Senior Moments … such is life in the fast lane!

I needed some cash … off to town I poddle – it’s not far – about half an hour each way … down going down, and up coming back … strange that – but when you live on the edge of the Downs – life can be a little topsy-turvy.

Eastbourne town from flat - where I go down
from the Downs!

Find bank, go inside, insert card and enter PIN, get statement … just to make sure and see status … ask for money – it will give it to me … and reverse the process …

… wander out of the banking hall – to get a bit of shopping for the friend who is visiting – ah! …… what did I do with the cash … oh oh …

… back into the bank I go – by my machine (NB the ‘my machine’!) there’s a man – now that’s a strange being! – he’s at right-angles to the cash machine … so I potter up and ask ‘is my money there?’

… a little bemused this equally senior man is by this question – ah ha … realisation … oh it’s her money … yes it is – 'oh good I say' … we both turn to the machine - - - oh no it’s not!  It’s been swallowed …

Swallows - but not swallowing dosh

… having set the scene I shall shorten this escapade … having thanked said senior man – who now can’t use that machine! because it’s gone into blink mode … I go to find a customer services representative …

… explain my situation to her show her my slip and she checks – but no money returned … the machine has well and truly swallowed it!

View from flat at low tide - Beachy Head is just
round the corner

I’m not worrying … and the rep says – look it should be back in your account tonight, if not tomorrow morning … I’m still not worrying – why worry?!  It’s all been recorded via video in the bank … (presumably!) …

Next morning off (down) to town I go, still poddling, to check in with the bank – slot my card in and check the statement … nothing … off to another customer relations chap – oh hello … tale retold … he says don’t worry – please go and sit down (in a little room!) and I’ll be back shortly - he then goes off to the nether regions to check things out …

… I meanwhile think … (I do think - occasionally … I promise you! - just occasionally some wires in the grey cells get a little crossed) where’s my card … not in the machine, right another more thorough look through pockets, in my bag etc etc …

… back comes my friendly man rep – oh I smile brightly ‘have you got my card’ – “no” – he smiles and off he goes back to where he’s just comes from – those nether regions …

Looking north from back of flat (my flat only faces
the English Channel) with the Downs in the background

… humbly, I apologise, smiling sweetly and thank him hugely for the returned card – but no money … he’s spoken to the manager and says they’ll check that cash machine and see if they can find the stash of cash I’d like to get my grubby little paws on … and it should be back in the account tonight.  He took my phone number to ring me to let me know …

I went off to a Memoir Writing Class … guess what the 10 minute topic was … Senior Moments – the others were unimpressed!!

After my class – here we go back to my saga – but with an interlude! … I went off to see my cousin who does a number of jobs for the tennis tournaments around the country and was down in Eastbourne for a competition. 

When I got home the bank had phoned and they’d have my money, or I could pick it up the next day.  Yes, I don’t carry my phone around with me … it can rest its little chops up here – and usually does.

Now the third day – I go back down the backside of the Downs to the bank … with a thank-you note for the reps who’d been helping – they were pleased … and I withdrew my cash – yeah it gave it to me … my brain remembered it needed to take said cash as the machine regurgitated it …

Red Arrows 2016 - view from flat

So all’s well in the grey land of sunny Eastbourne!  We have had the Red Arrows team, part of Airborne, giving us displays for 3 days – so I’ll probably need my ears tested next week!

Nope – this senior citizen is alive and well, standing and laughing happily …

… just had a friend from South Africa staying – but am slowly getting back to normal …

So tell me – what are your senior moments, middle-age moments, happy thirties moments, youthful exuberance moments or just plain childish moments?!


PS - if there's lots of eclipse posts - forgive me, but I won't comment
on many ... I can see there'll be lots and lots ... 

See you for the We are the World Blogfest next week: end of the month ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Write - Edit - Publish Bloghop: Reunion ...

When you read this entry ... please look at the sculpture "The Reunion" pictured at the end of the post ... that is where my idea for this article started ...

Lost … blasted away … the love of her life denoted ‘as missing’ – how can someone be ‘missing’, yet that is the way of things in war.

Abysmal loss – desolation to the mind – the suddenness – the heart that is 

... broken … broken ……

Theirs had been a wonderful love – the brother of a school friend … a loving family to become a part of … happiness at last for her …

Her parents-in-law losing their son – her father-in-law’s practicality to know – though they knew the risks all servicemen take, they understood those times.

The wife too … the woman who had had only a few years and most of those days separated by deployment overseas.

She kept away – mostly … could not write – too overcome with grief, yet so many others in a similar situation … in times of War one continues on.

The necessary information was gleaned … but suppressed until there was a need to know and understand … though it appears he had been taken with a direct hit.

A search was made … very little found – desperately a pair of black ammunition boots … badly charred … no identity discs … blown to smithereens – literally.

Words on paper, details in the records, a note of where the attack happened, with map co-ordinates.

A life - gone in a trice … a courageous man, a man who commanded respect and love of his men – this recorded by his subordinate … the whole unit genuinely grieved.

She could do nothing … a few visits to her in-laws to be able to find out more information – if she wanted it … but for now she didn’t – she needed to continue to serve and to be there for other service men, as well as her own unit.

The Reunion - as it was originally called by the sculptress -
Josefina de Vasconcellos (Coventry Cathedral)

They had all agreed that his remains would be buried on site – this they felt was the only place for him to be – later she could go to find the place …

… and kneel in the dirt as she remembered him, had always remembered him … she could feel him kneeling with her, his arms half out welcoming her own, the lie of his head taking her now still grieving bones … she remembered back when they were together in life …

Her time is near … now she will be reunited with her love … kneel on, kneel on in grasping grief as her life ticks away … not long now before the dust and soil of our earth has her too.

Kneel on … kneel on … in the Reunion that surely follows our earthly existence.

Thank you for considering the  "The Reunion" sculpture as you read this post.

Write, Edit, Publish Challenge - here is the link

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Bran Tub # 13 : In a Pickle …

Should you have gone down to Soho in the 1800s you would be in for a big surprise … I’m not sure if the Teddy Bears frequented here for their picnic … but the right ingredients – pickles and fields - were very close at hand …

 

Crosse + Blackwell's Piccalilli

… most of what we know today as central London back in the 1500s  was wooded common agricultural land, on the edge of the city … until it was purloined by a King or a Queen for hunting and royal park usage …

… then the Georgians came along (1714 – 1830) … including the emergence of the Industrial Revolution ... factories were built, new products manufactured … spices brought in from British territories and colonies …

British Condiments in 21st century

… thereafter for about 100 years you’d be in a pickle!  Crosse and Blackwell set up their factory – creating condiments and recipes establishing the brand as a firm family favourite.

In 1923 a journalist noted that following closure of the Crosse and Blackwell factory …

‘driving blind-fold through London there are some places that I could always recognise by their distinctive smell …

… one is the Oxford Street end of Charing-cross-road, where for generations Crosse and Blackwell’s pickle factory has given a very distinctive pungency to the surrounding atmosphere.’

A small selection of the finds from the archaeological
dig at Tottenham Court Road tube station - when excavations
needed to be made for the new Crossrail 'Elizabeth' line

Who can resist not writing about pickles being found under Oxford Street in the middle of the London we know today …

I visited the Museum of London Archaeology Corporation’s exhibition in Docklands … to see the various finds – both archaeological (auroch bones – if you remember my A for Auroch, in the A-Z this year) and finds from the pickling factory in the heart of Soho …

London Astoria - just before demolition

Originally demolished to make way for the new entertainment venue of the day – a cinema in the 1920s – then in the late 1960s it was redeveloped to become the London Astoria: that iconic music establishment …

an early advertising plaque -
c/o  Printed British Pottery and
Porcelain company

… now times have changed once again – with London Crossrail rising from the ashes in the form of a new tube station at Tottenham Court Road/ Oxford Street, together with retail, residential and office space …

Archaeologists in the 21^st century working on the Crossrail site once again found the whiff of pickle in the air … all quietly forgotten for the last 90 years.  The Crosse and Blackwell factory that had been demolished was newly excavated, this time to a deeper depth …

Showing remains of Crosse + Blackwell's
Preserved Ginger Pots 

… the finds illustrating the ambitions of  one of Victorian Britain’s most prolific and enduring enterprises, as well as evidencing the development of British tastes.

-        Crosse and Blackwell Pickles

-        Mushroom Catsup

-        Mustard

-        Piccalilli

-        Preserved Ginger

-        Pure Orange Marmalade

-        Household Raspberry or Plum jam

History of tastes through the 13,000 items unearthed … from the buried rubble of our industrial past in the middle of London town …

-        Crosse and Blackwell were one of the first companies to receive a Royal Warrant from the newly crowned Queen Victoria in 1837

-       Crosse and Blackwell even sent a representative with the East India Company to the East Indies to bring home new recipes … pickles, curry powders and chutney …

Ploughman's style lunch - with Branston pickle,
Piccalilli and all the accoutrements!

Who thought 21^st century Londoners would be commuting over, or perhaps through, an early 18^th/19^th century pickle factory – by the way: what’s under your feet?

The Crossrail exhibition can be seen at the Museum of London’s  Archaeology site in Docklands …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

We Are the World Blogfest … # 5 - Beachy Head Emergency Services

… in Darkness, Be Light – a blogfest of creative posts on all manner of subjects … highlighting positivity and opening the door to letting more light into our lives --- we the lucky ones …

Today I invite you to remember the Emergency Services who look after our coasts … in my case the area of outstanding natural beauty that is Beachy Head: the white cliffs of Sussex.

Attending to an emergency

There are the accidents … be they people just too near the edge, who step back, and then are gone …

Land slip apparent here - imagine what it would be
like if it collapsed from the cliffs round the corner

… or when the cliffs collapse underneath them – as they sit ‘quietly’ admiring the views … not realising the power of the tide (twice a day) as it pounds these crumbling cliffs leaving an overhang at the top – which every so often crashes to the sea ... 

The steeper slopes with
chalk cliff slippage

… or the cliff collapse onto the  beach below … was anyone there, or injured …

… or those rescued after being cut off by the tide …

 I often hear the sirens of the police, ambulances, or air ambulances … then there’s the coast guard and the lifeboats that I see out in all weathers …

There is a chaplaincy team on hand too … as sadly it is a place to come to … to commit suicide … just desperate … and something we all need to remember … as our actions can help others.  The Samaritans are on hand too ... 

Too near

So many people involved in helping keep the Beachy Head area as safe as possible … our Emergency and Volunteer Services are invaluable and deserve our recognition …

Thank you for remembering them with me … I’m sure you have similar services wherever you live – let us give thanks for them and their work …

We are the World ... in Darkness, be Light ...

Sign up to join us and be visited on the last weekend of the month when our articles are posted.  Click here to enter your link on this Linky Tools list!

This month’s #WATWB co-hosts are: Simon Falk, Roshan Radhakrishnan, InderpreetUppal, Sylvia Stein and Damyanti Biswas. 

Please stop by and read the inspiring stories  …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Croquet anyone? … before Tennis, Rosewater, Great British Menu and Equality arrived …

This year Wimbledon was celebrating 140 years since the Championships were founded … the inaugural Wimbledon Championships began on 9 July 1877 – the Gentlemen’s Singles being the only event held.

Wimbledon complex with the
Centre Court at the centre

The Club had started out in 1868 as the “All England Lawn Croquet Club” … lawn tennis was added in 1876 … tennis was added into the name the same year – it originally had the incredible name of Sphairistiké – translated from ancient Greek as ‘the art of playing ball’!  It became known as Stické or Stické tennis – hence, thankfully, tennis is its name … I was never any good at languages – ancient or modern!

Timeline - found here
c/o BBC

Over the years life changed … the Championships became simply known as Wimbledon – the oldest tennis tournament in the world - and is widely regarded as the most prestigious.  It also promotes gender equality …

Media coverage of the Championships has been broadcast on radio by the BBC since 1927, black and white tv coverage began in 1937, full colour tv was launched in 1967 …

Sir David Attenborough

… guess who was instrumental in bringing us Wimbledon in colour – none other than Sir David Attenborough – broadcaster and naturalist.  His career within the Beeb is interesting – see link.

So Wimbledon is celebrating 90 years of radio broadcast, 70 years of tv coverage and 50 years of colour tv … and what better way to note these events – than to have a Great British Menu Banquet for tennis dignitaries.

This has become an annual series … which I mostly enjoy … seeing top British chefs compete within regions to cook one course for the banquet – themed around the particular event being promoted each year … so lots of balls around in 2017!

Each week the chefs battle for their dish to be selected for the final banquet menu.   I’ll link to the post I wrote in 2012 (which was in recognition of the Olympics) … oddly and fittingly enough this was the evening my mother died – strange: I hadn’t realised that before.  She was an excellent cook and loved different ideas … this is perfect for those memories of my Ma and Cornwall.

Finally this year – we had two female chefs winning through … though Pip Lacey inspired my Carpaccio post, as this was her starter dish in 2015 … and if you hadn’t guessed it by now – a Turkish-Cypriot chef – who used … you guessed this too – Rosewater!

Back to 2017’s recipes, gender equality matched, – titled as below …

Starter:  Pip Lacey (from the Midlands) – “Whatever The Weather” …

Her course comprised pickled heritage radish, sautéed runner beans, pickled courgettes, honey-soused tomatoes, tomato hearts, and goat’s cheese ravioli (purple and green – Wimbledon colours) served in a yellow ‘tennis ball’ bowl;  “hot tomato rain” in watering cans to be poured over.

Ceramic tennis ball filled with summer veggies c/o BBC

Fish:  Tommy Banks (North East) – “Turbot with Strawberries and Cream” …

The turbot was decorated with red strawberries pickled with elderflower vinegar, fermented green strawberries and a creamy herb velouté was a surprising hit – Wimbledon strawberries featuring in the fish course.

 

Tommy Banks' winning dish c/o BBC

Main Course:  Michael Bremner (Scotland) – “The Grass is Greener” …

Ox tongue topped with jux-filled ravioli and served with pickled summer vegetables and rye-grass cooked potatoes.  (Rye grass – because that is the type of grass used for the courts).

Michael Bremner's dish c/o BBC

Dessert:  Selin Kiazim (London + South East) – “Honouring Venus Rosewater Champions” …

Vanilla muhallebi (creamy dessert base), white peach and raspberry jelly, served with peach sorbet, raspberry and rosewater sauce, almond meringue shard and a peach bellini.  Looks amazing!

Selin Kiazim's wonderful creation c/o BBC

I know – 'I can hear’ some of you thinking … good heavens above – what a palaver … but it’s a series I enjoy and watch as much as I can – my light entertainment … and this year combining it with a Wimbledon banquet was a delight to my blog posting thoughts!

Close up of Selin's dessert

I will tell you quietly that they wanted the Banquet outside at Wimbledon … well fine – but it rains here!  So rapidly it was moved indoors  … the bit that disappoints me (each year) is the final programme showing the Banquet and preparations … just not enough time to do the whole justice … I’d really enjoy it!

Right that’s me done showcasing Rosewater and Wimbledon for another year … though I do have other tennis posts I’d like to write … the pineapple, some art and posters … but next year isn’t far away … is it?!

 Believe it or not … I have more rose type posts to write up – but I’ll give them a break for a while … I have exhibitions to post … so a change-up coming next …

… also the “We are the World Blogfest … in Darkness, Be Light” is up next weekend … I hope some of you will join us … 

full details and sign up here ... Simon's We are Still Warmly Welcoming #WATWB 

Croquet equipment

Croquet has been kicked into the long grass, Wimbledon’s shaved lawns have come and gone, equality has been achieved … and Rosewater after the 2017 Great British Menu could be ready for us to rinse our hands, after the mouth-watering banquet … until next year …

Wimbledon colour flowers for you
all for sticking with me through these posts!
Thank you.

Great British Menu 2012 - Olympics themed held in the Painted Hall at the Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich  

Summary came from - T-Vine ... the free English-language magazine for British Turks  detailed in the link below:

Selin Kiazim's participation detailed here T-Vine's Great British Menu contestants page and details ... including the recipe summaries I've set out in the post ... 

History of  Wimbledon and the BBC 1927 - 2017 - charting the development through the years

Recipes can be found here c/o BBC:  

Whatever the Weather 

Turbot with Strawberries and Cream

The Grass is Greener 

Ladies Dressed in White ... was Selin's original dish - which she changed to the one I've shown in the post ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories