  We did not have that choice; there were no overnight flights to the UK from that part of the globe.  Doubtless, we would have selected one, if it had been an available option.

Plane pictures courtesy of planepictures.net

WE HAVE GREAT YOUNG PEOPLE

My neighbour's daughter just got her degree results.   She took a tough course, chemistry with physics, a straight through to masters programme, with a year's input abroad working with a scientific research team. I've seen this girl grow from tiny baby, go through primary and secondary schools, and on to becoming a university student. It's wonderful to be able to see our young people strike out and forge a place for themselves in life. Mum and I exchanged an excited hug....the newly graduated student has achieved a first class honours!

Throughout the year, there are individual educational achievements announced in the local paper. It can be seen there is a high percentage of young people who go on to higher education and further training, though, opportunities for work place training and apprenticeships have severely contracted over recent years. This is reflected nationwide. The issue of suitably and productively employing our home grown talent is an urgent one, and becoming ever more difficult to address.