Friday, April 6, 2018

On display ?


The Old Farmer is driven to the hospital. He tells me he's not looking forward to going in. I tell him I'll be there at nine o'clock on Wednesday morning to pick him up. This statement of confidence ( based on no information whatsoever ) seems to cheer him up.

Bob,who is having a recurrence of his Bell Palsy squiffy face, stands on his stump seat and intimidates ( so he thinks ) passing pilgrims. He prefers to do this with either Furry Fox or Lamb on a Rope in his mouth. You can rest assured the pilgrims are not intimidated.


Back in Scotland Phil, the joiner, sends me a photo to let me know the men have come to replace the cracked roof tiles. They wear bright orange boiler suits and cordon off the pavement with bollards and plastic tape.  This seems to smack of overkill.


The archaeologists have been digging in the garden in search of a medieval well. They have unearthed a Victorian stone owl.


It has manic eyes and what might once have been a black beak. At The Rickety Old Farmhouse opinion is divided over whether the owl should be reburied or left out on display. Phil is greatly taken with it.


Where would you expect to find the restaurant with the worlds largest wine cellar ? Paris, Rome, London, Shanghai ? You'd be wrong. Bizarrely, the finest collection of fine wine in the world is at Bern's Steak House in Tampa ! 500,000 bottles and a wine list that is 180 pages long: https://bernssteakhouse.com/

Angus has been researching a trip to Ethiopia. The local hotel has some charming Google translate descriptions. 'Curtains that are made of thick brown linen designed to simulate night ambiance in the room during the day as well, just before you wake up '.  http://mountainview-hotel.com/standard-double-room/


20 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

I vote for the owl being cleaned up and left on display.
I see you have a personalised scaffolding delivery truck in St Andrews. Cheers, Gail.

Angus said...

Cleaned up ! That is the owl in a 'cleaned up' state. Not only cleaned up but carefully washed by some of the finest archaeologists in Scotland. What must it have looked like before ?

MOPL said...

Owl does look quite lovely in the garden. What on earth is Bob concerned about these days?

Angus said...

We can only put it down to the arrival of blackbirds on the lawn. Sophie is of course a constant concern for her brother - particularly at meal times when she tries to distract him with her orphan dog routine.

Coppa's girl said...

I'd keep the owl too, it has a nicely "weathered" patina about it, in keeping with the garden of an old property.
Poor Bob, he does suffer, so don't let him know that he's not intimidating the pilgrims!
Hope all goes well for the Old Farmer.

Poppy Q said...

The owl is awesome!! Deserves a place in the garden we think.
Ethiopia - how exotic. Is Angus the spy planning a new secret mission?

Taste of France said...

Aren't owls an omen of bad luck? Or is it good luck?
Tell us more about your side gig in scaffolding.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
Yes, I was thinking that was an excellent excavation job and the owl looks totally 'in place'. Definitely a keeper. Havng had to research so much on tenement maintenance and regulation (whole roof replacement for us), I can tell you, the tape etc is exactly according to requirement. There have been cases of pedestrians being hospitilised from falling tiles...Sending kissies to Bob the Unintimidator... and some healing vibes to TOF via his 'chauffur'... YAM xx

Sheila said...

Another vote for the owl on display but firmly anchored in place so that some careless tenant doesn't knock it over.
Here's wishing the Old Farmer well. I notice that there hasn't been any mention of the Belgian Lady recently. I hope that relationship endures.
The Mountain View Hotel sounds charming. What a beautiful restaurant.

liparifam said...

I LOVE the owl! Definitely a keeper...

Swan said...

I’d give it to the nice man who loves trees..maybe he can find one to put it in..

Beau and Mom said...

Ha! I was wondering that myself. Angus is a true man of mystery.
Prays all goes well Old Farmer.

Coppa's girl said...

Don't ask ! You know we agreed that Angus might have to kill us if he told us what he was doing !

rottrover said...

Bob is anticipating hus upcoming bath/clipping. Such a sensitive boy.

BaileyBobSouthernDog said...

That garden is the owl’s home!

Angus said...

Thank yo for that practical reminder. The wee house will be let to a young Professor from Texas , his wife and two toddlers. Making the owl secure against four year olds will be Phils task for next week !

Jake of Florida said...

The owl is definitely a keeper if securely anchored! And yes, I have been to Bern's Steak House and seen that menu and wine list, so heavy it is hard to even pick up. I was quite intimidated by the place, with so many choices as to which steak cut.size.degree of doneness and then how to pick a wine??? Too many choices cloud the whole concept of choice, I think.

Angus said...

Thanks for the input. Having never been to Tampa I toyed with the idea of flying down to try the wine list the next time I'm stateside. Somehow, the restaurant seems strangely out of keeping with the worlds greatest collection of rare vintages.

Jake of Florida said...

Were you to do that, please let us know! We're just a few hours away and know Tampa very well. Watching you choose from the collection of vintages would be a treat!jdeesez@aol.com

Angus said...

You can be sure the Cost Centres would be joining me.